Criterion Goes Blu!!! - Page 3

I was so hoping SPARTACUS would be in that list.

This is exciting news - I know I'll buy Bottle Rocket and The Third Man without hesitation, and I'll most likely at least rent all the others to see which ones I enjoy. Hopefully I won't like them all as I don't think the budget can handle that!

On the type of packaging Criterion ends up using - I think this October will be hilarious, as those who like Criterion's unique packaging have an all-out war with those who will whine incessantly if a single release is not in a standard blu case and their whole collection is "messed up."

I think Universal has that one.

My Criterion DVD of Spartacus has 2.2:1 AR. I find the picture a little squeezed like the anamorphic unsqueeze failed to expand. I know that Universal released the DVD in the 2.35:1 AR as shown in theaters. It is as though Criterion fit the 2.35:1 into a 2.2:1 frame without cropping it on each side. I cannot have a second viewing of it. It bothers me too much.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I'll eat my words. I have since tested with new A/V equipment and happy to report that the above does not stand. The Criterion Spartacus DVD is the best. Great transfer and NO AR DISTORTION. Sorry for the confusion I might have brought.

Yes, they released it on HD DVD and it looked terrible.

Add me to the camp of those who'd love to see a BluRay version of Robinson Crusoe on Mars. Given the film's age and production budget, I don't know how well it will translate to Blu, but I'm sure it would still be an improvement over the standard def DVD.

The Day They Give Me Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, and Sanjuro I will be all set.

Jorge

I believe Robert A Harris was involved in the restoration of a 70mm print that they used for the Criterion DVD - 70mm prints are 2.20:1 hence the aspect ratio for the Criterion Edition.

Universal sourced a 35mm print and thus their DVD has an aspect of 2.35:1.....I believe it was shot and composed for a 2.20:1 ratio because in those days 70mm cinema releases were very common.

I also think the Universal release uses a 2k scan and that explains why it looks so damn bad ( compared to how it might look )


It would be great if Criterion still owned the rights to this and were able to re-master from a 6k or 8k scan since its 70mm that would be possible and the picture quality would be excellent. Unfortunately i think their licensing of this title has run out.

I too would love to see a Directors cut release of Armageddon ( I think Bruce Willis visiting his old dad before he goes up into space adds some humanity and class to the proceedings and although it's a minor cut i would like to see it restored and i don't think Disney/Buena Vista have ever released the Directors cut of Armageddon - Once again i think Criterion's licensing rights to that title have probably now gone )

Regarding Storaro and his 2.0:1 aspect ratio - It's so annoying....Apocalypse Now was never intended for that ratio and several shots suffer because of it....Same with The Last Emperor which i believe was more likely composed for 2.20:1.....Remember this is 1986/87 - Long before DVD and there is no way Storaro saw into the future and saw the advent of widescreen televisions or high definition home releases.....He is re-composing his early films for this ratio and if need be adding pan and scan into the frame ( Which is clearly visible on several shots in Apocalypse Now and it's also what happens to 2.35:1 aspect ratio films when they are shown on television cropped to 16/9 ) Now aren't we all against pan and scan ? I know i am and just because a famous cinematographer decides its what he now wants we have to accept it ? I think not so count me out of this release too.

MGM/FOX should really get in touch with Criterion though and license the commentary tracks from The Silence Of The Lambs for their release.

I hope Criterion do a great job with these releases as their early DVD titles didn't have that great an image quality so here's hoping they learned from that and do better with their early Blu Ray releases.

Simply fantastic news for quality film buffs! Just when I thought we were mostly going to see 'Crank'-like films catered to the gaming crowd.

In this first batch, I'm particularly excited about
- The Third Man
- The Last Emperor

Woo Hoo! Ummm.....

I havent heard of most of these titles. Should I be excited? Do they own the rights to Gladiator, LOTR, Alien/Aliens?

Oh, they dont.... nevermind.

Mark Twain said it best:

It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.

The version Harris restored IS on the Universal HD-DVD...that's the print he restored and worked on years ago. The problem is the age of the master, unfortunately.

I would not count on seeing it reissued through Criterion, unfortunately, and especially on Blu-Ray.

Here's an interesting one I'd like Criterion to release...

À ma soeur!

Which is what i said.....They probably used a 2k scan for the master.

FoxyMulder

Quote:
(I believe Robert A Harris was involved in the restoration of a 70mm print that they used for the Criterion DVD - 70mm prints are 2.20:1 hence the aspect ratio for the Criterion Edition.)

Thank you for your accurate information. It was as you mentioned actually shot in 70mm with a 2.20:1 AR. However, I still can't understand why I see a slightly squeezed picture. I suspect that it was not duplicated from an original master with an AR of 2"20:1. I find the result not quite right. If I had a scaler, I would expand it to aprx 2.30. I will test it again this weekend on my projector to compare it with the 16:9 RPTV that I originally used to watch it.

