The Criterion Collection

[rkish]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

The Mizoguchi Eclipse set did give me nightmares of sort for a while because while in the case of other Eclipse sets I can't imagine some of these movies making their way to Blu-ray anytime soon (if ever) I could see those in the Mizoguchi set being release on Blu-ray

That's the thing Pat...if AE saw it fit to release the two "lesser" films from that Eclipse set, part of me feels that they or someone else in region B land will/should release the other two films.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by oildude

No. You're not. You are a bad boy. Very bad.

I am the last person to talk anyone out of getting the Mizoguchi Eclipse set, since it has Street of Shame and Women of the Night, two of the best films I discovered this year. Both deserve blu-ray releases. I think the fact that Criterion relegated these to DVD with very little chance of a blu-ray upgrade has to be one of my biggest disappointments with their decision process. Like you, I will be keeping an eye out for an overseas release. In the meantime, the DVDs do look quite good.

I have seen Port of Call in the Early Bergman Eclipse set already. I watched it on hulu plus last November when I was trying to decide whether to take the plunge into the Eclipse sets and was sampling films. I ended up watching the whole thing. I have found the Early Bergman set to be one of the hardest to find locally in a B&N, so when I saw it a couple of days ago at a B&N that I normally don't visit, I scooped it up.

Try and use the 8/40 coupon if you are going into a store (one expires today, the other at the end of Sept). I have had no problem using these on the Eclipse sets this sale.

Thanks for confirming my worst fears Dude!

That said, I've seen the entire Eclipse set (NetFlix rentals a year or two ago) and wonder if AE or anyone else in region B land will get to them in the near future. If so, patience is a virtue.

Unfortunately, unless the price after the 50% is $40 or more, my local B &N will likely not honor the $8 coup. With the number of releases of interest in the next two to three months, I might opt to chill tomorrow, unless I convince myself to bite on something.

Have you seen any of the other films in the Early Bergman set? What did you think of the film(s) you've seen so far?

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I've already watched it, hence me hemming and hawing about ordering it after missing the cheap pre-order and it missing the B&N sale.

Some folks seem to think there will be a few hours during the BN sale when Le Havre will be available for $19.99.

[RupertPupkin]

Originally Posted by monque

+1

+1+1+1+1 Veronica lake in HD...

I have it (I Married A Witch) on DVD (french DVD StudioCanal) and the picture quality is average.
unfortunately I can't watch it from France on hulu to see the difference...

Sullivan’s Travels is excellent on DVD (picture quality is really amazing). This could be a very welcome Criterion blu-ray upgrade...

[Shout92]

"I am the last person to talk anyone out of getting the Mizoguchi Eclipse set, since it has Street of Shame and Women of the Night, two of the best films I discovered this year. Both deserve blu-ray releases. I think the fact that Criterion relegated these to DVD with very little chance of a blu-ray upgrade has to be one of my biggest disappointments with their decision process. Like you, I will be keeping an eye out for an overseas release. In the meantime, the DVDs do look quite good."


Is there any reason why Criterion does some releases as DVD only? (And I'm not referring to those released before they started blu-rays)

[oildude]

Originally Posted by rkish

Thanks for confirming my worst fears Dude!

That said, I've seen the entire Eclipse set (NetFlix rentals a year or two ago) and wonder if AE or anyone else in region B land will get to them in the near future. If so, patience is a virtue.

Unfortunately, unless the price after the 50% is $40 or more, my local B &N will likely not honor the $8 coup. With the number of releases of interest in the next two to three months, I might opt to chill tomorrow, unless I convince myself to bite on something.

Have you seen any of the other films in the Early Bergman set? What did you think of the film(s) you've seen so far?

I haven't seen any of the films in the Bergman set except Port of Call. I really liked it, ended up watching the whole thing on hulu plus when my intent was only to preview it. I did sample bits of the other films in the set, just enough to know I wanted to see them and that this was an Eclipse set I needed to add to my wishlist.

