The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Thanks! Just finished watching it again (I've watched it twice this year, I think) and my love just grows with each viewing. No one composes a shot like Antonioni. No one.

And Monica Vitta. Few actresses match her beauty. I think it's her best performance, too.

I just got chills. Yes and yes. Cutting straight to the heart of it, Sammy. Has any director made a string of films as impressive as Antonioni in the sixties? I would wager no.

Regarding Identification: As has been mentioned in the past, a certain scene set during the thick fog is one of Antonioni's very best. As far as I was concerned, that more than justified the blind purchase.

GREAT NEW AVATAR! I was so tempted to change mine to a still of the shipyard scene.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If I end up going back to B&N for another Criterion fix, then I'll pick up a Volume 1 disc to mail to you if they have any left. Not sure if I'll get a chance, but I'll look if I do.

If they have 2 of those Vol 1 dvds.... my B&N only had Vol 2... and i'm a little OCD about these things as well.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Okay, I went into my closet box and found my Criterion postcards.

I apologize for the blurry iPhone 4 camera, but here are some photos. On the second photo, I have one of the cards flipped so that you can see the postage side. The one on the top right of the first photo is The Great Owl's favorite!

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

I also have some postcards for non-Criterion titles.
For the three Atonement postcards on the bottom, the words in red say, "You Can... Only Imagine... The Truth"

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

In the below photo, the card to the right is not a postcard, but more of a leaflet advertising the James Bond movie showings at my local theater back in July, where I attended Dr. No and From Russia with Love, with the dates for each movie. Pretty cool.

[Show spoiler]

And now... The grand finale...

(drumroll, please)

(wait for it, people)

[Show spoiler]

Tamara Drewe! Helloooooo, Gemma Arterton.

Those are pretty sweet!! Thanks for posting these!

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I just got chills. Yes and yes. Cutting straight to the heart of it, Sammy. Has any director made a string of films as impressive as Antonioni in the sixties? I would wager no.

Regarding Identification: As has been mentioned in the past, a certain scene set during the thick fog is one of Antonioni's very best. As far as I was concerned, that more than justified the blind purchase.

GREAT NEW AVATAR! I was so tempted to change mine to a still of the shipyard scene.

I would agree with that. I can't think of another director that comes close.

Thanks! I'm waiting for Criterion to release L'Avventura. I've only seen it once and I'm eager to see it again.

Was reading up on Monica Vitt's relationship with Antonioni. A shame it ended so soon. I think she's perfect as his muse.

[The Great Owl]

Can anybody recommend some Monica Vitti movies that fall outside the Criterion Collection? I want to see more of her films across the board.

I've always wanted to see Modesty Blaise, and I get the feeling that it would make a fun double feature with the Raquel Welch film, Fathom. There are probably some great Italian films with Vitti that fall outside of the Antonioni canon, though.

[billyearle]

Originally Posted by silverlakephil

Blade Runner (LD) of course. I still have it.

Wow, this furthers my respect of the Criterion folks. I remember years ago seeing their Robocop DVD on the new release shelf, and thinking "Awesome, the supposedly chi-chi haute coutre (spelling???) label Criterion is giving Robocop the recognition it deserves as an "art film"". I think this laserdisc Bladerunner also preceded the wider recognition of the film. I still blame Roger Ebert (R.I.P.) for talking me out of spending my allowance on the original theatrical release. Thank God it was screened again in 92 and 2007, and glad he finally came around 25 years later.

[billyearle]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Glad to see another admirer of Juliet of the Spirits. Likewise, it was a landmark film for me. I saw it and Black Orpheus as a double feature at the Circle Theater in D.C. sometime in the '70s and talk about being dazzled by what I saw on the screen! Two of the most visually striking films I've seen, then or since. I'm pretty sure they opened the door for my appreciation of foreign films which up until that time probably consisted of British films, badly dubbed Japanese monster, and Italian sword and sandal films.

