The Criterion Collection

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

I've only seen Fritz the Cat, and so I'm not too keen on seeing any other Bakshi film. I watched the film in my Animation: History and Analysis class my senior year of college, and I do remember the bit of text that spoke about Bakshi's use of rotoscoping (and it's definitely clearly used in The Lord of the Rings) and Fritz the Cat's X rating. I may check out American Pop eventually, though I'm not in any hurry (there are too many Criterion films to watch!).

Coonskin is actually one of the greatest animated films ever made. Not seeing it would be doing yourself a huge disservice.
I've seen Fritz the Cat before and even I think its just okay compared to his other stuff from the 70s
The only reason he even made it was to get financing for his own more personal film Heavy Traffic (which is also pretty damn good).
I say give him another shot, at the very least try Wizards or American Pop.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Andrew13

Apologies if this was noted when the article was first published a few weeks ago, but it looks like a blu-ray release of Chimes at Midnight, whether via Criterion or some other company, could be coming in the near future:

https://distribpixblog.wordpress.com...s-at-midnight/

It would certainly make a nice pairing with Criterion's impending release of Othello this fall...

This is great news and I eagerly await a blu ray release, but from the article, it sounds like the Cohen Group has the inside track, provided they can figure out the rights issues.

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

Coonskin is actually one of the greatest animated films ever made. Not seeing it would be doing yourself a huge disservice.
I've seen Fritz the Cat before and even I think its just okay compared to his other stuff from the 70s
The only reason he even made it was to get financing for his own more personal film Heavy Traffic (which is also pretty damn good).
I say give him another shot, at the very least try Wizards or American Pop.

Now, I hated Wizards, but loved American Pop. Still have to see everything else (other than Cool World). I saw Nine Lives of Fritz though. I hated it, but that's not something to judge Bakshi on, as he only made the first.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

I've only seen Fritz the Cat, and so I'm not too keen on seeing any other Bakshi film. I watched the film in my Animation: History and Analysis class my senior year of college, and I do remember the bit of text that spoke about Bakshi's use of rotoscoping (and it's definitely clearly used in The Lord of the Rings) and Fritz the Cat's X rating. I may check out American Pop eventually, though I'm not in any hurry (there are too many Criterion films to watch!).

Gotcha. If you're ever curious, you can always check out bits and pieces of it on youtube too.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by demonknight

Now, I hated Wizards, but loved American Pop. Still have to see everything else (other than Cool World). I saw Nine Lives of Fritz though. I hated it, but that's not something to judge Bakshi on, as he only made the first.

Yeah, I mainly reccomended Wizards cause its one of his more accessible titles. I still like it and think its pretty good but its not on the same level as Coonskin.
This is just a small clip of the kind of thing he was able to get.
https://m.youtube.com/results?q=coonskin&sm=3

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

A great read before the Oscars, and quite a few Criterion titles in there:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayli...0150219?page=1

I don't know if anyone else might be interested, but there's an eye-opening series being published by The Hollywood Reporter this week, in which they interview a series of Oscar voters who candidly discuss how they cast their ballots this year and why. The series is called "Brutally Honest Oscar Ballots", and in the installment published today (which was the fifth), the voter admitted that he hadn't seen any of the Best Foreign Film nominees this year, but he voted for Leviathan because the carcass in the film's poster "looked cool." The entire series has been pretty revelatory, and certainly confirms my worst suspicions about how the process plays out.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/rac...Top+Stories%29

[jw007]

Originally Posted by B-Creamy

These little pamphlets are so whack

I'm wondering if Criterion will ever release booklets again in future releases. I'm guessing they will only be reserved for very special releases that come in digipacks or box sets.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jw007

I'm wondering if Criterion will ever release booklets again in future releases. I'm guessing they will only be reserved for very special releases that come in digipacks or box sets.

Have they officially stated why these leaflets have replaced the booklets? I dread reading the descriptions of the special features on announcement day and seeing the word "essay"-Criterionese for leaflet.

[pro-bassoonist]

The Thin Blue Line Blu-ray REVIEW



Outstanding film!

Obviously, it has been shown and discussed quite a lot, but if for some reason you are not familiar with the case it chronicles, do not read reviews of the film or newspaper articles. Just see it unprepared.

The new interview with Errol Morris is phenomenal. Actually, the interview alone is a good enough reason to highly recommend this release. You will know why once you see it.

Have a great weekend everyone

Pro-B

[jw007]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Have they officially stated why these leaflets have replaced the booklets? I dread reading the descriptions of the special features on announcement day and seeing the word "essay"-Criterionese for leaflet.

Your guess is as good as mine. Aside from cost savings, maybe there wasn't enough consumer demand for literature and reading material.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

The only Bakshi I've seen is Fritz the Cat and I absolutely loathed it. I wouldn't have watched it except for the fact that I had to for class. I can appreciate it for what it is, and what it's done for animation, but I am not at all a fan.

