Criterion Signs Deal with IFC, Plans Che for December

Posted September 2, 2009 05:23 AM by Juan Calonge


IFC Films has struck an agreement with the Criterion Collection for the release of select titles from IFC's library. The first Blu-ray in the deal was 'Gomorrah', which is slated for a November 24 release, but IFC confirmed Tuesday a larger partnership between the two companies, encompassing twelve titles on Blu-ray and/or DVD. The next title in the deal is Steven Soderbergh's two-part biopic 'Che' in December. The new-release titles slated for a 2010 release include: 'Everlasting Moments' (Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick, Jan Troell, Sweden, 2008), 'Summer Hours' (L'heure d'été, Olivier Assayas, France, 2008), 'The Secret of the Grain' (La graine et le mulet, Abdellatif Kechiche, France, 2007), 'Hunger' (Steve McQueen, UK, 2007), and 'Still Walking' (Aruitemo aruitemo, Hirokazu Kore-Eda, Japan, 2008). Note that some of them may be released in standard definition only, as it just happened with Arnaud Desplechin's 'A Christmas Tale'. We shall have to wait for the individual announcements to know for sure. Upcoming library titles include Alfonso Cuarón's 'Y tu mamá también' and Christopher Nolan's debut feature film 'Following'. “From the inception of IFC Films, we modelled our acquisition strategy on Criterion's but with the intent on focusing on the auteurs of today,” IFC Films president Jonathan Sehring said. “It's a great honor and thrill for us to embark on this partnership with them. They are the golden seal of approval.” Criterion's Peter Becker added: “IFC Films has been on an incredible roll, hunting down daring international films and spotting film-makers whose work will stand the test of time. Criterion has always presented a mix of international classics and director-approved editions of important contemporary films, so this new slate of releases fits our mission perfectly.” Variety notes that IFC also has a partnership from this summer with MPI Media Group to release genre titles in bare-bones DVD editions, while reserving the right to select prestigious titles for the full “collector's edition” treatment with Criterion. “The Criterion name provides a tremendous amount of credibility and prestige, and knowing IFC has a working relationship with Criterion could give us an edge in negotiations,” said Lisa Schwartz, IFC's exec VP of sales and business development.
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News comments (38 comments)

Top reviewer

borninusa

Sep 02, 2009

Now hearing about "Che" is a nice way to wake up today.

Does this include Canada, or is it just the States? The only reason I ask is because Che has already been released here in Canada on DVD, and I was wondering if there may be some rights issues involved as far as distributors are concerned...

4dot

Sep 02, 2009

Criterion release of Following? I approve. Now Criterion just need to go region free for Blu... and they'll have my business once more. But I'm not sure that's a possibility at all.

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Penthouse

Sep 02, 2009

Alright! I was going to import Che from the UK, but now I will hold off until we get the Criterion version. Should be great!

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broganreynik

Sep 02, 2009

Great news! Hopefully Hunger actually does come to Blu.

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TeresofBlood

Sep 02, 2009

YES!!!! Following is one of my biggest early inspirations as an aspiring filmmaker - a true indie done right.

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fdm

Sep 02, 2009

Hope they do go blu on Che...

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Weirded Wonder

Sep 02, 2009

What can I Che. This news brought a smile to my chubby face.

rmainhammer

Sep 02, 2009

They have to put Che on Blu. It wouldn't be right otherwise.

adh56

Sep 02, 2009

Good news indeed!

Top reviewer

Moefiz

Sep 02, 2009

Gomorrah and Che....good news.I was waiting patiently for these two to be announce for the US market.

ksc2303

Sep 02, 2009

Still Walking is a great movie, I really hope they release it on Blu. Would be awesome if they get Nobody Knows as well.

BLUCanadian

Sep 02, 2009

Victor Wright - the DVDs have been released in both the USA & Canada. I am sure the blu-ray of Che will be available in Canada.

GaS

Sep 02, 2009

They can keep their murderer glorifying movie thank you.

ShellOilJunior

Sep 02, 2009

This has been rumored for a while but this confirms it.

hookem2845

Sep 02, 2009

Wow, Che and Y Tu Mama, Tambien on Blu!!!

