MoC Forthcoming, Wishlist, and Random Speculation

[MichaelB]

See also StudioCanal’s initially-announced “4K” master of Irréversible, which Gaspar Noe himself pointed out was a technical impossibility (beyond upscaling), since the film is to all intents and purposes a 2K video work. (Shot on 16mm, extensive digital postproduction carried out in 2K.)

[tenia]

I'm quite certain they (more or less unwillingly is the question) mixed up 4k DCPs (which might have been produced) with doing a full fledged 4k remaster.

[Finch]

Three Ages teased

[What A Disgrace]

Hopefully the package will be as stuffed as The Saphead. I don't care for either film, but the extra content on The Saphead was some of thr best supplementary material on any MoC release.

[SeizureMilk]

Can anyone provide any detail on the previous 3 films starring Buster Keaton set, meaning to get it for a while now but I need to know if the supplements are worth it compared to the Kino releases?

[Finch]

This was identified on social media as The Skyhawk (1974).

[yoloswegmaster]

Slightly earlier in the month than usual, but who is ready for another set of announcements?

In under 72 hrs time we will be presenting you with our September 2023 line-up! The announcement will take place at 3pm BST Thursday 15 June via our usual social media channels.

[yoloswegmaster]

4K UHD for Touch of Evil is being hinted at.

[Finch]

And off goes my Kino 4k.

[What A Disgrace]

I haven't even watched the Kino disc, so I'll just use this as an opportunity to do so.

[rapta]

Interesting they're doing another UHD upgrade of an MoC staple, but good news nevertheless. I wonder if they'll be able to do the same for Rumble Fish too, as I assume that's the only other Universal title they could realistically bump to 4K.

If they do get some new titles from Universal for UHD, I'd hope for things like Two Mules for Sister Sara and Sirk's Imitation of Life (that's assuming any Hitchcock, classic Universal horror or Spielberg is out-of-bounds for small boutique labels like Eureka). Both might need some regrading done I suppose, but Eureka have done that a few times where necessary, and especially for high-value titles.

They might have better luck with MGM though, as there are some glaring omissions of recent 4K restorations in the UK home video market that were handled by Criterion and Kino in the US (e.g. The Dollars Trilogy, The Great Escape, Some Like it Hot, In the Heat of the Night, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Raging Bull, Blue Velvet, The Silence of the Lambs, Thelma & Louise). I know Eureka have enquired about some MGM titles recently (via Park Circus, I assume), so let's wait and see what they come up with!

[Maltic]

And off goes my Kino 4k.

Can we expect any significant improvements?

[What A Disgrace]

Looks like the other title is She Shoots Straight, a Corey Yuen joint.

[beamish14]

Looks like the other title is She Shoots Straight, a Corey Yuen joint.

Oh, wow. I just saw a print of that at the Academy Museum. Joyce Godenzi is a marvel. INCREDIBLY melodramatic in parts, but the action is of course great, with the final hand-to-hand combat sequence being extremely brutal

[Finch]

She Shoots Straight is on my HK wishlist so I'm thrilled that it's coming.

[rapta]

Now they're teasing Valley Girl (so they did strike an MGM deal). What a fun lineup so far!

[Finch]

Amazon UK says Touch of Evil will be a 2 disc 4k set. The running time they provide adds up to the combined total of all three cuts of the film; the only question is are they going to be offering the different aspect ratios, and are they going to retain the essays from the booklet from the Nick Wrigley era?

[rapta]

A recent BBFC submission have revealed Eureka are releasing Stephen Chow's From Beijing with Love, and the tease for Thursday's announcements confirms it as an October announcement.

Similarly, there was also a recent BBFC submission for Jimmy Wang-yu's Beach of the War Gods which they teased between last Christmas and New Year, so I assume that'll be another October title.

Hoping we get Hideo Gosha's Samurai Wolf 1&2 confirmed before the end of the year. Last I heard about it they had just secured it (that was a few months ago). I wonder if they'll look into Onimasa too, as well as Imai's Cruel Tale of Bushido (which they mention in the blurb for Revenge, so seems likely).

[Finch]

Today's teaser is indeed for Beach of the War Gods.

[rapta]

And apparently Pandora's Box is finally on its way too...

[ryannichols7]

jesus, Pandora's Box was maybe the most anticipated (realistic) MOC release ever. that's a film just made for them to do, and short of the MGM silents, probably the most attainable, biggest silent they could possibly release. us silent/pre-code fans are getting spoiled by MOC and Criterion (with the Browning box) in October! spectacular stuff

[Finch]

I had lost hope that any US or UK label would upgrade Pandora's Box. I agree between this and the Browning set October is shaping up as the year's best month yet.

[Finch]

Amazon have confirmed Pandora's Box, Beach of the War Gods and From Beijing With Love for 30th and 23rd October respectively (for the HK titles). Their pricing for PB suggests that it's a hard case limited edition for the MoC title.

[rapta]

I specifically held off getting the Second Sight DVD for years in hopes of a Blu-ray, especially when it was remastered, and even the BFI toured it theatrically a few years ago (I thought maybe they would then put out a Blu-ray, even if it did feel like an obvious MoC title, but they denied they had it for home video). Glad Eureka finally made it to the finish line! This is no doubt bigger news than even their Vampyr and Caligari upgrades.

Hope they can do some more silents in the near future. Someone said there were some more Lubitsch on the horizon, and I'm surprised Eureka haven't licensed the likes of Häxan and The Phantom Carriage from SF Studios yet...let's wait and see!

[Drucker]

Really hoping they port over the excellent Louise Brooks documentary on the Criterion DVD.