Criterion and Warner Bros.

[ryannichols7]

PTA is also supposedly against UHD, I feel like I saw that somewhere. hence why Licorice Pizza only got a BD despite being shot on 70mm (how Phantom Thread happened, I'm not sure). I don't expect any of his films on the format for awhile until proven otherwise

EWS is still a likely Criterion, I feel if WB was gonna do that one they would've by now

[therewillbeblus]

The only 'news' I've read of PTA being against UHD is from speculative reddit threads based on either a) their absence, or b) other speculative YT videos relaying the same speculation. Has he ever personally spoken about the format?

[ryannichols7]

The only 'news' I've read of PTA being against UHD is from speculative reddit threads based on either a) their absence, or b) other speculative YT videos relaying the same speculation. Has he ever personally spoken about the format?

no, so definitely speculation. it does seem to be case though, as I imagine Licorice Pizza would've certainly seen a UHD release otherwise (it even had a poster included, so it wasn't exactly a tossed off studio effort). hopefully someone is able to ask him about it soon. I know Barry Sonnenfeld is someone who's spoken against it publicly

[dekadetia]

PTA is also supposedly against UHD, I feel like I saw that somewhere. hence why Licorice Pizza only got a BD despite being shot on 70mm (how Phantom Thread happened, I'm not sure). I don't expect any of his films on the format for awhile until proven otherwise

EWS is still a likely Criterion, I feel if WB was gonna do that one they would've by now

Licorice Pizza was shot on 35, not 70, but does have a UHD streaming file with HDR grading, it just doesn't have a disc release at this point.

[FrauBlucher]

I wonder if the the absence of Eyes Wide Shut, Boogie Nights, and The Wild Bunch on the mega 4K boxset from WB is because it's been licensed to Criterion. This is speculation or course, but I can't think of any reason for either of these titles to be excluded from the boxset.

Well, they can't fit everything into these box sets. There are so many other titles you can wonder about. The Adventures of Robin Hood, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Treasure of Sierra Madre and Network are several great examples of Warner Brothers' history that could've been included. I don't think the absence of titles means anything in regards to a Criterion release. It has more to do with what the WB execs in charge feels best represents their legacy.

[swo17]

Tom Hanks in Elvis

[yoloswegmaster]

The only 'news' I've read of PTA being against UHD is from speculative reddit threads based on either a) their absence, or b) other speculative YT videos relaying the same speculation. Has he ever personally spoken about the format?

It's definitely based on speculation and a baseless and useless one at that since PTA himself said that he was involved with the HDR grading on the 4K UHD of Phantom Thread. If he is so against UHD, then why bother being involved in the release of it. Licorice Pizza doesn't have a UHD despite it being available in 4K HDR on iTunes but that doesn't really mean much since there are other MGM titles such as House of Gucci, Till, and Bones and All that haven't been released on the format, so I presume it's something on the distributors end that is blocking the 4K releases.

General rule of thumb is to ignore any sort of speculation on reddit since users on there tend to be full of shit. I recall this one guy who was complaining about Floating Weeds not getting a blu upgrade but when presented with a theory that Criterion could be waiting for the original film to get a restoration so that they can upgrade the double-pack together, they arrogantly claimed that no pre-1949 Ozu film would be getting a 4K restoration. They were confirmed to be full of shit when it was revealed that Ozu's 1948 film 'A Hen in the Wind' had been restored in 4K just a few months prior to the post. Hell, I remember this one guy straight-up claim that Criterion and Janus have no relation with one another (and was being upvoted at that!), which confirmed to me that the Criterion subreddit is just straight useless.

[FrauBlucher]

Tom Hanks in Elvis

I guess the interns got a say

[yoloswegmaster]

Citizen Kane was also licensed to Criterion, and it's in the box. The reason they aren't in the box likely has more to do with the fact that the box set is a haphazardly hobbled together collection of movies.

I actually just realized that the boxset has only been found on the U.K. sites of the WB shop and Amazon, which would explain why Citizen Kane is included in the set. Maybe the U.S. version will omit CK and include something else instead? They could also be releasing the films that I mentioned as 4K standalones or including them in that 100 film Blu set that they are planning on releasing. Regardless, we've probably put more thought into the set itself than the WB executives have.

