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[Cosmic Bus]

This week, we’re presenting something very special on Hulu. For the first time, selections from Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation will be available there. The mission of the foundation is to preserve and present rarely screened films from around the globe, specifically from countries ill-equipped to provide funding for such restorations. Eight of these rescued films will be available for the first time in the U.S., exclusively on Hulu. Watching these rare, newly restored titles is a great way to expand your movie horizons.

Starting today, we’ll be posting a new WCF title daily, and also including them in our ongoing 101 Days of Summer series, which means that for Hulu Plus nonsubscribers, each film is free (with ads) through August 24. The title for today is The Housemaid from South Korea; upcoming selections are Senegal’s Touki Bouki, Turkey’s Law of the Border and Dry Summer, Morocco’s Trances, India and Bangladesh’s A River Called Titas, Kazakhstan’s Revenge, and Mexico’s Redes. And remember, if you sign up for Hulu Plus for just $7.99 a month, you can see all of these and the now more than eight hundred other Criterion films streaming there commercial-free, anytime.

Brighter Summer Day continues to loom just out of reach...

 

[big ander]

This week, we’re presenting something very special on Hulu. For the first time, selections from Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Foundation will be available there. The mission of the foundation is to preserve and present rarely screened films from around the globe, specifically from countries ill-equipped to provide funding for such restorations. Eight of these rescued films will be available for the first time in the U.S., exclusively on Hulu. Watching these rare, newly restored titles is a great way to expand your movie horizons.

Starting today, we’ll be posting a new WCF title daily, and also including them in our ongoing 101 Days of Summer series, which means that for Hulu Plus nonsubscribers, each film is free (with ads) through August 24. The title for today is The Housemaid from South Korea; upcoming selections are Senegal’s Touki Bouki, Turkey’s Law of the Border and Dry Summer, Morocco’s Trances, India and Bangladesh’s A River Called Titas, Kazakhstan’s Revenge, and Mexico’s Redes. And remember, if you sign up for Hulu Plus for just $7.99 a month, you can see all of these and the now more than eight hundred other Criterion films streaming there commercial-free, anytime.

Brighter Summer Day continues to loom just out of reach...

This all looks really cool. I've been meaning to get back into Hulu+ soon.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

The Housemaid and the Turkish film sound very interesting; the rest are almost as worthwhile. It's a great month for their Hulu output, that's for sure.

 

[TheKaeptain]

Which The Housemaid?

 

[big ander]

Which The Housemaid?

This one.

 

[Anastasia]

Yesss! I have waited so long for City Lights; outside of maybe Andrei Rublev on blu-ray

Spoiler

;_;

that is the Criterion release I have wanted the most.

yawn

 

[TheKaeptain]

This one.

Good. The Remake was average as fuck.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Things could be looking up for that Yang you want, Kaeptain. Switching to dual-format and releasing an obscure Korean movie hopefully means something.

 

[TheKaeptain]

Things could be looking up for that Yang you want, Kaeptain. Switching to dual-format and releasing an obscure Korean movie hopefully means something.

It's a license issue pertaining to the music in the Yang films, right?

 

[ngower]

I finally bit the bullet and subscribed to Hulu Plus. I'm in the process of migrating my 'Wish List' on Criterion.com to my 'Queue' on Hulu Plus, but I'm wondering if anyone wants to throw out some recommendations my way?

 

[BearChair]

I finally bit the bullet and subscribed to Hulu Plus. I'm in the process of migrating my 'Wish List' on Criterion.com to my 'Queue' on Hulu Plus, but I'm wondering if anyone wants to throw out some recommendations my way?

I really depends on what you like. I think all but one of Criterion's Seijun Suzuki films are available. Tokyo Drifter andl Branded to Kill are both fantastic crime movies set in 50s Japan. Tokyo Drifter is more visually interesting, but I prefer Branded to Kill's story.

Most of the Nikkatsu Noir pack is also available and worth a watch. Goke, Body Snatch from Hell to super weird and kind of worth a watch.

