Indications of Incoming Indicator Entertainments

[Calvin]

Bottom left is apparently Sternberg's Thunderbolt (1929)

Great! That's one Kino announcement that I won't have to import.

Hopefully Indicator give some consideration to getting Von Sternberg's debut, The Salvation Hunters, as an extra. It was restored a number of years ago by UCLA Film & Television Archive and released on DVD by Edition Filmmuseum but it would be great to get it on Blu.

[Boosmahn]

I will look out for Thunderbolt and drop Scorpion's upcoming release of The People Next Door from my wishlist to make room for Indicator's!

I wonder what the theme of the sixth Hammer box will be. This might be a stretch, but could it be "animals?" I'm not well-versed in Hammer's filmography, but I do know they produced The Abominable Snowman, which also features a killer animal/beast.

[Drucker]

Isn't it likely that we're getting Thunderbolt and She Done Him Wrong in some sort of pre-Code box? Given how rare it is for Indicator to release pre-1940s films? Also, I saw She Done Him Wrong in 35 a few years ago and really didn't think it was that great.

[domino harvey]

It's not a great movie, which is why I think people are assuming it will be part of a star-based set centered around Mae West with the extras probably being more interesting than the films!

[KJones77]

Isn't it likely that we're getting Thunderbolt and She Done Him Wrong in some sort of pre-Code box? Given how rare it is for Indicator to release pre-1940s films? Also, I saw She Done Him Wrong in 35 a few years ago and really didn't think it was that great.

They did do The Criminal Code and Twentieth Century (albeit the latter is higher profile) on their own.

Thunderbolt could be good in a set of Von Sternberg films or on its own. She Done Him Wrong smells like a Mae West set, as Domino said.

I'd be somewhat surprised to see them paired together, though a set of pre-code films would be awesome.

[senseabove]

Yeah, She Done Him Wrong's not particularly good... but I'm No Angel also just had a 4k restoration, so that seems like another thing in favor of indicating a box.

[reaky]

I wonder what the theme of the sixth Hammer box will be. This might be a stretch, but could it be "animals?" I'm not well-versed in Hammer's filmography, but I do know they produced The Abominable Snowman, which also features a killer animal/beast.

The best Hammers not yet on blu in the UK are The Quatermass Xperiment, Quatermass 2, The Abominable Snowman, X the Unknown and Frankenstein Created Woman. Throw in Shadow of the Cat, but I still can’t make a themed group out them, other than Hammer Volume Six: Eek!

[Dr Amicus]

The Ugly Duckling has been named as a likely candidate for one of the boxes, and I would add Vampire Circus as a notable absentee as a UK Hammer Blu. Actually, I don't think The Nanny or The Anniversay are out here either - could be the start of a Deadly Family box with Shadow of the Cat!

[reaky]

Duckling; Cat; Nanny; Circus. You’ve cracked it: Hammer Volume Six: Menagerie of Menace!

[domino harvey]

Who has the rights to the Nanny in the UK? It’s Fox in the states

[reaky]

Studio Canal released it last on DVD.

[colinr0380]

Sadly if the other Bette Davis Hammer, The Anniversary is a 20th Century Fox production it is probably out of reach.

[rapta]

I wonder what the theme of the sixth Hammer box will be. This might be a stretch, but could it be "animals?" I'm not well-versed in Hammer's filmography, but I do know they produced The Abominable Snowman, which also features a killer animal/beast.

The best Hammers not yet on blu in the UK are The Quatermass Xperiment, Quatermass 2, The Abominable Snowman, X the Unknown and Frankenstein Created Woman. Throw in Shadow of the Cat, but I still can’t make a themed group out them, other than Hammer Volume Six: Eek!

Hoping they do a Quatermass set comprising of The Quatermass Xperiment, Quatermass 2 and X the Unknown (I assume Quatermass and the Pit is off bounds as StudioCanal themselves released it) and would like to see The Abominable Snowman released too. Perhaps that last one will be in the next Hammer set (along with The Ugly Duckling, The Shadow of the Cat, and presumably something else less exciting).

