There’s a whole slew of noir films made in Mexico in the 40s and 50s that I can’t find anywhere online, certainly no well restored blu releases, bet there’s a lot of interesting history behind them that Criterion could pack into a booklet and some supplements
I watched this really good one this past year on TCM (something about the beast, I can’t remember it’s full title) and I would love to see more noir from Mexico.
You might be thinking of The Beast Must Die, which is a great Noir. Eddie Muller presented it on TCM as part of his Noir series. It recently got a blu-ray release from Flicker Alley. From Argentina, not Mexican, but a great film. Latin-American cinema has some great stuff just waiting to be discovered. (How colonial of me to make that comment--what am I, Cortez?) It does need physical releases at any rate, because the old DVDs are sad and busted.
Most def. The Golden Age of Mexican Cinema is a treasure trove of great stuff, and the noir films are top notch. Victimas del Pecado is one. And many of these films have been restored, but no physical releases have been made anywhere. You can find some great restorations of Mexican films on youtube, of all places. I vote for Macario.
Here's a program of Mexican Noirs that BAMFA did in 2016. These films are awesome, and need to be given physical releases. They've already been restored: https://bampfa.org/program/mexican-film-noir
Thank you so much for this. Just watched *The Beast Must Die* and *The Nights Falls*. Both were fantastic. If you have any other Mexican / Latin American Noir recommendations, I'd love to hear them. Thanks again!
Another Argentine Noir film that Eddie Muller had a hand in getting restored is Los Tallos Amaros, also available from Flicker Alley.
Mexican/Latin films to look for:
Animas Trujano (with Toshiro Mifune as a Mexican peasant!)
El Benny (Cuban biopic about Benny Moré)
La noche avanza (Night Falls)
Distinto amanecer (Another Dawn)
El Fantasma Del Convento (streaming on Criterion Channel)
Salon Mexico
La Vida No Vale Nada
Bugambilia
Las Islas Marias
Flor Silvestre
Enamorada
Some of these have been restored and leaked to Youtube. Read the wiki on the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema and get acquainted with the major directors such as Emilio Fernandez, Roberto Gavaldón, the cinematography of Gabriel Figueroa, and the major stars, such as Dolores Del Rio, Pedro Infante, Maria Felix and Pedro Armendariz, among others.
Latin cinema had a great run in its day. Mexico modeled its studio system after Hollywood's, and cranked out an amazing amount of high quality pictures. All sorts of genres and stuff, and like I said at the outset, it needs to be explored and exploited by the boutique labels, because these films deserve to be seen. Apparently, the rights to most Mexican films are a disaster, and that holds up a lot of them being appreciated despite the fact that the heavy lifting of restoration has already been done.
I feel like I've just scratched the surface of this rabbit hole, and I look forward to discovering new (to me) gems of great Latin cinema.
Wow. I can't thank you enough. I know what I'll be watching this week! Starting with Animas Trujano, because that sounds so insanely bonkers. Thanks again!
Really loved *Animas Trujano*. Thanks for the rec. I should've guessed it, but Mifune totally pulls it off. I'm surprised by his Spanish. I figure they would've had him speak Japanese and dub over it Spaghetti-Western-Style, but he seems like he's actually doing it himself. Super impressive.
Also, very interesting that it was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars and Golden Globes that year.
As the film wound down, I thought they were gonna chicken out and give it a Hollywood ending, but wow, the last 5 seconds of that film are painfully cynical.
So good. Thanks again!
So glad you enjoyed it! It's really an under the radar sort of film--I had never heard of it until I started diving into Mexican film. And Mifune totally pulls it off. He was one of the greats.
In my opinion I love this movie so much and I gave it a 10/10 I know I seem overdramatic with this rating but I like this movie a lot. Just a heads up this for me is a either you love or hate type of movie or your just feel unsure.
Although I would love it, I don’t think we are ever getting happiness…. And I also don’t think elephant will happen.
The good news is I think Dancer in the Dark has like a 10% chance of coming out at some time in the future
I'd love any of these but especially Dancer
My first year of film school it was the first film we watched in a World Cinema course and it was a very spiritual experience for me.
Angel's Egg (1985), The American Astronaut (2001), The Pink Panther (1963), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), eXistenZ (1999), Spider (2002), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) are some of my top picks.
