Press Release Criterion Press Release: Wall-E (2008) (4k UHD Combo) (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, I'm late to this thread. I had no idea this title was coming from Criterion! I just read Neil's review of it.

On the discussion that Criterion made its name from doing arthouse films, I must admit that I sort of started to drink fro that punchbowl too. I thought back on those early days. I actually have several of those Criterion laserdiscs of the early titles. When you look at it, its a lot of mainstream titles! I mostly remember how celebrated the release of King Kong was! And 2001: A Space Odyssey, I got that one used and in mint condition back in the day. There's also a slew of Hitchcock titles. And Blade Runner was a popular title from them on LD. I remember waiting a year for Criterion to finally get the Robocop LD released. I have quite a few of the LD's, including those mentioned above and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Graduate and A Hard Days Night and one of my favorites, Forbidden Planet too. And don't forget, they released Dr. No, From Russia With Love and GoldFinger on laserdisc with the infamous audio commentary that had to be removed. I'm glad I still have those discs. But you can probably download that commentary now.

Here's a list of the first 60 titles on laserdisc from wikipedia

Citizen Kane	Orson Welles	1941	001	1104
King Kong	Merian C. Cooper	1933	002	—
The 39 Steps	Alfred Hitchcock	1935	003	056
The Lady Vanishes	Alfred Hitchcock	1938	004	003
The Third Man	Carol Reed	1949	005	064
Swing Time	George Stevens	1936	006	979
High Noon	Fred Zinnemann	1952	007	—
Invasion of the Body Snatchers	Don Siegel	1956	008	—
The Magnificent Ambersons	Orson Welles	1942	009	952
The Seventh Seal	Ingmar Bergman	1957	010	011
The Hidden Fortress	Akira Kurosawa	1958	011	116
The Red Balloon and White Mane	Albert Lamorisse	1953 1956	CC2000L	N/A (Janus)
Lola Montès	Max Ophüls	1955	012	503
Black Orpheus	Marcel Camus	1959	013	048
Shock Corridor	Samuel Fuller	1963	015	019
Help!	Richard Lester	1965	016	—
The Graduate	Mike Nichols	1967	017	800
It's a Wonderful Life	Frank Capra	1946	018	—
Blade Runner	Ridley Scott	1982	019	—
A Hard Day's Night	Richard Lester	1964	020	711
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday	Jacques Tati	1953	021	110
Sabotage	Alfred Hitchcock	1936	022	—
Secret Agent	Alfred Hitchcock	1936	023	—
Young and Innocent	Alfred Hitchcock	1937	024	—
Grand Illusion	Jean Renoir	1937	025	001
The Asphalt Jungle	John Huston	1950	026	847
12 Angry Men	Sidney Lumet	1957	027	591
The Night of the Hunter	Charles Laughton	1955	028	541
La Strada	Federico Fellini	1954	029	219
Forbidden Games	René Clément	1952	030	318
A Night at the Opera	Sam Wood	1935	031	—
Scaramouche	George Sidney	1952	032	—
Pygmalion	Leslie Howard and Anthony Asquith	1938	033	085
Vengeance is Mine (open matte)	Shohei Imamura	1979	034	384
Fellini Satyricon	Federico Fellini	1969	035	747
The Producers	Mel Brooks	1968	036	—
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp	Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger	1943	037	173
Black Narcissus	Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger	1947	038	093
The Three Penny Opera	Georg Wilhelm Pabst	1931	039	405
The Princess Bride	Rob Reiner	1987	040	948
Tunes of Glory	Ronald Neame	1960	041	225
The Horse's Mouth	Ronald Neame	1958	042	154
Shoot the Piano Player	François Truffaut	1960	043 #	315
Monterey Pop	D. A. Pennebaker	1969	043 #	168
Show Boat	James Whale	1936	044	1021
North by Northwest	Alfred Hitchcock	1959	045	—
Adam's Rib	George Cukor	1949	047	—
Blowup	Michelangelo Antonioni	1966	048	865
Rashomon	Akira Kurosawa	1950	049	138
The Rules of the Game	Jean Renoir	1939	050	216
Singin' in the Rain	Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen	1952	052	—
Forbidden Planet	Fred M. Wilcox	1956	053	—
Zulu	Cy Endfield	1964	054	—
Darling	John Schlesinger	1965	055	—
Paths of Glory	Stanley Kubrick	1957	057	538
The Wizard of Oz	Victor Fleming	1939	059	—
2001: A Space Odyssey	Stanley Kubrick	1968	060	—

 

[jayembee]

Well, of course, it should be considered that when people talk about Criterion releasing "popular" films, they tend to mean relatively recent popular films. Vintage films that were indeed popular entertainment rather than arthouse fare -- like King Kong or The Wizard of Oz or A Night at the Opera -- tend to get a pass from people who have no trouble dismissing more modern popular films.

Blade Runner was quite an odd duck in its time. Because it flopped at the box office, I think a lot of people at the time didn't think of it as a "popular" film, and it did get props from its more artistically-minded cinematography and production. It was also the title that more than any other put Criterion on the map. That LD was talked about in all sorts of mainstream publications, and hailed as a milestone for home video.

