The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Jughead

Well... I plopped down $62 for a new copy of Le Cercle Rouge on Ebay today. Someone please tell me I'm not crazy.

You made the right choice!

Melville's Army of Shadows and Le Cercle Rouge are my two favorite Criterion Blu-rays, and they're both on my all-time top five film list.

I really hope that a Criterion Blu-ray of Le Samouraï is happening at some point soon.

[Abdrewes]

Would have been cheaper to go this route:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Le-Ce.../11183/#Review

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by Jughead

Well... I plopped down $62 for a new copy of Le Cercle Rouge on Ebay today. Someone please tell me I'm not crazy.

not crazy but i would not want to pay ~50$ only for the Criterion on the cover.

(the UK release is pretty cheap if you are region free)

[Judex]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Holy cow! I just saw the announcement. Time to retire my German Concorde BluRay.

I really hope The Straight Story is part of the deal too

Straight Story is fantastic and incredibly moving. I'm pretty shocked it hasn't got a US or UK Blu release yet.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Would have been cheaper to go this route:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Le-Ce.../11183/#Review

There's some debate about the color schemes for the StudioCanal edition of Le Cercle Rouge versus the Criterion edition. The Criterion Blu-ray sports a more natural film look, but word around the campfire is that the color tints on the StudioCanal Blu-ray are what the filmmakers intended.

DVDBeaver:
(March 2011) Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray: Criterion's release continues to have some color disparity from the European editions. I don't know that I care to guess the Le Cercle Rouge's most authentic look any more. I have been using the pool table felt as a barometer and am intrigued to see the variations. I have no idea which is more correct but the screen captures should help some make conclusions of their own. The Criterion has the higher bitrate (more file space used for the feature) than the Studio Canal Blu-ray counterpart. The Criterion is darker, a shade browner (skin tones warmer/more orange) and has more information in the frame - notable on all 4 edges (on the pool table capture below this is readily apparent). There is both textured grain and depth in the Criterion HD-transferred image. I suspect as with the opposing standard DVDs, that the Blu-rays are from two different prints - differences are beyond digital manipulation, IMO.

Blu-ray.com (Pro-B):
Criterion's Blu-ray release of Le Cercle Rouge is going to revive a couple of old debates because the color-scheme of the transfer they have used is not identical to that of the transfer Studio Canal used for their Blu-ray release of Melville's film. It is slightly darker, and with the variety of reds and browns seen in the film pushed up quite a bit; in other words, the prominent blueish/greenish tint from the Studio Canal transfer has been replaced by warmer, better balanced reds, browns, and even grays (example: compare screencaptures #5 and 7 from our review for the Studio Canal release, UK version, with screencaptures #1 and 8 from this review). Compression, however, is slightly better on the Criterion release. Additionally, heavy edge-enhancement and macroblocking are never an issue of concern. There are no serious stability issues to report in this review either. All in all, technically this is a solid Blu-ray release, but I have to admit that I lean towards the Studio Canal Blu-ray release of Le Cercle Rouge, as my understanding is that the prevalent bluish/greenish tint it boasts is indeed more accurate.


My own Melville fanboy non-expert self is inclined to think that this is a case of six in one and a half-dozen in the other.
- More screen information and a more natural film look on the Criterion Blu-ray.
- A possibly more accurate reflection of the film's theatrical release on the StudioCanal Blu-ray.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Judex

Straight Story is fantastic and incredibly moving. I'm pretty shocked it hasn't got a US or UK Blu release yet.

Yes. It's one of my 3 favorite Lynch films. One of the most underrated films out there.

[Jughead]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

not crazy but i would not want to pay ~50$ only for the Criterion on the cover.

(the UK release is pretty cheap if you are region free)

I'm not region free, but as discussed earlier, I did mull over the idea of getting one, but once you have so many criterions, the decision is made more difficult. I also haven't seen any evidence Studio Canal was going to release it for Region A. What can I say? I have a lot of faith in the Blu-Ray format and would like to create a film library that I'm really proud of as I don't ever intend to sell these off like I did my DVDs when Blu came around. I think that means sometimes spending a bit too much for one film. I definitely will have to sell something, to Justify purchasing The Third Man and The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

There's some debate about the color schemes for the StudioCanal edition of Le Cercle Rouge versus the Criterion edition. The Criterion Blu-ray sports a more natural film look, but word around the campfire is that the color tints on the StudioCanal Blu-ray are what the filmmakers intended.

My own Melville fanboy non-expert self is inclined to think that this is a case of six in one and a half-dozen in the other.
- More screen information and a more natural film look on the Criterion Blu-ray.
- A possibly more accurate reflection of the film's theatrical release on the StudioCanal Blu-ray.

The deal is already done but this information is nice to have. Thanks. I'm looking forward to watching it.

[Jett Rink]

Originally Posted by Jughead

Well... I plopped down $62 for a new copy of Le Cercle Rouge on Ebay today. Someone please tell me I'm not crazy.

Didn't you see the like new one I told you about for $15? I haven't checked on it, it may have gone up in price.

[Jughead]

Originally Posted by Jett Blu

Didn't you see the like new one I told you about for $15? I haven't checked on it, it may have gone up in price.

Yes. I did. It is up to $41 with over a day to go. I figured the BIN prices would drive the price for it, so I just went ahead and got it so I wasn't stuck deciding to buy it among the $70-$100 options. I think this puppy is gone and ebay/half is the only way to get it.

