The Criterion Collection

[Reddington]

Very pleased to see that Powerhouse in the UK have a region-free release Michael Powell's Age Of Consent out in November.

Powell is one of my favourite directors, so this will be day one for me. Had hoped for a Criterion edition, but the few Powerhouse releases I have are truly excellent - so this is great news.

[cropduster]

Originally Posted by Kyle15

Y'all have probably noticed this already but:

https://www.filmstruck.com/us/watch/detail/1300015082

Holy Mountain is on Filmstruck with Criterion branding. Hopefully it and eventually Santa Sangre & El Topo end up coming down the line.

I'd rather Criterion release Fando Y Lis on blu-ray since there is no blu-ray release of the film currently available. Abkco owns the rights though so I doubt a Criterion release will happen.

[peschi]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Come on. It’s perfectly logical that someone wanting an improved release of The Deer Hunter would upgrade their tv and blu-ray player to UHD, order the film from the UK, and wait for two weeks for it to arrive-or, upgrade their blu-ray player to region free, then order the UHD package from the UK and wait two weeks-instead

this is what I did to play US discs, whats your point. Also you dont need to upgrade all your equipment to UHD specs, just the player. Bonus is if you do that, you also dont need to mod your player.

might be shocking to you, but for anyone outside the US, this is the normal way to order blurays (have a modded multiregion player, and import blurays).

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by DeathlyGeneral

Most of Criterion’s consumers have already done some of these things, though. It just makes no sense for Criterion to release a new disc when the UK and French BDs and UHDs have a great restoration and a bunch of extras. There’s nothing for Criterion to improve on, and anyway, haven’t they done enough double-dipping?

Based on what data could you possibly make this bolded part of your statement? I have no doubt that some people have gone region free (as I plan to). I already import discs from the UK when they're not available here, and can play them on my laptop. But to suggest "most of Criterion's consumers" do anything out of thin air is specious. A large portion of Criterion's buyers only buy DVDs. That comes from Criterion themselves, and was recently referenced in our discussion here. So, not only have they not gone region free, or have a UHD setup, they don't even have a blu-ray player.

As for the "haven't they done enough double dipping" comment, that's another discussion.

If it's already getting released by Universal, then the discussion is moot. I just wanted somebody to release a domestic disc/set that did justice to the film.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by peschi

this is what I did to play US discs, whats your point. Also you dont need to upgrade all your equipment to UHD specs, just the player. Bonus is if you do that, you also dont need to mod your player.

might be shocking to you, but for anyone outside the US, this is the normal way to order blurays (have a modded multiregion player, and import blurays).

My point is that not everybody that buys blu-rays in the U.S. is going to do what you did. You're the exception, not the norm.

And a UHD player plays UHD discs region free, yes. But any DVD or blu-ray is still region locked. A US UHD disc player will not play a region B blu-ray disc, unless something has changed very recently.

[peschi]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

My point is that not everybody that buys blu-rays in the U.S. is going to do what you did. You're the exception, not the norm.

id say for the majority of Criterion buyers outside US, this is the norm.

[The Great Owl]

Today was a big day for me, Criterion-wise. I went to a used movie store down the street and bought the following Blu-rays, all of which are in mint condition...

Akira Kurosawa's Dreams - $15.99
Smiles of a Summer Night - $14.99
The French Lieutenant's Woman - $15.99

These are all second-tier wishlist titles that I've been eyeing ever so often for a time when other priorities are not at the forefront. Today was the day for pulling the trigger.

EDIT: I also remembered, just now, that a big Bergman set with the above movie is coming out soon. Argh. Oh well...

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by KJones77

Well there is a point since not everyone can play UHD discs.

Maybe they should?

It's just 100% counterproductive to move backwards. People always say studios should drop DVDs because blu-ray is better, but now some people are saying the opposite, Thant even though there is a superior 4K disc out there, they should move backwards to the lesser quality of blu-ray. Makes zero sense.

Not to mention, one day soon 4K TVs will be the lowest resolution you can buy, so when people upgrade (and they will, because TVs don't last forever) they will have to get a 4K one. Same with UHD players.

But again, it's not coming from Criterion, so it's not even worth mentioning again.

