The Criterion Collection

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by BenOswald

I also agree with Reddington, the miniseries is solid. The commercial breaks are still kind of baked in, but the format/lenght allows more to be flushed out.

Commercial breaks? The series aired on BBC in the UK and PBS in the US, neither of which had commercials during the show. So they wouldn't be tailoring the narrative for them, like commercial network shows do. Now, the sequel, Smiley's People, aired in syndication in the US, but it was still originally made for the BBC, so commercials wouldn't have been accommodated for then, either.

[Sommerswerd]

Is Criterion still sending out emails with $10 off coupons? I still have not gotten mine yet.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

Mulholland Drive does have a Region A release via Criterion. But welcome to the club, it was a huge liberation for me to go region free since there are so many fine titles that for whatever reason do not have a Region A release and all the great UK labels like Eureka, Arrow, Indicator, and 88.

I enthusiastically second that. Being able to order what I feel is the best release available for a particular film is incredibly liberating. Star Destroyer was spot on. I’m not subjected to the whims of a studio with exclusive rights, or some overzealous censor. Point in case, I wanted to get Monica Bellucci’s star making film Malena. It was available domestically on blu-ray, but Harvey and Bob Weinstein had distribution rights through their Miramar Films label, and they decided to cut 17 minutes out of the film, which absolutely butchered the vision of director Giuseppe Tomatore, not to mention the beautiful score of Ennio Morricone.

Had I not been able to play discs from anywhere in the world, I’d have been stuck with the compromised release, which changed the whole fell of the movie, in large part because America is filled with prudes. I imported a blu-ray of the film from Korea, paging a pretty penny for it. But whenever I watch it, I will see the movie exactly as the audience was meant to experience it.

If a film has multiple releases, I can get them, ensuring that I have all the best supplements. I knew that one day Criterion would likely issue The Passion of Joan of Arc on blu-ray. In the mean time, I happily imported Eureka’s Masters of Cinema special release. When Criterion ultimately did the upgrade, I bought it, too.

Some films, for whatever reason, just haven’t had a blu-ray release. Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon, and David Lynch’s The Elephant Man among them. So, I imported them from the UK. Occasionally both Kino Lorber and Eureka will release the same movie. Most of the time, the Eureka has been judged the better issue, so I’ve imported it. Kino has really upped their game, so some of these I may double dip on for the extra supplements. Then, if a friend wants to watch one of my classics, I can lend them the region A release, and still have a copy to watch.

Being region free means that I am in complete control of my curated film library. And if I buy the same film twice? That’s just more justification to the studios to release more classic films. I’m happy to do my share.

Physical media has been said to be on a slow decline. That may be so, but there has never been a better time to be a physical media enthusiast. There are so many fantastic options, and I can browse through all these studios, and their labels, like I was in Paris walking through the market, picking out fresh ingredients to use in the preparation of my evening’s meal. These studios know there are more and more people like me going region free every day, and they have to be on their game to get my money. That’s the way it should be.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Some films, for whatever reason, just haven’t had a blu-ray release. Roman Polanski’s Paper Moon,

It's one of Paramount's best along with Peter Bogdanovich's "Chinatown"

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by Sommerswerd

Is Criterion still sending out emails with $10 off coupons? I still have not gotten mine yet.

They were doing batches, and I got mine after a few days of the first ones being sent. That was back on March 24th. The e-mail subject was, “a gift for you!”

Are you receiving other e-mails from Criterion? And, have you checked your spam folder? I have all Criterion e-mails set to approved, but some people found them in their spam folders.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

It's one of Paramount's best along with Peter Bogdanovich's "Chinatown"

Ah, sorry. I had a brain fart. I’ll edit my post.

[theater dreamer]

I started watching Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood this morning before bed, and was reading about Polanski’s relationship with Sharon Tate, who is portrayed by Margot Robbie. I guess I had Polanski on the brain.

[rip63]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I wouldn't base my opinion of his abilities based on seeing him in Air Force One or The Fifth Element, for examples.

That's right. From memory, he said he did those two and another (I think it was Lost In Space) to finance his directorial effort, the amazing Nil By Mouth.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I enthusiastically second that. Being able to order what I feel is the best release available for a particular film is incredibly liberating. Star Destroyer was spot on. I’m not subjected to the whims of a studio with exclusive rights, or some overzealous censor. Point in case, I wanted to get Monica Bellucci’s star making film Malena. It was available domestically on blu-ray, but Harvey and Bob Weinstein had distribution rights through their Miramar Films label, and they decided to cut 17 minutes out of the film, which absolutely butchered the vision of director Giuseppe Tomatore, not to mention the beautiful score of Ennio Morricone.

Had I not been able to play discs from anywhere in the world, I’d have been stuck with the compromised release, which changed the whole fell of the movie, in large part because America is filled with prudes. I imported a blu-ray of the film from Korea, paging a pretty penny for it. But whenever I watch it, I will see the movie exactly as the audience was meant to experience it.

If a film has multiple releases, I can get them, ensuring that I have all the best supplements. I knew that one day Criterion would likely issue The Passion of Joan of Arc on blu-ray. In the mean time, I happily imported Eureka’s Masters of Cinema special release. When Criterion ultimately did the upgrade, I bought it, too.

