The Criterion Collection

[rock, stone]

Since even at half price Criterions cost more than I typically spend on a BD, it's fair game to expect a premium product. I don't tend to complain about these thing personally, but I think we should expect more extras and design work based on the asking price, if nothing else.

[blkhrt]

Criterion Cast has a pretty interesting post up. Apparently Criterion added a ton of films to Hulu Plus, including several that aren't currently in the collection.

http://criterioncast.com/2011/02/15/...es/#more-12200

The list includes,

[Show spoiler]
Limelight
An Ideal Husband
A King In New York
Hullabaloo Over Georgie and Bonnie’s Pictures
I Was A Teenage Zombie
The Gold Rush
The Four Feathers (hinted at in the 2010 Wacky New Years Drawing!)
The Challenge
The Cars That Ate Paris
City Lights
Madadayo (available only in the AK100 box set)
The Kid
Obsession
Monsieur Verdoux
The Spy In Black
The Plumber
Things To Come

[rkish]

Originally Posted by plattopus

This. One of my favourite commentaries is Roger Ebert's for Citizen Kane. Having contemporary film industry insiders revisit older works would be fantastic.

But please, not Tarantino. I can't stand the way he talks.

Roger Ebert also did a commentary for Criterion on the DVD of "Floating Weeds". And even though he admitted that he was far from being an expert on Ozu, he did a fine job and didn't do more than he was capable of.

[ShellOilJunior]

Let's talk about some candidates for Criterion BR that weren't mentioned in the New Year's card but seem inevitable or make a lot of sense (Let's only mention titles NOT already in the collection):


Red River (Hawks)
Johnny Guitar (Ray)
Weekend (Godard)
The Killing (Kubrick)
Day for Night (Truffaut)

More to come....

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

When you go out to eat, the experience is not simply the food. It's the ambiance of the room, the conversations you have, the service, the presentation of the food, etc. It's fair enough that some people are uninterested in the packaging of CC releases but they can't deny it's part of the overall experience. CC wouldn't bother working with today's premier graphic designers and illustrators.

While I understand what you mean and it's a very valid point, the look of the cover art was never much of an issue for me. I am much more interested in the retoration done to the movie.

It's like the commentaries, not a big issue. As Beta pointed out a few pages out, for older movies it's not that easy to find people who worked on them still with us. As for getting film historians or current actors to make comments, well it's possible that the prices asked for these commentaries are starting to rise up. It's quite possible certain production companies are starting to look at the amount of money asked for doing them and wondering if it's worth it.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by rock, stone

Since even at half price Criterions cost more than I typically spend on a BD, it's fair game to expect a premium product. I don't tend to complain about these thing personally, but I think we should expect more extras and design work based on the asking price, if nothing else.

It's fine for you to expect more at certain prices etc..... but I don't know what your personal purchasing threshold has to do with Criterion's business model....


If the majority of the films they were releasing were widely appealing, popular hits and summer blockbusters etc.... then I would expect them to all include action figures, models Digital copies, DVDs, etc... but the fact is.... they typically move a lot less units, and the cost of having someone do the artwork, buying their proprietary cases, having the restoration and transfer done, and Jon Mulvaney's salary, expense account and corporate Prius is very high, so they have to sell a certain number to "break even" I'm sure if they sold 5X as many of each film in their catalog, they would offer up more frequent sales codes etc.... but they can't just give their product away......

The alternative, is you have other studios pick up some of these films.... you've seen the care and detail other studios put into "Spartacus" and "Ran" How much effort do you suppose they'd put into "House" and "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" ???

You get what you pay for I guess..... you just have to realize that you're paying for the ability to pick up many films that may not be on the radar of other studios, and you're getting them delivered with a lot of care and detail..... The packaging is just...... "packaging"

[ccfixx]

Here is Peter Becker's official writings on Criterion's new Hulu Plus subscription offerings.

A Long Time Coming

CC

[kidd636]

I was able to get $20 worth of Family Video credit from Groupon. And since their Criterions are listed at $25.99, my total out of pocket will just be $16 or so. Defintely not a bad price for a Criterion BD.

Now which one is better? "Still Walking" or "Kagemusha"?

Based on the trailers, I'm more inclined to get Kagemusha since I'm into war movies. I'm just concerned about the PQ though since it's a relatively old film. Did Criterion do a good job in restoring this one?

On the other hand, I also have a soft spot for films that make you feel you're just watching ordinary people going on about their lives, which what "Still Walking" seems to be...

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

Here is Peter Becker's official writings on Criterion's new Hulu Plus subscription offerings.

