The Criterion Collection

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by gbm82

[Show spoiler]

Well I hear there’s about a dozen of you.

[Snicket]

I’m curious if/when we are seeing another A24 release in the collection. I hope Gems wasn't a one off.

Between Lionsgate/self distribution on their store, and Criterion A24 doesn’t seem to be moving it’s physical media with a lot of clear intention.

[BunyipPouch]

Originally Posted by Lannister1098

[Show spoiler]

Birthday haul came in a couple days ago!

I saw you on reddit

[gbm82]

Originally Posted by BunyipPouch

I saw you on reddit

[koberulz]

If I load up a cart on the Criterion website, will it be saved? Or deleted when I restart my browser/when the flash sale starts?

[mmarczi]

Originally Posted by koberulz

If I load up a cart on the Criterion website, will it be saved? Or deleted when I restart my browser/when the flash sale starts?

I wouldn't push it for more than half a day or so. They definitely don't have a permanent cart, but I've been able to keep my cart overnight, for example. As a backup, I open every title in separate tabs and bookmark them as a group.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by Reddington

I'm firmly in the "cinephile" camp, but also agree with your summation. However, while I want the best technical presentation - and have a firm grasp of "videophile" concepts - what I'm really interested in is how a film looks in motion. I respect the demand for better compression, but question what poring over caps blown up to 200% (or more) really adds to the ultimate enjoyment of the viewing experience.

Well one question I have is why isn't there more crossover between the "cinephile" and "videophile" camps? It seems a lot of "cinephiles" aren't exactly home theatre enthusiasts. Criterion's early UHD slate, for what it's worth, seems to include films that would readily appeal to both camps, such as Citizen Kane, Mulholland Drive, and even The Red Shoes. Likewise BFI's release of The Seventh Seal. Not too many "videophiles", however, seem to be falling over themselves to pick up titles like Manila in the Claws of Light, Memories of Underdevelopment, or even the films of Bresson, or they see them as films they'll maybe "check out". The videophiles tend to go more for the funky cult fare put out by companies like Arrow, Vinegary Syndrome, Shout, and so forth, along with of course the catalog UHD releases from WB, Universal, et al.

With that said, is compression really an issue on every last Criterion blu-ray release? I know Mulholland Drive in particular is a bad offender by the standards of the format, but the Criterion blu-rays of Tree of Life, The New World, Barry Lyndon, La Dolce Vita, and L'Avventura are all stunning in my opinion, or at least in the case of the last two, as good as we can expect those titles to conceivably look in 1080p.

[bergman864]

Originally Posted by mande2013

Well one question I have is why isn't there more crossover between the "cinephile" and "videophile" camps? It seems a lot of "cinephiles" aren't exactly home theatre enthusiasts. Criterion's early UHD slate, for what it's worth, seems to include films that would readily appeal to both camps, such as Citizen Kane, Mulholland Drive, and even The Red Shoes. Likewise BFI's release of The Seventh Seal. Not too many "videophiles", however, seem to be falling over themselves to pick up titles like Manila in the Claws of Light, Memories of Underdevelopment, or even the films of Bresson, or they see them as films they'll maybe "check out". The videophiles tend to go more for the funky cult fare put out by companies like Arrow, Vinegary Syndrome, Shout, and so forth, along with of course the catalog UHD releases from WB, Universal, et al.

With that said, is compression really an issue on every last Criterion blu-ray release? I know Mulholland Drive in particular is a bad offender by the standards of the format, but the Criterion blu-rays of Tree of Life, The New World, Barry Lyndon, La Dolce Vita, and L'Avventura are all stunning in my opinion, or at least in the case of the last two, as good as we can expect those titles to conceivably look in 1080p.

While Criterion puts out plenty of films known for their cinematography, they aren't home video highlight discs. For example, the upcoming release of The Celebration is a cinephile's dream but isn't one videophiles are gravitating towards.

This isn't to say it's all about modern discs. It's just that for every Criterion disc that plays well on home theater setup they have dozens that don't.

