Isn’t there already a thread for this?
There are several genuine auteurs: Nagisa Oshima, Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak most dramatically – who have been horribly M.I.A. for far too long. Serious discussion of, and rediscovery of their work by new audiences is very much effected by the serious difficulty in seeing a large part of their respective bodies of work. Oshima and Ray are both MAJOR 20th century filmmakers, but unless you catch it on YouTube, get something grey market, have the income to shell out three digits for something OOP, or are fortunate enough to live in a city that gets regular revivals/retrospectives (most cinephiles do not!), then you are out of luck, and basically stuck with whatever Kino/Criterion/New Yorker have gotten around to. Thus they tend to be comparatively unseen, undiscussed and unevaluated, in spite of the body of work they’ve left behind.
One could probably add Mrinal Sen (India), Emilio Fernandez (Mexico), and Youssef Chaine (Egypt) to that above list – I say that based upon what little I’ve seen, or have read about those filmmakers. I wouldn’t know for sure, because getting the opportunity to actually see (for example) any of Chahine’s 50s-60s-70s work (which sounds as though it has great potential) has been completely non-existant.
The European stuff will come out – it’s just a matter of when, and not if – even the not so stellar European stuff gets regularly picked up, by folks like TLA. The great stuff from elsewhere (except from Japan and maybe China) is so far from anyone’s radar it’s tragic.
this is the first thread on this topic i’ve found
I would love a release of all of Sion Sono’s films. They have only put out four here and there is something like six more. I agree with the above. I would be nice to see some stuff frome everywhere.
I would love for some of the New Berlin School to be released in the US (and I guess that Yella (Petzold) is going to get a US release but we need more)… Gespenster by Petzold is one of the only recent movies that I have seen and actually given a shit about, and the only way I can get it is really expensive and requires that I also buy an all region DVD player…
Almost anything by beeping ABEL GANCE !
Resnais’ L’Année Dernière à Marienbad
Godard’s Vivre Sa Vie
“Stairway to Heaven” aka “Matter of Life or Death” is a must for a U.S release; one of the best films ever made.
“Christ Stops at Eboli” is fantastic, but hard to find in its full, four plus hours version.
“The Travelling Players”, a fascinating movie, if quite a long haul.
“The Mother and the Whore”-enough said, apparently the director’s sons have always been holding out for the right distributor and the right pot of gold to come their way before giving the rights to release this, which is why it’s not available in any format, anywhere in the world, as far as I’m aware. Can’t really blame them, but their dad made a masterly piece of cinema, which demands reevaluation.
“The Hill”, with Sean Connery at his finest.
rosetta by luc and jean-pierre dardenne
Andrew-The Hill is available. The African Queen has not been on DVD in the U.S. and is long overdue.
John Ford’s “Wagon Master”, one of his best films, still only available on poor VHS copies and the occasional TCM showing.
David Cronenberg’s M. BUTTERFLY
Orson Welles’ THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS
Nicholas Ray’s BIGGER THAN LIFE
Vincente Minnelli’s TWO WEEKS IN ANOTHER TOWN
Phil Karlson’s THE PHENIX CITY STORY
Martin Scorsese’s ITALIANAMERICAN
Delmar Daves’ THE RED HOUSE (in a “real” release, not $1 DVD crap)
David Cronenberg’s THEY CAME FROM WITHIN (aka SHIVERS)
“The Land of Faraway” and “Blood Diner”
Outcast Of The Islands (Carol Reed)
The Mattei Affair (Francesco Rosi. Talk about a neglected director!)
Chimes At Midnight (Orson Welles. I guess I am not alone in this.)
Shoeshine (Vittorio De Sica)
Days And Nights In The Forest (Satyajit Ray)
The Life Of Oharu (Kenji Mizoguchi)
Summer With Monika (Ingmar Bergman)
The Beggars Opera (Peter Brook)
The Mother And The Whore (Jean Eustache)
China Is Near (Marco Bellochio)
Le Beau Serge, Kes, Arabian Nights, Jour de Fete, 2 ou 3 choses que je sais d’elle…
Adam, I heard a rumor that TCM will make a DVD of anything that they run specifically for you if you ask, and I think it’s only like $20 at least that’s what my instructor was telling me… I need to do more research…
KES
… and all those already mentioned.
I have a feeling LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD is going to be on Criterion right quick since there are new prints playing in a lot of cities right now, ala LE DOULOS from last season.
