The Criterion Collection

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

Sorry - my mistake. I just checked in my region A player and the disk is indeed locked to B. I was sure I read somewhere it was region free and of course only played it in my region B player

No problem! I waited five years or so for the Bicycle Thieves so I can wait a bit longer for A Very Long Engagement. In the meantime my old Warner DVD actually still looks pretty decent and, anyway, anticipation is always half the fun...

[joie]

I think the only way to avoid rewraps is to preorder for shipment on release day. But, if you have a store nearby, you may avoid them by going into the store and looking for items wrapped in cellophane, with the folded corners, not items shrink wrapped in plastic.

I like Eureka!'s cellophane wraps because they have a pull tab, like the one on a pack of cigarettes.

[Ray Jackson]

Anyone here ever tried to return or exchange a rewrapped Criterion to Barnes and Noble?

Getting them to order a new copy of The Big City isn't an option, as they've already told me that the warehouses they go through are out of stock.

...you think they'll just let me exchange it for another Criterion?

The case really does have a few obvious signs of damage.

Minor as they might appear to some.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by jw007

I think I know what you mean.... but what drives us human beings to want to own something that we may never enjoy after an initial period of excitement?

Ouch! That is what I meant.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

OK, I have tried to Bing this title all day. I can't. Give me a break here?

Whoops! My phone did a little autocorrect action that I didn't catch. BEYOND THE HILLS, of course.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 days, is already confirmed by the leak of the Apu Trilogy supplements, I hope they have Beyond the Hills too.

What leak of this? Do tell!

[octagon]

Originally Posted by mja345

But the fact that Gene Tierney's character is so in love with a guy with absolutely no redeeming qualities is inexplicable.

I agree that her devotion wasn't all that well developed but I wouldn't say it was inexplicable. Even setting aside the high schoolish 'boohoo, girls don't like the nice guys, they like the guys that treat them like shit' lament, Widmark's character had his share of attractive qualities.

He was basically a decent, ambitious guy who was also very weak and immature. He had drive and big dreams but he was always looking for the quick score and the 'big chance'. In a weird way, he was kind of a darker Ralph Kramden. In a lighter setting he would have been the lovable goof whose patient wife acted as balance to his flights of fancy.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by joie

I think the only way to avoid rewraps is to preorder for shipment on release day. But, if you have a store nearby, you may avoid them by going into the store and looking for items wrapped in cellophane, with the folded corners, not items shrink wrapped in plastic.

In the short time I've been frequenting this forum, the subject of B&N re-wraps has come up a number of times. If some of the comments posted are to be believed, B&N is re-wrapping on a significant scale. But why?

I go to three B&N. All have a decent selection/volume of CC titles. Some are wrapped in "cellophane with folded corners" and some "shrink wrapped in plastic." Some have "blue stickers" and some don't. I haven't attempted it, but I'm sure all would set off the alarm should I walk out of the movie department without paying. So, it would seem unlikely that B&N are unwrapping every single copy to insert the tag that triggers the alarm.

I bought over 20 titles across the July and November sales; a mix of the above. None were scratched or appeared to have been returned. However, I will say that I carefully inspect each title as there are quite often issues with case dings and the like. And I have rejected a purchase and gone to a different store because of it. Perhaps these are the "re-wraps" others are having issues with?

[812crew]

I appreciate all the responses to my shrink-wrap question!
Big help.
Strange that people have gotten items from Criterion themselves without the sticker -- my solution was to go only through them from now on, but not if it doesn't change that fact.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by jshaide

What leak of this? Do tell!

Screenshot from Apu Trilogy supplements :P

[mja345]

Originally Posted by octagon

I agree that her devotion wasn't all that well developed but I wouldn't say it was inexplicable. Even setting aside the high schoolish 'boohoo, girls don't like the nice guys, they like the guys that treat them like shit' lament, Widmark's character had his share of attractive qualities.

He was basically a decent, ambitious guy who was also very weak and immature. He had drive and big dreams but he was always looking for the quick score and the 'big chance'. In a weird way, he was kind of a darker Ralph Kramden. In a lighter setting he would have been the lovable goof whose patient wife acted as balance to his flights of fancy.

I have to disagree. I didn't think there was one moment in that film where Harry Fabian came across as remotely sympathetic or decent. He's just basically an a-hole. Part of what makes that film interesting IMO is that Fabian is such an unrepentant a-hole with zero redeeming qualities. Ambition is a negative when it manifests itself in corruption and deceit IMO, which are two qualities that define the character. The Tierney character is poorly developed, and part of that lack of development is the devotion to a man who has no positive qualities. I like the film a lot, but I think that it would have worked better if, say, Widmark had a relationship with a woman more on the fringes of society. But instead you've got this seemingly saintly, beautiful woman who could settle down with any man she chose, but she chooses Fabian. It didn't work for me. And I think this kind of dynamic works better in comedic settings, as we've seen in numerous sitcoms where some attractive woman is with a guy who is a moronic lout. Doesn't work as well in drama, for me at least.

