The Criterion Collection

[blkhrt]

I finally got around to watching the DVD of Fat Girl that I picked up from the library, and I was very impressed. I definitely want to pick it up during the next sale (assuming there is one).

This is the first of Breillat's films that I have seen. Has anyone seen any of her other films? Can you recommend which would be good to watch next?

[Biznob]

Originally Posted by italy12

So I get a shipment notification from Borders early in the week and as the tracking page is updating, it says May 6th is the day when my movies will arrive...

I go to my mailbox at work today, and sitting there, looking all cool, are these...

Awesome! I really badly want to get Smiles of a Summer Night, but it would be a blind buy... and I suppose I am slowly gaining interest in Fat Girl now that you and Blkhrt have both mentioned it.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I know he has a few blu-rays in the collection already but which Godard film do you guys think will hit blu-ray next?

Blu-ray upgrade... Band Of Outsiders

New to CC... Le Petit soldat, Les Carabiniers, or Week End

[LetsGetATaco]

Found a mint condition used copy of Criterion Hard Boiled in a FYE and got it for only $14. Also got Le Cercle Rouge, Amarcord, Sweet Smell of Success, and Blow Out Blus from Amazon. Exciting day!

[capnnarcolepsy]

Originally Posted by thebluemax

Just watched "Blow Out" the amount of grain in the dark scenes is excessive and unbearable. Any thoughts here?? I found this BD almost unwatchable.

i think you're gonna be in the minority on this one. i just finished watching it and, dare i say, i thought it looked incredible. i've been sitting here for a few minutes just marveling at how good just the menu screen is. i'm gonna go opposite and say that it's completely watchable

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I finally got around to watching the DVD of Fat Girl that I picked up from the library, and I was very impressed. I definitely want to pick it up during the next sale (assuming there is one).

This is the first of Breillat's films that I have seen. Has anyone seen any of her other films? Can you recommend which would be good to watch next?

Only one I have seen was Romance. Blechh

[scorsetinogilliam]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I finally got around to watching the DVD of Fat Girl that I picked up from the library, and I was very impressed. I definitely want to pick it up during the next sale (assuming there is one).

This is the first of Breillat's films that I have seen. Has anyone seen any of her other films? Can you recommend which would be good to watch next?

I must say that I think Romance is a very interesting film. Whether or not it's a great film is up to you, but at very least, you will be intrigued. I would also recommend 36 fillette and Bluebeard (although it was a very different sort of film for her). Sex is Comedy is interesting but was a bit disappointing.

[pro-bassoonist]

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

This is the first of Breillat's films that I have seen. Has anyone seen any of her other films? Can you recommend which would be good to watch next?

A Real Young Girl is excellent, but the old R1 SDVD is very poor.

36 fillette is the film many in France like the most.

Romance I did not like at all. For some obvious reasons.

Brief Crossing is terrific. In my opinion, on par with Fat Girl and a lot easier to absorb.

Anatomie de l'enfer I did not enjoy. The shock value overwhelms everything else.

Parfait amour! - very good film, though I think that in the hands of Patrice Chéreau this would have been a very different film, with depth that matches Those Who Love Me Can Take The Train.

The Last Mistress is very good, with a surprisingly strong performance by Asia Argento. Get the Artificial Eye SDVD.

Blue Beard - contrary to what has been said by a lot of critics on this side of the Atlantic, probably the most conventional of the director's films. I like it.

If you are interested in the territory director Breillat enters with her films, you should look into the work of Jean-Claude Brisseau. Fantastic director.

Pro-B

[blkhrt]

Thanks for the feedback TJS_Blu, scorsetinogilliam, and Pro-B. I will definitely have to watch some more of these. I will be interested to see if the visual styles of Fat Girl--especially the combination of stark images with bright, vivid colors--carries over into her other films.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by LetsGetATaco

Found a mint condition used copy of Criterion Hard Boiled in a FYE and got it for only $14. Also got Le Cercle Rouge, Amarcord, Sweet Smell of Success, and Blow Out Blus from Amazon. Exciting day!

How can a used copy be in mint condition?

[mg428]

I think the below blog post ends the discussion about whether Criterion or Fox Pathe's blu-ray release represents the correct color scheme:

http://www.studiodaily.com/blog/?p=3524

It is obvious that the Criterion is the correct one.

As to aspect ratio, I am not sure which one is the correct one because I cannot comprehend how the Fox Pathe has a wider aspect ratio than the Criterion considering that Criterion used the original negative for restoration rather than a print used by Fox Pathe.

In my opinion, I think it should be possible to obtain a smaller aspect ratio from the original bigger aspect ration but the contrary should not be possible. If, my statement is technically correct, then how come the Fox Pathe release has a wider aspect ratio without any aberrations in the image?? For instance, if you fit a 4:3 image to your 16:9 screen, the image would be streched causing aberrations. For example, a close-up shot of a face would make it look fatter. This should be the case in the Fox Pathe release too if Criterion's smaller aspect ratio is the original one, but this is not the case-- I cannot see such aberrations from the sample images available out there.

I will appreciate your input in this regard.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by Biznob

Awesome! I really badly want to get Smiles of a Summer Night, but it would be a blind buy... and I suppose I am slowly gaining interest in Fat Girl now that you and Blkhrt have both mentioned it.

Both were blind buys for me, and I will watch at least one of them in the next few weeks. I've heard good things about both...and the reviews are up around the web...Fat Girl on this site...and I can't wait for either.

