The Criterion Collection

[Sinthetic]

What a fantastic feel good movie "Something Wild" is. I thought the pacing was great, characters were really charming and the music was awesome. A definite purchase with my next batch of Criterion orders.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

Fallen Angels would be my first choice out of the ones that are currently available.

I have an okay DVD, so I haven't bothered to upgrade Fallen Angels. Plus I don't watch it or like it as much as some of the others.
The blu-ray upgrade of Happy Together is essential for fans of Wong Kar-Wai, because previous DVDs were dreadful. Also, the film is incredibly beautiful.
My DVD of In The Mood For Love is quite acceptable, but I'll upgrade it if I ever get the chance.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

That wouldn't be too bad considering WB can't get it right with a Goodfellas blu-ray. They'd rather re-package the same crappy release as a digibook.

This is why I haven't upgraded Goodfellas to blu-ray.
It's also why I'm confused when people praise Warner Bros. for their catalogue releases. They do an amazing job on a handful and then completely screw the rest with old masters, 2hour films on single-layer discs, lossy audio, etc, etc.

[Mooch360]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

I have an okay DVD, so I haven't bothered to upgrade Fallen Angels. Plus I don't watch it or like it as much as some of the others.
The blu-ray upgrade of Happy Together is essential for fans of Wong Kar-Wai, because previous DVDs were dreadful. Also, the film is incredibly beautiful.
My DVD of In The Mood For Love is quite acceptable, but I'll upgrade it if I ever get the chance.

I thought Days of Being Wild was really good, I'd like to see it get a blu-ray upgrade soon. And In the Mood for Love also!

[ROclockCK]

In recent weeks - more precisely since seeing World on a Wire - Shane Carruth's Primer has vaulted into my Criterion wish list top 10. Great science fiction, and proof that you don't need $200 million to make it.

Are you still maintaining that wish list ShellOilJunior? Would you mind adding Primer? Appreciate it.

[Brad1107]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

This is why I haven't upgraded Goodfellas to blu-ray.
It's also why I'm confused when people praise Warner Bros. for their catalogue releases. They do an amazing job on a handful and then completely screw the rest with old masters, 2hour films on single-layer discs, lossy audio, etc, etc.

You are from Australia correct? JB hi-fi has the Scorcese collection for $13 right now on blu-ray. It includes The Aviator, The Departed and Goodfellas. That works out to $4.30ish a movie. Worth getting for that price and you can upgrade Goodfellas if they ever do a new disc.

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by Brad1107

You are from Australia correct? JB hi-fi has the Scorcese collection for $13 right now on blu-ray. It includes The Aviator, The Departed and Goodfellas. That works out to $4.30ish a movie. Worth getting for that price and you can upgrade Goodfellas if they ever do a new disc.

The Aviator in that collection may not have lossless audio either - it was released with lossless in some European territories, but I'd gather that the disc in this collection wouldn't. Just a heads-up. For $4.30 that may not be an issue just to have it; though The Aviator I'd assume is far less likely to receive a re-release than Goodfellas, which needs much more work.

I haven't picked up the Goodfellas blu either, even though it was tempting when all of those digibooks were $10.99 at Best Buy at the end of last year. My HD-DVD will suffice until Warner's finally gives this title the release it deserves.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

This is why I haven't upgraded Goodfellas to blu-ray.
It's also why I'm confused when people praise Warner Bros. for their catalogue releases. They do an amazing job on a handful and then completely screw the rest with old masters, 2hour films on single-layer discs, lossy audio, etc, etc.

I dunno. I think Warner gets high marks overall because their good releases are very good and their bad releases are pretty good too.

GoodFellas or Unforgiven aren't really bad...they're just frustrating because they could have been better. And something like The Searchers? I don't know how much difference a lossy track would have made anyway (though the low bitrates on some of the early releases is pretty hard to understand).

And some of their 'average' stuff that doesn't get a lot of attention (The Maltese Falcon, Dirty Harry, All the President's Men) is great.

And whatever else one might say about their early catalog releases, they certainly seem to have taken criticism to heart. We ***** about grain, we get it. We ***** about lossless audio, we get it. About the only thing we haven't gotten are wholesale rereleases and that's pretty understandable.

As much as people complain about GoodFellas I don't know if as many of us would run out to double-dip as the forums might have one think. And even fewer of us would do it at full price

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by lemonski

I can heartily recommend the AuteurCast.

Before Wong Kar-Wai, they've covered Lynch, Wilder, Fassbinder, Crowe, Fincher, Nolan, Leone and Tarantino (something for almost everybody )

Definitely going to check these out!

