The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Anna Karina was a talent unlike any other. May she rest in peace.

[javy]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

i hope the next Kenji Mizoguchi release is The 47 Ronin!

I would like Akasen chitai and Yôkihi to be released. I've never seen them, but they sound very good.

I've only seen three Mizoguchi films and they all knocked me on my ass, especially The Life of Oharu. That film is devastating. I really, really enjoy it.

[FragnitoM]

Today’s predictions...

UHD announcements of Armageddon and The Rock

Or Prince of Tides, Bamboozled

[jw007]

Got a feeling these March announcements are going to be big.

I predict at least one major contemporary director's film getting released.

[TXTyler]

Any chance of a Fellini set soon?

[nitin]

Wanda is to a certain extent a typical 70s character study, but one in which the main character is an uncommon mix of female, passive and only just existing. She is not a role model, she is not easy to relate to and makes a series of poor decisions throughout the film.

But she is most definitely empathetic in much the same way the young drifter is in Varda’s Vagabond. This film is not quite as strong as Varda’s stunner as the first (and unfortunately last) time direction by Barbara Loden is much more meandering and rough around the edges. However, Loden’s central performance as Wanda is another in a long list of fantastic 70s American performances that depict a fully realised character which seems to have a life before and after the events of the movie.

The movie is also a deglamorised take on the outlaw couple type of film. The central relationship has none of the energy, glamour or romance depicted in other such films and instead the central relationship is matter of factly depicted as a series of repeated physical and emotional abuse inflicted on Wanda. Crucially though she is not deprived of agency and despite her passive personality, she makes her own choices and stands by them and that is ultimately what makes this a fascinating film to watch.

Criterion’s blu is from a 2k restoration from a blow up 35mm negative created from the original 16mm A/B rolls. It looks largely stunning for what is a low budget independent film. The sound is a little more compromised but you can tell that is down to the original source recording.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by TXTyler

Any chance of a Fellini set soon?

I hope so. I think everyone feels like new fellini and upgrades and/or a box are going to happen in 2020, just a matter of when. They seem to do their big box sets in the fall during holiday season... would be cool if they announce something on his Birthday (Jan 20)

[Alfredlynch]

Curious. How to tell when Criterion have released hard case versions of their digi-pack releases? Such as Scanners, Repo Man, Sweet Smell of Success.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by Alfredlynch

Curious. How to tell when Criterion have released hard case versions of their digi-pack releases? Such as Scanners, Repo Man, Sweet Smell of Success.

I don’t know if they will get hard case versions of those. Someone else might be able to answer better, but I don’t think all digipaks eventually get a hard case...the only ones I can think of were some dual format editions that got re-released. I think Bicycle Thieves was one like that and the initial wave of Blu-ray’s (Third Man, Bottle Rocket, etc)

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by Alfredlynch

Curious. How to tell when Criterion have released hard case versions of their digi-pack releases? Such as Scanners, Repo Man, Sweet Smell of Success.

If you really don't like the Digipaks, you can always go the Scanavo case route, instead. Just custom make them, or have someone do it for you.

I wanted uniformity in my collection, and of course, my The Curious Case of Benjamin Button disc stuck out like a sore thumb. It was not distributed by Criterion, but by Warner Bros, so, it came in the standard size blu-ray case. I had a two-sided custom insert done with high quality photo paper. The person that did it for me had bought a number of Scanavo cases, so I purchased a 2-disc one, and just paid him for the insert, case and shipping. I kept the insert from the Warner Bros. blu-ray. Voila.





There's a thread on blu-ray.com about custom covers. You might have more success signing up on Customaniacs. They have more covers than you could look at in a lifetime. Sign up, but some credits, and you could download a high quality .png or .jpg file (or whatever it's in). I'm sure they'll have people that offer to do the printing for you, for a charge.

I don't see the Scanavos sold on Criterion's site anymore. You can get them on Ebay, or a place like Casetopia, though there's a minimum to order. Still, it's never a bad idea to have some extra Scanavos sitting around.

[DukeTogo84]

Hopefully we get news on Bamboozled this month. I'm thinking Come and See will also be a release. Hopefully a Japanese title or two. It would be amazing if the Human Condition Trilogy finally gets the upgrade.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Hopefully we get news on Bamboozled this month. I'm thinking Come and See will also be a release. Hopefully a Japanese title or two. It would be amazing if the Human Condition Trilogy finally gets the upgrade.