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hardcorefrokid

Sep 02, 2009

Sweet.

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nathanp

Sep 02, 2009

Criterion and IFC together is the best union since Fred and Wilma, love it!

esko1

Sep 02, 2009

i will definetly pick up gomorrah and che!

Seretur

Sep 02, 2009

I certainly hope that ALL of these films receive a Blu-ray edition.

Masters should be easy enough to procure, and Criterion's recent gripe that (quoting from memory) 30-50% of their buyers switched to Blu-ray in releases that featured it, but that the new format did not bring new buyers, is moot.

MORE than moot. How exactly is BD supposed to increase the number of cinephiles anywhere? Existing cinephiles have been buying the DVD, now more and more of them buy Blu-ray. Yes, it's pricier for them to produce, for now, and yes, that tends to shrink the profit margin since they match the DVD and BD pricing, but then that should have been the gripe.

Anyway. We were shortchanged for a lot of good releases this year which never materialized on Blu, including "A Christmas Tale", as Juan notes. That's one trend I'd like to see go away in 2010, and having a deal to release excellent recent films with readily available 1080p masters should help to that end.

apollo92178

Sep 02, 2009

Been looking forward to finally watching Che. Funny but is it me or was that movie not even promoted at all in the U.S.? I found out about it by accident and I've had it on my netflix queue for about 5 months.

jmcy2k

Sep 02, 2009

I've read this article and a few others online, and none of them seem to officially confirm that Che is coming out on Blu-Ray via Criterion. If anyone finds confirmation, please post it.

jmcy2k

Sep 02, 2009

I tend to think it will be released on BD, as Europe already has it.

Criterion should formally announce Che on/around Sept 15th, so we'll know by then at the latest.

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Semp1

Sep 02, 2009

CHE is definately blu it's been out on DVD

Minimejer05

Sep 02, 2009

YES!! CHE!!! IFC tends to have some amazing films. A Christmas Tale was awesome...no blu ray release bothers me

evanznotdead

Sep 02, 2009

You can rent Che at Blockbuster.....but I don't think you can get it any other way, I could be
wrong?

jmcy2k

Sep 02, 2009

Here's the only article I've found that say it definitively, but no legit source:

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/indiefile/criterion-inks-with-ifc-films

Top reviewer

fettastic

Sep 02, 2009

Unfortunately I found Che incredibly boring. Admittedly I've only seen the first hour or so, but MAN! Maybe it picks up later on.

jmcy2k

Sep 02, 2009

Another article that says BD is coming:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/2009/09/01/criterion_signs_ifc_deal_10_titles_on_tap_so_far/

fullyalive76

Sep 02, 2009

Great, now you can see in crystal clear quality the murdering hero of liberals everywhere. Disgusting how many of you support this garbage.

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blugojira

Sep 02, 2009

hey criterion.RELEASE 7SAMURAI

FuzzehDyce

Sep 02, 2009

Let's hope the release Antichrist on Blu-ray! *faints* It should be easy since it was filmed with the RED One camera (and some on the Phantom HD). <3 <3 <3 I love this news!

GORT

Sep 02, 2009

I wonder how many people really know who and what Che was

Elvis

Sep 02, 2009

I do. Do you?

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Octavio

Sep 03, 2009

'Che' and 'Y tu mamá también' on Blu! I couldn't be any happier!

JTStarkiller

Sep 03, 2009

Che, Following, and Y Tu Mama Tambien? That's good news overload.

Riff Magnum

Sep 04, 2009

The Che haters need to chill. No one freaks out when a movie about Hitler, Napoleon, Alexander the Great, Stalin, Charlemagne, Cromwell, Atilla the Hun, Caesar, etc., is released, but make a movie about Ernesto Guevara and everyone starts trying to teach the rest of us fools about the "real" history. Yeah, we all just listen to Rage Against the Machine and worship the ground he walked on. He did many good things. He did many bad things. He at least had the courage to follow through on his convictions and not be just another armchair idealist and I think that's why people still give a flip about him 50 years later.