The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SolidBlu

thanks buddy planning to get some June and July releases not included in the recent Amazon sale

You got it

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by chris_sc77

I wouldn't ever eat cake without icing.

My favorite cake, pound cake, does not have icing.



I guess that this comes from the same part of my psyche that loves minimalist French films from the 1950s or Olive Films Blu-rays that feature no extras whatsoever. I dunno. It's worth noting that I dislike slipcovers and steelbooks as well.

Pound cake is awesome, though.

[Abdrewes]

Favorite Cake? When properly prepared, Tres Leches cake is the definition of sublime:

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Favorite Cake? When properly prepared, Tres Leches cake is the definition of sublime:

[Show spoiler]

Damn, I enjoy me some tres leches cake. So good.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

Damn, I enjoy me some tres leches cake. So good.

it's been well over a year since I have had a slice. So, I May have to embark on a Harold and Kumar-type trek this weekend...I mean a Robinson Crusoe on Mars type trek.

Has anybody listened to the Commentary track for the latter?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yes, I remember when we had to buy VHS tapes for our VCRs. We popped the big plastic tape into the machine and pressed "play". The movie came on (after the FBI warning) and then it ended. Nothing else!

I think supplements should be seen as a luxury and we should be grateful for whatever supplements we do obtain.

Sometimes, not knowing so much about a movie elevates it to being more cool and mysterious. Sometimes we shouldn't know every detail into the making of the film. There used to be a time when we used our imagination more. Not anymore though with the internet now. Those days will never come again.

Yeah, I agree.

I buy a movie to WATCH it, not the supplements. Should I choose to watch the supplements, it will only make my film experience stronger.

Refusing to buy a movie because it doesn't have supplements is just silly.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yes, I remember when we had to buy VHS tapes for our VCRs. We popped the big plastic tape into the machine and pressed "play". The movie came on (after the FBI warning) and then it ended. Nothing else!

I think supplements should be seen as a luxury and we should be grateful for whatever supplements we do obtain.

Sometimes, not knowing so much about a movie elevates it to being more cool and mysterious. Sometimes we shouldn't know every detail into the making of the film. There used to be a time when we used our imagination more. Not anymore though with the internet now. Those days will never come again.

Agreed! The movie itself is always the main draw for me.

I do hold Criterion in high esteem for the quality of the supplements on their titles, though. I love how the Criterion supplements are not simply 15-minute featurettes with the director and cast heaping compliments on each other, like the ones that we see with most current Blu-ray releases. Criterion goes to great lengths to give us essays, documentaries, short films, or even feature-length films to back up the movie.

Most importantly, Criterion's supplements usually do an adept job of preserving the mystique of a particular movie, instead of explaining the movie to death or telling us how we should interpret it.

With the Criterion extras, we can truly have our cake and eat it too. (To run a current line of discussion into the ground, har har.)

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Yeah, I agree.

I buy a movie to WATCH it, not the supplements. Should I choose to watch the supplements, it will only make my film experience stronger.

Refusing to buy a movie because it doesn't have supplements is just silly.

There's nothing wrong in demanding more supplements. The Yuma release is a prime example of being shafted by CC in this regard. Yes, the film is worth every penny, but I mean come on! Give us a little more!

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

I already have the MOC release, but I wonder if they'll do Lifeboat eventually?

I've got the MOC Steelbook coming my way right now.

[Sherlock_Jr]

Originally Posted by chris_sc77

I wouldn't ever eat cake without icing.

Actually you would... I'm not going through your entire collection, but you own The Assassination of Jesse James, which only has 1 supplement... and I'm sure out of 700 blus you own more that have little to no extras. So... yeah.

Just think, all this could be avoided if you just stopped assuming, and read specs. So, so simple.

[chris_sc77]

Originally Posted by Sherlock_Jr

Actually you would... I'm not going through your entire collection, but you own The Assassination of Jesse James, which only has 1 supplement... and I'm sure out of 700 blus you own more that have little to no extras. So... yeah.