[Luke Dodge748]

Originally Posted by The Snowy Owl

Thanks! I have been wanting to explore asian film beyond just horror, but so far Azumi is as far as I’ve gone unless you count a few random live action adaptations of games/anime.

Thanks to Criterion I've picked up every Kurosawa film they've offered, and then started buying every Japanese film I could: Sword of Doom, Sansho the Bailiff, Godzilla (of course), Kuroneko, Lady Snowblood, House. So much good stuff from Criterion and Japan.

And I spent my first four years alive there, go figure...!

[thebratpackwrangler]

Any hope for a potential American Beauty criterion?

[812crew]

Originally Posted by thebratpackwrangler

Any hope for a potential American Beauty criterion?

Ha. Kevin Spacey playing a creepy perv preying on teens would probably be a hard sell right about now.

[thebratpackwrangler]

Originally Posted by 812crew

Ha. Kevin Spacey playing a creepy perv preying on teens would probably be a hard sell right about now.

I didn’t think about that. It’s a shame because it’s one of my favorite films and I think it would be a perfect fit in the collection.

[Kyle15]

American Beauty is a great movie. If Polanski gets a pass then anything is fair game tbh.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by peschi

id say for the majority of Criterion buyers outside US, this is the norm.

Because the habits of Criterion buyers outside of the United States is Criterion’s primary concern....

[willtopower]

I watched The Killing this weekend. I thought it was very good. And while the ending is certainly something to behold, I think the film's greatest achievement is making me turn on the subtitles because holy crap what the heck is Maurice saying?!
I tried twice and then turned on subtitles the third time and I wasn't even close to what he was actually saying!!

[peschi]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Because the habits of Criterion buyers outside of the United States is Criterion’s primary concern....

Jup you're right, and I really hope for you that they release Deer Hunter just for you on 1080p.

[sawdustandtinsel]

Originally Posted by Kyle15

American Beauty is a great movie. If Polanski gets a pass then anything is fair game tbh.

I agree, and Polanski isn't the only artist getting a pass from Criterion.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by 812crew

Ha. Kevin Spacey playing a creepy perv preying on teens would probably be a hard sell right about now.

Agreed. Especially to the "guilty until proven innocent" crowd.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by peschi

Jup you're right, and I really hope for you that they release Deer Hunter just for you on 1080p.

Do you really need to respond like a sarcastic prick? Your argument was tenuous, at best, and I already acknowledged that Universal is going to be releasing a new blu-ray in the States, rendering my initial post a moot.

Instead of acting like an ass about it, perhaps you could learn to read, hmm?

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

If it's already getting released by Universal, then the discussion is moot. I just wanted somebody to release a domestic disc/set that did justice to the film.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by sawdustandtinsel

I agree, and Polanski isn't the only artist getting a pass from Criterion.

Same.

My greatest loves are film and baseball. If we're going to start excluding films, or players from the Hall of Fame (purely as examples) because of some morals clause, we're going to have much smaller pools of movies/players to talk about.

Babe Ruth is the greatest player in history. Yet much of his legend was built by writers who choose to ignore his character faults. Kids who followed the Babe's career never knew about his dalliances (while married, nonetheless), his temper, or his foul language. The man was larger than life, and had larger than life appetites for women, booze, food....he did pretty much everything to excess. But that's not to imply the Bambino was a bad man. He was also incredibly generous, especially when it came to kids. He paid for medical procedures for kids, took scores of kids to the ballpark for Yankees games on his own dime, had an exhaustive schedule with charity events, etc. He was a complex individual, and like any of us, had his flaws as a human being.

Polanski is obviously a different story. I don't need to rehash his criminal behavior. But we need to understand that the films he's directed, a few of which rank among the greatest movies in history (Chinatown, Rosemary's Baby, and I would argue The Pianist, as well) should be appreciated, enjoyed, and studied. They are collaborative efforts. Scores of men and women not named Roman Polanski labored to create these works of art-should we discard their contributions because the director is guilty of criminal wrongdoing? No.

If I ever have kids (God help me), I'll show them these films when they're old enough. If they love the National Pastime like their Dad does, I'll tell them about Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Shoeless Joe Jackson, and Tris Speaker, and I'll teach them that while they were among the greatest ballplayers to ever step on the diamond, they had flaws as human beings. Speaker, for one, learned from his mistakes, and became a champion for integration in baseball.