I was a big fan of the R.Crumb comix at the time and when the film came out I hoped it would be as good as the strip; it wasn't. I remember the X-rating advertising campaign more than I do the actual film. Didn't R.Crumb hate the film so much that he killed off Fritz in the comix?

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jw007

Your guess is as good as mine. Aside from cost savings, maybe there wasn't enough consumer demand for literature and reading material.

When the monthly announcements are made two things I now look for in the special features are: audio commentaries and booklets. One is getting scarcer and the other is seemingly near extinction.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Have they officially stated why these leaflets have replaced the booklets? I dread reading the descriptions of the special features on announcement day and seeing the word "essay"-Criterionese for leaflet.

Criterion response post

My interpretation of that is "Cost savings".

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Criterion response post

My interpretation of that is "Cost savings".

How can a smaller company like MoC that releases film on par with Criterion's quality (in terms of transfer) release dual format with booklets at a MUCH cheaper price?

Maybe I am being stupid, but for me it makes no sense, unless Eureka can get the rights cheaper or something.... I don't know.

Criterion should go back to dual format, use the plastic cases they had made and DVD collectors will jsyt have to get over the fact they have to pay extra for a bluray disc (ignoring they are saving on future purchases when/if they upgrade).

Oh well, everyone here is aware about how I feel about this so ill shut up :P

I have seriously lost a lot of my excitement for Criterion release, before it was getting excited and looking forward to the ENTIRE package, the film, features, booklet, artwork. Now the films are great (most I haven't seen or aware of so not a much excitement there either). But yeah now its just about the film which is the point of Criterion, but before it was everything and its hard to justify the price point now we are losing more and more in the package.

I have chosen a lot of MoC release over Criterion lately because they are much better and better price now.

[sjconstable]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

How can a smaller company like MoC that releases film on par with Criterion's quality (in terms of transfer) release dual format with booklets at a MUCH cheaper price?

Maybe I am being stupid, but for me it makes no sense, unless Eureka can get the rights cheaper or something.... I don't know.

I'd put it down to all of Criterion's errors requiring replacement discs (Three Colors, Carlos, Eraserhead, etc.), and the bronzing issue (which isn't their fault, I know). Must be costing them a lot, shame that we're losing out because of it when they should just be doing proper quality control in the first place.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by sjconstable

I'd put it down to all of Criterion's errors requiring replacement discs (Three Colors, Carlos, Eraserhead, etc.), and the bronzing issue (which isn't their fault, I know). Must be costing them a lot, shame that we're losing out because of it when they should just be doing proper quality control in the first place.

Well the bronzing shpudlnt be down to them to cover all costs - surely the company who made the discs should pay up.

But yeah with Eraserhead and stuff, that was a very very sloppy mistake, especially when it was meant to be director approved... did Lynch even approve it...

It probably doesn't help they sell replacement stuff at a loss either lol.

[BAKA]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

The Thin Blue Line Blu-ray REVIEW



Outstanding film!

Obviously, it has been shown and discussed quite a lot, but if for some reason you are not familiar with the case it chronicles, do not read reviews of the film or newspaper articles. Just see it unprepared.

The new interview with Errol Morris is phenomenal. Actually, the interview alone is a good enough reason to highly recommend this release. You will know why once you see it.

Have a great weekend everyone

Pro-B

I'm quite curious to hear this interview with Errol Morris after hearing about the Harvey Weinstein letter incident (where Weinstein tells Morris after a promotional interview that he's boring, and if he continues to be boring he'll hire an actor to pretend to be Morris to promote the movie). I wonder if he mentions this at all? I've never actually seen the film either, but after hearing of the incident from Weinstein recently on a talk show in the UK, I'm interested in checking it out. And your review is nudging me in that direction too . Thanks.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

The Thin Blue Line Blu-ray REVIEW



Outstanding film!

Obviously, it has been shown and discussed quite a lot, but if for some reason you are not familiar with the case it chronicles, do not read reviews of the film or newspaper articles. Just see it unprepared.

The new interview with Errol Morris is phenomenal. Actually, the interview alone is a good enough reason to highly recommend this release. You will know why once you see it.

Have a great weekend everyone

Pro-B

Thanks for the quick description here Pro-B, and the warning. Don't know a lot about this case, and had been wondering if it was worth the blind buy. But as a Crim Just major in college, it really interests me. Now a tough decision has to be made.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Criterion response post

My interpretation of that is "Cost savings".

Interesting... kind of got the same impression that costs are really factoring into things now. Not sure if the cost of acquiring films are more, or just the shear production costs, but I'm assuming all costs are up.

As for me, I like the booklets, as long as the content for the booklet is there. If it's just filler, or something to add that doesn't really enhance the release, then I'm ok with a fold out. That's just me... I really have loved some of the latest booklets though. Some really good information out there on film.

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by jw007

Your guess is as good as mine. Aside from cost savings, maybe there wasn't enough consumer demand for literature and reading material.

Well, for me I love the booklets but only really read them once. It may be that the majority of people are like me. That might be the reasoning behind dropping the booklets.