The Criterion Collection

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by Visco.

I DVR'd The Gold Rush off TCM last night. Planning to watch it soon.

Enjoy, That's a great one!

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by Visco.

I DVR'd The Gold Rush off TCM last night. Planning to watch it soon.

I was tempted to do the same but I want the Criterion. I am one of these that only re-watch films I find to be absolute masterpieces. I also want my first viewing of a film to be the best possible, i.e Criterion over a tv broadcast.

Roll on B&N sale

[CHEЯNOБLY!]

I just noticed that I'm almost half way to my loyalty gift certificate...does CC only do flash sales once a year? Or is it more random?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

I was tempted to do the same but I want the Criterion. I am one of these that only re-watch films I find to be absolute masterpieces. I also want my first viewing of a film to be the best possible, i.e Criterion over a tv broadcast.

Roll on B&N sale

In some ways, I also share this sentiment.

For instance, I waited until Thief was on Blu-ray until I watched it for the first time. I didn't even know about that film until 3 years ago so I didn't have to wait long at least. Well, maybe I had heard about it back in film school but I didn't care at the time. Now... I care. (rare, I know).

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by CHEЯNOБLY!

I just noticed that I'm almost half way to my loyalty gift certificate...does CC only do flash sales once a year? Or is it more random?

There was another in October last year so hopefully so

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by jw007

In some ways, I also share this sentiment.

For instance, I waited until Thief was on Blu-ray until I watched it for the first time. I didn't even know about that film until 3 years ago so I didn't have to wait long at least. Well, maybe I had heard about it back in film school but I didn't care at the time. Now... I care. (rare, I know).

I have never been one for "having" to watch a film immediately after finding out / reading about it, I have it in me to be able to hold off so to speak. That said I don't think I would hold off on only watching a Blu-ray version, you never know when they may arrive, especially for the older films.

I am also one of those that, whilst I have great eyesight, can rarely see the difference between a DVD & Blu-ray when viewing on my TV. That could be due to having a big plasma, or maybe it "upscales"

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

I have never been one for "having" to watch a film immediately after finding out / reading about it, I have it in me to be able to hold off so to speak. That said I don't think I would hold off on only watching a Blu-ray version, you never know when they may arrive, especially for the older films.

I am also one of those that, whilst I have great eyesight, can rarely see the difference between a DVD & Blu-ray when viewing on my TV. That could be due to having a big plasma, or maybe it "upscales"

I could definitely discern between DVD and BLU-RAY quality. It's obvious to me that I can see more pixelation and less sharpness on DVDs that are upscaled. For instance if watching a more recent Criterion DVD, when that opening "C" rotates, I can see how its slightly blurry compared to the opening "C" on a blu-ray disc. It's simply a no brainer!

Regarding waiting to watch a film, I feel the same way. However, certain films I have a hard time being patient to watch until they are available on home video (such as the new Wes Anderson film which I plan on seeing in the local theater this upcoming week).

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

I have never been one for "having" to watch a film immediately after finding out / reading about it, I have it in me to be able to hold off so to speak. That said I don't think I would hold off on only watching a Blu-ray version, you never know when they may arrive, especially for the older films.

I am also one of those that, whilst I have great eyesight, can rarely see the difference between a DVD & Blu-ray when viewing on my TV. That could be due to having a big plasma, or maybe it "upscales"

You need a new tv then.

[Visco.]

It's gotten to the point to where I can't even stomach watching a DVD now-a-days.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Visco.

It's gotten to the point to where I can't even stomach watching a DVD now-a-days.

Well, I just spent the last 2 nights watching a bunch of Jim Jarmusch. 2 nights ago it was Coffee and Cigarettes on my out of print DVD and then last night was Night on Earth on my Criterion DVD. It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be! Some DVDs sure look better than others.

[The Great Owl]

Good news for Fritz Lang fans here...

My Spanish Blu-ray of You Only Live Once (1937) arrived in the mail today, and I just finished watching it on my Region A player.



You Only Live Once was Fritz Lang's second American film after the brilliant Fury (1936), and it also features the beautiful Sylvia Sidney, whom I love partly because she makes me think of Amanda Seyfried. This is a great little proto-noir film, and it's also a wonderful love story in an offbeat way. Henry Fonda's Eddie and Sidney's Joan go about their hardships with a dignity that makes everyone pull for them regardless of the plot turns, and the film ends on an amazing note.

