Criterion U.K.

News on Criterion and Janus Films.
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dda1996a
Joined: Tue Oct 27, 2015 6:14 am

Re: Criterion U.K.

#476 Post by dda1996a » Fri Mar 22, 2019 10:34 am

Is there any way to know what older releases will be released? Already imported the US Dazed and Confused...

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tenia
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#477 Post by tenia » Fri Mar 22, 2019 3:56 pm

There's pretty much no way. Technically, they might have the UK rights for tons of stuff but at a rate of only 3 releases per month, including some new ones, there's no way to guess which older ones will be ported over.

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rapta
Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2014 5:04 pm
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#478 Post by rapta » Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:06 am

July titles confirmed as War and Peace, Swing Time, and Hedwig and the Angry Itch.

PS: Two out of three of those are Warner Bros properties, so looking hopeful for Klute in August/September...

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MichaelB
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#479 Post by MichaelB » Tue Apr 23, 2019 6:44 am

Not at all surprised about War and Peace: I was pretty certain nobody else had the UK rights, as Artificial Eye's claim must surely have elapsed years ago.

Calvin
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 11:12 am

Re: Criterion U.K.

#480 Post by Calvin » Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:31 am

War and Peace is cut in the UK for horse falls, so I fully expect Criterion to cancel it like they did Andrei Rublev.

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Dr Amicus
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#481 Post by Dr Amicus » Wed Apr 24, 2019 8:18 am

Calvin wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:31 am
War and Peace is cut in the UK for horse falls, so I fully expect Criterion to cancel it like they did Andrei Rublev.
But they didn't with the Zatoichi set - so it's a matter of wait and see I guess.

My guess is even with the trims, Criterion will probably go for it. It's a recognised property and the recent BBC production was popular, so a reissue of this version looks obvious in a way that Rublev may not be.

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rapta
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#482 Post by rapta » Wed Apr 24, 2019 2:20 pm

Also worth noting a lot of the previously-higher-priced titles are down to £17.99 over at Zoom (i.e. the official Criterion UK outlet), so if anyone was hesitating on those they're all now the same price as the 'normal' titles. These include Ugetsu, True Stories, The Magnificent Ambersons, Othello, The Tree of Life, Sex, Lies and Videotape, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Emigrants/The New Land and The Samurai Trilogy.

EDIT: spoke too soon...most of them are back up to £25.99. Odd...

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MichaelB
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#483 Post by MichaelB » Mon May 13, 2019 5:20 am

Calvin wrote:
Tue Apr 23, 2019 11:31 am
War and Peace is cut in the UK for horse falls, so I fully expect Criterion to cancel it like they did Andrei Rublev.
It looks as though you're right - I've just had this from Amazon:
Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel your order #[redacted] for "War and Peace [The Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] [2019]", as this item has been discontinued by the manufacturer

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TMDaines
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#484 Post by TMDaines » Mon May 13, 2019 5:22 am

Couldn't be more half-arsed if they tried, could they?

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rapta
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#485 Post by rapta » Mon May 13, 2019 7:17 am

Very frustrating. I wouldn't mind if they made the roughly-21 seconds of cuts, as long as we still got it in some form. Why can't they do what Arrow do with their dual-territory releases and seamlessly branch the cuts, therefore not having to cancel the release entirely?

Is it purely laziness, or a refusal to bow to censorship? If it's the latter, why did they even bother with the UK market in the first place?

Also, why secure UK rights to two major Mosfilm acquisitions and then do nothing with them? They could've released Andrei Rublev with cuts as well.

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Apperson
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#486 Post by Apperson » Mon May 13, 2019 7:22 am

I've already ordered from the new listing just in-case, but I can't imagine a different outcome at the moment.

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yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Re: Criterion U.K.

#487 Post by yoloswegmaster » Mon May 13, 2019 7:46 am

Why are people okay with censorship on here? Y'all weird.

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Apperson
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#488 Post by Apperson » Mon May 13, 2019 7:53 am

Image

Yeah, it sure is censorship to hope that a massive, internationally respected company is aware of and complies with a law that's been in place since 1984 in order to release important films in its new restoration in ANY capacity.

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yoloswegmaster
Joined: Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:57 pm

Re: Criterion U.K.

