The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

Hiroshima mon amour will be a knockout on blu-ray. I had the pleasure of seeing the Rialto blu-ray that was screened a few months ago. It's likely the transfer Criterion used. It's gorgeous.

I haven't seen Black Stallion since college. It's a good film with a spectacular dream sequence. I don't know if I'd buy it because it may not be a film I revisit often.

I'm interested in the The Killers because I love Hemingway's work. I may be in for the Jan Troell film because I really enjoyed Everlasting Moments.

All in all, a very good month!

[Lutz]

Originally Posted by yoyokid8

Possibly in for Hiroshima Mon Amour and The Killers, but definitely in for Moonrise Kingdom, even though I just bought the amaray.

And FYI, Moonrise Kingdom comes with a booklet for all you leaflet haters out there.

They make it sound like it comes with a booklet AND a leaflet (map).

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If Criterion can rock out great transfers of Fanny and Alexander and Heaven's Gate on single-disc Blu-rays, then I am confident that both versions of The Killers will look great on one disc.

I'm totally out of "thanks" right now; otherwise, you would have earned about a half-dozen from me today.

[ChromeJob]

THE BLACK STALLION is one of my all time favs, one that never fails to get me choked up at the end.

Cannot. Wait. To. Own. This. !!!!!

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

Do re-releases of blu-rays that cost over twice as much as the first release really sell like hotcakes? I would think these fabled mainstream audiences that are apparently buying all these Wes Anderson movies to fund Criterion are all just buying the much cheaper version when it comes to Mr. Fox, and probably would with this as well. I could definitely see the argument for everything pre-Mr Fox being a big seller for Criterion, since it all came out on Criterion first, but these re-releases don't seem like they would be better sellers than anything else they release since they'd only appeal to Wes Anderson die-hards who consider a few extra features worth the extra 10-20 bucks on top of buying the cheap version (which is more widely available besides, has a digital copy for those who care, and has had a multiple year head-start).

I own most of Terry Gilliam's films, and for me it really depends if the Criterion transfer is better than the cheaper release, and whether or not I already own the cheaper one. The Universal releases of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Brazil look good enough for me, but the Image Entertainment 1080i release of Time Bandits looks pretty rough, and I plan on buying Criterion's. I don't own the Image release of The Fisher King, but after seeing their treatment of Time Bandits, I'm going to wait on Criterion's.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Then you would be missing on some great releases.

I won't be missing them. I just won't be buying them. I can watch, and appreciate, a film (and its extras) without having to own it.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I am confident that both versions of The Killers will look great on one disc.

Although they won't be able to include both ARs of the 64 version. The pieces on Reagan and especially Marvin on the Arrow disc are also excellent.

[lordmorpheus72]

Happy to upgrade my Criterion DVD of The Killers. Going through the back cover now, looking to see if all the features on the DVD are going to be on the BD. Hoping so... I get so OCD when it comes to not missing features... :-\

But all in all happy with the July releases!

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

Do re-releases of blu-rays that cost over twice as much as the first release really sell like hotcakes?

Well if the numbers on Criterion site are any indication just based on of Fantastic Mr. Fox i would say yes, maybe not like hotcakes but fast enough, of course it might not apply to all directors, but Wes Anderson probably gives Criterion one of their biggest income. (if not the biggest, because he doesn't have that many films as Kurosawa or Bergman)

No. Collections at Criterion:

Bottle Rocket: 4367
Rushmore: 6449
The Royal Tenenbaums: 8065
The Life Aquatic: 4911
The Darjeeling Limited: 4303
Fantastic Mr. Fox: 2610

And not many of their films go above the 2000 mark.

Edit. Here are some others, keep in mind some of those numbers might be because of the old dvd versions i am not sure how it works:

Dazed and Confused: 4406
Traffic: 2982
Brazil: 6459
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: 5407

[spargs]

Definitely in on the upgrades of The Killers and Hiroshima Mon amour. And I can strike one of my ten most wanted Region A Blu ray releases off my list with The Killers!!!

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by themp3000

A solid month, I certainly can't complain with the Troell. I'll be getting Hiroshima mon amour, Moonrise Kingdom and Here is Your Life.

Hiroshima Mon Amour is a very important Japanese film...a must for me .

