The Criterion Collection

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

Usually, because I have a fondness for silent films and the look of 1920s and 1930s films. However I also like sci-fi and fantasy films so Blu-ray is great for those types of titles as well. But the Independent Film Channel, Turner Classic Movies, etc., were influential in opening my eyes to classic Hollywood and foreign cinema when I was younger, so I know what you mean.

My fondness for the silents was a big reason for only buying 12 Angry Men this week. I couldn't pass up Birth of a Nation and Way Down East, which also came out this week. Rushmore will have to wait until the cash scenario is better. I've still got another Keaton coming in mid December.

Oy vey ist meir!

[*DrStrangelove*]

About to watch Last Year at Marienbad for the first time. Wish me luck!

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

I could see this "freedom" resulting in alot of mis-information, though I guess it doesn't really matter for much of anything than to users on here wanting to catalogue their titles.

I already noticed somebody changed "Complete Jean Vigo" to count as 4 movies in the database. It makes sense to perhaps count 2 of them as full feature films(even though one is only 40 minutes long). but the other 2 "movies" being counted consist of an 8 minute documentary and a 20 minute tourist video. Kind of ridiculous to count those as full movies. On the blu-ray menu each of the 4 gets their own heading on the top level of the heirarchy, however in reality those should really be considered "extras" IMO - certainly on this site the set shouldn't count as 4x movies.

When I uploaded the cover art for a couple entries, the system informed me that they must be approved before the site is updated. I would assume that all changes have to be approved before the edits become permanent. I am not sure though...just a guess.

I agree that the bonus features, and ultra short documentaries placed on discs should not be considered as additional movies. They are just bonus features IMO.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

a 20 minute tourist video.

What a bad way to show a tourist video than to take a political swing at the "bored" wealthy and showcase the struggling poor. Have you seen Soviet films in this period?

And it is considered a "film". He didn't make it thinking it would be a nice feature on a Criterion disc in 1930.

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by Louisville Slugger

So from 01/29/2011 to 11/18/2011 I bought 17 Criterions:

01.	Cronos [Blu-ray]
02.	Days of Heaven [Blu-ray]
03.	Army of Shadows [Blu-ray]
04.	Double Life of Véronique, The [Blu-ray]
05.	House [Blu-ray]
06.	M [Blu-ray]
07.	Yi Yi [Blu-ray]
08.	Insignificance [Blu-ray]
09.	Modern Times [Blu-ray]
10.	The Rolling Stones: Gimme Shelter [Blu-ray]
11.	Amarcord [Blu-ray]
12.	Killing, The [Blu-ray]
13.	If… [Blu-ray]
14.	The Red Shoes [Blu-ray]
15.	Dazed and Confused [Blu-ray]
16.	Island of Lost Souls [Blu-ray]
17.	Night of the Hunter, The [Blu-ray]

Anyone want to guess my total $?

I don't even keep track of how much money I spend on my own Criterion BD collection. haha

Probably a good thing, because this year I bought:

01.	Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
02.	Blow-Out
03.	Modern Times
04.	The Red Shoes
05.	8½
06.	Shock Corridor
07.	The Naked Kiss
08.	The Great Dictator
09.	Diabolique
10.	Night of the Hunter
11.	Videodrome
12.	Kiss Me Deadly
13.	Sweet Smell of Success
14.	America Lost & Found: The BBS Story
15.	Kagemusha
16.	Insignificance
17.	Le Cercle Rouge
18.	Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
19.	Naked
20.	Beauty and the Beast
21.	High and Low
22.	Cul-de-sac
23.	The Killing
24.	if....
25.	Cronos
26.	Days of Heaven
27.	Island of Lost Souls
28.	Paris, Texas
29.	Dazed and Confused
30.	Pierrot le fou
31.	Carlos
32.	Solaris
33.	The Complete Monterey Pop Festival
34.	The Battle of Algiers
35.	Three Colors Trilogy

[Mr. Movie Fan]

Originally Posted by Eny-

Now we only need confirmation if "Carlos" is indeed faulty as well.

It would be nice, wouldn't it.

[deltasun]

Originally Posted by bugsy_pal

Some of you may be aware of this... but yesterday I came across a tip on one of these forums about playing region-B discs on region-A-locked players. Well, I'm in region-B (Australia) and forked out considerable money to make my Panasonic player region-free, so that i could watch Criterion bluray's.

The tip was to put the 'incompatible' disc in the player and wait for the onscreen message that says you can't play that disc on this player - then press"Stop" and then hit the menu button.

It worked for me on the Panasonic. I can manually switch the player to region A or B via a remote keypress, and when I do so, it will only play one region. So I set it to region-A and popped in my MoC region-B-locked copy of Metropolis. I got the warning that the disc was not playable, hit "Stop" then "Top Menu" and lo and behold, the disc played, taking me to the main menu!