Just think, all this could be avoided if you just stopped assuming, and read specs. So, so simple.

yeah I own hundreds of titles with no extras. but those hundreds of titles without any extras or few extras I spent maybe $5 on at most. Usually only less than $1 or 2 or 3 bucks.
Criertion I have always held to a higher standard due to their much higher prices and only 4 or 5 releases a month which means they should have the time and resources to impress and fully give you your moneys worth. I spent a little over $15 on the new Tin Drum Blu which is a lot for me per title.
I am in the minority of opinion in that I believe good video and extras should be expected on every Blu-ray and it is the extras and supplemental that are of most importance to me when judging whether to buy a film or not.
There are many films I have liked a whole lot that I have never even purchased on dvd due to no supplemental material. I just dont liket o support mediocrity and instead give my money to something that impresses me. Kinda surprised no one else finds anything wrong with Criterion now porting over all DVD supplements to the Blu-release of a titles. I just hope it doesnt happen to a title with extras you do care about in the future. Cause it is not a practice I approve of at all , espescially from Criterion.

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

Hey guys, What's your opinion on Kes? Just saw the three reasons video and it seems pretty interesting and sad.

highly recommended, one of my absolute favorite movies - it's depressing as all heck, but if you want one powerfully emotional movie, check it out. on an odd note, it's one of the best movies about relationships between humans and birds (bird man of Alcatraz, what else?). the plot that centers on the young boy and his bird companion is sensitively portrayed and may leave you in tears.

[shortmartin]

Owl, I'd recommend checking out Before Midnight even if you haven't seen the other movies. Other people might feel differently on this one, but from my standpoint they give you enough in the third movie, you don't really need to have seen the previous ones in order to get it or to be involved in it. And it's just so good, so well put together. I'm tempted to say that they can play in any order. In fact, I hadn't seen the other two since the last one came out, so it's been a while for me, I don't remember the others in great detail, and I enjoyed Midnight immensely, and it makes me now want to revisit the others.

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by chris_sc77

yeah I own hundreds of titles with no extras. but those hundreds of titles without any extras or few extras I spent maybe $5 on at most. Usually only less than $1 or 2 or 3 bucks.
Criertion I have always held to a higher standard due to their much higher prices and only 4 or 5 releases a month which means they should have the time and resources to impress and fully give you your moneys worth. I spent a little over $15 on the new Tin Drum Blu which is a lot for me per title.
I am in the minority of opinion in that I believe good video and extras should be expected on every Blu-ray and it is the extras and supplemental that are of most importance to me when judging whether to buy a film or not.
There are many films I have liked a whole lot that I have never even purchased on dvd due to no supplemental material. I just dont liket o support mediocrity and instead give my money to something that impresses me. Kinda surprised no one else finds anything wrong with Criterion now porting over all DVD supplements to the Blu-release of a titles. I just hope it doesnt happen to a title with extras you do care about in the future. Cause it is not a practice I approve of at all , espescially from Criterion.

You only spent 15 bucks on the criterion blu ray and you think that's a lot of money?

[chris_sc77]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

You only spent 15 bucks on the criterion blu ray and you think that's a lot of money?

yeah. I am cheap. I rarely spend over $10 for a single movie anymore.

[Abdrewes]

La Promesse is only $18.99 on Amazon.

(Was the kid from Quadrophenia also in Breaking Glass?)

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

a Harold and Kumar-type trek this weekend

that kind of a trek might be worthwhile too

[jw007]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Agreed! The movie itself is always the main draw for me.

I do hold Criterion in high esteem for the quality of the supplements on their titles, though. I love how the Criterion supplements are not simply 15-minute featurettes with the director and cast heaping compliments on each other, like the ones that we see with most current Blu-ray releases. Criterion goes to great lengths to give us essays, documentaries, short films, or even feature-length films to back up the movie.

Most importantly, Criterion's supplements usually do an adept job of preserving the mystique of a particular movie, instead of explaining the movie to death or telling us how we should interpret it.

With the Criterion extras, we can truly have our cake and eat it too. (To run a current line of discussion into the ground, har har.)