It wasn't a priority for me, however, during the November sale, given all the Japanese sets, the Larisa Shepitko set, and others I wanted first. So when this sale came around, and I saw it on the shelf of that B&N I'd never been to before, I couldn't pass it up.

I picked up four new Eclipse sets this sale:

Early Bergman
Pearls of the Czech New Wave
Jean Gremillon
Sabu!

Still waiting on Late Ozu - it should have arrived already, but hasn't, so I need to call B&N tomorrow. I ran into this issue before with them where if an item is low on stock in the warehouse, it takes forever to ship. If it arrives after the sale, I'll see if B&N will honor the sale price. If not, I'll either wait until November, or order it from Criterion next time they have a 50% sale.

Now I can add these sets to my shelf alongside the other sets I haven't been able to watch yet. I am thinking the next set I watch will be one of the silents, either Naruse or Ozu.

[oildude]

This weekend I watched a couple of Criterion blind buys from a past B&N sale that have sat on my shelf for a year. For some reason, I was never in the mood to watch them until now.

The big surprise for me was the film I watched tonight - Sweetie. This one never gets mentioned here. I can't believe I waited so long to watch it, especially since I am such a huge fan of Australian cinema.

Sweetie is a strange and touching film, filled with odd characters and a slow, creepy sense of growing dread mixed with black comedy. It is about two sisters, one of whom (nicknamed Sweetie) is mentally disturbed, and how Sweetie's mental illness since childhood has affected the other sister and her parents' lives and personalities. The father, in particular, is trying to hold the family together while it is spinning apart under the cumulative weight of years of Sweetie's destructive influences. She is still his little girl, and he cannot bear to have her put away.

Sweetie has a style to it that reminds me of a David Lynch film. It is peopled with disturbing and odd characters moving through a slightly off-kilter world that the rest of us are unable to see or experience. There is a pathos that shines through the darker elements, making Sweetie a profundly moving film. I was especially impressed with the ending. Not what I expected, but I thought it was perfect -

[Show spoiler]how the father does not call for help and Kate is the one who cares the most despite her love-hate relationship with the sister who has had such a negative influence on her own development.

It is also is a gorgeous film, the cinematography is expansive and vibrant with glowing color.

It may not be for everyone, but Sweetie is one film I think should be seen, and it definitely deserves more mention in this forum. Sweetie was Jane Campion's debut film, and the only one of hers I have seen so far, but now I am looking forward to seeing The Piano soon.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Some folks seem to think there will be a few hours during the BN sale when Le Havre will be available for $19.99.

Too late, I ordered it at the non-sale price with the cover for my future Nook. I don't think I can stay up that late, what with work and all that on Tuesday, and the whole business of getting up at 5AM. I enjoyed the film too much to bother, although I am kicking myself for not being interested in it when the Canadian pre-order was 27.99.

[blujazz]

Originally Posted by oildude

Sweetie was Jane Campion's debut film, and the only one of hers I have seen so far, but now I am looking forward to seeing The Piano soon.

You should also check out Bright Star. That is such a lovely film.

[DarkRyder]

Still unable to get over the joy Robinson Crusoe on Mars brought me, I was wondering what other films were similar to this one? Either in the collection or just general releases?

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Shout92

Is there any reason why Criterion does some releases as DVD only? (And I'm not referring to those released before they started blu-rays)

A few reasons I can think about are, first there is a chance many of these movies might not be that interesting for so many people and would not sell so well if release on Blu-ray. Many of these Eclipse sets have not so well known movies that might be interesting only to the hardcore fans of these directors and not to the general public. Plus the Eclipse sets on DVD are less expensive than if they were release in a set of movies in Blu-ray, for example the BBS set or David Lean set. Of course I may be wrong and they have other reasons for releasing them in DVD only.

[santasangria]

Watched the first two hours of Leopard on TMC via DVR, how in the hell did Burt Lancaster understand his co-stars, if they were speaking different languages? Did it not matter? Gonna finish the rest tonight, great film so far. I'm sure the BD must be ridiculous.

[Sinthetic]

Absolutely lovely. Got it a day before release and I'm in the UK too.

