The Criterion Collection

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by Brad1107

Has anyone been following Twilight Times releases or purchased any? They do a limited run of 3000 copies per title. 6 have been released so far with another 6 announced for the coming months (2 per month). The only one completely sold out so far is Fright Night (their most recent and most commercial title).

I have their first four: The Egyptian, Rapture, Fright Night and Mysterious Island and plan on purchasing the rest (they're quite expensive and can only be purchased here: http://www.screenarchives.com).

There other titles available now, or coming soon are: Picnic (1955), The Roots of Heaven (1958), Pal Joey (1957), Swamp Water (1941), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), Bite the Bullet (1975), Bell, Book and Candle (1958) and Desiree (1954). All seemingly more commercial titles but classic films nonetheless.

Eeek! 3000 copies of Demetrius and the Gladiators? I better tell me mam, as she said she'd buy it on Blu-ray when I heard it was coming out. Their prices aren't too bad, but I think my mother will have an issue with paying 30 bucks plus shipping for DatG. I need to start paying attention to Twilight Time, as they have some pretty interesting releases.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by Brad1107

Has anyone been following Twilight Times releases or purchased any? They do a limited run of 3000 copies per title. 6 have been released so far with another 6 announced for the coming months (2 per month). The only one completely sold out so far is Fright Night (their most recent and most commercial title)..

So far I've ordered all of them, but the price point is starting to make me think twice. That $70.00 a month can buy a lot of other Blurays. So far I've found Rapture to be one of the best films in the collection. Having second thoughts however about Pal Joey. I like Sinatra and musicals, but with such a high price point I just don't know. Jean Renoir's Swamp Water on the other hand is a no brainer.

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by Brad1107

Has anyone been following Twilight Times releases or purchased any? They do a limited run of 3000 copies per title. 6 have been released so far with another 6 announced for the coming months (2 per month). The only one completely sold out so far is Fright Night (their most recent and most commercial title).

I have their first four: The Egyptian, Rapture, Fright Night and Mysterious Island and plan on purchasing the rest (they're quite expensive and can only be purchased here: http://www.screenarchives.com).

There other titles available now, or coming soon are: Picnic (1955), The Roots of Heaven (1958), Pal Joey (1957), Swamp Water (1941), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), Bite the Bullet (1975), Bell, Book and Candle (1958) and Desiree (1954). All seemingly more commercial titles but classic films nonetheless.

I get their email newsletter...was waiting to hear some feedback on a few releases...and $30 USD is a bit steep but they ARE limited releases

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Brad1107

Has anyone been following Twilight Times releases or purchased any? They do a limited run of 3000 copies per title. 6 have been released so far with another 6 announced for the coming months (2 per month). The only one completely sold out so far is Fright Night (their most recent and most commercial title).

I have their first four: The Egyptian, Rapture, Fright Night and Mysterious Island and plan on purchasing the rest (they're quite expensive and can only be purchased here: http://www.screenarchives.com).

There other titles available now, or coming soon are: Picnic (1955), The Roots of Heaven (1958), Pal Joey (1957), Swamp Water (1941), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), Bite the Bullet (1975), Bell, Book and Candle (1958) and Desiree (1954). All seemingly more commercial titles but classic films nonetheless.

I did get The Egyptian but I do not plan on getting all of them. I think the "collectible bug" of too many get activated over these limited 3000 releases. I plan on getting those that are of interest to me. If you were to make a survey of most people in the thread (hidden survey) I would be you 70% of them are getting the movies not because they enjoy them but because of their limited releases and most of that 70% would be so they can sell them at high prices later on

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by rezpekt

Not true. To Kill a Mockingbird comes from a brand new scan and restoration. The problem with it is that they ****ed up the restoration with their so called "grain management".

Thus, not a "restoration". A restoration results in the film elements being in better shape. Taxi Driver had a restoration last year. Mockingbird was a butcher job.

Yes, I'm upset. I really wanted to own the release

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by Darkcritic

After Theo Angelopoulos passed away today I started wondering why Criterion hasn't a single one of his films. In fact, I noted that most of his filmography is really hard to find and when you do they come in so-so releases.

Artificial Eye has just released some boxed sets in the UK.

Originally Posted by Darkcritic

Would be nice to make a set or release one or two films in his honor.

100% agreed.

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by Brad1107

Has anyone been following Twilight Times releases or purchased any? They do a limited run of 3000 copies per title. 6 have been released so far with another 6 announced for the coming months (2 per month). The only one completely sold out so far is Fright Night (their most recent and most commercial title).

I have their first four: The Egyptian, Rapture, Fright Night and Mysterious Island and plan on purchasing the rest (they're quite expensive and can only be purchased here: http://www.screenarchives.com).

There other titles available now, or coming soon are: Picnic (1955), The Roots of Heaven (1958), Pal Joey (1957), Swamp Water (1941), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), Bite the Bullet (1975), Bell, Book and Candle (1958) and Desiree (1954). All seemingly more commercial titles but classic films nonetheless.

