The Criterion Collection

[FulciLives1016]

Final order

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by Jodi

I need to check out B&N this coming week to pick up a few Cri titles to add to my Cri Coll. Still got til Aug 2 (end of sale).

End of the day August 1 apparently if the web site is to be believed. Unusual to end on a Sunday, but it's not been out of the norm since the buyout

[Jr7936]

For me my final hail was wong kar wai, jacques demy, road trilogy, memories of murder, princess bride, y tu mama tambien (dvd + blu release and amores perros.


The majority came from sellers on here and the rest were from bn and Amazon

I wanna say around $200 for all give or take

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by regeyer

My post was supposed to be taken as tongue in cheek.

And here I thought that was a drone flying over my head.

Originally Posted by regeyer

And for those who are interested, I bought the following:

I've seen all of them before. I generally won't buy any Criterion titles unless I've seen them. Actually, I have that rule of thumb for any movies. I have hundreds of movies I may never watch again. Heck, I've got about a hundred that I've never gotten around to watch, such as Disney movies I got at great prices during Christmas. Oh well. At least they look nice in the collection.

That's a very good philosophy, especially with expensive labels like Criterion. But damn if I can ever put it into practice myself. Blind buys appeal to the gambler in me, I admit, and my percentage of good luck with them has been high, but occasionally an anchovy sneaks on the pizza. I still enjoy the potential thrill of discovering shiny and new stuff though so I keep at it. However, I also do tons of preliminary research on new to me titles before clicking BUY so I at least have some safeguards, if not guarantees, in place.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Mose Harper

It was an impulse purchase at the end of the summer sale last year and, like the majority of Criterions I own, I figured it would sit on the shelf many, many years before I ever got around to it - if ever. Plenty of purchases I've made are things I want to like or want my collection associated with- but that never end up feeling like a compelling choice to watch on any given night.

I was a much more adventurous viewer/film buff 30-35 years ago. Now I mostly just want easy comfort food.

I went light on this years sale, but I've got 12 years of backlog to still work through anyway.

I didn't know my doppelgänger was posting in this thread.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Mose Harper

Watched Docks Of New York from the Von Sternberg silents set last night. Loved it!

It was an impulse purchase at the end of the summer sale last year and, like the majority of Criterions I own, I figured it would sit on the shelf many, many years before I ever got around to it - if ever. Plenty of purchases I've made are things I want to like or want my collection associated with- but that never end up feeling like a compelling choice to watch on any given night.

I was a much more adventurous viewer/film buff 30-35 years ago. Now I mostly just want easy comfort food.

Something about this director though, consistently rubs me the right way.
I polished off the Dietrich set bizarrely quick (for me) and loved it. Now I'm very much looking forward to the other two in this one.

I went light on this years sale, but I've got 12 years of backlog to still work through anyway. Hoping there will be a few more unexpected (to me) gems tucked in there like this set was.

While I think this is his best, The Last Command is not far off. If you havent also seen The Blue Angel (Kino has a release as does Eureka), highly recommend that too!

[Mose Harper]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

And here I thought that was a drone flying over my head.



That's a very good philosophy, especially with expensive labels like Criterion. But damn if I can ever put it into practice myself. Blind buys appeal to the gambler in me, I admit, and my percentage of good luck with them has been high, but occasionally an anchovy sneaks on the pizza. I still enjoy the potential thrill of discovering shiny and new stuff though so I keep at it. However, I also do tons of preliminary research on new to me titles before clicking BUY so I at least have some safeguards, if not guarantees, in place.

My enthusiasm for seeking out blind buys skyrockets after running across a winner, such as was the case with the Von Sternberg Dietrich set which led to picking up the silent set.
Doesn't have to be similar material either. A satisfying blind buy, for me, encourages an openness in taking chances on all kinds of new material.

[Mose Harper]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

I didn't know my doppelgänger was posting in this thread.

I just counted. I have several shy of 100 Criterions of films I've never seen before.
Hopefully there will be a few more things in that pile I find as sheerly entertaining as I've found the Von Sternbergs.

Originally Posted by nitin

While I think this is his best, The Last Command is not far off. If you havent also seen The Blue Angel (Kino has a release as does Eureka), highly recommend that too!