This reminds me of another good topic for discussion or a thread (if there isn't one already) Most visually impressive\beautiful movie theatre viewings: I may forget a few, but the top ones that always come to mind for me are:
Juliet of the Spirits
Tales of Hoffman (saw at a George Romero retrospective at Museum of Moving Image in Queens)
Blade Runner (92 and 2007, missed the 82, had to live with cable viewings for 10 years since I let Roger Ebert talk me out of it when I was 15)
Alien (the original 79 theatrical release, I didn't like the color changes and maybe digitalization of the 2003 re-release)
Fellini's Casanova
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (saw at Art Institute of Chicago auditorium in a perfectly preserved print in 89 [film classes were such an awesome easy-A], so sad the colors seem to have faded since then judging from the bluray)
Recently, Pacific Rim on Imax 3-D. (the last 2 1/2 years I live in a small Japanese town so I don't have the chance to experience great silver screen much now, so maybe my impression was magnified by relative depravation, but I was really impressed by his use of the screen)
Honorable Mention: about a dozen Russ Meyer films (audience response also adds to the experience, such a shame bluray releases seem unlikely or even anamorphic DVDs)

[Iosguy]

if anybody is interested, they have gamorra criterion dvd at family dollar disc only for $2, i decided to pick it up just because i dont have any criterions in my collection yet

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by billyearle

This reminds me of another good topic for discussion or a thread (if there isn't one already) Most visually impressive\beautiful movie theatre viewings:
I may forget a few, but the top ones that always come to mind for me are:
Juliet of the Spirits
Tales of Hoffman (saw at a George Romero retrospective at Museum of Moving Image in Queens)
Blade Runner (92 and 2007, missed the 82, had to live with cable viewings for 10 years since Roger Ebert talked me out of it in 82)
Alien (the original 79 theatrical release, I didn't like the color changes and maybe digitalization of the 2003 re-release)
Fellini's Casanova
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (saw at Art Institute of Chicago auditorium in a perfectly preserved print in 89 [film classes were such an awesome easy-A], so sad the colors seem to have faded since then judging from the bluray)
Recently, Pacific Rim on Imax 3-D. (the last 2 1/2 years I live in a small Japanese town so I don't have the chance to experience great silver screen much now, so maybe my impression was magnified by relative depravation, but I was really impressed by his use of the screen)

When I lived near D.C. seeing 2001 at the Uptown Theater was amazing.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If I end up going back to B&N for another Criterion fix, then I'll pick up a Volume 1 disc to mail to you if they have any left. Not sure if I'll get a chance, but I'll look if I do.

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

If they have 2 of those Vol 1 dvds.... my B&N only had Vol 2... and i'm a little OCD about these things as well.

Oh man, thanks a ton! I'd love a volume 1 dvd disc! if anything, its a good disc to show off to people to introduce them to the criterion collection with these mini trailers...maybe i can play one of these dvds for family of mine to show them just how much of an intellectual i've become watching the criterion collection!

[billyearle]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

When I lived near D.C. seeing 2001 at the Uptown Theater was amazing.

Saw that at an outdoor screening, but it rained, still glad as it was much better than a bluray.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Besides Melville I'm slowly trying to buy all of Godard's films...

Has anyone compared Godard's contempt Criterion version vs the blu canal version? The CC version is pricey compaired to canal one but I read on amazon it sucks quality wise considering its a bluray. Any advice? Thanks all!

I've got both, and Criterion's DVD of CONTEMPT is vastly superior to Lionsgate's Blu-ray of CONTEMPT in its colors for 100% of it and even in its sharpness for many scenes. There are a few nice bonuses with Lionsgate's Blu-ray but the transfer was a bitter disappointment. The Blu-ray sometimes changes sharpness in mid-shot from ultra-crisp to poor VHS-quality, and the color is dull and lackluster throughout. All of their transfers seem hit or miss (GRAND ILLUSION, for example, is truly fantastic, but not too many others are.) If you want to see CONTEMPT, make sure you eventually track down Criterion's DVD. The only copy I've seen worse than Lionsgate's Blu-ray was the beat-up pan-and-scan English-dubbed print that TCM ran a couple of years ago, and even that had better color!