House is also one of the weirdest horror movies of all time and mixes stop motion, live action and animation

Genocide is a movie that just got added that is about a holocaust survivor who hates humanity and invents killer insects to destroy the planet, and Americans want to nuke the island they are on.

Pierre Etaix's Land of Milk and Honey is a great short documentary examining French morals of the 60s. Lots of humor.

Finally, Vive le Tour is a great, 20-minute documentary about the Tour de France from Louis Malle. I highly recommend it.

Personally, I love Hulu Plus. I have dropped Netflix twice in the time that I have had by Hulu subscription. It adds content contanstly in TV and movies, and there is a lot of great foreign content. They are just ending the Criterion 101 days of summer where Criterion has been added a brand new film to the service every day.

 

[ngower]

I tend to like the more melancholic and/or philosophical films. Terrence Malick's work is great. Recently watched flicks I've enjoyed include The 39 Steps and Maurice. Non-Malick favorites in the Collection include Weekend, Harold and Maude, Grey Gardens, Easy Rider and Monsoon Wedding...feel free to take a look at MyCriterion linked in the original post.

But thanks for those recommendations. That ought to get me started.

Mostly, I'm planning to use the Hulu account to go through classics I've never seen and don't want to blind buy (Ozu, Kurosawa, Bergman, etc).

[EDIT] Oh God, I watched David Gordon Green's "George Washington" tonight. The film transformed me into a sobbing mess of a puddle for the 90-odd minute runtime. So powerful.

 

[curlyfriski]

Just watched The Housemaid, damn that's a crazy film. Sorta reminded me of Nicholas Ray.

 

[swoon]

Peter Becker head of Criterion posted a thoughtful response to the Dual-Format issue today:

http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2873-why-dual-format

 

[inm8num2]

Peter Becker head of Criterion posted a thoughtful response to the Dual-Format issue today:

http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2873-why-dual-format

That was a good read. I can certainly see where they're coming from. Cut down on packaging costs, give people future-proofing. Sounds good to me.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

And to think some people at Criterionforum.com still complain about not being able to fit the Zatoichi box on their shelves...

I just wonder if Eclipse is going dual-format or if it's getting phased out. Many of the films on the label already have great materials for HD masters (as Hulu shows), so Eclipse becoming a made-on-demand deal would make sense. Poor Putney Swope being relegated to Eclipse.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Becker mentions the Eclipse series at the end of his open letter, saying that it will still be DVD-only moving forward.

 

[ngower]

Bought a TV and Blu Ray player yesterday, an act initiated by Criterion's shift to dual format (and inevitable drop of DVD). They have me firmly in their clutches...

Will likely spend the next Criterion.com sale upgrading my collection.

Which reminds me, are there any rules against selling my discs through this thread? I was gonna put up a 'master' list of which DVDs I own, in case anyone here wanted first dibs before I put them up on sites like ebay, but I don't want to break any rules and bring down the ban hammer.

 

[Haiiro Husky]

Bought a TV and Blu Ray player yesterday, an act initiated by Criterion's shift to dual format (and inevitable drop of DVD). They have me firmly in their clutches...

Will likely spend the next Criterion.com sale upgrading my collection.

Which reminds me, are there any rules against selling my discs through this thread? I was gonna put up a 'master' list of which DVDs I own, in case anyone here wanted first dibs before I put them up on sites like ebay, but I don't want to break any rules and bring down the ban hammer.

You can put them up in the BUY/SELL/TRADE thread. I've seen people sell DVDs and BluRays.

 

[codhand]

Criterion B2G1 @ Barnes & Noble -- 8/27-9/30
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Crit...ions/379003202

 

[mattiewheels]

When does the next Amazon 1/2 off sale happen? Trying to see if I should preorder the Cassavetes set or wait for a sale.

 

[codhand]

When does the next Amazon 1/2 off sale happen? Trying to see if I should preorder the Cassavetes set or wait for a sale.

the next one will be Criterion.com in about 3.5 weeks

 

[jetpacks was yes]

I have only seen the Takeshi Kitano one(not that it's included or anything just saying it's to only zatoichi movie I've seen), is this worth a blind buy?

haha, blind buy.