Must buy from the new BD list for me is "Les 400 coups" and "The Last Emperor"
Feverishly waiting for more from the great Criterion Collection.

Hrm, I wonder if this is why we never got Brazil from Uni before the HD-DVD side folded...


MMMmmmm... Brazil.

Forgetting the gazillion LDs that they've no longer got rights to, there are at least 200 films that they've done up in super sweet Spec-Eds that will make a fine addition to the BD camp.

Oh, and I've got Salo on LD for sale if anyone really, really wants it... PM! (the "P" does not stand for "poop")

Hard Boiled
The Killer
In the Mood for love
The last Emperor
Traffic
This is Spinal Tap
Brazil
And the whole Kurosawa collection for me

I still have many LDs but not the title Salo. How is the transfer? However, I do own the Criterion DVD. It has poor PQ and AQ. The print that I saw at the theatre looked better but not by much. I cannot see this film in BD unless they restore it and redo the digital master copy. Maybe then will it come closer to what we saw in the theatre and be an improvement over the DVD.

The Complete Monterey Pop should be good...I've got the DVD set, and it's spectacular. Otis Redding and Jimi Hendrix in all their glory is definitely worth the price of admission.

What he said.

It's worse than Lucas mutilating Star Wars. This guy Storaro needs to be quarantined somewhere.

While I'm as excited as any Criterion Collection-whore-that-also-buys-HD-media would be at the news they're coming to Blu-ray lets not forget that these folks deal with older/foreign/low budget/etc. films that more often than not where not shot/preserved with the most optimal of conditions/equipment/film stock/storage facilities/etc. While we can expect "Casablanca"-on-HD-DVD type quality for the cream of the crop of B&W classics ("Seven Samurai," "La Dolce Vitta," "Third Man," "M," etc.) there should be caution in the expectation that most of these films will be high-def showoff material. There is a reason Criterion introduced an 'Eclipse' line of budget-priced DVD packages with movies that didn't receive the high-def transfer Criterion boasts about for its better-known movies. There is only so much high-def crispness that can be squeezed out of a decades-old print of a movie that isn't "2001: A Space Odyssey" or "The Searchers."

That said I can't wait for Criterion's much-vaunted high-definition ready DVD transfers to make it to Blu. Pialat's "A Nos Amours," Erice's "The Spirit of the Beehive," Saura's "Cria Curvos," Roeg's "Walkabout," Cronenberg's "Videodrome" (if their license period from Universal hasn't run out), anything from Kurosawa/Ozu/Fritz/Godard/Truffaut/Malle/Cassevettes... damn, I'm drooling just thinking about these in high-def.

I Want Salo!!!

WHY??!!

"Videodrome" would be nice too

Love the "Betamax" cover art on the DVD edition.

I truly hope we get the same kind of slipcases and covers as the DVD:s.

I'm very interested in For All Mankind.

I have never heard of any of those movies that they plan to launch with.

...then, you need to start watching some of them . Surprised people haven't heard of 'The Last Emperor' at least. It won the Best Picture Oscar for 1987, along w/8 other Oscars for Director, Editing, Screenplay, etc.

The Third Man
Bottle Rocket
Chungking Express
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Last Emperor
El Norte
The 400 Blows
Gimme Shelter
The Complete Monterey Pop
Contempt
Walkabout
For All Mankind
The Wages of Fear

You've either lived a sheltered life from quality cinema or haven't been exposed to more than your average American commercial Hollywood movie on TV/movies. Lets just say that from glancing the list I easily spotted three of the best movies ever made in terms of acting, story-telling and cinematic importance (as in 'influenced others'). And the remaining movies that aren't 'best ever made' are among the most critically acclaimed and all-around best put together concerts/movies of the last 60 or so years. That's all Criterion does: take good, critically acclaimed or classic movies not everybody's heard about (or seen since few get wide theatrical releases or an "Iron Man"-sized ad campaign) and give them home video deluxe treatment not guided by box office receipts or popularity! In some ways I envy the fact you haven't heard of these movies because when they hit Blu you'll have a chance (provided you're open-minded to the idea of movies not being about explosions, bad guys getting caught in the end by good guys or star vehicles for overexposed celebrities) to experience them for the first time in a visual medium far more pristine and perfect than those of us that have seen VHS, damaged film prints or SD DVD versions of these movies 100 times already. You're in for a treat, unlike your (and my) poor wallet!

...label me a shallow fool as well then, not the least bit ashamed to admit I've never heard of any of those, not to mention vaugley hearing of the studio itself (but don't get me fully wrong, I understand this is still very good news for BR and these all important steps towards toppling DVD) - only peeked into this thread to see what new titles might be coming, oh well, moving along...

Not shallow...just not educated in classic American and foreign films.