The Criterion Collection

[ASAPadam]

Originally Posted by styrofoamboats

I got a copy of Secret Sunshine from Amazon today and after I opened it I discovered that the "director approved" sticker was actually stuck to the case and not on the cellophane like normal. I guess I got a resealed copy?

I got a Secret Sunshine exactly like that from Amazon last week. Struck me as odd too!

[super56k]

Originally Posted by ASAPadam

I got a Secret Sunshine exactly like that from Amazon last week. Struck me as odd too!

My copy of Secret Sunshine from Amazon did not have that sticker quirk, but it was missing the booklet. Was the booklet in the case? That could explain the reseal. I did some research about missing booklets and it appears it is/was a problem with Secret Sunshine.

[Xtempo]

Originally Posted by super56k

My copy of Secret Sunshine from Amazon did not have that sticker quirk, but it was missing the booklet. Was the booklet in the case? That could explain the reseal. I did some research about missing booklets and it appears it is/was a problem with Secret Sunshine.

I remember having to ask Criterion by email for one but didn't realize it was widespread.

[JJJ225]

Hi guys - does anyone have a Panasonic DP-UB420-K 4k player? I am having playback issues specifically with Criterion discs for some reason.

A few days after I got it, I had trouble playing a Criterion Blu Ray. It said "Now Reading..." for about a minute, and then said "This disc is not compatible for playback." I tried come other Criterion discs and same thing. I tried non-Criterion Blu-Rays and 4k discs, and they played with no problem.

I rebooted a few times and eventually got the Criterion disc to play. I tried a few other Criterions and they worked to.

Just sat down this evening to pop in a Criterion Blu Ray, and am now having the same problem I had before.

Discs are all clean. They are US Region A. Player does not need any firmware updates.

Update: I just spot tested a lot of my Criterion Blu Rays. I'd say about half played and half didn't. But I can't figure out any rhyme or reason for why or why not.

[ASAPadam]

Originally Posted by super56k

My copy of Secret Sunshine from Amazon did not have that sticker quirk, but it was missing the booklet. Was the booklet in the case? That could explain the reseal.

Yeah, mine has the booklet -- I think you're right about the reseal reason. And maybe it's not possible to add a sticker when re-shrinkwrapping so they just put the sticker on the case itself? I'm not sure how it all works.

[Mike0284]

https://www.criterionchannel.com/bad-day-at-black-rock

@criterionchannl
A perfect way to spend a rainy Saturday:

In our latest FROM THE ARCHIVES selection, we've brought back BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955) with the original audio commentary recorded for our 1991 Criterion laserdisc edition, featuring director John Sturges!

“You can learn more from John Sturges' audio track on the 'Bad Day at Black Rock' laserdisc than you can in 20 years of film school.” - Paul Thomas Anderson

[Bn43]

Originally Posted by belcherman

If you have access to the Criterion Channel, they're showing Bad Day at Black Rock with the John Sturges commentary from the Criterion LD release back in the day. In it he discusses widescreen compositions, among other things. He said that the studio originally thought that widescreen was only good for epics with thousands of extras and would be wasted on a film with just seven characters. He goes on to demonstrate why that ain't necessarily so. Highly recommended.

No, I don't have Criterion Channel. I rarely stream anything.

Even some of the epics that supposedly make best use of the very wide aspect ratios aren't as well composed as many of the taller ones. Ben-hur is one of the widest movies ever made. It's a good-looking movie. But a ton of its scenes have wasted space on the sides.

[Show spoiler]

Probably looked very impressive for the few months it was exhibited in cinemas 61 years ago. Doesn't work as well without your own auditorium and a sixty foot curved screen. If I was a director, I wouldn't frame my movie for such specific exhibition requirements that are rarely fulfilled anymore after the first few months. Unless my hand were forced by the studio, of course.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by DimitriL

I went in December 1 as well to pick up The Gunfighter, and saw Crash on the shelf, so I went to get that too. The cashier said that only the Gunfighter was coming up as 50 percent off. I quietly guessed it was because Crash’s actual release date was after the sale and they put it out early, but I said, isn’t everything Criterion 50 percent off? She flagged down the manager, who said yeah, that’s how it’s supposed to be and overrode the Crash price.

No pun intended, but you CRASHed their system.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Bn43

No, I don't have Criterion Channel. I rarely stream anything.

Even some of the epics that supposedly make best use of the very wide aspect ratios aren't as well composed as many of the taller ones. Ben-hur is one of the widest movies ever made. It's a good-looking movie. But a ton of its scenes have wasted space on the sides.

[Show spoiler]

Probably looked very impressive for the few months it was exhibited in cinemas 61 years ago. Doesn't work as well without your own auditorium and a sixty foot curved screen. If I was a director, I wouldn't frame my movie for such specific exhibition requirements that are rarely fulfilled anymore after the first few months. Unless my hand were forced by the studio, of course.

