The Criterion Collection

[melo4mvp]

Was wondering if anybody has shopped at Books a Million before. One just came in town and they have a nice Criterion selection, but they are quite pricey. Curious if they have any kinds of sales like Barnes and Noble. I doubt it, but figured I'd ask. Thanks.

[Mr. Movie Fan]

All Blu-Ray's of "Carlos" from The Criterion Collection suffer from a mastering error with regard to the sound mix on the second disc.
On Disc 2, "Episode III" the left surround channel is mixed so low- that it's inaudible. Criterion has yet to respond, and I have confirmed this issue is in fact present on all Blu-Ray copies of the film. Once again Criterion has not responded or commented on the error. They should, and very quickly. Being the best means, being judged the harshest.

[jacobsever]

Has anyone else given these a read?



All around 100 pages or so. University of Illinois Press. Found them pretty cheap on Amazon, and figure they'd be a pretty fun/educational read.

[blkhrt]

It's been getting a lot of hate on here, so I will just say that I actually really like the Something Wild cover art. For me it works because it fits the film so well. I almost voted for it for my favorite. But hey, to each his own!

[RojD]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Has anyone else given these a read?

...

All around 100 pages or so. University of Illinois Press. Found them pretty cheap on Amazon, and figure they'd be a pretty fun/educational read.

Definitely want to look into the series. There's one on Rules of the Game, Grand Illusion, and Rififi. Will give the library a try.

[melo4mvp]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

BAM is closer to me and wife goes there a lot, but I've never noticed any decent movies there other than the typical $5 DVD throwaways (priced at $15+ of course). Certainly they haven't had any BN type deals. I'm not even sure I've even seen a Bluray of any type, but I'm not in a Upscale market so each store may well tailor there inventory.

Thank you for replying. The one by me has a decent selection of blu-rays. Only a handful of Criterion blus but it looks like they get all the new releases in so I'll just keep an eye out.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by Fanboyz

All Blu-Ray's of "Carlos" from The Criterion Collection suffer from a mastering error with regard to the sound mix on the second disc. Criterion has yet to respond, and I have confirmed this issue is in fact present on all Blu-Ray copies of the film.

The bolded part of your post bothers me a bit. Are you saying that you've been in my house and personally checked my blu-ray copy? This seems highly unlikely, though, which makes your statement a lie. You haven't even confirmed this issue with my copy of the film, let alone a multitude of others that have been bought by consumers.

[*DrStrangelove*]

Every time I think I know what I'm gonna get I watch a trailer or read about another release and change my mind. Now I'm interested in Last Year at Marienbad. I would like to know your thoughts on this film. As of now I'm getting Last Year at Marienbad, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, and Diabolique. I was gonna get Night of the Hunter but decided to go with Last Year at Marienbad. The trailer really intrigued me.

[majorkonig41]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Every time I think I know what I'm gonna get I watch a trailer or read about another release and change my mind. Now I'm interested in Last Year at Marienbad. I would like to know your thoughts on this film. As of now I'm getting Last Year at Marienbad, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, and Diabolique. I was gonna get Night of the Hunter but decided to go with Last Year at Marienbad. The trailer really intrigued me.

Last Year is a truly hypnotic film that doesn't disappoint. Plus, the film is sort of a puzzle, so repeat viewings are mandatory. Get it and prepare to be blown away by it.

[Monty70]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Every time I think I know what I'm gonna get I watch a trailer or read about another release and change my mind. Now I'm interested in Last Year at Marienbad. I would like to know your thoughts on this film. As of now I'm getting Last Year at Marienbad, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, and Diabolique. I was gonna get Night of the Hunter but decided to go with Last Year at Marienbad. The trailer really intrigued me.

Last Year at Marienbad may be my favorite Criterion BD. (it would be too hard to pick just one) The audio/visual quality is excellent, and the supplements are well done and informative. The film is a masterpiece, (IMO) a dream of elegance and menace.

The Night of the Hunter is another fine choice for you collection though, it's a tough call between those two.

[toddly6666]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Every time I think I know what I'm gonna get I watch a trailer or read about another release and change my mind. Now I'm interested in Last Year at Marienbad. I would like to know your thoughts on this film. As of now I'm getting Last Year at Marienbad, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, and Diabolique. I was gonna get Night of the Hunter but decided to go with Last Year at Marienbad. The trailer really intrigued me.

The Night of the Hunter is so damn good and rewatchable. I didn't see Last Year at Marienbad, but I hear it's like one long perfume commercial.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I'm tempted to get another unit as back-up.

Funny you should say that. The one I ordered last night hasn't even shipped and I'm thinking about ordering another one.