[Dr Amicus]

There's always the pre Quatermass SF(ISH) films, HD scans permitting. Spaceways, Four Sided Triangle and a couple I can't remember off hand.

[AidanKing]

The Tavianis' 'Good Morning Babylon' is predominantly in English but I don't know who holds the rights.

[MichaelB]

I thought you were proposing that for a Hammer box for a moment!

Anyway, I’m rather fond of that film, and for multiple reasons, but I have no idea who owns the rights - it had multiple production companies, of which MK2 is geographically closest to the UK (and they released my French DVD), but that may well be meaningless.

(And it’s odd to think about Edward R. Pressman being one of the executive producers after only just reacquainting myself with his performance in Crimewave!)

[AidanKing]

Sorry, just a random post as I don't really know who else might release the film!

Do you remember how the mk2 DVD deals with the languages (i.e. is the Italian only subtitled in French; is the English translated via forced subtitles)? Don't worry if you can't remember, but thanks in advance if you can!

[MichaelB]

I always thought that it was a natural Arrow Academy title, but that’s mainly because they’ve already released three Taviani films and they’re naturally inclined towards Italian arthouse cinema.

[AidanKing]

Good point, but I think the producers of the DVDs and BluRays in question have moved on.... mainly to Indicator!?! Arrow seem to have much less interest in Italian cinema these days.

Sorry if I have turned this into a bit of a niche discussion!

[MichaelB]

Although the producer of Arrow’s Taviani box does indeed now work mainly for Indicator, he was never involved in film acquisition for either label.

[rapta]

For some reason only just realised Kino Lorber and Indicator have released many of the same titles in the recent past, including many StudioCanal titles. Would hope they'll consider things like Soldier Blue, Narrow Margin, and potentially even Ulysses (didn't notice it at first but saw that the restoration was by StudioCanal). And lots of interesting Universal titles too - Raggedy Man, Puzzle of a Downfall Child, Lonely are the Brave, Cry Freedom, Madigan, The Sign of the Cross, The Cat and the Canary, Lubitsch's Angel. I'd love to see some Clint Eastwood too (Two Mules for Sister Sara would be great).

I suppose we won't see all of those though, as the masters are probably of varying quality, and there'd obviously have to be a certain amount of appeal for their perceived audience (whereas KL seem to release everything they can get their hands on). I'm sure most of these will appear in the UK at some point anyway, I just think Indicator will make the most use of them!

[Ribs]

I would describe Indicator’s Universal licenses as fairly choose-y, in the sense there aren’t very many of them, whereas Kino licenses giant 60-title deals and releases them in like three months. So while I can imagine some overlap happens (especially as Arrow and Eureka also license from Universal) in all likelihood it would probably be helpful to just assume the Kino release will be it for most titles.

[AidanKing]

Although the producer of Arrow’s Taviani box does indeed now work mainly for Indicator, he was never involved in film acquisition for either label.

More's the pity! I suspect we might get a fantastic feast of cinema on BluRay if he was (and were to be given access to the necessary budgets, of course).

[MichaelB]

I would describe Indicator’s Universal licenses as fairly choose-y, in the sense there aren’t very many of them, whereas Kino licenses giant 60-title deals and releases them in like three months. So while I can imagine some overlap happens (especially as Arrow and Eureka also license from Universal) in all likelihood it would probably be helpful to just assume the Kino release will be it for most titles.

Yes, as was pointed out repeatedly when Indicator first launched, while it dipped into the same Sony pool as Twilight Time, it was emphatically not "the British Twilight time" and had no pretensions towards being so. And, by the same token, it's also not the British Kino Lorber, which has a vastly greater monthly output.

Realistically, the current Indicator team can't put out more than four to six titles per month without either hiring more people or cutting presentational/curatorial corners that they don't want to cut, and they also have cultural priorities of their own (for instance, a much stronger focus on British cinema), so the overlap is always going to be pretty tiny.

[patreig]

Do you remember how the mk2 DVD deals with the languages (i.e. is the Italian only subtitled in French; is the English translated via forced subtitles)? Don't worry if you can't remember, but thanks in advance if you can!

It's either no subtitles at all or French subtitles throughout the movie.