The Criterion Collection

[BohemianGraham]

Ooh! Shiny new thread! Anyone who wants to check out the Trilogy of Life before purchase go on US Netflix as all 3 films are on there. Too bad Criterion made the deal with Hulu as I'm not a fan of the low quality and commercials every 5 minutes for me to preview something. Hulu+ isn't exactly an option for me unless I want to screw around with prepaid credit cards and faking my address, being Canadian and all. Netflix is so much easier as you can use your account while you "travel."

Early I know but any predictions for February yet?

[IronWaffle]

So, uh, now that Disney (who has a relationship with Criterion) owns, well, Star Wars, gulp, can we start wondering if the original unaltered trilogy could come to the collection?

I'm going to run away now. To hide. Um, not on Dagobah... so don't look there.

Help me P@t, you're my only hope.

[borninusa]

What is wrong with disc 2 of Carlos?

[CoenP]

I've been thinking about my 'will def. get' list. Think I will chuck The Forgiveness of Blood and get The Game instead. What do you guys think?

And, as a bonus, I might add Traffic, but if I look at the screenshots, the Criterion is not that much better than the existing US version (which is 3 times cheaper). What to do?

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by CoenP

I've been thinking about my 'will def. get' list. Think I will chuck The Forgiveness of Blood and get The Game instead. What do you guys think?

And, as a bonus, I might add Traffic, but if I look at the screenshots, the Criterion is not that much better than the existing US version (which is 3 times cheaper). What to do?

I initially had a preorder of Forgiveness of Blood and cancelled it for other reasons. It was the only one I didn't re-order out of all the Criterion preorders I cancelled at the end of September. It's on US Netflix so I think I'll check it out before I consider ordering it again. I really don't know much about it except that it's a "Western" film in "Eastern" clothing, as in, it's a US/UK film that was shot in Albanian and the east. The plot looks interesting though.

I'm not a fan of The Game. It didn't appeal to me.

[jvince]

Originally Posted by Wildcat47

I remember there being a replacement disc for the Three Colors Trilogy on the white disc. Still need to get this replaced (if they are still doing it?). My question is, are there any other Criterion blus that have issues that they have replacement discs for? Id like to know so I can take care of everything at once.

I'm planning to blind-buy the Three Colors set since I absolutely love Kieslowski. Will the ones available at stores still have this issue or is it fixed now?

Originally Posted by MPeriolat

Like others were saying, had my fingers crossed for City Lights, The Kid or The Circus. Focusing almost myopically on the Chaplin silents, I actually had to go look this one up. Not quite sure what to think as the impression I'm left with is any Chaplin sound movies, excluding The Great Dictator, are somewhat wanting compared to the classic silents. Suffice to say, I have not seen it, so I will keep an open mind toward public opinion before I buy.

I looove The Circus. It's my favorite Chaplin film (Modern Times is second). I hope they release that soon as well. I'd have no problem buying the blu-ray at full price.

[Illy Scorsese]

When your buy online from B&N, and you recieve the Blu-Rays in the Mail, do they have those horrid B&N Stickers on them that they do when you buy in store or no?

You know, the ones they sometimes put over the Criterion Sticker.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

So, uh, now that Disney (who has a relationship with Criterion) owns, well, Star Wars, gulp, can we start wondering if the original unaltered trilogy could come to the collection?

I'm going to run away now. To hide. Um, not on Dagobah... so don't look there.

Help me P@t, you're my only hope.

Now that Disney's part of it, I would not expect them to let anyone else but them put their name on such a release. It's still does not mean the original would be release (Lucas is still in charge in some form while still on this Earth and maybe even after ) but maybe the chances of it being release might have gone from zero to maybe 10%

[P@t_Mtl]

I am surprise at Monsieur Verdoux hint but also happy in a way. His later movies are sometimes overlook so it would be nice to see one release.

[P@t_Mtl]

I haven't order anything in this new sale, frankly I wasn't really thinking of ordering anything. Only release I want for the next three months is Rashomon and I have that on pre-order with Amazon.ca, I suppose I could check out some more Eclipse sets and see if I could order a few more of those

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I haven't order anything in this new sale, frankly I wasn't really thinking of ordering anything. Only release I want for the next three months is Rashomon and I have that on pre-order with Amazon.ca, I suppose I could check out some more Eclipse sets and see if I could order a few more of those

I wasn't going to get much this sale, but I ended up cancelling all my preorders in September for personal reasons (which turned out to be unneccessary), and missed the December cheapies on Amazon.ca, so this sale was basically reordering movies I was going to buy for about 10-15 bucks more, for the sake of getting them sooner. I wasn't even thinking of this sale when I cancelled, and I'm happy it came up. I still have about 10 titles on BD on my wish list, but with the purchase of a Unblock Us subscription, I can stream a lot if these titles via Netflix for preview to see if I want to buy them.

I'll get to the Eclipse sets eventually, as I need to catch up on some BDs I bought and there's waaaaaay too much stuff on Netflix to check out. They have the Star Trek cartoon show!

Also, Iron Waffle, you wanted to check out that film about they who must not be named? It's streaming on Netflix minus the commentaries from Pierrot, Davy, and Dolenzio.