I have picked up a couple, partly out of curiosity and partly to help support a small upstart label. I agree that the price point is the biggest strike against them. Also, the first few releases (while having great AV quality) aren't authored terribly well and they are only adding scene selection because their customers complained. To my eyes, little details really stand out when I'm looking at highly priced boutique product.

At the price point, I will pick up only the titles that I feel I need. Which means that it probably won't be very many.

[JHas]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Finally got around to watching Fanny & Alexander over the weekend. I watched the TV version. The film was great and while many feel its one of Bergman's few films to be upbeat it was appropriately dark with his usual jabs at god and inevitable death. Most of the fanatastic & unusual stuff is through the eyes of the young Alexander and easily explainable. I do have troubles making sense of one scene:

[Show spoiler] When the Jewish character comes to spirit away the kids in the trunk. The bright flash on him suggests some sort of magic. Then it cuts to the two kids laying on the floor motionless and the mother tells the Bishop not to touch them. Even though we know the kids are in the trunk.
This is the one supernatural scene where it can not be easily explained away as being in the mind of the child. Unless of course this is simply how it happened in the child's mind and that is what we are viewing.

I know everybody probably has their own take on this scene and was just curious how others perceived or even rationalized it..

I finished the TV version a week or so ago. I watched the first two chapters over the course of a few weeks, took a break and started chapter 3 and was glued to the TV until the film was over. This film really picks up after the 2nd chapter.

Anyway, I rationalize that scene the same way you did. In the kids imaginatin there was magic used causing the Bishop see some sort of magical appirations of the children lying on the floor, but if he touched them, then poof, they're gone.

[*DrStrangelove*]

I just saw The Testament of Dr Mabuse and gotta say it was pretty amazing. The two Fritz Lang films I have seen have been pretty great (M, Dr Mabuse). I'm glad I saw it. I kind of just stumbled upon it while looking though titles and gave it a shot cause I liked the synopsis. Glad I did cause it was great. Anyone else think that in the close up of him Dr Mabuse looks like Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal?

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I understand people not being able to spend what Twilight Time is asking on a monthly basis, but the price point is totally reasonable for a microlabel producing limited run Blu-rays. Amazon has spoiled us all.

I don't think anyone said the prices were unreasonable. And in theory, the prices are fine. In practice, I don't see myself biting very often. It isn't just amazon that spoils us, the whole market has changed. The days of hundred dollar laserdiscs are gone. They just are.

If Criterions cost 35 a pop, with no chance of a discount, I just wouldn't have that many either. I hope TT does well, but I'm probably not going to be buying a ton of their releases.

[oildude]

I would encourage anyone considering Twilight Time's releases to pick up Rapture. It is a fantastic film, one that would have fit very nicely into the Criterion Collection. Except for occaisional brief visits to network TV over the years, it has been relegated to vault status since its release in 1965. Such a shame, because the film is a real gem. It is emotionally compelling, fantastically acted, well written, with absolutely beautiful music and cinematography. I have never seen rocky beaches and coastlines look so stunning in black and white. The film is a showcase for Cinemascope in all its glory. Twilight Time has finally given it the treatment it deserves, and for me it is the standout film of the young company's catalog of releases thus far.

The story is as brooding and ominous as the Breton coast. The actors are all superb; Patricia Gozzi shows a range of ability rarely seen in a young star. This is a memorable film, and it will stay with you after watching it. I can see why the director John Guillermin considers this to be his finest work.

While watching Rapture, I thought about some of the taboo or more disturbing elements in the movie that would make it impossible to be made today with the same level of honesty and intensity (at least in the US). The emotionally fragile teenage girl

[Show spoiler]becoming aware of her sexuality through her desires for an older man

, along with the added theme of

[Show spoiler]whether she is truly mentally disturbed or merely developmentally delayed and emotionally immature due to being ill-used by callous and manipulative adults

, to me make Rapture both a dark fairy tale and a gently uplifting coming of age story.

I don't know quite what to compare it to, it is a unique film. I think if someone likes Hitchcock and Bergman, they will like Rapture. It also reminded me of elements of early Polanski, specifically Repulsion.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by rock, stone

I don't think anyone said the prices were unreasonable. And in theory, the prices are fine. In practice, I don't see myself biting very often. It isn't just amazon that spoils us, the whole market has changed. The days of hundred dollar laserdiscs are gone. They just are.

If Criterions cost 35 a pop, with no chance of a discount, I just wouldn't have that many either. I hope TT does well, but I'm probably not going to be buying a ton of their releases.

I agree with this sentiment. I don't mind paying 40 bucks upon occasion for a Criterion, but I wouldn't pay that price all the time.

I think it's not the fact that prices are cheap, I think that people hold a different idea of what the value of something is. People are more interested in buying cheap (I'm just as guilty of it), than paying more for something, because they think they'll get more value out of it, or assume that item x is as readily available as item y, and thus can't understand the pricing difference.

