The Criterion Collection

[TolerancEJ]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Trainspotting includes a glow in the dark slipcover

At least it's not a glow in the dark poster of that baby with its head spun around.

[Scottie]

1. All the 4Ks/BDs should be in the database now.

2. Rivette's "L'amour Fou" is now on Janus's website. (https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2152)

3. The Trainspotting packaging reminds me of Sex, Lies, and Videotape. I'm sure it'll be a DigiPack of sorts with a clear, glow-in-the-dark effect.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by fellinivettes

Is it unlikely Knife in the Water getting an upgrade any time soon? I know people have said Criterion don’t want release any Polanski anymore, but I’m guessing that’s just speculation?

I’ve almost bought it in a few flash sales but always think I’ll get burned and they’ll upgrade

Originally Posted by NeoNical

What the Criterion Collection does is always unpredictable. There's always a chance, but it may depend on when they want to do it and their priorities. Everything regarding the behind the scenes, their intentions, and their priorities to release are all going to be speculation from the fans and customers.

I've heard some users mention about the Polanski thing though but I don't know if this is true or not. With that said, their last Polanski release was in 2014 with Tess and Macbeth. Knife in the Water, if I recall correctly, already has a restoration out so it's possible for Criterion to do it. As of matter of whether or not it's worth buying, I'd say why not at this point.

The only movies that will never have a Criterion release are James Bond movies. Other than that, anything's possible.

Hell, I honestly thought a few months ago they'd found London After Midnight and were doing that one.

Knife In The Water is possible. That, Repulsion, and Rosemary's Baby are the only ones I know that Criterion has done (in either the laserdisc era or the DVD/Blu-ray/4K era), but there's probably some more. Also, KITW had a laserdisc, and they've explicitly said that their laserdisc titles have a special place in their hearts, so I think if they got a reasonable offer to do a Blu-ray or a 4K they would.

Other studios have it out on Blu around the world, but I can't opine on the quality of those discs.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

I would imagine it is on the radar to be upgraded eventually.

If you can excuse me being so tasteless, perhaps with Polanski's age Criterion's waiting until he dies before they do a Polanski release, then they don't have to pay him personally.

[Ray Jackson]

The Apu Trilogy is probably my favorite boxset in the collection.

It means a great deal to me.

But I question the need to have it in 4K.

How much better can a film that old, shot in that way really look?

...it would have to be a radical difference in PQ for me to double dip.

[Professor Echo]

I hope the Coens don’t dismantle BLOOD SIMPLE and then start putting the puzzle pieces back wrong as they did with MILLER’s.

[The Sovereign]

Nice month - surprisingly loaded! Lone Star is the biggie in this batch for me, but plenty to like.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by BigDmo531

I think it's more Toho is super difficult to work with

Originally Posted by Egbert Souse

Good chance we get 4Ks of Godzilla and Seven Samurai in 2024 for the 70th anniversary.

That explains a lot. The few Kurosawas I know and Godzilla are fairly old discs, and having just watched Godzilla it's probably the Criterion disc I know that has aged the most. (Even their LDs still hold up.)

I think Seven Samurai was 2K across the board from either an IP or a FGP. Gojira was a 2K job on a FGP, and KOTM was either a FGP or a print. Both films, and presumably many others, would need to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Originally Posted by Egbert Souse

It's also the 100th for Greed, 75th for The Third Man.

Greed has been in my top five since I was a kid. I don't even know if a DVD exists. I heard that there was a DVD in 1999 (day and date with the VHS), and both were limited to 10,000 copies, but I have never seen a DVD of Greed. My DVD is a boot of a TCM airing from either 2005 or 2006.

While the 1999 restoration was finished at 480i, even dropping that on a disc would be a major step up over my boot and the restored VHS. And it would certainly run circles around the much more common MGM Silent Classics VHS from 1990.

