The Criterion Collection

[Monty70]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

I really, really hope that there is a special team or something working on the Vertigo transfer. I don't want to start a real tangent here, but I've been slightly underwhelmed by Universal's special 100th annum transfers. I mean, they're not terrible but you can certainly see where they could be better. Vertigo has the opportunity to absolutely blow you away on bl-ray, as it should, and I would love for it to do just that.

Vertigo has always been my favorite Hitchcock film. I would hope that Universal gives this classic a fitting Blu-ray release. (or license it to someone who will)

[jrsl76]

Oh My God!

I was just looking at Hulu Plus, which I don't have, and seeing some of the recently uploaded titles and discovered that Criterion has added Truffaut's Two English Girls which is one of my top 2 or 3 titles wanted in the collection.

I am ecstatic and hope that it gets released on blu very, very soon!!

Also, looking at some of the rest of the uploads, it feels like eventually we may see Kinoshita and Masahiro Shinoda Eclipse sets.

[billzfan]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I have the Studio Canal release of Ran. It's not a perfect release but it's also not the horror that some tried to make it to be back when it came out.

I can't help you on the differences, never seen the Australian version. All I can tell you is that the Studio Canal release is not perfect but still quite enjoyable. I decided to keep my Criterion DVD copy anyway however.It's debatable if Criterion would have manage to do a better job on it or not.

Thanks so much for the info

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

I really want to cut the cable cord, but for me it doesn't add up (for FiOS, the prices are rigged irritatingly: ~$75 for high speed internet, ~$75 for HD cable package or $90 for both -- the same as ditching cable and getting Hulu & Netflix). That said, while researching feasibility I found this site which keeps up to date what Criterions are on Netflix. I'm doing a month-long trial membership and it's addictive. Looking forward to finally checking out Certified Copy this week.

Yeah, internet alone for me is 77 bucks, while it's 110 with TV. It's going to be about a 40 dollar difference once you factor in sales tax. I really only watched TCM, and occasionally Teletoon/Teletoon Retro. I was recording a lot of stuff from TCM, but it's now borked thanks to the firmware update.

Thanks for the link to check out Criterion stuff. My mom tells me that several of my Criterion BDs are on the Canadian Netflix. Regular Hulu has quite a few Criterions, so it's not too bad. Hoop Dreams is free at the moment.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

one of my favs. Hope ya like it. Are you familiar with Fassbinder's over the top characters? If so, you'll enjoy it.

Unfortunately Spidey...World on a Wire is my indoctrination into the films of Fassbinder. My wife was familiar with and I think has seen some/all of Berlin Alexanderplatz, so hopefully she'll be open to watching Despair with me at some point.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by billzfan

Thanks so much for the info

Hey if you first saw Ran on DVD (don't know who released it) anything is an improvement, it was VHS quality.

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Yeah, internet alone for me is 77 bucks, while it's 110 with TV. It's going to be about a 40 dollar difference once you factor in sales tax. I really only watched TCM, and occasionally Teletoon/Teletoon Retro. I was recording a lot of stuff from TCM, but it's now borked thanks to the firmware update.

Same boat here: I could pay ~$30/month more for cable to just watch 3/5 channels or so - TCM included - or just make do with my blus/DVDs, digital antenna (which looks better than through cable b/c it's uncompressed), Netflix Instant, and Hulu+. Honestly, these services are so cheap that I don't even think about paying for them; Hulu+ in particular I just let lapse into membership from a free trial.

I certainly use Netflix more because of their great classic Hollywood and foreign selection - and they have a solid batch of Criterions, though the quality of Netflix's stream is consistently lower. A few movies in Netflix Instant have also been displayed in incorrect aspect ratio. But given that watching two movies on each service a month effectively pays for it, you're certainly getting (much) more than your money's worth. I look for the prices to increase shortly, actually, as it's pretty much too good of a deal.

The only thing I miss really is live sports, particularly baseball and college football (though MLB.TV takes care of that for baseball). ESPN.360 needs to become more widely available in app form on players/consoles...but then no one would really keep cable if that happened.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Yeah, internet alone for me is 77 bucks, while it's 110 with TV. It's going to be about a 40 dollar difference once you factor in sales tax. I really only watched TCM, and occasionally Teletoon/Teletoon Retro. I was recording a lot of stuff from TCM, but it's now borked thanks to the firmware update.

Thanks for the link to check out Criterion stuff. My mom tells me that several of my Criterion BDs are on the Canadian Netflix. Regular Hulu has quite a few Criterions, so it's not too bad. Hoop Dreams is free at the moment.

I wish Videotron offered TMC at a better price or at least at the price they are asking for it that it was in HD

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

Good call, the French one is in French. UK well, English. Guess I'll be waiting.



I really, really hope that there is a special team or something working on the Vertigo transfer. I don't want to start a real tangent here, but I've been slightly underwhelmed by Universal's special 100th annum transfers. I mean, they're not terrible but you can certainly see where they could be better. Vertigo has the opportunity to absolutely blow you away on bl-ray, as it should, and I would love for it to do just that.

I certainly hope you're right...but if "All Quiet" is any indication of their intents, then I think we'll be in good shape. I'm pretty impressed with it.

[PowellPressburger]

For those interested in the Plastic Style Keep Case version of The Last Emperor on BLU i listed my copy on amazon under seller FilmScoreFan I assume this style case is offered thru Criterion's site still yet? Not sure if this version has been spotted in stores yet though?

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

I really, really hope that there is a special team or something working on the Vertigo transfer. I don't want to start a real tangent here, but I've been slightly underwhelmed by Universal's special 100th annum transfers. I mean, they're not terrible but you can certainly see where they could be better. Vertigo has the opportunity to absolutely blow you away on bl-ray, as it should, and I would love for it to do just that.

