The Criterion Collection

[sherlockjr]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

MR. ARKADIN DVD came with a novel written by Orson Welles.

I have that DVD release, though I haven't read the novel. However, rumor of Welles' authorship is greatly exaggerated. From Wikipedia:

"I didn't write one word of that novel. Nor have I ever read it," Welles told Peter Bogdanovich. "Somebody wrote it in French to be published in serial form in the newspapers. You know — to promote the picture. I don't know how it got under hardcovers, or who got paid for that." It was serialised in the U.K. newspaper the Daily Express in 1955.

Welles always denied authorship of the book, and French actor-writer Maurice Bessy, who is credited as having translated the book into French, was long rumoured to be the real author. Rosenbaum suggested that the book was written in French and then translated into English, as lines from the script were approximations that seemed to have been translated from English to French and back to English. Research by film scholar François Thomas in the papers of Louis Dolivet has uncovered documentary proof that Bessy was indeed the author.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Arkadin

It would, of course, be great if that DVD release, with three different versions of the film, could receive a BD or 4K upgraded release. However, I think the rights to the film and its various versions are more than a little complicated, as would be getting hold of the film elements for new scans. Be great if it could happen, though!

[JAKS88]

September releases are going to destroy my wallet when I pick them up in November. Wes Anderson set, High and Low, This is Spinal Tap, and Flow are what I have my eyes set on.

[Spencer_Kain92]

Crazy good month.

[CRASHLANDING]

Originally Posted by sherlockjr

Then again, Nigel, David, and Derek seem to be far too lame brained to pay much attention to politics, US or UK.

I'd say not paying attention to politics is the opposite of lame-brained these days

What an incredible month of releases.

[Watershipdownisgood]

Originally Posted by Spencer_Kain92

Crazy good month.

Agreed both this month and August are great freaking months this year

For August I have my eyes on
Fires on the Plain
The Burmese Harp
Shoeshine
That Edward Yang set

September
The two 2000s French
films
This is Spinal Tap
Flow
High and Low double dip

[HenryHill]

Originally Posted by sherlockjr

Rob Reiner's SPINAL TAP II: THE END CONTINUES is scheduled for release in September. So I suspect that if there's anything about the current political environment it will be in that new release.

This Is Spinal Tap was released in 1984, so there's zero chance of Reiner editing in any material from 40 years in the future. He didn't include anything about Reagan then, and he won't add anything about <insert name here> Can we maybe just enjoy non-political movies that satirize pop culture?

I expect the new sequel will be about an antiquated rock band trying to survive in the age of Spotify and Taylor Swift.

I'll probably upgrade High and Low, which Criterion obviously timed to coincide with Spike Lee's remake.

[Bruhingtonbruh]

Insane month! Really shocked about Spinal Tap now being in the collection. Also 2 animated films in the same month is a good sign for what is probably the most underrepresented style of film in the collection. I'd say it's all killer and no filler this month!

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Will this movie benefit from 4K? I admit I only saw it streaming on Prime, but it seemed to have a fair bit of aliasing and banding, a lot more than I experience with animated movies from major studios.

I think it does. I also rented the film digitally via Apple but that already was quite impressive to me. I didn’t see that many artifacts as Apple tends to optimize their streams better, so I’d answer yes to your question. As already answered, the animation style itself probably didn’t suit Amazon’s processing as much.

Regarding the encode: Criterion’s will be more than adequate. Decide which packaging or extras you’d prefer and you’ll have a nice edition. If you want the film in HDR you’d need to get the Italian disc. I’ll go with the Criterion though as it’s got the best value all around.

[spatafore]

SpinalTab is Digipack? seriously why Criterion continues releasing a mix of Scanavos and Digipack, they should go for Scanavos only. Digipacks sucks, a lot damage during transit.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by spatafore

SpinalTab is Digipack? seriously why Criterion continues releasing a mix of Scanavos and Digipack, they should go for Scanavos only. Digipacks sucks, a lot damage during transit.

It happens more with 3-disc releases than not. I would guess 3-disc plastic cases aren't always readily available for them to use. There are of course other times when it's simply a stylistic choice to use it, but I would guess it's more out of necessity here.

[kamphausd1]

Originally Posted by rmeisch

You fear that Reiner has gone back and edited the original film to include new material related to the current political environment?

Well honestly I think he's unhinged enough to actually do it.

[Röckzilla]

How much happier could I even be for a Criterion Collection 4K UHD release of This Is Spın̈al Tap (1984)...?

None. None more happier!
This could have been an awesome 40th anniversary edition but instead, it's a 41st anniversary edition... it's one louder.
ROCK AND ROLL!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5FJ6sY6yVI

[HenryHill]

Rob Delaney's Closet Picks - YouTube

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by kamphausd1

Well honestly I think he's unhinged enough to actually do it.

Talk about looking for something just to complain about.

[Cat Vision]

Originally Posted by Bruhingtonbruh

Insane month! Really shocked about Spinal Tap now being *back* in the collection.

It's already been in the collection, back on Laserdisc and DVD.

[Rayjg]

Yeah, Reiner's a real meathead. *Waits for beamish to come into the thread and soil himself*

[dj_intrepid]

Originally Posted by Jobla

I look forward to reading comments about the 4K of HIGH AND LOW when it's released. I had the previous Criterion disc (don't recall if it was DVD or Blu-ray) quite a few years ago and wasn't able to read some of the subtitles. I do hope the subtitles are much bolder on this new release.

You can see an example of the subtitles on the new transfer in the video clip on the High & Low page. Very clear and legible.

https://www.criterion.com/films/543-high-and-low

[MifuneFan]

Wow, the new High and Low screenshots Criterion uploaded are incredible. Night and Day difference from the Blu-ray.

Here's one shot from the same scene. Blu-ray screenshot sourced from caps-a-holic with black bars removed to match Criterion's sample.

Criterion Blu-ray (top) / Criterion website screenshot (bottom)

[Watershipdownisgood]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Wow, the new High and Low screenshots Criterion uploaded are incredible. Night and Day difference from the Blu-ray.

Keeping on topic with Criterion so I was just on Barnes and Nobles website, and saw that the Thelonius Monk documentary is the number 2 best selling Criterion title on Blu-Ray on Barnes and Noble. That is awesome in fact a number of African American films are all best sellers on the list including the Wiz at number 20. This is great Criterion keep the African American cinema coming the rest of this year still need to buy Killer of Sheep this year.

Also I've got my list of Criterion titles I'm buying for the sale mostly African American, and UK cinema titles.

Round Midnight
The Long Good Friday
Devil in a Blue Dress
To Sleep With Anger
One False Move
Withnail and I
How to Get Ahead In Advertising

On Amazon I'll be buying
Seven Samurai
Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai
Menace II Society 4K
Killer of Sheep

That's everything

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Wow, the new High and Low screenshots Criterion uploaded are incredible. Night and Day difference from the Blu-ray.

Here's one shot from the same scene. Blu-ray screenshot sourced from

[Show spoiler]caps-a-holic

with black bars removed to match Criterion's sample.

Oh wow, quickly looking on my phone and still notice the skin tones and the whites of the pillows are hugely better. That plus the better encoding and compression (hopefully) will be awful tempting to upgrade.