The Third Man, why the hell has Criterion not relicensed that one? Of their OOP Blu-rays, that's probably the one I want the most. I don't think it's that they don't want it though. Rather, if by some chance the copyright has been restored (it was PD for a very long time), the copyright holder knows how highly demanded it is and is waiting for a payday. Still, email email email. Contact Criterion and they'll know how much we want that movie.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by mclellandj

My Cousin Vinny should 100% be in the collection. Such a great movie.

"What was that last word you said? 'The two...' did you say... 'yutes'?
"Yeah, the two yutes."
"What's a yute?"

Kills me every single time.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Trainspotting 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/29627-trainspotting




Glow in the Dark cover

Awesome cover. The only thing that appears to be missing from the laserdisc is an interview with Irvine Welsh, but still this is great.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Blood Simple 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/films/28852-blood-simple

Make or break question, is this the actual theatrical cut, or just another recut?

[TolerancEJ]

For January, I will go for Lone Star, Trainspotting and Blood Simple. I may go for the multi-film sets for one of the sales in the future.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

The Apu Trilogy 4K UHD

https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/1145-the-apu-trilogy

If I'm not mistaken, this was the movie that literally got burned in the can, and they still put it back together. If this got a 4K, with HDR and DV, then anything is (technologically) possible.

[ilenewoodsfan99]

What an excellent month! Admittedly not any I'll immediately get, but I'll be happy to get just about all of them in the end!

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Been a while, but we can finally cross another off this list. Just Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, O Lucky Man, Captain Blood, and The Roaring Twenties left. Roaring should be coming this year, as George Feltenstein, from WAC, confirmed it's in the works (didn't say it was Criterion, but I think that's likely given the list).

Captain Blood's been restored, we just don't know who's going to drop it. It's coming from someone though, either Criterion or WAC.

O Lucky Man, I heard it's been restored, but I haven't heard anything else on it.

I haven't even heard about The Roaring Twenties, but I'm in whenever it shows up.

Pat Garrett is the only enigma here. It's been rumored for years, and everyone predicted it was coming from Criterion, and then it didn't. People can't even figure out if it's been restored or not. It has to be in the list of the ten most wanted Blu-rays ever by now, and both WB and the boutiques know it. Why no one has done it yet is beyond me.

Ugh. What day is WAC announcements usually?

[Areyakiddin]

Originally Posted by Shane Rollins

Captain Blood's been restored, we just don't know who's going to drop it. It's coming from someone though, either Criterion or WAC.

O Lucky Man, I heard it's been restored, but I haven't heard anything else on it.

I haven't even heard about The Roaring Twenties, but I'm in whenever it shows up.

Pat Garrett is the only enigma here. It's been rumored for years, and everyone predicted it was coming from Criterion, and then it didn't. People can't even figure out if it's been restored or not. It has to be in the list of the ten most wanted Blu-rays ever by now, and both WB and the boutiques know it. Why no one has done it yet is beyond me.

Ugh. What day is WAC announcements usually?

Whenever they feel like, but probably this week.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

The Apu Trilogy is probably my favorite boxset in the collection.

It means a great deal to me.

But I question the need to have it in 4K.

How much better can a film that old, shot in that way really look?

...it would have to be a radical difference in PQ for me to double dip.

It will look way better. These are native 4K transfers from the OCNs, with HDR and DV. Honestly, black and white movies benefit more from the bump to native 4K and DV/HDR than color movies do. You will literally be shocked at how amazing it looks. You probably will be shocked a film could even look that amazing.

There's been a few movies now where when I saw it on a quality 4K, my response was "I can't believe this is the same movie I've been watching all these years." You'll have the same reaction. Wait for either the February flash sale or the July B&N sale, but definitely get it.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

I hope the Coens don’t dismantle BLOOD SIMPLE and then start putting the puzzle pieces back wrong as they did with MILLER’s.

This.

Blood Simple has already been worked on many times:

When Blood Simple was first released, two quotes appeared over black, before the opening credits. One was from Dashiell Hammet explaining what "blood simple" meant and the second was from Alfred Hitchcock about how difficult it really would be to kill a man.