I've been catching up on my CC viewing. Last week I was able to watch (during Spring Break) Yi Yi, Au revoir les enfants, Fish Tank, Ride With the Devil, and just this week, Blow Out. All were very good and I am glad they are part of my collection! Yi Yi was especially entertaining and I enjoyed the story and characters and their individual arcs.

Blow Out was just an awesome film from the 80's and teh picture quality was, indeed, terrific. The grain was not too intrusive. I think there were only two scenes which had a fair amount of grain, or more grain than other scenes in the film, but they were in very dark scenes. Very watchable in my opinion!!

[42041]

Originally Posted by mg428

I think the below blog post ends the discussion about whether Criterion or Fox Pathe's blu-ray release represents the correct color scheme:

er, how does it settle anything?
the article is wrong. Colorworks used the original negative.

[mg428]

Originally Posted by 42041

er, how does it settle anything?
the article is wrong. Colorworks used the original negative.

Well, according to the article, and as far as I know from other sources, Sony used print and not the original negative. Leaving aside that, I think the below remark in the article may not substantiate that Criterion has the correct color scheme, but at least it substantiates that Fox Pathe has not:

Next, 20th Century Fox’s Belson took the master to Rotunno in Italy. “Giuseppe felt certain scenes should be darker, maybe the equivalent of a point darker,” says Persichetti. “I had played it a little on the bright side to be safe.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

How can a used copy be in mint condition?

If it was well taken care of then I would say mint. I have Criterion DVDs like Sid and Nancy that look like the plastic was just removed.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

If it was well taken care of then I would say mint. I have Criterion DVDs like Sid and Nancy that look like the plastic was just removed.

If you were selling an opened film on Amazon marketplace would you bill it as "mint"?

I understand baseball cards, out of the pack, can be called "mint" if their condition is perfect. However, I think films are different. I tend to attribute "mint" to factory sealed films.

[42041]

Originally Posted by mg428

Well, according to the article, and as far as I know from other sources, Sony used print and not the original negative. Leaving aside that, I think the below remark in the article may not substantiate that Criterion has the correct color scheme, but at least it substantiates that Fox Pathe has not:

Next, 20th Century Fox’s Belson took the master to Rotunno in Italy. “Giuseppe felt certain scenes should be darker, maybe the equivalent of a point darker,” says Persichetti. “I had played it a little on the bright side to be safe.

Maybe you should actually read the article before posting misleading half-quotes from it. "had" usually connotes past tense.

The Sony insider addressed the print/negative question some time ago:
"Originally Posted by Penton-Man
Of course, that article is wrong. Writers often just think in terms of prints because they don't really know the various elements and so forth. It is a benign mistake. The original negative is what was scanned. "

No one uses theatrical prints for video mastering. It would be the source they'd go for if every other archival element was unavailable.

[mg428]

Well, my bad. Than it seems we do not know which release better represents the correct color scheme as the director of photography approved both releases.

As to the aspect ratio, DVDbeaver provides some explanation:

NOTE: Sent in email from Dan D. : 'You stated: "The Leopard was originally shot in 35mm Technirama at 2.35:1, then blown up to 70mm Super-Technirama which has an aspect ratio of 2.21:1. This blowup results in a beautiful 70mm element but has the adverse effect of shaving off the sides by a slim margin. Since this picture was slated to be blown up to Super-Technirama, one can assume that Visconti and Rutonno framed their compositions with this in mind. So... what this means is, both the Criterion and the BFI DVD display the 70mm elements, in all the beautiful colour that gauge was capable of. If you're watching another (ex. Italian Medusa DVD) that displays a little more image on the right and left, then it's pretty clear this was made from the "restored 35mm print", containing a little more left and right, but faring far worse in overall colour, contrast, detail, grain, condition, etc..."

"In truth, it's really the other way around. According to Colin Bell of Technicolor-London, who worked on the 1992 restoration with DP Giuseppe Rotunno, THE LEOPARD was photographed in full-frame Technirama. This means that the negative image as photographed had an aspect ratio of 2.25:1. That 2.25 image would then be slightly cropped to print up at an AR of 2.21:1 in 70MM, or further cropped to an AR of 2.35:1 to make 35MM Anamorphic prints, as well as other formats. (As far as it’s known, the film was not exhibited in 70MM during its initial release.)

So, essentially, the 2.35:1 crop found on the Medusa disc (and others) was extracted from a 2.21:1 printable frame, rather than the reverse, as you stated it. Although cropping specs for Technirama are known to vary, according to Bell, 2.35:1 framing for THE LEOPARD was formatted by cropping the top of the horizontal frame. The Restoration doc on the Medusa disc goes into this in more detail.

The Criterion and BFI discs display something of a hybrid; their image is actually (for the most part) a 2.21 crop of the film's intended 2.35 framing, with a bit of panning-and-scanning to maximize essential action. When pressed, Criterion won't cop to their reasons behind doing this, only to say that Rotunno did approve their work. This reframing does, perhaps, allow for something of a more 'DVD-friendly' image. It may also (and this is only an educated guess) let them cover otherwise unavoidable distortion or damage at the side of the original image they were working from.' (Thanks Dan!)

So in this case which release (Fox Pathe or Criterion) has the correct / more correct aspect ratio in your opinion?

[42041]

Originally Posted by mg428

So in this case which release (Fox Pathe or Criterion) has the correct / more correct aspect ratio in your opinion?

I'm not sure why the new disc has a 2.55:1 AR, which was never used for Super Technirama as far as I can find out, but the Criterion disc has a lot more cropping, to the point where you could get the whole Criterion image from the new release, which also seems strange. I asked Robert Harris in his insider thread if he can shed some insight.