Criterion Newsletter August 2006 Version
08-09-06, 08:19 AM
#26
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Originally Posted by Chucky
The "animal" that gives the clue is not, itself, a clue. Criterion just picks something from the Collection. In November 2005, the clue was given by the shark from The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Did Bottle Rocket come out shortly thereafter? No.
Then we got KoKo
08-09-06, 08:20 AM
#27
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Originally Posted by Chucky
Back on topic, I think the 50 years, 50 films thing may just be exactly what it sounds like: A boxset of 50 Janus films from the past 50 years, plus a commemorative book. The Criterion clues are often not as enigmatic as people try to make them.
Criterion doesn't only advertise new DVDs in their newsletter, but also restored prints that are being presented theatrically (such as the Rialto catalog). As I said above, I think the "Janus Films: 50 Years/50 Films" thing is most likely a reference to the 44th New York Film Festival where the retrospective this year will be "50 Years of Janus Films". You can see some more info here: http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff/nyff.htm
"Bottle Rocket" schmottle rocket - I'd much rather Criterion release something far better, and more interesting (say some Naruse, Tarkovsky, Paradjanov, Hou, or more Bunuel) - but I think it's at least more likely than a 50-disc boxset!
08-09-06, 08:36 AM
#28
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Originally Posted by Richard Malloy
"Bottle Rocket" schmottle rocket - I'd much rather Criterion release something far better, and more interesting (say some Naruse, Tarkovsky, Paradjanov, Hou, or more Bunuel) - but I think it's at least more likely than a 50-disc boxset!
08-09-06, 08:56 AM
#29
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July's hint was from a talking Gorilla.
Then we got KoKo
Then we got KoKo
I don't know, Chucky. I think a 50-disc boxset would have to include discs already released. I mean, 50 new Criterions at once? That many new discs would normally comprise well over two year's worth of releases from Criterion, if not more, and so it seems extremely unlikely that they would release that many in a single month. And, even if sold at a discount, such a boxset would have to be valued at somewhere from $750-1000.
But of course, I could be wrong. Criterion just started selling clothing, so really, anything is possible!
08-09-06, 10:48 AM
#30
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I, too, doubt a 50-film boxset is in the works. Instead, I take the "hints" more literally.
I think this will be a maybe two-disc boxset that celebrates the history of the Janus Collection, complete with a beautiful commemorative book. Perhaps the staff at Janus have selected the 50 films they are most proud to have distributed. I could see a nice documentary with clips from those fifty films, as well as interviews with the principals, arthouse film exhibitors from the past and present, film critics; maybe a documentary on the evolution of Voyager, Home Vision, and Criterion out of Janus.
It would be given a spine number and called (get this): Janus Films: Fifty Years / Fifty Films
Pure speculation, but it makes sense to me.
I think this will be a maybe two-disc boxset that celebrates the history of the Janus Collection, complete with a beautiful commemorative book. Perhaps the staff at Janus have selected the 50 films they are most proud to have distributed. I could see a nice documentary with clips from those fifty films, as well as interviews with the principals, arthouse film exhibitors from the past and present, film critics; maybe a documentary on the evolution of Voyager, Home Vision, and Criterion out of Janus.
It would be given a spine number and called (get this): Janus Films: Fifty Years / Fifty Films
Pure speculation, but it makes sense to me.
08-09-06, 12:01 PM
#32
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If it were 50 films there's no reason it would have to be 50 discs. There could easily be a set of shorts in the works. However, the fact that the Janus series is already called "50 Years", I would wager that it relates directly to Janus.
08-09-06, 01:00 PM
#33
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Originally Posted by Richard Malloy
"Bottle Rocket" schmottle rocket - I'd much rather Criterion release something far better, and more interesting (say some Naruse, Tarkovsky, Paradjanov, Hou, or more Bunuel) - but I think it's at least more likely than a 50-disc boxset!
I truly hope that sometime in a near future they start releasinig more/some Eastern European productions. Why they have not touched any of the Balkan directors yet is beyond me!!
Ciao,
Pro-B
08-09-06, 03:29 PM
#34
Moderator
But that's all a much too considerate and reasonable response for a dickhead like you, popcorn. You can disregard the foregoing, and go fuck yourself.
08-14-06, 02:38 PM
#36
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So is that why they switched to the new logo? It looks better on clothing than the old one would have? 
08-19-06, 10:39 AM
#39
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Thought you might be interested. The Brattle over in Cambridge (MA) has released their September/October calendar, and had this to say about the Janus Films Anniversary celebration:
Available here: http://www.brattlefilm.org/brattlefilm/calendar.html#
You'll need to scroll down to October 25.
I wonder if any of the new 35mm prints Criterion has struck are films yet unreleased by Criterion on DVD.
50 Years Of Janus Films
2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the Janus Films collection of world masterpieces and we're especially pleased about being part of the celebration since Janus Films was founded at the Brattle! Back in 1950s, there were hardly any independent film distributors in the United States and films from outside the U.S. were released here through systems set up by individual countries. As you can imagine, this made for a fairly stagnant pool of foreign film releases… much to the chagrin of the founders of the Brattle Theatre, Bryant Halliday and Cy Harvey. The pair realized that the only way to get many of their favorite international films seen in this country was to start their own company, and so Janus Films was born. The filmmakers that they introduced to the U.S. - Ingmar Bergman, Francois Truffaut, Akira Kurosawa, and many others - as well as the enduring legacy of Janus and the Brattle, evidence the success of their endeavor.