[GentleGiant]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

I've got both, and Criterion's DVD of CONTEMPT is vastly superior to Lionsgate's Blu-ray of CONTEMPT in its colors for 100% of it and even in its sharpness for many scenes. There are a few nice bonuses with Lionsgate's Blu-ray but the transfer was a bitter disappointment.

This raises an interesting topic. Can anybody give other examples of certain Criterion DVDs surpassing their non-Criterion Blu-ray counterparts?

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by GentleGiant

This raises an interesting topic. Can anybody give other examples of certain Criterion DVDs surpassing their non-Criterion Blu-ray counterparts?

Going again by the color timing, I'd definitely put Criterion's DVD of DO THE RIGHT THING way ahead of Universal's Blu-ray, which is relatively sharp for a Universal Blu-ray but has really messed-up color (I saw it theatrically when it came out and was especially impressed with the color at that time, and Criterion's DVD has exactly the colors I remember). Universal's old DVD had better color than their Blu-ray, but could not handle the heavy red saturation, which bled into everything else, whereas the Criterion DVD looked natural and still well-saturated. Unfortunately neither the Universal nor the Criterion disc has the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio that was on the 35mm print projected that way when I saw it (with the four rounded edges of the frame visible in each corner of the screen).

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

I've got both, and Criterion's DVD of CONTEMPT is vastly superior to Lionsgate's Blu-ray of CONTEMPT in its colors for 100% of it and even in its sharpness for many scenes. There are a few nice bonuses with Lionsgate's Blu-ray but the transfer was a bitter disappointment. The Blu-ray sometimes changes sharpness in mid-shot from ultra-crisp to poor VHS-quality, and the color is dull and lackluster throughout. All of their transfers seem hit or miss (GRAND ILLUSION, for example, is truly fantastic, but not too many others are.) If you want to see CONTEMPT, make sure you eventually track down Criterion's DVD. The only copy I've seen worse than Lionsgate's Blu-ray was the beat-up pan-and-scan English-dubbed print that TCM ran a couple of years ago, and even that had better color!

I don't have the Lionsgate release, but I do have the Canal disc. I am fairly certain the transfer for the U.S. release is sourced from the same master.

I cannot agree that watching the film on the Criterion DVD is a better option. The U.S. DVD release has a fair share of Criterion's "magic" on it and to claim that it is "truer" simply isn't true.

Now, the Canal transfer is far from perfect. No argument there. The film can look far better. No argument there either. But for all the criticism this transfer has received, it should be noted that it is actually a very healthy one. There are no degraining/denoising corrections from Universal's arsenal on it. The truth is, it comes from a dated source, most likely the best master Canal had and used for the French DVD release some time ago. And you have to remember, the big and nice 2K and 4K transfers started coming out regularly in Europe after 2009. The 4K transfer for La Grande Illusion you like came much later.

I am sure that eventually we will get a new transfer for Le Mepris. (Actually, this is a film where a simple new transfer won't be enough; restoration work is definitely needed). But I would like to be on record here that when it comes out, its color scheme will be a lot closer to what is on the Canal disc.

Pro-B

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

I don't have the Lionsgate release, but I do have the Canal disc. I am fairly certain the transfer for the U.S. release is sourced from the same master.

I cannot agree that watching the film on the Criterion DVD is a better option. The U.S. DVD release has a fair share of Criterion's "magic" on it and to claim that it is "truer" simply isn't true.

Now, the Canal transfer is far from perfect. No argument there. The film can look far better. No argument there either. But for all the criticism this transfer has received, it should be noted that it is actually a very healthy one. There are no degraining/denoising corrections from Universal's arsenal on it. The truth is, it comes from a dated source, most likely the best master Canal had and used for the French DVD release some time ago. And you have to remember, the big and nice 2K and 4K transfers started coming out regularly in Europe after 2009. The 4K transfer for La Grande Illusion you like came much later.

I am sure that eventually we will get a new transfer for Le Mepris. (Actually, this is a film where a simple new transfer won't be enough; restoration work is definitely needed). But I would like to be on record here that when it comes out, its color scheme will be a lot closer to what is on the Canal disc.

