Radiance Films General Discussion & Wishlist

[TechnicolorAcid]

Is it possible the newsletter clue is referring to Kon Ichikawa’s I Am a Cat? After all we do know of Fran’s love of Japanese cinema and his attempts to get previous Ichikawa titles.

[sabbath]

IIRC, I Am a Cat is a Toho film, a right holder/distributor who is notoriously difficult to deal with. BFI did get Floating Clouds and Seven Samurai recently, but I guess Radiance is not the British Film Institute and I Am a Cat is not a world-renowned master's world-renowned masterpiece that can be an exception (not to dismiss Ichikawa Kon or Natsume Soseki, of course).

[TechnicolorAcid]

Well that’s disappointing, perhaps it could be a Chris Marker title or the precursor to Blood and Black Lace, Mannequin in Red then (which I hear has it’s share of cats). I could also tempt myself with Cats on Park Avenue but I’d just be kidding myself.

[What A Disgrace]

Fingers crossed for Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever.

[domino harvey]

Purring of an engine, perhaps a car movie?

[therewillbeblus]

The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun please

[dwk]

I think that is a Sony title. And I suspect it is being held back for Tarantino's Blu-ray line (if that ever materializes.)

[reaky]

Be nice if they filled some of those UK Lewton gaps - LEOPARD MAN and CURSE OF THE CAT PEOPLE.

[sabbath]

Warner. Never say never, but still, no chance.

[dwk]

It is apparently very expensive to license from Warner Brothers, so i imagine it is out of Radiance's price range.

[MichaelB]

Not so much expensive as the fact that they generally won't do it at all - and even when they do, the titles on offer are limited in the extreme.

One of the great myths about this business is "You have a deal with [X], therefore you can release anything in their catalogue!" Which isn't even vaguely true; they're unlikely to let you have their major cash cows, and if there isn't a pre-existing HD master you're almost certainly out of luck too, unless you're prepared to take on the work and expense yourself - and if it's a major, they most likely won't let you. And if they have their own plans for certain titles, even years off, those won't be available either - for instance, we've just found out why not a single one of Sony's Frank Capra titles was available for licensing, not even the comparative obscurities.

[dwk]

I don't want to spread misinformation and was just going by something that I remember Don May saying in an interview. But, yes, I'm well aware that what the studios will license out is limited for the variety of reasons you mentioned.

[mhofmann]

Not so much expensive as the fact that they generally won't do it at all - and even when they do, the titles on offer are limited in the extreme.

Limted is fine as long as it includes The Devils...

[rrenault]

Not so much expensive as the fact that they generally won't do it at all - and even when they do, the titles on offer are limited in the extreme.

One of the great myths about this business is "You have a deal with [X], therefore you can release anything in their catalogue!" Which isn't even vaguely true; they're unlikely to let you have their major cash cows, and if there isn't a pre-existing HD master you're almost certainly out of luck too, unless you're prepared to take on the work and expense yourself - and if it's a major, they most likely won't let you. And if they have their own plans for certain titles, even years off, those won't be available either - for instance, we've just found out why not a single one of Sony's Frank Capra titles was available for licensing, not even the comparative obscurities.

I do believe Criterion did the 4K masters of both Thelma & Louise and Days of Heaven themselves, although the former is an MGM title, and they do have less bargaining power than the other majors these days.

[dwk]

As I understand it, in terms of US studios, Fox (pre-mouse) and Sony are the two that did/do not allow licensees to create their own masters, but, generally, everyone else is willing to let the licensees create new masters.

[yoloswegmaster]

Would be great if they could release that second film from China that they had hinted at 2 years ago

[ryannichols7]

I appreciate the deep digs into those three countries, but realistically that's basically always what you're gonna see from Radiance, with a decent mix of US/UK and the odd Spanish release. longing for the day we see China, Greece, or Iran flags among others

[Peacock]

So many great films to release, so little time

[Matt]

I was going to snark on this hint with “A minor French film starring a venerable has-been, some Italian crime film you’ve never heard of, and a violent but arty Japanese film,” but that’s unfair. I have purchased more Radiance discs in the past few months than I have in their existence, and they’re really developing a rich catalog lately.

[What A Disgrace]

My guesses: Truffaut box, Castle of Blood (hopefully a 4K), Page of Madness.

[dwk]

I was going to snark on this hint with “A minor French film starring a venerable has-been, some Italian crime film you’ve never heard of, and a violent but arty Japanese film,” but that’s unfair. I have purchased more Radiance discs in the past few months than I have in their existence, and they’re really developing a rich catalog lately.

You wouldn't be wrong, but I'd consider such a post as positive. That type of line up much more interesting than the stuff nearly everyone else is putting out.

[Tuppence]

In a very interesting development, Weak Spot appears to be a StudioCanal licence.

[nicolas]

Great news about the SC license, hopefully they’ve made a bigger deal. Radiance have also confirmed that they’re releasing their first UHD in 2025.

[TMDaines]

"What happened? We'll be purring one month later than expected..." in the newsletter. I believe no further clues were cracked this month either.

[nicolas]

Radiance are planning these titles for 2025:

Approximately four titles per month on average (adjusted for box sets)
A Nagisa Oshima Collection
Approximately four UHD releases
Further volumes of our most well-liked box sets
Double bill collections
A New French Extremity UHD
A 1970s horror masterpiece UHD
A 1970s fantasy world debut on Blu-ray
A Palme d’Or winner
A Claudia Cardinale masterpiece
A time travel mind-bender
A slow cinema masterpiece
A ghost story
A couple of serial killers
A samurai classic
A Sundance winner
A film on the Sight and Sound 2022 poll list
A 90s crime film by a celebrated American auteur
French crime classics
Controversial classics from North America and France
Hong Kong classics!
Dostoevsky!
Animation!
Two Ermanno Olmi masterpieces!
Films by Seijun Suzuki!
Peter Fleischmann’s Weak Spot
and more...