Criterion Goes Blu!!! - Page 80

I got Quadrophenia, Lonesome, and The Children of Paradise (which is one of the greatest movies ever ever ever). I may poke around the stuff only on DVD and pre-order some stuff as well.

I thought the sale was only for in stock titles, but I was able to preorder Rashomon and Brazil at 50% off, which was fine with me. I see they've raised the prices on those two already.

I ordered Rosemary's Baby and Purple Noon the first day of the sale.

Glad I ordered early as Purple Noon is now back up to $34.29

I thought the sale was only for in stock titles, but I was able to preorder Rashomon and Brazil at 50% off, which was fine with me. I see they've raised the prices on those two already.

If you can find a sympathetic salesperson they can force through the sale prices on upcoming titles. But it's probably a no no. My sympathetic salesperson was moving to the left coast to attend culinary school.

The only Blu-ray I'm interested in right now is the November 20 release of Heaven's Gate. At 50 percent off list price it comes in at under $25 so no free shipping. Amazon has the preorder at $30 at the moment, I have Prime shipping so it's kind of a wash.

Generally with these Barnes & Noble sales, the 50% discount applies to any titles that will be released through the end of the sale period (in this case, November 19th). However, when the current sale started, titles scheduled for release through the end of the year were included. It looks like that may have been an error, since the price for Brazil has bounced up to $42.57.

I wonder why all the reviews are so fond of Rosemary's Baby. This BD is just bad and riddeled with digital noise all over the place. Same with Heaven's Gate.

Looks like film grain to me, albeit overly compressed... (haven't seen the disc)

Basically yes. In a German Film forum restoration expert Torsten Kaiser from TLE Films told us that this look is probably caused by Polanski's lighting and visual style. The SCANITY LED scanner seems to have some issues with these conditions and produces minor digital artifacts, especially in lowlight scenes, which then could have been strengthened by the encode.

BLOW OUT looked great, other than a scratch that affected one entire reel. I'm curious about how that happened. Tonight IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE.

I wish I had snagged THE FOLLOWING while it was 50% off. Major bummer I missed out on that error.

Liking the cover

www.criterion.com/films/27899-on-the-waterfront

'On the Waterfront' is the one that interests me in the next release batch.

I'm watching the Criterion of Rosemary's baby now (1/2 way through) and I love the transfer! It has lots of detail, despite being shot somewhat soft overall. The main thing is it is deep and rich in both contrast and color, appears very film-like and cinematic.
It's been one of my more satisfying film experiences on my system.

I'm thrilled they are doing On The Waterfront as I've had a strong urge to re-visit that movie. Hope it comes out soon.

I watched it two nights ago. Still one of the creepiest movies ever made. It has lost none of its power, and has to rank as one of the best horror films of all time. From the special feature, it turns out Robert Redford was the first choice for Guy (and Tuesday Weld for Rosemary). I'm not sure Redford's blond clean-cut look would have been as good as Cassavetes' slightly sinister and darker appearance. As noted, there was tension between him and Polanski, and his performance - unlike Farrow's - may not have been among his best.

Watched BLOW OUT and IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE in the last few days and both are keepers.

Now just get me THE FOLLOWING!

Just an FYI, the movie's title is actually just "Following."

"The Following" is a new series on Fox this January.

Semantics.

Watched the new release of Heaven's Gate. This is a terrific restoration and a must-have for fans of the film. Also has a very nice booklet detailing the disastrous studio release of the film, and an entire BD disc of bonus content.
Don't go here looking for razor sharp images, as it was shot with natural light. But there's abundant film grain and beautiful colors and contrast. AQ is also top-notch.

THE FOLLOWING is at a mind blowing pre-order price on Amazon right now. Thank God I checked today. I am one happy camper.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009D5LVCE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

That's not the only pre-order, either. Brazil is down to $20.99 as well and that was enough to get a pre-order out of me.

Most of the new ones didn't reach 50% off so I skipped them (already wasted too much on the BN sale) however Brazil is a better deal since it's $50 MSRP. I do hope to see some screens before the release though. If it's from the same master as the Universal US Blu-ray then it's fine, but there's a pretty good chance it'll be the same as the European Fox releases (which use the previous Criterion DVD master), in which case I'd rather cancel my pre-order.

Lots of stuff available at the cyber Monday sale cheaper than B&N. Lots but not all.

For me there's no point in paying more if it's going to look like the Universal BD.

An early look at Brasil:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/dvdcompare/brazil.htm

The color scheme of earlier dvds of the film appear to have been all over the place and the two BDs have quite a different color grading in these images as well. The Criterion has more contrast then the Universal in the caps, what one prefers maybe more a personal taste then anything else. The Criterion has more film grain in the screenshots but I find it hard to see an increase in detail, maybe png comparisons would give more a clue.

I like what I am seeing with Criterion shots. Might have to wait a while on a good price, though.

I like what I am seeing with Criterion shots. Might have to wait a while on a good price, though.

Unless you buy used, you won't find much better prices than some of these (at least as of 11/30/12):

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Dmovies-tv&field-keywords=criterion+collection&sprefix=criterion%2Cmovies-tv%2C216

Oooohhhhh. I didn't realize it got down so low.

Rosemary's Baby
Amazon.com $18
Amazon.ca $41

@##$&&(#%#$#$@*##%!!!!

Well I'm going to cancel as I prefer the look of the Universal to the old Criterion master. The grain is finer and not as artifacted/noisy, I think the colours are better and it doesn't look quite as boosted in general. I doubt I would be able to tell the difference between the 132 and 142-minute cuts anyway.

Wow, Criterion's release of Brazil looks markedly worse (more Universally) than Universal's. That's gotta be a first...