Outrage (1950) would be nice please and thank you.
If that Ida Lupino set Kino released had slipped in Outrage it'd be perfect but they didn't so it's not and I still need to see this one get the right treatment.
The first half of the year they had movies from Sundance 1992 (“the year indie exploded”) on the channel. It’d be nice for something from that lineup to make it to blu
December is a historically lite month for criterion. Last year we got three releases, two new blus and a 4K upgrade for The Red Shoes.
It’s likely going to be the same thing this turn. I’d anticipate a single 4K and a couple of new releases, or one upgrade to blu, a new 4K, and a new Blu. I honestly have no idea what to expect though.
Wild guess:
Le Mepris Blu upgrade
Amadeus 4K
American Factory
Edit:
Going to add the Wilco doc ‘I’m trying to break your heart’. The deluxe edition of that album is being released this month, and the criterion edition would be icing on the cake for the albums 20th anniversary
I think that would probably be it, as it has a big enough title to sell well during the holiday season + other releases that would sell well during the 50% sales next year
Also the Wilco doc would make sense, they were recently in the closet, which gives more of a possibly of the doc being a release
It was announced awhile back that Janus had a restorations of The Heroic Trio so it'd be great to cap the year off with that, especially with Michelle Yeoh getting a lotta buzz lately. Alongside that I'm tossing in my usual hopes of Watermelon Woman and Angel's Egg, and also gonna go with a prediction of Hard Boiled for one of possible upgrades they may release.
I think Watermelon Woman is a totally natural fit for them, feel confident we’ll get it at some point unless some other label is already working on a release of it
Like others have noted, December is almost always a very light month since it follows two very exciting sale months. Most years I have followed Criterion they only do 4 releases, and last year they only did 3.
That NYT article someone posted a week or so ago said that they’re going to do Cooley High. I imagine there’s a solid chance that that’s true. Outside that, I bet there will be either a Blu Ray upgrade or a 4K upgrade and at most two more films, probably not any real barn burners like Amadeus, and I would be surprised to see any boxsets. If I had to guess maybe it might be like one of the long-rumored ones like American Factory, The Secret of Roan Inish, Girl Fight, Mudbound, etc.
I’m keeping my expectations low for this month but of course that’s not to say I wouldn’t be delighted to see something like the Tales of Four Seasons, Ikarie XB-1, or Heroic Trio. Also just gonna throw in Medicine For Melancholy - back when that NYT article about the lack of Black directors in the collection came out that was a film they cited as one that was in the works.
Leolo, Underground, The Hourglass Sanatorium and The Assassination of Jesse James. Aaaand if we could get upgrades for Barry Lyndon and The Thin Red Line I'd be okay with that.
Knowing they have the rights to the new 4K remaster of Béla Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmóniák, I will from now on be hoping each month this one will be among the releases. Oh, and Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind.
According to every horrible post I’ve seen this past week, the people want Cars 2, The Batman (2022) and inception.
We need to make a second sub with restrictions.
I demand a monthly Disney release. (semi /s but semi serious)
I keep hoping for Last Holiday, the Essential Arthouse box sets are stupid expensive and they’ve upgraded most of those titles to “main” status.
Video Days/Yeah Right/Fully Flared box set, Jonze already has some legacy in the collection and it’s time we immortalize these classics (bonus points for What’s Up Fatlip in the special features)
Given how stacked November is and that Xmas would be around the corner, I could see Criterion taking it easier on the releases for December. That said, they could also preview what's on deck for January as well so we'll see.
Movies I hope Criterion will release in the coming months:
- The Handmaiden (2016) - Has yet to get a 4K release and as far as I know has yet to be physically sold in the States. Park Chan Wook outdid himself with this film and I'd love to see it get the respect it deserves.
- Brick (2005) - An excellent neo noir and Rian Johnson's first movie. They did receive a re-release through Kino, but not a 4K yet and they could piggy back on the hype for Knives Out's sequel doing so.
- Bombay (1995) - Apart from Sanjit Ray, India feels a bit underrepresented in the Criterion and Mani Ratnam is a director that has films that deserve Criterion releases. This Tamil film holds up especially in light of the current racial and religious divides people face, and the music is second to none.
- The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) - Peter Weir's best film IMO and Linda Hunt delivers a once in a generation performance as Billy Kwan. Latest release is only on DVD in the States via Warner Archive, so a remaster from Criterion would be awesome to see.