The Blue Angel was one of the very first (and only) films I ever purchased (on Beta) when I got my first VCR after graduating HS in the mid-eighties.

There was a heart-stoppingly cute cashier working in the Waldenbooks, and I liked to imagine I was impressing her with my sophisticated, cineaste taste, when I'd bring stuff like that up to the counter to purchase.

About a year later I ended up dating her co-worker, and got a chance to observe her socially. She was so not the person to give a **** about pre-war German cinema...or reading in general, for that matter.

[rooprect]

Why Criterion will never go to 4k

Let's think about this from Criterion's point of view. What would happen if they start releasing 4k discs, even just a few? The first thing that would happen, I guarantee you, is that people would stop buying their regular 1080p discs in anticipation of 4k, and their DVD stock would become worthless.

We saw it to a certain degree with 1080p over DVD. Everyone stopped buying DVD and Laserdisc went byebye. Overnight, all those DVDs we spent hundreds on became ebay bargain feed. Remember how frustrating that was, as consumers, for our expensive collection to become worthless ovenight? Now consider this from the business's perspective. Warehouses of the stuff, blu-rays & DVDs, bound for the next barge to Overstock dot com. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say the losses would amount to a few million, literally within 1 business quarter.

In order to overcome that business-model killer, there would need to be an OVERWHELMING shift in demand from 1080p to 4k. And when I say 'overwhelming' I mean of the same magnitude of DVD shifting to blu-ray (which still isn't complete since Criterion still sells DVDs at high prices).

Below this point is speculation:

I personally don't believe 4k will ever have that sort of universal surge. It isn't just a cost issue (4k tvs, 4k players) but it's the fact that the public--the average human eye--is happy with 1080p.

My expertise is audio engineering, and I've been working since the days of cassette tapes. A similar progress/evolution happened in the audio world and maxed out in the 1990s with CD quality (16 bit, 44.1kHz). CD quality is laughably horrible compared to what technology currently offers (32 bit, 384kHz). But CD remains the consumer standard 30 years later, and most audiophiles have accepted that consumer audio (digital) aint getting another upgrade in our lifetimes. Around the 2000s, record labels flirted with DVDa (24 bit, 96kHz) releases for the consumer market. Didn't go well. Sure, audiophiles lapped it up, but planet earth at large was happy with CD.

More disturbingly, planet earth at large has subsequently lowered its standards to mp3 quality, marking the clear intersection of size/portability vs quality where demand rests. This left the DVDa crowd hanging, eternally. To a lesser degree, I think this is what will happen with 4k. It won't go obsolete like DVDa, but I think it will remain limited to new films which are already shot in digital so 4k is a no brainer. Older films which require transfers and extensive restoration just aren't worth the trouble.

Criterion can't just flip a switch and convert their entire library to 4k. In most cases, they would have to fly back to Zurich or whatever obscure film archive holds the sole remaining prints, and they would have to re-scan everything in at least 8k so that the restoration process can have some headroom to deal with--and yes it would have to be RE-restored. What does every Criterion booklet say...? "Thousands of instances of dirt, scratches and damage were manually removed..."

AND THEY'D HAVE TO DO IT ALL AGAIN?

My friends, nobody would love to see these classics in 4k as much as me, but... dude... it would be the dumbest business move ever; Criterion would go bankrupt within 2 years, and none of us want that.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

[Show spoiler]And here I thought that was a drone flying over my head.



That's a very good philosophy, especially with expensive labels like Criterion. But damn if I can ever put it into practice myself.

Blind buys appeal to the gambler in me, I admit, and my percentage of good luck with them has been high, but occasionally an anchovy sneaks on the pizza. I still enjoy the potential thrill of discovering shiny and new stuff though so I keep at it. However, I also do tons of preliminary research on new to me titles before clicking BUY so I at least have some safeguards, if not guarantees, in place.

Pretty much my approach and experience, Prof. Only difference being that anchovy is my favourite pizza topping...

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Mose Harper

There was a heart-stoppingly cute cashier working in the Waldenbooks, and I liked to imagine I was impressing her with my sophisticated, cineaste taste, when I'd bring stuff like that up to the counter to purchase.

About a year later I ended up dating her co-worker, and got a chance to observe her socially. She was so not the person to give a **** about pre-war German cinema...or reading in general, for that matter.