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I would argue that you could compare The Young Ones to the Monkees. The Young Ones had all the surreal, off-the-wall humour, musical breaks (with Motorhead! singing Ace of Spades!), and took a lot of gags and plots from the Monkees. It was essentially a more British, more violent, cruder (can you imagine Peter Tork rushing off to join the police force, despite hating fascist billy boys, because Micky was pregnant, when in actuality, it ended up being a really bad, disgusting case of gas? Or Davy Jones stringing women's lingere around his room and playing a recorded tape of himself pretenting to be a girl having sex with him so the others would think he was this great womaniser?), and disgustingly filthy (the housing arrangements of Vyvyan, Rik, Mike, and Neil, plus their personal grooming habits were absolutely appalling) version of the Monkees. I highly recommend people watch The Young Ones, it's fantastic. You have Rick Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Nigel Planner, Christopher Ryan, Alexei Sayle, as well guest cameos from Robbie Coltrane, EMMA THOMPSON, and Hugh Laurie

Young Ones = sheer brilliance.

Bottom was quite good, as well.

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I'm still hoping for Ghost Dog, which is probably one of my most wanted titles.

That would be another great addition.

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

Can Criterion release 'Badlands' so I can complete my Malick BD collection ?

Seconded.

Originally Posted by octagon

Speaking of inane licensing chatter, has anybody seen any rumor anywhere about Glengarry Glen Ross?

This is the 20th Anniversary and there haven't even been whispers about a BD release. That's almost starting to give me hope.

Was just talking about this film a couple of days ago, and how it needs to be released on BD...a Criterion release would certainly be a pleasant surprise.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

Was just talking about this film a couple of days ago, and how it needs to be released on BD...a Criterion release would certainly be a pleasant surprise.

I'll be the first to admit I'm more than happy to bend my 'there's no reason the studio can't release this' position for certain favorites and this would be one of them.

I do think it would be a good fit but I'm not going to pretend that's my primary motivation

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by octagon

I dunno. I think Warner gets high marks overall because their good releases are very good and their bad releases are pretty good too.

GoodFellas or Unforgiven aren't really bad...they're just frustrating because they could have been better. And something like The Searchers? I don't know how much difference a lossy track would have made anyway (though the low bitrates on some of the early releases is pretty hard to understand).

And some of their 'average' stuff that doesn't get a lot of attention (The Maltese Falcon, Dirty Harry, All the President's Men) is great.

And whatever else one might say about their early catalog releases, they certainly seem to have taken criticism to heart. We ***** about grain, we get it. We ***** about lossless audio, we get it. About the only thing we haven't gotten are wholesale rereleases and that's pretty understandable.

As much as people complain about GoodFellas I don't know if as many of us would run out to double-dip as the forums might have one think. And even fewer of us would do it at full price

I'd double-dip on GoodFellas, though maybe not at full price. A Clockwork Orange is one that I'd double-dip on in an instant, though. And it's absolutely maddening that they used the 4K restoration to source clips for the new doc on the 40th Anniversary BD, while using the same old transfer for the feature itself.

That said, Warner has come a long way, and their recent catalog releases have largely been great successes. A quick comparison between their 2008 and 2012 editions of Casablanca show just how far they've come in the past few years. And their treatment of titles like Dirty Harry, while not getting buried under mountains of praise, has certainly been great.

Every distributor has had their missteps...Warner - like Fox and MGM - seem to have learned their lessons well over time. Now if we can just get Universal on board....

Originally Posted by octagon

I'll be the first to admit I'm more than happy to bend my 'there's no reason the studio can't release this' position for certain favorites and this would be one of them.

I do think it would be a good fit but I'm not going to pretend that's my primary motivation

Agreed. Though admittedly, I would settle for a good BD of Glengarry from anyone at this point. Criterion would certainly be ideal, though...one can only imagine the extras.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

Do you know if they are planning on returning for more Wilder? I was disappointed they didn't cover Ace in the Hole.

Yep, they're taking a break and will be returning to Wilder later on in the year. It makes sense, they've still got another 19 of his films to go and I guess it's a bit much to have them all in one big hit.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by ROclockCK

In recent weeks - more precisely since seeing World on a Wire - Shane Carruth's Primer has vaulted into my Criterion wish list top 10. Great science fiction, and proof that you don't need $200 million to make it.

Another vote from me for Primer. Primer is awesome, but you really have to have your mind on the job at all times. I tried rewatching it not long ago, I wasn't concentrating and just got completely lost. In that way it reminds me of Following - that old Criterion chestnut.

[ShellOilJunior]

Not much changing here...

Criterion Collection Blu-ray requests - Friday Update (Cumulative)

Badlands (14)
In the Mood for Love (9)
The Fountain (8)
Rashomon (7)
Touch of Evil (7)
Sisters (7)
Le Samourai (7)
La Dolce Vita (7)
The BRD Trilogy (7)
La Strada (6)
The Virgin Spring (6)
The Cranes are Flying (6)
A Brighter Summer Day (6)
A Man Escaped (6)
L'avventura (6)
Persona (6)
Trouble in Paradise (6)
Stray Dog (6)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (6)
The Life And Death Of Colonel Blimp (5)
Brazil (5)
Alice in the Cities (5)
The American Friend (5)

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

Wow, I step away a few hours and find myself thrown under the bus!

