Sony Pictures Classics 30th Anniversary 4K UHD Collection - November 22, 2022

[Lisa67]

Originally Posted by Warm Gun

Delivered 8:11 PM. Really didn't think that Amazonion would deliver today. By this time, they normally push it off to the next day. Scratches look minor enough that I think they will all rip, unlike both my Columbia 3 sets. I could kind of tell for two out of three of those which would fail. I really do think the Blu-ray combos are more likely to get damaged, in part because of the added vibrations in transit and maybe because the worker has to do those additional steps for each case, making them take more shortcuts. Phase out the Blu-rays. Unless, as I said a week ago, the 4K can't manage all the special features. Makes no difference to me if the Blu-ray has just the special features or them and the movie, because I'll never watch the 1080p version.

I like to compare the blu ray and 4k sometimes but I think the biggest thing is putting extras on 4k discs lowers video quality but I’m no expert but seen people talking about how it works.

[James Luckard]

My set had hairline scratches on SLC Punk and Volver, and greasy fingerprints on Celluloid Closet.

The fingerprints came off easily with a microfiber cloth. The scratches are what they are.

I'll try Volver soon and see if it still plays, they don't look too bad.

[bradnoyes]

Finally finished the whole set. Watched The Devil’s Backbone last night. It had been a few years since I’d seen the Criterion BD but this was certainly the best I’ve ever seen it. I lersply had no idea what The Celluloid Closet was when I put the disc in this morning and I loved it. It was fun to see clips of so many older films that will almost certainly never get an actual 4K release. The last film I watched was Volver. I liked the movie and it mostly looked great but there were a few scenes that looked a little weird to me. A good example is around the 12-minute mark with the windmills and then when the women are talking in the car. Something about the motion just feels off. I’m not sure how to describe it but it’s almost like motion blur. I’ve never understand what the hell this site’s reviewers are talking about when they bring up great “fluidity”, but maybe this is what “bad fluidity” looks like. Anyway I didn’t notice it anywhere else in the film.

Overall I think this is a great set. About half of these were first-time viewings for me. There was only one movie I didn’t enjoy but a few are all-time favorites and I really liked most of the ones that were new to me. I didn’t think there was a bad transfer in the bunch.

[Nori]

Was able to get copies for all the movies I wanted for $30 each. I literally snatched Run Lola 1 minute after it went up lol.

[kwr212]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

My set had hairline scratches on SLC Punk and Volver, and greasy fingerprints on Celluloid Closet.

The fingerprints came off easily with a microfiber cloth. The scratches are what they are.

I'll try Volver soon and see if it still plays, they don't look too bad.

My SLC Punk and Crouching Tiger were scratched. I rip all my movies onto my server and both of these had playback errors, so I’m currently trading in for a different set on Amazon.

[Grognak]

Watched CMBYN last night, and it looked so good. Doing A/B comparisons with the standard blu shows how compressed the original release was. Also, being someone who struggles to see the benefit of HDR when watching a movie, the DV mastering was fantastic. The already warm looking summer scenes got even warmer, and that final scene at the end, the snow was so bright (but not overwhelmingly) that it illuminated the room enough that you wouldn't have thought it was actually night time outside.

[Gold Ranger]

Jeez, what happened to Sony's quality control?

[Kyle15]

Originally Posted by Gold Ranger

Jeez, what happened to Sony's quality control?

In reference to disc scratches? That's on the Technicolor pressing plant, yo.

[PNguyen]

Originally Posted by Gold Ranger

Jeez, what happened to Sony's quality control?

For real, I was just searching around eBay to find someone selling Orlando with the same damage to the slipcover at the same spot I have. I wonder how many copies of Orlando are like that?

[Gold Ranger]

Got my set in today.

[internisus]

Thought I'd ask y'all since you're likely better informed about these sorts of things than I am:

Do you expect this set to go out of print and become crazy expensive on secondary markets the way that first Columbia Classics 4K set did? Or is it pretty safe to wait on it?

[A Tortured Duckling]

Been on the fence ever since this was announced because I only really want 4 out of 11 films, but I just bought the damn thing. I want to keep Call Me By Your Name, City of Lost Children (for now), The Devil's Backbone, and Volver. If anyone is interested in any of the others (and the box?), I'd be happy to work something out via PM.

I don't have it in-hand yet, which means I won't be able to check for scratches and such until it arrives, but it's coming from a good shop that uses proper packaging so it should be all good.

[Brian81]

Originally Posted by kwr212

My SLC Punk and Crouching Tiger were scratched. I rip all my movies onto my server and both of these had playback errors, so I’m currently trading in for a different set on Amazon.

How bad were the scratches, what type? Just curious what affected disc reading.

[BobbyMcGee]

Opened and inspected my box-set today to look for any defects. On the spines of four of the cases, the plastic appears melted or deformed, like a manufacturers defect from wherever Sony got their cases from. Otherwise, everything else appears fine. Curious if anyone else noticed this in their sets.

[pikwik]

Yes it's been mentioned in this thread; I also noticed a few with the defects on the spine and "scuff" marks on the top & bottom of the cases. No problems with the discs (so far).

[BobbyMcGee]

Originally Posted by pikwik

Yes it's been mentioned in this thread; I also noticed a few with the defects on the spine and "scuff" marks on the top & bottom of the cases. No problems with the discs (so far).

Yes, noticed the scuff marks as well. Going to start watching my discs this evening.

[PNguyen]

Good news and bad news, my replacement set came and it has a few dents, but nothing offensive. I didn't notice the tear on the outer box of my previous set before so I decided to swap outer boxes. I'll take the multiple inoffensive dents over the tear at the top. I was able to swap out cases so no more disgusting melted cases on the one I am keeping. Synecdoche, New York slip came mint this time, but Orlando yeah... it looks like that is cursed. At least it looks LESS DAMAGED than the other slip. It looks like because the way the box was designed, it made it difficult to put Orlando cleanly due to the edges and so that's why so many Orlando slips are being damaged.

[crackedknee]

Originally Posted by PNguyen

It looks like because the way the box is designed, it made it difficult to put Orlando cleanly due to the edges and so that's why so many Orlando slips are being damaged.

My slipcover for Orlando is in perfect shape, actually. Two others have a small crease on the slipcover, one minor the other very minor.

[PNguyen]

Originally Posted by crackedknee

My slipcover for Orlando is in perfect shape, actually. Two others have a small crease on the slipcover, one minor the other very minor.

First pic is the one I’m keeping, second pic was the previous slip. Still disappointing, but it’s an improvement. The good thing is the slip is intact and not folded up.

[crackedknee]

Originally Posted by PNguyen

First pic is the one I’m keeping, second pic was the previous slip. Still disappointing, but it’s an improvement. The good thing is the slip is intact and not folded up.

None of my slipcovers were like that. The two with a crease are on the front (and no color break).