Criterion and Paramount

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Harold Gervais · #76 Post by **Harold Gervais** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 7:20 pm

A Criterion Nashville would indeed make for a very happy day. Days of Heaven: Criterion doesn't suck either.

Narshty · #77 Post by **Narshty** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 7:27 pm

Malick now seems to be warming up to DVD (see that meaty documentary he allowed on The New World, as well as the extended version still awaiting release), so Days of Heaven sounds right on the money.

The Paramount deal is now making Nashville sound distinctly possible. I can't work out whether Paramount would consider it a big enough title to let go - today does it count as arthouse niche or fully mainstream? Its reputation is sky-high among critical circles and cineastes, but does it have the punter-in-the-street recognition that would make Paramount think twice before leasing it out to a third party? For example, Chinatown I just can't imagine them handing over, no matter how naff the current release is - it's almost on a par with The Godfather in terms of being sheerly iconic. It's the sort of film they need to hang on to to help maintain the Paramount brand and prestige. Time will tell, I suppose.

jbeall · #78 Post by **jbeall** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:32 pm

Cinephrenic wrote:Damn what's next, Chinatown?

If they can get Days of Heaven, then there a possibility for older Paramount catalog titles such as Schlesinger's Day of the Locust or Marathon Man, Frankenheimer's Seconds or Seven Days in May. Or Lumet's The Parallax View or even Altman's Nashville. I'm excited about this deal.

There's already a dvd of Day of the Locust that's still in print. (and IMHO, it was never that good a film to begin with, although I'd give it an 'A' for ambition). It's cool that there's a character named Homer Simpson, but the film is just so-so.

A quick glance at amazon.com confirms that The Parallax View and Nashville are already available as well.

Would criterion be putting out re-releases once the rights expire, or is their deal for previously unreleased films only?

CSM126 · #79 Post by **CSM126** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:41 pm

Would criterion be putting out re-releases once the rights expire, or is their deal for previously unreleased films only?

Well, considering that Days of Heaven was released previously on DVD by Paramount, it would seem re-releases are in play here.

jbeall · #80 Post by **jbeall** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:48 pm

CSM126 wrote:
Would criterion be putting out re-releases once the rights expire, or is their deal for previously unreleased films only?
Well, considering that Days of Heaven was released previously on DVD by Paramount, it would seem re-releases are in play here.

Thanks for catching that--I totally missed that it was previously released.

#81 Post by **Matt** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:53 pm

CSM126 wrote:
Would criterion be putting out re-releases once the rights expire, or is their deal for previously unreleased films only?
Well, considering that Days of Heaven was released previously on DVD by Paramount, it would seem re-releases are in play here.

Re-releases such as If...? How 'bout we all just admit that none of us know?

mrschroeder1982 · #82 Post by **mrschroeder1982** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:55 pm

One of my biggest pet peeves is buying a DVD only for a special edition (or in this case, a "better" version) to be released later. I know that the Paramount release of "Days of Heaven" has been out for a while, but I only bought it a couple months ago. So to hear that Criterion is now releasing it is a little maddening for me. Sure, I love that Criterion is going to be doing this movie and giving it the treatment it deserves (and I WILL be buying the Criterion version), but I still feel a little frustrated at buying the other version in the first place.

#83 Post by **domino harvey** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:00 pm

Some of the titles mentioned above are already being sold at Paramount's lowest price point (Nashville, Parallax View, more I'm sure), I can imagine the company being inclined to let them go for a good enough licensing fee since they're already practically letting them go as it is. I'm not saying I think that's actually going to happen, but I'd believe Days of Heaven before say Days of Thunder.

pianocrash · #84 Post by **pianocrash** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 9:26 pm

Then again, the bare-bones edition could still be available in tandem w/ the new release (i.e. Rushmore), so someone could theoretically buy Days of Heaven for $5.00 after enjoying a meal at Cracker Barrel if they really wanted to (and not spending $39.99 for a western-looking Richard Gere film). Really.

#85 Post by **Jeff** » Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:13 pm

Jeff wrote:the titles that we know for sure...are films that Paramount has not already released themselves. This leads me to believe that, like Fox, they don't want Criterion releasing discs that will compete with their own product.