Nowadays, most people know the Janus Films collection as the core of the Criterion Collection of DVDs and, in fact, it is Criterion who is leading the charge to fete Janus. Criterion has struck 30 brand new 35mm prints of highlights from the 50 years of Janus history. These prints will premiere at the 2006 New York Film Festival and then travel immediately to the Brattle for their Boston debut. This series will take up an unprecedented 4 weeks of the Brattle schedule, running from October 25 through November 23, and encompasses films from 10 countries and work by 25 world-class directors. What follows is only the first week of programming - stay tuned for the full line-up!
Wednesday, October 25 & Thursday, October 26
New Restoration! Jean Renoir's RULES OF THE GAME
THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE…
Friday, October 27
SEVEN SAMURAI
Saturday, October 28
Jean Cocteau's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE
Sunday, October 29
New Restoration! Carl Th. Dreyer's DAY OF WRATH
SANSHO THE BAILIFF
Monday, October 30
Nicolas Roeg's WALKABOUT
Tuesday, October 31
KWAIDAN
2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the Janus Films collection of world masterpieces and we're especially pleased about being part of the celebration since Janus Films was founded at the Brattle! Back in 1950s, there were hardly any independent film distributors in the United States and films from outside the U.S. were released here through systems set up by individual countries. As you can imagine, this made for a fairly stagnant pool of foreign film releases… much to the chagrin of the founders of the Brattle Theatre, Bryant Halliday and Cy Harvey. The pair realized that the only way to get many of their favorite international films seen in this country was to start their own company, and so Janus Films was born. The filmmakers that they introduced to the U.S. - Ingmar Bergman, Francois Truffaut, Akira Kurosawa, and many others - as well as the enduring legacy of Janus and the Brattle, evidence the success of their endeavor.
Nowadays, most people know the Janus Films collection as the core of the Criterion Collection of DVDs and, in fact, it is Criterion who is leading the charge to fete Janus. Criterion has struck 30 brand new 35mm prints of highlights from the 50 years of Janus history. These prints will premiere at the 2006 New York Film Festival and then travel immediately to the Brattle for their Boston debut. This series will take up an unprecedented 4 weeks of the Brattle schedule, running from October 25 through November 23, and encompasses films from 10 countries and work by 25 world-class directors. What follows is only the first week of programming - stay tuned for the full line-up!
Wednesday, October 25 & Thursday, October 26
New Restoration! Jean Renoir's RULES OF THE GAME
THE EARRINGS OF MADAME DE…
Friday, October 27
SEVEN SAMURAI
Saturday, October 28
Jean Cocteau's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE
Sunday, October 29
New Restoration! Carl Th. Dreyer's DAY OF WRATH
SANSHO THE BAILIFF
Monday, October 30
Nicolas Roeg's WALKABOUT
Tuesday, October 31
KWAIDAN
You'll need to scroll down to October 25.
I wonder if any of the new 35mm prints Criterion has struck are films yet unreleased by Criterion on DVD.
08-30-06, 11:35 PM
#41
DVD Talk Special Edition
08-31-06, 05:01 AM
#42
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by pjflyer
Luckily, I've already got most of those films, and the fact that they're just in sleeves further dissuades me from picking this up.
Oh yeah, and the fact that it's $850! Well, $650 if you pre-order.
08-31-06, 09:12 AM
#44
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Also, some new titles, including:
FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959), Kon Ichikawa (THIS IS THE BIG ONE FOR ME!!!)
LE JOUR SE LÈVE (1939), Marcel Carné
MISS JULIE (1951), Alf Sjöberg
THREE DOCUMENTARIES: THE GREAT CHASE (1962), THE LOVE GODDESSES (1965), and PAUL ROBESON: TRIBUTE TO AN ARTIST (1979), Saul J. Turell
FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959), Kon Ichikawa (THIS IS THE BIG ONE FOR ME!!!)
LE JOUR SE LÈVE (1939), Marcel Carné
MISS JULIE (1951), Alf Sjöberg
THREE DOCUMENTARIES: THE GREAT CHASE (1962), THE LOVE GODDESSES (1965), and PAUL ROBESON: TRIBUTE TO AN ARTIST (1979), Saul J. Turell
08-31-06, 01:24 PM
#45
DVD Talk Limited Edition
The $650 is only $13 per movie which constitutes a bargain by Criterion standards. The only problem is that I already have 24 of these movies (with 2 more on pre-order) so I can't justify it, but I would buy the book if they sell it separately.
08-31-06, 05:52 PM
#47
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Originally Posted by Richard Malloy
Also, some new titles, including:
FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959), Kon Ichikawa (THIS IS THE BIG ONE FOR ME!!!)
FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959), Kon Ichikawa (THIS IS THE BIG ONE FOR ME!!!)
Also, I see there are two OOP Hitchcock titles in the box and the OOP-for-the-moment M. Hulot's Holiday. Interesting...
Last edited by Cosmic Bus; 08-31-06 at 06:13 PM.
08-31-06, 06:23 PM
#48
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by Cosmic Bus
Also, I see there are two OOP Hitchcock titles in the box and the OOP-for-the-moment M. Hulot's Holiday. Interesting...
08-31-06, 06:50 PM
#50
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Originally Posted by pjflyer