Speaking of Spike Lee, you know what would be cool? A standalone release of 25th Hour.

[GeoffOliver]

The Benjamin Button release was pretty odd. Did Criterion basically just license their branding to Warner to use for their release? I guess Warner thought so highly of the film, they felt if needed to be a Criterion release.

Or it may have been David Fincher’s idea, since Gone Girl was also released in a Criterion-esque digipack (but without the Criterion branding).

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

The Benjamin Button release was pretty odd. Did Criterion basically just license their branding to Warner to use for their release? I guess Warner thought so highly of the film, they felt if needed to be a Criterion release.

Or it may have been David Fincher’s idea, since Gone Girl was also released in a Criterion-esque digipack (but without the Criterion branding).

Paramount.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by GeoffOliver

The Benjamin Button release was pretty odd. Did Criterion basically just license their branding to Warner to use for their release? I guess Warner thought so highly of the film, they felt if needed to be a Criterion release.

Or it may have been David Fincher’s idea, since Gone Girl was also released in a Criterion-esque digipack (but without the Criterion branding).

Most of his films have gotten digipak (non plastic case) type releases... Fight Club, Gone Girl, Panic Room, Social Network, Dragon Tattoo... He may prefer the packaging. Knowing How much he likes to control the marketing of his films, I’m sure he approves the home video design

[Hazel Motes]

Announcements are expected today. no?

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by Alfredlynch

Curious. How to tell when Criterion have released hard case versions of their digi-pack releases? Such as Scanners, Repo Man, Sweet Smell of Success.

Their initial few months of Blu-rays were in thin digipaks, as well as their first 2-disc release (The Night of the Hunter). I don't know if the OOP ones were upgraded at retail, but they offered replacements with the rest.

The 400 Blows
The Third Man
Chunking Express
The Last Metro
The Last Emperor
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Bottle Rocket
El Norte
The Night of the Hunter
Last Year at Marienbad

The DVD-only The Golden Age of Television was initially a digipack, replaced with 3-disc plastic case for second printing.

Then there's the dual format releases originally in digipaks and replaced with regular plastic cases:

It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
Tess
Foreign Correspondent
A Hard Day's Night (exclusive to "The Rock Box")
Ace in the Hole

and there's some box set exclusives that also got regular plain case versions:

Easy Rider
Five Easy Pieces
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
The Young Girls of Rochefort

and there's also Blu-rays that were digipaks on DVD, but the Blu-rays are plastic cases:

Playtime (original single was regular case, digipak for DVD reissue)
The Rules of the Game (first printing only)
Bicycle Thieves
The Woman in the Dunes (digipak in Teshigahara box)

[Xtempo]

Originally Posted by nitin

Wanda is to a certain extent a typical 70s character study, but one in which the main character is an uncommon mix of female, passive and only just existing. She is not a role model, she is not easy to relate to and makes a series of poor decisions throughout the film.

But she is most definitely empathetic in much the same way the young drifter is in Varda’s Vagabond. This film is not quite as strong as Varda’s stunner as the first (and unfortunately last) time direction by Barbara Loden is much more meandering and rough around the edges. However, Loden’s central performance as Wanda is another in a long list of fantastic 70s American performances that depict a fully realised character which seems to have a life before and after the events of the movie.

The movie is also a deglamorised take on the outlaw couple type of film. The central relationship has none of the energy, glamour or romance depicted in other such films and instead the central relationship is matter of factly depicted as a series of repeated physical and emotional abuse inflicted on Wanda. Crucially though she is not deprived of agency and despite her passive personality, she makes her own choices and stands by them and that is ultimately what makes this a fascinating film to watch.

Criterion’s blu is from a 2k restoration from a blow up 35mm negative created from the original 16mm A/B rolls. It looks largely stunning for what is a low budget independent film. The sound is a little more compromised but you can tell that is down to the original source recording.

I think you nailed it. Sometimes I wanted to quit watching but I do want to rewatch it now since its more of an antifilm in a way because of the way Lodon made it.

[hanz0]

A Better Tomorrow
A City of Sadness
Antarctica
Eat Drink Man Woman
Memories of Murder

any of these please

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Scottie

Speaking of Spike Lee, you know what would be cool? A standalone release of 25th Hour.

I just saw this movie again not that long ago and it blew me away. I totally would love to see more mid-catalog Spike Lee in the collection.