[rkish]

OT...how are we folks that live on the East Coast of the US fairing, since the end of the storm?

I'm about 60 miles north of NYC and we had the heavy winds, but really lucked out with very few tree branches coming down and we never lost power.

I know the City, NJ,and LI got hit really badly. I hope you guys are doing alright.

[rkish]

I did get to take advantage of my recent subscription to Hulu Plus. I've already watched over 20 films (I believe all Criterion) and am enjoying it immensely. I would highly recommend it for those that want to see the films and not have to buy, unless you're sure it's a keeper for repeat viewings.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by insomniac013

Does Criterion have any plans for more Chaplin films? It seems they've released one every year since 2010, so a new one next year maybe?

They own the US release rights, so they would be foolish, not releasing them. I would think that City Lights would be prominent on their radar...but who knows. I'd love to see a shorts collection released ala Kino and Buster Keaton.

[obscurelabel]

Originally Posted by Sukuri

... As part of the sale, I'm picking up Larisa Shepitko and Dusan Makavejev - Free Radical eclipses. These are completely blind buys and I have not seen anything by either directors, what sort of things should I expect?

I really enjoyed Wings from the Shepitko set, it's very poignant and features a very strong woman as the protaganist, and is a fascinating look at Soviet life in the 1960s. Great ending too, IMO. I haven't seen The Ascent, but if others think it is better than Wings it must be very good indeed.

The Makavejev set ... I really liked Man is Not a Bird and Love Affair, Innocence Unprotected not so much. The first two are very similar in tone, with touches of tragedy and comedy in off-kilter love stories. Makavejev has a great visual sense, I was very impressed with an extended shot of two people walking and talking on a beach in the first movie, the camera angles and tracking shots gave a lot of visual interest to a scene that didn't have much action or varied scenery. These two also give a glimpse of life in communist/socialist Yugoslavia which is quite interesting. The third movie is a quasi-documenatry about the first sound film made in Serbia, by a legendary strongman/daredevil performer, and doesn't have the same feel as the first two, still interesting but I put it several notches below the others. The only other film of Makavejev's I have seen is The Coca-Cola Kid, and it's very much like the first two films in this set, I highly recommend it for fans of the quirky/whimsical.

I could go on but to summarize, in my opinion both sets are well worth picking up at 50% off.

[JHas]

So I finally got around to watching "World on a Wire" in its entirety on Sunday. I admire the film greatly in its ability to keep me so engrossed given the fact that it's budget must have been so small. An especially impressive feat for a sci-fi film. Puts a lot of Hollywood's blockbuster sci-fi films to shame.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Now that Disney's part of it, I would not expect them to let anyone else but them put their name on such a release. It's still does not mean the original would be release (Lucas is still in charge in some form while still on this Earth and maybe even after ) but maybe the chances of it being release might have gone from zero to maybe 10%

I was excited about the possibility of the original trilogy getting released, until I read this morning that Disney doesn't get the rights to the original trilogy until 2020, and even then they don't get the rights to A New Hope. Not sure how accurate that information is, however.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I haven't order anything in this new sale, frankly I wasn't really thinking of ordering anything. Only release I want for the next three months is Rashomon and I have that on pre-order with Amazon.ca, I suppose I could check out some more Eclipse sets and see if I could order a few more of those

Rashomon is the biggest title I'm waiting for in this sale. Will hopefully pick up In The Mood For Love and Rosemary's Baby later today. No major Eclipse sets on my radar at this point...but it's early.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I've always believed they would come out at some point, just as they did on the DVD reissues. It makes no sense to release everything in a definitive edition when you can continually lead your fans back to the well for another drink. People have shown they will buy these films over and over, so there will always be something left in the vault to allow for future possibilities IMHO. Case in point, the now inaccurate "Complete Saga" set.

Zero chance of these from Criterion, though.

Criterion has released the Wes Anderson films (I know...a different beast)...but ya never know. No one thought WB would ever show up on the radar, so hope springs eternal.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by obscurelabel

I really enjoyed Wings from the Shepitko set, it's very poignant and features a very strong woman as the protaganist, and is a fascinating look at Soviet life in the 1960s. Great ending too, IMO. I haven't seen The Ascent, but if others think it is better than Wings it must be very good indeed.

The Makavejev set ... I really liked Man is Not a Bird and Love Affair, Innocence Unprotected not so much. The first two are very similar in tone, with touches of tragedy and comedy in off-kilter love stories. Makavejev has a great visual sense, I was very impressed with an extended shot of two people walking and talking on a beach in the first movie, the camera angles and tracking shots gave a lot of visual interest to a scene that didn't have much action or varied scenery. These two also give a glimpse of life in communist/socialist Yugoslavia which is quite interesting. The third movie is a quasi-documenatry about the first sound film made in Serbia, by a legendary strongman/daredevil performer, and doesn't have the same feel as the first two, still interesting but I put it several notches below the others. The only other film of Makavejev's I have seen is The Coca-Cola Kid, and it's very much like the first two films in this set, I highly recommend it for fans of the quirky/whimsical.

I could go on but to summarize, in my opinion both sets are well worth picking up at 50% off.

The Shepitko set is a no-brainer...it's got two great films and it's cheap...especially at 50% off. Go for it!