And the compression issues are definitely more for videophiles. Sites like caps-a-holic have made compression a better known issue than it actually is in motion.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by mande2013

Well one question I have is why isn't there more crossover between the "cinephile" and "videophile" camps? It seems a lot of "cinephiles" aren't exactly home theatre enthusiasts. Criterion's early UHD slate, for what it's worth, seems to include films that would readily appeal to both camps, such as Citizen Kane, Mulholland Drive, and even The Red Shoes. Likewise BFI's release of The Seventh Seal. Not too many "videophiles", however, seem to be falling over themselves to pick up titles like Manila in the Claws of Light, Memories of Underdevelopment, or even the films of Bresson, or they see them as films they'll maybe "check out". The videophiles tend to go more for the funky cult fare put out by companies like Arrow, Vinegary Syndrome, Shout, and so forth, along with of course the catalog UHD releases from WB, Universal, et al.

With that said, is compression really an issue on every last Criterion blu-ray release? I know Mulholland Drive in particular is a bad offender by the standards of the format, but the Criterion blu-rays of Tree of Life, The New World, Barry Lyndon, La Dolce Vita, and L'Avventura are all stunning in my opinion, or at least in the case of the last two, as good as we can expect those titles to conceivably look in 1080p.

I'm not sure what the percentage of self described cinephiles would concur with this but part of the reason has to be the years and years many of us have had to resort to poor quality dvds, downloads and streams for many of these titles whereas availability in higher quality has never been an issue for mainstream cinema. Hell, until about 2012, most of the content I was watching was on SD since many classic and foreign titles weren't available on HD yet. We are in a similar spot in 2021 in regards to HD vs 4k and yet again I don't mind that others are enjoying all their faves in 4k while 99% of the movies I watch today are in HD.

Just take a look at the content that's currently available on 4k in the US. Hardly any of it caters to foreign or art house film lovers (though it seems some in roads are finally being made). The market dictates that new releases, blockbusters, best-selling classics and horror should receive just about all of the pie. That's perfectly fine, but I personally won't be upgrading most of those titles unless the price is right. And that right there gives you a neat example of the mainstream movie enthusiast enjoying higher quality products. I'll gladly prioritize a 12 year old BFI release over, say, 300 or V for Vendetta on 4k (which I did just this week).

I highly value those in that crossover segment on this site, however, that provide me with things to look out for on problematic releases. Some clunker releases still slip through the cracks in my collection and I end up kicking myself for not getting "x" over "y", but most of the time I'll just leave well enough alone.

[Vinyl]

I am rewatching Suzuki’s Tokyo Drifter, and the more times I watch it, the more I love it. The style in it I am just loving. I am on the fence about Branded To Kill! What are peoples take on that film? Any other recommendations?

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Vinyl

I am rewatching Suzuki’s Tokyo Drifter, and the more times I watch it, the more I love it. The style in it I am just loving. I am on the fence about Branded To Kill! What are peoples take on that film? Any other recommendations?

I loved Tokyo Drifter and didn't care for Branded to Kill. Even with all its style and play on archetypes, I felt connected to the characters in TD, while the lead guy in BtK seemed like a self-obsessed jerk.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I'm not sure what the percentage of self described cinephiles would concur with this but part of the reason has to be the years and years many of us have had to resort to poor quality dvds, downloads and streams for many of these titles whereas availability in higher quality has never been an issue for mainstream cinema. Hell, until about 2012, most of the content I was watching was on SD since many classic and foreign titles weren't available on HD yet. We are in a similar spot in 2021 in regards to HD vs 4k and yet again I don't mind that others are enjoying all their faves in 4k while 99% of the movies I watch today are in HD.

Just take a look at the content that's currently available on 4k in the US. Hardly any of it caters to foreign or art house film lovers (though it seems some in roads are finally being made). The market dictates that new releases, blockbusters, best-selling classics and horror should receive just about all of the pie. That's perfectly fine, but I personally won't be upgrading most of those titles unless the price is right. And that right there gives you a neat example of the mainstream movie enthusiast enjoying higher quality products. I'll gladly prioritize a 12 year old BFI release over, say, 300 or V for Vendetta on 4k (which I did just this week).