[Rich Pure Doom]

If people are seeing this many flaws with Night and the City I can't wait to hear all the complaining when Brute Force or The Naked City are released. They are much more flawed.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

If people are seeing this many flaws with Night and the City I can't wait to hear all the complaining when Brute Force or The Naked City are released. They are much more flawed.

I just think it's having discussions. I like "Night and the City" a lot, but there are flaws in it IMO. "Brute Force" is also a very good film, but has its flaws. Doesn't mean I don't rate it highly. I haven't seen "The Naked City" in five or six years, but I remember it being the weakest Dassin film I've seen. There are very few films that are unquestioned masterpieces. One of Dassin's films, "Rififi", is a masterpiece IMO. Doesn't mean that films with a few flaws aren't very good. Part of the fun of discussing movies is separating the very good from the outright masterpieces.

[Ray Jackson]

Along with Repulsion, I picked up Odd Man Out today...based primarily on iScottie's recommendation.

If I don't like it or ain't blown away by it, the blood of the Blind Buying Martyrs will be on his hands.

...whether or not he can live with that is a question only he can answer.

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Along with Repulsion, I picked up Odd Man Out today...based primarily on iScottie's recommendation.

If I don't like it or ain't blown away by it, the blood of the Blind Buying Martyrs will be on his hands.

...whether or not he can live with that is a question only he can answer.

I really don't see the risk of blind buying Criterions at all. If you pay near 20 bucks, you should be able to recoup nearly all of your money on ebay if you don't like it.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

I really don't see the risk of blind buying Criterions at all. If you pay near 20 bucks, you should be able to recoup nearly all of your money on ebay if you don't like it.

I'm too dysfunctional to sell things on ebay.

...I can barely dress myself.

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I'm too dysfunctional to sell things on ebay.

...I can barely dress myself.

If you can post on this forum, you can sell on ebay.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

It's not a perfect movie like Double Indemnity, The Third Man or Out of the Past imo.

Some of the secondary characters aren't developed very well...or at all.

There's never any real substantive justification provided as to why Gene Tierney would be hopelessly in love with such a weak, pathetic loser. There's no scene in the film where I thought to myself, "Okay, despite all his obvious flaws, I get why she loves him."

And the other guy, the nice-guy artist who overcooks the pasta in the beginning--I don't even know why he's in the movie. He's not integral to the plot in any way and you never really learn anything about him.

Did you watch the alternate British cut of Night and the City? There are a lot of things that I prefer about the American cut (chief among them Franz Waxman's thrilling score), but Gene Tierney's role is larger in the British version, and I think as a result her character makes a lot more sense.

[joie]

Originally Posted by Reddington

[...] I go to three B&N. All have a decent selection/volume of CC titles. Some are wrapped in "cellophane with folded corners" and some "shrink wrapped in plastic." Some have "blue stickers" and some don't. I haven't attempted it, but I'm sure all would set off the alarm should I walk out of the movie department without paying. So, it would seem unlikely that B&N are unwrapping every single copy to insert the tag that triggers the alarm. [...]

I bought "In the Mood for Love" and it was shrink wrapped, missing the blu-ray sticker (had to check the back for the Blu-ray Disc logo), and it had the anti-theft tag inside (under the disc). More recently I've bought "Hiroshima ...," 'L'Avventura," "Ride the Pink Horse," and "The Killers," all wrapped in cellophane, with no security tag inside. Other than In the Mood ...," they were bought at the first B&N sale, in a store, after they were released.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by mja345

I have to disagree. I didn't think there was one moment in that film where Harry Fabian came across as remotely sympathetic or decent. He's just basically an a-hole. Part of what makes that film interesting IMO is that Fabian is such an unrepentant a-hole with zero redeeming qualities. Ambition is a negative when it manifests itself in corruption and deceit IMO, which are two qualities that define the character. The Tierney character is poorly developed, and part of that lack of development is the devotion to a man who has no positive qualities. I like the film a lot, but I think that it would have worked better if, say, Widmark had a relationship with a woman more on the fringes of society. But instead you've got this seemingly saintly, beautiful woman who could settle down with any man she chose, but she chooses Fabian. It didn't work for me. And I think this kind of dynamic works better in comedic settings, as we've seen in numerous sitcoms where some attractive woman is with a guy who is a moronic lout. Doesn't work as well in drama, for me at least.

How many times in real life have you seen relationships that make no sense? I've seen a lot where I ask myself "What does he/she see in them?" Obviously, something I don't because the relationship is working. The old sayings "Love is blind" and "Opposites attract" have a lot of truth in them.