[Jett Rink]

Originally Posted by Jughead

Yes. I did. It is up to $41 with over a day to go. I figured the BIN prices would drive the price for it, so I just went ahead and got it so I wasn't stuck deciding to buy it among the $70-$100 options. I think this puppy is gone and ebay/half is the only way to get it.

Yeah, I just looked at it and I envision a fierce bidding war in the last minute. Glad you found a copy though.

[ultlife2013]

I want to pick up le cercle rouge but trying to stay within 50 dollars. It'll take some patience but it could happen.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by Jughead

I'm not region free, but as discussed earlier, I did mull over the idea of getting one, but once you have so many criterions, the decision is made more difficult

i would still consider going region free.. there are a lot of UK releases that beat the criterion ones... at least in therms of video quality .
wonder why criterion does screwing around with contrast / color brightness.
some release look kinda "soft" compared to the UK release as well (things to come)

but most of the time criterion has the best case / cover / bonus features.

[EuroCultAV]

Does anyone know if BN price matches in store? I have an epic giftcard I'm saving for the sale, but seeing as the Best Buy sale is still going on, I was thinking of calling them up and trying to see if they'll drop prices with BB.

[blackhawktraffic]

Originally Posted by octagon

It's not that weird. I don't think having individual frames plastered all over celebrity spank sites was part of the original plan.

Well just not have that scene or just frame it a different way, to change it later is stupid...I hate when directors change their mind...if the actor doesn't have an issue then the director shouldn't since its the actors body, but I just hate censoring anything regardless of what it is.

[Jett Rink]

Originally Posted by EuroCultAV

Does anyone know if BN price matches in store? I have an epic giftcard I'm saving for the sale, but seeing as the Best Buy sale is still going on, I was thinking of calling them up and trying to see if they'll drop prices with BB.

They don't. They will however get very passive-aggressive if you ask. And they are rude about it. Their funeral.

[blackhawktraffic]

Originally Posted by morg999

I ordered "Playtime" on May 30th....still haven't received it. Received an email from AMAZON today wanting to see if I still wanted it, they still don't have a delivery date...has anyone actually received a copy that was ordered in the same time frame??

Got an email at 2AM, mine was cancelled

[Majin Blu]

Hey everyone (who stops by). Sorry for de-railing any conversation that was being held.
This is like my second time posting in this discussion thread and I wanted some opinions/feedback.

I was trying to choose a new film to watch (from Criterion) and I narrowed my choices for now to 6 picks. I was wondering if anyone could give me some word on the movies, if you have seen them.

- Insignificance
- Pale Flower
- Videodrome
- Shock Corridor
- Diabolique
- Repo Man

Thank you for your time.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by reelgeek

Hey everyone (who stops by). Sorry for de-railing any conversation that was being held.
This is like my second time posting in this discussion thread and I wanted some opinions/feedback.

I was trying to choose a new film to watch (from Criterion) and I narrowed my choices for now to 6 picks. I was wondering if anyone could give me some word on the movies, if you have seen them.

- Insignificance
- Pale Flower
- Videodrome
- Shock Corridor
- Diabolique
- Repo Man

Thank you for your time.

I've seen all of those except for Insignificance.

While a lot of people enjoyed Pale Flower, I found myself neutral to the entire thing. It's a story about a gangster who has just been released from prison and he gets involved with a thrill-seeking woman who he met at a gambling house. The film does a good job at showing how hard it is to leave the past behind, especially when you're right in the center of it.

Videodrome is a very neat film by David Cronenberg. It was really entertaining because of how bizarre it was.

I prefer The Naked Kiss largely to Shock Corridor. Shock Corridor is definitely entertaining because of how ironic the film plays out, but I wasn't very fond of this one either.

Diabolique is favorite my favorite of the bunch that you listed. It's an excellent mystery film and one of my favorites in the entire collection. It was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, who also directed the awesome Wages of Fear!

If you're into cult films, I would recommend Repo Man. It was highly entertaining, but I wasn't very impressed by the ending.

[Majin Blu]

Originally Posted by James78

reelgeek, Les diaboliques is a fantastic dark thriller full of twists and turns about two murderous schoolmistresses. Watch it late at night!

Originally Posted by iScottie

I've seen all of those except for Insignificance.

While a lot of people enjoyed Pale Flower, I found myself neutral to the entire thing. It's a story about a gangster who has just been released from prison and he gets involved with a thrill-seeking woman who he met at a gambling house. The film does a good job at showing how hard it is to leave the past behind, especially when you're right in the center of it.

Videodrome is a very neat film by David Cronenberg. It was really entertaining because of how bizarre it was.

I prefer The Naked Kiss largely to Shock Corridor. Shock Corridor is definitely entertaining because of how ironic the film plays out, but I wasn't very fond of this one either.

Diabolique is favorite my favorite of the bunch that you listed. It's an excellent mystery film and one of my favorites in the entire collection. It was directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, who also directed the awesome Wages of Fear!

If you're into cult films, I would recommend Repo Man. It was highly entertaining, but I wasn't very impressed by the ending.

James78: Thanks. I do like Dark thrillers, so that's a grand selling point.

iScottie: You essentially gave the same kudos to "Diabolique", so it's tempting on that side. I had a friend who was trying to convince me of "Videodrome", saying it's the best thing ever.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by reelgeek

James78: Thanks. I do like Dark thrillers, so that's a grand selling point.

iScottie: You essentially gave the same kudos to "Diabolique", so it's tempting on that side. I had a friend who was trying to convince me of "Videodrome", saying it's the best thing ever.

Diabolique is awesome. However, the one I would watch right now is Insignicance. It suggests way more than it reveals. So that may be why many dont like it.