The Criterion Collection

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by JJJ225

Hey everyone. I'm thinking of finally getting a region free Blu Ray player. My question is, what releases are must haves that are not region free or region A? I don't necessarily mean the same film with a better transfer. I'm more interested in movies and box sets that are not available in the US. For instance, the Alain Robbe-Grillet: Six Films box set is what is finally prompting me to finally go region free.

Any Fritz Lang blu that MOC has released that hasn't come out here, same with the two early Antonionis. The Kelly Reichardt collection looks like it will be well worth it. Artificial Eye's releases of Boy Meets Girl and Mauvais Sang (The Night is Young), though I think they are supposed to get Region A releases in the near future. There's an incredible Michael Haneke boxset out in France, but unfortunately, four of the films are not English friendly, and one does not yet have an English friendly counterpart (The Piano Teacher). Murnau's Tabu and Faust, Peeping Tom, Simon Killer.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by asudavid82

Hi everyone,

I hope this is the right place to ask this question, but I have finally broken and am leaning towards getting the Third Man Criterion Blu Ray. I know I will be paying plenty for it and wanted to see if people that are much more informed on the Criterion Collection thought it was worth it?

I paid $70 and change for an out-of-print copy of the Criterion Blu-ray of The Third Man, and I have no regrets whatsoever. The transfer really is that good.

The StudioCanal transfer, which I still own for the extras, is not half bad, but the Criterion Blu-ray is clearly superior in terms of both picture and sound. The Criterion Blu-ray also includes subtitles.

I can definitely vouch for those who are cool with the $10 StudioCanal Blu-ray, because it's still a great deal, but this is one of my favorite films.

[JHolliday]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

what's happenin' tripleJ? thinking the same thing - to pull the trigger on a region free player. my tastes might be different, but these were the ones I was looking at:

[Show spoiler]

..the aforementioned Lifeboat, there's another Douglas Sirk in Moc Tarnished Angels, and Truffaut's Antoine Doinel films are available, too.

I got a region free Blu for Christmas. It opens up a whole new world of movies. I absolutely love it. I was able to get Bad Education and Tabu along with some unreleased Disney

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by JJJ225

Hey everyone. I'm thinking of finally getting a region free Blu Ray player. My question is, what releases are must haves that are not region free or region A? I don't necessarily mean the same film with a better transfer. I'm more interested in movies and box sets that are not available in the US. For instance, the Alain Robbe-Grillet: Six Films box set is what is finally prompting me to finally go region free.

Just for starters:

[Jakamarak]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I like mine. Be patient when shopping. I saw one go on ebay for $70 shipped just this week. It doesn't have to be *super* expensive if you're willing to wait for the right deal.

I second this. Early this year, I decided I wanted a copy knowing I'd pay a premium for it. I tracked ebay and Amazon marketplace for several months and ended up scoring one for $67.99 plus $3.99 shipping.

If you wait it out, they do show up.

I'm very pleased with my purchase. It's a great film and a wonderful edition. I haven't seen the Studio Canal release so I cannot compare it to that, but the PQ is drastically improved from the DVD release I used to own.

[ShellOilJunior]

Region free is a bad idea for me. I barely have enough time to go through the stack of blu-rays I own. I can't see myself owning 1,000 blu-rays or even 500 for that matter. I'd never have enough time to rewatch everything.

[bwdowiak]

how is the PQ on the original DVD release of L'Avventura? I'd like to give this one another chance... a used copy of the original CC release, I think, will suit me fine.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Wow, that's a really bizarre cover for Make Way For Tomorrow. Makes it look like a musical.

[Show spoiler]It's not.

It's based on the original poster for the film. MoC tend to use the original artwork where possible.

[ShellOilJunior]

Williams Greaves died on Tuesday.

His film Symbiopsychotaxiplasm is in the collection.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by JJJ225

Hey everyone. I'm thinking of finally getting a region free Blu Ray player. My question is, what releases are must haves that are not region free or region A? I don't necessarily mean the same film with a better transfer. I'm more interested in movies and box sets that are not available in the US. For instance, the Alain Robbe-Grillet: Six Films box set is what is finally prompting me to finally go region free.

As others have mentioned, Masters Of Cinema are your best bet for UK discs. There's something for any taste in there. Their release of Le Pont du Nord was my #1 disc of last year.

