The Criterion Collection

[dollypartons]

Very happy to hear that Criterion is bringing The Rose to Blu and have already pre-ordered on Amazon while it's still $22.99. It'll actually be my first Criterion Blu. As a big Bette Midler fan, the film has been a favorite of mine for years and I've been looking for SOMEONE - be it Fox or Criterion - to give it the treatment it deserves. The DVD transfer was extremely shoddy at times and the supplements package for such an iconic career-defining film performance was just pitiful.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I really need to go region-free. I've been waiting for Criterion blus of Lang's 'Dr. Mabuse' films. If you could, please let me know how the MoC releases look; I may end up picking up a region-free player with my tax return.

MoC is very reliable. They're kind of between Kino (and that's not a knock on Kino) and Criterion. They don't do extensive frame-by-frame cleanup but they generally find very, very good transfers and they don't tamper with them.

I've got the Dr. Mabuse titles (the Testament steelbook is absolutely gorgeous, btw) as well as several other silent films they've released and I'm very happy with them. Things like Touch of Evil, Double Indemnity, Lifeboat and The Lost Weekend are also very nice.

Arrow has moved into the region-A market but they've also got some very nice region-B catalog releases in their library.

A region-free player opens a lot of nice doors.

[Martin_31]

Does anyone know or guess when the Flash Sale for Criterion is going to start?

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

Does anyone know or guess when the Flash Sale for Criterion is going to start?

No one knows and everyone has been guessing.

[Freeza]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

Wim Wenders' 5-hour director's cut of Until the End of the World screened yesterday with a Janus logo at the beginning, so its inevitable release is getting closer.

Fantastic news. I've had the German DVD release for, yikes, close to a decade now. I'd say that's long enough -- bring on the upgrade!

[ChromeJob]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

Wim Wenders' 5-hour director's cut of Until the End of the World screened yesterday with a Janus logo at the beginning, so its inevitable release is getting closer.

Yay! I never ventured to try the German DVD release, but a few months ago paid Amazon for the Instant Video version ... it looks like a so-so rip of a pan 'n scan VHS tape. :P

I hope the next release includes the short theatrical release, the 180-ish minute version, and this new (to me) 5 hour version (as if a television mini-series?).

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

Wim Wenders' 5-hour director's cut of Until the End of the World screened yesterday with a Janus logo at the beginning, so its inevitable release is getting closer.

Outstanding news. This was the one film that clicked for me back when I struggled with Wenders (which is no longer the case). I thought the 5-hour cut was an urban legend!

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by broganreynik

Strange. I've been ordering from them for quite some time, and the shipping is really reasonable. I ordered Too Late Blues, Silent Running, Pigs and Battleships, Metropolis (Steelbook), Intolerance, Diary of a Lost Girl, and Spione. Shipping came out to $3.71.

Maybe it's because you ordered multiple steels, and they ship them separately?

They offer free shipping via their own website.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

Wim Wenders' 5-hour director's cut of Until the End of the World screened yesterday with a Janus logo at the beginning, so its inevitable release is getting closer.

Oh that's great news, I wasn't aware they were wokring on this one let alone the DC. So what's the consensus on the Wenders films, will they be released in a big box set?

[mrjohnnyb]

So, am I correct in assuming that, since March 15th will be this Sunday, the next Criterion Collection announcement will be this Friday the 13th?

Or, will it be Monday the 16th?

[CMNPlanet]

Monday is more likely.

[Indiana Solo]

Under Maintenance
Criterion.com is briefly offline for technical maintenance.
In the meantime, please visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or YouTube!

[SammyJankis]

Yep. The site is currently offline for maintenance. Seems likely.

[Dubstar]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

Outstanding news. This was the one film that clicked for me back when I struggled with Wenders (which is no longer the case). I thought the 5-hour cut was an urban legend!

now if Janus/Criterion could obtain and release the six hour miniseries cut of Bille August's 1992 film 'The Best Intentions' I'd be very very happy.

[spargs]

Originally Posted by Indiana Solo

Under Maintenance
Criterion.com is briefly offline for technical maintenance.
In the meantime, please visit us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or YouTube!

We know what that means... Flash sale coming today or tomorrow!!!

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by sammyjankis

yep. The site is currently offline for maintenance. Seems likely.

wooooo!!!!!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

Does anyone know or guess when the Flash Sale for Criterion is going to start?

The whole idea of a Flash Sale is that you don't know when it's coming.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by ChromeJob

I hope the next release includes the short theatrical release, the 180-ish minute version, and this new (to me) 5 hour version (as if a television mini-series?).

As I understand it, the 5-hour version is broken down into three sections, each with their own sets of credits. Wenders's original plan, apparently, was to release the film as three separate features. The running time for this version is given at the IMDb as 280 minutes (4 hours, 40 minutes), which would mean an average of a little over an hour and a half for each section.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jmclick

That's about what I paid for my copy, and I judged it to be money well spent. I'll keep my eyes peeled for another bargain copy and send you a PM if I find one.

that'd be awesome! thank, JMC!

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Part of the problem, I think, is that each person has their own idea of what does or does not constitute a spoiler, and it's sometimes cumbersome trying to accommodate everyone.

An example. Fifteen or so years back, I was a hardcore contributor to a Usenet newsgroup devoted to the show Farscape. At one point, I posted dates and titles for some upcoming episodes as they were announced by the Sci Fi Channel. And I got crap from at least one person who claimed that knowing the episode titles in advance was a spoiler. Which simply boggled my mind. At that point, about 80 or so episodes had aired, and of those 80, there was maybe one in which the title could legitimately be thought of as a spoiler. Others might have been, except that until one had actually seen the episode, the significance of its title was meaningless, so it really wasn't a spoiler.

It made me wonder what these people did when they wanted to watch a movie. Did they avert their eyes when they picked a DVD off the shelf, and when they put it in their player so that they wouldn't see the title? Do they walk up to a theater box office and ask, "I want a ticket to one of your movies, but don't tell me which one, because I want to be surprised"? Would they scream bloody murder if you told them that you were looking forward to the new James Bond movie, Spectre, because they were now spoiled by knowing that the movie has James Bond in it?

I have sympathy for those who don't want to know that the villain is the hero's father, or that guy turns out to be a robot, or Rosebud is...well...you know. But sometimes, I swear, the hardcore spoilerphobes can take the fun out of talking about movies (or whatever).

wait... the villain is the hero's father!?!?