Apparently they are going back to Hitch's original notes to check things like color and framing, which gives me hope. In the case of Jaws, they are getting Spielberg's approval. What I have hear recently is giving me high hopes that these will look great.

[dag]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Oooh, what store? My friend in TO cancelled Zip.ca because he couldn't get anything out of them, and has been trying to find ways of watching Criterions, but suffers from Rogers internet. He has been putting off cancelling them for almost two years now.

Bay Street Video

[monque]

Received in the mail today Godzilla, Kagemusha, & The last Temptation of Christ.

[buffetfroid]

Originally Posted by blg

I've been going back and forth about whether to buy a region free player also. I know for me, i'd want a player i could use as my primary player which means dropping $600 on the chipped Oppo player. I'm still not sure if i'm willing to do this for what amounts to probably less than 50 movies.

There are other benefits to getting an Oppo--at least if you still have a large number of DVDs.

[colinrgeorge]

I disliked Tiny Furniture... almost as much as Me and You and Everyone We Know.

It's a pathetic vanity project. M&Y&EWK stars writer/director Miranda July as an artist whose video installation piece is tragically rejected by the local modern art gallery. Let me guess, based on a true story?

July (the director) goes to lengths to belittle the curator who discarded her eminently worthy work, revealing her to be a miserable, desperate pervert whose self-frustration clouds her objectivity. Naturally, she's just an epiphany away from realizing how very wrong she's been -- and July's character gets her piece in the gallery after all. Yay!

At the end of Annie Hall, Woody Allen's character writes a play about his experience, tacking on an amusingly artificial happy ending. "You know how you're always trying to get things to come out perfect in art because it's so difficult in life," he says, "Hey, what do you want, it was my first play."

Likewise, M&Y&EWK is the feature debut of Miranda July -- a film that runs the gamut from creative cowardice to ostentatious self-importance. One of the most despicably vain films of all time.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

Same boat here: I could pay ~$30/month more for cable to just watch 3/5 channels or so - TCM included - or just make do with my blus/DVDs, digital antenna (which looks better than through cable b/c it's uncompressed), Netflix Instant, and Hulu+. Honestly, these services are so cheap that I don't even think about paying for them; Hulu+ in particular I just let lapse into membership from a free trial.

I certainly use Netflix more because of their great classic Hollywood and foreign selection - and they have a solid batch of Criterions, though the quality of Netflix's stream is consistently lower. A few movies in Netflix Instant have also been displayed in incorrect aspect ratio. But given that watching two movies on each service a month effectively pays for it, you're certainly getting (much) more than your money's worth. I look for the prices to increase shortly, actually, as it's pretty much too good of a deal.

The only thing I miss really is live sports, particularly baseball and college football (though MLB.TV takes care of that for baseball). ESPN.360 needs to become more widely available in app form on players/consoles...but then no one would really keep cable if that happened.

Low quality isn't an issue for me, because I was too darn cheap to pay the extra 13 bucks a month for the HD channels on my cable package. I just want the services to check out stuff before I buy it, other than using scally-wag means all the time.

TCM was helping with some of that, but it kinda defeats the purpose of having cable TV and a PVR to record films to watch later, when the PVR decides it's going to record test patterns on another channel, and keeps changing channels randomly in the middle of a film, and you have to go scrounge the torrent sites to get the films you attempted to record/watch. Although I am rather surprised that some of those films were on torrents, even if they were TV/VHS rips.

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I wish Videotron offered TMC at a better price or at least at the price they are asking for it that it was in HD

Well, for me, it was essentially 30-40 bucks a month for TCM. It's definitely cheaper if you subscribe to it via satellite dish. My parents are looking at cutting back on their dish package, and are trying to figure out how to keep AMC and TCM, but ditch the other film channels. I think now that they have Netflix, they won't bother with the 4 new movies channels, which include MGM and Warner. It's not like I'll be lacking in stuff to watch, once my month is up with the cable, as I have a couple hundred DVDs and BDs of films and TV shows, and I'll have my parents Netflix account to use, plus this unblock US to get Hulu and BBC stuff. I'm told I'll be able to record a few films off of TCM at my parents place, and grab them when I come to visit.

Originally Posted by dag

Bay Street Video

Thanks! I'll pass it on to him, he really just needs to cancel Rogers cable/internet and get the streaming services and better internet service in general.

[ShellOilJunior]

Ran, what could have been. Everything was practically ready to go. Box art, release date - then the rug gets pulled out...

[georgec]

I don't know if this means anything, but The Gold Rush is available on Hulu Plus for streaming.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by joie

For those looking for an inexpensive way to see movies from Criterion, try the library. I've borrowed about 100 Criterions and there are more than 300 more available at my city and county libraries. They even have ones that are out-of-print. The libraries have more DVDs than blu-rays -- they're into accessibility. If you live in a rural area, your local library may have an inter-library loan agreement with one or more larger libraries.

I second this heartily. My library doesn't have blu, but the DVD selection is pretty astounding, not to mention the ease of online requesting and renewing. They have a good -- but not great -- selection of Criterion at mine but more than make up for it in Region 1 foreign DVDs.

It really is impressive how easy it would be now to get into film appreciation without massive investment, between using online resources to read and learn about titles and using Netflix, Hulu, and public libraries to access them.

[exolstice]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

I second this heartily. My library doesn't have blu, but the DVD selection is pretty astounding, not to mention the ease of online requesting and renewing. They have a good -- but not great -- selection of Criterion at mine but more than make up for it in Region 1 foreign DVDs.

It really is impressive how easy it would be now to get into film appreciation without massive investment, between using online resources to read and learn about titles and using Netflix, Hulu, and public libraries to access them.

The Montreal library has practically all Criterions on DVD, and their Blu-ray selection is quite good too.