The Criterion Collection

[ukulelemonster]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I prefer 30% off sales because there's no tricky half-off calculations to be solved with it. While you brainiacs whittle away your time on your wittle abacuses (abaci?) trying to solve life's greatest equation, I will be enjoying my purchases, even if it's just 30% of the movie

I know the others are teasing you with this post, but if I manage to whittle down my wishlist to the point where it's under 50 titles, I'll likely follow this approach as well.

Tracking sales can be a bit of a chore, and if I want a specific title sooner rather than later, 30% off isn't a bad deal.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I prefer 30% off sales because there's no tricky half-off calculations to be solved with it. While you brainiacs whittle away your time on your wittle abacuses (abaci?) trying to solve life's greatest equation, I will be enjoying my purchases, even if it's just 30% of the movie

Tricky half off calculations? I can't think of anything easier than dividing by 2. That's certainly much easier than calculating 30% off.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by ukulelemonster

I know the others are teasing you with this post, but if I manage to whittle down my wishlist to the point where it's under 50 titles, I'll likely follow this approach as well.

Tracking sales can be a bit of a chore, and if I want a specific title sooner rather than later, 30% off isn't a bad deal.

His post wasn’t serious. It’s a running joke on here about which half of the Criterion releases are half off.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

Criterion helpfully replaced 11 blu-ray discs for me which were on their list of titles that were potentially prone to discrot. They're happy to replace them even when they're still fully functional (and if they don't have the letters "BVDL" on the reverse side).

For those that are interested the artwork on many of the replacement discs differed slightly in terms of shading and color but not adversely. One of the discs they replaced was the only one of the eleven that had stopped functioning altogether and that was Le cercle rouge, and that was a real shame because their original release had more natural colors than their re-release which closely resembles the Studiocanal release that leans very heavily toward blue. I already had the Studiocanl disc anyway (part of their Melville boxset).

Got to congratulate the folks at Criterion for the courtesy and professionalism with which they handled my query.

Can you remind me of which discs they were. I have all of them and when this was really a topic, many of my titles were packed away in boxes. They are all shelved now, so I can finally resolve this.

Thanks.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by regeyer

Tricky half off calculations? I can't think of anything easier than dividing by 2. That's certainly much easier than calculating 30% off.

But is the price half full or half empty?

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

But is the price half full or half empty?

[dvining]

Originally Posted by ukulelemonster

I know the others are teasing you with this post, but if I manage to whittle down my wishlist to the point where it's under 50 titles, I'll likely follow this approach as well.

Tracking sales can be a bit of a chore, and if I want a specific title sooner rather than later, 30% off isn't a bad deal.

I think the 30% off MSRP makes most prices in line with Amazon's normal prices (except when they just keep the 50% off sale prices for months after a price match).

[ukulelemonster]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

His post wasn’t serious. It’s a running joke on here about which half of the Criterion releases are half off.

Ohhhh! Oh.... whoops.

[Scottie]

Janus update

Daguerréotypes (1975, Agnès Varda) - 404'd page currently
https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2068

Naked (1993, Mike Leigh)
https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2069

Secrets and Lies (1996, Mike Leigh)
https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2070

Life Is Sweet (1990, Mike Leigh)
https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2071

Topsy-Turvy (1999, Mike Leigh)
https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2072

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

Can you remind me of which discs they were. I have all of them and when this was really a topic, many of my titles were packed away in boxes. They are all shelved now, so I can finally resolve this.

Thanks.

This was the official Criterion notice.

Someone made a spreadsheet with more as well.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

One of the discs they replaced was the only one of the eleven that had stopped functioning altogether and that was Le cercle rouge, and that was a real shame because their original release had more natural colors than their re-release which closely resembles the Studiocanal release that leans very heavily toward blue. I already had the Studiocanl disc anyway (part of their Melville boxset).

Did you get the original Le Cercle Rouge disc or the one re-issued in the 4K set? (…Ass-uming they are different…)

[rickmiddlebrooks]

Originally Posted by ukulelemonster

I know the others are teasing you with this post, but if I manage to whittle down my wishlist to the point where it's under 50 titles, I'll likely follow this approach as well.

Tracking sales can be a bit of a chore, and if I want a specific title sooner rather than later, 30% off isn't a bad deal.

You may want to subscribe to the "Boutique Sales Megathread: Complete List of Current/Upcoming Sales" at:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=349719

[ukulelemonster]

Originally Posted by rickmiddlebrooks

You may want to subscribe to the "Boutique Sales Megathread: Complete List of Current/Upcoming Sales" at:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=349719

Oh man! This will be a big help! Thank you!

