The Criterion Collection

[starman15317]

Originally Posted by fdm

Seems to be a huge number of Criterion blu-rays for half off at Best Buy via this link (courtesy of RCX in Best Buy deals thread).

Ok, I have to get at least one. Probably The Royal Tenenbaums. Thanks!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by starman15317

It's just stupid to not include something just because it's "mainstream". Citizen Kane is one of the greatest films ever made, but because the general public has heard of it, it must not be good, right? I just don't get it.

When it comes to movies, especially older movies, the masses are right most of the time. It Happened One Night, On the Waterfront, and Stagecoach are three Criterion titles that were quite mainstream in their day, and for good reason.

The American Film Institute Top 100 Movies list was discussed in this thread a few days back. When I watch titles from that Top 100 on Blu-ray, I'm always in agreement with their inclusion on the list.

The masses were apparently wrong when The Night of the Hunter did not receive proper recognition upon its theatrical release, but I'll forgive them.

[ArnoldLayne56]

Originally Posted by fdm

Seems to be a huge number of Criterion blu-rays for half off at Best Buy via this link (courtesy of RCX in Best Buy deals thread).

I bought both On the Waterfront and Seven Samurai at Costco for $19.99 each. They may still have shelf stock at your Costco [at least one of mine does]- this BestBuy sale has them for $24.99.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by ArnoldLayne56

I bought both On the Waterfront and Seven Samurai at Costco for $19.99 each. They may still have shelf stock at your Costco [at least one of mine does]- this BestBuy sale has them for $24.99.

I like your avatar, it is from the Wish You Were Here album. I bought the SACD from Analogue Productions mastered by James Guthrie (the same engineer that mastered The Dark Side of the Moon SACD) over a year ago. It sounds superb in DSD surround sound (I believe these albums were meant to be in surround). The last two years I have spent a lot on SACDs, dynamic range is amazing especially the albums produced by Analogue Productions and MOFI.

Although I think The Wall is not as great as the previous two albums I have mentioned, It would be great if Criterion releases Pink Floyd-The Wall movie supervised by Alan Parker and The Pink Floyd band (Gilmour and Rogers). There is Russian blu-ray out at the present moment.

[myka22]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The masses were apparently wrong when The Night of the Hunter did not receive proper recognition upon its theatrical release, but I'll forgive them.

I love Night of the Hunter, but to me it is clearly a b-movie. It is too over-the-top to be taken seriously. It is a fairly divisive film, there is still a lot of debate about it.

[SlickDamian]

This morning I watched George Washington for the first time. Really enjoyed this film, the Malick-style is really up my alley and speaks to me. The only other film I have seen directed by Green is Pineapple Express, and I thought that that film was a bit less funny than I thought it should be. And obviously very different than George Washington. Does Green have any more films similar to George Washington? I'd like to see them (preferably in future Criterion editions), as he has a definite unique talent for making these kinds of films.
Lastly, I've read in a couple of different places that the transfer on the blu-ray isn't that good, but I thought that it was a very nice transfer, suited the film and mood perfectly.

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by myka22

I love Night of the Hunter, but to me it is clearly a b-movie. It is too over-the-top to be taken seriously. It is a fairly divisive film, there is still a lot of debate about it.

I disagree. It's a product of its time, but that doesn't mean it doesn't take itself seriously.

[SlickDamian]

Yesterday, I watched Marketa Lazarova for the first time. It was an engrossing film, although sometimes I felt as though I couldn't perfectly follow what was going on. I'm thinking that it benefits well from repeat viewings, so I'll probably give it another spin in the future.
The transfer though! Holy shit, fantastic! One of the best black and white transfers that I've seen. Very impressive.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

I like your avatar, it is from the Wish You Were Here album. I bought the SACD from Analogue Productions mastered by James Guthrie (the same engineer that mastered The Dark Side of the Moon SACD) over a year ago. It sounds superb in DSD surround sound (I believe these albums were meant to be in surround). The last two years I have spent a lot on SACDs, dynamic range is amazing especially the albums produced by Analogue Productions and MOFI.

Although I think The Wall is not as great as the previous two albums I have mentioned, It would be great if Criterion releases Pink Floyd-The Wall movie supervised by Alan Parker and The Pink Floyd band (Gilmour and Rogers). There is Russian blu-ray out at the present moment.

I saw Pink Floyd's The Wall back in high school, and that one viewing was enough to last me for a while. I might jump on the bandwagon if Criterion were to reissue this movie with plenty of bells and whistles, though.

My favorite Pink Floyd album is Meddle, with Atom Heart Mother ranking at a close second. I also think that A Momentary Lapse of Reason is underrated.

I saw Pink Floyd (sans Roger Waters) in concert two nights in a row back in 1994, when they played at the Georgia Tech football stadium while I was a student there. Some friends and I were on the field about 50 yards from the stage for the first night. For the second night, a friend and I had seats in the upper deck of the stadium opposite the stage. I loved the experience of seeing such a spectacular show from two vastly different vantage points.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by salad

Also posted here, but this sale may provide an opportunity to fill in gaps:

Is anyone maintaining a list of all Criterion titles that were dual format digipaks?

