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January 24, 2006

THREE TIMES GETS US DISTRIBUTION

A sharp-eyed reader just informed me that Hou Hsiao-hsien's latest film, THREE TIMES, was acquired for US distribution, but it's not the kind of distribution you're thinking of. It's been picked up by IFC's First Take, a brand new distribution line that plans on releasing indie films simultaneously in theaters and on cable, a little bit like Mark Cuban's 2929 Entertainment (which will test this model first with the upcoming Steven Soderbergh film, BUBBLE).

The movies will open theatrically (the Landmark chain has agreed to participate, but Regal/AMC has declined) and there will also be a same day video-on-demand option for folks who subscribe, I assume, to the Independent Film Channel.

Will this save the film industry, sink it, or will it just not matter in the slightest?

January 24, 2006 at 10:49 AM in News | Permalink

Comments

I'd like to think it'll prove to distributors that there is in fact an audience. But I've seen Three Times three times on the big screen and once on DVD, and I'd have to say, it sparkled on 35mm but was somewhat dull on TV. Which means those of us with something invested in Asian cinema still need to actually see it on the big screen rather than on cable, to prove to the distributors that we still care about traditional technologies.

Posted by: Brian | Jan 24, 2006 12:00:05 PM

I'd like to think it'll prove to distributors that there is in fact an audience. But I've seen Three Times three times on the big screen and once on DVD, and I'd have to say, it sparkled on 35mm but was somewhat dull on TV. Which means those of us with something invested in Asian cinema still need to actually see it on the big screen rather than on cable, to prove to the distributors that we still care about traditional technologies.

Posted by: Brian | Jan 24, 2006 12:15:41 PM

THREE TIMES is certainly the odd-man-out among the titles IFC announced for the series. Most of the others are straight-up Indiewood productions which, by all reports, do not place anywhere nearly as much emphasis on visual style and mise-en-scene as Hou does. (The other likely exception is Caveh Zahedi's I AM A SEX ADDICT, although his style tends to operate between art cinema and documentary, and between film and videography. I haven't seen it yet. If RUSSIAN DOLLS is anything like L'AUBERGE ESPAGNOLE, the small screen will suit it fine.)

I am always frustrated by pragmatic responses to the "crisis in film distribution" that run along the lines of, "it's the free market, deal with it." Nevertheless, even though I am a bona fide celluloid fetishist, I think this IFC project is an encouraging sign, as is the Magnolia/2929 venture. It's been a long time since films like THREE TIMES or BUBBLE or I AM A SEX ADDICT opened theatrically anywhere other than the top 20-30 markets. At least with the day-and-date approach, folks in the sticks will have an opportunity to see these films in a timely manner, and, in some small way, participate in the film culture of the moment. This is about as close as we're liable to come to, say, the glorious days of the Shooting Gallery series, when a masterwork like EUREKA actually played U.S. arthouses.

Finally, I think the Hou and Zahedi pick-ups are welcome signs of a revitalized IFC. These, much more than the others, bear the unmistakable mark of Ryan Werner. Good job.

Posted by: msic | Jan 24, 2006 6:18:52 PM

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