The Criterion Collection

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I have been wanting to watch 'Children of Paradise' for a while, but it's one of the few Criterion DVD/blu-rays that my local library doesn't have. Barnes & Noble currently has a 50% off Criterion blu-ray sale, so I've considered blind buying it for $20. After checking a few reviews of the release, however, several of the them stated that the digital noise reduction that was used when transferring from the 4K remaster has ruined the grain structure on the Criterion blu-ray release. My question is this: Is it bad enough to distract from the viewing of the film? I've never seen a Criterion release get a bad review on the video remastering/transfer, but this seems to be one of the few. Thanks for any and all help!


P.S. Did I post this in the right thread?

Oh it was ruined right during the remastering process itself.
I saw it on the 4k re-release and it looked appalling. Contrast was also ruined too and it looked like one big flat soupy mess.
But of course there is still the better audio and I think more extras, which makes this situation pretty frustrating really.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jw007

Not Criterion-related but last night I watched the 207 minute director's cut of Das Boot. Wow, I hadn't seen this movie in many years, and I needed something more "masculine" after seeing Secret Sunshine the night before. Two very different moods these films give you.

All those depth charges, torpedo bombings and sunken Destroyers really got my blood pumping after the previous night of watching a woman in self-destruction mode.

Now, if we could get the original television mini-series edition on Blu-ray I'd be

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

Oh it was ruined right during the remastering process itself.
I saw it on the 4k re-release and it looked appalling. Contrast was also ruined too and it looked like one big flat soupy mess.
But of course there is still the better audio and I think more extras, which makes this situation pretty frustrating really.

That's a shame. From what I've read, it was a task cleaning up what could be salvaged of the original camera negative, and finding passable copies of scenes/frames that needed to be replaced (apparently, the OCN had quite a bit of mold growing on it). It's too bad they went to all that trouble, only to botch it in the end. I really wanted to watch this one!

Oh well. I may end up buying it anyway, since another remaster isn't going to be done any time soon. Thanks for the info, Joe!

[orbital]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Now, if we could get the original television mini-series edition on Blu-ray I'd be

=> https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Das-Boot-Blu-ray/108871/ — appears to be Region B locked.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Now, if we could get the original television mini-series edition on Blu-ray I'd be

Yes, looks like a Region B German edition is available.

I wonder if any films of Wolfgang Peterson might ever get the Criterion treatment?

[Helikaon]

Originally Posted by jw007

Honestly, I don't even know what I wrote myself.

Because, soon after writing that I realized you were referring to Chang-dong's films, and meanwhile since I had never heard of or seen his other movies, I assumed you meant the rock band Oasis, a hard candy and a form of literature. I'm quite embarrassed to say the least. Lol.

Let's forget about my idiocy there please. Thanks.

Forgotten. But you should really go watch Oasis! And Yun Jeong-hie's performance in Poetry is in the top 5 of this century!

[AaronJ]

For those who've seen World on a Wire, I have a question. Someone on the Amazon site said that he had trouble reading the subtitles because they were too light. Someone else seemed think that they were easily legible.

I'd love to own this, but the idea of 3-1/2 hours of subs I can't read isn't something I'd be looking forward to.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

For those who've seen World on a Wire, I have a question. Someone on the Amazon site said that he had trouble reading the subtitles because they were too light. Someone else seemed think that they were easily legible.

I'd love to own this, but the idea of 3-1/2 hours of subs I can't read isn't something I'd be looking forward to.

I've borrowed the DVD set from the library, and I thought the subtitles could be easily read.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

I've borrowed the DVD set from the library, and I thought the subtitles could be easily read.

Thanks.

[tenia]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I have been wanting to watch 'Children of Paradise' for a while, but it's one of the few Criterion DVD/blu-rays that my local library doesn't have. Barnes & Noble currently has a 50% off Criterion blu-ray sale, so I've considered blind buying it for $20. After checking a few reviews of the release, however, several of the them stated that the digital noise reduction that was used when transferring from the 4K remaster has ruined the grain structure on the Criterion blu-ray release. My question is this: Is it bad enough to distract from the viewing of the film?

I don't own the Criterion but its French equivalent. It is extremely bad, because the restoring people have chosen to filter the grain so much the picture has now an extremely smooth rendering.

For its criterionforum.org review, Chris wrote "it's so smooth all the clothes look like vinyl". It is actually NOT an exaggeration.