In terms of picture quality, this black-and-white movie looks beautifully detailed, albeit with a few white specks and such inherent to the source. This looks comparable to the DVDBeaver findings for the Italian Blu-ray. I'm not sure if a domestic version is coming down the pipes anytime soon, but I'd love to see it happen, especially if Criterion were to take the reins.

I also received a few DVDs in the mail today to further my film noir collection. Thankfully, all of them for dirt cheap from third party used dealers...

[Show spoiler]Mildred Pierce (1945)
Possessed
Cry of the City
Party Girl (1958)
T-Men
Odds Against Tomorrow
The Big Knife
Hollow Triumph
The Brasher Doubloon
Ossessione (1943)
The Samuel Fuller Collection (It Happened in Hollywood / Adventure in Sahara / Power of the Press / The Crimson Kimono / Shockproof / Scandal Sheet / Underworld U.S.A.)

[CHEЯNOБLY!]

Originally Posted by Visco.

It's gotten to the point to where I can't even stomach watching a DVD now-a-days.

+1
I've put off watching so many movies waiting for BD releases
I love me some 1080p

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Visco.

It's gotten to the point to where I can't even stomach watching a DVD now-a-days.

During the past few months, I've been buying up a lot of classic era film noirs from the 1940s/1950s on DVD, because a great many of them will probably not see the light of day on Blu-ray anytime soon. In fact, a lot of them are just now being released only on DVD by way of Warner Archives or Fox Archives collections.

I'll gladly upgrade these as they become available on Blu-ray, if and when, but I'm not holding my breath for many of them.

As far as the look of these movies on my HDTV when played on my Blu-ray player, some of them look shockingly good considering they are standard definition. The other night, I watched the 1954 movie, Crime Wave, and, had I not known otherwise, I might have sworn that I was watching a Blu-ray disc. The upconversion on the Blu-ray player also brings out the best in the DVDs for movies like Out of the Past, In a Lonely Place, and a great many others.

Several of these film noirs, however, are presented imperfectly even by standard definition standards. Detour, Pitfall, D.O.A., Raw Deal, and others may never see a jump to high definition, since the process of even bringing them to DVD seemed problematic enough.

For the longest time after I bought my Blu-ray player, I avoided shopping specifically for DVDs, since I did not see a point, and since Blu-ray picture quality is where it's at. Since I'm actively collecting movies in the film noir genre now, though, I'd like some of these hard-to-find DVDs before they are no longer available even in that format.

[Polaroid]

not only do I avoid DVD's now I haven't bought a normal Bluray in a loooong time haha, they just don't seem as special as Criterion released, they just look ugly and feel cheap even if the quality is spectacular.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

You need a new tv then.

No I don't. I'm just not one who demands a pristine picture every time. Of course I want the best available but a DVD quality is not something I turn my nose up at

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by jw007

I could definitely discern between DVD and BLU-RAY quality. It's obvious to me that I can see more pixelation and less sharpness on DVDs that are upscaled. For instance if watching a more recent Criterion DVD, when that opening "C" rotates, I can see how its slightly blurry compared to the opening "C" on a blu-ray disc. It's simply a no brainer!

Regarding waiting to watch a film, I feel the same way. However, certain films I have a hard time being patient to watch until they are available on home video (such as the new Wes Anderson film which I plan on seeing in the local theater this upcoming week).

Maybe "see" was the wrong word. It is not overly important. I can take the quality of a DVD.

I am not a Wes fan but I am going to the cinema to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

I am not a Wes fan but I am going to the cinema to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel

Have they ever announced a real US release outside of the limited release in the larger cities?

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Have they ever announced a real US release outside of the limited release in the larger cities?

Sorry, I'm not sure what you are saying Do you mean show this film in a small town ?

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

Sorry, I'm not sure what you are saying Do you mean show this film in a small town ?

Yeah, but I also see you're north of the border so it probably already has a proper Canadian release. I believe the US release this month was in NY, Chicago and maybe LA.

The IMDB release info just says:

USA 7 March 2014 (limited)

[StLouisRibs]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Have they ever announced a real US release outside of the limited release in the larger cities?

There is no "wide release", just a series of limited releases - one of the distributors said that it'll have been in 1000 different theaters by six weeks from initial release.

It's currently playing in 304 screens.