Radiance Films General Discussion & Wishlist

[rapta]

The 90s American crime film could be Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan. Arrow is only releasing it in the US, leaving UK open for another label.

I hope not, I've pre-ordered the Arrow 4K release fully expecting there to be no UK equivalent (as with Witness, The Warriors, American Gigolo). I think it's Paramount here though, so not showing up anytime soon.

Would rather see Radiance grab a different Raimi, and perhaps one that Arrow haven't managed to get yet. Imagine the scenes if they scored Darkman...

(Still befuddled why no UK label has picked up the Coen Bros' The Hudsucker Proxy yet, which has been available from Universal for years, and has had recent German and French releases...in my book it's a top tier Coen Bros film, and even if it wasn't it's still worth releasing!)

Oh yeah, they never have done whatever PDC was in that list of hints - I wonder if they waited to do Pastoral: To Die In The Country on UHD? Or maybe that's the 1970s fantasy they mentioned?

I think at this point, both the "PDC" and the "1970s fantasy world debut on Blu-ray" clues are fairly likely to be Pastoral: To Die in the Country. It was one of Fran's dream titles, and I'd be surprised if neither of those clues were for it. I assume it's been a long time coming, hence why it has been pushed into 2025.

The 90s American crime film could be Sam Raimi's A Simple Plan. Arrow is only releasing it in the US, leaving UK open for another label.

Could it be Little Odessa?

Sundance winner guess: Mark Romanek’s Static

Static would be great, somehow missed that one when I was considering Sundance winners. Would love to see Radiance resurrect obscurities like these. Not actually seen this one but loved Romanek's One Hour Photo especially, and Keith Gordon had quite the career too.

Not seen Little Odessa either, but I respect James Gray too. Think it's with Warner Bros though, so might actually be more likely from Arrow at this point.

[ryannichols7]

Hopefully HK classics include Nomad and a fixed version of Centre Stage

Someone on BR.com recently admitted Rouge was coming from a label that wasn't Eureka, so I did immediately think Radiance (if not, then 88 Films have been releasing some good tasteful HK titles). Perhaps Centre Stage will follow, and maybe Nomad too but since Eureka just announced a Patrick Tam title (The Sword), I'm inclined to think they could have got that as well.

I think it's likely that we'll see Rouge and/or Centre Stage from Radiance if it seems pretty definitive that Eureka isn't releasing them. the only holdup I see is that since Rouge does have a really good edition from Criterion, I feel like Fran is less likely to throw resources at it, whereas Eureka are (and usually add on their own unique extras), and potentially Arrow, but I don't see it being something they go for. but it is a ghost story, and that is a clue! Centre Stage seems very likely though, especially given the US disc has issues

I wonder if the Palme D'or winner could be Imamura's The Eel - the longer (Directors?) cut has never had a release here (think it came out on R4 in Australia) and would fit within the Radiance oeuvre. It's also one of the few winners of the last 40 years or so to not have been released on Blu in the UK

The have released Trenque Lauquen, She Dies Tomorrow, Suzhou River, and Visible Secret, all of which were released after The Eel.

I could see the Palme D'or title being When Father Was Away on Business, Man of Iron, or Chronicle of the Years of Fire.

I immediately though The Eel too, but I'd take Man of Iron as well (surprised Second Run didn't do it for their Wajda box). Might have suggested Un homme et une femme too, but I think Warner Bros own it.

Of course The Mattei Affair would be great but last we heard they couldn't secure the rights, despite trying for years...would be great if that had changed!

their Wajda box was the war films though, so Man of Iron wouldn't have fit. Piotr Szulkin aside, I don't see Radiance releasing more central European cinema, though I may be wrong. I think The Eel is likely, but it would surely have undergone a restoration we might've heard about by now

I think it's really likely the Palme d'or title is one of these:
O Pagador de Promessas (Duarte)
The Birds, the Bees, and the Italians (Germi)
The Mattei Affair (Rosi)
When Father Was Away on Business (Kusturica)
The Eel (Imamura)
Eternity and a Day (Angelopoulos)

and again I don't see Miracle in Milan since Criterion have a solid edition of it. it's likely Germi or Imamura, but I obviously really want it to be Angelopoulos (I've admittedly never seen one of Kusturica's films), as unlikely as it is. Rosi would be a definitive answer, and could certainly be spine #100 (would be a nice full circle moment after Working Class was spine #1), but I just don't know if he's pulled it off this soon.