Once more unto the Twilight Zone, dear friends.... I also dated a cute cashier from Waldenbooks back in the day. I was only 17 and she was five years older than I was and quite the foreign film devotee, which introduced me to so many new films and filmmakers. It was really nice and nearly 15 years later we hooked up again. The only thing I didn't like about her was that she just couldn't stand to watch westerns.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Pretty much my approach and experience, Prof. Only difference being that anchovy is my favourite pizza topping...

It's my Mom's too so you're in great company. How about in my simile, if you substitute pineapple instead of anchovy?

[Helikaon]

Originally Posted by rooprect

Why Criterion will never go to 4k

Let's think about this from Criterion's point of view. What would happen if they start releasing 4k discs, even just a few? The first thing that would happen, I guarantee you, is that people would stop buying their regular 1080p discs in anticipation of 4k, and their DVD stock would become worthless.

We saw it to a certain degree with 1080p over DVD. Everyone stopped buying DVD and Laserdisc went byebye. Overnight, all those DVDs we spent hundreds on became ebay bargain feed. Remember how frustrating that was, as consumers, for our expensive collection to become worthless ovenight? Now consider this from the business's perspective. Warehouses of the stuff, blu-rays & DVDs, bound for the next barge to Overstock dot com. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say the losses would amount to a few million, literally within 1 business quarter.

In order to overcome that business-model killer, there would need to be an OVERWHELMING shift in demand from 1080p to 4k. And when I say 'overwhelming' I mean of the same magnitude of DVD shifting to blu-ray (which still isn't complete since Criterion still sells DVDs at high prices).

Below this point is speculation:

I personally don't believe 4k will ever have that sort of universal surge. It isn't just a cost issue (4k tvs, 4k players) but it's the fact that the public--the average human eye--is happy with 1080p.

My expertise is audio engineering, and I've been working since the days of cassette tapes. A similar progress/evolution happened in the audio world and maxed out in the 1990s with CD quality (16 bit, 44.1kHz). CD quality is laughably horrible compared to what technology currently offers (32 bit, 384kHz). But CD remains the consumer standard 30 years later, and most audiophiles have accepted that consumer audio (digital) aint getting another upgrade in our lifetimes. Around the 2000s, record labels flirted with DVDa (24 bit, 96kHz) releases for the consumer market. Didn't go well. Sure, audiophiles lapped it up, but planet earth at large was happy with CD.

More disturbingly, planet earth at large has subsequently lowered its standards to mp3 quality, marking the clear intersection of size/portability vs quality where demand rests. This left the DVDa crowd hanging, eternally. To a lesser degree, I think this is what will happen with 4k. It won't go obsolete like DVDa, but I think it will remain limited to new films which are already shot in digital so 4k is a no brainer. Older films which require transfers and extensive restoration just aren't worth the trouble.

Criterion can't just flip a switch and convert their entire library to 4k. In most cases, they would have to fly back to Zurich or whatever obscure film archive holds the sole remaining prints, and they would have to re-scan everything in at least 8k so that the restoration process can have some headroom to deal with--and yes it would have to be RE-restored. What does every Criterion booklet say...? "Thousands of instances of dirt, scratches and damage were manually removed..."

AND THEY'D HAVE TO DO IT ALL AGAIN?

My friends, nobody would love to see these classics in 4k as much as me, but... dude... it would be the dumbest business move ever; Criterion would go bankrupt within 2 years, and none of us want that.

I think you don't fully understand the typical CC customer. You would be surprised, I think, at how many people still buy their DVDs. People who care about watching the movie and not about on what format they are watching it. This is why Criterion hasn't bothered to move to 4K yet, because they know that the bulk of their customers simply don't care. The people who still buy CC films on DVD aren't going to stop because some films are released on UHD.

[traths]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

I’d happily buy Armageddon 4K from Criterion!

Robocop would be even better.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

The only thing I didn't like about her was that she just couldn't stand to watch westerns.

[chris582]

I only want them to release another Chaplin

[UnbelievableMontages]

Originally Posted by rooprect

Why Criterion will never go to 4k

Let's think about this from Criterion's point of view. What would happen if they start releasing 4k discs, even just a few? The first thing that would happen, I guarantee you, is that people would stop buying their regular 1080p discs in anticipation of 4k, and their DVD stock would become worthless.

