The Criterion Collection

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by jayputter

Just curious, have you seen Happiness, or did you go into Life During Wartime cold? I've only seen Happiness, and while it was well made and well acted, I definitely have no desire to own it or see it again. Just too creepy and depressing.

I just saw the trailer for 'Life....' and when they had the Valentines day sale I jumped on it. It wasn't really the story that made me unhappy. It was the PQ & AQ that was really bad. The colors were far from what I saw on the trailer. And I'd expect the trailer to be worse that the BD

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by ssjmichael

Yeah use the code NET5 to get $5 off your purchase. It only works on select movies but it does work for Last Temptation

yep it worked and I didn't have to add anything else but the LToC Criterion

[Wally Q]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

yep it worked and I didn't have to add anything else but the LToC Criterion

I'll have to check this out when I get home. I may just upgrade to Blu-ray after all on this one.

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by Wally Q

I'll have to check this out when I get home. I may just upgrade to Blu-ray after all on this one.

$20.29 USD shipped

[hammermill]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

I do believe Criterion has acknowledged [the misframing of Blue], not formally or in a post on one of their social networks but through answers to (some) emails from people about the issue.

There was at least one email acknowledgement: "Thank you for your email. We are aware of the issues with the framing on the BLUE disc, and are currently looking into it."

There's also this from a forum at MUBI.com posted very recently by "Art Vandelay": "I have contacted Jon Mulvaney at Criterion and he has said the he will speak to some of his colleagues regarding the framing issue, and that he will get back to me within the coming week."

Originally Posted by retablo

I don't think many would've noticed the issue if it weren't for a microphone dropping into frame.

I didn't even notice the microphone when I watched the movie recently and I knew about it beforehand (although I didn't remember which scene it would occur in). Not sure if I'm just lacking in the perception department, or others would have missed it, too.

Like you implied, if you don't own this movie in other formats and haven't seen it many times over, it wouldn't be that obvious that there's a problem because you would have nothing to compare the Blu-ray to. If most people are like this, then perhaps that's why the reaction has been relatively muted.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by hammermill

There was at least one email acknowledgement: "Thank you for your email. We are aware of the issues with the framing on the BLUE disc, and are currently looking into it."

There's also this from a forum at MUBI.com posted very recently by "Art Vandelay": "I have contacted Jon Mulvaney at Criterion and he has said the he will speak to some of his colleagues regarding the framing issue, and that he will get back to me within the coming week."



I didn't even notice the microphone when I watched the movie recently and I knew about it beforehand (although I didn't remember which scene it would occur in). Not sure if I'm just lacking in the perception department, or others would have missed it, too.

Like you implied, if you don't own this movie in other formats and haven't seen it many times over, it wouldn't be that obvious that there's a problem because you would have nothing to compare the Blu-ray to. If most people are like this, then perhaps that's why the reaction has been relatively muted.

That's awesome to get some confirmation. Thanks for that.

[Guitar Joe]

Originally Posted by retablo

That's awesome to get some confirmation. Thanks for that.

I think with the White and Carlos discs the problems were entirely Criterion's fault, and that is why they were quick to acknowledge the mistakes and start the replacement disc process.

With Blue, it isn't entirely their fault since they had to use the master provided by MK2. Since I imagine the cost to make and send out replacement discs is probably pretty costly, I would think Criterion and Arificial Eye would want MK2 to shoulder at least some of this. I believe this is where the hold up is.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Darkcritic

I completely agree with you . In my opinion, the only month I "completely" like (release-wise) so far this year is April but that it. They have been releasing some really amazing titles in-between these waves (Letter Never Sent, World on a Wire, Belle de Jour) but that about it. I know they are a company and they need to make a profit of everything they release but I don't really like the direction they are taking. I also think you are spot-on in saying their most "powerful" wave of releases were the late-400s/early-500s. Now it just seems they are picking up less than stellar stuff to release. I don't mind them releasing these titles if they manage to even things up. The worst aspect so far is the serious lack of upgrades. They have such an amazingly rich back catalogue and go for films like Shallow Grave or Being John Malkovich which might be good in their own but perfectly adequate for OTHER studios. I hope June brings some serious upgrades to the table but this first "hint" isn't making things look pretty .

Agreed. It's funny, now that blu-ray is fully integrated, I typically look forward to the DVD Eclipse sets more than the blus.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Guitar Joe

I think with the White and Carlos discs the problems were entirely Criterion's fault, and that is why they were quick to acknowledge the mistakes and start the replacement disc process.

With Blue, it isn't entirely their fault since they had to use the master provided by MK2. Since I imagine the cost to make and send out replacement discs is probably pretty costly, I would think Criterion and Arificial Eye would want MK2 to shoulder at least some of this. I believe this is where the hold up is.

