The Criterion Collection

[jw007]

Originally Posted by ravenus

To be frank this is as bad as his logic. People respect a label or organization for doing a certain kind of thing which gives a certain kind of benefit. If tomorrow, they turn around and do something else, like say making a colorized version of Passion of Joan of Arc, what reason would be there to love them? I know that's a far-fetched and unlikely situation, but just to say that blind adulation is as harmful as petulant and wilful fault-finding.

You didn't sense my tremendous amount of sarcasm, huh?

Of course I wouldn't buy anything a company puts out if they suddenly decided to become a black market underground organization that specialized in drug trade and sex trafficking.

[MifuneFan]

[CrossRhodes94]

Going to pick up a few criterion’s. I’ve made my mind up on Army of Shadows and An Unmarried Woman... my goal is to only get three and right now I can’t decide between La Haine, The Comfort of Strangers, Blue Velvet and Paris, Texas.... Which would you guys suggest I get out of those?

[Cholly]

Originally Posted by CrossRhodes94

Going to pick up a few criterion’s. I’ve made my mind up on Army of Shadows and An Unmarried Woman... my goal is to only get three and right now I can’t decide between La Haine, The Comfort of Strangers, Blue Velvet and Paris, Texas.... Which would you guys suggest I get out of those?

Are you region free? Cause if so I would avoid La Haine and Paris as they both have better editions available or on the horizon (I've seen it said that La Haine has a terrible looking master).
I personally would say Blue Velvet, but have never seen CoS.

[NeoNical]

I've been waiting forever to show my parents the Kurosawa noir films but only shown them High and Low since I don't buy DVDs (Unless if it's an OOP title). Finally gave up on waiting for the upgrades and decided I'll just pull the trigger on the DVDs for the next B&N sale. I have a good feeling a Blu-ray will come around soon and I'd hate myself for pulling the trigger but I think it's about time I show my parents some of my favorite films by Kurosawa that they' haven't seen yet (They loved all the Kurosawa titles that I've shown them, especially Seven Samurai and the Yojimbo series). But they love Tokyo Story the best since it reminds them a lot of 60s Japan.

Might decide on upgrading Army of Shadows from my first print DVD that I got for $12 months before it was announced so I was a bit broken by that. Found Le Cercle Rouge DVD on Amazon for a good price but I'm going to wait out on this one since I'm 80% sure a Blu-ray re-release in Region A is coming soon (The new restoration or remaster, I have no idea, hasn't been announced or being shown anywhere other than the Venice Film Festival I believe later this year).

Portrait of a Lady on Fire I might just go ahead and blind buy. Haven't gotten the Last Temptation or Age of Innocence even though it has been on my buylist ever since I first got into Criterion 3 years ago. Haven't seen it ever since I rented it around the same time so I'm very interested in revisiting these pieces. Ghost Dog was recommended to me by a good friend of mines who isn't the biggest fan of Criterion but knows my love for Branded to Kill and all the other Suzuki films so this one is going to be an instant buy.

Hoping Memories of Murder doesn't get sold out on the Summer B&N sale next year.

Maybe this Christmas, I'll buy myself rare Criterion OOP DVDs instead of Blu-rays Normally on Amazon, you can find them for around $15-$30.

[dressedtokill]

Originally Posted by CrossRhodes94

Going to pick up a few criterion’s. I’ve made my mind up on Army of Shadows and An Unmarried Woman... my goal is to only get three and right now I can’t decide between La Haine, The Comfort of Strangers, Blue Velvet and Paris, Texas.... Which would you guys suggest I get out of those?

The confort of strangers

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

I've been waiting forever to show my parents the Kurosawa noir films but only shown them High and Low since I don't buy DVDs (Unless if it's an OOP title). Finally gave up on waiting for the upgrades and decided I'll just pull the trigger on the DVDs for the next B&N sale. I have a good feeling a Blu-ray will come around soon and I'd hate myself for pulling the trigger but I think it's about time I show my parents some of my favorite films by Kurosawa that they' haven't seen yet (They loved all the Kurosawa titles that I've shown them, especially Seven Samurai and the Yojimbo series). But they love Tokyo Story the best since it reminds them a lot of 60s Japan.

This seems like a more cost-effective way to do that, and you can still wait for Blu-rays.

https://www.criterionchannel.com/dir...akira-kurosawa

[ravenus]

This weekend I watched the 1977 Japanese gonzo campy horror musical House aka Hausu.

