The Criterion Collection

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

A question for discussion:

Which film do you think is Criterion's 'flagship' blu-ray title?


My choice: Seven Samurai

The release has plenty of extras, an informative booklet, excellent artwork and packaging and the film is great. There are other releases just as good but I select this one because of its importance and influence. Additionally, it's a gateway film to more titles within the collection and beyond. If someone asked me who is Criterion this is the first release I show them.

I'd like to say La Grande Illusion. But until it comes back to the collection I would say either Seven Samuari or The 400 Blows.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

A question for discussion:

Which film do you think is Criterion's 'flagship' blu-ray title?


My choice: Seven Samurai

The release has plenty of extras, an informative booklet, excellent artwork and packaging and the film is great. There are other releases just as good but I select this one because of its importance and influence. Additionally, it's a gateway film to more titles within the collection and beyond. If someone asked me who is Criterion this is the first release I show them.

My unbiased opinion: tie with 8 1/2 and Persona

Of course, until La Dolce Vita is released.

[Polaroid]

Been checking my disc and none have this brownish problem thats going around - did Criterion change supplier, if so as I recently started to buy could they be from new supplier?

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by jw007

I posted this in the "Criterion to Exchange Defective Discs" news posting:

I just checked everything again and it appears the the Sonopress pressing is VERY VERY different in labeling than the Sony pressing. You see, I discovered that the IFPI is a lot smaller on the Sonopress disc and its more hidden away and very difficult to read, but I discovered I had 4 Sonopress discs out of the lot!

Here are the results of my findings:

Walkabout: IFPI LB42 (Sonopress) (BAD!)
Summer Hours: IFPI LB42 (Sonopress) (BAD!)
Pierrot le Fou: IFPI L021 (Sonopress) (BAD!)
Howard's End: IFPI L021 (Sonopress) (BAD!)
"M": IFPI L322 (Sony) (GOOD!)
Seventh Seal: IFPI L324 (Sony) (GOOD!)
Paris, Texas: IFPI L324 (Sony) (GOOD!)

If this helps anyone determining whether or not they have a Sony or Sonopress pressed disc, I am happy to be of assistance.

Thank you to jayembee for originally posting the defective IFPI Sonopress codes.

I can't see anything on my Summer Hours disc relating to the info above. What and where exactly am I looking for ?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

I can't see anything on my Summer Hours disc relating to the info above. What and where exactly am I looking for ?

Look underneath your disc.

If you see an "L0... / L1..." code, it's typically from the first batch of titles released. All of the ones post-pressing change seem to be "BDV..."

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

A question for discussion:

Which film do you think is Criterion's 'flagship' blu-ray title?


My choice: Seven Samurai

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Criterion's recommendation for starters is Breathless.

You're right, they're wrong

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

My vote for flagship release in the Criterion Collection is for the John Cassavetes box set. You simply couldn't find this anywhere else and no other video distributor out there with the exception of BFI would take a chance on releasing his work, which is in many ways an acquired taste.

Interestingly enough, I just finished watching my Blu-ray of The Dirty Dozen (1967). John Cassavetes was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for this film.

It goes without saying that I cannot say enough good things about The Dirty Dozen. Like the rest of the Lee Marvin films, this one does not disappoint.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

New topic of discussion:

CC Best Crime/Darma film:

For me (I've watched) is:

Investigation of a citizen above Suspicion

Wanna watch, High and Low

Anyone have any idea which Detective based crime/drama is CCs best?

Kiss Me Deadly is very, very good private eye movie.

The Killing is a great heist film. Thief is arguably an even better heist film and Rififi is the heist film.

12 Angry Men and Anatomy of a Murder are excellent courtroom dramas.

Purple Noon is a very good crime thriller, Blow Out is a great conspiracy mystery/thriller.

Pale Flower and Revanche aren't really crime dramas exactly but they kind of are and they're both excellent.

And yeah, Diabolique is great too.

As for which is best - throw a dart, pick names out of a hat...you can't go wrong with any of them.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Look underneath your disc.

If you see an "L0... / L1..." code, it's typically from the first batch of titles released. All of the ones post-pressing change seem to be "BDV..."

I am looking at my disc now and can't see any code, the disc surface is normal but no code

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

What and where exactly am I looking for ?

See jscoggin's excellent first post in the problems thread. click on the spoiler's links to see photos.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

I am looking at my disc now and can't see any code, the disc surface is normal but no code

Hmm...it could be a case where the code is microscopic and require a magnifying glass (I'm not even exaggerating).

Did you check the Criterion disc thread?

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Hmm...it could be a case where the code is microscopic and require a magnifying glass (I'm not even exaggerating).

Did you check the Criterion disc thread?

iTorch onto the centre of the disc shows me a long CC code and L1

[mrjohnnyb]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but Deep Discount is having a 15% off fall sale that will be today only. I was able to pick up two titles that have been mentioned in this thread from time to time: Jacques Tourneur's Out of the Past and Nicolas Roeg's/Donald Cammell's Performance for $29.86, no tax, no shipping charge. The discount code is OCTOBER.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by LPMA

I get so sad whenever Seven Samurai is brought up because it did absolutely nothing for me.