The original MCA Home Video VHS tape and LaserDisc was released on October 10, 1985, with a 96-minute running time. The film was released on Universal Pictures Home Entertainment VHS tape for a second time in 1995 with a 99-minute run time. Unusual for such an exercise, the "Director's Cut" is some 3 minutes shorter than the original 1985 theatrical release. The Coens reduced the run time with tighter editing, shortening some shots and removing others altogether. Additionally, they resolved long-standing rights issues with the music; the original theatrical version of the film made prominent use of The Four Tops' "It's the Same Old Song" (1965); the Coens had replaced it with Neil Diamond's "I'm a Believer" (1966) for the 1995 U.S. home video edition on VHS. The Director's Cut reinstated the Four Tops track.

For the 1998 restoration, the Coen brothers not only remixed and re-recorded new sound effects for the stereo soundtrack, but also made some minor trims to various scenes and dialogue:

[Show spoiler]-Meurice asking a bar patron at the jukebox what night it is and, realizing it's "Yankee Night," he explains he's from Detroit, thus justifying his intervention of the patron's musical selection.
-Ray sticking his cigarette in the stuffed warthog's nose at Marty's house, and the following lines: RAY: You gonna leave all this stuff? ABBY: It's all Marty's.
After Marty suggests to the P.I. the "incinerator" as a means of destroying the evidence of his proposed murder, the P.I.'s line: "Sweet Jesus, you're disgusting!" is deleted.
-A couple lines from the landlady showing Abby the studio apartment (mainly assuring her Abby won't be bothered at that location) before she starts yelling at her ex-brother-in-law, are deleted.
-As Marty opens his safe to retrieve the bounty money (and swap the photo) his line: "This is an illicit affair" has been removed, although he can still be seen mouthing it.
-When the P.I. shoots Marty, a couple shots are removed of Marty and the P.I. staring at each other after the gunshot.
-When Ray and Abby are discussing "what happened," in her studio apartment, and Ray feels cold enough to rise from his seat, the shot of him steadying the walrus piggy bank is removed and his dialogue is heard off-screen to cover this change.
-When Abby goes to see Meurice about her concerns, the scene cuts as soon as she enters. In the original version, the scene continues and she is seen inside his place and he pours a drink while assuring her that Marty is not dead, even though she is very worried that he is. Some of the dialogue from inside the house is placed over the shot outside Meurice's door before Abby goes in, in the 1998 version.
-When Marty is rejected by the woman chatting with Meurice at the bar, the dialogue "Now that I've communicated, why don't you get lost" is omitted, along with Marty's reply "I own the place. Why don't you grow up."
-A new page of credits is added at the end, covering the restoration.

The theatrical re-release and the DVD contain a mock introduction of the film by "Mortimer Young of Forever Young Film Preservation."

I have no clue whether the Criterion Blu-ray has the 1998 "restoration" or another recut. I also don't know if the 4K will have a different cut than the Blu-ray. This is honestly the reason why I haven't seen Blood Simple. I just want to watch the original version of the movie. Like I said a few posts back, this is a make or break issue with me. If they just put the real movie on there, I'm in. If it's something else, I'm out.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by erlinmeyer

I see The Ranown Westerns as the last title in the list after Wings of Desire and Three Colors between The Power of the Dog and Time Bandits. 56 results for 4K Ultra HD filter.

You're correct. This is what happens when I try to do 3 things at once on a Monday and overlook the 'load more' button!

[Shane Rollins]

So we got:
Trainspotting 4K UHD: February or July
Lone Star 4K UHD: February or July
Blood Simple 4K UHD: I really need to think about this one.
The Apu Trilogy 4K UHD: July or November
Chantal Akerman Masterpieces, 1968–1978: Eventually, though it's a good set
Mudbound Blu-ray: Eventually, heard great things, but I've honestly never seen it

All in all, I'd say this is a great month.

And it's releases like Blood Simple that let me know exactly what would happen if a boutique managed to get a hold of one of Lucas' films, or Cameron, or Mann, or Friedkin. Great movies, they all need a great release, but good luck getting one. Not Criterion's/the other boutiques' faults.