It’s a crime that Vivre Sa Vie isn’t out on Criterion, but I’m sure there are some legal issues keeping it from being re-released. MOSTLY, i think another horrible sin is the lack of a subtitled dvd for La Vie est un Long Fleuve Tranquille. I’ve never met anyone else who has seen it, and it is one of the most hilarious French comedies ever made.
Vivre sa Vie
Made in the U.S.A
Weekend needs a real release
Johnny Guitar
Voyage to Italy
and I second the Abel Gance motion
HISTOIRE DU CINEMA!
Let’s keep this to movies without a release, not just Criterion wishes (this site has enough of those) so VIVRE SA VIE and WEEKEND are out. As for Abel Gance, LA ROUE and J’ACCUSE are both currently available.
Song of the South
The early films of Wim Wenders
Everything else that isn’t already Reg1
I have Shivers Region 1…it’s been released, just old and crappy looking. Criterion should really consider looking into that particular Cronenberg title…I’d pre-order that one. :-)
Criterion is supposed to be releasing both VIVRE SA VIE and LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD, but as Antoine said, we can save those issues for another thread (especially considering they have already been released in the States, even though they’re out of print). Jacques Rivette is really poorly represented on DVD in the US (although Philippe Garrel is even worse off, with only ONE official release). Here are just a few (that haven’t been mentioned)… I made a huge list on my blog a while back.
William A. Wellman’s WINGS
Nicholas Ray’s JOHNNY GUITAR
Nicholas Ray’s PARTY GIRL
Ingmar Bergman’s THE MAGICIAN
Ingmar Bergman’s FACE TO FACE
Roberto Rossellini’s GIOVANNA D’ARC AL ROGO
Luchino Visconti’s SENSO
Luis Buñuel’s LOS OLVIDADOS
Luis Buñuel’s TRISTANA
Jacques Rivette’s L’AMOUR FOU
Jacques Rivette’s LA RELIGIEUSE
Jacques Rivette’s PARIS NOUS APPARTIENT
Jacques Rivette’s CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (a crime!)
Jacques Rivette’s L’AMOUR PAR TERRE
Robert Bresson’s UNE FEMME DOUCE
Robert Bresson’s THE DEVIL PROBABLY
Joseph Losey’s THE GO-BETWEEN
Joseph Losey’s BOOM! (A wonderful disaster!)
Joseph Losey’s A DOLL’S HOUSE
Joseph Losey’s SECRET CEREMONY
Alain Resnais’ PROVIDENCE
Alain Resnais’ JE T’AIME, JE T’AIME
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea’s MEMORIES OF UNDERDEVELOPMENT
Roman Polanski’s CUL-DE-SAC
Roman Polanski’s PIRATES
Roman Polanski’s WHAT?
Bernardo Bertolucci’s LA LUNA
Bernardo Bertolucci’s BEFORE THE REVOLUTION
Nagisa Oshima’s CRUEL STORY OF YOUTH
Louis Malle’s BLACK MOON
Louis Malle’s ZAZIE DANS LE METRO (which I detest, but whatever…)
John Huston’s WISE BLOOD
Ken Russell’s THE DEVILS
Ken Russell’s SAVAGE MESSIAH
Ken Russell’s WHORE
Ken Russell’s THE BOYFRIEND
Ken Russell’s VALENTINO
Ken Russell’s THE MUSIC LOVERS (Warner can keep LISZTOMANIA out of circulation)
Richard Brooks’ LOOKING FOR MR. GOODBAR
Marguerite Duras’ INDIA SONG
Federico Fellini’s CASANOVA
Chantal Akerman’s JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES
Hans-Jürgen Syberberg’s LUDWIG: REQUIEM FOR A VIRGIN KING
Frank Perry’s PLAY IT AS IT LAYED
Frank Perry’s DIARY OF A MAD HOUSEWIFE
Michelangelo Antonioni’s ZABRISKIE POINT
Michelangelo Antonioni’s IDENTIFICATION OF A WOMAN
Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A CITY OF SADNESS
Uli Edel’s LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN
Alejandro Jodorowsky’s SANTA SANGRE
Derek Jarman’s THE GARDEN
Peter Greenaway’s DROWNING BY NUMBERS
Peter Greenaway’s TULSE LUPER SUITCASES 1-3
Peter Greenaway’s PROSPERO’S BOOKS
Peter Greenaway’s BABY OF MACON
