The Criterion Collection

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

New screenshots are up for The Last Emperor!

https://www.criterion.com/films/254-the-last-emperor

Old (January 2024)(top) / New (Today) (bottom)

That looks an awful lot like the original 2.39:1 aspect ratio to me. This could be good.

[Scottie]

It appears as if Pickpocket and Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! were re-released last week as a BD only release.



It also appears as if Criterion is listing DVD only for Like Someone in Love on their website.

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

New screenshots are up for The Last Emperor!

https://www.criterion.com/films/254-the-last-emperor

Old (January 2024)(top) / New (Today) (bottom)

Interesting. They must have just updated it today.

I imagine a 4K will be announced.

[mmarczi]

Well that's one I don't have to buy. I got the Arrow 4K and frankly the film didn't blow me away, so I probably don't need a double dip. I mean, cinematically it's splendid of course, but I don't imagine Criterion's edition will top Arrow's in that regard.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Taylor3978

It's a sequel in all but name (Its original working title was Burn, Coffy, Burn!).

Put another way, Coffy was the film that made Pam a star, Foxy Brown was the follow-up.

If a sequel means a direct follow-up to a story / character, then no. It's not a sequel any more than Way of the Dragon is a sequel to Enter the Dragon. At least it doesn't continue the specific narrative even if the character she is playing is the archetype she made her name with in Coffy.

[perrinjuve]

August predictions and wish list items:

Killers of the Flower Moon 4k
Amadeus 4K
Barry Lyndon 4K
The Last Emperor 4K
Kurosawa 4K
Silence 4K
Fires on the Plain
I'm thinking of ending things
Zone of Interest 4K
Atlantiques (they announced it ages ago about collabing with some Netflix titles along with American Factory and they just never dropped).

Janus Contemporary will be Totem.

[Taylor3978]

Originally Posted by Kenneth M

I don't understand it, either. Some of the best over-the-top 70's grindhouse cinema is found within blaxploitation. Some of the coolest and most ruthless women are found in blaxploitation films.....

Most likely it will continue traveling in the throws of the forgotten as physical media continues to shut its door on it... and I haven't the slightest hope that streaming will be kinder to the era of 70's blaxploitation.

There were some great films in the genre, I would nominate this for a performance by Paul Benjamin (the scene where he and Ed Bernard are going their separate ways is truly wrenching):

Across 110th Street Official Trailer #1 - Paul Benjamin Movie (1972) HD - YouTube

The business model of streaming is the same as video stores, Top 40, everything else is filler. And with streaming increasingly looking like cable TV, with cable offering "bundles" of streaming channels cut to Top 40 material, it is increasingly looking like a lot of this stuff will be forgotten except to a very small niche of cinephiles.

It's sad. Listening to TCM employees reminisce as they celebrate their 30th anniversary, a common theme among the ones who were already classic movie fans when they started there was that they got their love of classic movies from watching them on local TV when they got home from school. They were only put on as filler in the afternoon or late at night. Will this very niche stuff even have that kind of exposure? Pam Grier would likely still be forgotten if not for Jackie Brown. Even TCM killed off TCM Underground, firing Millie De Ciroco, and although budget cutting was cited as the reason (though the channel was making a profit), I've wondered if some of TPTB at WB/Discovery disapproved of what TCM Underground was putting on.

[ShellOilJunior]

No predictions from me (Although, UHDs of the movies mentioned below would be excellent).

A few items from On this day in film - May 15:

May 15

1959 12th Cannes Film Festival: "Black Orpheus" directed by Marcel Camus wins the Palme d'Or

1960 "L'Avventura", Italian film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, starring Gabriele Ferzetti, Monica Vitti. premieres at Cannes

https://www.onthisday.com/film-tv/

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by Shane Rollins

-The Alamo 4K (both cuts)

Everywhere I've read, the Roadshow version is toast.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

New screenshots are up for The Last Emperor!