Calling it now but the time travel movie is probably Alain Resnais’ Je T’Aime, Je T’Aime.

to me this seems incredibly likely. Resnais is actually pretty absent in the UK as others have noted, and I don't see any other time travel title that makes sense, unless something super obscure is what it is.

Bebo's Girl (undetermined rightsholder, but he's done others by Comencini) and Girl with a Suitcase (Titanus, who just licensed the Olmi titles) both seem like Radiance titles to me, and would be welcomed - the more Cardinale, the better. I want the French extremity title to be Trouble Every Day - I don't like that movement at all, but if I'm gonna own a movie from it, I want it to be from a director who's other films I like, and I really hate Noe

Doesn't "further volumes of our most well-liked box sets" just mean another World Noir set given that the Risi set hasn't gone through its initial run? (The Daiei is likely selling well, so that too.) If so, that would seem to eliminate a Germi version, so the Palme winner could go elsewhere. I think it's The Mattei Affair. It was a failed license in 2023, but it's something "they regularly check on", and Simeoni seems like such a Rosi fan, Salvatore Giuliano is deemed Radiance-core according to him, and he did co-produce that lovely Arrow edition. Maybe Hands over the City, too.

The Sight and Sound clue is the most interesting as it seems likely to result in the best film. The Erices are my guess. One of the Weerasethakuls seem possible and would also fulfill the slow cinema clue. Killer of Sheep seems destined for Criterion, and it doesn't seem worth it to compete with them directly. The Archers films would be a dream, but they seem too high-profile for Radiance? They seem very BFI-y. I suppose The Mother and the Whore is a possibility, but I'm holding out hopes for a no-guarantee Criterion set (M&W would sell well-enough by itself outside a potential Criterion set, surely).

I think Commedia All'Italiana 2 will happen. sure, the first one hasn't sold out but it's at 85% according to its last email, and I don't see Fran passing up the chance to release Mario Monicelli in boxset form, or Germi or Ettore Scola. World Noir 3 is likely though I'll agree, a shoe in. and there seem to be quite a few more possibilities for Daiei Ghosts

I definitely vote for Erice and I'm really convinced it's going to be them - before the label even announced a release, Fran tweeted that they had a movie on the Sight and Sound list. Viridiana was commonly guessed to be it, but now that we've seen it announced and we still have a teaser for a S&S title, I'm convinced it's Spirit of the Beehive, as it hasn't (knowingly) been restored, so the long holdup is likely its in-house restoration. Quince Tree Sun is already restored, I either see them being a double bill or getting individual releases. plus Radiance has released quite a bit of Spanish cinema at this point, I think Erice fits right in. I don't see any reason Second Run would relinquish their rights to Apichatpong's movies, which are both in print from them. Archers stand no chance with ITV and sadly Criterion hold Eustache (hostage!!!) in the UK

Oh yeah, they never have done whatever PDC was in that list of hints - I wonder if they waited to do Pastoral: To Die In The Country on UHD? Or maybe that's the 1970s fantasy they mentioned?

I think at this point, both the "PDC" and the "1970s fantasy world debut on Blu-ray" clues are fairly likely to be Pastoral: To Die in the Country. It was one of Fran's dream titles, and I'd be surprised if neither of those clues were for it. I assume it's been a long time coming, hence why it has been pushed into 2025.

this is another hinted/often rumored title where I don't see any way it's anything but this. I'll be stunned if it isn't

now can Landscape in the Mist be the slow cinema masterpiece, please???

[Finch]

The film that the "purring" clue referred to got identified on the other forum as Dominik Graf's 1988 film Die Katze and one of the cropped teaser images Radiance posted last week was also tied in to that film. If they tease a German film for February, that'll be it.

[tenia]

That'd fit with the sense the clue was giving that it should have announced /planned for earlier and got delayed, and how it was the only unannounced movie in the Bundle visual.

[nicolas]

I’m incredibly happy for this announcement. Graf is underappreciated (even in Germany) and Die Katze is a fantastic film of his, also clearly the most famous one. I hope Radiance got a new master as the current one, which was released on a very poor BD in Germany, is ancient and 1080i/25fps.

[andyli]

Very happy for this. Yeah it would have made sense that the release is imminent since these cover designs are usually finalized shortly before the announcement.

