The Criterion Collection

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Thanks to all of you for voting!

[SIZE="6"]2012 Criterion Collection Blu-ray Poll Results

Best Upgrade - DVD to Blu

1st Place - In the Mood for Love (11 votes)


Worst Upgrade

Children of Paradise (23 Votes, 38.3% of all votes)

Well, I for one doubt this result.
In The Mood For Love is clearly the winner based on the film's popularity and the desire from its fans to see it upgraded.
Children of Paradise was also high in demand for an upgrade, so it's pretty obvious it's not the worst upgrade, but rather people are voting for it being the worst transfer.
I'm not sure I'm not the only one to realise this.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by CusackstheMan

I don't understand how you can say this. If you're right, then why does a movie, say, made in 1973 have to undergo countless hours of restoration to be up to snuff to high quality 2012 Blu-Ray releases? And even if the restoration is done perfectly, often you can still tell it's not a new release?

You can fix up a Ford from the 1940s, yet it still doesn't look like a 2012 Mustang. But I can probably guarantee you its a better made car, with better parts, that will run longer without maintenance than a fast assembly-line new one.

Age and the condition in which the negative was stored and kept have an effect on how the image looks, too.

A film from 1973 shouldn't look like it was made yesterday... because it wasn't. Film stock has changed a lot over the years - what it's capable of seeing, how it sees - but cameras and lenses have remained pretty static (although faster and faster lenses were developed, allowing photographers to shoot in much lower light - see Barry Lyndon). Go look at the blu-ray for Sunrise (1927) - it's a clear, sharp image that rivals, IMO, even films shot now.

That's how I can say it.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

I'm not sure I'm not the only one to realise this.

Yeah, a separate transfer option wouldn't be bad...voters didn't consider the films themselves (not complaining though, as I really appreciate the work in getting the poll together)

[oildude]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Well, I for one doubt this result.
In The Mood For Love is clearly the winner based on the film's popularity and the desire from its fans to see it upgraded.
Children of Paradise was also high in demand for an upgrade, so it's pretty obvious it's not the worst upgrade, but rather people are voting for it being the worst transfer.
I'm not sure I'm not the only one to realise this.

I thought the exact same thing when I saw the poll results. If Children of Paradise had a better transfer, it would not even get mentioned. Furthermore, how many people that voted it as worst (transfer) actually saw it? I guess it is all in how people interpreted the question. Given how few upgrades came out in 2012, to me the “worst” upgrade should be one that makes me ask "with all the great DVDs waiting for upgrades, they chose that one?" Worst doesn’t necessarily mean a bad film, or a transfer that could have been better, just the least worthy of the bunch that was chosen by Criterion for upgrading.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Well, I for one doubt this result.
In The Mood For Love is clearly the winner based on the film's popularity and the desire from its fans to see it upgraded.
Children of Paradise was also high in demand for an upgrade, so it's pretty obvious it's not the worst upgrade, but rather people are voting for it being the worst transfer.
I'm not sure I'm not the only one to realise this.

Good points drbikeshorts. I was interpreting "upgrade" as "transfer" in both those categories, which is why I selected A Night to Remember as best because of its significant leap in video specs. Outstanding work by the BFI from a 2k scan.

[mpreed]

Originally Posted by Normans Rare Guitars

As to why older films look differerent, there are a number of reasons. Modern films take advantage of digital media, steadycams and computer-aided post production tools. Older films (shot on actual film) often have more grain as a result of the lighting and expsosure requirements, and typically had limited camera motion. If you wanted a steady shot in 1973, you needed a fixed camera angle. Now a sweeping, moving camera shot can be accomplished with no perceivable camera shake.

About thirty years ago I read TEB Clarke's (screenwriter of several Ealing classics) autobiography wherein he takes the mickey out of some of the screenplays he gets sent, pointing out how unpractical they are due to the writers lack of awareness of what can and can't be done by a camera. He cites a specific example of a screenplay opening with a tracking shot of a bee flying across a field, ridiculing it by asking exactly how this could be done as at the time of his writing, the 50s I think, this was impossible to do.