Terence Davies’ TERENCE DAVIES TRILOGY
Terence Davies’ DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES
Paul Schrader’s PATTY HEARST
Emir Kustarica’s BLACK CAT, WHITE CAT
Emir Kustarica’s TIME OF THE GYPSIES
Emir Kustarica’s ARIZONA DREAM
Andrei Konchalovsky’s SHY PEOPLE
Gregg Araki’s NOWHERE
Olivier Assayas’ DESORDRE
Olivier Assayas’ L’EAU FROIDE
Margarethe von Trotta’s ROSA LUXEMBURG
Andrzej Wajda’s DANTON
Jean-Jacques Beineix’s THE MOON IN THE GUTTER
Robert Altman’s COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN
Pedro Almodóvar’s LABYRINTH OF PASSION
Pedro Almodóvar’s PEPI, LUCI, BOM
Pedro Almodóvar’s HIGH HEELS
Jean-Luc Godard’s SAUVE QUI PEUT (LA VIE) (among others)
Michael Winterbottom’s I WANT YOU
André Téchiné’s ALICE ET MARTIN
André Téchiné’s LES VOLEURS
Eric Rohmer’s CONTE D’AUTOMNE
Lars von Trier’s THE IDIOTS
Ken Loach’s MY NAME IS JOE
Sally Potter’s THE TANGO LESSON
Bertrand Blier’s MON HOMME
Abel Ferrara’s MARY
Abel Ferrara’s THE ADDICTION
Claire Denis’ TROUBLE EVERY DAY
Claire Denis’ NENETTE ET BONI
Richard Linklater’s SUBURBIA
John Boorman’s BEYOND RANGOON
Hal Hartley’s FLIRT
Hal Hartley’s TRUST
Denys Arcand’s LOVE AND HUMAN REMAINS
Abbas Kiarostami’s THROUGH THE OLIVE TREES
Steven Soderbergh’s KAFKA
Steven Soderbergh’s KING OF THE HILL
Victor Nunez’s RUBY IN PARADISE
Bruce LaBruce’s SUPER 8 1/2
Bille August’s THE BEST INTENTIONS
Bigas Luna’s JAMON JAMON
Cyril Collard’s SAVAGE NIGHTS
Lukas Moodysson’s A HOLE IN MY HEART
Lukas Moodysson’s LILJA 4-EVER
Bahman Ghobadi’s A TIME FOR DRUNKEN HORSES
Sorry for the exhausting list, it’s certainly not comprehensive, but maybe I’ll get around to compiling one in January. I could also make a list just about as long of films in the past 10 years that haven’t gotten US distribution, but that would be more appropriate in another thread.
“…and that’s all she wrote.”
The Idiots had a region 1 release. I have a copy. It was in 2005 or so, but seems to be OOP now, though used copies are still available.
Lilja 4-Ever is on Netflix and can be streamed as well as rented, though it doesn’t seem to be available to buy on amazon.
‘The Idiots’ was released in Canada (I believe a censored VHS was out about ten years ago in the US), and both ‘Lilja 4-Ever’ and ‘A Hole in My Heart’ are available for rent exclusively on Netflix, but not for purchase.
Kurosawa’s first, Sugata Sanshiro.
And Japanese-language editions of all the Heisei-era Godzilla movies (1984-1995). :)
“cold water”, aka “l’eau froide” by olivier assayas
ummm…There are a few of Orson Welles’ films: Othello,Falstaff, Macbeth. if these are available in US format, please let me know.
Need to have:
John Huston’s THE AFRICAN QUEEN
John Flynn’s ROLLING THUNDER
Aki Kaurismäki DRIFTING CLOUDS
Nicholas Ray’s JOHNNY GUITAR (Like several other have already mentioned on this list).
Nice to have:
Pedro Almodóvar’s LABYRINTH OF PASSION
Friðrik Þór Friðriksson’s COLD FEVER
K.W. Fassbinder’s WORLD OF WIRES
Aki Kaurismäki JUHA
Konstantin Lopushansky LETTERS FROM A DEAD MAN
Jan Sverák AKUMULATOR 1
Julie Taymor’s FOOL’S FIRE
Rich Uncle Skeleton
This question is sometimes taken up in the front of Film Comment, but it deserves its own category on the Auteurs. Here are my picks, bias they skew heavily French.
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) — Dir. Leo McCarey
A Matter of Life and Death (1946) — Dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Napolean (1926) — Dir. Abel Gance
Le Crime de Monsieur Lange (1935) — Dir. Jean Renoir
Nouvelle Vague (1990) — Dir. Jean-Luc Godard