Pro-B

I don't deny that much of the Lionsgate StudioCanal Blu-ray is extremely sharp (although an unfortunate amount is not), but it is the color that really ruined it for me. Criterion's transfer was supervised by the cinematographer, and the colors on the DVD are as vivid as those on Criterion's Blu-ray of PIERROT LE FOU. I've watched my StudioCanal Lionsgate Blu-ray once (unfortunately with several people over who had never seen it before). Since then I have only re-watched it from Criterion's DVD. If there's ever a new transfer/restoration I'll anxiously await it, but if the colors match the current StudioCanal Blu-ray I'll pass.

[GentleGiant]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

Going again by the color timing, I'd definitely put Criterion's DVD of DO THE RIGHT THING way ahead of Universal's Blu-ray, which is relatively sharp for a Universal Blu-ray but has really messed-up color (I saw it theatrically when it came out and was especially impressed with the color at that time, and Criterion's DVD has exactly the colors I remember). Universal's old DVD had better color than their Blu-ray, but could not handle the heavy red saturation, which bled into everything else, whereas the Criterion DVD looked natural and still well-saturated. Unfortunately neither the Universal nor the Criterion disc has the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio that was on the 35mm print projected that way when I saw it (with the four rounded edges of the frame visible in each corner of the screen).

Thanks for your informed opinion. I've been meaning to add that film to my collection for quite a while.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

Since then I have only re-watched it from Criterion's DVD. If there's ever a new transfer/restoration I'll anxiously await it, but if the colors match the current StudioCanal Blu-ray I'll pass.

I definitely agree with your general criticism, Blu-Velvet, the film can look better

But looking back at Criterion DVDs to draw parallels/formulate conclusions as to what the proper color scheme of a film should be is a very tricky business. This is especially true with European/French films. For some reason -- and this is actually something Criterion have addressed -- there are major discrepancies between how many French films were released on DVD in France/Europe and in the U.S.

For example, I saw quite a few of Melville's films in Europe back in the days -- and NO, I am not one of those guys that remembers exactly how every film looked in the theater , but Melville's films were known for their cool (cold) atmosphere -- and when some of them started coming out on DVD via Criterion they looked very different. In France, Melville's color films always looked very cool, but in the U.S. they looked surprisingly warm.

I think the only R1 release that I was pleased with was Anchor Bay's Un Flic, because it had those typical cool blue Melville-esque tones. I also preferred Rene Chateau's DVD release of Le Samourai.

What I am trying to say here, Blu-Velvet, is that looking at past DVD releases to determine accurate color timing is a very, very tricky business. The quality control there was very poor and a lot of companies did what they simply felt was right.

Pro-B

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Can anybody recommend some Monica Vitti movies that fall outside the Criterion Collection? I want to see more of her films across the board.

I've always wanted to see Modesty Blaise, and I get the feeling that it would make a fun double feature with the Raquel Welch film, Fathom. There are probably some great Italian films with Vitti that fall outside of the Antonioni canon, though.

There are some pretty good films, but the English-friendly ones are very few. This is a very entertaining film, and the Paramount transfer is also very nice



This is also a top film (one of those famous European shorts collections) and the Italian DVD is English-friendly.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is a cracking film, but the Italian DVD isn't English-friendly:



The Scarlet Lady is a very entertaining film, but the U.S. DVD is not anamorphic.

Also, none of the DVDs from Franco Cristaldi's library are English-friendly.

Forgot to mention (I was going to post the DVD press release in the Carlotta thread), Carlotta just released a new DVD of Antonioni's The Mystery of Oberwald. It is not English-friendly.



Pro-B

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've always wanted to see Modesty Blaise, and I get the feeling that it would make a fun double feature with the Raquel Welch film, Fathom

This is probably one of her weakest films.

Probably better to see something wilder, perhaps Bava's Danger: Diabolik



This would be really great to bring to Blu-ray, (possibly from Arrow), and I don't think there was ever a legit DVD release: Edouard Logereau's The Golden Claws of the Cat Girl, with beautiful Danièle Gaubert.





Pro-B