The Criterion Collection

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

The Bridge sounds like a very interesting movie.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

It is. It is a marvelous war film. Highly recommended!

It was a blind-buy for me. And I watched it yesterday.

The Bridge looks marvelous--the photography and editing are top-notch (and the Blu-Ray quality really makes it shine). The film definitely has class, but it is a decent story as well. I was kinda expecting a Stand By Me vibe to the kid characters, but The Bridge is hardly comparable--the characters have camaraderie and are easy to relate to, but the film is more tragic in the way it shows how the Nazi regime warped them into fanatic soldiers. It's pretty grim, but still full of heart and character, and the war scenes in the last act are quite gripping. Yep, I wound up liking the movie a lot--glad to own it.

I also got around to watching Riot in Cell Block 11 today--my second blind-buy from the pile. As expected, it's quite tense and I like its style. It's none too subtle about how it addresses then-relevant issues of prison riots, but I hardly consider it a problem (I seem to like movies with heavy-handed social themes). It's good, plain and simple.

While the sale's going on, I'm also trying to rent or borrow more Criterion films to see if they're worth buying. I started on the Three Colors trilogy--so far, I've seen Blue, and thought it was okay. Not really the sort of film I usually like, as it's very slow and doesn't have much of a plot structure. Didn't really care much for the characters or content, but it is a good-looking film and I'm glad to have seen it. Will still watch White and Red when I can.

[KillDaWabbit]

I was all set to make my first purchase of the sale and Dr. Strangelove is OOS online. Bummer. Does anyone know how often they seem to restock their titles during throughout the sale?

I will probably pick up Ikiru, The New World, and the Bicycle Thief as soon as Dr. Strangelove comes back in stock.

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by Thelonious001

I'm watching The Tales of Hoffman movie (please, NO SPOILERS) and I can't make out one bit of their singing. I got subtitles so I'll make do with that, but, just out of curiosity, can you guys make it out fine or do you have trouble with it, too? I can't understand one thing.

It's generally acknowledged that opera singers, even when singing in English, are mostly incomprehensible. That's why they have these surtitles in the opera house nowadays.

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

Any suggestions as far as great Eclipse sets? I have decided to pick up 2 or 3 during this sale. I only have 1 in my collection: When Horror Came to Shochiku.

I am considering picking up the Larisa Shepitko box already (heard it is great) but wanted to get 2 more eclipse sets at least.

If you like documentaries and a 60s vibe the Agnes Varda set is pretty sweet.

[orbital]

Originally Posted by KillDaWabbit

I was all set to make my first purchase of the sale and Dr. Strangelove is OOS online. Bummer. Does anyone know how often they seem to restock their titles during throughout the sale?

Had the same situation a few days ago. It took 2 or 3 days for B&N to have Strangelove in stock again. Have a little patience.

[Nielsb90]

Do B&N charge when you order or when they ship? I see there is a 25% coupon in a few days so I might replace the order I made yesterday to save a few $$, as my order wont ship before August 1st anyway.

[KillDaWabbit]

Originally Posted by orbital

Had the same situation a few days ago. It took 2 or 3 days for B&N to have Strangelove in stock again. Have a little patience.

Patience is hard when it comes to Criterions on sale

[Scottie]

The Criterion Collection
Page Liked · 19 mins ·

Introducing our newly revamped closet!

[jw007]

So Criterion streamlined their closet and made it look more cinematic for a one shot sequence!

[ckt]

Originally Posted by hendersd

What is it with Criterion over the past couple of years? Many of the presentations are overly dark. It's not just me; the reviews on this site frequently refer to the transfers as being "quite dark". I first noticed this on Eraserhead. Yes, that's an inherently dark film, but the picture literally disappears in some scenes. To watch the Criterion release, I have to put my Panasonic Plasma into "torch mode". I like to keep the brightness down a bit, but I have to really crank it for Eraserhead. I re-read several reviews for titles I'm interested in getting during the sale. On virtually every review I pulled up, the term "dark" appeared in the description of the image quality.

I think this might be relevant: I'd noticed that a few new 4K restorations I'd watched tended to be darker than I remembered (Goodfellas, Apollo 13, The Graduate). I asked the question in another thread and was given this response:

Originally Posted by 42041

I have no idea what's wrong or right with The Graduate but as a general rule, old transfers tend to have an overfly flat gamma compared to theatrical film prints, and modern transfers often more accurately capture the contrast curve of film (Goodfellas is a prime example).

Since a lot of newer Criterion releases seem to be coming from 4K scans, this might explain it?

[Polaroid]

That closet makes me want to go back in the closet.

Damn.

Is it wrong to be slightly turned on seeing the pic....?

Do I need to leave these forums again....? :/

Help.

[ckt]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I couldnt agree more. When I saw Zabriskie Point for the first time, it was on a laptop in DVD quality naturally. All I could think about is that extra boost in detail HD would give it.

I'm not sure who owns The Passengers rights, but Sony put out the dvd and Twilight time seems to release more of their titles than CC does.

If I had to pick one, I would like to see The Passenger on Blu-ray before Zabriskie Point. I think its DVD is worse than Zabriskie Point. You said Sony put out the DVD for The Passenger—isn't Criterion under the Sony umbrella? Is Twilight Time a US company; would there be a conflict in licensing? I don't know anything about distributors.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

That closet makes me want to go back in the closet.

Damn.

Is it wrong to be slightly turned on seeing the pic....?

Do I need to leave these forums again....? :/

Help.

This is my take:

I think the Criterion closet would be the finest doomsday bunker for me. I'd have access to a lifetime of films to keep me busy when all hell breaks loose outside.

[Polaroid]

We could become lovers.

We can use slip cases as protection.

Ok I'm taking this too far.

But damn that is a sexy closet! They should make the ceiling a tv and have the floor as a bed.

You'd never need to leave.

So glad they updated the closest hough as it did look a tad tired in video...

... hang on! Hopefully this means MORE VIDEOSSSSS?!

Also.... maybe this is why they neglected UK launch and have sucked at announcing, too busy upgrading the closet?

[jw007]

Well, unlike you seeing this closet as a cinematic love shack, I see it more as the finest jail cell for any cinephile.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by jw007

Well, unlike you seeing this closet as a cinematic love shack, I see it more as the finest jail cell for any cinephile.

It's too bad the angle of the photograph cuts out the tin roof, rusted.

[Rodney-2187]

Originally Posted by iScottie

[Show spoiler]

Reminds me of the ending to Interstellar.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by rodneyfaile

Reminds me of the ending to Interstellar.

But 10x more interesting.

[Polaroid]

Its kinda mind boggling to think how many worlds and characters exist in that one image.

[The Great Owl]

I keep all of my Blu-rays and DVDs in my walk-in guest bedroom closet.

The Criterion closet is still somewhat more impressive, though.

[Rodney-2187]

Maybe Matthew McConaughey is in the future and trying to tell us important information via Criterion spine numbers?