The Criterion Collection

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by momaw

There are also some discs out there that are 1080i24. I'm not sure if they play nice with US equipment.

1080i would be 50hz (interlanced)
so yes there are Region B 1080i50hz blurays in the EU ,
HK has some region A 1080i50hz blurays.. (now thats really ****ed up, cuz these dont play on most region B and A players in the EU and US)

but most displays / projectors etc in EU are able to play PAL and NTSC / 50hz / 60hz content.. so acutally over here we are fine for most releases as long the bluray player plays the region code
for the US there is even some expensive hardware that has no real pal support, so the player has to convert the pal content to 1080i30p (i belive)

artifical eye is a label that has such content that has to be convertet by the player (at least for the bonus features)

[momaw]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

1080i would be 50hz (interlanced)
so yes there are Region B 1080i50hz blurays in the EU ,
HK has some region A 1080i50hz blurays.. (now thats really ****ed up, cuz these dont play on most region B and A players in the EU and US)

but most displays / projectors etc in EU are able to play PAL and NTSC / 50hz / 60hz content.. so acutally over here we are fine for most releases as long the bluray player plays the region code
for the US there is even some expensive hardware that has no real pal support, so the player has to convert the pal content to 1080i30p (i belive)

artifical eye is a label that has such content that has to be convertet by the player (at least for the bonus features)

Yes, 1080i50. My bad.

I find it funny that because of the US film companies forcing region coding onto the rest of the world, players and displays outside the US have adapted to be able to play anything to get around restrictions but most of the US based players/displays are stuck unable to play alot of things from the outside world.

[FaceInTheLeaves]

Originally Posted by momaw

Yes, 1080i50. My bad.

I find it funny that because of the US film companies forcing region coding onto the rest of the world, players and displays outside the US have adapted to be able to play anything to get around restrictions but most of the US based players/displays are stuck unable to play alot of things from the outside world.

I had to buy a chipped player. All the reliable multi-region DVD outlets in the UK said the studios were going all out to enforce region locking and that software cheats could be invalidated by future firmware updates.

If I hadn't found a multi-region player I don't know if I'd have bothered with blu-ray. Criterion and David Lynch were 80% of the reason I moved from DVD to blu-ray. The big studios weren't important.

Blu-ray still hasn't got a proper foothold in the UK. I was in HMV yesterday, in the midst of a Christmas shopping riot, and I heard someone looking for the "proper" DVD of Cinderella rather than the presumably improper blu-ray. I was the only person in the (long) queue buying blu-rays.

[Joe Dalek]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

Is it that hard to get region free Blu Ray players in the US? Mine was $70

Yes. Unless you find a modified or hacked player, you typically can't walk into an electronics store and buy something labeled a region-free player. The player I have was basically accidentally left hackable by the manufacturer. When I first heard how common region-free players were elsewhere I was surprised, but the whole system does sort of stem from the Hollywood studios.

[pro-bassoonist]

Rififi Blu-ray REVIEW



Pro-B

[joie]

Originally Posted by octagon

Yeah, I'm kind of there myself but to be perfectly honest, the $20ish price points help me waver too. The individual prices are totally reasonable (and some are a steal) but to minimize shipping I try to group things together which has the Catch-22 effect of making me less prone to completely pull the trigger on anything.

I am overdue though. I really want the Mabuse the Gambler and Nosferatu steelbooks and Arrow's The Long Goodbye looks absolutely fantastic.

Even though "Dr. Mabuse's Testament" recaps what's gone before, if I remember correctly, "Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler" is definitely worth seeing. Am interested in "The Long Goodbye," too. Arrow's "Time Bandits" is phenomenal and is a better Terry Gilliam flick than "Brazil."

[joie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I will say this... If we do not get domestic editions of Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Lifeboat, and Touch of Evil in the near future, then I might start searching for a Region Free player to place alongside my current player.

"Touch of Evil" drove me to get a region-free player, in late 2011. "Touch of Evil" and "Double Indemnity" are far better, movie-wise, than the other two you mentioned. "Lost Weekend," which I have, was interesting because Ray Milland received an Oscar for his performance. "Lifeboat" was interesting, too, when I saw the Criterion DVD, but didn't think I wanted to sit through continual hi-def process shots (the background sea) to see the Blu-ray.