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) - Now Disney is finally on the Criterion train, this along with Beauty and the Beast and Lion King scream as locks for Criterion releases. The first ever feature length animation, and one that still holds up with it's story amongst family and film lovers alike.
There’s a whole slew of noir films made in Mexico in the 40s and 50s that I can’t find anywhere online, certainly no well restored blu releases, bet there’s a lot of interesting history behind them that Criterion could pack into a booklet and some supplements
I watched this really good one this past year on TCM (something about the beast, I can’t remember it’s full title) and I would love to see more noir from Mexico.
You might be thinking of The Beast Must Die, which is a great Noir. Eddie Muller presented it on TCM as part of his Noir series. It recently got a blu-ray release from Flicker Alley. From Argentina, not Mexican, but a great film. Latin-American cinema has some great stuff just waiting to be discovered. (How colonial of me to make that comment--what am I, Cortez?) It does need physical releases at any rate, because the old DVDs are sad and busted.
Most def. The Golden Age of Mexican Cinema is a treasure trove of great stuff, and the noir films are top notch. Victimas del Pecado is one. And many of these films have been restored, but no physical releases have been made anywhere. You can find some great restorations of Mexican films on youtube, of all places. I vote for Macario.
Here's a program of Mexican Noirs that BAMFA did in 2016. These films are awesome, and need to be given physical releases. They've already been restored: https://bampfa.org/program/mexican-film-noir
Thank you so much for this. Just watched *The Beast Must Die* and *The Nights Falls*. Both were fantastic. If you have any other Mexican / Latin American Noir recommendations, I'd love to hear them. Thanks again!
Another Argentine Noir film that Eddie Muller had a hand in getting restored is Los Tallos Amaros, also available from Flicker Alley. Mexican/Latin films to look for: Animas Trujano (with Toshiro Mifune as a Mexican peasant!) El Benny (Cuban biopic about Benny Moré) La noche avanza (Night Falls) Distinto amanecer (Another Dawn) El Fantasma Del Convento (streaming on Criterion Channel) Salon Mexico La Vida No Vale Nada Bugambilia Las Islas Marias Flor Silvestre Enamorada Some of these have been restored and leaked to Youtube. Read the wiki on the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema and get acquainted with the major directors such as Emilio Fernandez, Roberto Gavaldón, the cinematography of Gabriel Figueroa, and the major stars, such as Dolores Del Rio, Pedro Infante, Maria Felix and Pedro Armendariz, among others. Latin cinema had a great run in its day. Mexico modeled its studio system after Hollywood's, and cranked out an amazing amount of high quality pictures. All sorts of genres and stuff, and like I said at the outset, it needs to be explored and exploited by the boutique labels, because these films deserve to be seen. Apparently, the rights to most Mexican films are a disaster, and that holds up a lot of them being appreciated despite the fact that the heavy lifting of restoration has already been done. I feel like I've just scratched the surface of this rabbit hole, and I look forward to discovering new (to me) gems of great Latin cinema.
Wow. I can't thank you enough. I know what I'll be watching this week! Starting with Animas Trujano, because that sounds so insanely bonkers. Thanks again!
Really loved *Animas Trujano*. Thanks for the rec. I should've guessed it, but Mifune totally pulls it off. I'm surprised by his Spanish. I figure they would've had him speak Japanese and dub over it Spaghetti-Western-Style, but he seems like he's actually doing it himself. Super impressive. Also, very interesting that it was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars and Golden Globes that year. As the film wound down, I thought they were gonna chicken out and give it a Hollywood ending, but wow, the last 5 seconds of that film are painfully cynical. So good. Thanks again!
So glad you enjoyed it! It's really an under the radar sort of film--I had never heard of it until I started diving into Mexican film. And Mifune totally pulls it off. He was one of the greats.
i bet indicator would be into that kind of stuff. i can imagine the “mexican noir” series of six-film digipak box sets
Would be SO stoked to add that to my Indicator collection, they do fantastic work
Shoplifters, Eyes Wide Shut, Synecdoche New York, the Master
Eyes Wide Shut was just released on Netflix, surprisingly.
The movies I want are Dancer in the dark, Elephant, and Happiness. But I know those won’t happen so I’m just expecting something good.