I then switched the machine to region-B mode, and popped in a Criterion bluray. Same routine, and it played!

I also have a Sony bluray player, locked to region-B. I couldn't get this one to play the Criterion blurays using the same method.

Good luck folks...

Isn't this something you do only X number of times before it's locked for good?

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Criterion Collector

When I uploaded the cover art for a couple entries, the system informed me that they must be approved before the site is updated. I would assume that all changes have to be approved before the edits become permanent. I am not sure though...just a guess.

No need to be confused, Criterion thread grasshopper. Take your time, slow down when reading posts. Otherwise, you might miss pearls of wisdom from someone who has already observed your situation.

[Show spoiler]From post #41687 above: Wait until the next day, then go check and you should see it in the database after one of the moderators - or one of his/her minions - approves it (obviously not Beta Man).

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by oildude

No need to be confused, Criterion thread grasshopper. Take your time, slow down when reading posts. Otherwise, you might miss pearls of wisdom from someone who has already observed your situation.

[Show spoiler]From post #41687 above: Wait until the next day, then go check and you should see it in the database after one of the moderators - or one of his/her minions - approves it (obviously not Beta Man).

LOL! Thanks, I saw that but I was thinking it was in reference to the creation of the entry, not necessarily editing the information regarding the release.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by DLizzle

You guys know that there are new movies that aren't comic book based, special-effects showcases right? A lot of people are claiming that they like older movies and citing Green Lantern, X-Men, and Super 8 as the reasons. What about The Social Network, The Tree of Life, and Attack the Block?

I think the point was that there are a plethora of these action films out now, and while some of us claimed to enjoy, hell, even own, some of them, doesn't make it fair to assume it is the sole reason why we like "older" classic films.

As a matter of fact, since I was the one that started that conversation, I'll clarify for you exactly what I was saying so it won't turn into a long-winded 30 page argument that never ends until BetaMan steps in and threatens our lives.

I know there are plenty of films which are not considered part of the action genre. Let's pretend they do not exist at all. That is how this conversation started. I taught many a young high school adolescent, have worked with many teenagers at Best Buy, and have always found their taste in movies skewed towards these new wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am action blockbusters. They have basically flooded the market with these remakes and unoriginal ideas that have been recycled from movies and stories which have already been done.

My point was that while I still enjoy some of these films, I'd rather watch an older B&W film, such as those put out by the very company in whose thread we post daily.

I know there are other, newer, non violent films out there, and I enjoy them as well. However, this conversation was not about them. I watch them from time to time as well.

Speaking purely from my own personal experience, I can tell you that I have always enjoyed an action flic over anything else when I was growing up. That has certainly changed over the last year and a half or so as I started discovering the films in the Criterion Collection.

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by italy12

Speaking purely from my own personal experience, I can tell you that I have always enjoyed an action flic over anything else when I was growing up. That has certainly changed over the last year and a half or so as I started discovering the films in the Criterion Collection.

Conversely, I'm only 31, but I grew up on mostly '40s and '50s films (particularly enjoyed noir), and didn't really discover any sort of appreciation for action movies until later. I still suffer from "action fatigue" if action sequences go on for too long without advancing the plot, but there are a lot of genuinely good movies out there that are action-oriented. So long as there's a compelling story, first and foremost.

[cstle]

Criterion admits their fine-grain print for Harakiri had a shredded edge:

Originally Posted by Criterion's facebook

We want to assure you that when we spend a ton of time and money making a new 4K master for a classic film like High and Low, we don't do it with the secret aim of ruining the filmmaker's framing. Looking at the comparisons you refer to, here are a few observations:

On HIGH AND LOW, the new Criterion DVD & BR aspect ratio is 2.32:1 (consistent with our HD master). The Madman/BFI DVD aspect ratio appears to be about 2.56:1. That transfer clearly shows more at the sides, but they have also cropped the top (significantly) and bottom, probably to avoid showing the splices on every cut. We chose to maintain the 2:35 framing and restore the cuts. Also, on HIGH AND LOW capture #3, which someone pointed out, notice that on the Madman and BFI you can clearly see the soft edge of the film, especially on the left. That definitely shouldn't be there.

HARAKIRI is a more complicated case. The Criterion DVD/BR again is 2.32:1, and the new Shochiku restoration released by Masters of Cinema appears to be about 2.41:1, which accounts for a small part, but not all, of the difference in side information. What is notable here is that the Shochiku restoration shows significantly more on the left hand side but not much more on the right edge. We bought a new 35mm fine grain preservation master from the original camera negative to serve as the source for our master, and our transfer conforms to that element. There was some evidence that the left edge of the negative had shredded, and that may account for the left-side cropping, which would have occurred at the photochemical stage, when making our fine grain. The new Shochiku restoration appears to have addressed that issue, but at the expense of some detail. Both are solid presentations, but we still like ours better for the difference in image quality.