[Matt]

For those who don’t follow the Turner Classic Movies thread:

At the TCM Film Festival, Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson will be announcing a ten-year partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery and the Film Foundation for film restorations. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the resulting restorations to be released by Criterion.

[Crimlaw25]

For starters. Welles’ Journey in Fear would be nice.

[FrauBlucher]

For starters. Welles’ Journey in Fear would be nice.

As a Welles connected source told me Criterion acquired the rights of Journey into Fear at the same time they acquired Kane and Ambersons.

[ryannichols7]

For those who don’t follow the Turner Classic Movies thread:

At the TCM Film Festival, Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson will be announcing a ten-year partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery and the Film Foundation for film restorations. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the resulting restorations to be released by Criterion.

I wonder if this is where The Crowd, The Wind, and Greed get restored, among others

[beamish14]

For starters. Welles’ Journey in Fear would be nice.

As a Welles connected source told me Criterion acquired the rights of Journey into Fear at the same time they acquired Kane and Ambersons.

I have no doubt that they’ve been sitting on it for ages. WB has both cuts of it

[ryannichols7]

George Feltenstein confirmed The Roaring Twenties would be coming to bluray. I'm putting this here since we've kinda known Criterion has been sitting on it for some time, and because the way George said it on the podcast (at least to me) sounded annoyed that it's being sat on. which it surely has

someone find a way to ask him about The Lusty Men also!

[yoloswegmaster]

Here's a blast from the past. This is a list of directors who had phantom pages appear on the old site appear at the same time back in 2016:

Edward Sedgwick - The Cameraman
Tod Browning - ?
Harmony Korine - ?
John Cameron Mitchell - Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Raoul Walsh - High Sierra
Mervyn Leroy - ?
Irving Rapper - Now, Voyager
George Sidney - ?
James Whale - Show Boat
George Stevens - Woman of the Year, Swing Time

Most of the directors listed have had titles already released and it's obvious that these were a part of the WB deal since the titles listed are all licensed from WB, so the missing titles should be from them as well. I'm presuming that the missing titles are for Freaks, Gummo (or julien donkey-boy, since Criterion did say that it would be possible for them to release a Dogme title), Scaramouche, and either Little Caesar or I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang.

[MongooseCmr]

You have to wonder if Criterion’s recent financial troubles is in part due to possibly sitting on licenses for almost 8 years

[beamish14]

I have no doubt that Gummo would be a huge seller. I can’t believe how much of a cult following that film has developed

[jwo17]

I have no doubt that Gummo would be a huge seller. I can’t believe how much of a cult following that film has developed

Wholeheartedly agree and not just because I would pay A LOT of money to upgrade that 20+-year-old DVD. In the meantime, at least we have the brief scene from it on the recently released Belly UHD disc to keep us wishing

[colinr0380]

Gummo of course inspired the only notable moment of the whole of The X Factor, which may have been the most publicity it ever received!

[FrauBlucher]

Once again back to the list fetish. The original list of WB titles that went OOP and then entered the Criterion Collection...
4 to go
IN
Lone Star
Round Midnight
The Philadelphia Story
Hedwig & The Angry Inch
Bringing Up Baby
Arsenic and Old Lace
Mean Streets
Barry Lyndon

NOT YET
The Roaring Twenties
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid
O Lucky Man
Captain Blood

[captveg]

Of the released titles that were BD only I gotta think Barry Lyndon is the only one with high chances of getting a 4K UHD upgrade.

[ryannichols7]

I don't agree with that - Badlands is very likely and I'm sure enough people would buy the Before Trilogy again too, among others. Dreams and Mildred Pierce aren't exactly the biggest names and they still got the bump. the question with Badlands is where Malick's priorities are on getting his films in 4K - he rightfully went for Days of Heaven first, my bias aside, it was the only one that didn't have a 4K restoration on Bluray, only carrying a 2008 DVD era master. I'll be curious to see what comes next

[yoloswegmaster]

Of the released titles that were BD only I gotta think Barry Lyndon is the only one with high chances of getting a 4K UHD upgrade.

I could also see Hedwig & The Angry Inch getting an upgrade down the line. I think it's a title that has sold well, and it feels like it was made for the format, as the HDR will really bring the visuals of the film out.

[captveg]

I don't agree with that - Badlands is very likely and I'm sure enough people would buy the Before Trilogy again too, among others.

To clarify, I meant from that list that Frau had just posted.