ESSENTIAL ART HOUSE: 50 YEARS OF JANUS FILMS

“The Janus Films icon—the black and white image, the lettering, the two faces on the seemingly ancient coin—meant that you were going to see something special, something new, something completely different from anything you’d ever seen before.” —Martin Scorsese

Janus Films opened American viewers’ eyes to the pleasures of Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, and François Truffaut at the height of their artistic powers. Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this world-renowned distribution company with Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films, an expansive collectors’ box set featuring fifty classic films on DVD and a lavishly illustrated hardcover book that tells the story of Janus Films through an essay by film historian Peter Cowie, a tribute from Martin Scorsese, and all new extensive notes on all fifty films, plus cast and credit listings and U.S. premiere information.

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50 YEARS OF JANUS FILMS: BOX SET TITLES

ALEXANDER NEVSKY (1938)
ASHES AND DIAMONDS (1958)
L'AVVENTURA (1960)
BALLAD OF A SOLDIER (1959)
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946)
BLACK ORPHEUS (1959)
BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945)
THE FALLEN IDOL (1948)
FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959)
FISTS IN THE POCKET (1965)
FLOATING WEEDS (1959)
FORBIDDEN GAMES (1952)
THE 400 BLOWS (1959)
GRAND ILLUSION (1937)
HÄXAN (1922)
IKIRU (1952)
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (1952)
IVAN THE TERRIBLE, PART II (1958)
LE JOUR SE LÉVE (1939)
JULES AND JIM (1962)
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949)
KNIFE IN THE WATER (1962)
THE LADY VANISHES (1938)
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943)
LOVES OF A BLONDE (1965)
M (1931)
M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY (1953)
MISS JULIE (1951)
PANDORA'S BOX (1929)
PÉPÊ LE MOKO (1937)
IL POSTO (1961)
PYGMALION (1938)
RASHOMON (1950)
RICHARD III (1955)
THE RULES OF THE GAME (1939)
SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)
THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957)
THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (1973)
LA STRADA (1954)
SUMMERTIME (1955)
THE THIRD MAN (1949)
THE 39 STEPS (1935)
UGETSU (1953)
UMBERTO D. (1952)
THE VIRGIN SPRING (1960)
VIRIDIANÁ (1961)
THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953)
THE WHITE SHEIK (1952)
WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957)
THREE DOCUMENTARIES BY SAUL TURELL

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The price isn't bad at all... $650 which is about $13 a film, cheaper than buying all these individually. It is but OH so tempting. So tempting...

http://store.prostores.com/servlet/c...ANUS+FILMS+BOX

Holy Jebus!

Already being discussed since this morning here:

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/showthread.php?t=473886&page=3

Yeah, this should undoubtedly have it's own thread, because DEAR LORD that set is un-freakin' believable ... and, sadly, not for CC veterans.

I mean ... whoa. What a way to jump in.

As wonderful as this is...No individual artwork, booklet, or case = No Sale

I only own 12 of those, and there are quite a few more I've thought about buying, so it's pretty tempting--especially if I could get it at around 30-35% off the $850 MSRP which is usually possible with the regular Criterions if you can hold off for a good sale.

I think I'll put it on my Christmas list just on the off chance someone's feeling really (really) generous.

I think the most important question is, will this have a spine number?

anybody do a disc count on this yet....its 50 films, but some of those are 2-3 disc sets...

this is hands down the new end all be all holy grail of dvd box sets

I already have half the films (and I doubt this would have the bonus discs, or any extras at all) and don't want the rest, but I would love to be able to get just the book.

I would love to buy this set, but just can't rationalize that much money spent on DVDs at once. Maybe at the DDD 20% off sale.

Damn it, I dropped my coffee. I wonder about the supplementary materials, but I want that book. Well, that and I only have five films from the set. Sigh..

Pretty much the same here - hopefully the book will be available on its own.

I volunteer to review this set if DVDTalk would like to send it to me.

This is just an insane set, and if i had the cash i would definately buy it. This is kinda like when Amazon had the entire Criterion Collection for sale(minus OOP).

There are 4 movies not yet released by Criterion though.

Fires on the Plain
Le Jour Se Leve
Miss Julie
Three Documentaries by Saul Turell

So, if anyone wants to buy this bad boy I will happily pay you generously for those titles.

I have a feeling that the book is just the essays from the inserts on the Criterion dvds, just blown up to book size. I could be totally wrong though.

EDIT: Looking at the pictures in the book, they're the same ones (at least for Rashomon) that are in the insert, so I'd say I may be right on that.

Le Jour Se Leve is available with English subtitles in France (scroll down for full image).

Who knows, they may be released individually.

I really don't know who this set is targeted for other than someone where money is burning a hole in their pocket along with their common sense.

The cineaste that has been around for a while already has many of these titles including the special features this won't have.

The new to Criterion collecting guy/gal? Are they going to shell out $650 for this set ... with high def around the corner? Even those of us that have many of these titles don't have the others one due to a lack of strong interest.

Maybe they will smarten up and just offer the book at some point.

I could not agree more!!

Having all of the DVDs in those pockets (picture above) is the worst idea ever. After all I would think that a person willing to shell out the funds for such an elaborate set would also want his/her films to be stored properly. A book-pocket is anything but a decent holder! Individual cases and no scratches for me!

Aside from that the idea is great!

Ciao,
Pro-B

no holes in pockets here, but i was seriously considering selling my measely criterion collection (starting off with the ones in this monster set) and getting this bad boy.

but then...
and...
makes me go back to...
sheesh!

You can now get just the book ($65) or order the whole thing from DDD for $595 shipped.

I own four of those and have seen most of them. Cool looking book though.

Cool.

I guess my question now would be if the book is more than just a reprinting/reorganization of the individual Criterion dvds' inserts/booklets.

where can i order this? i can't seem to find it at amazon...

Will this set contain all the supplementary video materials that are on the individually released DVDs?

TIA

According to DVDPlanet:

Product details

* Hardcover, linen-bound box set with 240-page, full color book and 50 DVDs
* Dimensions: 12.5” x 12.75” x 3.5”
* Weight: 14 lbs.
* Format: NTSC
* Region: Region 1
* Each DVD features a pristine digital transfer of the film in it's original language, as well as English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

It does not seem that they are porting over the extras.

http://www.dvdplanet.com/detailsjanu...info=IMA002122