Artificial Eye are pretty good too, and are on a roll at the moment with their Francois Truffaut discs. The Truffaut titles that Criterion have already released are worth avoiding, but their Shoot The Pianist and The Soft Skin are both worth the asking price. My copy of their Stolen Kisses just arrived this morning too.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

It's based on the original poster for the film. MoC tend to use the original artwork where possible.

Weird, I can only imagine the reaction of people walking out of the theater on that one. Great, great, film, but that artwork does not give an accurate representation of the film.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

Just for starters:

Unfortunately this is still to be released, having been delayed more times than any other home video release I can remember. I actually ordered it using a gift card I was given for my birthday in December 2012. The current release date is October 2014, but I'm not holding my breath for it!

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Weird, I can only imagine the reaction of people walking out of the theater on that one. Great, great, film, but that artwork does not give an accurate representation of the film.

The quote on the back of the case sells it best: "could make a stone cry" - Orson Welles.

[silverlakephil]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Williams Greaves died on Tuesday.

His film Symbiopsychotaxiplasm is in the collection.

Thanks, I'm unfamiliar with his work, but here is a nice NY Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/27/ar...t-87.html?_r=5

[adrian333]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

Just for starters:

Does Viridiana has English subs?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Region free is a bad idea for me. I barely have enough time to go through the stack of blu-rays I own. I can't see myself owning 1,000 blu-rays or even 500 for that matter. I'd never have enough time to rewatch everything.

I have decided against a Region Free player for similar reasons. I've already got a hefty stack of still-unwatched Blu-rays right now after taking advantage of some great deals on box sets and such (Zatoichi, Jacques Demy, Buster Keaton, Cassavetes, etc.) and I've got quite a few film noir DVDs left to watch.

Region A movies take enough of my entertainment budget as it is, and my budget is going to take another hit in coming months since the eight-year government employee pay freeze is still ongoing. I've been hugely fortunate to be able to assemble my current movie collection without the use of a credit card. I did kick my Diet Coke addiction to the curb several months ago to have Blu-ray money, but I'm better off for that in more ways than one.

My Region A Blu-ray player is like one of those plastic safety gates that parents use to block certain hallways or stairways from toddler children. I see quite a few Eureka and Arrow Blu-rays that I'd enjoy having, but they are blocked by that child safety gate. "NO, Owl! You cannot go there!"

I'm currently wondering what I will do when my Blu-ray collection gets closer to the 1,000 mark. I like the idea of simply stopping at 1,000, but we all know that probably won't happen. The good news is that I've leveled off to the point that the Blu-rays that I purchase these days are mostly new Blu-ray releases, since I already own pretty much everything that I want from the backcatalogues of Criterion, Olive, Kino, Twilight Time, and so on. I did not expect to see studios dumping their films into Blu-ray as fast as they're doing right now, though, by way of Kino Lorber and other such labels. I don't know if it's just me, but I'm seeing a lot of cool stuff being released right about now.

[jlk5844]

I skimmed through the Eclipse sets awhile ago, and nothing really jumped out at me, except this one. Does anyone have this, or can comment on the films?

[silverlakephil]

Originally Posted by JJJ225

Hey everyone. I'm thinking of finally getting a region free Blu Ray player. My question is, what releases are must haves that are not region free or region A? I don't necessarily mean the same film with a better transfer. I'm more interested in movies and box sets that are not available in the US. For instance, the Alain Robbe-Grillet: Six Films box set is what is finally prompting me to finally go region free.

I personally have no regrets purchasing my two region free players (Insigna and Seiki). These were pretty cheap too, about 40 bucks each. I'm glad I paid attention to the Blu Ray Player forum. Otherwise, I would have never been aware of their existence, since ones that are altered are more expensive. Some Region B titles I recommend:

Classe Touse Risque
The Lost Weekend
The Testament of Dr.Mabuse
Couer Fidele

Btw, I mentioned it before, if you have one of the older Panasonic models it's probably region free via the stop>menu(x2) trick. It works on mines

[Akijama]

Not Criterion related, but I'm sure Capra's fans would love to hear about this.

Apparently, Sony will be releasing Mr. Smith Goes To Washington themselves! The release date is currently unknown, but Amazon is accepting pre-orders for it.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Blu-ray

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Akijama

Apparently, Sony will be releasing Mr. Smith Goes To Washington themselves! The release date is currently unknown, but Amazon is accepting pre-orders for it.

Now that we are getting It Happened One Night i was hoping there were some possibilities of this too, but i guess they can't release all the big titles, well at least it will be cheaper to buy from sony