The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by jw007

quick random question to everyone:

What's your favorite movie in the criterion collection to watch on a frigid winter night where the temp. Outside is -6 below zero and its snowing?

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Unfortunately the idea that The Last Emperor was composed for 2:1 is revisionist nonsense spun by Storaro after his literal religious awakening while viewing the Last Supper that all films should have that ratio and that he should reframe all his old films. The Last Emperor was shot before that happened, he's retroactively trying to make it seem like he planned it all along. That's why each explanation is slightly different and contradicts the one that came before.

Here's another interview where he contradicts himself again, saying he didn't like how the film looked at 2.35:1 once he watched it that way and later decided to reframe it:

https://filmmakermagazine.com/4857-s.../#.XE_wKc17mUk

[Show spoiler]You can see footage of the movie being edited on the South Bank Show doc on the disc, and you can clearly see the frame they were intending, it's roughly 2.35:1.

Shot of the editing screen in the doc:


ORIGINAL:


CROPPED:


Note how two of the three soldiers on the left side of the screen vanish in the cropped version. All 3 are visible in the doc. And note that on the right side the guard on the edge and the second man at the table vanish, leaving only one man on that side of the table. All 3 are visible in the doc.

On the 2:1 version, the sides are cropped off very inelegantly in most shots:

ORIGINAL


CROPPED


ORIGINAL


CROPPED


ORIGINAL


CROPPED


ORIGINAL


CROPPED


ORIGINAL


CROPPED


ORIGINAL


CROPPED


However, in some shots, like this three-shot of Pu Yi and his two wives sitting side by side in the back of the limo in Tianjin, they actually had to squish the picture a bit because the three faces go to the very edges of the frame.

ORIGINAL:


CROPPED/SQUISHED (Note how narrow the face of the woman on the left becomes in this cap compared to the one above):

Bertolucci clearly deferred to Storaro at the time. Criterion clearly then found themselves having to defend this bizarre choice.

However, the recent 4K restoration for the 3D version was done in 2.35:1, telling me that Bertolucci realized cropping the sides of the film off was insane. Sadly that restoration is only available as an Itlaian 3D disc, there is no 2D release of it. The OOP Japanese BD is the only release in the full OAR.

Good stuff, James. Always enjoy reading your posts. You're a real asset to this community.

I've searched a couple of times for the OOP Japanese release, but the copies I found were too pricey. Would indeed be good to see this get a proper upgrade release in 2.35:1.

[145gtw]

Originally Posted by jw007

quick random question to everyone:

What's your favorite movie in the criterion collection to watch on a frigid winter night where the temp. Outside is -6 below zero and its snowing?

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by jw007

Quick random question to everyone:

What's your favorite movie in the Criterion Collection to watch on a frigid Winter night where the temp. outside is -6 below zero and its snowing?

Thrillers seem to lend themselves well to cold winter nights here in Boston. One of the classics in the collection could be a good choice:

[RCRochester]

Speaking of cold weather, this is what's happening in my part of the world today:

https://globalnews.ca/news/4897560/s...chills-return/

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by jw007

quick random question to everyone:

What's your favorite movie in the criterion collection to watch on a frigid winter night where the temp. Outside is -6 below zero and its snowing?

[Luke Dodge748]

I'm surprised with a lot of your pics, guys. I would go with a title that makes me think warmth. Sun, sweat, humidity! F the cold! Bring on summer, summer, summertime!

[Page14]

Originally Posted by jw007

Quick random question to everyone:

What's your favorite movie in the Criterion Collection to watch on a frigid Winter night where the temp. outside is -6 below zero and its snowing?

Maybe not a favorite, but the poster might help on a cold night.

BeyondValley.jpg

[The Sovereign]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Thrillers seem to lend themselves well to cold winter nights here in Boston. One of the classics in the collection could be a good choice:

I'm with you. And I'd add this one for that closed-in feeling:

[koberulz]

I'm fairly sure The Lady Vanishes was the first "old" film I ever saw. Don't believe I even knew who Hitchcock was at the time, much less that it was a Hitchcock film. I must have been only 12 or so, and it aired on TV here.

I really enjoyed it, enough that it actually stuck with me and I remembered the title and a rough outline of the plot; enough that when I stumbled across a shitty public domain Hitchcock set and bought it solely because I'd heard of Hitchcock - I wasn't even particularly into films at the time - it was the one film on the set I was particularly keen to watch. I ended up watching only that and a couple of others, I think, and it was probably another ten years before I actually got into collecting films.

[maytropolees]

https://www.criterion.com/current/po...0-site-updates

We are happy to report that the My Collection feature should be back online in the next few weeks, and any Criterion.com purchases you’ve made during the time My Criterion has been inactive should be reflected in your list.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by SteelyTom

The packaging on the UK release states it's Region B.

I own the UK Third Man 4K restored disc, and can report the packaging is incorrect, it is region-free. However I believe some of the bonus features won't play on American machines. They're either PAL or 1080i/50.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by maytropolees

https://www.criterion.com/current/po...0-site-updates

Custom lists are gone.

It looks like "notes" may be gone, too. I enjoyed reading those. Although, some people used the feature to note when they purchased a film at BN (Helpful for them but I don't care to see it).

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Speaking of cold weather, this is what's happening in my part of the world today:

https://globalnews.ca/news/4897560/s...chills-return/

I'm a real wuss when it comes to cold weather as I found out over the holidays when I visited my daughter in WA. Upper 30s-low 40s= Currently its extra blanket weather here with temperatures dipping into the low 60s at night. That's how our local meteorologists describe it anyway.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by jw007

Quick random question to everyone:

What's your favorite movie in the Criterion Collection to watch on a frigid Winter night where the temp. outside is -6 below zero and its snowing?

[hagios]

Originally Posted by jw007

Quick random question to everyone:

What's your favorite movie in the Criterion Collection to watch on a frigid Winter night where the temp. outside is -6 below zero and its snowing?

Some non-Criterions off the top:

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by ravenus

It has been confirmed by several sources to be region-free.

Is this region-free version?



Is there any new extras on this release than the previous Lionsgate one? I'm almost certain there's a better PQ. I might have to pick this up since its Region Free.

[StarDestroyer52]

I'd say that Gold Rush or a Hitchcock thriller are my favorite films to watch in this frigid cold weather. Maryland has been real bad with highs in the mid teens and lows in the single digits and when isn't below freezing it just rains leaving the ground a mud hole.

[Page14]

A surprise Criterion flash sale would do wonders to get through this cold snap.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Page14

A surprise Criterion flash sale would do wonders to get through this cold snap.