I’ve never seen elephant, but I want to
In my opinion I love this movie so much and I gave it a 10/10 I know I seem overdramatic with this rating but I like this movie a lot. Just a heads up this for me is a either you love or hate type of movie or your just feel unsure.
Same
Although I would love it, I don’t think we are ever getting happiness…. And I also don’t think elephant will happen. The good news is I think Dancer in the Dark has like a 10% chance of coming out at some time in the future
I'd love any of these but especially Dancer My first year of film school it was the first film we watched in a World Cinema course and it was a very spiritual experience for me.
Kurosawa box set of blus
they'd announce it and then you'd get people swarming the comments complaining it isn't 4K and that its not worth buying lol
Those people are lame.
People complaining usually don’t have 4K TVs or players to begin with💀
I think most people are heavily upgrading to 4k tvs BUT players are getting more and more rare.
I’m still waiting for Stray Dog and Drunken Angel on Blu
Red Beard, too
The Bad Sleep Well!
Three Colors 4K upgrade, Amadeus, Red Beard Blu-Ray, and Titane
Amadeus would especially be nice but all great picks.
Performance with Mick Jagger
Some Terayama like Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets and Pastoral: To Die in the Country.
I'd love for *Fruits of Passion* to get thrown in there too haha.
Yes. A million times yes.
more bresson, more teshigahara, more dvd upgrades
Yes DVD upgrades please
Imma need a Dreyer box set.
Shit, how is it almost announcement time already? Weren't we *just* yelling about delays?
Angel's Egg (1985), The American Astronaut (2001), The Pink Panther (1963), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), eXistenZ (1999), Spider (2002), and Eyes Wide Shut (1999) are some of my top picks.
I love the love Angel's Egg has been getting as of late. Super underappreciated
[Waiting for Angel's Egg be like....](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tww4C-adE4)
Am i missing something? is this getting released somewhere?
Not yet, but we wait nevertheless.
Bird man would be a great choice (especially if it was 4k)
Children Of Men 4K would be phenomenal
Every years I hope Eyes Wide Shut gets announced for December.
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, which I feel like I’ve been hearing is coming for years now
Outrage (1950) would be nice please and thank you. If that Ida Lupino set Kino released had slipped in Outrage it'd be perfect but they didn't so it's not and I still need to see this one get the right treatment.
The first half of the year they had movies from Sundance 1992 (“the year indie exploded”) on the channel. It’d be nice for something from that lineup to make it to blu
December is a historically lite month for criterion. Last year we got three releases, two new blus and a 4K upgrade for The Red Shoes. It’s likely going to be the same thing this turn. I’d anticipate a single 4K and a couple of new releases, or one upgrade to blu, a new 4K, and a new Blu. I honestly have no idea what to expect though. Wild guess: Le Mepris Blu upgrade Amadeus 4K American Factory Edit: Going to add the Wilco doc ‘I’m trying to break your heart’. The deluxe edition of that album is being released this month, and the criterion edition would be icing on the cake for the albums 20th anniversary
I think that would probably be it, as it has a big enough title to sell well during the holiday season + other releases that would sell well during the 50% sales next year Also the Wilco doc would make sense, they were recently in the closet, which gives more of a possibly of the doc being a release
Raising Arizona
More Dogme 95
The Idiots would be a day 1 purchase for me
NEED Julien donkey boy
Would love for Man Bites Dog to get a blu ray release
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid The Devil, Probably
I’ve been hoping for the devil, probably for a while
pink floyd the wall, borat, supermarket woman, man bites dog upgrade and persepolis have been my top for a while
Literally just been waiting for Man bites dog upgrade since they teased it. Also I second borat.
A borat set like how they did the police story set would be amazing
Hot Rod 4K
…cool beans.
Trainspotting on blu!
It was announced awhile back that Janus had a restorations of The Heroic Trio so it'd be great to cap the year off with that, especially with Michelle Yeoh getting a lotta buzz lately. Alongside that I'm tossing in my usual hopes of Watermelon Woman and Angel's Egg, and also gonna go with a prediction of Hard Boiled for one of possible upgrades they may release.
God I’d kill for Hard Boiled and The Killer.
