You Can Count on Me 4K UHD (2000)

[50strat54]

Originally Posted by Juan de Internet

Been lurking on this website for something like a decade but this is my first post. So take my recommendation for what it's worth, but I'd like to encourage the folks who are thinking about blind buying this to take the plunge.

(Purely on the merits of the movie alone - I will be pre-ordering knowing nothing about the quality of the transfer.)

If you love Manchester By the Sea, there's a good chance you'll love this too - they have a lot in common. I agree that Manchester is Lonergan's masterpiece but if all he had ever made was You Can Count on Me he'd still be right up there with Mike Leigh.

I am probably biased for this movie, being the exact target audience for this story. But I suspect it's not so much that I see myself and my sister in these characters as that Lonergan captures something universal in their beautiful relationship. But David Edelstein said it better than I can in his review when the movie came out:

https://slate.com/culture/2000/11/counter-culture.html

Oh, and there's no shame in never having heard of this movie before. It doesn't have the lush cinematography of The Virgin Suicides; it's not avant garde or "foreign" (it was released by Paramount Classics); it doesn't plumb the emotional depths of Manchester; it reads like a filmed stage play, which, in a sense, it is. Neither was it obscure - it was nominated for Best Actress and Best Screenplay Oscars. That perfect amount of unremarkableness to make it semi-forgotten. Except by Criterion. Good on them.

This movie and Manchester are two very different films. I would say if you loved You Can Count On Me you might not love Manchester By The Sea.

You Can Count On Me reminds me a little bit of the tone in Election and interesting that Matthew Broderick is in both films.

Manchester, well after the fire the fun and games are over. That final scene where Casey and Michelle meet up again is one of the most heartbreaking scenes I’ve ever seen in my life. To paraphrase Groucho Marx, Dear Michelle this is the biggest robbery since Brinks. Should have won the Oscar, for this scene alone.

Well that’s my take on it. Glad it was finally released on 4K/bluray like a lot of Paramount titles I thought I’d never see released in HD. Came with my steel of To Catch A Thief.

[nicwood]

I’m surprised no one mentioned that Criterion’s new 4K master wasn’t sourced from the original negative. They used an interpositive instead but everything looks great.

I have to say I’m really happy that they decided to put this film out in 4K with HDR even though it isn’t of the kind labels and studios usually release on the format. The HDR grade in particular is excellent and provides a very beautiful, naturally filmic appearance which the BD doesn’t achieve as well. The BD’s colors are more saturated and bright in SDR but the way HDR opens them up here towards more subtlety and nuance is definitely worth the extra $5 right now even if the resolution upgrade might not be gigantic. I dearly love Criterion for editions like this.

Encoding-wise, all is fine on the 4K. Fingers crossed this does well for Criterion and they consider doing Lonergan’s Margaret next.

[BigDmo531]

Obviously, no one should be surprised by the response, but seriously, wtf is Svet talking about in that review

[Larsen B]

Here's the Excel formula for your future Svet reviews.

=IF(FILM>2*,VIDEO=2*,VIDEO=5*)

[Yearbook]

Originally Posted by BigDmo531

Obviously, no one should be surprised by the response, but seriously, wtf is Svet talking about in that review

Have no empathy for the characters + word salad = profit.

[BrandonJF]

Originally Posted by BigDmo531

Obviously, no one should be surprised by the response, but seriously, wtf is Svet talking about in that review

I saw the score, scrolled down to the last paragraph of the review, then thought "waitasec... this sounds like..." and sure enough!

[Daytripper]

2.5 rating for the film, puh. Kick rocks.

[DeyoreW]

They are miserable because they are not rational and disciplined adults. hmm.

In my world its the phd's that are stubborn and unwavering in their ideas of life and by and large difficult to work with which to me sounds more miserable.

OK off my Svet soap box.

I didn't know about this movie and like the star power. These three main actors are usually believable in their roles.

Interested in seeing it. Hopefully its a little more upbeat and wholesome than The Squid and the Whale which I found a bit too crude and heavy for my liking.

[nightcrawler]

2.5 for the movie?!?! Are you friggin serious? This is a great independent movie. Superb performances from Ruffalo, Linney, Broderick and Rory Culkin. I have imported the Criterion 4K because there’s no guarantee they’ll release it in the UK. Hadn’t watched it in a few years as I was holding out for a blu-ray/4K release. I still love this film and urge others to give it a go. So happy to have it in my 4K collection.

[bondfooll]

Yet another Svet review that reveals way more about his favorite axes to grind and general misanthropy than the film itself. Isn't Blu-ray.com embarrassed?

[bergman864]

Saw who reviewed it and knew this would be an excellent movie.

[BrandonJF]

Originally Posted by bondfooll

Yet another Svet review that reveals way more about his favorite axes to grind and general misanthropy than the film itself. Isn't Blu-ray.com embarrassed?

Apparently not. Not that I really care about the film review anyway. Ok, I briefly thought "crap - was it a good idea to blind buy this?" and then was relieved when I saw who gave it that score.

[dissention]

“strikingly unrealistic”

LOL

Oh, Svet.

[queen_kitty]

Originally Posted by BrandonJF

Apparently not. Not that I really care about the film review anyway. Ok, I briefly thought "crap - was it a good idea to blind buy this?" and then was relieved when I saw who gave it that score.

lol same.

[Kakihara]

That was a review...

Honestly, I feel that way about pretty much every review here. I come here for the forum and for disc news.

[KindredCoda]

I wanna see this movie, but every time I see the title, I think of that cheseball theme song from 'My Two Dads'.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by BigDmo531

Obviously, no one should be surprised by the response, but seriously, wtf is Svet talking about in that review

I'm starting to wonder how many of these movies he actually watches all the way through. He probably already writes the review from just skipping around to differing scenes and then pushes whatever agenda he wants to push.

[film_junkie]

Originally Posted by BigDmo531

Obviously, no one should be surprised by the response, but seriously, wtf is Svet talking about in that review

Definitely not surprised. Having already seen the film, I saw his rating and thought “that tracks.” There’s way too much humanity in it for him to appreciate it.

[Juan de Internet]

Originally Posted by KindredCoda

I wanna see this movie, but every time I see the title, I think of that cheseball theme song from 'My Two Dads'.

I know what you mean - the title’s got vibes like “Stand By Me” or “You’ve Got a Friend In Me”. But the movie itself is not sappy. The title is apt enough in a vacuum but I guess it has a century of pop song baggage.

I like to pair this movie with “Me Without You”, more for the complementary titles than anything else.

[DimitriL]

Originally Posted by bondfooll

Yet another Svet review that reveals way more about his favorite axes to grind and general misanthropy than the film itself. Isn't Blu-ray.com embarrassed?

It was so cold and judgmental that it actually made me angry. Basically, these characters deserve their pain, he says in so many words. Disgusting and shameful.

I probably am making too much out of what is an entirely unsurprising review. But the film wound up meaning so much to me, about how grief shapes us and how it’s so hard to build the tools to move on, that whole cavalier tone just really stung.