[Show spoiler]

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by santasangria

Watched the first two hours of Leopard on TMC via DVR, how in the hell did Burt Lancaster understand his co-stars, if they were speaking different languages? Did it not matter? Gonna finish the rest tonight, great film so far. I'm sure the BD must be ridiculous.

Maybe he read the novel beforehand? The film is a great adaptation of the novel. I just read it last week. I highly recommend people seek it out.

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by santasangria

Watched the first two hours of Leopard on TMC via DVR, how in the hell did Burt Lancaster understand his co-stars, if they were speaking different languages? Did it not matter? Gonna finish the rest tonight, great film so far. I'm sure the BD must be ridiculous.

This is a point where a strong director comes into play. This was a very, very common practice in that day of foreign (non-English) filmmaking: especially as foreign producers wanted to cast big Hollywood stars, and/or actors wanted to work with these great foreign directors (and vice-versa). Actors spoke in their native language and their voice was dubbed in the film's release language later.

[jcs913]

For anyone that already has the dvd of Metropolitan, my recommendation is to keep it. I got to my copy last night and was not impressed at all. Pro-B has not put up his review yet, but if it gets more than 3 stars, I would be surprised. I know Stillman supervised the releases, but the PQ quality is bad for a more 'modern' film. I truly believe it is not much of an upgrade from the DVD. It has a more 'film-like' look, which is always great, but the noise and clarity in the background is bad at times. Disco did not look much better than the DVD either, but the boost in audio is worth the upgrade. I have been a much bigger fan of Disco anyways, but I expected a little more on both releases. I like Stillman, but the presentation of the 2 upgrades is average at best. I am not privy to what the 'elements' look like, but in a rare example, I think it was a poor effort from Stillman and Criterion...

[bb.77]

hey folks, just need your input on this issue. i bought the curious case of benjamin button of gohastings during the last sale they had. unfortunately, it came w/ only the film disc. they're going to issue me a full refund and let me keep the disc, but i want to know if am i missing a lot of stuff with the special features disc? i tend to watch special features on films that i really like. thanks.

[ParticleDan]

Originally Posted by bb.77

hey folks, just need your input on this issue. i bought the curious case of benjamin button of gohastings during the last sale they had. unfortunately, it came w/ only the film disc. they're going to issue me a full refund and let me keep the disc, but i want to know if am i missing a lot of stuff with the special features disc? i tend to watch special features on films that i really like. thanks.

All the special features are listed here:

http://www.criterion.com/films/1584-...enjamin-button

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by jcs913

For anyone that already has the dvd of Metropolitan, my recommendation is to keep it. I got to my copy last night and was not impressed at all. Pro-B has not put up his review yet, but if it gets more than 3 stars, I would be surprised. I know Stillman supervised the releases, but the PQ quality is bad for a more 'modern' film. I truly believe it is not much of an upgrade from the DVD. It has a more 'film-like' look, which is always great, but the noise and clarity in the background is bad at times. Disco did not look much better than the DVD either, but the boost in audio is worth the upgrade. I have been a much bigger fan of Disco anyways, but I expected a little more on both releases. I like Stillman, but the presentation of the 2 upgrades is average at best. I am not privy to what the 'elements' look like, but in a rare example, I think it was a poor effort from Stillman and Criterion...

I know Metropolitan was shot on Super 16. I did watch Last Days of Disco on my 50" Plasma but I must not have been eyeing the transfer too much but I thought it looked fine. Of course bigger screens will show off the issue more so. I am sure as I listen to the audio commentary I may notice the issues.

Anyone else have any any opinions on the transfers. I bought both titles at Barnes for the sale, because I got rid of the DVD counterparts once the BLUs were announced.

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by hedliniv

I just watched "I Married a Witch!" with Veronica Lake on the Criterion Hulu channel and it was such a charming movie! What is the likelihood that we see a blu-ray release from Criterion for this title? I would be buy it immediately!

Not putting I Married a Witch or Sullivan's Travels on Blu-ray would be a crime.