Fast forward many years, and I burst out laughing in the cinema when watching one of the Men In Black films which opened following the flight path of a fly, thinking TEB Clarke would have been astounded.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Yeah, a separate transfer option wouldn't be bad...voters didn't consider the films themselves (not complaining though, as I really appreciate the work in getting the poll together)

Good point - this isn't a dig at all of Shell's hard work.

[joie]

Internet polls are meaningless, even if you could prevent people from voting more than once, because only people with strong opinions will participate.

Edit: People-with-strong-opinions are very-opinionated-people

[ShellOilJunior]

I didn't believe further defining Worst Upgrade was necessary. The overall presentation of the film on the blu-ray medium seems to be what most were going on when they voted for it.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I didn't believe further defining Worst Upgrade was necessary. The overall presentation of the film on the blu-ray medium seems to be what most were going on when they voted for it.

exactly we all know why it was voted the worst release, it wasn't because no one wanted it, or because it is a bad film. I placed it as my vote as the worst upgrade. You know Criterion knew it was going to be bad for them. Must have been hard having to proclaim the release knowing it was going to be the worst looking blu from them ever.

[JHas]

I set up my 3d blu ray player last night and finally got around to checking out the Hulu Plus app on the machine. Hog Heaven with the amount of films on there, excited to check out the documentary on the making of Fitzcaraldo. Hopefully, Criterion gets their hands on some Herzog/Kinski films.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ROclockCK

Not only a "false" impression, but sometimes too "forgiving". Blu-ray is a brutal lens...photo-chemical imperfections that were once less noticeable on DVD, VHS, or via TV Broadcast can often become glaring in 1080p. So most older films require some kind of clean-up work for HD...eliminating random dust, scratches, specs and flecks. If you look closely at older home video releases, you can often see traces of these imperfections - they were always there - they just weren't as noticeable at a lower resolution, along with other more important shot details.

I realize it's heresy on these boards, but I know many less discriminating movie fans and collectors who actually still prefer DVD over Blu-ray, simply because it is more inherently "forgiving"...they can live with less exacting detail as long as the image is superficially "cleaner". Personally, I want more faithful reproduction, warts and all, but there is something to be said for the persistence of vision...up to a certain display scale, your mind will tend to fill in any missing details when viewing an image in motion anyway.

Good post. Since I am new to the high definition world as of earlier this month, I've been immersing myself with the Blu-rays almost every evening when I have spare time. For the most part, I have been revisiting movies that I grew up watching on VHS and DVD.

One of my favorites, David Lynch's Dune, looks outstanding on Blu-ray in 99% of the scenes, but the high definition also exposes the shortcomings of the dated special effects in a couple of sequences where ships are flying through the air. I laughed a couple of times, because a scene with a ship flying over the desert looks almost like Atari 2600 video game effects. This did not lessen my high opinion of the movie, since I am fascinated by old-school effects, and, instead, I enjoyed it all the more.

I've probably seen Stand By Me over a hundred times throughout my life, and noticed a couple of scenes on Blu-ray, especially the night scenes with the kids around a campfire, that were so clear that they almost took my mind out of the film itself to wonder where the camera lights were situated while filming those scenes.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is another favorite that I experienced for the first time on Blu-ray. The movie looks better to my eyes than it ever has on home video, but I fondly remember seeing this movie on TBS Super Station when I was a kid, and a part of me misses that dirty television look of the film from those viewings.

On the Criterion front, though, I must say that Army of Shadows on Blu-ray completely rocks my face. That movie looks amazing.
Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line blew me away as well, but I expected no less from that transfer.

[Angel Eyes]

What I want to know is where are all the Fellini films? Criterion has put out what? 8 1/2 and Amaracord but Where is La Strada? Nights of Cabiria? Juliet of the Spirits? I wish they could get the rights to La Dolce Vita.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by Angel Eyes

What I want to know is where are all the Fellini films? Criterion has put out what? 8 1/2 and Amaracord but Where is La Strada? Nights of Cabiria? Juliet of the Spirits? I wish they could get the rights to La Dolce Vita.

I want Juliet of the Spirits badly on BLU.

[ShellOilJunior]

With presumably a new New Year's Hint Card coming in the next few days I think It'd be interesting to make some bold predictions for 2013.

