The same thing could be said for tons of filmmakers.
Criterion is small company surrounded by absolute giants, one that has to fight dearly and pay a lot of money for the rights to every non-Janus distributed film they release on dvd or blu-ray. It’d be nice, but you can’t expect everything from them.
Plus, all of the Kieslowski films you’ve mentioned are already available on DVD, so at least we have that.
All true, though I’d argue Dekalog is at best barely available (difficult to find, very low-quality, and extraordinarily expensive).
Yes I do agree with you, but it’s not like Criterion has released NO K. film; once they released Double Life (in, what, 2006?) they appeared to be beginning their"typical" method of slowly adding others of that director’s films until they have at least the major works in the collection. I’m aware we’re still seeing Ozu’s, Kurasawa’s, Bergman’s, and other major directors’ significant work trickling in, but there’s been complete silence on this particular director. [ I even emailed the company (very politely) but received no response at all.]
Here’s an idea: Dekalog is sometimes considered a TV product, not an actual work of cinema. We’ve already seen two fairly recent releases of such works: Fanny and Alexander and Berlin Alexanderplatz, both given lavish treatment. Continue a trend of “TV masterpieces” with Dekalog. And given that Dekalog (really all of Kieslowski’s work) is thematically and visually enmeshed with the
emergence of Polish independence, the film’s “extras” would be absolutely fascinating.
Dekalog, like Berlin, did air on TV but it’s still a film, don’t let the aspect ratio fool you. The CC probably won’t get the rights to the series anytime soon, which is the main reason they don’t release films like Dekalog that would allow them to rake in the dough. The best bet is to forget the Facets and pick up the Polish DVD release. Just go to the DVD beaver site and search for their review of Dekalog. Plus, all those “lesser” films already have R1 SD releases from Kino.
You really think Dekalog would “rake in the dough” JP? I assumed one of the reasons it hasn’t been done is low market value (cf.Armageddon).
I do consider Dekalog a film. Interestingly, however, Fanny and Alexander exists in at least two versions, the theatrical release and the significantly longer Swedish TV version. Both are on a Criterion release lavishly packaged— one of their best I think.
Point taken, however. We should be thankful for the ones we have, regardless of their
flaws.
Of course it would be highly lucrative, it’s a well-known movie by a well-known director within the art-house crowd. It’s exactly the kind of film that CC would love since it doesn’t have a DVD release with both a good transfer and supplements. Berlin Alexanderplatz is one of the top selling criterions on Amazon and I think it can be argued that Fassbinder is lesser known than Kieslowski. If CC were to acquire the rights to the Decalogue and the Three Colors trilogy they would release those ASAP, but I don’t see the Colors happening since Miramax owned the rights to that and they didn’t have a good relationship with CC from what I hear.
To the original poster, The Double Life of Veronique is not a “capricious choice”, it’s one of his best films and it could be argued that it’s better than the films in his Colors trilogy. The Double Life of Veronique is also one of the best films ever made, therefore it’s a great representation of Kieslowski in the Criterion Collection.
Hal Hartley’s The Unbelievable Truth and Trust as essential American indies and pieces of muse cinema. Hartley’s The Book of Life is in the collection, and thats a good movie, but those two are a pair of favorites. Even if you aren’t a fan of Hal’s style, you can’t deny his influence on American indie of the 90’s.
they should definitely try to pick up the entire Three Colors films which I doubt will happen anytime soon. Even if they just released Blue would be great. Blue is, I think, is his best film.
Has anyone watched The Furies by Anthony Mann yet, from Criterion? It looks good. I hope there will be more Mann coming. So many of his films seem to be on el cheapo dvds with grade Z transfers. Why?
I thought The Furies was great.. should probably check out some more Mann..
Also agree about Trust.. would be cool to see some Hartley in the collection.
Justin – I was blown away by The Furies. Barbara Stanwyck is icy cold. I flinched during the scene where she hurls a pair of scissors at a woman’s face and maims her. It was the most violent scene I have ever seen in any 50s film. It’s a definite must for the collection.
Thanks Mr. King and Joe. I definitely want to see this one now.
I would like to see “Two Deaths” with Michael Gambon and Sonia Braga in a nice release. The last time I saw it was on VHS and I hear that the discontinued Fox-Lorber DVD was of poor quality.
I totally agree on the fact that “Dekalog” deserves the “Criterion treatment”.
I just disagree on the fact that should come out on Blu-Ray for two reasons.
1) “Dekalog” has a 4:3 AR. The image should be somehow letterboxed (see “The Third Man”).
2) Since the series was shot in the 1980s in Poland, I don’t even know how much the video and audio quality is improveable. Don’t forget that some Hollywood films of the 1930s have a better quality than films from the ex-URSS Countries still today !!!
However, I join my scream to your voices:
- PLEASE, CRITERION, RESTORE THIS UNFORGETTABLE MASTERPIECE AND GIVE HIM THE QUALITY IT DESERVES !!! -
shbwinters
Am I the only cinefile crazy-mad about Kieslowski? Double Life is the sole film in the collection! It’s a fair-to-good transfer, but more greenish-yellow than the intended golden hues. But forget about that; his undisputed masterpiece is his Polish TV collection Dekalog. The available edition (Facets) is VHS quality and it needs to get the “Criterion Treatment.” Even better, on Blu-Ray! The same thing goes for his “Colors Trilogy” which already look ok but need a Blu-Ray treatment. Even his early documentaries could be included on some of these releases. His “lesser” films such as Camera Buff, Blind Chance, A Short Film about Loveand others need at least an SD release.
Is there a copyright issue for these films that didn’t exist for Double Life? Double Life is fantastic, but not his signature work. It’s like releasing Welles without Kane. I get that Warner still owns Kane, but who would own all but one of K’s films? Double L is at least a rather capricious “choice” to represent Kieslowski in the Criterion Collection!
Any ideas anyone?