I imagine. Like I questioned earlier, if Criterion and AE paid to license the title, would there be any legal action that could be taken if the master isn't correctly done? I'm not savvy to those types of things, but it's kind of like leasing a car that turns out to be faulty. I have heard MK2 is a good company, and they always seem to do right by their titles as far as I know, so I have high hopes this will get resolved.

[*DrStrangelove*]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

yep it worked and I didn't have to add anything else but the LToC Criterion

21.86 shipped for me. Such a great deal for LToC. Can't wait for this.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by retablo

I agree, but in a case like this, what do they compare it to? Old DVDs? Artificial Eye also received the same master and also saw no issues, apparently. I don't think many would've noticed the issue if it weren't for a microphone dropping into frame. Why didn't they see this at Criterion? Who knows, maybe they did. They aren't putting forth any information regarding it (yet), so it's all speculation. It looks to be a (simple) case of scanning the whole negative, then someone adjusting the visible frame too low, which could happen for a number of reasons. IF MK2 still has the full frame scan, the fix is pretty easy, compared to making a whole new scan.

Sławomir Idziak is still alive and working... If ever there were films that you wanted cinematographer approval for, the Three Colours films are it...

[retablo]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Sławomir Idziak is still alive and working... If ever there were films that you wanted cinematographer approval for, the Three Colours films are it...

Quite true, and something I embarrassingly never thought of, haha... he only shot Blue, but since that's the film in question...

[capnnarcolepsy]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

$20.29 USD shipped

Me too! Thanks for posting the link.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by billzfan

List your 5 must-own Criterion blu-rays because of their video-audio quality and special features

Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder
Anatomy of a Murder

Guess what I just finished?

It's absolutely stunning. I might roll my eyes at some of Sony's distribution decisions but there's no question they do some truly spectacular work and this is right up there with Taxi Driver. The blacks are like ink but detail never suffers.

The DTS-HD 5.1 remix was something of a mixed bag. It adds depth to the Ellington score (which really did work without being distracting or even noticable--note:I'm talking about the remix working without being distracting- the score was fantastic and perferctly integrated thoughtou the entire film) but dialogue seemed slightly...I dunno...'boomy' maybe so I finally settled on the PCM 2.0 track which was excellent.

So far I've only watched the Saul Bass extra (an interesting chat with a Saul biographer and the Buckley/Preminger Firing Line clips and both were very nice additions. In fact, I kind of wish they could have included the full Firing Line episode instead of the ten or minutes they pulled and the interview with Bass' biographer has me wanting to scour the net for various lesser known posters and one-sheets.

Oh, and the movie is pretty good too.

Excellent pickup and it has really amped up my hopes (now prayers) that Criterion can land some of the other Columbia titles we've been bandying about lately. It's also bumped Advise and Consent into the upper tiers of those wish lists.

What a great freaking package.

Wow. Just...Wow.

[retablo]

I wish Criterion would pick up some John Sayles' films... I don't see any of his catalog coming to blu ... ever. LOL. In fact, City of Hope never even made it to DVD in the US. I still hold onto my laserdisc, but I don't think it's widescreen. Oddly enough, a non-anamorphic widescreen version is available to rent on Wal-Mart.com though, for $2.99.

[bizarre_eye]

Originally Posted by billzfan

List your 5 must-own Criterion blu-rays because of their video-audio quality and special features

A difficult question to answer, but so far my choices would be:

1. Solaris
2. Videodrome
3. Blow Out
4. Island of Lost Souls
5. Cronos

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by retablo

I wish Criterion would pick up some John Sayles' films... I don't see any of his catalog coming to blu ... ever.

Yeah, some really great work there. Matewan, Eight Men Out, Lone Star at a minimum. I guess Limbo would be 'lesser' Sayles, but it would be gorgeous in 1080p (not to mention Roan Inish). I've never even seen City of Hope.

[monque]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

yep it worked and I didn't have to add anything else but the LToC Criterion

Thanks just placed my order.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by retablo

I wish Criterion would pick up some John Sayles' films... I don't see any of his catalog coming to blu ... ever. LOL. In fact, City of Hope never even made it to DVD in the US. I still hold onto my laserdisc, but I don't think it's widescreen. Oddly enough, a non-anamorphic widescreen version is available to rent on Wal-Mart.com though, for $2.99.

Good call on Sayles. Lone Star is always on my list of most wanted blu-rays. Sayles both wrote and directed it, along with a number of his other films. I am holding on to my snapper case DVD, but keep hoping it will be announced one of these days.

[billzfan]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye

A difficult question to answer, but so far my choices would be:

1. Solaris
2. Videodrome
3. Blow Out
4. Island of Lost Souls
5. Cronos

Great list. Blow Out is my favorite DePalma film ever.