The Criterion Collection

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

Call me cynical, but "looking down on people" is a pastime, isn't it? Right behind schadenfreude. Plus I also agree about your smartytalk Jungian projection of the shadow somethingerother (Man, if I didn't use that made up portmanteauish word there I might be pegged as a snobbish, smugly effete intellectual Criterion addict!).

It's all shadows and echoes my friend.

Oh dear, is that a bad thing...

[greekak229]

Upon all this Polanski talk, I feel Knife in the Water deserves a proper BD release at some point soon.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

It's all shadows and echoes my friend.

Oh dear, is that a bad thing...

[Theremin Music]Only if you are a xenophobe who sees snobs as aliens.[/Theremin Music]

[Masterpiece Theater Theme]Now, go put on your slippers, fill your meerschaum pipe, and sit in front of that fireplace you upgraded with a home theater setup![/Masterpiece Theater Theme]

Oh, and to help you work on your effetely snobbish persona, listen to this:
http://youtu.be/1sVvOsrU6Aw

That's how I hear all of Pro-B, Octagon, Retablo and other thread regulars' posts in my head

[joie]

Originally Posted by greekak229

Upon all this Polanski talk, I feel Knife in the Water deserves a proper BD release at some point soon.

Agreed -- 100%

[Strevlac]

Very dissapointed in The 39 Steps. Looks like a combination of a dupey print and outdated transfer.

Hope The Man Who Knew Too Much turns out better than this. I never picked up the DVD of that one...anyone know how it looked?

[greekak229]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

Very dissapointed in The 39 Steps. Looks like a combination of a dupey print and outdated transfer.

Hope The Man Who Knew Too Much turns out better than this. I never picked up the DVD of that one...anyone know how it looked?

I have to agree. Although when coinciding with the other BD of The 39 Steps, the Criterion version is the best we're gonna get out of that film. The print used is probably the best these companies have to work with.

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

Hope The Man Who Knew Too Much turns out better than this. I never picked up the DVD of that one...anyone know how it looked?

As far as I know, all the SD releases of TMWKTM were public domain. Hopefully Criterion will have access to superior elements; doesn't mean it will be sharp. Optimally, it will be the most film-like presentation possible.

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

[Theremin Music]Only if you are a xenophobe who sees snobs as aliens.[/Theremin Music]

[Masterpiece Theater Theme]Now, go out on your slippers, fill your meerschaum pipe, and sit in front of that fireplace you upgraded with a home theater setup![/Masterpiece Theater Theme]

Oh, and to help you work on your effetely snobbish persona, listen to this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sVvO...ature=youtu.be

That's how I hear all of Pro-B, Octogon, Retablo and other thread regulars' posts in my head

Literally laughed-out-loud! Priceless clip. Thank you for that on a grey, wet west-coast afternoon.

[dan21]

Originally Posted by Strevlac

Very dissapointed in The 39 Steps. Looks like a combination of a dupey print and outdated transfer.

Hope The Man Who Knew Too Much turns out better than this. I never picked up the DVD of that one...anyone know how it looked?

If you viewed or bought the ITV release of the film you would be very happy with the CC version.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by tenia

I had huge trouble with the 1st part of movie, finding also Montand and Vanel not to act pretty well, while the 2nd half is truly wonderful.
But overall, with this overlong 1st hour, Wages of Fear is only 6.5 out of 10 for me.

Montand's best work starts with this film, really, despite him being in the likes of Z and Le Cercle Rouge:



I also really like him in this film (small but good role):

The Law DVD





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[Simple Lines]

Originally Posted by RiFiFi1955

See now I love Cul-de-Sac, even more than Repulsion...not saying anything against the greatest that is Repulsion but I really really enjoy Cul-de-Sac...just preference.

That's close to the way I lean.

Cul-de-Sac had me interested the whole way.

Repulsion? Not so much. Something was missing.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by ParticleDan

It's really, really not. Dead simple actually. Just use your postal code as the Zip and you're golden.

How do I pay for it? I heard they were cracking down on prepaid visas. Like I said, I have regular Hulu, but not the Plus version.

[SolidRaider]

When does Best Buy end their sale?

[marcizjx]

My local B&N only sells Criterion DVDs now,
not Blu Rays.

[pro-bassoonist]

Two-Lane Blacktop Blu-ray REVIEW

[ParticleDan]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

How do I pay for it? I heard they were cracking down on prepaid visas. Like I said, I have regular Hulu, but not the Plus version.

Here you go:

http://support.unblock-us.com/custom...rticles/291534

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

In fact, in a lot of ways I find the clarity of Blu-ray distracting.

Fair enough, we all are entitled to our opinions but I am just a little confused on that one line above. If you find clarity distracting why do you have a blu-ray collection of 153? Most of those titles have DVD releases.