If you like samurai flicks (though not technically a samurai series) then you will love Zatoichi. The Kitano movie is a pretty huge departure from the series, and inferior to the originals in my opinion.

The movies are all consistently good (imagine if all 25 James Bond movies hovered around or above the quality of the early Connery movies with no dips in quality), some of them being superb (mainly the ones directed by Kenji Misumi). I bought all of the dvds back in the day, and I will definitely be picking up this blu-ray set once I get afford it. If you dig spaghetti westerns then you should dig this.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Criterion is prepping Bergman's Persona, woop woop.

Also, MoC in Oct/Nov:

Also, Olive's complete 2014 slate:

1. J'accuse! (Abel Gance, 1938)
2. Fedora (Billy Wilder, 1978)
3. The Stationmaster's Wife (Uncut Version) (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1977)
4. Caught (Max Ophüls, 1949)
5. Betty Boop: The Essential Collection Volume Three
6. Betty Boop: The Essential Colelction Volume Four
7. The Pawnbroker (Sidney Lumet, 1964)
8. Stranger on the Prowl (Joseph Losey, 1952)
9. Sleep, My Love (Douglas Sirk, 1948)
10. Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (Irving Pichel, 1948)
11. That's My Man (Frank Borzage, 1947)
12. I've Always Loved You (Frank Borzage, 1946)
13. Magnificent Doll (Frank Borzage, 1946)
14. Forever Female (Irving Rapper, 1953)
15. Up the Junction (Peter Collinson, 1968)
16. Home of the Brave (Mark Robson, 1949)
17. Johnny Come Lately (William K. Howard, 1943)
18. Flying Tigers (David Miller, 1942)
19. The North Star, plus the alternate shorter version Armored Attack (Lewis Milestone, 1943)
20. Operation Petticoat (Blake Edwards, 1959)
21. Distant Drums (Raoul Walsh, 1951)
22. Good Sam (Leo McCarey, 1948)
23. High School Confidential (Jack Arnold, 1958)
24. Love Happy (David Miller, 1949)
25. Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 1949)
26. South of St. Louis (Ray Enright, 1949)
27. Try and Get Me a.k.a The Sound of Fury (Cy Endfield, 1950)
28. So This is New York (Richard Fleischer, 1948)
29. Arch of Triumph (Lewis Milestone, 1948)
30. The Lost Moment (Martin Gabel, 1947)
31. Men in War (Anthony Mann, 1957)
32. The Other Love (André De Toth, 1947)
33. Cauldron of Blood a.k.a Blind Man's Bluff (Santos Alcocer, 1970)
34. Beware, My Lovely (Harry Horner, 1952)
35. Outrage (Ida Lupino, 1950)
36. Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (Freddie Francis, 1965)
37. Man on the Roof (Bo Widerberg, 1976)
38. Adalen 31 a.k.a The Adalen Riots (Bo Widerberg, 1969)
39. Elvira Madigan (Bo Widerberg, 1967)
40. Raven's End (Bo Widerberg, 1963)
41. Ophelia (Claude Chabrol, 1963)
42. The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers (Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, Ugo Gregoretti, Hiromichi Horikawa , Roman Polanski, 1964)
43. Guilty of Romance (Sion Sono, 2011)
44. Himizu (Sion Sono, 2011)

Gance, Ophuls, Sirk, Borzage, Wilder, those Bo Widerberg flicks... Still can't believe how killer this label has turned out to be in such a short span of time.

 

[codhand]

nosferatru cover is awesome

 

[mattiewheels]

Every copy of Nosferatu I've watched had music that never felt like it fit the movie, symphonic scores that never matched the mood. The only time I like the music was on this really old VHS with a very weird synth score. I hope some day they can find a compromise that really matches the vibe of the movie.

 

[VistraNorrez]

It looks like the best soundtrack for Nosferatu is Gillian B. Anderson and James Kessler's reconstruction of Hans Erdmann's original score. It's OOP though. Berndt Heller did a reconstruction for Kino's Ultimate Edition (and I think it's on MoC's too), which seems like a decent runner up.