[Show spoiler]That said, the topic has been floating around in the background and as quiet as the board's been, why not talk about them? They're in the collection and their film's deconstruction of their image is central, so reference to their show, their personae and their other output is relevant as its all part of the same body of work, even if many reasonably think they're second rate. I also think the discussion has been fairly informative and not unreasonably digressive.

I wish some of the times I brought up Bresson or Vanya stirred conversation, but alas... I'd love to talk Beatles as someone else suggested, but they're not in the Collection so I've kept that to the Yellow Submarine and Harrison/Scorsese threads.

That would be a great title to include. The DVD is an Artisan title. Any idea who the rights holder is now or if they're a company open to licensing to Criterion?

Haha, it was a joke. I also agree with your thoughts. I'm a fan, and even I tend to be dismissive of some of their output, and used to say all the same misinformed, negative stuff about them, yet somehow I've always listened/watched them. I'm actually surprised that we've had so much discussion on a group that's "not important and totally fake."

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

What a fantastic feel good movie "Something Wild" is. I thought the pacing was great, characters were really charming and the music was awesome. A definite purchase with my next batch of Criterion orders.

Something Wild was a fantastic blind buy.

[Show spoiler] Again with the Monkees, but at Audrey/Lulu's high school reunion, The Feelies, the band playing there, do a cover of "I'm a Believer."

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

Young Ones = sheer brilliance.

Bottom was quite good, as well.

Did you happen to watch Filthy, Rich, and Catflap, which was a bit of a precursor to Bottom? Also, Bad News was pretty funny and entertaining, it's the British equivalent of Spinal Tap.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

I'd double-dip on GoodFellas, though maybe not at full price. A Clockwork Orange is one that I'd double-dip on in an instant, though. And it's absolutely maddening that they used the 4K restoration to source clips for the new doc on the 40th Anniversary BD, while using the same old transfer for the feature itself.

That said, Warner has come a long way, and their recent catalog releases have largely been great successes. A quick comparison between their 2008 and 2012 editions of Casablanca show just how far they've come in the past few years. And their treatment of titles like Dirty Harry, while not getting buried under mountains of praise, has certainly been great.

Every distributor has had their missteps...Warner - like Fox and MGM - seem to have learned their lessons well over time. Now if we can just get Universal on board....

The example of A Clockwork Orange is a perfect example. I have the original blu-ray and I'm happy enough. However, they create a new 4k master and then re-release the blu-ray using the old master. That's ridiculous.
What about Hamlet? The last film to be shot entirely on 65mm and all 4 hours, plus extras, stuffed on to one disc. Disappointing.
I certainly agree that they're doing the right thing with Casablanca - I've already ordered it. However, I'm sure more than a few people are questioning why they have to double dip; why didn't Warner do the right thing by their customers with the so-called "Ultimate Collector's Edition"?
Anyway, just having a mini-rant
Back to Badlands - I'll probably get it whether released by Warner Bros. or Criterion

[shadedpain4]

I ended up having a lot of time for movie watching the past 2 days, so i watched my first 3 Jean-Pierre Melville films (Le Silence De La Mer, Army of Shadows, and Le Cercle Rouge) as well as my first Ozu (Late Spring).

I have one other Melville in my collection to check out (Leon Morin, Priest), and now i really want to see Le Samurai. Of the 3 Melvilles I watched so far, Le Silence De La Mer was my favorite, but all were thoroughly enjoyed. I didn't notice any problems with the video of Army of Shadows, even in the fuselage.

Late Spring was really good too. It's amazing that the exploration of those tiny differences from one generation to another in a culture can make for such good cinema.

[Cocophone]

Originally Posted by lemonski

Another vote from me for Primer. Primer is awesome, but you really have to have your mind on the job at all times. I tried rewatching it not long ago, I wasn't concentrating and just got completely lost. In that way it reminds me of Following - that old Criterion chestnut.

I have Primer on DVD. Will Bluray make a difference? I think it was shot digitally, but I don't remember the resolution.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by lemonski

Yep, they're taking a break and will be returning to Wilder later on in the year. It makes sense, they've still got another 19 of his films to go and I guess it's a bit much to have them all in one big hit.

Excellent news. Thanks!

Originally Posted by Cocophone

I have Primer on DVD. Will Bluray make a difference? I think it was shot digitally, but I don't remember the resolution.

It's quite a good DVD with very informative extras for such a low budget and obscure title. Based on its production history and technical limits I also have doubts as to how much it would benefit from the increased resolution.

As an intelligently written and crafted, little known film I think it would benefit from being in the collection and it would fit in nicely.