The Criterion Collection

[kndy]

Originally Posted by rocks off

I know Criterion were criticized for releasing Benjamin Button, but now they've gone too far...

That's Best Buy selling things at retail price...heck I think Tower is just as bad (they did selling things cheap last January). But personally, we all know that the Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Deep Discount sales are great for those of us who buy Criterion Blu-rays.

As for Criterion releasing Benjamin Button, my feeling is when they released "Chasing Amy", "The Rock" and "Armagedon"...if by releasing a big title helps them make enough money to purchase more licenses in order to bring more classics to us, then I'm all for it.

[rocks off]

Well, that's not exactly what I meant. I was just poking fun at BestBuy listing The Proposal as a Criterion blu-ray.

[kndy]

Originally Posted by rocks off

Well, that's not exactly what I meant. I was just poking fun at BestBuy listing The Proposal as a Criterion blu-ray.

Ah...sorry man...I'm barely awake...hehe.. I think Barnes and Noble also has some non-Criterion titles when you type it on their search.

Originally Posted by Q!

Thanks but this sucks monumentally!

Are region-free DVD players cheap in your country? Here in the US, you can pick up a $40 Phillips Target Divx DVD player and three buttons presses later, have an all region player.

Originally Posted by captveg

Warner (via Turner) owns all MGM films made through 1986. Sony has a minor stake in MGM, but aside from a brief video distribution deal (2005-2006) they currently do not have any home video rights.

Thanks captveg!!

BTW...if you think you're Criterion crazy...look at some of these crazy Criterion threads going on right now...hehe.. Especially the tattoo one...ok...

[LordCrumb]

I wish Paris Texas wasnt region locked id buy that in a second.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by KaiGusto

I wish Paris Texas wasnt region locked id buy that in a second.

It would be nice if Criterion were able to release all of their titles as region-free....... of course I have a hard time feeling sorry for anyone living in a country as gorgeous as yours.

[krisstivers]

I've been looking for the movie subUrbia (1996) on DVD or Blu-ray and so far, I've had only been able to find it on VHS. I've been searching the web and found this bit of information that I thought was interesting:

A few months back Richard Linklater expressed frustration in an "Ain't It Cool News" interview that "subUrbia" was unavailable on DVD.

The good news was that he seemed to want to get it released on DVD.

The bad news was that he wanted the Criterion Collection to release it, alongside CC's of "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset".

This was bad news because there's a strict "no licensing" policy at Warner Bros. You'll notice that there isn't a single Warner title among the entire Criterion Collection on DVD. This is apparently a little-know policy among directors because director Darren Aronofsky has also expressed a futile interest in having Criterion release "The Fountain".

In any case, as far as "subUrbia" is concerned there is reason to be optimistic that Linklater may have given up on trying to get Criterion to license an unlicensable film and has directed his efforts towards Warner Bros.


I also found this quote from Linklater in an IGN interview:

"My film SubUrbia is going to come out next September on DVD, but not with Criterion," revealed Linklater. "But Warner Home Video is promising me they will try to out-Criterion Criterion's Collection. So we'll see, but I'm really happy that that'll be coming out. It's another lesser seen film in my world."


If this is true about Criterion not being able to release Warner Bros. titles, then how did they put out "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"?

[JediFonger]

the reason is probably cause WB has their own mastering/restoration facility. as long as they keep their fingers off DNR, i think any1 would be more than happy w/their work.

[Q?]

Originally Posted by kndy

Are region-free DVD players cheap in your country? Here in the US, you can pick up a $40 Phillips Target Divx DVD player and three buttons presses later, have an all region player.

you must mean blu-ray players
I haven't seen any region free players here and I want to stay away from cheap players, to avoid any weird issues.
I've been dreaming about a Region A PS3 Slim...
Don't know, I guess in time I'll get one.
But it's difficult to justify buying a new player for CC only, if there's a cheap and reliable player I'll do it

[kndy]

Originally Posted by Q!

you must mean blu-ray players
I haven't seen any region free players here and I want to stay away from cheap players, to avoid any weird issues.
I've been dreaming about a Region A PS3 Slim...
Don't know, I guess in time I'll get one.
But it's difficult to justify buying a new player for CC only, if there's a cheap and reliable player I'll do it

I would buy a cheap Magnavox or Sony region a player. But really...you have MoC/Eureka, BFI, Artificial Eye, Edition Filmmuseum and RaroVideo releases to keep you busy for now...

[Q?]

Originally Posted by kndy

I would buy a cheap Magnavox or Sony region a player. But really...you have MoC/Eureka, BFI, Artificial Eye, Edition Filmmuseum releases to keep you busy for now...

I can imagine a lot of great movies I'll be missing, I'm seriously considering it.
It hurts to lurk in this thread when the movies are out of reach..

[aggienader08]

Originally Posted by krisstivers

there's a strict "no licensing" policy at Warner Bros. You'll notice that there isn't a single Warner title among the entire Criterion Collection on DVD. This is apparently a little-know policy among directors because director Darren Aronofsky has also expressed a futile interest in having Criterion release "The Fountain".

In any case, as far as "subUrbia" is concerned there is reason to be optimistic that Linklater may have given up on trying to get Criterion to license an unlicensable film and has directed his efforts towards Warner Bros.[/i]


I also found this quote from Linklater in an IGN interview:

"My film SubUrbia is going to come out next September on DVD, but not with Criterion," revealed Linklater. "But Warner Home Video is promising me they will try to out-Criterion Criterion's Collection. So we'll see, but I'm really happy that that'll be coming out. It's another lesser seen film in my world."