I agree as well. I like how Criterion goes the extra mile to include scholar-level supplements, not just entertaining filler that a major Hollywood label like Universal or 20th Century Fox would include. When a classic film comes out on BD and the only supplements are a trailer, a couple of deleted scenes and maybe an original 8 minute featurette from the period, with no audio commentary or updated interviews, that is a sign of laziness or just carelessness. Criterion goes further than they need to, and if some of the supplements from an older release aren't "ported over" to the new BD edition, they at least film new interviews in 1080p for that BD edition.

Originally Posted by iScottie

Yeah, I agree.

I buy a movie to WATCH it, not the supplements. Should I choose to watch the supplements, it will only make my film experience stronger.

Refusing to buy a movie because it doesn't have supplements is just silly.

If someone really wanted to find out about a movie, they can just go online and check out Youtube! Back in the 1980s there was no such thing and people back then never had a chance to learn about the making of the movie. You couldn't even go to the library to find anything on video because back then there were rarely any VHS tapes or laserdiscs that contained supplements with a film. Your only option was printed materials.

Very little is mysterious or left to the imagination these days and that includes movies too.

[Mansinthe]

i like the criterion releases cuz of the supplements.. even bought a book about musashi after i watched the samurai trilogy and the bonus features from william scott wilson.

thats the thing thats great about criterions releases.
picture / audio quality there are other labels on the same level..

if they dont include bonus features of the DVD release one could always double dip on the bluray and the DVD. i do that sometimes with UK and US releases.

but 15$ only for a criterion blu? even without supplements they are worth more than the average warner/universal 15$ movie.. (criterion case <3, booklets)



*********

just watched "house" thats a hell of strange movie , couldnt even tell if i liked it or not xD

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

Very little is mysterious or left to the imagination these days and that includes movies too.

I'm fond of going off on this particular rant, so fasten your seatbelts...

The internet has completely robbed music and movies of their mystique.

I remember listening to albums from R.E.M. and New Order back in the 1980s and constantly wondering about the meanings behind the cryptic lyrics and such, since these bands never printed lyrics on the album sleeves. I would go through music magazines whenever I had a chance, so that I could hopefully find interviews with these bands and learn more about them. Being a fan of these and other bands was an involved process that involved a commitment of learning more about one's favorite music. I remember all of the lunchroom conversations with friends and such back then about whether or not Iron Maiden really worshiped the devil, about whether or not Keith Richards had blood transfusions because of all his drugs, and so on. The legends, myths, and questions were all a fun part of loving music back in the day.

Movies had a similar mystique back then, especially when it came to horror movies and how the special effects were created. Fans of John Carpenter's Halloween, for example, would have to go through Fangoria magazines and such to learn about a stabbing scene where a large watermelon was placed inside an empty shirt to create realistic blood effects. My friends and I would rent tons of grindhouse horror movies back then and wonder how in the world those movies were created.

These days, though, a person hears an enjoyable song, looks up the band online, reads the band biography and lyrics in a matter of minutes, looks up other songs from the band to download them, and such. A person can watch a movie and then go online to learn all about the special effects. More often than not, in fact, people learn everything about the special effects during the weeks leading up to a movie's release. The thread in the Movies forum on this site dedicated to the upcoming Godzilla reboot is one example. Every day, we see a posting of a different film location, a different street shot, or a different teaser poster. When the movie comes out, there will be no need for any commitment about trying to figure out how that movie was made.

I personally believe that the sorry state of music these days is because people quickly lose interest in bands if they have instant access to all of the information and no longer have to commit themselves to researching their interests. Being a fan of a particular band or a particular movie requires no involvement anymore.

It's funny thinking about it now, but I remember back in the day when I had no idea when my favorite bands were releasing new albums. I'd browse the shelves at a record store and, all of a sudden, be surprised to see a new album from a favorite band sitting right there on the shelf.

I mean, the good old days were not always great, and I'm quite fond of the instant access to knowledge on the internet, but the loss of mystique is the consequence.