• Ace in the Hole will be on blu-ray before August 2013
  
• Eraserhead will be issued on blu-ray. Mulholland Drive will be hinted and teased.
  
• Don't be surprised to see The Bride Wore Black on blu-ray
• How about this for a cover?
• [Show spoiler]
  
  
• Hidden Fortress will be released on blu-ray in July 2013
  
• Red River in July 2013
  
• More blu for Chang-dong Lee and Kiarostami
  
• Gilda sometime in 2013
  
• From Here to Eternity will see release in time for its 60th. A Capra title will be hinted at.
  
• Likely upgrades: Tokyo Story, La Strada, Lord of the Flies, Life Aquatic with Steve Z, Bicycle Thieves, Written on the Wind, L'avventura, Night on Earth, Band of Outsiders,Jules et Jim...

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

With presumably a new New Year's Hint Card coming in the next few days I think It'd be interesting to make some bold predictions for 2013.

• Ace in the Hole will be on blu-ray before August 2013
  
• Eraserhead will be issued on blu-ray. Mulholland Drive will be hinted and teased.
  
• Don't be surprised to see The Bride Wore Black on blu-ray
• How about this for a cover?
• [Show spoiler]
  
  
• Hidden Fortress will be released on blu-ray in July 2013
  
• Red River in July 2013
  
• More blu for Chang-dong Lee and Kiarostami
  
• Gilda sometime in 2013
  
• From Here to Eternity will see release in time for its 60th. A Capra title will be hinted at.
  
• Likely upgrades: Tokyo Story, La Strada, Lord of the Flies, Life Aquatic with Steve Z, Bicycle Thieves, Written on the Wind, L'avventura, Night on Earth, Band of Outsiders,Jules et Jim...

Sounds good to me.

I'm hoping Darren Aronofsky's Pi gets hinted at with a pie picture. Somebody mentioned earlier (I think TheHighRoller) that Jon Mulvaney from Criterion hinted at Julia Leigh's Sleeping Beauty coming out around the summer.

[PowellPressburger]

would love to see Criterion issue Bride Wore Black.

[IronWaffle]

I'm hoping for any of these (realistic or not):

Pi
Grey Fox
Touch of Evil (à la MoC set)
Dekalog (and any other Kieslowski)
After-Life (Kore-Eda)
Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight
The Straight Story
Until the End if the World
The Swimmer
Code Unknown (or other Haneke)
Best of Youth
John Huston's The Dead
More Ashby
More Wilder
More Malle
More Leigh
Any Coens they can get (Hudsucker relegated to the Warner Archive?!?)
More WB (Face in the Crowd being at the top of my list)
More of what I love, like, will love or will like
Less of what I don't like or won't like

Upgrades:
Ace in the Hole
Ikiru
Wild Strawberries
Ozu's Tokyo Story (and Eclipse titles)
My Dinner with André (c'mon, I want to see the loose threads on Wallace Shawn's wide lapels!)
Mouchette & Balthasar

[Scottie]

Maybe we'll finally see Y Tu Mama Tambien and Wild Strawberries this year. Also, was that picture of I Married A Witch hinted from Criterion or was it just a random picture somebody posted?

Edit:

Were all of these released (besides Y Tu Mama Tambien)?

[Show spoiler]

A - Traffic
B -
C - Three Outlaw Samurai
D - Shallow Grave
E - Eating Raoul
F - A Night To Remember
G -
H - Quadrophenia
I - Harold And Maude
J -
K - Week End
L - La Promesse
M -
N -
O -
P - Being John Malkovich
Q - Y Tu Mama Tambien (still waiting)
R -
S - Summer With Monika

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ROclockCK

I'm just somewhat surprised by its formidable showing for both "Best New Spine" and "Release of the Year".

You shouldn't be. It's very closely adapted from an excellent novel and is as near flawless as films get. Expert direction (by an important, influential filmmaker, no less), brilliant casting and performances, great locations, outstanding cinematography, chilling score...it's an excellent film from top to bottom.

It's at least as deserving of attention as Rashomon (I'm tempted to add 'and arguably moreso' but I've only seen Rashomon once and that was several years ago so...)