As for World on a Wire, I also had trouble staying in front of it for 3 & 1/2 hours. It is very long, and I thought it was too long. However, I don't think it is so much of a disappointment, though I expected it to be more thrilling. Again, I believe this is linked to the pace, which I think could have been better.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by tenia

I don't own the Criterion but its French equivalent.

It is extremely bad, because the restoring people have chosen to filter the grain so much the picture has now an extremely smooth rendering.

At criterionforum, Chris wrote "it's so smooth all the clothes look like vinyl".

It is actually NOT an exaggeration.

What a shame.

I will never understand this anti-grain obsession some people have.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

For those who've seen World on a Wire, I have a question. Someone on the Amazon site said that he had trouble reading the subtitles because they were too light. Someone else seemed think that they were easily legible.

I'd love to own this, but the idea of 3-1/2 hours of subs I can't read isn't something I'd be looking forward to.

I don't recall any issues with the presentation of the subtitles. I do recall a scene that had a line with no corresponding subtitle, but that didn't really effect the overall viewing experience.

[Purplenoon]

I think it looks fine as is. Children of Paradise that is.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

For those who've seen World on a Wire, I have a question. Someone on the Amazon site said that he had trouble reading the subtitles because they were too light. Someone else seemed think that they were easily legible.

I'd love to own this, but the idea of 3-1/2 hours of subs I can't read isn't something I'd be looking forward to.

No trouble with the subtitles, at all. The film was made for television and is split up into 2, it is not hard to get through. I highly recommend it.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

For those who've seen World on a Wire, I have a question. Someone on the Amazon site said that he had trouble reading the subtitles because they were too light. Someone else seemed think that they were easily legible.

I'd love to own this, but the idea of 3-1/2 hours of subs I can't read isn't something I'd be looking forward to.

Nothing wrong with the subtitles. I watched the whole thing in one sitting and loved it.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by jw007

Not Criterion-related but last night I watched the 207 minute director's cut of Das Boot. Wow, I hadn't seen this movie in many years, and I needed something more "masculine" after seeing Secret Sunshine the night before. Two very different moods these films give you.

All those depth charges, torpedo bombings and sunken Destroyers really got my blood pumping after the previous night of watching a woman in self-destruction mode.

Isn't Das Boot a fantastic film? I never saw the original, but finally picked up the director's cut last spring and watched it for the first time. Jurgen Prochnow was amazing ... well, actually the entire cast was brilliant. I enjoyed it so much that I bought a copy for my younger brother who also loved it.

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

For those who've seen World on a Wire, I have a question. Someone on the Amazon site said that he had trouble reading the subtitles because they were too light...

I haven't seen that disk, but the subs on Double Life of Veronique are white and don't have a "background" colour, so a lot of the time they are hard to read. I don't understand why they don't do what the BBC do - have a medium gray background colour behind the subs so they are always readable.

Originally Posted by AaronJ

What a shame... I will never understand this anti-grain obsession some people have.

I have the original Criterion DVD - while it won't have the resolution of the BD (maybe) the PQ is pretty good. It's probably worth considering getting that until something better comes along.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by oildude

Aren't those mostly long running films? Or sets requiring time commitments? I see a pattern here. I still have not started my Zatoichi set but will soon. Shoah is also waiting on me. All the others I have seen.

You are in possession of gold there, pardner. Some of those are among the best films Criterion has released. The Samurai Trilogy is a must see. Mifune is EPIC in that one. Five star performance and one of the greatest characters to appear in a film.

I actually enjoy long films. Fanny and Alexander, for example, is one of the best films I have ever seen and it's five-and-a-half hour runtime feels incredibly short.

Believe it or not, I'm actually looking forward to all of them.

[Namuhana]

Hey, guys! I was wondering if anyone has some extra BD stickers. I'm looking for a bunch of regular ones and a few of the signed ones. I'll post the list below, and I'd be happy to pay a little something for them. PM me if anyone has some extras!

I need ones for:

M, Charade, Rushmore, Black Narcissus, Rashomon, 8 1/2, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Breathless (BD only release), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button*, Hunger, Vivre Sa Vie, The Thin Red Line, The Night of the Hunter, Sweet Smell of Success, Kiss Me Deadly, Anatomy of a Murder, Weekend (2011), On the Waterfront, 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman, and The Uninvited.

*I'm not sure if this title had a sticker to begin with

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by cash_black

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MwY3aaEcvc

I can't wait to watch this. Criterion's home page has a "10 Things I Learned:" regarding this release. Everytime I read about or see photos of Warren Oates I think "Damn, I miss that guy and wish he'd have lived longer."