Wait was that whole post Sarcasm??? hum

[deepbreathsanddeath]

I also find the clarity of blu-ray distracting

[Blu-Velvet]

When I was younger I used to watch movies any way I could see them, whether over-the-air TV, videotape, film society 16mm prints, theatrical reissues, or whatever. I even used to tape movies at the EP speed to fit more onto a tape or DVD. But after working over 20 years in movie theatres seeing even the dumbest movies in beautiful new 35mm prints, and traveling to various annual classic film festivals that show newly preserved and restored 35mm prints, I really can't bear to watch an entire movie on standard TV anymore, let alone any sort of streaming internet, unless it's the only way I can possibly see it. A good DVD from an HD master is adequate, but only as a last resort if no Blu-ray release seems imminent.

The sharpness of Blu-rays on a 1080p projector approaches 35mm quality, and it is that very clarity that is a large part of the experience, showing details that other formats blur out and giving the movie a sense of legitimacy that a video-resolution copy (especially a bad copy of a copy) can never have. Even movies I don't particularly like can still be appreciated on a visual level in full HD (or a good 35mm print). While I don't have anywhere close to Criterion's complete catalog of Blu-ray releases, Criterion's batting average (like Eureka's Masters of Cinema and many BFI titles) for both quality of audio-visual presentation and appeal of subject material (even if it's only intellectual rather than entertainment), makes blind-buying extremely easy whenever there's a sale, and if various critical acclaim is widespread enough, even if there's not. If a number of writeups of a title make it seem like something I don't expect to like, I may avoid it, but knowing a critic's taste helps avoid too many disappointments (such as QUADROPHENIA, FISHTANK, and KES, which I found worthwhile and interesting, but not very entertaining). On the other hand, I wound up loving such blind-buys as TOKYO DRIFTER, BRANDED TO KILL, the SAMURAI trilogy, RIDE WITH THE DEVIL, EVERLASTING MOMENTS, and many others. MONSOON WEDDING wasn't bad, and SECRET OF THE GRAIN was at least worth watching (and watching in Criterion's beautiful HD transfer).

As for Polanski, my favorites are probably THE TENANT and CHINATOWN and TESS, but I generally like most of them. I bought Criterion's REPULSION and CUL-DE-SAC, having seen them years ago on 16mm film society prints and not particularly liking them then. Seeing them much sharper was definitely worthwhile, and I can still appreciate them without really wanting to see them repeatedly. But with Criterion's Blu-ray, whenever I do want to see them again, in whole or in part, I know I'll be seeing them more or less the way they were seen theatrically when they first came out. That is well-worth Criterion's slightly higher prices (especially on sale).

Just tonight I watched Criterion's LES VISITEURS DU SOIR, a blind buy that sounded interesting. It was interesting, if very slow-starting and a bit tedious through its first half (much better in its last half), and I doubt if I'd seen it in advance that I would ever buy it on standard DVD but seeing the crisp clarity of Criterion's HD transfer of a print struck off the original nitrate negative was again well-worth the investment for the Blu-ray. Moreover, Criterion's booklets and bonus features often help greatly in appreciation of films that seem less appealing on first view than one might hope.

As others have noted, blind-buying a Blu-ray is roughly equivalent to buying a couple of tickets to see it theatrically, and many of our basement theatres provide better viewing and listening experiences than today's average multiplex.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

What happens if you get the disc and the transfer is a dud?

As far as I can recall, The Terminator is the only disc I've turned off because the transfer was just too hard to watch.

I've been disappointed by transfers and sure, that can be distracting but in my experience that's been more than counterbalanced by films that have taken on new life on BD. North by Northwest and Charade are two of the starkest examples. It was like watching completely different films. Granted, that was probably also due to changing tastes and sensibilities but that was only part it. They were just so much richer.

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

It's a luxury to be able to say, "this looks good, I'll shut it off and buy it instead". A luxury you're welcome to, but one that a lot of people don't have, and frankly I don't think need.

Of course we don't need it. Luxuries are funny that way

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

Moreover having all of these options has made so much more available to us. You're knowingly limiting the breadth of what you can see and experience to appease an aesthetic preference that is limited by what the marketplace makes available to you.

Speaking for myself (though I suspect this approach is fairly common) my aesthetic preferences do play into what I watch but they're only one factor. I almost never buy DVDs anymore but I'm not averse to borrowing or renting them and I absolutely love TCM.

Sure, if I'm interested in something that might get a BD release in the next however many months I might watch something else instead. I did exactly that with Badlands and through no fault of my own it looks like that decision is going to pay off.

Will I pay a price premium? Of course. But I'm in the camp that doesn't see that as all that different from buying theater tickets when you can wait a little while and rent the same film for a buck or two. I understand a lot of people don't think the difference between BD and streaming or cable or even DVD is as dramatic as the difference between the big screen and home but to me it kind of is.

At the very least it's worth the relatively reasonable amounts of extra cash.