In the end this is very subjective territory. When it comes time to make these judgment calls, we apply what we call "the good projectionist rule." The good projectionist has to show the film to best effect, balancing objective guidelines, like aspect ratio, with the realities of what is on the film. There is an art to it. A good projectionist wouldn't put up a 2.56 matte for a 2:35 film or show the soft edges of the film. Width is not the only measure. Headroom is important too. So is centering. So is image quality. It's a balance, and we really do try our best to get it right. You may disagree with the some of the choices we have made, but to suggest that, as some on this wall have, we don't care about Japanese classic cinema is just ridiculous.

Why didn't they try to obtain the Shochiku master instead of shoving a transfer from a damaged print onto BD?

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

What a bad way to show a tourist video than to take a political swing at the "bored" wealthy and showcase the struggling poor. Have you seen Soviet films in this period?

And it is considered a "film". He didn't make it thinking it would be a nice feature on a Criterion disc in 1930.

Whether the short had a political or philosophical message is irrelevant to the point I was making. The footage was still mostly just shots of the public, and more importantly it was barely 20 minutes.

This would be similar to counting the Buster Keaton Short Films collection as 20+ separate movies. Why don't we do that? Because obviously they are considered shorts, not full movies.

It doesn't bother me that much. I just found it a bit odd that someone went out of their way to edit the database making it 4 separate films.

[Tom Hiddleston]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I skipped the sale in favor of getting my (non-Criterion) Christmas shopping done early. This was helped along when the Leningrad Cowboys set turned up at the local library and I was able to get my Kaurismäki fix without spending a dime. Also, I spent quite a bit in July. I may have a BD or two from the sale waiting for me under the Christmas tree, however.

I bought the Leningrad Cowboys set after I watched Delilah on YouTube. I haven't watched it yet though because it's one of my Christmas gifts. I need to pick up the concert CD as well.

[Todd_Gaines]

It is fairly obvious that the 3 most controversial Criterion BD's are: In the Realm of the Senses, Salo, & Antichrist. I have only seen In the Realm of the Senses and I think it was an artistic masterpiece way ahead of its time. It made me fall for Oshima and I can't wait to watch more of his films. However I am hesitate to view both Salo & Antichrist. I don't know really why because I am not easily offended and I am a very open-minded person. Is there any reason why I should or should not watch either of them?

[buffetfroid]

Originally Posted by Todd_Gaines

It is fairly obvious that the 3 most controversial Criterion BD's are: In the Realm of the Senses, Salo, & Antichrist. I have only seen In the Realm of the Senses and I think it was an artistic masterpiece way ahead of its time. It made me fall for Oshima and I can't wait to watch more of his films. However I am hesitate to view both Salo & Antichrist. I don't know really why because I am not easily offended and I am a very open-minded person. Is there any reason why I should or should not watch either of them?

Watch them? No reason not to. Buy them? That is another issue.

[Vriess]

Any word on what the Rushmore director's cut changes?

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by Todd_Gaines

It is fairly obvious that the 3 most controversial Criterion BD's are: In the Realm of the Senses, Salo, & Antichrist. I have only seen In the Realm of the Senses and I think it was an artistic masterpiece way ahead of its time. It made me fall for Oshima and I can't wait to watch more of his films. However I am hesitate to view both Salo & Antichrist. I don't know really why because I am not easily offended and I am a very open-minded person. Is there any reason why I should or should not watch either of them?

I really liked both Salo and Antichrist.

Salo certainly does live up to its reputation as a film that is a bit rough going at times. Once you get past those elements, and you will with multiple viewings, you understand why this film has such a fervent following and is critically acclaimed.

For me, Antichrist never really seemed that shocking. Perhaps I am just jaded, but I don't see why this film earned the reputation as being controversial. It's definitely not for the "faint of heart" but it's certainly nothing worse than you would see in a slasher/horror movie.

All of that is just my opinion, and as always, YMMV!

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by cstle

Got a reply from Lee Kline today.



Still seems strange that it isn't on the UK/FR BD but is on the Criterion BD but oh well.

Thanks for the update. Sounds like way too much work for them to fix a pretty minor issue. I wish it wasn't there, but it's no biggie....I bought the UK BD as well

[Isambard]

I just recently noticed what appears to be a visual error with my recently purchased copy of the blu-ray set of Fanny and Alexander and was wondering if anyone else out there encountered something similar. I've only found one instance of this error and can't yet confirm if there are more examples of it throughout the film but early in the television version at around 00:13:44 a part of the image suddenly shifts to the left for only a moment before fitting right back into place again. Its at the end of the scene with the play as the buffet table and Christmas tree are being moved into place.