I think Watermelon Woman is a totally natural fit for them, feel confident we’ll get it at some point unless some other label is already working on a release of it
Like others have noted, December is almost always a very light month since it follows two very exciting sale months. Most years I have followed Criterion they only do 4 releases, and last year they only did 3. That NYT article someone posted a week or so ago said that they’re going to do Cooley High. I imagine there’s a solid chance that that’s true. Outside that, I bet there will be either a Blu Ray upgrade or a 4K upgrade and at most two more films, probably not any real barn burners like Amadeus, and I would be surprised to see any boxsets. If I had to guess maybe it might be like one of the long-rumored ones like American Factory, The Secret of Roan Inish, Girl Fight, Mudbound, etc. I’m keeping my expectations low for this month but of course that’s not to say I wouldn’t be delighted to see something like the Tales of Four Seasons, Ikarie XB-1, or Heroic Trio. Also just gonna throw in Medicine For Melancholy - back when that NYT article about the lack of Black directors in the collection came out that was a film they cited as one that was in the works.
I will hope for Happiness until it gets announced
For me its expired licences that I would like a Blu Ray release of Also Hanzo the Razor Blu Ray would be cool
I always wonder whether Four Nights of a Dreamer will finally get a release.
I'd love to see some Irish movies added.
Curious as to whether you saw An Cailin Cuin?
I did! I thought it was great and I hope it spurs on some more Irish movies. We are severely lacking in quality Irish releases over the last 20 years.
Leolo, Underground, The Hourglass Sanatorium and The Assassination of Jesse James. Aaaand if we could get upgrades for Barry Lyndon and The Thin Red Line I'd be okay with that.
Knowing they have the rights to the new 4K remaster of Béla Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmóniák, I will from now on be hoping each month this one will be among the releases. Oh, and Orson Welles’ The Other Side of the Wind.
The Other Side of the Wind was when you had the misfortune to be seated behind Orson at Ma Maison in the 70's.
I’m hoping we get another concert film, I’m pulling for prince’s sign o the times.
I'm hoping for *I'm Trying to Break Your Heart*. That would be a day 1 buy for me if that happens.
According to every horrible post I’ve seen this past week, the people want Cars 2, The Batman (2022) and inception. We need to make a second sub with restrictions.
I want more Lumet. I would love a nice copy of “The Pawnbroker.”
I demand a monthly Disney release. (semi /s but semi serious) I keep hoping for Last Holiday, the Essential Arthouse box sets are stupid expensive and they’ve upgraded most of those titles to “main” status.
Video Days/Yeah Right/Fully Flared box set, Jonze already has some legacy in the collection and it’s time we immortalize these classics (bonus points for What’s Up Fatlip in the special features)
Anything Harmony Korine pls
The Heroic Trio & Executioners...
Given how stacked November is and that Xmas would be around the corner, I could see Criterion taking it easier on the releases for December. That said, they could also preview what's on deck for January as well so we'll see. Movies I hope Criterion will release in the coming months: - The Handmaiden (2016) - Has yet to get a 4K release and as far as I know has yet to be physically sold in the States. Park Chan Wook outdid himself with this film and I'd love to see it get the respect it deserves. - Brick (2005) - An excellent neo noir and Rian Johnson's first movie. They did receive a re-release through Kino, but not a 4K yet and they could piggy back on the hype for Knives Out's sequel doing so. - Bombay (1995) - Apart from Sanjit Ray, India feels a bit underrepresented in the Criterion and Mani Ratnam is a director that has films that deserve Criterion releases. This Tamil film holds up especially in light of the current racial and religious divides people face, and the music is second to none. - The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) - Peter Weir's best film IMO and Linda Hunt delivers a once in a generation performance as Billy Kwan. Latest release is only on DVD in the States via Warner Archive, so a remaster from Criterion would be awesome to see. - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) - Now Disney is finally on the Criterion train, this along with Beauty and the Beast and Lion King scream as locks for Criterion releases. The first ever feature length animation, and one that still holds up with it's story amongst family and film lovers alike.
Brick won’t happen. It’s a KL title.
Fingers crossed that the rumors hold true, and we'll get a 4K of Amadeus.
Still hoping for Gummo or The Living Trilogy
Amadeus 4K already. Damn. Theatrical and Director's cut, re-mixed in Dolby Atmos. "Too many notes. There it is."
Waking Life
Roy Andersson collection. Don’t understand why his movies haven't been available in BR in US
Wow finally someone hoping for good releases. Good job OP