We saw it to a certain degree with 1080p over DVD. Everyone stopped buying DVD and Laserdisc went byebye. Overnight, all those DVDs we spent hundreds on became ebay bargain feed. Remember how frustrating that was, as consumers, for our expensive collection to become worthless ovenight? Now consider this from the business's perspective. Warehouses of the stuff, blu-rays & DVDs, bound for the next barge to Overstock dot com. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say the losses would amount to a few million, literally within 1 business quarter.

In order to overcome that business-model killer, there would need to be an OVERWHELMING shift in demand from 1080p to 4k. And when I say 'overwhelming' I mean of the same magnitude of DVD shifting to blu-ray (which still isn't complete since Criterion still sells DVDs at high prices).

Below this point is speculation:

I personally don't believe 4k will ever have that sort of universal surge. It isn't just a cost issue (4k tvs, 4k players) but it's the fact that the public--the average human eye--is happy with 1080p.

My expertise is audio engineering, and I've been working since the days of cassette tapes. A similar progress/evolution happened in the audio world and maxed out in the 1990s with CD quality (16 bit, 44.1kHz). CD quality is laughably horrible compared to what technology currently offers (32 bit, 384kHz). But CD remains the consumer standard 30 years later, and most audiophiles have accepted that consumer audio (digital) aint getting another upgrade in our lifetimes. Around the 2000s, record labels flirted with DVDa (24 bit, 96kHz) releases for the consumer market. Didn't go well. Sure, audiophiles lapped it up, but planet earth at large was happy with CD.

More disturbingly, planet earth at large has subsequently lowered its standards to mp3 quality, marking the clear intersection of size/portability vs quality where demand rests. This left the DVDa crowd hanging, eternally. To a lesser degree, I think this is what will happen with 4k. It won't go obsolete like DVDa, but I think it will remain limited to new films which are already shot in digital so 4k is a no brainer. Older films which require transfers and extensive restoration just aren't worth the trouble.

Criterion can't just flip a switch and convert their entire library to 4k. In most cases, they would have to fly back to Zurich or whatever obscure film archive holds the sole remaining prints, and they would have to re-scan everything in at least 8k so that the restoration process can have some headroom to deal with--and yes it would have to be RE-restored. What does every Criterion booklet say...? "Thousands of instances of dirt, scratches and damage were manually removed..."

AND THEY'D HAVE TO DO IT ALL AGAIN?

My friends, nobody would love to see these classics in 4k as much as me, but... dude... it would be the dumbest business move ever; Criterion would go bankrupt within 2 years, and none of us want that.

They're going 4K in December or 2022, it's already been leaked.

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by UnbelievableMontages

They're going 4K in December or 2022, it's already been leaked.

Leaked implies there has been leaked evidence provided, but has there been? I didn't think so, but maybe I missed it. I don't care to speculate on such things because it doesn't change my life in any way. But in this age of "fake news" and "alternative facts" I refuse to let a rumor become truth just because it's been repeated enough times.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by jkoffman

Leaked implies there has been leaked evidence provided, but has there been? I didn't think so, but maybe I missed it. I don't care to speculate on such things because it doesn't change my life in any way. But in this age of "fake news" and "alternative facts" I refuse to let a rumor become truth just because it's been repeated enough times.

A member here (yoloswegmaster420) provided his evidence to a mod at Criterionforum.org and they said it looks legit.

Posts:

Originally Posted by yolo

I just got confirmation for a future Criterion 4K UHD release from a studio representative. I don't know if they want the title to be outed and I'm certain that Criterion won't be pleased if I said it outright, so all I will say is that this title is an American film made within the past 30 years.

Originally Posted by yolo

I can neither confirm nor deny anything, but keep on guessing away! On a side note, I can PM the proof to a mod just to prove that I'm not trying to mess around and start something (provided that they don't go around showing others the proof).

Originally Posted by yolo

I have sent the proof to Chris, so he can verify that I'm not messing around here.

Originally Posted by mod- Chris

And it looks legit

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

A member here (yoloswegmaster420) provided his evidence to a mod at Criterionforum.org and they said it looks legit.

Posts:

OK, I'm aware of that rumor from one person, but what was actually leaked? No mention of dates there.