I am anxious to see if Orson Welles’ THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS is ever released. It is unavailable on DVD in R1 and as far as I know the only version you can find across seas is the 88 min. studio cut, not Welles’ 148 min cut.
Also, David Cronenberg’s M. BUTTERFLY is unavailable on DVD in the US and I really want to see it.**
**EDIT: Finally did see it and it most certainly is worthy of Criterion.
that’s because welles’ cut of ambersons hasn’t existed since 1942 and never will. rko burned all the excised film.
but i assume warners will eventually release ambersons as they did kane
Truffaut’s DAY FOR NIGHT and SMALL CHANGE
I will second “Heaven’s Gate”, and add to the list
Adrian Lynne’s “Jacob’s Ladder”
“Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia”
“The Thin Man”
“The General”
“The African Queen”
“The Lady Eve”
Here’s my 2 cents:
Two Weeks in another Town
The Long Goodbye
Twentieth Century
Bad Day at Black Rock
Some good but unlikely choices. I agree with Miller. Bigger Than Life and In a Lonely Place would be great on Criterion. And what about a double feature of The Bad & The Beautiful w/ Two Weeks in Another Town.
I would voter for Peter Weir’s Fearless and R.S Brown’s suggestions
Badlands!! The other Malick films could use a good release too—maybe a New World which has both the original and extended cuts? Or a Thin Red Line with some actual features on it.
Manuel Conde’s Genghis Khan
Lino Brocka’s Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag (Manila in the Claws of Brightness)
Lav Diaz’s Melancholia
Nikita by Luc Besson. It’s currently out of print. it will be 20 years in 2010 since it’s release. And this movie is amazing. its a no brainer.
Glad to see “The Stuntman” here. Unsung for too long.
“Marketa Lazarová” … PLEASE!!!
All Terrence Malick films (including a Days of Heaven release on BluRay)
Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046
Nolan’s Following
Inarritu’s Amores Perros
The Wachowski’s Bound
Being new to this site, I’ve just now scanned this entire forum. Adam Suraf’s list left me breathless, and I’d like to cast a vote for Ford’s The Informer, (which at present has been released in region 1 soley in a box set with much less worthy companions and little by way of bonus material), and two Clouzots: Assassin Habite… and Le Mystere Picasso.
But I’ll have to admitt, I’m dismayed that after 200 plus postings, and much favor directed towards films from the French New Wave that I came across not a single call for the work of Jacques Demy. Of all the works of all the French directors of his generation, his first three films are the only ones I hold as dear and rounded as the work of the ealier masters. (Resnais doesn’t count, as he was really a hangover from the previous guard, and simply suffered a late debut.)
I think that the majority of the directors in the NW tended to be inventive as formalists—and their energy is infectuous—but their insights on all things not cinema tend to range from the obtuse to the scatalogical. Demy was an exception, and his works have a delicate insight to human character that’s rare in any medium.
So, while I’m looking forward to Marienbad, Deserto Rosso and Odd Man Out, I’d love to see tribute paid to Demy by releasing at least his first three, (nigh-flawless) films, Lola, Bay of Angels, and Umbrellas of Cherbourg in a box set—and wouldn’t mind seeing the subsequent, (but less brilliant) Young Girls of Rochefort and Model Shop alongside them.
And is there anyone else out there who’d love to see a Criterion edition of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. With bonus archival footage and commentary tracks, I’d be in Peanut heaven.
PS: Yikes! Also no prior mention of Ophuls’ Letter From an Unknown Woman; a true must have for any real film collection. And let me just throw out Blue Dahlia, and the sweet B-flic Murder By Contract for consideration.
Some Joseph Losey, like Accident and The Servant. More Alex Cox, like Repo Man and Highway Patrolman. More British directors, pretty much. :)
Pasolini’s ‘Arabian Nights’
Roman Polanski’s ‘What?’
Lindsay Anderson’s ‘O Lucky Man!’
Joseph Losey’s ‘Eva’ and ‘The Servant’
Rivette’s ‘La Belle Noiseuse’ (with ‘Divertimento’)
Rohmer’s 4 Seasons Films
Greed
Can I add Cashback to the list on British films that should be included too.
Welles’ “Magnificent Ambersons”
Ray’s “Johnny Guitar” and “On Dangerous Ground”
Huston’s “The African Queen”
and maybe even Scorsese’s “Alice doesn’t live here anymore”
I’d also add Barfly.
They need more Russian Constructavist cinema…Mother, Earth, etc.
Pudovkin and Dovzhenko are horribly underrated!
Le jour se leve
Badlands
The Magnificent Ambersons
Mr Klein
the films of Michel Gondry
Broken Blossoms (the DW Griffith version)
Strangers on a Train
Shadow of a Doubt
A Handful of Dust
Galipoli
The Town is Quiet
and more silent movies!
THE PHENIX CITY STORY
LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN
A FACE IN THE CROWD
Nashville
Silences of the Palace by Moufida Tlatli and Beau Travail by Claire Denis are two of the most extraordinary films I have ever seen…they both deserve some attention from Criterion for sure.
Weekend and City of Women
Kes
Ken Loach, 1969
Celine and Julie…
http://artforum.com/film/id=20573
I, PIERRE RIVIERE, HAVING SLAUGHTERED MY MOTHER, MY SISTER AND MY BROTHER …
Rene Allio, 1976
and absolutely all of Ken Jacobs’ films.. especially The Sky Socialist, 1965 and Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son, 1969.
and some Pavel Lungin! Taxi Blues,1990 and Luna Park, 1992
Ecliplse box set on early Fassbinder? Love is Colder than Death, Katzelmacher, Gods of the Plague, all 1969.
Red Desert
Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964
If like to see some more Kar-Wai…Fallen Angels especially…though maybe I shouldn’t complain since Chunking Express is now on there…Still though…Oh and also Ashes of Time because the available DVD transfer is terrible (even though it’s not that great of a film).
Yuan Zhang’s “LITTLE RED FLOWERS” (看上去很美), and
Jean-Luc Godard’s “TWO OR THREE THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER” (Deux ou trois choses que je sais d’elle)
The later is up there with my favourite Godard films and it’s a perfect candidate for a beautiful re-release (need we mention the coffee scene?).
Rome, Open City.
R.S. Brown
Michael Mann’s Thief
The DVD is technically OOP and available for under $15. Why?
Because it’s desperately in need of a new and worthy transfer.
This film is set in shadow. Imagine a remastered Tangerine Dream score.
If Criterion was considering Mann, this would be their first (only?) choice.
Besides, that would mean having both father and son on the label.