Ah, you’re one of those “I don’t stream” folks. I suggest you check out eBay and pick up a LD player and the LD of Bad Day at Black Rock. Seriously, your examples from Ben Hur just show that any tool can be wasted in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to use it properly, as much as I love Wyler.

BDaBR is an excellent example of what can be done with a widescreens format and how it doesn’t have to limit your choices more than any other format. Another excellent example of what can be done with widescreen is Two for the Seesaw. It takes place in small rooms and is basically a two-character story (based on a two-hander stage play), but Wise uses the widescreen format to highlight the tension between the characters, keeping the movie from feeling “stagey.”

I’m not saying every movie needs to be shot in widescreen, but I don’t think you can dismiss it out of hand either.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Bn43

No, I don't have Criterion Channel. I rarely stream anything.

Even some of the epics that supposedly make best use of the very wide aspect ratios aren't as well composed as many of the taller ones. Ben-hur is one of the widest movies ever made. It's a good-looking movie. But a ton of its scenes have wasted space on the sides.

[Show spoiler]

Probably looked very impressive for the few months it was exhibited in cinemas 61 years ago. Doesn't work as well without your own auditorium and a sixty foot curved screen. If I was a director, I wouldn't frame my movie for such specific exhibition requirements that are rarely fulfilled anymore after the first few months. Unless my hand were forced by the studio, of course.

I did see it in the theater all those years ago and was thrilling for a 9 yr old. I don’t remember if the screen was curved or not but it was one of those grand theaters in D.C. that had balcony seating and pretty ornate decor. It was the action sequences like the sea battle and chariot race that really took advantage of the widescreen. I can remember getting the VHS tape that had the notation on the case that the screen would open up during the chariot race sequence to fully see it as filmed. TCM also used to have an info short that showed the difference between P&S and Letterboxing featuring that sequence with Martin Scorsese narrating. So maybe quite a bit of it didn’t utilize the framing but things like the Governor’s welcoming sequence was another that did.

[ravenus]

Kurosawa's High and Low is a masterclass in how to use widescreen for a character drama.

[bergman864]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Kurosawa's High and Low is a masterclass in how to use widescreen for a character drama.

[Show spoiler]

This CineFix video is a great explanation of some its masterful scenes.

CineFix

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Kurosawa's High and Low is a masterclass in how to use widescreen for a character drama.

Some of Richard Fleischer's work such as "Violent Saturday", "Compulsion", and "The Boston Strangler" also make excellent use of 'scope cinema for character driven dramas.

[traths]

Originally Posted by bergman864

This CineFix video is a great explanation of some its masterful scenes.

[Show spoiler]CineFix

I love that channel.

[Reddington]

I saved this a while back, which may be of interest given the above discussion.

Also, would love Criterion to upgrade this one. Maybe in the speculated Kurosawa box-set...

https://youtu.be/jGc-K7giqKM

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

Some of Richard Fleischer's work such as "Violent Saturday", "Compulsion", and "The Boston Strangler" also make excellent use of 'scope cinema for character driven dramas.

Also hugely interesting was Tarantino's use/resurrection of Ultra Panavision (2.76:1) for The Hateful Eight - which I thought was very successful.

[koberulz]

High and Low has been on my list for a while, but I keep putting it off because of the whispers about a potential box set.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Also hugely interesting was Tarantino's use/resurrection of Ultra Panavision (2.76:1) for The Hateful Eight - which I thought was very successful.

I thought it was largely wasted.

[dcx4610]

Blind buy and watched a couple more recently:

Sisters
I love Carrie, Scarface and Margot Kidder so thought this would be up my alley. I liked the first half better than the 2nd but it was a solid thriller. I did get a little bummed at the split screen section. It was extremely well done and intriguing but the fact that De Palma did the same thing in Carrie, it kinda ruins that moment now. I thought it was just something unique for Carrie.

The Vanishing
I've heard about this one for awhile now and thankfully didn't have anything spoiled. It's famous for its ending and that's all I knew.

Honestly, I think I'm a little desensitized. I go out of my way to watch surreal, disturbing, wtf movies and I was kinda like "That's it?". It was still disturbing but not AS disturbing as I was expecting or hoping.

Still, another engaging film that was well acted and realistic and definitely unique.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by dcx4610

Blind buy and watched a couple more recently:

Sisters
I love Carrie, Scarface and Margot Kidder so thought this would be up my alley. I liked the first half better than the 2nd but it was a solid thriller. I did get a little bummed at the split screen section. It was extremely well done and intriguing but the fact that De Palma did the same thing in Carrie, it kinda ruins that moment now. I thought it was just something unique for Carrie.

He uses split-screen in many of his films, particularly the thrillers.