[Drucker]

Is there a Radiance title you missed out on, that you've been itching to add to your collection? A rare classic you've been having shelf-envy over? Well, you now have the chance to get your hands on some of our out-of-print titles! Now we're fully settled from our warehouse move, we were able to find some extra stock for some of our sold-out titles, which is now back in stock on the website. These include limited quantities of the following original limited edition titles:

The Bride Wore Black
Yakuza Graveyard
Thieves Like Us
Planet of the Vampires LE
World Noir Vol. 1
End Of Civilisation
Messiah of Evil SE
In addition to this, From today, Friday, 18th October, until stock runs out, every order has a chance to include one of our rarer, out-of-print titles. These were titles which we were too few in number to put on general sale, as this often causes frustration for buyers when they sell out too fast. So we're going to be giving them away, bundled free into random eligible orders.

[MichaelB]

I'd take Man of Iron as well (surprised Second Run didn't do it for their Wajda box).

Three black-and-white films from the 1950s about WWII and a colour film from the 1980s about the rise of Solidarity? Surely it would have been a much bigger surprise if they had gone down that route?

A much more comfortable box-set fit for Man of Iron would be one that also contained Man of Marble and Wałęsa: Man of Hope, although I've no idea how feasible that might be rightswise.

[Lowry_Sam]

I'd take Man of Iron as well (surprised Second Run didn't do it for their Wajda box).

A much more comfortable box-set fit for Man of Iron would be one that also contained Man of Marble and Wałęsa: Man of Hope, although I've no idea how feasible that might be rightswise.

Or even better would be in a blu-ray upgrade of the Wajda Antologia box set.

[MichaelB]

That sort of thing is only ever likely to be released within Poland, and given that Blu-ray seems to be being phased out as a format over there (new releases of Polish titles have dwindled almost to the point of nonexistence over the last couple of years), I wouldn't hold your breath.

[Stefan Andersson]

I’m incredibly happy for this announcement. Graf is underappreciated (even in Germany) and Die Katze is a fantastic film of his, also clearly the most famous one. I hope Radiance got a new master as the current one, which was released on a very poor BD in Germany, is ancient and 1080i/25fps.

Re: Dominik Graf -- his 1994 Die Sieger was recently restored for a Director´s Cut:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/2019/progra ... 00994.html

[nicolas]

I’m incredibly happy for this announcement. Graf is underappreciated (even in Germany) and Die Katze is a fantastic film of his, also clearly the most famous one. I hope Radiance got a new master as the current one, which was released on a very poor BD in Germany, is ancient and 1080i/25fps.

Re: Dominik Graf -- his 1994 Die Sieger was recently restored for a Director´s Cut:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/2019/progra ... 00994.html

Unfortunately the newly added scenes had to be sourced from a VHS tape and even more disappointingly, DNR was used for the 35mm scenes. Concorde’s Blu-ray is also quite poorly encoded. This film desperately needs another master.

[Calvin]

Since people have mentioned some Patrick Tam titles -- what's the deal with Love Massacre? There are vhs and laserdisc rips floating around out there, but is the lack of a dvd/blu-ray release due to rights, elements, or both?

I've got no idea re: rights, but there was some sort of restoration done by the Hong Kong Film Archive back in 2014.

[Calvin]

I’m incredibly happy for this announcement. Graf is underappreciated (even in Germany) and Die Katze is a fantastic film of his, also clearly the most famous one. I hope Radiance got a new master as the current one, which was released on a very poor BD in Germany, is ancient and 1080i/25fps.

Re: Dominik Graf -- his 1994 Die Sieger was recently restored for a Director´s Cut:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/2019/progra ... 00994.html

Unfortunately the newly added scenes had to be sourced from a VHS tape and even more disappointingly, DNR was used for the 35mm scenes. Concorde’s Blu-ray is also quite poorly encoded. This film desperately needs another master.

That's disappointing. Would be very keen to see Radiance release a run of Graf films like they have Tai Kato but I'll be very happy just to get The Cat.

I've been hoping that they (or any other label, really) will release more German cinema. Beyond the usual suspects, availability is pretty patchy and we're still missing some chunks from relatively well known filmmakers e.g. Petzold. Altered Innocence have managed to release a couple of DEFA films and it would be great if someone could get Konrad Wolf's films.

[nicolas]

Re: Dominik Graf -- his 1994 Die Sieger was recently restored for a Director´s Cut:
https://www.berlinale.de/en/2019/progra ... 00994.html

Unfortunately the newly added scenes had to be sourced from a VHS tape and even more disappointingly, DNR was used for the 35mm scenes. Concorde’s Blu-ray is also quite poorly encoded. This film desperately needs another master.

That's disappointing. Would be very keen to see Radiance release a run of Graf films like they have Tai Kato but I'll be very happy just to get The Cat.

