The Criterion Collection

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by FragnitoM

Doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be released in R1. I have a region free player, but not everyone wants to invest in another player and pay extra to import titles.

First world problems. I live in India (region C), and almost 90% of my collection is imported (and a good deal of it locked to another region). I couldn't sit around "expecting" some label to release stuff I like in "my territory".

[mmarczi]

Originally Posted by ravenus

First world problems. I live in India (region C), and almost 90% of my collection is imported (and a good deal of it locked to another region). I couldn't sit around "expecting" some label to release stuff I like in "my territory".

This is beside the point. This is the Criterion thread, discussing what Criterion DVDs should be upgraded to Criterion blu-rays.

I've already purchased a few DVD-only Criterion titles from other labels that have release them on blu-ray, but I'm really hoping to see them do The Spirit of the Beehive, especially considering they did El Sur relatively recently.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by ravenus

First world problems. I live in India (region C), and almost 90% of my collection is imported (and a good deal of it locked to another region). I couldn't sit around "expecting" some label to release stuff I like in "my territory".

This entire website is first world problems.

[BamaDullard]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

What would you say are some titles that should have been upgraded already to Blu-ray?

Viridiana, Written on the Wind, Le notti bianche, The Human Condition

[CRASHLANDING]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

What would you say are some titles that should have been upgraded already to Blu-ray?

Pandora's Box, Loves of a Blonde, Red Beard, Unbearable Lightness of Being, Floating Weeds.

There are plenty of good candidates.

[WillieMLF]

I'm just going to drop this here, but Arrow's The Human Condition is a beautiful set. I have the Criterion DVD, but just couldn't wait.

[Shanghai Express]

In the last few years has there been any talk of Trouble In Paradise undergoing a restoration? Universal, Film Foundation, UCLA, anything? The DVD is 17 years old. We're in the 2020s now. It's time.

[BamaDullard]

Originally Posted by mrmikefern

In the last few years has there been any talk of Trouble In Paradise undergoing a restoration? Universal, Film Foundation, UCLA, anything? The DVD is 17 years old. We're in the 2020s now. It's time.

UCLA restored it a few years ago I think.

[DaBargainHunta]

I watched Ken Loach's Black Jack last night on The Criterion Channel since it's expiring at the end of the month. It's more famous now for being the inspiration for Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom. While there are certainly superficial similarities, they're two very different movies.

A French giant (I wonder if they wanted Andre for the role but had to settle on Le Cercle Rouge's Jean Franval) kidnaps a young teen boy and they rescue a "mad" little girl and get mixed up with a questionable circus troupe. That description makes it sound a lot more whimsical that it actually is. Unlike Wes Anderson's film, there's no whimsy whatsoever - Black Jack is darker in tone, has a bleaker color palate, and is somewhat more grounded in reality. It's very engaging in its own right though.

The movie looks a bit rough on The Criterion Channel, but the reviewer on this site mentions the exact same issues on the Blu-ray, so I assume they're both using the same print (Cohen Media Group put out the Blu-ray, and its logo appears before the movie on the Channel).

DaBargainHunta's Decree: Very interesting odd little movie. Worth a watch!

[professorwho]

I still need to watch my copies of War and Peace and Ace in the Hole... I'll try to watch Ace in the Hole today, as Wilder plus Kirk Douglas is an awesome combination.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by professorwho

I still need to watch my copies of War and Peace and Ace in the Hole... I'll try to watch Ace in the Hole today, as Wilder plus Kirk Douglas is an awesome combination.

Ace in the Hole is fantastic!

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by professorwho

I'll try to watch Ace in the Hole today, as Wilder plus Kirk Douglas is an awesome combination.

They really should have made more movies together...as one of the few leading males of his era unafraid to embrace dark, unflattering roles, Douglas was ideal for Wilder's bleak, cynical worldview. Their partnership for Ace in the Hole was a match made in movie heaven.

Douglas bitterly regretted turning down the role of Sefton that wound up winning Holden an Oscar for Stalag 17...I often wonder what approach he would have taken for the character and how he would have fared next to Holden's portrayal.

In the end it's too bad they didn't become more regular collaborators, but at least they got together for a film that would become one of the best for either man. Nobody could have made that film except Wilder, and I'm hard-pressed to think of another actor more perfectly-suited to the material than Douglas.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

They really should have made more movies together...as one of the few leading males of his era unafraid to embrace dark, unflattering roles, Douglas was ideal for Wilder's bleak, cynical worldview. Their partnership for Ace in the Hole was a match made in movie heaven.

Douglas bitterly regretted turning down the role of Sefton that wound up winning Holden an Oscar for Stalag 17...I often wonder what approach he would have taken for the character and how he would have fared next to Holden's portrayal.

In the end it's too bad they didn't become more regular collaborators, but at least they got together for a film that would become one of the best for either men. Nobody could have made that film except Wilder, and I'm hard-pressed to think of another actor more perfectly-suited to the material than Douglas.

Apparently, Ace in the Hole was considered a flop at the time - I wonder if that's what ended the collaboration. Definitely a shame, but it makes for a fun "what if?" scenario.

Stalag 17 was great though, and I wouldn't want to change anything about it.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Apparently, Ace in the Hole was considered a flop at the time - I wonder if that's what ended the collaboration. Definitely a shame, but it makes for a fun "what if?" scenario.

Stalag 17 was great though, and I wouldn't want to change anything about it.

To call Ace in the Hole a flop, both critically and financially, would be an understatement...it was excoriated by everybody but a small minority for its pessimism and moral bankruptcy. Wilder essentially made Stalag 17 for free to pay the studio back all of the money it lost (while also getting back into critics' good graces.)

But it didn't sever their working relationship, since Wilder wouldn't have offered Sefton to Douglas...who simply turned it down because he disliked the play.

But Stalag 17 notwithstanding, it's sort of difficult to picture Douglas in Wilder's universe after that anyways. But the stars surely did align for Ace in the Hole.

[DenOfEarth]

Since Elephant Man is turning 40, it's time they should do a Paramount deal and have a blu-ray of it and all.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

What would you say are some titles that should have been upgraded already to Blu-ray?

I just received an order from Amazon UK that included three David Lean films on BD:

Two were a StudioCanal release of Hobson's Choice, and an ITV release of Great Expectations. So I expect Criterion to announce upgrades of their DVDs Real Soon Now. You're all welcome.

The third was a StudioCanal release of The Sound Barrier, which is coming out here in a couple of months from Kino (I had missed their announcement of it).

[BamaDullard]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Ace in the Hole is fantastic!

It’s Wilder’s best film in my opinion. It’s just as corrosive as Sunset Boulevard, but it’s about the entire media rather than just Hollywood. And it hasn’t dated in the slightest.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by DenOfEarth

Since Elephant Man is turning 40, it's time they should do a Paramount deal and have a blu-ray of it and all.

It was on The Criterion Channel last year for a little bit, so it's possible...

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by DenOfEarth

Since Elephant Man is turning 40, it's time they should do a Paramount deal and have a blu-ray of it and all.

StudioCanal is releasing a UHD of this in the UK in April. I h

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I just received an order from Amazon UK that included three David Lean films on BD:

Two were a StudioCanal release of Hobson's Choice, and an ITV release of Great Expectations. So I expect Criterion to announce upgrades of their DVDs Real Soon Now. You're all welcome.

The third was a StudioCanal release of The Sound Barrier, which is coming out here in a couple of months from Kino (I had missed their announcement of it).

I have these three, too.

I was pleasantly surprised to see KL is releasing The Sound Barrier here as I think of it more as a film for Lean completists. The other two are essential titles for any cinephile.