The Criterion Collection

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Grubert

I wouldn't get Fat Girl even if it was free. Let alone on Blu-ray.

And I would rather buy The Day the Earth Stood Still than The Blob. But that's just me.

I thought "Fat Girl" was good..... such a bizarre ending.... and the way the sisters interact with each other..... either way, to each his own!

And I'd rather buy The Day the Earth Stood Still AND The Blob

[Seretur]

I also intend to own all of them -- and so far I do, with the exception of The Last Emperor and Bottle Rocket, two titles I didn't feel too eager about to begin with. I'll get them in the coming months.

On the other hand everything that is coming up is a must-own for me, and the quality that Criterion has accorded to their Blu-ray lineup is exceptional. Their releases are fulfilling all my hopes, and often going above them.

Great to see this stickied, and nicely laid out! One question, though, Beta-man -- what's with the random capitalization of words in the titles?

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Ernest Rister

I don't know, Eric -- I remember the glory days of the Criterion Collection, when they pretty much owned the laserdisc format and the studios could only try to match what they were doing. They haven't been a real force on DVD, and I feel that they will diminish further with Blu-Ray.

Of course, the days when Voyager/Criterion moved their LD prints over to That New DVD Thing was the days when Disney and MGM weren't interested in putting their movies on DVD or laserdisc (remember when Disney let Anchor Bay release all their back-titles?), and any itinerant company who wanted to sell James Bond, Spinal Tap, Time Bandits or Armageddon to such a "niche" market in 1998, that was their own funeral...

Studios don't feel like that today. Especially not even for Blu-ray.
Criterion can't go begging from studio door to studio door for "table scraps" anymore, now that studios know how valuable their own market is, Disney(/Miramax) and MGM are going to hold on to what they have, and Critey is left to their own Janus & Rialto bootstraps.
Neither of which involve the Qatsi's, AFAIK, but again, that's going on information from a few years ago.

[Seretur]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

It's upsetting to see that Criterion is opting to leave off one of the special features that is on the standard DVD of "Ran" for the upcoming blu-ray. If anyone learns of any insight as to why this is, I'd love to hear.

A 35-minute video piece reconstructing Ran through Kurosawa’s paintings and sketches, created as part of the series Image: Kurosawa’s Continuity (NOTE: not included in the Blu-ray edition)

CC

Oh, thanks for pointing this out.

Yes, a bummer, and hopefully they'll explain the reason for the omission here. Not a deal-breaker, but it would certainly have been nice to have that in a package that's otherwise as definitive as they come.

[un4gvn94538]

i think this thread is a good idea. thanks for doing it. though my criterion collection right now of sd-dvd is short im looking forward to blu ray releases. not too much into most of what theyve released but my favs are time bandits, silence of the lambs, robo cop, armageddon, the rock

[JJJ225]

Originally Posted by EricJ

A post on Criteron.com's forum hints at
CONTEMPT
THE COMPLETE MONTEREY POP
FOR ALL MANKIND
GIMME SHELTER
LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD
THE SEVENTH SEAL
WALKABOUT
(possible)
BLACK NARCISSUS
THE QATSI TRILOGY (doesn't MGM/Miramax still own these?),
but that's a collection of rumors that aren't swept regularly.

Last Year at Marienbad!!!!!! PLEEEAASE! NOW!

Originally Posted by mattconroy

[*]M

On a related note, has anyone heard anything further about Kino releasing titles on Blu-ray? There was an item last spring that mentioned Metropolis, but I have not heard anything since.

M is another one I would love to have on Blu-Ray.

Also, Kino will be releasing their first Blu-Ray's in November. No title announced yet. I wonder how the restoration of the lost footage is going on Metropolis, as their Blu-Ray release likely hinges on that. There's no way they'd release it without the new footage.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by JJJ225

Last Year at Marienbad!!!!!! PLEEEAASE! NOW!

I'll assume that was a , as even Roger Ebert praised it as a "Lynch-like exercise in style", but conceded it might have been "Resnais' cruel joke on film buffs"...

Me, I'll go with Harry Medved's Golden Turkeys listing on it:

"Giorgio Albertazzi...rattles off a list of objects in the hotel, ranging from the thick capets down to the stucco on the wall. He sounds as if he were the builder of the place and is taking a final inventory before presenting it to the new owners. But he doesn't have a good memory, so he repeats the same inventory four or five times, much to the agony of the audience. His 'sensitive' voice has all the animation of a forgetful parrot endlessly repeating the few words it knows."

