The Criterion Collection

[MacEachaidh]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

Thanks for that mate! But the link is showing the release as region B?

It's showing region B for much the same reason that Amazon US often only lists releases as region A: it doesn't necessarily mean it's locked, just that they're only noting the region that it's primarily selling into. The disc itself is Region ABC, as displayed if you look at the scan of the back cover.

[joie]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Not sure if this has been posted but Criterion Cast just retweeted:


@CriterionCast: “@KentWms: Been hunkered down this whole week doing drawings for the new Criterion Lord of the Flies DVD.”

Blu-ray incoming? I think yes.

I went to CriterionCast's site once and thought they were over-caffeinated fanboys, more than likely with offices at Starbucks.

[JohnDoe NY]

Originally Posted by retablo

well, it would look better without all the dnr, but will anyone go back and fix it? It certainly could look better.

+1

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Just finished watching Anatomy of a Murder. I watched an hour and twenty five minutes of it in the morning but since it was my sisters birthday today (she was out with her partner while I was watching it) I had to turn it off and spend the day with her. I could've easily watched the whole thing in one sitting though.

One thing that struck me as odd is the long running time for a movie of its subject matter. I never actually noticed how long it was before I went to watch it today. I was expecting an 80-90 minute movie for some reason. You can imagine the suprised look on my face when I read 161 minutes on the back cover! haha! 2 hours and 41 minutes for a courtroom drama? Sheesh... I don't know about this... It's bound to be amazing or a completely bloated mess.

Keep in mind, I love really long movies and don't consider everything with a longer running time to be bloated. The reason I was worried that it would be bloated was because the reason I actually picked Anatomy of a Murder up was from the recommendation of you guys when I mentioned that I really enjoyed 12 Angry Men. Plus I love James Stewart so I'd have checked it out eventually. Anyway, 12 Angry Men was simply brilliant but it was 96 minutes long. To be honest I was suprised they managed to make it so gripping for that long. 65 minutes longer still... God, I hope this doesn't turn out to be really prolonged and boring... I thought.

First of all. The picture quality blew me away. Even if it did end up being an overly long bloated, boring mess, I think I could've sat through the whole 2.5+ hours just to marvel at the sharpness and clarity. It was almost as gorgeous as The Twilight Zone on blu-ray and that's saying something. There were quite a few times where the photography was quite soft and lacked detail which was the only thing from keeping it from being as good as The Twilight Zone.

I was really pleased to find out that it was amazing. The cinematography, the acting, THE MUSIC!!, the dialogue, everything was terrific and I'm happy that it ended up being quite different from 12 Angry Men. I feared an inevenitable comparrison was going to occur.

Amazing presentation for a great film. Very happy!

[The Great Owl]

I watched an old childhood favorite, The Karate Kid (1984), on Blu-ray for the first time last night, and remembered some fun Criterion-related trivia...

Toshirô Mifune (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, etc.) was originally considered for the role of Mr. Miyagi that ultimately went to Pat Morita. Apparently, Mifune gave a superb reading during the auditions, but his interpretation of the role was deemed too serious.

Now, I love The Karate Kid as it is, I am hard-pressed to imagine anyone other than Pat Morita in the Miyagi role, and I think that the movie looks downright superb on Blu-ray.

However...

I would love to have seen a Toshirô Mifune incarnation of Mr. Miyagi administer the artery spray treatment to that Cobra Kai dojo instructor. Can I get a witness?

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

So what're the chances for Criterion to revisit these titles on Blu-ray disc?

The Big Chill
Crash (1996)
Dead Presidents
The Entertainer
The Fisher King
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
Once Were Warriors
Secret Agent
Spartacus
Time Bandits
ZULU

These are all they had during their Laserdisc days.

Kind of doubt any of them. The Cronenberg title seems to fit best with what they currently consider 'important contemporary films'. I would love to see Secret Agent (I'm partial to early Hitch) released by somebody in HD.

[COLD_COBRA_]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Stephen King's The Shining was a rather personal take on alcoholism and parental responsibility that reflected many of the author's own struggles during that time period. Kubrick's interpretations touches on these things in a roundabout way that was quite effective for the screen.

A recovering alcoholic father with a wife and child who are still dealing with the trauma of abuse... The idea of these three characters staying in an isolated hotel away from community resources is the Worst Idea in the History of Bad Ideas, and Kubrick's film does a superb job outlining the predicament in a story where everyone is screwed up inside and there are no reliable narrators. He downplays Stephen King's supernatural aspects of the story to create a more claustrophobic film.