I actually saw Nosferatu in a theater years ago. Wish I could remember what score it had.

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

Criterion is prepping Bergman's Persona, woop woop.

Also, MoC in Oct/Nov:


Also, Olive's complete 2014 slate:

This post just cost me a lot of money

 

[Easystride]

Criterion is prepping Bergman's Persona, woop woop.

Also, MoC in Oct/Nov:


Also, Olive's complete 2014 slate:

1. J'accuse! (Abel Gance, 1938)
2. Fedora (Billy Wilder, 1978)
3. The Stationmaster's Wife (Uncut Version) (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1977)
4. Caught (Max Ophüls, 1949)
5. Betty Boop: The Essential Collection Volume Three
6. Betty Boop: The Essential Colelction Volume Four
7. The Pawnbroker (Sidney Lumet, 1964)
8. Stranger on the Prowl (Joseph Losey, 1952)
9. Sleep, My Love (Douglas Sirk, 1948)
10. Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (Irving Pichel, 1948)
11. That's My Man (Frank Borzage, 1947)
12. I've Always Loved You (Frank Borzage, 1946)
13. Magnificent Doll (Frank Borzage, 1946)
14. Forever Female (Irving Rapper, 1953)
15. Up the Junction (Peter Collinson, 1968)
16. Home of the Brave (Mark Robson, 1949)
17. Johnny Come Lately (William K. Howard, 1943)
18. Flying Tigers (David Miller, 1942)
19. The North Star, plus the alternate shorter version Armored Attack (Lewis Milestone, 1943)
20. Operation Petticoat (Blake Edwards, 1959)
21. Distant Drums (Raoul Walsh, 1951)
22. Good Sam (Leo McCarey, 1948)
23. High School Confidential (Jack Arnold, 1958)
24. Love Happy (David Miller, 1949)
25. Sands of Iwo Jima (Allan Dwan, 1949)
26. South of St. Louis (Ray Enright, 1949)
27. Try and Get Me a.k.a The Sound of Fury (Cy Endfield, 1950)
28. So This is New York (Richard Fleischer, 1948)
29. Arch of Triumph (Lewis Milestone, 1948)
30. The Lost Moment (Martin Gabel, 1947)
31. Men in War (Anthony Mann, 1957)
32. The Other Love (André De Toth, 1947)
33. Cauldron of Blood a.k.a Blind Man's Bluff (Santos Alcocer, 1970)
34. Beware, My Lovely (Harry Horner, 1952)
35. Outrage (Ida Lupino, 1950)
36. Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (Freddie Francis, 1965)
37. Man on the Roof (Bo Widerberg, 1976)
38. Adalen 31 a.k.a The Adalen Riots (Bo Widerberg, 1969)
39. Elvira Madigan (Bo Widerberg, 1967)
40. Raven's End (Bo Widerberg, 1963)
41. Ophelia (Claude Chabrol, 1963)
42. The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers (Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, Ugo Gregoretti, Hiromichi Horikawa , Roman Polanski, 1964)
43. Guilty of Romance (Sion Sono, 2011)
44. Himizu (Sion Sono, 2011)

Gance, Ophuls, Sirk, Borzage, Wilder, those Bo Widerberg flicks... Still can't believe how killer this label has turned out to be in such a short span of time.

That Late Mizoguchi set is so mine. Streets of Shame on bluray finally!

 

[Ludovico]

Seems like Amazon just dropped Badlands and The Darjeeling Limited down to $19 and $18 respectively.

Those are the only two Criterions currently in my cart, wondering if I should bite now or just hold off until the next sale...

 

[BaronLundi]

Seems like Amazon just dropped Badlands and The Darjeeling Limited down to $19 and $18 respectively.

Those are the only two Criterions currently in my cart, wondering if I should bite now or just hold off until the next sale...

It's the Gold Box deal of the day . It won't last.