I highly value those in that crossover segment on this site, however, that provide me with things to look out for on problematic releases. Some clunker releases still slip through the cracks in my collection and I end up kicking myself for not getting "x" over "y", but most of the time I'll just leave well enough alone.

And how much foreign and arthouse fare can we expect to even make it to 4K anyway? Surely we'll get the major legacy foreign titles like The Seventh Seal, The 400 Blows, Seven Samurai, Breathless, and so on. Perhaps some of the more popular 'arthouse' directors from the last thirty years like Almodovar, Kieslowski, and WKW will and in some cases already have made it to 4K. Is it possible though that directors like Bresson, Mizoguchi, and even Antonioni never will? I'm not sure.

I'm with you though about the price needing to be right for the more popular catalog titles, although I'm still willing to pick up certain Hitchcock and Kubrick titles, even at a premium, but for films like Alien or A Clockwork Orange I can wait until a standard edition can be had for around 15 bucks or less.

Psycho, Vertigo, The Shining, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Don't Look Now, Le Cercle Rouge, and Mulholland Drive just to list off a few are all titles I'll happily upgrade to UHD regardless of the price. Apocalypse Now, Citizen Kane, and The Seventh Seal I never actually owned on standard blu-ray but have purchased/pre-ordered them all on UHD.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by koberulz

If I load up a cart on the Criterion website, will it be saved? Or deleted when I restart my browser/when the flash sale starts?

You know they just had their sale, right? I only use their wish list feature. For that last sale, I thought I'd try adding titles to my cart about an hour before the sale, but the cart was empty when the sale began, so I wouldn't risk it.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

You know they just had their sale, right? I only use their wish list feature. For that last sale, I thought I'd try adding titles to my cart about an hour before the sale, but the cart was empty when the sale began, so I wouldn't risk it.

I skipped the sale because I figured B&N would ship internationally and/or Amazon would price match and ship here and/or Amazon AU would go somewhere near price matching. But none of the three happened, and if I'm going to have to get them reshipped I might as well wait a few months, go direct, and get loyalty points for my trouble.

But I already have my B&N cart ready to go, which is a subset of my wishlist, and just setting my Criterion cart up now seems easier than having to store the list of titles somewhere else.

[MifuneFan]

As mmarczi mentioned, they don't have a permanent cart, so all items added will be lost in a short while.

[koberulz]

Balls.

Oh well, the B&N cart seems permanent (it still had the Bergman set in there from my attempt to procure it two or three B&N sales ago), so I guess they can stay there. Flash sale is Feb, right?

[dvining]

Originally Posted by koberulz

Balls.

Oh well, the B&N cart seems permanent (it still had the Bergman set in there from my attempt to procure it two or three B&N sales ago), so I guess they can stay there. Flash sale is Feb, right?

Should be. Possibly early March.

[koberulz]

*sigh*

If I'd known B&N and Amazon would be so unco-operative, I'd have my order in my hands right now. And my Kino sale order won't ship until January. Patience is hard.

[RojD]

Originally Posted by Vinyl

I am rewatching Suzuki’s Tokyo Drifter, and the more times I watch it, the more I love it. The style in it I am just loving. I am on the fence about Branded To Kill! What are peoples take on that film? Any other recommendations?

I like 'em both, but for different reasons. Tokoy Drifter has visual flash with a bit of substance but not tons. Reminds me of mid-career Tarantino. Branded to Kill feels more French New Wave/Godard -- I can follow the story, but I can't pin down a lot of the imagery and even some of the characters.

I like Suzuki's play with the crime genre in both tho. That's the only way I can see these two films even coming from the same mind.



Does anyone know how to find the Tokyo Drifter theme on Spotify? I have a playlist of some film music I like, but I haven't been able to find that one.

[Abdrewes]

It's been a while since I've watched a Raro Video disc and, man, I forgot how crummy they can be with crazy crushed blacks and compression artifacts galore.

Really dug the heck out of Liliana Cavani's I Cannibali, though, and would gladly pony up for a better transfer. Can anyone comment on the quality of her work outside of The Skin, Night Porter, Ripleys Game and Fransesco (the others I've seen)? It seems like she would be a good candidate for a box set.