The trouble is that it's near impossible to read the Stephen King novel these days without picturing Jack Nicholson. I fared okay, because I read The Shining over 25 years ago, but the Kubrick images still sneaked in.

I need to re-read The Shining before King publishes Doctor Sleep, which features an adult Danny Torrance fighting against vampires. (I'm not making this up.)

The Shining has always been my favorite Kubrick film by far, though. I love how he uses brightly lit settings to create terror, because it's so unlike most other horror films.

I had to do a presentation on Stephen King in College. I went to my local bookstore to buy some of his books. They had a signed edition of "The Shining" it said. "Best wishes Alex - Stephen King " They wanted $2,500 for it. I thought that was a crazy price! While I was also there I took some pictures of The Dead Zone special edition for $60 and posted them on the forums of Stephen King.com Apparently I should have jumped at that though.

[whbinder]

Originally Posted by joie

I bought a Criterion Blu-ray in-store. It didn't have the Blu-ray sticker on the wrapping, but the disc has the Blu-ray logo and it is deinitely Blu-ray.

Some "new" Criterions may be re-wraps (shrink-wrapped instead of cellophane).

Perhaps, but the big DVD logo on a DVD case was kind of a giveaway for me.

[monorail91]

If they revisit their Laserdisc releases, I'd love to see their Evita come back... (even though it's unlikely, as that came out on Blu-ray last year)

[*PREACHER*]

Hmmm revisiting Laserdisc titles...I'm hopeful for The Silence of the Lambs.

I know it's already out there.......but still a guy can wish that a movie such as this deserves the Criterion treatment.

[JHas]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Now, I love The Karate Kid as it is, I am hard-pressed to imagine anyone other than Pat Morita in the Miyagi role,

Jackie Chan??!??

But seriously, I think Mifune would have been awesome in that role.

[greekak229]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Just finished watching Anatomy of a Murder. I watched an hour and twenty five minutes of it in the morning but since it was my sisters birthday today (she was out with her partner while I was watching it) I had to turn it off and spend the day with her. I could've easily watched the whole thing in one sitting though.

One thing that struck me as odd is the long running time for a movie of its subject matter. I never actually noticed how long it was before I went to watch it today. I was expecting an 80-90 minute movie for some reason. You can imagine the suprised look on my face when I read 161 minutes on the back cover! haha! 2 hours and 41 minutes for a courtroom drama? Sheesh... I don't know about this... It's bound to be amazing or a completely bloated mess.

Keep in mind, I love really long movies and don't consider everything with a longer running time to be bloated. The reason I was worried that it would be bloated was because the reason I actually picked Anatomy of a Murder up was from the recommendation of you guys when I mentioned that I really enjoyed 12 Angry Men. Plus I love James Stewart so I'd have checked it out eventually. Anyway, 12 Angry Men was simply brilliant but it was 96 minutes long. To be honest I was suprised they managed to make it so gripping for that long. 65 minutes longer still... God, I hope this doesn't turn out to be really prolonged and boring... I thought.

First of all. The picture quality blew me away. Even if it did end up being an overly long bloated, boring mess, I think I could've sat through the whole 2.5+ hours just to marvel at the sharpness and clarity. It was almost as gorgeous as The Twilight Zone on blu-ray and that's saying something. There were quite a few times where the photography was quite soft and lacked detail which was the only thing from keeping it from being as good as The Twilight Zone.

I was really pleased to find out that it was amazing. The cinematography, the acting, THE MUSIC!!, the dialogue, everything was terrific and I'm happy that it ended up being quite different from 12 Angry Men. I feared an inevenitable comparrison was going to occur.

Amazing presentation for a great film. Very happy!

Glad you enjoyed it. Anatomy of a Murder is a true masterpiece. The run time for the film doesn't even feel like 2 hours and 40 minutes because you're just so engaged in what's going on.

[KrugerIndustrial]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

So what're the chances for Criterion to revisit these titles on Blu-ray disc?

The Big Chill
Crash (1996)
Dead Presidents
The Entertainer
The Fisher King
How to Get Ahead in Advertising
Once Were Warriors
Secret Agent
Spartacus
Time Bandits
ZULU

These are all they had during their Laserdisc days.

Spartacus and Zulu are two films I could imagine as part of the collection. I remember enjoying both very much. Crash is in my opinion one of the most overrated contemporary films. Mediocre at best.