Some films, for whatever reason, just haven’t had a blu-ray release. Peter Bogdanovich’s Paper Moon, and David Lynch’s The Elephant Man among them. So, I imported them from the UK. Occasionally both Kino Lorber and Eureka will release the same movie. Most of the time, the Eureka has been judged the better issue, so I’ve imported it. Kino has really upped their game, so some of these I may double dip on for the extra supplements. Then, if a friend wants to watch one of my classics, I can lend them the region A release, and still have a copy to watch.

Being region free means that I am in complete control of my curated film library. And if I buy the same film twice? That’s just more justification to the studios to release more classic films. I’m happy to do my share.

Physical media has been said to be on a slow decline. That may be so, but there has never been a better time to be a physical media enthusiast. There are so many fantastic options, and I can browse through all these studios, and their labels, like I was in Paris walking through the market, picking out fresh ingredients to use in the preparation of my evening’s meal. These studios know there are more and more people like me going region free every day, and they have to be on their game to get my money. That’s the way it should be.

The final thing that moved me to a get a region free player was all the fine Fortune Star and Celestial Pictures titles that would never get a release here or if they do it is the butchered Miramax versions or the rights are stuck with Weinstein. Also, factoring in was the fact there were so many 20th Century Fox titles that were released in only Region B and I was sick of not being to own these films. Then there's the fact for whatever reason Olive did not subtitle most of its films outside of the Signature line and films that were released by Olive have a superior UK version with subs and better PQ. I was happy to buy Rio Grande again for the upgraded PQ/AQ and subs. IDK how for so long I limited myself just to region A.

Ironically, speaking of physical media being on decline, Sales of DVD and Blu-Ray players were both up 27% in unit sales for the week ended April 18 compared to the same week last year, according to data from the NPD Group.. With all that is going on the world, this is why I'm happy to have a big physical media collection of being able to watch whatever I want whenever and the way it was meant to be watched plus I know that I own the said disc forever. Then there was the interview with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment president Eddie Cunningham from March that really struck me and the last question and answer:

MPN: Will the disc ever go away completely? In music, by comparison, CD sales are a fraction of what they once were — and yet vinyl is experiencing a resurgence. Still, packaged media accounts for just 4% of total music sales. What do you see happening in our industry?

Cunningham: You can never say never, but I think discs are around for a long time to come. We wouldn’t be proposing creating a joint venture with Warner Bros. if we didn’t believe that. At the high-definition end, it’s the best way to watch a film in the home and that will be the case for a long time. It is difficult to replicate the significant gifting element of physical content in a digital world. It is also a challenge to replace the impulse nature of displays in a brick-and-mortar retail shopping environment, those interesting displays, that ability to browse, to touch the content, to read the notes on the back of the packaging. I think we are going to be here and part of the mix for a long time to come.

[Hellspawn28]

Did Criterion ever released Cure (1997) on home video because I notice it's on their streaming website.

[dwk]

No, Home Vision released Cure and a number of other Janus titles (like Pale Flower and a lot of the Zatoichis)

[Xtempo]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

They’re not out of print. If Criterion’s site says “currently unavailable”, it only means they have no stock available, and are waiting on more.

Compare that to the listing for something like Chungking Express, which says “out of print”.

Check the site again in a few days, or maybe send Criterion’s customer service department a message to see if they have any estimate on when they’ll have more copies in.

It just seems Rashomon is going out of print. Its been reprinted alot it seems.

[dana martin]

been in a Noir state of mined lately, think Criterion would consider rescuing another from PD hell, much like they did with Detour,

D.O.A. is in need of a proper release, all because someone forgot to renew the copyright

[DandyDancing]

Unknown Pleasures and The World are on the channel with the Criterion logo present before the film. With Platform also possibly confirmed seems there might be a Jia Zhang-ke box in the works. Or at least he will he getting something akin to the Almodovar treatment where most of his films will be released over the next 5 years or so.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by V.M. Varga

Just went region free and found out that many of the films I'd like aren't available atm . Mulholland Drive especially.

The Region B version of Mulholland Drive is better anyway.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by dana martin

been in a Noir state of mined lately, think Criterion would consider rescuing another from PD hell, much like they did with Detour,

D.O.A. is in need of a proper release, all because someone forgot to renew the copyright

I would love it, but from what I've read, the only half decent print is in the hands of someone who is asking exorbitant dollars, and even that print would need work.

[SeanJoyce]

I want Crime Wave over D.O.A., but we really need both of them.

With Paramount and Criterion playing nice I wonder if we could get a respectable release of The Strange Love of Martha Ivers.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

It's one of Paramount's best along with Peter Bogdanovich's "Chinatown"

Speaking of Bogdanovich, wouldn’t it be great if Criterion could produce a feature length documentary about how he shops for all his ascots?

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Xtempo

It just seems Rashomon is going out of print. Its been reprinted alot it seems.

There's no reason it would go OOP, its just currently unavailable not OOP on Criterion's site. It is just one of their more popular titles

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Xtempo

It just seems Rashomon is going out of print. Its been reprinted alot it seems.

One can interpret that to mean that it's still selling very well if they're often running out of available stock.

On a kind of side note to Criterion and Kurosawa, just last night I noticed that there's a listing up here at blu-ray.com for an Australian UHD edition of Ran coming from Studio Canal in September. I would assume that SC would be releasing such elsewhere as well, but I'd be curious about whether this makes it even less likely than it already is that Criterion will reacquire BD/DVD rights in the US and Canada.