The Criterion Collection

[SammyJankis]

[MifuneFan]

Abbas Kiarostami this year, WKW, what a time to be alive

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

So, let's start the pool: will Criterion enter the UHD market in time?

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by regeyer

There is the issue of the heat of the fire, as well as smoke, but more importantly it's the viewing angle. Even with a mount that tilts you need to look up. That's not the ideal viewing angle. Not even close.

Well I don't think that would be any different from people who mount their TV to the wall, and it would also depend on how far back they are viewing the screen. The average joe isn't going to be concerned about what angle the screen is at as long as he can see what's being shown.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Abbas Kiarostami this year, WKW, what a time to be alive

Give me Kiarostami and Kurosawa this year!

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Well I don't think that would be any different from people who mount their TV to the wall, and it would also depend on how far back they are viewing the screen. The average joe isn't going to be concerned about what angle the screen is at as long as he can see what's being shown.

Yes, if you sit back far enough, like 30 feet, the height won't matter. Otherwise, you're looking up. Way up. The middle of the screen should be near eye level, maybe a little higher.

But that's my opinion. I could link sources, but it really doesn't matter. People are free to do what they wish. Just don't expect me to watch a 3 hour movie with my head and neck in that position.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

So, let's start the pool: will Criterion enter the UHD market in time?

It's only a matter of going...

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by VideoHaze

I just want Elephant to get a damn release by Criterion.
Most likely to never happen - but it would be so beautiful.

Yeah, this would be awesome. It's cinematography is highly referenced & influential. And the issue has only increased in topicality....

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by BenOswald

Yeah, this would be awesome. It's cinematography is highly referenced & influential. And the issue has only increased in topicality....

Gus Van Sant said the cinematography and camera movements were highly influenced by Bella Tarr and specifically Satantango!

[critterdvd]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

So, let's start the pool: will Criterion enter the UHD market in time?

I hate to say it but I highly, highly doubt that niche/cult labels such as Criterion and Shout! will be entering UHD in the near future. As has been mentioned on these boards, UHD discs are a lot more expensive to produce and according to HMN the sales still only account for about 3% of disc purchases. Even Kino, despite testing the waters with "Hannibal" have gone on records stating they are disappointed with the presales and have canceled future titles as a result.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by critterdvd

I highly, highly doubt that niche/cult labels such as Criterion and Shout! will be entering UHD in the near future.

Can we still consider another year (+) to be "the near future", though?

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Can we still consider another year (+) to be "the near future", though?

The problem is that physical media is dying a slow death. Things aren't going to look any better next year. The situation will be worse.

Now, please understand that no one is more of a fan of physical media than me. I hate the fact that streaming has taken over. But, again, the writing is on the wall.

[ShellOilJunior]

WB is showing confidence in UHD.

An 80 year old movie at that.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by critterdvd

Even Kino, despite testing the waters with "Hannibal" have gone on records stating they are disappointed with the presales and have canceled future titles as a result.

This one again! Where’s the record? Show me where Kino said that.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by regeyer

The problem is that physical media is dying a slow death.

However, the more niche it becomes, the more those that remain buying it will be interested in the best available format (UHD).

[MifuneFan]

I imagine it's based off this, which was a reply to someone asking about Hannibal sales, and future UHD releases.

Originally Posted by Kino Lorber Insider

Good, not great. But, it's still early.

We dropped the other 2000s title.

We're still looking into releasing the Leone/Eastwood trilogy. We're doing some tests.

So, he never said he's disappointed with Hannibal sales, but likely as a result of it, the other 2000's UHD release was cancelled.

[zw94]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I imagine it's based off this, which was a reply to someone asking about Hannibal sales, and future UHD releases.



So, he never said he's disappointed with Hannibal sales, but likely as a result of it, the other 2000's UHD release was cancelled.

And that title was Valkyrie, which nobody is hurting for. It's not going to sell gangbusters whereas a classic like the Eastwood/Leone Trilogy would probably sell a lot better.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by zw94

And that title was Valkyrie, which nobody is hurting for. It's not going to sell gangbusters whereas a classic like the Eastwood/Leone Trilogy would probably sell a lot better.

And those probably require a ton more work, especially if they go back to the drawing board in terms of the current colors.

[senseabove]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I imagine it's based off this, which was a reply to someone asking about Hannibal sales, and future UHD releases.



So, he never said he's disappointed with Hannibal sales, but likely as a result of it, the other 2000's UHD release was cancelled.

Coincidentally, they just said this:

Originally Posted by Kino Lorber Insider

[Hannibal is] doing well, Best Buy will be carrying it in most of their key stores.

At this point, we have the UHD rights to a couple of dozen titles, but none of them will most likely make the cut. We are looking into releasing the Leone/Eastwood trilogy, doing some tests and getting some quotes.

[The Great Owl]

I'm sorry that I don't visit y'all in this thread as often as I used to, but I really enjoyed watching this last night...



Two teenage boys escape from a concentration camp transport train and flee into a wintry forest, where they spend days braving unforgiving terrain, suffering from starvation, and avoiding recapture by home guard civilians. During this ordeal, their past lives and future hopes come to light through memory flashbacks and dream visions.

The 1964 Czechoslovakian war drama, Diamonds of the Night, which is based on the camp survivor autobiography, Darkness Has No Shadow, by Arnošt Lustig, is a masterful blend of starkness and surrealism brought to the screen by new wave cinema auteur Jan Němec. With its stunning black-and-white cinematography and non-linear narrative, this film plays out over its 68-minute run time in a leisurely fashion by eschewing overt exposition or political allegory. The opening sequence hits the ground running, in a literal sense, by showing our two protagonists moving on foot from a train into the woods as gunshots sound out behind them. Our only hints that this is a World War II story are their jackets, with, “KL”, the acronym for “Konzentrationslager” (concentration camp), written on the backs, and the memory sequences of one boy's earlier life in Prague.

While watching Diamonds of the Night for the first time, I thought often about Andrei Tarkovsky's 1962 Soviet war film, Ivan's Childhood, and of the 1975 British D-Day movie, Overlord, since this feature-length directorial debut from Němec exudes a similar dreamlike aesthetic that is intercut with instances of gritty verisimilitude. One scene, where the boys are eating a sandwich taken from a farm and begin bleeding from the mouth due to the effect of the bread on their starved digestive systems, is a detail not often shared in such stories. Unlike those two other movies, however, this one sidesteps conventional war themes altogether in favor of an uncluttered depiction of the effects of near-death experiences on the human psyche.

This Criterion Blu-ray delivers a brilliantly filmic transfer and a handful of interview extras outlining the main feature's place in Czech New Wave.