NoirFan

DVD Beaver comparison of Island of Lost Souls

RayJ

So where's the best place to buy a region free Oppo? I was thinking of finally purchasing one, along with a region free kit on ebay. The kit doesn't require you to open the player up (apparently), but maybe an Oppo already made region free would be better.

obscurelabel

RayJ, I bought a standard-issue (U.S. version) BDP-83 soon after it was introduced and about a year later got a region-free kit from a Danish company that I'm sure you can find if you look. I am pretty much a klutz with electronics but was able to take the cover off my player and unplug and plug in the various components required to do the installation. After that, no problems at all. I'm reasonably sure that all of the hardware kits would require you to take the cover off of the player. Interesting that there was an unoccupied plug inside the player just waiting to have the kit connected to it

BSTNFAN

The region free mod I bought for my BDP-93 can be done internally or externally. If you do it externally it will occupy one of your USB inputs, though. The internal set up is quite easy so either way is good.

Lipid

Question for those of you who import these MoC blurays. What's the best website to buy them from? is there a cheaper alternative than amazon uk?

Also, how many of these MoC blurays eventually show up in America and become issued by Criterion Collection? I am interested in a lot of these films, but the only reason in my mind I should pay the high import fee, is because odds are they will not be on blu-ray in America. Any help is greatly appreciated.
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Sondheim

The Masters of Cinema site actually has some pretty good prices - they're not always cheaper than Amazon, but they also have free international shipping. They just ended most of their current sales, but they have new deals every month.Though it's hard to say for sure what Criterion will eventually release, so far there hasn't been much overlap between the two labels. It should also be noted that, even with the bad pound to dollar conversion, you won't end up paying much more for an MoC Blu-ray than you would for a Criterion during the 50% off Barnes and Noble sale.

Are there any specific titles you have in mind? I may at least be able to tell you whether there's been speculation about a Criterion release.

MTRodaba2468

I actually went ahead and bought an already-modded Oppo BDP-93 off of eBay. I'm still waiting for any of the Region B Blu-Rays I ordered to come in, so I can test that aspect, but the region locked bonus DVD in my UK Nightmare On Elm Street box set worked flawlessly. So far I've had no issues whatsoever...

chente

Definitely in for Rumble Fish. I love Cleopatra too, but it would be a triple dip for me since I have the laserdisc and the copy in the DeMille set. Argghh!

nitin77

films like Un Coeur Fidele, Insect Woman, Pigs and Battleships, City Girl, Sunrise, Tokyo Sonata, Mad Detective, The Ballad of Narayama, Lifeboat, The Lost Weekend, Touch of Evil, Make Way for Tomorrow and Silent Running are unlikely to get a Criterion release due to rights issues or the fact that Criterion put them out not so long ago on dvd.

Lipid

Good to know. Their website is a bit odd though. It seems I can only find a page that lists just 6 of their movies. Is that how it usually is?

As to films I'm interested in, the Pasolini ones, Cleopatra too, and some of the Hitchcock films. But I've yet to see a definitive list so it's a bit difficult for me to make that exact call. I know there's films that Criterion put out on bluray that they botched (Hara Kiri) that I'd like to get the MoC version.

MTRodaba2468

I noticed the same thing. Out of what's on the top of my list to get, I was able to order the Lifeboat steelbook from them (and I am looking into one of the quad posters, too), but that's it so far.

Sondheim

No, there are usually four or five different pages of sales, but they just ended most of their recent ones. I imagine they'll have some new ones posted in a few weeks.Here's their official catalogue.

Lipid

These are the blu-rays I'm immediately interested in:

sunrise
une femme mariee
city girl
vengeance is mine
la signora senza camelie
le amiche
harakiri
touch of evil
two lane blacktop
lifeboat
le silence de la mer
ugetsu
sansho the bailiff


I would only want to buy and import them if the odds of a Criterion release is incredibly low. I know it's all future prediction but some like "hara kiri" they would reissue in bluray since they put it out not too long ago.

Aside from that, a poster mentioned that they run their own sales every month, what are these sales like? Is it a couple bucks off a movie or an across the board % discount?

Sondheim

The ones that I bolded are the ones that are fairly likely to get a Criterion upgrade. I've heard that Criterion may be considering a release of Le silence de la mer, though who knows how far off into the future that may be (or it may not happen at all.)

I'd say that Lifeboat, Touch of Evil, City Girl, Sunrise, and Une Femme Mariee are the safest buys, since they're owned by other labels in the US and there hasn't been much talk of Criterion getting a hold of them. I know absolutely nothing about who owns the rights to the Antonioni films - but I will say that they're fantastic releases of fantastic films, and you should pick them up if you're interested in them and can get them for under $20. It depends, but it's generally not a drastic discount - the BDs range from 10-14 pounds, which, with free shipping, means you'd be paying between $16 and $23. They usually rotate through their titles during the sales, meaning that they don't offer all their titles in one sale and you might have to wait a few months for a specific title to pop up.

Lipid

Thank you so much for your feedback and help. Time to make a big order tonight. I'll knock it down to the ones I definitely need to see on Blu-ray immediately and save the rest in hopes for a sale. Do they usually put their new releases their "free shipping" page when they come out? I definitely want some of the Pasolini films and Cleopatra when they come out in September.

Sondheim

They always have free shipping for everything on their site. I don't know for sure, but I imagine they'll list the Pasolinis and Cleopatra when they post their new sales next month.

theWitcher

FWIW both 'Ugetsu' and 'Sansho' both include the features they were paired with on the original twofers, in HD ('Oyu Sama' and 'Gion Bayashi.') 'Sansho' looks OK to me, but I have not watched any of the other titles on blu-ray yet.

Both disks play fine on my non modded Panasonic.

'Two Lane Blacktop' also has a lot of extras that are not on the Criterion DVD.

joefrog91

I finally ordered one of the Insignia blu ray players that can be hacked. I also just purchased the Repo Man BRD from MoC. Can't wait to pick up some more from them. Probably going to get M, Metropolis, Island of Lost Souls, Touch of Evil and Lifeboat.

NoirFan

DVD Beaver on Ruggles of Red Gap

chente

Not trying to be provocative or anything but I don't agree with the use of "upgrade" here. I'm a huge fan of MOC and think that their releases are usually on par with anything Criterion releases. I particularly like the big thick booklets that come with almost every release. The price is usually less too.

Sondheim

You misunderstand me. I was using "upgrade" to mean "upgrade to Blu-ray" - I wasn't meaning an "upgrade from the MoC."

I love MoC, and agree that they are every bit the equal of Criterion. In fact, MoC's version of Vengeance is Mine is superior to Criterion's, simply because it has more accurate colors.

I also agree about the cheapness - in fact, if he hadn't specifically said that he doesn't want to import anything that has a good chance of coming out from Criterion I'd just suggest picking up anything he's interested in now. It's unlikely a future Criterion BD of any of those titles would improve on the MoC anyways.

NoirFan

Blu-ray.com review of Ruggles of Red Gap

chente

No worries, brother. I get you now. I just received Ruggles and Island of the Lost Souls in Blu yesterday. Can't wait to watch them.

NoirFan

^
Did you choose the Lost Souls steelbook? That cover design is fantastic. I love the style of their Lifeboat steelbook as well.

manicsounds

Lost Weekend and Double Indemnity DVDBeaver reviews