[JJJ225]

Originally Posted by EricJ

I'll assume that was a , as even Roger Ebert praised it as a "Lynch-like exercise in style", but conceded it might have been "Resnais' cruel joke on film buffs"...

Nope, not a wink to be found. I think it's a brilliant masterpiece. Sure there are elements of an exercise in style, but it deals with memory and perception in really incredible and unequaled terms. Even if it was all style no substance, it'd still be great movie.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Criterion can't go begging from studio door to studio door for "table scraps" anymore, now that studios know how valuable their own market is, Disney(/Miramax) and MGM are going to hold on to what they have, and Critey is left to their own Janus & Rialto bootstraps.
Neither of which involve the Qatsi's, AFAIK, but again, that's going on information from a few years ago.

Well, not quite so all or none. Some of the studios have begun to realize what a miserable job they've done and have become a bit more willing to part with a few of their titles to get some return from them, rather than letting them sit in their vaults collecting dust, never even having seen a release on DVD. And then there's that recession, swaying some studios to consider other ways to get a little bit more money flowing in. Some interesting things are on the way. Maybe even those Qatsies.

[Mooka-One]

Onibaba & Throne of Blood please.

[zedd_117]

I'd like to see Kurosawa's "The Bad Sleep Well" in Blu. I know it's probably a ways off, but it's on of my favorite "modern" Kurosawa films.

[GabrielB]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Well, while I am pleased to see Ran arriving on Blu-ray, I would have loved it if they would have replaced it with a Fellini, Renoir, Tarkovsky, De Sica or Bergman film. I do understand, however, why at this point they opted for films such as Bottle Rocket, The Man Who Fell To Earth, and Ran.

Yes!!!! Fellini, Tarkovsky, Bergman!

[repete66211]

I don't buy Blu-rays or DVDs unless I really like the movie. I promised myself I wouldn't do any double dipping. But when it comes to movies that are visually amazing how can you avoid it? So far I've only doubled up on Blade Runner, both because it's a delicious movie to watch, but also because I don't have the (in my opinion superior) original theatrical release. It looks like I'll have to break the rules again and buy Ran. I mean, what a movie. It's so fun to watch that even the cheapskate in me is looking forward to paying too much for a Criterion disc.

[repete66211]

"Criterion selects their movies based on achievements, or artistic qualities..."

I agree for the most part. The bulk of Criterion's collection is made up of some really great classic movies--foreign, art house and even mainstream. That said, there are some real head-scratchers in there, Slacker and Dazed and Confused for example. But I know they can't all be perfect according to my subjective criteria. After all, what allows for the crappy Slacker also allows for Bottle Rocket, a personal favorite of mine.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by repete66211

It's so fun to watch that even the cheapskate in me is looking forward to paying too much for a Criterion disc.

ahhhh don't look at it as "Paying too much" I think you get a great value with the Criterion releases..... no fears of a "Better and cleaner" version being released later (Like Casino Royale, Full Metal Jacket, The 5th Element, etc ) Criterion does it right the first time!

[graf1k]

Originally Posted by Mooka-One

Onibaba & Throne of Blood please.

This. Especially Throne of Blood.

[jj5206]

WHERE IS LIFE AQUATIC!!!!!!!!!!!man i want that movie so bad on blu

[Beta Man]

Got "The Man Who Fell to Earth" "El Norte" and "The Last Emperor" in the mail today.......

[repete66211]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

ahhhh don't look at it as "Paying too much" I think you get a great value with the Criterion releases..... no fears of a "Better and cleaner" version being released later (Like Casino Royale, Full Metal Jacket, The 5th Element, etc ) Criterion does it right the first time!

Don't get me wrong. No one does a better job than Criterion when it comes to releasing movies and I don't want to sell them short on the work they've done, but they are definitely luxury items.

I got the "better and cleaner" Casino Royale and Full Metal Jacket. Both under $20 too, on eBay. That's my reward for being a cheapskate and waiting, waiting, waiting.

[moviemaker928]

Would really like to see any Jean Luc Godard films on Blu. Contempt would look beautiful on Blu. My favorite Godard film is Breathless.