Were?

[atlantajoseph]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Were?

I believe they are phasing out the existing dual-format packages in favor of separate releases. Although I'm not passionate either way, I do think that the dual-format releases offer extra value and are just kinda cool ... so I'm glad I got the titles I wanted before they are separated into DVD and BD exclusives.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by atlantajoseph

I believe they are phasing out the existing dual-format packages in favor of separate releases. Although I'm not passionate either way, I do think that the dual-format releases offer extra value and are just kinda cool ... so I'm glad I got the titles I wanted before they are separated into DVD and BD exclusives.

Call me stupid but I liked the combo packs

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by Hubunkey

I don't understand all the hate about Tootsie getting a release. It is simply a criterion upgrade from a previous release. it would be like complaining because they upgraded the Wes Anderson films to Blu-ray. It's a dumb thing to say and I am happy to have it in the collection again. I wish Criterion could release all of the films they did on LD on Blu-ray also, but then again some of them have amazing releases from there respective studio (King Kong, Citizen Kane, etc...) but I wish ALL of the missing commentaries could legally see the light of day. Maybe via a download like Rifftrax does.

Quite a lot of what Criterion released on Laserdisc in the 90's was Hollywood fare. They released Ghostbusters! I always hate it when people bash studio films that Criterion decides to release. It makes them sound like snobs. "How dare that title get a spine number?" Most of the feedback has been positive for the film coming back to Criterion, and I think that says a lot.

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by wormraper

Call me stupid but I liked the combo packs

I don't want to get in trouble so I won't. But I will say that I do agree with you, they looked nice.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by myka22

I love Night of the Hunter, but to me it is clearly a b-movie. It is too over-the-top to be taken seriously. It is a fairly divisive film, there is still a lot of debate about it.

It is?

[starman15317]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

When it comes to movies, especially older movies, the masses are right most of the time. It Happened One Night, On the Waterfront, and Stagecoach are three Criterion titles that were quite mainstream in their day, and for good reason.

The American Film Institute Top 100 Movies list was discussed in this thread a few days back. When I watch titles from that Top 100 on Blu-ray, I'm always in agreement with their inclusion on the list.

The masses were apparently wrong when The Night of the Hunter did not receive proper recognition upon its theatrical release, but I'll forgive them.

The masses were wrong with Forrest Gump, but that's the only big thing I see when looking at films considered to be classics.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I saw Pink Floyd's The Wall back in high school, and that one viewing was enough to last me for a while. I might jump on the bandwagon if Criterion were to reissue this movie with plenty of bells and whistles, though.

My favorite Pink Floyd album is Meddle, with Atom Heart Mother ranking at a close second. I also think that A Momentary Lapse of Reason is underrated.

I saw Pink Floyd (sans Roger Waters) in concert two nights in a row back in 1994, when they played at the Georgia Tech football stadium while I was a student there. Some friends and I were on the field about 50 yards from the stage for the first night. For the second night, a friend and I had seats in the upper deck of the stadium opposite the stage. I loved the experience of seeing such a spectacular show from two vastly different vantage points.

Must of been a great experience to watch them live.

The earlier Pink Floyd are underrated. I always hear a lot about their later works. Meddle, Atom Heart Mother and their debut with Syd Barrett, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (the definition of psychedelic rock) are some of their best and easily rated higher than The Wall.

With Quadrophenia and Monterrey Pop festival already released, it would not surprise me if criterion releases The Wall on blu-ray.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by atlantajoseph

I believe they are phasing out the existing dual-format packages in favor of separate releases. Although I'm not passionate either way, I do think that the dual-format releases offer extra value and are just kinda cool ... so I'm glad I got the titles I wanted before they are separated into DVD and BD exclusives.

Any reason to believe that? I haven't seen/read anything from Criterion indicating that.

[ShellOilJunior]

I gave Easy Rider a spin last night. It was the 3rd or 4th time I've seen it. It's funny because the first time I saw it I was a bit underwhelmed and

[Show spoiler]and was happy when Fonda and Hopper got blasted in the end.

The more I see the film the more I love it. Strangely part of it has to do with going through a phase where I grew my hair much longer than ever before (Although not nearly as long as Hopper's but maybe as long as Fonda's in the picture). Another part of it is my affinity for road movies, the desert and anything with Hendrix and Dylan mixed in

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

I'm actually fairly indifferent to the Tootsie Criterion release...I think I saw the film once, years ago - it's an amusing '80's comedy, and that's about it....

Tootsie (along with Rain Man, Hook, etc.) are perfect examples of the less edgy & more mainstream films that DH ended up doing from the '80's-on. These were obviously a far cry from his amazing late '60's & '70's films like Midnight Cowboy, Straw Dogs, Lenny, Straight Time, Marathon Man, All the President's Men, etc.....