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Just finished watching Anatomy of a Murder. I watched an hour and twenty five minutes of it in the morning but since it was my sisters birthday today (she was out with her partner while I was watching it) I had to turn it off and spend the day with her. I could've easily watched the whole thing in one sitting though.

One thing that struck me as odd is the long running time for a movie of its subject matter. I never actually noticed how long it was before I went to watch it today. I was expecting an 80-90 minute movie for some reason. You can imagine the suprised look on my face when I read 161 minutes on the back cover! haha! 2 hours and 41 minutes for a courtroom drama? Sheesh... I don't know about this... It's bound to be amazing or a completely bloated mess.

Keep in mind, I love really long movies and don't consider everything with a longer running time to be bloated. The reason I was worried that it would be bloated was because the reason I actually picked Anatomy of a Murder up was from the recommendation of you guys when I mentioned that I really enjoyed 12 Angry Men. Plus I love James Stewart so I'd have checked it out eventually. Anyway, 12 Angry Men was simply brilliant but it was 96 minutes long. To be honest I was suprised they managed to make it so gripping for that long. 65 minutes longer still... God, I hope this doesn't turn out to be really prolonged and boring... I thought.

First of all. The picture quality blew me away. Even if it did end up being an overly long bloated, boring mess, I think I could've sat through the whole 2.5+ hours just to marvel at the sharpness and clarity. It was almost as gorgeous as The Twilight Zone on blu-ray and that's saying something. There were quite a few times where the photography was quite soft and lacked detail which was the only thing from keeping it from being as good as The Twilight Zone.

I was really pleased to find out that it was amazing. The cinematography, the acting, THE MUSIC!!, the dialogue, everything was terrific and I'm happy that it ended up being quite different from 12 Angry Men. I feared an inevenitable comparrison was going to occur.

Amazing presentation for a great film. Very happy!

I'm happy you enjoyed it. It has been on my wish list for quite some time now as I've been hesitating should I finally pull the trigger on it and thanks to your post I decided to give it a try. Do you think it's a film you'd revisit often?

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching my Ivan's Childhood Blu-ray. Outstanding! I'm glad that I upgraded this film.

This is just a beautiful film, through and through, despite the subject matter and the gut-punch of stock footage in the later scenes. The wilderness scenery of endless birch trees in trench fields, is worth the price of admission, and the shots of characters sneaking though desolate tree-lined shores with flares lighting the water in the distance are nightmarish, but gorgeously filmed.

The PQ review on this site is spot-on.

I'm watching the supplements now.

[Abdrewes]

^^^^^
I think he meant the Cronenberg 'Crash'

[KrugerIndustrial]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

^^^^^
I think he meant the Cronenberg 'Crash'

Ahh, my bad then.

[tenia]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Just finished watching Anatomy of a Murder.

I have to say it was one of the best movies I've watched last year. I too was very surprised that it could be so thrilling despite of its quite long duration.

[andsoitgoes]

Originally Posted by retablo

Well, it would look better without all the DNR, but will anyone go back and fix it? It certainly could look better.

True, but as I got that in the massive 25 disc bundle of the universal movies, I won't complain for my relative $4 purchase

[andsoitgoes]

Originally Posted by tenia

I have to say it was one of the best movies I've watched last year. I too was very surprised that it could be so thrilling despite of its quite long duration.

Funny you mention the length, I usually notice when a movie pushes 2+ hours, but I just looked and nearly lost my ****, it was almost 3 hours?!?!? I would NEVER have guessed, never. Clearly that states how excellent the movie was, and how it kept things exciting from start to finish.

I'm still surprised how enjoyable it was with such relatively despicable characters. Even at the end, I questioned their innocence and whether they deserved the depth of defense that they received. And I laughed at the precedence from the late 1800s. Can you imagine trying that today? "Your honor, right here it states CLEARLY that ******* are PROPERTY, and the court ruled they be treated in this way!"

That reminds me I need to watch Django again, with my wife this time. Even though the last 1/4 is literally 1/4 as good as the first 3/4, it doesn't ruin the enjoyment completely, certainly not enough. But first I need to finish Lawerence of Arabia. Now THAT is a lengthy movie at just shy of 4 hours! I'm thankful that I at least don't have to swap discs. That's the main reason I'm excited about getting The Godfather on blu, everything on ONE disc, amen.

[tenia]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

Funny you mention the length, I usually notice when a movie pushes 2+ hours, but I just looked and nearly lost my ****, it was almost 3 hours?!?!?

Same for me. I do find that most contemporary 2hr+ movies don't really hold up to it anymore (at least, most of entertaining / blockbuster-y movies).