I've been hoping that they (or any other label, really) will release more German cinema. Beyond the usual suspects, availability is pretty patchy and we're still missing some chunks from relatively well known filmmakers e.g. Petzold. Altered Innocence have managed to release a couple of DEFA films and it would be great if someone could get Konrad Wolf's films.

In that regard, things are dire over here and we don't really have a label any more that's genuinely interested in German classics. Universum Film, now Leonine, who did the Murnau Stiftung releases, all but transitioned to American films and usually really shoddy quality whereas Plaion have good quality releases but the vast majority of their stuff is also US cinema and arthouse classics. I think it's quite telling that there are more Fassbinder, Herzog and Wenders films available in HD in the UK than Germany.

I second your wish for more Petzold films but we've been lucky that the label that does his films, Piffl Medien, even released a Blu-ray of Afire, which is the one German film from last year with The Teacher's Lounge that got some attention internationally. Initially they only planned a DVD and the way the BD looks I'm not surprised that the latter was an afterthought. His films before Barbara are also badly in need for new restorations and apparently Yella and Jerichow received funding a while ago but since then radio silence.

[rapta]

Unfortunately the newly added scenes had to be sourced from a VHS tape and even more disappointingly, DNR was used for the 35mm scenes. Concorde’s Blu-ray is also quite poorly encoded. This film desperately needs another master.

That's disappointing. Would be very keen to see Radiance release a run of Graf films like they have Tai Kato but I'll be very happy just to get The Cat.

I've been hoping that they (or any other label, really) will release more German cinema. Beyond the usual suspects, availability is pretty patchy and we're still missing some chunks from relatively well known filmmakers e.g. Petzold. Altered Innocence have managed to release a couple of DEFA films and it would be great if someone could get Konrad Wolf's films.

In that regard, things are dire over here and we don't really have a label any more that's genuinely interested in German classics. Universum Film, now Leonine, who did the Murnau Stiftung releases, all but transitioned to American films and usually really shoddy quality whereas Plaion have good quality releases but the vast majority of their stuff is also US cinema and arthouse classics. I think it's quite telling that there are more Fassbinder, Herzog and Wenders films available in HD in the UK than Germany.

I second your wish for more Petzold films but we've been lucky that the label that does his films, Piffl Medien, even released a Blu-ray of Afire, which is the one German film from last year with The Teacher's Lounge that got some attention internationally. Initially they only planned a DVD and the way the BD looks I'm not surprised that the latter was an afterthought. His films before Barbara are also badly in need for new restorations and apparently Yella and Jerichow received funding a while ago but since then radio silence.

Recent word is that BFI are looking into doing some Herzog 4K releases soon, so things are looking up in that regard. I did try to find out if they might cover some of the films they missed before as well, but didn't hear any clarification.

As for Petzold, frustratingly most of his recent films are with Curzon, so unless they decide to give him the big expensive box set treatment, we might be waiting even longer for Blu-ray releases of his films. Not clear if they still have the rights to Yella, but they definitely have Transit, Undine and Afire (and only Transit got a disc release, DVD only). Soda released Barbara, so their rights must have expired...I wonder if a label like Radiance might be interested in rescuing it?

PS: A bit of a let-down that Curzon licensed an overwhelming number of Wenders titles only to drop the ball on the encodes to a lot of them; though they're at least making up for Paris, Texas with the upcoming 4K release (but charging £35 for the privilege of course). Not that surprised though, they've messed up numerous times before. Fassbinder has been well served by Arrow, and a few from other labels, so we're lucky that they were in such good hands.

[nicolas]

That's disappointing. Would be very keen to see Radiance release a run of Graf films like they have Tai Kato but I'll be very happy just to get The Cat.

I've been hoping that they (or any other label, really) will release more German cinema. Beyond the usual suspects, availability is pretty patchy and we're still missing some chunks from relatively well known filmmakers e.g. Petzold. Altered Innocence have managed to release a couple of DEFA films and it would be great if someone could get Konrad Wolf's films.

In that regard, things are dire over here and we don't really have a label any more that's genuinely interested in German classics. Universum Film, now Leonine, who did the Murnau Stiftung releases, all but transitioned to American films and usually really shoddy quality whereas Plaion have good quality releases but the vast majority of their stuff is also US cinema and arthouse classics. I think it's quite telling that there are more Fassbinder, Herzog and Wenders films available in HD in the UK than Germany.