Wow. Days of Heaven. I suppose I must take back what I said about the likelihood of Nashville and other Paramount properties already available on DVD. Although, with Altman gone, that one still seems like more of a long shot.

I can't imagine what they might have cooked up for supplements on Days of Heaven. Malick did allow that New World doc, but you won't find him in it. Perhaps Criterion has the rights to Rosy-Fingered Dawn or Malick's short film, Lanton Mills.

justeleblanc · #86 Post by **justeleblanc** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:02 am

iceberg58 wrote:Berlin Alexanderplatz. Night on Earth. And now, hopefully, Days of Heaven? Very happy now! Soooo... could My Dinner With Andre or Nashville or even The Long Goodbye be along soon? Would be choice!

iceberg, chill. $\:D/$

There's a better chance of Paramount releasing a special edition of Nashville than there is of Criterion releasing it. Paramount may be a shit company, but not even they would consider giving away Altman's most famous film.

Also, glad to hear you also love The Long Goodbye... easily my favorite of his. But I believe the rights are with Sony, who just released Thieves Like Us. So, don't count on it.

SEMI RELATED:
Wouldn't we rather see a company like Fox or Paramount release their own special editions of their films (such as the inexpensive Bertolucci's) rather than pay twice as much for the Criterion spine? This is an ongoing discussion, but I figured I'd bring it up again.

UNRELATED:
Did no one care that Criterion told me that they are working on a Bunuel Mexican box? I posted that from an email earlier today thinking that Bunuel fans would shit themselves (in the dinning room, no doubt.) I guess no one cares about Silvia Pinal's tits anymore.

jaredsap · #87 Post by **jaredsap** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:24 am

justeleblanc wrote:Also, glad to hear you also love The Long Goodbye... easily my favorite of his. But I believe the rights are with Sony, who just released Thieves Like Us. So, don't count on it.

The rights to THE LONG GOODBYE and THIEVES LIKE US are MGM's. (Sony did not release THIEVES LIKE US, though I guess Fox did.) If Criterion eventually convinces MGM to allow another one-off deal a la HOUSE OF GAMES, I suspect they won't go for a director who is already so well represented in their collection. If I could choose any one MGM film to go Criterion it'd be SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS.

souvenir · #88 Post by **souvenir** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 12:42 am

justeleblanc wrote:Wouldn't we rather see a company like Fox or Paramount release their own special editions of their films (such as the inexpensive Bertolucci's) rather than pay twice as much for the Criterion spine? This is an ongoing discussion, but I figured I'd bring it up again.

Why bring it back up? This has to be in contention for the worst frequently appearing complaint on this board. If faced with equal special editions from Criterion and another company then maybe someone can whine, but that's almost never the case. Few studios care about releasing these kinds of films with any supplements at all, much less interesting ones. Witness the numerous barebones MGM and Paramount titles. If people don't want the supplements, they can stick with their $15 economy editions.

A decade into DVD and there are still many, many unreleased studio films and very few of the released catalog titles have any special features. I would never begin to complain that Criterion releases (and therefore draws attention to) older Hollywood films that have been otherwise neglected on DVD.

justeleblanc wrote:Did no one care that Criterion told me that they are working on a Bunuel Mexican box? I posted that from an email earlier today thinking that Bunuel fans would shit themselves (in the dinning room, no doubt.) I guess no one cares about Silvia Pinal's tits anymore.

I may have missed it, but did Criterion specifically say they were working on a box? I interpreted what you posted to mean they would be releasing some of Bunuel's Mexican films, not necessarily together though.

BrightEyes23 · #89 Post by **BrightEyes23** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 2:57 am

didnt peerpee say somewhere along the line that The Mattei Affair is property of paramount (which was why they hadnt been able to secure the rights to it). if so, does that apply to R1 and might we expect a release?

justeleblanc · #90 Post by **justeleblanc** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 8:36 am

souvenir wrote:Why bring it back up? This has to be in contention for the worst frequently appearing complaint on this board. If faced with equal special editions from Criterion and another company then maybe someone can whine, but that's almost never the case. Few studios care about releasing these kinds of films with any supplements at all, much less interesting ones. Witness the numerous barebones MGM and Paramount titles. If people don't want the supplements, they can stick with their $15 economy editions.