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

Can you remind me of which discs they were. I have all of them and when this was really a topic, many of my titles were packed away in boxes. They are all shelved now, so I can finally resolve this.

Thanks.

Criterion's message to me:

We do replace certain titles with known defects such as bronzing discoloration and/or playback issues. I've included information about all the discs that are worth reviewing in your collection, so we can consolidate any shipments of new discs. In order to receive replacement discs, please email us back with the following:

Your name and a mailing address that will be valid for at least the next 3 months
A complete list of the titles in your collection that have bronzing discoloration and/or playback issues
A photo of the defective disc(s) with your name and date written on the front/art side (using a sharpie or paint marker - you can write this info on the lighter portion of the disc, and take a photo against a light source so your name and date are visible)
A photo of the underside of the disc(s) - the shiny side

You no longer need to mail us discs affected by discrot, though any titles that are not listed may still need to be sent in for closer inspection in order to be replaced. We do not cover the shipping or provide mailers for these returned discs but we will send the replacements to you worldwide free of charge. We will alert you which discs need to be sent in, if any. Please note that except for the 4 titles below, we cannot replace out of print releases.

Discs are replaced on a rolling basis and we can typically send out replacements within 1-3 months.

The best way to tell if your disc from the list is defective is by looking on the underside of the disc (the shiny side) and if you see the letters 'BVDL' your disc will be fine. If you don't see those letters you should have it replaced.

We have confirmed that certain Blu-ray discs pressed at a replication facility that we used for a period in 2010 have become defective, showing a noticeable bronze discoloration on the underside and developing playback problems. We have confirmed the problem for select titles, but not on all copies of these titles. All of these titles have since been re-pressed at a different pressing plant, and the vast majority of discs in circulation should not be affected.

The confirmed potentially affected Blu-ray titles are:
8 1/2
Bigger than Life
For All Mankind
Gomorrah
In the Realm of the Senses
Kagemusha
Lola Montes
M
Monsoon Wedding
Monterey Pop
Paris, Texas
Revanche
Ride with the Devil
Sanjuro
Seventh Seal, The
Stagecoach
Summer Hours
Vivre sa Vie
Walkabout
Wings of Desire

Days of Heaven - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Howards End - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Le Cercle Rouge - out of print but affected discs are still being replaced
Pierrot le Fou - the version released 2008-2010 is out of print but affected discs are still being replaced with our 2020 version of the release

Not all runs of these discs were affected with disc rot. If your disc is displaying discoloration and/or having playback issues, please report it. Replacements will be honored for the foreseeable future, so there's no rush to request a new copy if there's no apparent problem.

If you decide not to send in a disc that is playing fine and it starts to show signs of the defect at a later date, we will be happy to exchange your disc at that time. If we learn that other titles are similarly defective, we will add them to the list and continue to replace them as well (excluding discs that are out of print that aren't listed above).
If you have titles from the list that are Region A with no BVDL, we should replace these even if they're not displaying severe/any bronzing and have no playback issues currently.

[trobrianders]

Originally Posted by fdm

Did you get the original Le Cercle Rouge disc or the one re-issued in the 4K set? (…Ass-uming they are different…)

Unfortunately they replaced my non-functioning original disc with the disc from the reissue that resembles the Studiocanal disc. Yes they are different as these screengrabs attest
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcom...clerouge3.html

[ravenus]

It is no surprise to hear that 1947’s Nightmare Alley was a passion project for its leading man Tyrone Power. Tired of being the Hollywood heartthrob in swashbucklers and light romances, and having seen a darker side of life in WW2, Power for looking for something meaty to sink his acting teeth into, and found the decidedly anti-heroic part of the fast-talking born hustler Stanton Carlisle right up his (ha!) alley. Of course, it was not a simple matter to bag the part. Fox Studios’ head honcho Daryl F. Zanuck was against the idea of one of his top movie leads risking his box-office charisma with such an unsympathetic part. Tyrone’s persuasion and a bit of script doctoring to tone down the hard-boiled cynicism of the source story finally got his okay and the result was a remarkable film that straddles noir and even a little bit of horror.