[nametag]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

You are correct about the DVDs. There is no PAL or NTSC format among the hi-definition format (blu-ray), though. However, there are some region-free UK blu-rays that have extra features in standard definition (PAL) that you won't be able to play unless you have a region-free blu-ray player that will convert the PAL format.

* however, since UK systems can play NTSC even the SD special features are in NTSC most of the time, particularly on worldwide releases from big studios. PAL stuff will most likely come from the smaller European-based home video companies.

[momaw]

Originally Posted by nametag

* however, since UK systems can play NTSC even the SD special features are in NTSC most of the time, particularly on worldwide releases from big studios. PAL stuff will most likely come from the smaller European-based home video companies.

This is also very true. I always laugh at the FBI warnings on Australian releases.

[ShellOilJunior]

Today's good news is TT has confirmed they do NOT have rights to release The Lady from Shanghai or Gilda.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Today's good news is TT has confirmed they do NOT have rights to release The Lady from Shanghai or Gilda.

That's almost like having two announcement days in the same week.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by momaw

The menu's on a lot of early Region B blu-rays (I say early because I don't know if it's still the case) were encoded as PAL. So a lot of films, while the film itself was perfectly playable (1080p24) in the US, didn't work because the discs defaulted to menu's that weren't supported by the player/display.

So long as your player and display support PAL, you won't have an issue with region free discs. If they don't, I'd do some research before buying any discs.

There are also some discs out there that are 1080i24. I'm not sure if they play nice with US equipment.

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

1080i would be 50hz (interlanced)
so yes there are Region B 1080i50hz blurays in the EU ,
HK has some region A 1080i50hz blurays.. (now thats really ****ed up, cuz these dont play on most region B and A players in the EU and US)

but most displays / projectors etc in EU are able to play PAL and NTSC / 50hz / 60hz content.. so acutally over here we are fine for most releases as long the bluray player plays the region code
for the US there is even some expensive hardware that has no real pal support, so the player has to convert the pal content to 1080i30p (i belive)

artifical eye is a label that has such content that has to be convertet by the player (at least for the bonus features)

Are the posts quoted written in English

I have my UK laptop so if need be, play the disc in that and hook up to the tv.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

MoC ships free when you order direct (which you probably knew, but doesn't hurt to let the public know ).

Speaking of which, have they had a direct sale recently? I know they still discount individual titles from time to time but I can't remember the last time they had a site-wide sale.

Originally Posted by joie

Even though "Dr. Mabuse's Testament" recaps what's gone before, if I remember correctly, "Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler" is definitely worth seeing.

I really liked Testament and I even thought the steelbook was surprisingly cool. The Gambler will definitely be in my next order.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by octagon

That's almost like having two announcement days in the same week.

I can't see Sony releasing both of those themselves. Gilda, if anything but that's a huge maybe.

[joie]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I can't see Sony releasing both of those themselves. Gilda, if anything but that's a huge maybe.

If not in the U.S., Sony will release preferred editions elsewhere.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I can't see Sony releasing both of those themselves. Gilda, if anything but that's a huge maybe.

Yeah, it's hard to see Sony releasing either of them directly. But you never know. I was kind of surprised when they didn't license From Here to Eternity or Ishtar.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Today's good news is TT has confirmed they do NOT have rights to release The Lady from Shanghai or Gilda.

Between this information and Pro-B's above Rififi review, I'm having a good morning.

Originally Posted by octagon

Yeah, it's hard to see Sony releasing either of them directly. But you never know. I was kind of surprised when they didn't license From Here to Eternity or Ishtar.

Sony's release of From Here to Eternity is outstanding. I could go with some lobby cards for The Lady from Shanghai and Gilda, for sure.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Rififi Blu-ray REVIEW



Pro-B

Can't wait to see the greatest heist ever in Blu.

Great review!

[ShellOilJunior]

Here's a double-bill for ya:

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Here's a double-bill for ya:

I concur. I actually did make a double feature of these a couple years back when I owned both on DVD.

On a different note...

Since you're a Billy Wilder fan, have you seen Wilder's 1945 short film, Death Mills, which is included as an extra on the Kino Blu-ray of The Stranger? I watched this last night and was quite unsettled. It's the most unflinchingly graphic footage of the Nazi concentration camps that I have ever seen. It's an important inclusion on this particular Blu-ray, since it emphasizes the seriousness of the atmosphere in the immediate postwar era with context to the Orson Welles fictional film, but I will likely not be revisiting this particular supplement anytime soon.