I second your wish for more Petzold films but we've been lucky that the label that does his films, Piffl Medien, even released a Blu-ray of Afire, which is the one German film from last year with The Teacher's Lounge that got some attention internationally. Initially they only planned a DVD and the way the BD looks I'm not surprised that the latter was an afterthought. His films before Barbara are also badly in need for new restorations and apparently Yella and Jerichow received funding a while ago but since then radio silence.

Recent word is that BFI are looking into doing some Herzog 4K releases soon, so things are looking up in that regard. I did try to find out if they might cover some of the films they missed before as well, but didn't hear any clarification.

As for Petzold, frustratingly most of his recent films are with Curzon, so unless they decide to give him the big expensive box set treatment, we might be waiting even longer for Blu-ray releases of his films. Not clear if they still have the rights to Yella, but they definitely have Transit, Undine and Afire (and only Transit got a disc release, DVD only). Soda released Barbara, so their rights must have expired...I wonder if a label like Radiance might be interested in rescuing it?

PS: A bit of a let-down that Curzon licensed an overwhelming number of Wenders titles only to drop the ball on the encodes to a lot of them; though they're at least making up for Paris, Texas with the upcoming 4K release (but charging £35 for the privilege of course). Not that surprised though, they've messed up numerous times before. Fassbinder has been well served by Arrow, and a few from other labels, so we're lucky that they were in such good hands.

That'd be great re. BFI and Herzog titles in 4K - would love to get his classics from them. Petzold and Curzon is unfortunate. They didn't even release a DVD of Afire, so a full-on set like the Wenders, Östlund and Tarr ones seems unlikely. As great a director he is, he's not as widely renowned as them. In my opinion, a shame but what can you do. I have the Petzold collection from Plain Archive which is really nice but it's only got the films from Barbara onwards.

[Calvin]

As for Petzold, frustratingly most of his recent films are with Curzon, so unless they decide to give him the big expensive box set treatment, we might be waiting even longer for Blu-ray releases of his films. Not clear if they still have the rights to Yella, but they definitely have Transit, Undine and Afire (and only Transit got a disc release, DVD only). Soda released Barbara, so their rights must have expired...I wonder if a label like Radiance might be interested in rescuing it?

It was specifically his pre-Barbara films I was referring to, as everything from then onwards is available on English-friendly Blu-Ray. I'd love someone to pick up Toter Mann or the Ghosts Trilogy, which I think have recently been restored by Film Shift as part of the Film Heritage Funding Program .

Herzog, Fassbinder, and Wenders have all been pretty well taken care of (though I certainly wouldn't say no to some of the MIA Fassbinders) but any Helmut Kautner, Alexander Kluge, Konrad Wolf, Wolfgang Staudte, Michael Verhoeven, or Syberberg would be great

[What A Disgrace]

BFI never bothered to release huge swathes of the Herzog films on Blu, if Radiance managed to put out a box I wouldn't complain at all.

[Robin Davies]

BFI never bothered to release huge swathes of the Herzog films on Blu.

They released most of the best ones in The Werner Herzog Collection.

[MichaelB]

BFI never bothered to release huge swathes of the Herzog films on Blu

I suspect it's not a question of "not bothering" (seriously, why the accusatory tone?) so much as the fact that if you look at the films that they didn't include in the box set and eliminate the higher-profile titles like Grizzly Man where the rights wouldn't have been available, you're in a situation where the BFI's existing Herzog volume would have to have been a pretty whopping hit to justify a second volume that would only really appeal to hardcore Herzog fanatics.

What I can be certain of, as I know him very well indeed, is that the then head of BFI Video Publishing would have gone through Herzog's entire filmography totting up what was actually available in terms of rights and off-the-shelf masters (and, in the case of Even Dwarfs Started Small, the likelihood of getting it past the BBFC intact) before arriving at the box set's final line-up.

[dwk]

Shout only released their 2nd volume of Herzog titles in 2022, a full 8 years after the first box. So, safe to assume that only a handful of his films are big enough to release.

[ryannichols7]

we are getting Germany and Hong Kong announcements tomorrow in addition to the more regular USA and Japan. excited to see!

[Finch]

Please let the HK entry be Center Stage.

[nicolas]

Please let the HK entry be Center Stage.

I’d take Center Stage in a heartbeat but sadly the current 4K master is problematic as it’s grain-managed and Ritrovata yellowed. I’ve recently bought Carlotta’s Stanley Kwan 4-film collection that also includes Rouge and all four films are yellowed and DNR’d, especially Lan Yu. Fidelity did the encoding, so it’s all in the master. All of these restorations were supervised and approved by Kwan. I never thought he’d be such a digital freak like WKW and James Cameron.