When we first meet Stanton he is assisting at a small-time carnival sideshow where Zeena (Joan Blondell) and her alcoholic husband Pete (Ian Keith) do a psychic act powered by a secret code between them. While Zeena still loves her decrepit spouse she is not wholly immune to Stanton’s charms. An accident (or is it?) leads to Pete’s death and Zeena shares the secret code with Stanton who becomes her partner in the act. He in turn shares it with his child-woman lover Molly (Coleen Gray). Shortly after Stanton and Molly quit the carnival and tour as a stage psychic act in high-end clubs where a blindfolded Stanton amazes guests with his ability to guess their questions and answer them correctly. During this period, Stanton encounters the icy psychiatrist Lilith Ritter (Helen Walker), who first challenges him, but later becomes his accomplice in carrying out a larger-scale swindle with a rich man’s spiritual beliefs. Of course, Stanton’s karma catches up, and his elaborate schemes come crashing down upon him.

Stanton almost has a streak of self-destructiveness in how he trapezes from one con game to another, raising the stakes each time, with nothing by way of a safety net. The only constants in his outlook are his uneasiness / dissatisfaction with his current situation and almost feverish eagerness to set up a bigger, riskier scheme. Tyrone Power’s performance brilliantly reflects this, eschewing any easy sentimentality for this equal parts fascinating and frightening character; even the occasional depiction of a softer side works to add more dimension to Stanton and not have him be a stock villain.

Aside from Stanton himself, the film is pegged upon its female characters – Zeena, Molly and Lilith. While Zeena’s psychic is a con-game, she still has scruples (Hers is only a stage act, not a swindle). Interestingly she is a firm believer in the tarot, and her predictions with the cards foreshadow the film’s tragic events. Molly represents an unquestioning love, but even she is shocked by how far Stanton is willing to go in terms of snagging his prey. Lilith on the other hand turns out to be Stanton’s equal in ruthlessness. As a psychiatrist she surreptitiously records her clients’ sessions and provides Stanton with intimate details that enable him to “hook them”. It is hinted that she makes romantic advances to Stanton which he brushes away, and perhaps this is in her head as she betrays him once the roulette wheel starts to spin away from his grasp. As much as the script, Helen Walker’s performance brings the character chillingly alive from her first appearance to her final scene in which she almost gleefully reduces Stanton to a paranoid wreck. It is tragic that Walker’s movie career was short-lived on account of off-screen misfortunes (A history of alcoholism, and a driving accident in which a war veteran she had given a lift to was killed led to hostility from the public and disregard from the studios).

As originally intended, the film runs a tragic arc in which Stanton becomes the thing he is most pitying of. Zanuck’s insistence on a more redemptive coda does soften the impact, not in a manner that blemishes the film significantly. Even for the picky folks there is a point slightly before the official end which serves as a perfect bitter-edged conclusion to this terrific drama.

A few words on the Criterion blu-ray presentation of the film:

The video comes from a 4k digital restoration that was sourced off a 35mm print element. It looks handsome, nicely reflecting the shadowy cinematography (Lee Garmes). There are instances where black fabrics / surfaces appear a little flat, and textures somewhat soft, but grain is also evident, indicating that the softness is not the result of undue digital tinkering. Also, comparisons at caps-a-holic indicate that the image quality is very similar on the UK disc from Signal 1, indicating that this is the look of the underlying master. The mono LPCM track adequately presents the film’s soundscape, with strong support to the dramatic score (Cyril Mockridge), which brings to my mind some of James Bernard’s throbbing music for Hammer Studios. Extras are significant, including an audio commentary by noir experts Ursini and Silver, a half-hour video essay by the erudite critic Imogen Sara Smith, a very fascinating history of the carnival sideshow by an actual performer-turned-historian Todd Robbins, and a relatively recent interview with Coleen Gray. There is a leaflet with an essay and even a handful of tarot cards representing the film's characters.

[NeoNical]

Nice review on Nightmare Alley (1947). Been meaning to see the original after seeing Del Toro's remake (B&W) first

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Nice review on Nightmare Alley (1947). Been meaning to see the original after seeing Del Toro's remake (B&W) first

Both are adaptations of a novel by William Gresham.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by trobrianders

Unfortunately they replaced my non-functioning original disc with the disc from the reissue that resembles the Studiocanal disc. Yes they are different as these screengrabs attest
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcom...clerouge3.html

Serves me right for procrastinating. My old disc did play the last time I tried, but no telling if it will the next time.

I did swap out the original set of replacements years ago, but really should have gotten around to the others that had discoloration long ago too. And still need to check out still others that possibly have developed issues besides those.

Should have some more time to pursue this effort now that the wife is finally going back to working in the office in a few weeks (knock on wood it's this time for sure).

[trobrianders]

The French Dispatch. Didn't feel like waiting five years for an 'inevitable' Criterion release so just ordered a Buena Vista blu pre-owned for £16. Anyone else tried it?