Red River (1948)

[MifuneFan]

No company makes them as far as I know. I doubt they want to make all these different digipaks, as I imagine they do cost more than just standard plastic cases do.

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by oildude

I pre-ordered Red River. Never seen it but I have read good things about it over the years. Howard Hawks is a top tier director who deserves more recognition from today's audiences.

Great news, finally! You're going to love this one oildude. It's the ultimate classic fifties western (well, ok, 1948) and it's the best of John Wayne (along with "The Searchers"). Wonderful nostalgia-inducing theme and orchestration, good performances, a great introduction to a very young Montgomery Clift, panoramic vistas...doesn't get better. Well, except that it's a Criterion release to boot!

[phillyfilmbuff]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

Wow. Why are they suddenly doing this with so many titles? Does it save them money or something? Other than scenarios where the booklet is too big to fit into a regular case, I just don't understand it.

I dislike them because then nothing stops the booklet from falling out and its such cheap packaging

[Duke_45]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

Great news, finally! You're going to love this one oildude. It's the ultimate classic fifties western (well, ok, 1948) and it's the best of John Wayne (along with "The Searchers"). Wonderful nostalgia-inducing theme and orchestration, good performances, a great introduction to a very young Montgomery Clift, panoramic vistas...doesn't get better. Well, except that it's a Criterion release to boot!

Actually, most of principal photography was finished in 1946, but the film was held back from being released for about 18 months. This was due to Howard Hughes suing Howard Hawks for plagiarism. Hawk's ending of "Red River" between Wayne and Cliff was very similar to the 'ear nicking' scene in Hughes movie "The Outlaw". And since Hawks left that film 2 weeks into shooting, Hughes had a personal grudge against Hawks. It took John Wayne personally asking Hughes to allow the scene to remain, for the suit to get settled.

[KilloWertz]

I came close to importing the region locked UK release, but I'm glad I held off. Another one added to my Barnes & Noble sale list for July.

[dommie]

Great news! Finally! More John Wayne please. How about She Wore a Yellow Ribbon since Fort Apache and Rio Grande (John Ford's other two from his cavalry trilogy are already on Blu)? I would also love to see more of those colorful 50's westerns on Blu. We are getting Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Man From Laramie in a few months. Would be nice to see Warlock and Last Train From Gun Hill.

[tenia]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

But ultimately, yes, it will take up more space on my shelf,

It is only very slightly thicker, but otherwise, no, it's not taking more space on the shelves. If you think, most specifically, on the IAMMMMW set, which is 5 discs, it's the same thickness than a Scanavo case (or maybe a 10th of a fraction of an inch thicker, but whatever ).

Originally Posted by NoirFan

and will slowly deteriorate over and time,

?
If you're as careful with them as with regular releases, I don't see how they would deteriorate more.

Originally Posted by NoirFan

and, more pressingly and importantly, will likely arrive crushed to death from B & N and their horrible packaging during the sales in which people (at least on here) buy the majority of their Criterions.

While I agree with you on the concept, I have to admit : so far, I only had to get replacement copies for Scanavo cases, never for digipacks.
And I'm in France, so my orders have a lot of travel to do. But still, surprisingly, I only received one or 2 creased digi, but tons of perfectly mint ones, where I received somewhere around 10 broken Scanavo cases which needed a replacement.

Originally Posted by oildude

MOC and BFI regularly put out dual formats in scanovo cases.

Actually, it's not Scanavo cases, it's simple Amaray. It allows them to put trays for multiple discs in it, where I don't think Scanavo cases allow it. However, Scanavo do manufacture multiple-discs cases (ie : more than 2-dicers cases), and I don't understand why Criterion don't use them. I mean, it's most likely more expensive to do digipacks than plastic cases ! Or, it's because of lot sizes. Ordering 3-discs cases for the 3 discs release would be too small a volume, so for the same price, they can do a digipack.

[Unfrozen]

I really hope Criterion starts releasing more classic hollywood stuff, especially westerns.

This is a day one purchase, don't care about the price.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by tenia

Actually, it's not Scanavo cases, it's simple Amaray. It allows them to put trays for multiple discs in it, where I don't think Scanavo cases allow it. However, Scanavo do manufacture multiple-discs cases (ie : more than 2-dicers cases), and I don't understand why Criterion don't use them. I mean, it's most likely more expensive to do digipacks than plastic cases ! Or, it's because of lot sizes. Ordering 3-discs cases for the 3 discs release would be too small a volume, so for the same price, they can do a digipack.

Yeah, my mistake, they are not quite the same. They appear to be identical except for a few differences. My MOC and BFI Amaray cases have rounded corners, but the structure is similar and the MOC/BFI cases have internal flip trays that accomodate discs. I see no reason a Scanavo case would be any different unless it is, as you say, a cost thing.

[ChiefSequatchie]

Originally Posted by dommie

Great news! Finally! More John Wayne please. How about She Wore a Yellow Ribbon since Fort Apache and Rio Grande (John Ford's other two from his cavalry trilogy are already on Blu)? I would also love to see more of those colorful 50's westerns on Blu. We are getting Gunfight at the O.K. Corral and Man From Laramie in a few months. Would be nice to see Warlock and Last Train From Gun Hill.

This!

[BluPat]

Wish Criterion would release 'The Search' (1949) with Montgomery Clift. Wonderful movie. Also we need the other Rock Hudson films that Criterion released DVD's of years ago.

[benbess]

Another vote for She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

[Akijama]

New 4K digital restoration of the rarely presented original theatrical release version, the preferred cut of director Howard Hawks, with monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
2K restoration of the longer version of Red River
New interview with filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich about Red River and the two versions
New interview with critic Molly Haskell about Hawks and Red River
New interview with western scholar Lee Clark Mitchell about western genre literature
Audio excerpts of a 1972 conversation between Hawks and Bogdanovich
Excerpts from a 1970 audio interview with novelist and screenwriter Borden Chase
More!
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien and a 1991 interview with Hawks’s longtime editor Christian Nyby; a new paperback edition of Chase’s original novel, previously out of print

[rickah88]

Looks beautiful! This will be a most welcomed addition to my collection!

[MifuneFan]

As mentioned in the Criterion thread, the MSRP for this one is $49.95, so Amazon's current price of $27.97 is fairly close to 50% off already.

[StLouisRibs]

How on Earth will they be fitting an entire novel in the package?!?

[dwk]

Same way they fit a novel in their Vampyr DVD Set, The Furies DVD set, Six Moral Tales DVD set, Mr. Arkadin DVD set and The Man Who Fell to Earth DVD set

[Johnzilla2179]

Why is it that the more widely seen 133 minute version only getting a 2K restoration? I'm aware that it wasn't Hawks' preferred version but given that it's the only one I and many other fans have seen, I imagine that it will be the one that many of us watch the most. https://forum.blu-ray.com/images/smilies/icon_sad.gif

[BluPat]

Oh wow! I love the artwork!

[Carletty]

Originally Posted by StLouisRibs

How on Earth will they be fitting an entire novel in the package?!?

Well the novel only has 140 pages so it won't be that much of a problem.