 

[Nelson Au]

Those are good points Jerry, those are mostly vintage titles. And the dismissal of the inclusion of more modern films.

 

[B-ROLL]

Back in the day, in describing the Criterion Collection to someone who wasn't a laserdisc collector, I'd say that they were the closest thing the home video industry had to the Harvard Classics. Which in retrospect gives the wrong impression, because one wouldn't expect, say, a Stephen King novel to be a selection of the Harvard Classics. But if you're trying to create a shelf that displays a cross-section of notable 20th Century Literature (as opposed to "the best" or "most important" 20th Century Literature) a Stephen King novel would probably be a reasonable entry.

"the complete works of Jacqueline Susann, the novels of Harold Robbins… The Giants"

 

[mskaye]

"the complete works of Jacqueline Susann, the novels of Harold Robbins… The Giants"
View attachment 162393

WALL-E director Andrew Stanton talks getting the Criterion treatment

Nearly 15 years after WALL-E earned acclaim and awards, Pixar pioneer Stanton reflects on his most ambitious, and personal, project

www.avclub.com

interview w WALL E director Andrew Stanton.

 

[FincherFan]

Hey guys, I'm late to this thread. I had no idea this title was coming from Criterion! I just read Neil's review of it.

On the discussion that Criterion made its name from doing arthouse films, I must admit that I sort of started to drink fro that punchbowl too. I thought back on those early days. I actually have several of those Criterion laserdiscs of the early titles. When you look at it, its a lot of mainstream titles! I mostly remember how celebrated the release of King Kong was! And 2001: A Space Odyssey, I got that one used and in mint condition back in the day. There's also a slew of Hitchcock titles. And Blade Runner was a popular title from them on LD. I remember waiting a year for Criterion to finally get the Robocop LD released. I have quite a few of the LD's, including those mentioned above and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Graduate and A Hard Days Night and one of my favorites, Forbidden Planet too. And don't forget, they released Dr. No, From Russia With Love and GoldFinger on laserdisc with the infamous audio commentary that had to be removed. I'm glad I still have those discs. But you can probably download that commentary now.

Here's a list of the first 60 titles on laserdisc from wikipedia

Citizen Kane	Orson Welles	1941	001	1104
King Kong	Merian C. Cooper	1933	002	—
The 39 Steps	Alfred Hitchcock	1935	003	056
The Lady Vanishes	Alfred Hitchcock	1938	004	003
The Third Man	Carol Reed	1949	005	064
Swing Time	George Stevens	1936	006	979
High Noon	Fred Zinnemann	1952	007	—
Invasion of the Body Snatchers	Don Siegel	1956	008	—
The Magnificent Ambersons	Orson Welles	1942	009	952
The Seventh Seal	Ingmar Bergman	1957	010	011
The Hidden Fortress	Akira Kurosawa	1958	011	116
The Red Balloon and White Mane	Albert Lamorisse	1953 1956	CC2000L	N/A (Janus)
Lola Montès	Max Ophüls	1955	012	503
Black Orpheus	Marcel Camus	1959	013	048
Shock Corridor	Samuel Fuller	1963	015	019
Help!	Richard Lester	1965	016	—
The Graduate	Mike Nichols	1967	017	800
It's a Wonderful Life	Frank Capra	1946	018	—
Blade Runner	Ridley Scott	1982	019	—
A Hard Day's Night	Richard Lester	1964	020	711
Monsieur Hulot's Holiday	Jacques Tati	1953	021	110
Sabotage	Alfred Hitchcock	1936	022	—
Secret Agent	Alfred Hitchcock	1936	023	—
Young and Innocent	Alfred Hitchcock	1937	024	—
Grand Illusion	Jean Renoir	1937	025	001
The Asphalt Jungle	John Huston	1950	026	847
12 Angry Men	Sidney Lumet	1957	027	591
The Night of the Hunter	Charles Laughton	1955	028	541
La Strada	Federico Fellini	1954	029	219
Forbidden Games	René Clément	1952	030	318
A Night at the Opera	Sam Wood	1935	031	—
Scaramouche	George Sidney	1952	032	—
Pygmalion	Leslie Howard and Anthony Asquith	1938	033	085
Vengeance is Mine (open matte)	Shohei Imamura	1979	034	384
Fellini Satyricon	Federico Fellini	1969	035	747
The Producers	Mel Brooks	1968	036	—
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp	Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger	1943	037	173
Black Narcissus	Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger	1947	038	093
The Three Penny Opera	Georg Wilhelm Pabst	1931	039	405
The Princess Bride	Rob Reiner	1987	040	948
Tunes of Glory	Ronald Neame	1960	041	225
The Horse's Mouth	Ronald Neame	1958	042	154
Shoot the Piano Player	François Truffaut	1960	043 #	315
Monterey Pop	D. A. Pennebaker	1969	043 #	168
Show Boat	James Whale	1936	044	1021
North by Northwest	Alfred Hitchcock	1959	045	—
Adam's Rib	George Cukor	1949	047	—
Blowup	Michelangelo Antonioni	1966	048	865
Rashomon	Akira Kurosawa	1950	049	138
The Rules of the Game	Jean Renoir	1939	050	216
Singin' in the Rain	Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen	1952	052	—
Forbidden Planet	Fred M. Wilcox	1956	053	—
Zulu	Cy Endfield	1964	054	—
Darling	John Schlesinger	1965	055	—
Paths of Glory	Stanley Kubrick	1957	057	538
The Wizard of Oz	Victor Fleming	1939	059	—
2001: A Space Odyssey	Stanley Kubrick	1968	060	—

What is infamous about the commentary on Goldfinger? I never rented or purchased any Bond on LaserDisc back then.