[TylerDurden]

The only way I would pay $40+ for a CC is if the title is OOP. There are just too many good sales through out the year to ever pay full price.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

I just saw The Testament of Dr Mabuse and gotta say it was pretty amazing. The two Fritz Lang films I have seen have been pretty great (M, Dr Mabuse). I'm glad I saw it. I kind of just stumbled upon it while looking though titles and gave it a shot cause I liked the synopsis. Glad I did cause it was great. Anyone else think that in the close up of him Dr Mabuse looks like Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal?

Lang is one of THE great directors... Metropolis, Dr Mabuse The Gambler, Spies, Die Nibelungen, Fury, Ministry of Fear, Woman in the Window, Scarlet street.. among many others.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

That's great to hear. I've never seen Wings but I'm intrigued by the release. Unfortunately there are too many "must-haves" in the next few months so it will probably have to wait.

I hear ya...I might opt to cancel the Czech New Wave and wait until July and get it for 50% off...

Wings was purchased with part of a gift card...the other half was used on 12 Angry Men...

Silent films have become a personal priority for me...hence my excitement for one particular MoC release coming up in 2013...

[rkish]

Hey CCFixx...catch this lil' nugget?

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=8098

I might be tempted...especially since "Sawdust and Tinsel" is a fav of mine.

Where else have you seen the other releases in this boxset? Criterion? Tartan?

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by oildude

I would encourage anyone considering Twilight Time's releases to pick up Rapture. It is a fantastic film, one that would have fit very nicely into the Criterion Collection. It is emotionally compelling, fantastically acted, well written, with absolutely beautiful music and cinematography. I have never seen rocky beaches and coastlines look so stunning in black and white. The film is a showcase for Cinemascope in all its glory. Twilight Time has finally given it the treatment it deserves, and for me it is the standout film of the young company's catalog of releases thus far.

Agree 100%. Wonderful looking film and IMO best film in Twilight's library right now. All the acting is spot on. I just wish Twilight actually put special features on their discs. I was really interested in knowing more about the film. Why Patricia Gozzi quit acting, and how the movie was received poorly because of the taboo subject matter.

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

I just saw The Testament of Dr Mabuse and gotta say it was pretty amazing. The two Fritz Lang films I have seen have been pretty great (M, Dr Mabuse). I'm glad I saw it. I kind of just stumbled upon it while looking though titles and gave it a shot cause I liked the synopsis. Glad I did cause it was great. Anyone else think that in the close up of him Dr Mabuse looks like Anthony Hopkins in Hannibal?

Did you watch Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler first? Testament of Dr Mabuse was the follow up to it. I've seen both, but have still yet to see The Thousand Eyes of Dr Mabuse.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I did get The Egyptian but I do not plan on getting all of them. I think the "collectible bug" of too many get activated over these limited 3000 releases. I plan on getting those that are of interest to me. If you were to make a survey of most people in the thread (hidden survey) I would be you 70% of them are getting the movies not because they enjoy them but because of their limited releases and most of that 70% would be so they can sell them at high prices later on

Some Fright Night sales were no doubt speculative P@t. Probably Demetrius and the Gladiators will have its share too. But I suspect the rest are just us fans getting these heretofore indifferently-to-poorly served niche titles in superbly mastered high def editions. I've purchased all TT Blu-ray releases to date, and pre-order them as soon as new listings go up. It's sort of like the "2-book-a-month-club" for home video fans*.

Theoretically, at some point TT will cough up a hairball, but so far they're still styling. Worth every penny to this movie fan.

* Which reminds me, Swamp Water and Pal Joey should be waiting for me at the post office... [Rock does a little Snoopy dance]

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I agree that some of their audience is going to be those looking for a valuable collectible, but I think they will be disappointed if they invest too heavily in these. These releases have limited appeal, which is partly why the studios are licensing them rather than releasing their own editions.

It is funny yes, since so far the only one to have sold out is Fright Night which is their most regular mainstream release yet. I am actually surprise and yet not so surprise that Mysterious Island as not sold out.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by ROclockCK

Some Fright Night sales were no doubt speculative P@t. Probably Demetrius and the Gladiators will have its share too. But I suspect the rest are just us fans getting these heretofore indifferently-to-poorly served niche titles in superbly mastered high def editions. I've purchased all TT Blu-ray releases to date, and pre-order them as soon as new listings go up. It's sort of like the "2-book-a-month-club" for home video fans*.

Theoretically, at some point TT will cough up a hairball, but so far they're still styling. Worth every penny to this movie fan.

* Which reminds me, Swamp Water and Pal Joey should be waiting for me at the post office...

Some do get attracted by "the limited releases" and bit on them without liking or actually wanting the movie. Not for selling it later but just for the fact that it's a limited release and "their collector alarm" goes off. I mean it's not rare to find Criterion collector wanting them mostly for the spine number and not the fact that they just happen to like every single movie released by Criterion. It's possible that some actually do but I find it a bit of a stretch