(the only downside here is a lot of really good stuff is about to move from my 'okay, well, someday' list to the 'gimme, gimme, gimme' list but oh well)

[Mr. Movie Fan]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

The bolded part of your post bothers me a bit. Are you saying that you've been in my house and personally checked my blu-ray copy? This seems highly unlikely, though, which makes your statement a lie. You haven't even confirmed this issue with my copy of the film, let alone a multitude of others that have been bought by consumers.

Countless others on Facebook also noticed the issue, it's unlikely in the extreme that somehow your copy is different from all of the others. Watch disc 2, prove me wrong. Mind you most people would never notice that one of their surrounds is silent for half a movie, but I did- and now others do too.

Don't get testy with me, Im on your side. You and I both bought defective product. We deserve better. Remember don't be mean, because when your mean to people that makes you a mean person- and thats bad.
Carlos was mean to people so often that Sudanese junta sold him to the French, and his party train came a swift halt. If Carlos was nicer to people he'd probably not be in the slam.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Every time I think I know what I'm gonna get I watch a trailer or read about another release and change my mind. Now I'm interested in Last Year at Marienbad. I would like to know your thoughts on this film. As of now I'm getting Last Year at Marienbad, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, and Diabolique. I was gonna get Night of the Hunter but decided to go with Last Year at Marienbad. The trailer really intrigued me.

Last Year at Marienbad is probably my 4th favorite Criterion Blu. I'd recommend it over Night of the Hunter any day (and Hunter is amazing....I'm just saying Last Year is seriously a masterpiece). However, the film is very much like a beautiful work of art to examine....for many viewers, it would be a difficult film to watch, because the plot is a very loose one, built around very vague events. Above all, it is a visual film where every frame is a perfectly crafted surreal photograph. That said, Night of the Hunter is a much more straight-forward film (as is most of the collection when compared to Last Year)

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Fanboyz

Countless others on Facebook also noticed the issue, it's unlikely in the extreme that somehow your copy is different from all of the others. Watch disc 2, prove me wrong. Mind you most people would never notice that one of their surrounds is silent for half a movie, but I did- and now others do too.

Don't get testy with me, Im on your side. You and I both bought defective product. We deserve better. Remember don't be mean, because when your mean to people that makes you a mean person- and thats bad.
Carlos was mean to people so often that Sudanese junta sold him to the French, and his party train came a swift halt. If Carlos was nicer to people he'd probably not be in the slam.

I haven't watched any of the mini-series yet...as I had streamed it on NetFlix before I bought the BD, so I can't speak in regards to this supposed audio issue.

Pro-B...I know that it's been over two months, since you wrote your review of Carlos. Did you notice this audio issue described below?

"All Blu-Ray's of "Carlos" from The Criterion Collection suffer from a mastering error with regard to the sound mix on the second disc.

On Disc 2, "Episode III" the left surround channel is mixed so low- that it's inaudible. Criterion has yet to respond, and I have confirmed this issue is in fact present on all Blu-Ray copies of the film. Once again Criterion has not responded or commented on the error. They should, and very quickly. Being the best means, being judged the harshest."

[SpiderBaby]

Can anybody recommend the Paul Robeson dvd set?

This set is an example of why I dislike sets of non-filmmakers (if it's an actors' set, etc). Different film styles it seems and the reason I want it is for 1 film I know of, Borderline. I doubt the other films are of the avant garde nature of this film. Just didn't want to spend that much on a set for 1 film. So hopefully someone can recommend this.

[Fallglimmer]

Marienbad is one film I would actually recommend seeing before you buy, responses are generally very polarizing.

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by joenostalgia23

I can't believe people are complaining about CRITERION cover-art. You won't watch films because the artwork that Criterion hired skilled graphic designers to create just wasn't good enough.
If you consider Mystery Train's artwork to be so bad that you won't even watch the damn film... how do you manage to watch non-Criterion films?

Agreed on this point. In a world full of lazy Photoshop covers (not to mention Photoshop movie posters - yuck!), Criterion always puts more care into the covers of their releases than any of the majors. If I cared that much about cover art, my BD collection would consist almost entirely of Criterion releases.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

Can anybody recommend the Paul Robeson dvd set?

This set is an example of why I dislike sets of non-filmmakers (if it's an actors' set, etc). Different film styles it seems and the reason I want it is for 1 film I know of, Borderline. I doubt the other films are of the avant garde nature of this film. Just didn't want to spend that much on a set for 1 film. So hopefully someone can recommend this.

Only film I've seen in the set is SANDERS OF THE RIVER, a shameless pro-English occupation piece not worth of anyone's time or money.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

Both films are good but NotH is more expensive, hence a better bargain from the sale.

Exactly. The difference in price shrinks from $10 to $5 due to the sale (also this is one that Amazon tends to have well into the $30's). With coupons/member discount you can possibly get NotH under $20 at Barnes and Noble. Definitely worth it IMO, I'd say it's one of the better films in my collection but I'd have a hard time picking specific favorites.