 

[Ludovico]

Oh wow, I don't even check the deals page anymore, just monitor my cart items :/


In that case, I'm definitely thinking about Thin Red Line and Three Colors instead!

 

[codhand]

dat three colors price

 

[mattiewheels]

dat three colors price

Guess I'll wait for the half off sale...

Anyone think the Decalogue might ever coming to Criterion?

 

[BaronLundi]

I think he meant it the other way around. I don't think b&n or criterion sales will have this low a price...

And as for Decalogue... I wish.

 

[big ander]

I think he meant it the other way around. I don't think b&n or criterion sales will have this low a price...

And as for Decalogue... I wish.

Won't they be about the same? Amazon has it for 42% off MSRP, the half off sale will be...50%.

still, it's Three Colors, so buy it and Veronique immediately.

also, a criterion Decalogue set would be kinda cool but (as much as I love Kieslowski) not feel as vital as other stuff they could be putting out. I thought the Facets dvds were decent, and they're apparently the worst DVD version. And the extras were already okay. If a criterion Decalogue just ported that stuff over and threw in a booklet it'd suck. If there were a wealth of new features, hell yeah.

 

[mattiewheels]

I know Decalogue was a TV series, but I suppose it was shot on film. A good reason to hope for a blu ray, I guess.

 

[codhand]

Yeah I meant it in the why does Amazon hate my wallet and keep beating it to a pulp kinda way

 

[Yes Boss!]

I know Decalogue was a TV series, but I suppose it was shot on film. A good reason to hope for a blu ray, I guess.

At the very least they could release the expanded Short Film About Killing...that one was shot by Slawomir.

 

[BaronLundi]

Some of you (especially outside the US) might be interested to know that the Criterion Zatoichi boxset is up for pre-order on dvdpacific for $156.57.

Won't they be about the same? Amazon has it for 42% off MSRP, the half off sale will be...50%.

still, it's Three Colors, so buy it and Veronique immediately.

Well... when I posted (and clicked the "buy" button the boxset was going for $34.99 (56% off) which is a steal I don't expect to see again anytime soon.

 

[Ludovico]

Some of you (especially outside the US) might be interested to know that the Criterion Zatoichi boxset is up for pre-order on dvdpacific for $156.57.


Well... when I posted (and clicked the "buy" button the boxset was going for $34.99 (56% off) which is a steal I don't expect to see again anytime soon.

If there's still a chance to cancel the order, I'd notify Amazon asap. For whatever reason, all the titles on that page were Blu's EXCEPT for Colors iirc, which was the DVD listing.
Maybe they'll still let you claim the Blu version?

 

[TheKaeptain]

I preordered Zatoichi on amazon for like $150.

 

[ngower]

Several rumors floating around that 'Breathless' is about to go out of print. Apparently Studio Canal are grabbing the rights. So if you don't already own it, you may want to consider buying it soon. Or, this is a false alarm and the internet is crazy.

 

[teepo]

at this point, it's a safe bet that every Studio Canal title that wears the Criterion badge will go out of print sooner or later.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

A shame, but they usually compensate with some sort of Blu-ray release of their own. There's worse that can happen—some movies stay out-of-print a long time after Criterion or any other boutique label loses the home video rights. That definitely won't happen with Breathless.

Criterion probably has the resources to ask back for rights to Ran and other titles they'd do justice, but they've been spending more time with Warner Bros. as of late.

 

[mattiewheels]

Is Chungking Express SC too? I can't believe that went out of print...I actually have a case for it, but no disc :'(

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Well, even stuff like Trafic and The Man Who Fell to Earth has gone OOP, and I don't think that's thanks to StudioCanal alone.

 

[ohhthegore]

Well, even stuff like Trafic and The Man Who Fell to Earth has gone OOP, and I don't think that's thanks to StudioCanal alone.

Wait Traffic is OOP??

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Trafic, not Traffic. It's the final Tati comedy.

 

[omgkitty]

Forgot today was announcement day. Looks like we might get some cool releases announced today:

Criterion Corner ‏@CriterionCorner
look for Criterion to announce a slightly more robust December lineup than usual...