A Long Time Coming

CC

My Blu-ray player in the movie-room has a "Hulu" icon, and I've never used Hulu before etc.... I do a lot of "netflix-streaming" though.... I might have to consider signing up with Hulu, but I certainly wouldn't get the added benefits of increased resolution etc... because my internet is TERRIBLE.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

My Blu-ray player in the movie-room has a "Hulu" icon, and I've never used Hulu before etc.... I do a lot of "netflix-streaming" though.... I might have to consider signing up with Hulu, but I certainly wouldn't get the added benefits of increased resolution etc... because my internet is TERRIBLE.

Yeah, Playstation hasn't been able to integrate Hulu into their systems yet, it seems... and streaming "HD" through Netflix is only comaparable to a standard DVD. I took the time to make a comment under Peter Becker's article on Criterion's site. Still, though, I just can't imagine the crowd that wants to watch such quality films on a 4" cell phone screen. I know people do it all the time, but who are these people? Plus, I don't really want to spend another $7.99/month for Hulu Plus.

CC

[Yami]

I'll be getting Solaris in May, Au Revoir les Enfants next month. Any titles going OOP soon? I still only have Seven Samurai

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

My Blu-ray player in the movie-room has a "Hulu" icon, and I've never used Hulu before etc.... I do a lot of "netflix-streaming" though.... I might have to consider signing up with Hulu, but I certainly wouldn't get the added benefits of increased resolution etc... because my internet is TERRIBLE.

HULU is only available for the USA so in my case it would not change much. Plus I don't want to start streaming movies, with my Internet provider it's going to cost me a arm and a leg

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by Yami

Any titles going OOP soon?

Not that we know of right now. If you check the forum regularly, you'll know as soon as the others in this forum find out about anything.

CC

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

Plus, I don't really want to spend another $7.99/month for Hulu Plus.

CC

whew.... thanks I didn't want to ask how much it was and get one of those "let me google that for you" links

I don't know that I even get DVD quality all of the time..... I have DSL, and it's terrible, but we're grandfathered into such a cheap plan, it makes no sense to upgrade to something else.

I found that the PS3 can do Pandora by going through the web-browser (just did Internet-Search, typed in Pandora, selected the site, and it asked if I wanted to run a Plug-in) only issue, is it runs the plug-in every time, etc... but it doesn't take any time really, and works fine... I wonder if Hulu could be the same way

[Old Geezer]

Originally Posted by kidd636

Now which one is better? "Still Walking" or "Kagemusha"?

Based on the trailers, I'm more inclined to get Kagemusha since I'm into war movies. I'm just concerned about the PQ though since it's a relatively old film. Did Criterion do a good job in restoring this one?

On the other hand, I also have a soft spot for films that make you feel you're just watching ordinary people going on about their lives, which what "Still Walking" seems to be...

Either would be a great choice and picture quality is not an issue. Great transfers for both films I believe. My personal experience with both films: Kagemusha was one of the first Criterion's I purchased and I have no regrets - it was a great film. However, I have not viewed it since as I'm haveing a hard time keeping up with all the new releases. Still Walking on the other hand is a movie I wasn't sure I would enjoy so I netflixed it first. The first thing I did after seeing the movie was to buy it. It is a wonderful touching film that I will be watching again.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

Since we talked about this, Sweet Smell of Success is a wonderful digi. Pics at CriterionForum.org like always.

That is beautiful. Let's hope it survives the trip from Borders' warehouse to my house!

[bookcase]

Has Y Tu Mama Tambien been announced yet? Sorry if it's been mentioned before, but I couldn't find any information.

[Arkadin]

looks like the majority of comments already about the Hula plus deal are from people outside the US pissed off because it won't be available outside the US.
I can certainly understand their frustration, but I'm assuming the foreign rights holders wouldn't be too thrilled if 500 films suddenly became available to stream over the web.
I still think everyone is struggling to find the right balance regarding streaming services, and even though everyone knows the quality is often poor I still think it ends up hurting physical media more than people realize.
the studios and distributors have already begun down the path in a fairly substantial way; there's just no way it won't lead to fewer blu-ray releases imo.
maybe not with Criterion, but certainly with other studios.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by italy12

That is beautiful. Let's hope it survives the trip from Borders' warehouse to my house!

Really Nice Digibook, I could have sworn that DVDBeaver noted the release as a plastic case... which is fine that it is a digibook I just need to do a Barnes & Noble in store reserve for it, my Amarcord came from amazon a bit beat up. They love the yellow bubble envelopes.

Although I have 3 Others releases pre-ordered for the same release date so they may come shipped in a BOX and that usually helps them getting crushed. I may chance it.

I have Twilight Zone Seas 3 Arriving today fingers crossed they shipped it in a box along with 2 Other releases, If the SlipCover isn't MINT I will be doing a trade. Esp at 69.99. (Can't believe it never dropped below that original pre-order price)

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by bookcase

Has Y Tu Mama Tambien been announced yet? Sorry if it's been mentioned before, but I couldn't find any information.

No, but it's been hinted at I believe.