DVD Talk Forum - Criterion Newsletter: December 2006

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Criterion Newsletter: December 2006

I have no idea. I bet they be expensive though.

:jawdrop:

Seems that Criterion will be releasing 5-pre Seventh Seal films from Bergman, perhaps a box set? We shall see...

There are 7 seals playing chess= Seventh Seal from Bergman, so it will probably be 5 films from the director. Which ones? Well, let the speculation begin.

It is a reference to the Eclipse line. The first titles are rumored to be Bergman titles (Summer with Monika, Sawdust and Tinsel, etc.)

I would bet that one film will be :
Det regnar på vår kärlek (1946)
... aka It Rains on Our Love
... aka Man with an Umbrella

Quote:

Originally Posted by ernestrp

I have no idea. I bet they be expensive though.

what else is new?!?

isn't Criterion supposed to release 'Overlord' at some point in 2007, or is that from another studio?

5 more Bergman films?! Niiiiice.

We've heard rumors of both "Summer with Monika" and "The Magician", and I certainly hope that those two are among the next Bergman releases.

I suspect everyone's right that we're looking at more early Bergman, but there are also 5 discs that were released by Criterion prior to "The Seventh Seal" (hence, "elder" siblings) that might arguably be due for upgrades: The Lady Vanishes, A Night To Remember, The Killer, Hard Boiled, and Walkabout.

Criterion doesn't have rights to The Killer or Hard Boiled anymore. The Weinstein Company has them now.

Overlord is coming from Criterion in 2007. I'm guessing late spring...

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristianB

Criterion doesn't have rights to The Killer or Hard Boiled anymore. The Weinstein Company has them now.

I hope you're right - we really don't need those from Criterion (though they might work in the lower tier "Eclipse" line if that actually takes off).

And I think Neeb's on to something, too. "Emerge from the 'Shadows'"? Why would they bother to word it this way? I'm not a big Melville fan, but the theatrical release of "Army of Shadows" was a very big deal, and we're certainly expecting a disc at some point from Criterion.

Or maybe "emerge from the shadows" is some sort of allusion to the lower tier "Eclipse" line finally debuting. And five early (minor) Bergmans might be an appropriate boxset for that. Although Criterion's indicated that they'll be doing "The Magician" at some point, that film debuted after "The Seventh Seal" (not an "elder sibling" I guess), and is also considered a major work. It'll probably be released at some point as a stand-alone. I would think "Summer with Monika" would definitely be included, and hopefully also "Sawdust and Tinsel". Maybe "Summer Interlude", "Waiting Women" and "To Joy" to round out the set? That might be an excellent way to launch the Eclipse line.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChristianB

Overlord is coming from Criterion in 2007. I'm guessing late spring...

Good one :D

So what is the Eclipse line?

Good question. It seems to have evolved a bit, but we're pretty sure the Eclipse line is going to be a collection of minor films by major directors, essentially bare-bones releases without the usual scholarship and at a more discounted price. Here's a nice long thread all about it: http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/...pic.php?t=5350

EDIT: I'm really glad you asked that question, which made me go look up that Eclipse discussion. You'll notice that the very first post indicates that "early Bergman" will be among the first Eclipse releases. Given that this will be a budget line, I wonder if they'll even be boxed together?

Quote:

EDIT: I'm really glad you asked that question, which made me go look up that Eclipse discussion. You'll notice that the very first post indicates that "early Bergman" will be among the first Eclipse releases.

The clue does say these films will "emerge from the shadows".

Quote:

Originally Posted by fliggil

Seems that Criterion will be releasing 5-pre Seventh Seal films from Bergman, perhaps a box set? We shall see...

Jesus, I'm dense. The Seventh Seal is my second favorite Bergman flick, and the first Criterion disc I ever purchased. I have no clue why I didn't get that...

Anyway, everybody talking about the Eclipse line: wasn't that line supposed to feature a dozen releases a year (one per month, basically)? That'd kind of negate the notion of a five-film Bergman release to kick things off...right?

-JP

Quote:

Originally Posted by NatrlBornThrllr

Who's to say that a box set of 5 films can't count as 1 release? If these films aren't made available seperately, then the only way to buy them is as 1 release. Another option is that they might release 1 of these films in spring, and then announce the impending releases of the other 4, although I think the former speculation is more likely than the latter.

Little off topic but anyone know if there are any plans of making Last Year at Marienbad part of the criterion list? It seems like this movie and criterion are a perfect match I'm surprised it hasn't been done sooner.

Yes, Marienbad is on the horizon. The Criterion dvd will follow the Rialto theatrical release. Rialto confirmed in an email that the film will be re-released theatrically in 2007.

Quote:

Originally Posted by starecase

Yes, Marienbad is on the horizon. The Criterion dvd will follow the Rialto theatrical release. Rialto confirmed in an email that the film will be re-released theatrically in 2007.

Great movie with stunning cinematography, will be very happy when this gets a new release, Criterion or otherwise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Giles

isn't Criterion supposed to release 'Overlord' at some point in 2007, or is that from another studio?

I would love to find a review of this movie, as it sounds interesting.

More from Criterion:

Quote:

This year at Criterion, we’ve had a lot of great releases, and we’re already looking forward to what 2007 will bring. There are many treasures in store for the new year, including some of our latest acquisitions, such as John Huston’s Under the Volcano, and titles from our laserdisc days, like Robinson Crusoe on Mars.

When we first came up with the idea for the Essential Art House box set as a way to celebrate Janus’s fiftieth anniversary and to introduce a wider selection of people, who might not have been fans of foreign film, to many of the great titles of international cinema, we figured that the core Criterion audience was not our market. Well, we were half-right. The response to Essential Art House, the films and the accompanying book, has really been tremendous—we couldn’t be more pleased—and much of it has come from Criterion fans. We’ve been honored that so many have chosen to give the box as a holiday gift—in fact, we sold out of the first disc pressing and have re-pressed all the discs we could to fill out the original packaging run. But barring a sudden surge in sales we should be fine through this holiday season. Essential Art House is available at the Criterion store for $650, with free shipping. Additionally, it’s also available from DVD Planet, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and a few other retailers. And if you haven’t seen Dave Kehr’s story on the box set in the New York Times, we’ve attached a copy of it to this e-mail for you.

Don’t forget, the online Criterion store also has T-shirts, hats, and mugs, all of which make great gifts. The store will be temporarily shutting down for the holidays on December 23, and reopening on January 2. Look forward to some exciting changes early next year, too. If you have any questions, e-mail us at [email protected].

Lastly, if you haven’t been to the website in a while, please come and visit. We’ve started a blog with posts every Tuesday and Friday. There’s some fun reading on there, with interesting tidbits and behind-the-scenes information about the Criterion Collection.

Enjoy, and best wishes for the upcoming holidays!
The Criterion Collection

"Sawdust and Tinsel' and "Summers With Monika" are fairly significant Bergman in my estimation. But I will be quite happy if they are 'budget' releases - although one can only speculate what that means as it relates to Criterion. Hopefully, these will all be separate releases instead of a boxset, or that may invalidate what I consider an economical release.