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

The advantage i see is that right now it has a SRP of $39.95 which is the regular price in case you only love one of the 2 films, i am sure if it was in 2 discs it would be $49.95.

I would pay the higher price for a 2 disc set if it included both versions of The Killers (1964). I'd like to judge for myself which is better. I saw it years ago in a film class; I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was the widescreen version. Anyway, I seem to recall that there were some shots that would have benefitted from the wider framing. Again, I'd have liked to have been given the opportunity to judge for myself.

This would have been a day one purchase for me, but now I'll wait for the reviews. The Arrow release may just be the kick in the pants I need to go region free.

[kuro_sawa]

It will be interesting to see what the real reviews from everybody look like when CC release their blu-ray. I did think it was two discs before reading through the thread, but like some have argued it could be moot in the end. The only thing missing from Arrow's two is the Tarkovsky short. I kept my old CC DVD and am now realizing it will be SD anyway on their blu so I'll just leave it in my collection.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If Criterion can rock out great transfers of Fanny and Alexander and Heaven's Gate on single-disc Blu-rays, then I am confident that both versions of The Killers will look great on one disc.

If they were split up onto 2 discs, chances are they'd be two 25Gb discs. The single disc will undoubtedly be a 50Gb. So, not a lot of difference.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by belcherman

I would pay the higher price for a 2 disc set if it included both versions of The Killers (1964). I'd like to judge for myself which is better. I saw it years ago in a film class; I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was the widescreen version. Anyway, I seem to recall that there were some shots that would have benefitted from the wider framing. Again, I'd have liked to have been given the opportunity to judge for myself.

This would have been a day one purchase for me, but now I'll wait for the reviews. The Arrow release may just be the kick in the pants I need to go region free.

I'm very interested in this kind of stuff too, I've seen Touch of Evil so many times for the different ratios and cuts. I own it on blu-ray twice!

[spargs]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

I believe you meant Region A USA there.

Oops! Corrected. Thanks!

[spargs]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

No problem.[emoji14]
You ought to adjust your signature a bit too to read Region A USA, also.

Lol an old DVD habit I can't seem to break...

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Well if the numbers on Criterion site are any indication just based on of Fantastic Mr. Fox i would say yes, maybe not like hotcakes but fast enough, of course it might not apply to all directors, but Wes Anderson probably gives Criterion one of their biggest income. (if not the biggest, because he doesn't have that many films as Kurosawa or Bergman)

No. Collections at Criterion:

Bottle Rocket: 4367
Rushmore: 6449
The Royal Tenenbaums: 8065
The Life Aquatic: 4911
The Darjeeling Limited: 4303
Fantastic Mr. Fox: 2610

And not many of their films go above the 2000 mark.

Edit. Here are some others, keep in mind some of those numbers might be because of the old dvd versions i am not sure how it works:

Dazed and Confused: 4406
Traffic: 2982
Brazil: 6459
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: 5407

Thanks for the numbers, that is interesting. I'm not surprised it's in far less collections (only 5/8 as many collections as the next lowest movie), but it's also the most recent release so that obviously skews it lower relative to the others than it might be in a few years, and you're right that that does still seem quite high for a Criterion disc.

[jlk5844]

Just now finished reading through this thread. Woof.

Overall, kind of a disappointment month for me. It's nice to get Moonrise Kingdom out there so we can move past it and most of Wes Anderson's filmography will be out by Criterion. I'm not a big fan of the film, but I'll get it eventually, it's a fun, tender, and (of course) quirky romance-adventure. It's just, yeah, not exactly dying for the release at the moment, especially considering my lack of passion for the other announcements. I haven't seen the other films, but Hiroshima mon amour and The Killers have been talked up enough in here that I'll consider them, and The Black Stallion has potential. Just not the knockout month I personally was expecting, no must-haves.

By the way, since I have criticized Criterion's recent covers, I will point out the one for The Black Stallion is fantastic.

[cakefactory]

I unfortunately bought the previous release of Black Stallion just a few months ago. I had no idea it was on Criterion's radar. The first half of the movie is great, even if the second half isn't really anything special. I'm not sure if I can get excited about the movie to double dip, but it definitely would have been worth it if I hadn't gone and bought the first version.