The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

This new Graduate Blu-ray is the real deal in the PQ and AQ department. As for the movie, well it just gets better with each viewing.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Every time a box set is announced, do you folks think Criterion should offer a standalone option, as well?

That would only drive up their cost, as the different packaging & cases would be needed for singles and some titles just wouldn't sell without being part of certain boxes.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

That would only drive up their cost, as the different packaging & cases would be needed for singles and some titles just wouldn't sell without being part of certain boxes.

this is correct. the question should maybe be: would you like it if Criterion were to offer singles along with the box sets? because the answer to "should they" is most certainly, "no." they'd be in competition against themselves. and to go along w/ that competition, they'd have increased cost of production for the reasons Bates mentioned above. frankly, I'm a bit surprised at the 3 titles that have been/will be released as singles.

just a matter of taste, but the David Lean box has two stinkers. I can't imagine anybody taking the blind buy splurge (like I did) to see the other films now that Brief Encounter will be available.

[Russ103]

Going back a couple months to the Amazon sale when a bunch of titles were in the $19 range ... anybody had delays with any title they ordered?

All of mine came through fine, except The Hidden Fortress. Still waiting. Hasn't even been shipped from Amazon so they're still waiting for stock. Amazon have made me aware of the delay, and asked if I wanted to wait or cancel. I chose wait.

Anybody know of a reason behind this??

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

/squeals with delight like a five year old.

Some of my all time favorite films are in that haul:

Nashville
It Happened One Night
L'atalante

[GoodAsBlu]

Received my Zatoichi Box yesterday. I don't know why, but it was sent overnight UPS, so I got it in less than 14 hours after it was shipped. The shipping cost here to Canada was the same, no matter what was ordered, so I don't understand the rush. But hey, I'm not complaining in the least, I just found it odd.

The artwork on the outer box is beautiful and the "book-like" case inside is also nice to look at. Some of the DVD's were really hard to both, push in and pull out (and two were a little scratched up), but the Blu-ray's were very easy to be slipped in and out without a problem.

I took the artwork "stickers" from the front and back of the package (think cover artwork, but stuck to the outer cellophane wrap) and placed them on the inside page and the final page of the hard covered book included with the set. It looks great and I didn't want to just throw them away.

I haven't gotten a chance to watch any of them yet (although I have seen some of the films in recent years), but I'm really looking forward to seeing them again on Blu-ray. If you can find a set at a good price, grab it while you can because it's no longer available on Criterion's website, where it directs you to find it on Amazon. Whether that means it's OOP, I don't know, but I'm just passing that information along to everyone.

[Gusto-Guus]

Originally Posted by spargs

Was so excited when I got home today to see a Criterion package on my doorstep... only to open it and find someone else's order in it. Wrong order #, different person on the shipping insert, etc... so looks like they just simply packaged this person's order in a box addressed to me. Wonder where my order ended up?

Out of curiosity, what movies were there?

[EricTheDerek]

Originally Posted by Russ103

Going back a couple months to the Amazon sale when a bunch of titles were in the $19 range ... anybody had delays with any title they ordered?

All of mine came through fine, except The Hidden Fortress. Still waiting. Hasn't even been shipped from Amazon so they're still waiting for stock. Amazon have made me aware of the delay, and asked if I wanted to wait or cancel. I chose wait.

Anybody know of a reason behind this??

The Hidden Fortress is getting a blu-ray only re-release. The dual-format version is apparently OOP. It's unlikely Amazon will ever actually get them in.

I sent an email to customer service with a link to the new version asking if they would honor that sale price if I ordered it. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01...ilpage_o00_s00) Sure enough, I got an email back saying to go right ahead and order it, email them again with the order number, and the price would be adjusted.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by llj

Didn't we have this exact same conversation about month ago? I swear even the participants are the same! I had to check the page to see if I didn't accidentally click on the wrong page or even time travelled.

That said, I am totally for standalone releases, even though people dismissing the rest of the films on the Lean set are SERIOUSLY missing out.

Could be, my memory isn't what it used to be. My wife says I keep telling the same old stories as if they were new. My memory isn't what it used to be. My wife says I keep telling the same old stories as if they were new.

[Meek12345]

Good morning everyone!

I want to thank the forum members here for keeping me up-to-date with the possibility of the flash sale that occurred this past Tuesday. Around 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday I felt a disturbance in the force and suddenly knew that the flash sale must have started. I actually stopped by this forum here to confirm this first before going to the Criterion site.

So, I was able to pick up the following blus:

[Show spoiler]20160228_000022.jpg

I sold my DVDs of Seven Samurai and On the Waterfront some weeks ago with the hopes of upgrading during the next flash sale. I am one of those weirdos that collects the Criterion stickers, so I'm slightly disappointed that Seven Samurai doesn't have one. The Director Approved Signature stickers are more important to me anyways.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by oildude

This just reminds me there is no justice in Criterion world when we have A Safe Place on Blu-ray in Region A, but not [...] The Cranes are Flying or.......etc, etc, etc.

I have box sets on my mind right now. A Mikhail Kalatozov box set with The Cranes are Flying, Letter Never Sent, and I am Cuba and would be really cool (although Criterion would have to license the rights from Milestone for I am Cuba). Talk about a cinematographer's wet dream...!

https://youtu.be/sYFXv6bDIY8?t=1m41s
Funeral scene from I am Cuba with an astonishing tracking shot.