 

[JoshZ]

What is infamous about the commentary on Goldfinger? I never rented or purchased any Bond on LaserDisc back then.

Criterion released Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Goldfinger on Laserdisc in CAV format (30 minutes per disc side) in 1991. All three discs included audio commentary tracks compiled of interview clips from each film's director and other contributors. Some of the comments on these tracks were critical of the producers (as I recall, specifically of Harry Salzman), who threatened a lawsuit. Criterion withdrew the discs from circulation and later reissued all three movies in CLV format (60 minutes per disc side) without the commentaries.

The CAV editions became hot collector's items for their "banned" audio commentaries, but they were nonetheless on store shelves for quite a while before being withdrawn, and many LD collectors were able to obtain copies.

I listened to all three tracks years ago, and they're honestly not terribly controversial. It used to be possible to find recordings hosted online on various fan sites, but I don't know if that's still the case anymore.

I managed to dig up a summary of the tracks I wrote years ago:

I've listened to all three of those commentaries. There's no one particular
remark that was enough to get the discs recalled. It's more a sum total of
many little things.

It is repeated many times that Connery was "the best Bond". Sounds like a
common assertion, but remember that the producers were still trying to keep
the series going with other actors and it doesn't sound good to admit that
their choices were inadequate.

There are a bunch of lewd comments made about actresses on the films, some
talk about Connery being lecherous behind camera, and some
less-than-politically-correct remarks about the Jamaican locals. At one
point a participant in the commentary (I think it was Peter Hunt) has some
choice words to say about Harry Salzman.

There are a few other things, but nothing truly scandalous.

 

[Kent K H]

Criterion released Dr. No, From Russia with Love, and Goldfinger on Laserdisc in CAV format (30 minutes per disc side) in 1991. All three discs included audio commentary tracks complied of interview clips from each film's director and other contributors. Some of the comments on these tracks were critical of the producers (as I recall, specifically of Harry Salzman), who threatened a lawsuit. Criterion withdrew the discs from circulation and later reissued all three movies in CLV format (60 minutes per disc side) without the commentaries.

The CAV editions became hot collector's items for their "banned" audio commentaries, but they were nonetheless on store shelves for quite a while before being withdrawn, and many LD collectors were able to obtain copies.

I listened to all three tracks years ago, and they're honestly not terribly controversial. It used to be possible to find recordings hosted online on various fan sites, but I don't know if that's still the case anymore.

I managed to dig up a summary of the tracks I wrote years ago:

I've listened to all three of those commentaries. There's no one particular
remark that was enough to get the discs recalled. It's more a sum total of
many little things.

It is repeated many times that Connery was "the best Bond". Sounds like a
common assertion, but remember that the producers were still trying to keep
the series going with other actors and it doesn't sound good to admit that
their choices were inadequate.

There are a bunch of lewd comments made about actresses on the films, some
talk about Connery being lecherous behind camera, and some
less-than-politically-correct remarks about the Jamaican locals. At one
point a participant in the commentary (I think it was Peter Hunt) has some
choice words to say about Harry Salzman.

There are a few other things, but nothing truly scandalous.

I think it's possible to find them, but I haven't done so as of yet. When I get my Plex server up, running and decked out, I'm hoping to stock it with alternative commentary tracks.

I think I remember hearing that, outside of the Salzman issue, there's also the question of reupping the permissions/licenses needed for the interviews used if they were to try to reissue them on modern releases.

 

[JoshZ]

I know we're off the subject of WALL-E, but I just went digging through old ZIP files on my hard drive until I found this clipping regarding the Criterion 007 commentaries.

 

[mskaye]

I know we're off the subject of WALL-E, but I just went digging through old ZIP files on my hard drive until I found this newspaper clipping regarding the Criterion 007 commentaries.

View attachment 175688

Apologies to RC - I know this is not WALL E. This clip is from Entertainment Weekly "back in the day." You can tell, the writing was always very good. The commentaries are out there still should you want to download and hear for yourself. I listened to all three last night I will say that I'm not surprised that Cubby and co. wanted them off the market. That said, I'm glad they are out there to hear. "Self aggrandizing innacuracies?" Probably more like "the truth hurts" shaken and stirred w just way too much candor for the Wilsons and Broccolis. It's the R. Maibaum, Terrence Young, Guy Hamilton and Peter Hunt side of the story. Ok back to Wall E.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Ok back to Wall E.

Yes. Lets, fellas.

Thanks.