If this is true about Criterion not being able to release Warner Bros. titles, then how did they put out "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"?

I'm surprised that no one else has replied to this quarry. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is actually a Paramount release my friend. Not Warner at all.

Warner seems to be one of a few that are so stingy with their licensing. I don't really know why they are that way, because if you ask me, they are one of the worst studios with transfers to blu.

Paramount and Universal have quite a few titles in conjunction with Criterion. Disney/Buena Vista have a few, notably "The Rock" and "Armageddon". Universal I believe has been more outgoing with releasing their titles in conjunction with Criterion. A lot of solid releases like, "Fear and Loathing", "Brazil", "Traffic" and a whole lot of other goodies.

It's a slow time right now for Criterion being able to grab a hold of the licensing from other mainstream studios, because most of them want to release the new blu transfers on there own, esp. as the format is still slowly but surely being adopted by more consumers. I'm sure that Criterion will gain more licenses slowly throughout the rest of this format life, but studios want to master and remaster their own catalog first even though Criterion would do a better job to begin with.

[aggienader08]

BTW has anyone picked up an early copy of Paris, TX? If so, how is it?

[captveg]

Originally Posted by krisstivers

If this is true about Criterion not being able to release Warner Bros. titles, then how did they put out "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"?

Because Warner only has International rights to CCOBB. Paramount has US rights, which is the company Criterion licensed it from.

[JediFonger]

can u cite specific examples. i know that i personally have made sweeping statements as well, but the reality is that all movie studios put out both hits and misses!

Originally Posted by aggienader08

...because if you ask me, they are one of the worst studios with transfers to blu.

even Criterion has The Last Emperor (which i know wasn't done by them, etc.). but surprised they released it in the way it currently is.

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by aggienader08

BTW has anyone picked up an early copy of Paris, TX? If so, how is it?

None of the BBs near me had Paris, Texas out early, so I just ordered it from Amazon.

[aggienader08]

Originally Posted by JediFonger

can u cite specific examples. i know that i personally have made sweeping statements as well, but the reality is that all movie studios put out both hits and misses!



even Criterion has The Last Emperor (which i know wasn't done by them, etc.). but surprised they released it in the way it currently is.

I was merely commenting on the fact that most of their catalog releases don't even include lossless audio, and don't tell me, "Well most of Criterion's releases don't have lossless." because all of them do. Some of their tracks are LPCM Mono. And you know what psses me off more, the fact that Warner doesn't even care about it, nor make any effort to fix the issue that people want lossless on their catalog titles. The fact that Warner said that they would "out criterion Criterion" to Linklater is just laughable to me.

Yes most studios put out both hits and misses, but not as consistently as Warner puts out misses. End of discussion, we're not going to go into this on the CC thread, it's not relevant. I could make a list, but we'll just keep debating it over and over.

BTW the problem with "The Last Emperor" had nothing to do with the AQ/PQ of the transfer but rather that it wasn't the "Director's Cut" and that not everything from the DVD made it onto the blu. But you know I'm fine with it. I preferred the theatrical cut and all of the extra features they gave us anyway.

[neo_reloaded]

Criterion has stated budget and time issues as reasons for not putting out more material on Blu-ray, so I for one am thankful for every classic title that the major studios handle properly - that's one more title that doesn't need the "Criterion treatment" or anything similar, and Criterion can focus on the titles the major studios won't give the time they deserve.

[captveg]

Originally Posted by aggienader08

I was merely commenting on the fact that most of their catalog releases don't even include lossless audio, and don't tell me, "Well most of Criterion's releases don't have lossless." because all of them do. Some of their tracks are LPCM Mono. Yes most studios put out both hits and misses, but not as consistently as Warner puts out misses. End of discussion, we're not going to go into this on the CC thread, it's not relevant. I could make a list, but we'll just keep debating it over and over.

Warner has been putting lossless audio on all their films for a good while now. The problem is that they've released more titles on Blu-ray than any other studio since 2006, and the lossless on all titles policy did not get instituted until mid-2008.

[aggienader08]

Originally Posted by bbalff

WB may not be the greatest studio overall but their Blu-Ray releases have improved dramatically in recent times.

Originally Posted by captveg

Warner has been putting lossless audio on all their films for a good while now. The problem is that they're released more titles on Blu-ray than any other studio since 2006, and the lossless on all titles policy did not get instituted until mid-2008.

All true. Let me just rephrase what I'm saying. WB and Criterion obviously operate under different standards. For the most part, Criterion depends on other studios and Warner does not. However when it comes down to the transfers and the treatment and everything thereafter Criterion would undoubtedly give better treatment to a film, extras and all, no matter what studio owns the rights 100% of the time. I'm not saying that Criterion should be doing all the work, just stating that the idea of a Warner title outdoing a Criterion (as stated by Warner to Linklater) is just laughable. I should've just said it that way in the first place. Sorry.

[rezpekt]

Warner has a huge library of films and good restorations, but when it comes to Blu-ray, all their enocdes are somewhat filtered (and low bitrate), even if the source is (near) perfect. And the bad thing is that they don't like licencing their library to other distributors.