Criterion Coming Soon and Discussion Redux

I seriously just about exploded when I saw the Eclipse set of Czech New Wave films. I actually just did a blog post on Daisies in my “Films You Should Know” series of articles and talked about the Czech New Wave quite a bit. I was just wondering how I was going to get a hold of some of those films and was bracing myself to get the Region 2 DVDs but now I won’t have to!

And if anyone is interested on my article about Daisies, it can be found here: http://ryanesta.blogspot.com/2011/12/films-you-should-know-daisies.html

^Nice set but really too bad they didn’t include Intimate Lighting.

Ever since I saw Daisies I’ve been dying to see other Czech New Wave films, but couldn’t find them!!! Yesssssss!!

The Frampton looks very cool.

Late Spring? Yay!!! Harold and Maude? Yay!!!! Czech new wave bookset? Yay!!

Although a Vlacil film or two would have been appreciated, but they seem to be grouping together ‘lighter’ films from the period. at least 2-3 of those films have already been released by Second Run.

Daisies is great, ditto party and guests.

Best month of the year so far for Criterion

SANTINO: i hope you are right about Badlands. I love early Malick, so that is something to look forward to. and the WB dvd out now is pretty lousy, so an upgrade would definitely be appreciated by fans.

^I am right. You can pat me on the back whenever they get around to officially announcing it.

:)

It seems that Criterion’s additions to Hulu are becoming a lot more compelling than their DVD releases.

Vlacil isn’t really considered Czech New Wave though. It would be like calling Resnais or Bresson French New Wave. They were in their prime simultaneous to the New Wave but weren’t part of the movement. Vlacil’s films are extremely Eastern European whereas the Czech New Wave films generally just feel European, not that that’s a bad thing. And in any case, if Criterion actually got a hold of Marketa Lazarova they’d probably make it a mainline release I’d think.

^^really? I don’t know, a lot of Czech new wave films feel very ‘Eastern European’ to me.

But thanks for correcting me about Vlacil

I’m absolutely blown away by the fact Hollis Frampton is getting his own set. Nearly all the films of his that I own are of such poor quality. It will be so nice to finally see them in decent prints. Amazing and totally unexpected.

A Blu-Ray of what I wonder……

Blu of Grey Garden is kind of boring to me…

It’s definitely Grey Gardens…

Where’s the love for Grey Gardens? Show it to me!!

Grey Gardens. As if watching that movie on DVD wasn’t bad enough. Now we get a sharper image!

It’s definitely The Game.

It’s so obvious.

Grey Gardens gets the blu treatment before Mishima. That’s some odd prioritizing.

Yeah, GREY GARDENS — How much clearer do I really need that particular image, does Blu-Ray make the shitstains that much more pleasant to look at?

So is there any truth to the Heaven’s Gate rumour?

Not a favourite of mine, but i would definitely be interested in seeing a new transfer.

If anyone could rejuvenate interest in this film, it’s Criterion, and it would definitely sell well, even if just on the curiosity factor alone.

re: Frampton. what’s his deal? Never seen anything of his.

I hope that films like Breaking the Waves, The Mother and the Whore, Johnny Guitar, Every Man for Himself, the Wim Wenders road trilogy: Kings of the Road, Wrong Move, Alice in the Cities, The Magnificent Ambersons, and Turkish Delight could find their way to a Criterion release.

Criterion is working on Heaven’s Gate Joks. It should be a particularly interesting release.

i recently re-watched “the american friend”, i remember the first time i saw it it blew me away which was about when i was 17 or 18, this time it left me completely cold, i really don’t think it’s a good film anymore. i do love “wrong move” however

Every announcement that does not include

Stromboli
Europa ’51
Voyage in Italy

is a waste of my time. Criterion, why do you hate me?

Franz—

I suspect a third viewing might restore your fondness for “American Friend,” a fine film.

I bought the MGM DVD of Heaven’s Gate, never watched it completely, transfer is absolutley awful (not surprising) would be good to get Criterion to pick it up and clean up the film with maybe some input from Cimino.

I hope all prints of Breaking the Waves get lost or destroyed.

I was just thinking last night about how weird it is that they haven’t put Mishima on blu ray… Maybe they’re unsure how to do the packaging, but they’ve done a good job with other re-releases whose packages were boxes.

And, yeah, Grey Gardens blu? :/

Heaven’s Gate, whether justly or otherwise, is usually pinned with the death of the New Hollywood movement. It would be interesting to see whether a definitive release––hopefully with input from Cimino––would garner a reappraisal of the film, or at the very least bring on the realization that the massive success of both Jaws and Star Wars were equally culpable in the demise of a particularly rich movement in American film.

If Criterion releases H.G i guarantee that there will be a certain level of reappraisal occuring. Film fans and critics are just sheep like everyone else, they go where the flock goes. I’d say that most people that watched H.Gate had already made up their minds that it wasn’t good before even watching it. Now don’t get me wrong, i don’t think it’s a masterpiece, despite containing several moments of brilliance, but i think that, as flawed as it is, it’s definitely worthy of inclusion. Criterion have released far worse films imo, and Heaven’s Gate is a significant part of American film history whether one likes it or not, and for reasons not necessarily related to the quality of the film itself.

I just want to see a cleaned up print of it, first and foremost. It’s a extraordinary looking film, and i want to be able to appreciate the photography in all its beauty and richness, and i’m sure that most people that enjoy the film on some level would agree with me on that.

Todd Haynes’s film Safe desperately needs the Criterion treatment. And Heaven’s Gate is a masterpiece.

There was a lovely cleaned up restored print of HEAVEN’S GATE that made the rep house rounds a few years back, prompting hopes for a proper DVD release, but it never happened. A far more interesting movie than it is usually recognized as being.