About time! I got the Arrow 4K UHD from last year and it was a pretty solid restoration. Don't know if it's the same 4K restoration as the one Arrow had but this is pretty good news, especially now that it is back to its original AR and not the 2.00 that Vittorio Storaro approved on the earlier release. Really love this film and for me, it feels strange that the film has kinda disappeared over time, despite the massive success the film garnered at the Academy Awards.

One thing that amazes me is that there were three artists that made the score: David Byrne of Talking Heads, Ryuichi Sakamoto of Yellow Magic Orchestra, and Cong Su, who is a lesser known Chinese composer who absolutely deserves credit for his compositions. I think the film was incredibly smart of utilizing the music with David Byrne and Cong Su, seemingly taking care of the traditional sound of Chinese music for the earlier ages of Pu Yi's story, and Ryuichi Sakamoto taking care of the later periods with his more Western-sounding compositions that shows the progression in Chinese culture. From the traditional hierarchy of the Qing Dynasty (For nearly 300 years) to the Cultural Revolution (50 years after the end of the dynasty) that seriously opposed against these cultural and social values, a story of which has been expressed in many other Chinese films like Farewell My Concubine.

I expressed this earlier in my Arrow 4K review but I think a reason why this film may not have been as relevant or as everlasting as it could have been is probably because of the historical context required to understand this film. I assume a lot of people are unaware of the effects of the Cultural Revolution, the 1911 Revolution, and the Qing Dynasty itself, which probably made this a very complex viewing. A lot of great Chinese films, including Farewell My Concubine, seems to suffer from this issue with foreign viewers. With that said, I would highly recommend people interested in Chinese cinema to read up on the nation's history and really get to know a lot of these films. To Live, Farewell My Concubine, and Xiu Xiu (Warning: It's very disturbing) are some of my favorite Chinese films which talks a lot about the effects of the Cultural Revolution.

[RevolverOcelScott]

Criterion Collection: Releasing lesser versions of what BFI/Arrow did better!

I kid.

[VC2020]

What time do the announcements usually happen?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by VC2020

What time do the announcements usually happen?

No set time, but lately around 12 PM EST.

[MifuneFan]

For anyone in Canada, Unobstructed View have a few Criterion 4K releases at 50% off. Credit also to gregmtl92 for pointing it out.

Originally Posted by roar

Thanks for finding these, I didn't have a couple of these 4K's. This is the full list of 4K Criterions currently at 50%

Videodrome
Roaring Twenties
Moonage Daydream
Don't Look Now
Mean Streets
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio
Apu Trilogy
Last Picture Show
Trainspotting

[kingdoxie]

Alan Fraser with one of the all time stream of consciousness rants which will go down in the annals of Blu-ray.com history

[Show spoiler]Post #224096 if you missed this epic rant.

[DavidRoylance]

The Last Emperor 4k has been unofficially announced on twitter by a 3rd party.

[DukeTogo84]

Not holding my breath, but another classic Japanese title would be great. About time we got a Fires on the Plain upgrade or even better...Samurai Rebellion.

[RevolverOcelScott]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Not holding my breath, but another classic Japanese title would be great. About time we got a Fires on the Plain upgrade or even better...Samurai Rebellion.

You're funny.

Today's Announcements:
1. A "Classic Hollywood" Blu-ray
2. A Post-2000s movie 4 people went to see.
3. A title Arrow released with a far better scan/encode.
4. A 4K upgrade
5. A "NY Times Article" inspired title

[javy]

I'll take a classic Hollywood blu ray.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by RevolverOcelScott

You're funny.

Today's Announcements:
1. A "Classic Hollywood" Blu-ray
2. A Post-2000s movie 4 people went to see.
3. A title Arrow released with a far better scan/encode.
4. A 4K upgrade
5. A "NY Times Article" inspired title

You're probably right. Looks like The Last Emperor might be one of the titles and technically it fits two of your check boxes.

[MifuneFan]

He knew that when making the list to be fair