Same here. Doubly weird cause I LOVED Hidden Fortress, Rashomon, Ran, and Yojimbo. I need to rewatch it sometime, I probably just caught it on a bad day.

I still do think it's their flagship title. I think a runner up might be something like "Modern Times" where it's a classic with a ton of mainstream appeal that's been in the criterion collection for a very long time. 400 Blows and Persona and 8 1/2 and The Seventh Seal and especially the Cassevetes set are the kind of thing that put most regular people to sleep instantly, the kind of thing they'd label "ART MOVIE" with a tone of disdain. Seven Samurai, on the other hand, has a ton of mainstream appeal. In terms of movies that regular people are likely to have heard of, Seventh Seal is pretty unavoidable in any kind of film studies class today still, likewise with 8 1/2, 400 Blows considerably less so since it didn't have a crappy mainstream american quasi-sequel a couple years ago nor a bill and ted movie about it, but still up there. Tokyo Story is also reasonably well-known, but again, definitely an "art movie," just one with quite a bit more mainstream appeal since its got such universal themes and a very direct manner to it.

A couple really big titles they have aren't ones that I associate with being Criterion Collection, cause they were out as studio DVDs for a very long while (On the Waterfront, 12 Angry Men, Rosemary's Baby), while Seven Samurai is something that you always had to go to Criterion for.

My personal favorite is probably Paris, Texas. :P

[Clare2904]

Sh1t Whilst I can't clearly make out the whole code I do see that it ends with 42 (Summer Hours)

That said, the disc does not look bronze. I'll keep it for now or until Criterion provide the cost for shipping their defective products back.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Look underneath your disc.

If you see an "L0... / L1..." code, it's typically from the first batch of titles released. All of the ones post-pressing change seem to be "BDV..."

Wrong codes. The "L0" and "L1" following a string of numbers (which is the Criterion catalog number for the title if it starts with "CCxxxxBD") indicates the layer. There are two codes to look for. The Master SID indicates where the title was mastered. This code is either to the left or right of the layer code. It's in very, very small print, and needs a magnifying glass to read. The "bad" codes to look out for are "IFPI L021" or "IFPI LB42".

The other code is the Mould SID, which indicates where the disc was actually pressed. This code is on the plastic hub of the disc, and is read on the label side, not the data side. The "bad" Mould SIDs to look out for are "IFPI 10K6" and "IFPI 10K7".

The L021 and LB42 codes indicate a mastering at Sonopress (now Avarto). The 10K6 and 10K7 codes indicate a pressing at their Weaverville, NC plant.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

That said, the disc does not look bronze. I'll keep it for now or until Criterion provide the cost for shipping their defective products back.

Not all discs pressed by Sonopress/Avarto with those codes will be bad. Among the suspect titles, I have five of them -- Howards End, M, Pierrot le fou, The Seventh Seal, and Stagecoach -- all with L021/LB42 and 10K6/10K7 codes. None of them are bronzed, all of them passed a sector scan and file check with no errors, and they all seem to play fine.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

I am looking at my disc now and can't see any code, the disc surface is normal but no code

jayembee is not kidding here... I actually had to borrow my mother's "loupe" magnification lens so I could actually see the numbers/code on that disc. You cannot see it clearly with the naked eye and that goes for anyone.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by jw007

jayembee is not kidding here... I actually had to borrow my mother's "loupe" magnification lens so I could actually see the numbers/code on that disc. You cannot see it clearly with the naked eye and that goes for anyone.

It was hard to spot but I can see the 42 Hopefult my disc is lucky and will stay bronze free

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Wrong codes. The "L0" and "L1" following a string of numbers (which is the Criterion catalog number for the title if it starts with "CCxxxxBD") indicates the layer. There are two codes to look for. The Master SID indicates where the title was mastered. This code is either to the left or right of the layer code. It's in very, very small print, and needs a magnifying glass to read. The "bad" codes to look out for are "IFPI L021" or "IFPI LB42".

The other code is the Mould SID, which indicates where the disc was actually pressed. This code is on the plastic hub of the disc, and is read on the label side, not the data side. The "bad" Mould SIDs to look out for are "IFPI 10K6" and "IFPI 10K7".

The L021 and LB42 codes indicate a mastering at Sonopress (now Avarto). The 10K6 and 10K7 codes indicate a pressing at their Weaverville, NC plant.

Thanks to this above post and to the jscoggins thread.

I checked my copies of M, Pierrot Le Fou, Stagecoach, Days of Heaven, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, Bigger Than Life, The Seventh Seal, and Paris, Texas. Pierrot Le Fou and Paris, Texas have the 10K6 code, but there's no sign of disrepair on either disc. None of the other discs have the bad codes.

Pierrot Le Fou played fine when I watched it last year. I've watched Paris, Texas three or four times since I bought the Blu-ray last year, and I've noticed not problems. Hopefully, things will stay this way.

EDIT: Vivre Sa Vie and 8½ both have the 10K6 code. There was no sign of trouble when I watched these last year, though, and there are no signs of disrepair on the discs themselves.

EDIT 2: Last Year at Marienbad has a 10K? code. I cannot read the last number, but it's probably a 6. No sign of trouble, though.

I'd be irate if anything happened with Last Year at Marienbad and Pierrot Le Fou. So far, so good, though.