Right, there's obviously a big difference between an MGM bare boner and a Criterion two discer, but I was thinking more along the lines of Paramount's CONFORMIST and Fox's FLY and Sony's PASSENGER. If given a choice between a 12 dollar Paramount Special Edition and a 30-40 dollar Criterion edition, why complain that the expensive version isnt available?

And about the Criterion Mexicans, the only two titles I was aware that Criterion owned were SIMON OF THE DESERT and EXTERMINATING ANGEL. Of the TCM movies, VIRIDIANA was already released and OLVIDADOS is Koch Lorber, and yes, they said BOX.

EDIT: I stand corrected. No box mentioned.

#91 Post by **Matt** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 10:46 am

mrschroeder1982 wrote:One of my biggest pet peeves is buying a DVD only for a special edition (or in this case, a "better" version) to be released later. I know that the Paramount release of "Days of Heaven" has been out for a while, but I only bought it a couple months ago. So to hear that Criterion is now releasing it is a little maddening for me. Sure, I love that Criterion is going to be doing this movie and giving it the treatment it deserves (and I WILL be buying the Criterion version), but I still feel a little frustrated at buying the other version in the first place.

Have you never heard of eBay? You probably paid well under $10 for the disc in the first place. Sell it now and you'll probably be out the cost of having rented the disc or less. Or raise your karma by donating it to a library.

Cinephrenic · #92 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 11:28 am

And about the Criterion Mexicans, the only two titles I was aware that Criterion owned were SIMON OF THE DESERT and EXTERMINATING ANGEL. Of the TCM movies, VIRIDIANA was already released and OLVIDADOS is Koch Lorber, and yes, they said BOX.

Those two were the only ones WE are aware of. Titles like Nazarin, El, Archibaldo, etc... are uncertain. Viridiana is more of a Spanish film so hence the release seperately. Like the other Bunuels, they might have problems with extras. Who knows...

exte · #93 Post by **exte** » Thu Jun 07, 2007 2:42 pm

Matt wrote:Or raise your karma by donating it to a library.

That's what's up. My library has zilch on Cronenberg, and they have a healthy collection, too. I may contribute to it, soon. End of summer, maybe...

Narshty · #94 Post by **Narshty** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 10:40 am

While we're all waiting for Days of Heaven, I've seen the film a couple of times but I don't think I've seen anything capture its strange, elusive magic quite like this.

Floyd · #95 Post by **Floyd** » Fri Jun 08, 2007 7:46 pm

Rod Stewart's voice makes me yearn for the days I have not lived and hope to live... if not just beyond my reach.

I think the most exciting thing about this Days of Heaven release is Malick is still active and at the time so much out of the public eye. Who knows what Malick might be able to contribute to this? He just might have some 4 hour first Days of Heaven cut sitting around.

Cinephrenic · #96 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 3:29 pm

What are the chances we see the out-of-print Looking for Mr. Goodbar?

kaujot · #97 Post by **kaujot** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 3:35 pm

I'm hoping for Don't Look Now.

miless · #98 Post by **miless** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 4:00 pm

kaujot wrote:I'm hoping for Don't Look Now.

this, to me, seems quite probable. Especially since europe has gotten several SE's of this title and Paramount have pretty much ignored it... and Roeg could probably put in a request for a Criterion release.
too "artsy" for normal Paramount fare...

the one I'm hoping for is Polanski's The Tenant... what a strange film, and definitely more probable than Chinatown or Rosemary's Baby.

Cinephrenic · #99 Post by **Cinephrenic** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 4:07 pm

Some choices:

The Day of the Locust
The Conversation
Escape from Alcatraz
Harold and Maude
Marathon Man
Nashville
The Parallax View
Seconds
Sorcerer
Sunset Blvd.
The War of the Worlds
When Worlds Collide

justeleblanc · #100 Post by **justeleblanc** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 5:02 pm

Cinephrenic wrote:Some choices:

The Day of the Locust
The Conversation
Escape from Alcatraz
Harold and Maude
Marathon Man
Nashville
The Parallax View
Seconds
Sorcerer
Sunset Blvd.
The War of the Worlds
When Worlds Collide

This whole Parallax View talk on this forum recently is strange. I saw it last month and it was just okay, Zoolander without the jokes. (Not that that's a bad thing).