The protagonists are a group of 7 girls each of whose defining characteristic is described by their nickname: their leader the beautiful Angel, imaginative Fantasy, sharp-witted Prof, musically inclined Melody, good-natured Sweetie, gung-ho martial artist Kung Fu and gluttonous Mac (short for "stomach").
They go on a trip to the home of Angel's aunt. This titular House, and the aunt who seems so welcoming, turn out to have other sides to them. The movie defies logic, favoring colorful and bizarre escapades, including a severed head biting someone on the butt, or a piano chewing up a person. The VFX are humorous and symbolic rather than realistic. Apart from the climax, which features some nudity and blood sprays, most of the film is in PG-13 territory, and the cheerful pop soundtrack adds to the party feel.
I prefer Takashi Miike's Happiness of the Katakuris as a skillful mixing of musical and horror tropes, but Hausu deserves credit for pioneering this rather niche genre.

[latehong]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Portrait of a Lady on Fire I might just go ahead and blind buy.

I highly recommend the film, but not the Criterion release. A minor controversy over the new translation of one line aside, the noise reduction job is unacceptably arbitrary.

from the film thread (or read from #200 to #209):

Originally Posted by andreasy969

Thanks again and I can totally confirm it there (around 01:11:00 forward). And I didn't have to take a look at caps there at all. But I really missed it when watching the movie.

First it switches between good and bad (1 and 2 show two subsequent frames to show it):

1.


2.


Later (and with your example) it gives up completely and remains poor until the end:

3.


The funny thing is that I remember the AI looking worse than the Criterion on a cap/comparison from this scene (it was in this thread). So from what I've seen, the Criterion might still be the best option - doesn't make it good, but sometimes one has to take what one can get I'm afraid. I also preferred the contrast/blacks of the Criterion over the AI.

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by latehong

I highly recommend the film, but not the Criterion release. A minor controversy over the new translation of one line aside, the noise reduction job is unacceptably arbitrary.

from the film thread (or read from #200 to #209):

While the compression is no doubt shit there, not exactly my conclusion though. As in I really don't know if there's a better option. The UK one looks too milky to my eyes (and has its own compression problems) based on caps for ex and I don't know of any other English (or German) friendly release that has my trust re. possibly better compression.

A 4K release would still be welcome at any rate.

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by ravenus

This the only thing I can ever see when I see this Criterion cover

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by latehong

I highly recommend the film, but not the Criterion release. A minor controversy over the new translation of one line aside, the noise reduction job is unacceptably arbitrary.

from the film thread (or read from #200 to #209):

Sadly yes, the problems on the release I heard was bad. The subtitling isn't as accurate as the Hulu version and the compression is bad. I don't have Hulu so that Blu-ray is probably my only choice. I don't know if the digital looks better though. Since I'm Region A and not Region Free, I'll have to stick with this version

[MifuneFan]

In motion for most people it should be fine. Even andreasy969 himself didn't notice anything really amiss when watching it.

[NeoNical]

Just saw a post on r/Criterion about an email that some people will get a free copy when their answer gets chosen in the Jarmusch Q&A thing for Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.

https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/c...m_a_lucky_man/

I still don't believe that this is true but wow, this is damn amazing and one I regret not participating in.

[CrossRhodes94]

Is there a way to view the full library on The Criterion Channel? I am trying to find it so I can browse what’s on there.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by CrossRhodes94

Is there a way to view the full library on The Criterion Channel? I am trying to find it so I can browse what’s on there.

https://films.criterionchannel.com/

[CrossRhodes94]

Thanks! I couldn’t find it through the app.

[Reddington]

RIP Michael Lonsdale.

A supremely talented actor, from Buñuel to Bond.

[NeoNical]

Really hoping some of Michael Lonsdale's earlier works like his collabs with Duras or Stolen Kisses gets a Blu-ray release. Also Mr. Klein would be a release that will most likely happen soon. Remember seeing him

[Show spoiler]fly off into space in Moonraker

. Really miss this guy, especially since I liked him in Moonraker as a kid.

What a legend

[dwk]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Just saw a post on r/Criterion about an email that some people will get a free copy when their answer gets chosen in the Jarmusch Q&A thing for Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.

https://www.reddit.com/r/criterion/c...m_a_lucky_man/

I still don't believe that this is true but wow, this is damn amazing and one I regret not participating in.

They did that with the earlier Jarmusch Q&As.