[A Tortured Duckling]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Hi Autumn Shroud,

What did you order? I'm wondering if they weren't waiting on a shipment to come in, thereby allowing them to complete your order. That would explain a slight delay.

I wouldn't be concerned. If you don't have an update by tomorrow, you might email them. orders@criterion.com. Include the order # found on your "my account" page. They'll get back to you promptly.

Bill

I ordered The Graduate, The Complete Lady Snowblood and The Shooting / Ride The Whirlwind. They were all listed as "in stock" when I placed the order. I am not too concerned, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't simply missing something.

Thank you 8)

[14728]

What are some films you'd like to see Criterion re-release that are either out of print or only available on DVD, regardless of how likely it is that they'll get another Criterion release?
For me it would be The Third Man, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Grand Illusion, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Spartacus, Beastie Boys Video Anthology, This Is Spinal Tap, and Life of Brian

[spargs]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

Out of curiosity, what movies were there?

The Complete Lady Snowblood, The American Friend, and 2 copies of The Graduate. My order was those 3 titles, plus Inside Llewyn Davis and Gilda.

Right now, I'm just waiting to get a response back from Criterion on the email I sent yesterday regarding the order mixup. Obviously, being the weekend, I'm not expecting a response until tomorrow at the earliest... it's so painful to have newly delivered Criterion blu rays on hand that I can't open! Must... resist... temptation...

I'm hoping Criterion will simply say just keep what we sent you and we'll send the 2 other blus to you...

[spargs]

Originally Posted by 14728

What are some films you'd like to see Criterion re-release that are either out of print or only available on DVD, regardless of how likely it is that they'll get another Criterion release?
For me it would be The Third Man, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Grand Illusion, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Spartacus, Beastie Boys Video Anthology, This Is Spinal Tap, and Life of Brian

My list starts with Kurosawa's Ran and all the OOP Melville films, and goes from there. Melville is by far my favorite director discovery of the last 5 years!

[RickDee]

Originally Posted by 14728

What are some films you'd like to see Criterion re-release that are either out of print or only available on DVD, regardless of how likely it is that they'll get another Criterion release?
For me it would be The Third Man, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Grand Illusion, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Spartacus, Beastie Boys Video Anthology, This Is Spinal Tap, and Life of Brian

See my signature

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

this is correct. the question should maybe be: would you like it if Criterion were to offer singles along with the box sets? because the answer to "should they" is most certainly, "no." they'd be in competition against themselves. and to go along w/ that competition, they'd have increased cost of production for the reasons Bates mentioned above. frankly, I'm a bit surprised at the 3 titles that have been/will be released as singles.

just a matter of taste, but the David Lean box has two stinkers. I can't imagine anybody taking the blind buy splurge (like I did) to see the other films now that Brief Encounter will be available.

Just out of curiosity, which two did you consider to be the stinkers in the David Lean box? All four films were highly-praised at the time of their release, and all four won awards. (In the interest of full disclosure, I've only seen Brief Encounter, which I loved; the other three are unknown quantities to me, which is why I'm asking for your opinion.)

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Just out of curiosity, which two did you consider to be the stinkers in the David Lean box? All four films were highly-praised at the time of their release, and all four won awards. (In the interest of full disclosure, I've only seen Brief Encounter, which I loved; the other three are unknown quantities to me, which is why I'm asking for your opinion.)

I personally liked all four films, but I would say that In Which We Serve and Blithe Spirit are the weakest two films in the box set.

This Happy Breed is a great examination of a family over the years, and Brief Encounter is, well, fantastic.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Thank you so much. Hard to tell, but it looks like my La Ronde is missing the slip. For the price I paid, I can live with that. At least The Earrings of Madame de seems complete.

No, La Ronde had no slip, it's just a digipak and thin booklet. Madame de... has slipbox to hold similar digipak and thick booklet. Le Plaisir is similar to La Ronde. (One could speculate that at one point these were going to be part of a box set.)

Not all that long ago I finally watched Madame de..., first (time ever) via the fixed up video version of the French blu-ray, and then again by watching the Criterion dvd version and all the supplements. Booklet is next, probably this week. Really like that film. So much so I may even break down and get the crappy Criterion blu-ray if I ever see a perfect copy of it somewhere.

[mja345]

I watched "Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion" yesterday. I've owned it for 9 or 10 months, but just got around to checking it out. Wow is it a brilliant film. It's definitely the best film I've seen in the last six months. It reminded me of what it would be like if Luis Bunuel directed a police procedural. Gian Maria Volonte's performance is off-the charts. I mean, it's up there with some of the greatest male performances of all-time. The way he carries himself with this authoritarian manner, masking the arrested mental development underneath, is often very funny.

Elio Petri's direction is fantastic. The scene when Volonte is conducting a press conference addressing crime and subversion to the establishment, he's shot in a way that reminds you of despots like Hitler, Mussolini and Stalin. Volonte's character is clearly meant to evoke the fascist leaders who rose to power in Europe in the 20s, 30s and 40s, during Petri's childhood. I thought I would enjoy the film, but I was absolutely blown away by it.