#489 Post by yoloswegmaster » Mon May 13, 2019 8:03 am

:roll: The fact that you're ok with this law means that you are for censorship.

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tenia
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#490 Post by tenia » Mon May 13, 2019 8:16 am

yoloswegmaster wrote:
Mon May 13, 2019 8:03 am
:roll: The fact that you're ok with this law means that you are for censorship.
This is a textbook straw man argument.
There is a noticeable difference between accepting that companies comply with the laws in place and being for censorship.

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Big Ben
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#491 Post by Big Ben » Mon May 13, 2019 8:18 am

I suppose I speak for myself here but some folks also don't like seeing animals hurt. Even living near farms all my life it doesn't get any easier to watch animals be slaughtered (And here they're mercifully spared the far crueler conditions of mass production farms.). I don't think anyone here is pro-censorship but I'm quite sure people are upset that Criterion isn't simply working around the required cuts and has chosen to cancel the release in some fashion.

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tenia
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#492 Post by tenia » Mon May 13, 2019 8:29 am

I'm actually more baffled that they don't even check this prior to the announcement.
Especially if it turns out to be the case for War and Peace after they ALREADY HAD the issue with Andrei Rublev but managed to comply and cut a Zatoichi movie for porting the boxset to the UK. In any case, TMDaines summed it up perfectly.

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L.A.
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#493 Post by L.A. » Mon May 13, 2019 8:37 am

Which film in the UK Zatoichi box is cut? :shock:

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tenia
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#494 Post by tenia » Mon May 13, 2019 8:46 am

The sixth one, I believe.

KJones77
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#495 Post by KJones77 » Mon May 13, 2019 8:54 am

Big Ben wrote:
Mon May 13, 2019 8:18 am
I suppose I speak for myself here but some folks also don't like seeing animals hurt. Even living near farms all my life it doesn't get any easier to watch animals be slaughtered (And here they're mercifully spared the far crueler conditions of mass production farms.). I don't think anyone here is pro-censorship but I'm quite sure people are upset that Criterion isn't simply working around the required cuts and has chosen to cancel the release in some fashion.
Same. Harm to animals has ruined my enjoyment of some films before, such as with Stromboli. To me, the scene added nothing and it was horrible to watch so I'm fine with being cut. Otherwise, I'd fast forward over it so the effect is the same for me.

That said, this is more stupid because Criterion knows the law and what will happen. Announcing it should have meant they would comply. It is not like the law is brand new or is a surprise.

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tenia
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#496 Post by tenia » Mon May 13, 2019 8:56 am

It does seem rushed and half-baked, almost at beginners' level. The law indeed isn't new nor are the concerned movies, so the required cuts are historically known. It just seem like the UK branch simply doesn't do its homework, but we also now know they also don't learn their lessons.
Oh well.

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L.A.
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#497 Post by L.A. » Mon May 13, 2019 10:04 am

tenia wrote:
Mon May 13, 2019 8:46 am
The sixth one, I believe.
Okay, thanks for that. Fortunately not Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival which is probably the best film in the set.

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colinr0380
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#498 Post by colinr0380 » Mon May 13, 2019 1:14 pm

I wonder if there potentially might be a difference to releasing the Zatoichi set a couple of years after its US release where there is time to tinker with it and edit offending moments out specifically for the UK, compared to releasing War and Peace simultaneously. Perhaps only films that are not going to present any particular censorship trouble, necessitating an entirely different edited version to be created would be able to get a simultaneous release across both territories?

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tenia
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#499 Post by tenia » Mon May 13, 2019 3:08 pm

I'd rather suppose that the Zatoichi set is a much bigger set that might, money wise, justifiy giving it more than 5 minutes of prior thoughts because of the money involved to just produce the set and acquire all the rights, whether War and Peace is only a single movie, so the financial consequences "might" be lower.

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rapta
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Re: Criterion U.K.

#500 Post by rapta » Wed May 15, 2019 4:08 pm

A very short response from SPHE UK in regards to the cancellation of War and Peace:
Simon Williams | Supply Chain | Columbia Pictures Corporation Ltd. wrote:I’m sorry but the decision has been taken not to release the title with the necessary cuts for the UK market.
No debate, then. That's that.

I sent them three paragraphs, for what it's worth, urging them to reconsider.

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