I'm looking for comparison info between a few OOP criterions and the versions that are currently available or at least not nearly expensive. If all of these comparisons have been covered in another thread (I searched but didn't find anything), please let me know.

I'll be happy as long as the discs are R1 and don't have any major problems (like lacking English subtitles where needed or something like that). Any info on the least expensive places to get these would also be appreciated. Here's the ones I'm considering getting:

The Killer & Hard Boiled, are the Fox Lorber releases at least passable in quality compared to the criterion versions? I think I can get these for about $10 each plus shipping

This Is Spinal Tap - is the current Special Edition as good as or better than the Criterion version? In what ways, if any, is it inferior to the criterion disc? (available through CH)

The Silence Of The Lambs - In what ways, if any, is the current Special Edition inferior to the criterion disc? (available through CH)

The 400 Blows - I found a current Fox Lorber version that's pretty cheap (available on Columbia House) and a version from Criterion in a box set with some other films from Truffaut for $85 from amazon.com. Are there any major problems with the Fox Lorber version?

How To Get Ahead In Advertising - a page for an upcoming MGM version is on amazon.com, but it doesn't have the date of release. Does anyone here know when it's coming out and the specs? I checked the re-release thread but didn't see it listed there.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I only own 1 criterion "Hopscotch" but if you see "Fiend without a Face" LMK I rather spend my money on more titles. Than be stuck with one criterion that released "Hopscotch" in Dolby Monaural
AKA mono ****** sound for the amount the they wanted, no way I got it used.

Quickie comments (although -- as in all things Criterion -- others will likely have different opinions):

John Woo -- I found little/no difference in the transfers between the Fox Lorber and Criterion editions. I suspect they use the same transfers. Supplements are different, but similar. Unless you are an extreme die-hard fan, the FL editions should be fine for you.

Spinal Tap -- the MGM has better picture/sound quality. The supplements are similar (although criterion has more). The commentary tracks are different -- Criterion has a 'real' commentary track about the making of the film; MGM has a 'joke' commentary track with the band in character. I have both editions. But, again, casual fans would be fine with just the MGM.

SotL -- The transfers are different -- MGM's may be 'better' from a technical standpoint, but I feel that Criterions is closer to what the intent was (and what I saw in the theater). Both are fine. MGM has a documentary, but Criterion has a fantastic commentary track. I own both.

400 Blows -- I'll leave others to comment on this... I've only seen the original Criterion once, and haven't seen any of the other editions.

How to Get Ahead -- the MGM edition was planned for April, but cancelled. I don't think there was any official reason given, but it apparently is not coming out.

There's no real problems with the Lorber disc, but it is so vastly inferior to the one in Criterion's Antoine Doinel box, that it isn't even funny. The Antoine version is the only version of 400 Blows you'll ever need.

The following links are to comparisons at DVD Beaver:

The 400 Blows: 1st ed Crterion vs Fox Lorber
1st ed Criterion vs Re-release (in "Adventures of Antoine Doinel" Box Set
Conclusion: the newest release by Criterion is the best of the three by far, but the Fox Lorber is decent (and much cheaper if you can find it)

The Killer: comparison
Conclusion: go with Hong Kong Legends

Hard Boiled comparison
conclusion: go with Fox Lorber

This is Spinal Tap: no comparison available, but MGM version is excellent.

The Silence of the Lambs: comparison
conclusion: MGM has an equal or better picture, but Criterion has the great commentary with Foster & Demme

How to Get Ahead in Advertising: no comparison available; I don't even find any online reviews of the MGM version. [EDIT: thanks to bboisvert's comment above, I now know why.]


As much as I love & admire Criterion, the only ones of these that I feel strongly about are The 400 Blows (Adventures of Antoine Doinel)--one of the Criterion's crowning achievements, but damned expensive at $99.95 retail--and The Silence of the Lambs (mainly for the extras).

If your budget is tight, I would bypass all the above Criterion editions & go with the cheaper versions.

I'd like to hear thoughts on the Traffic Criterion vs. the USA release. Is it worth the upgrade?

Thanks for all the info bboisvert & filmfansea!

I did a price search for the Antoine Doinel box set and it's only $72 on deepdiscountdvd.

That R2/4 version of The Killer looks incredible but I just have a basic R1 player.

That DVD comparison site is awesome... I've bookmarked it which should significantly decrease my need to bother DVDtalkers.

Thanks again for your quick replies.

Traffic Criterion vs Traffic USA

The online reviews I read when the first DVD came out said it has a top notch transfer. The Criterion disk is a teeny bit better. For the most part the sound is mono and doesn't look to make too much of a difference which version you pick up. If you don't care about extras the USA version is just fine.

For supplements the USA version has some trailers, TV spots, a still gallery and a short feature made to get you into the theater to see the film.

The Criterion has trailers and TV spots. They thankfully skip the feature and instead of a still gallery they put on FBI Canine Trading Cards.

The rest of the extras are the real meat. Soderbergh does a commentary with writer Stephen Gaghan that, as usual, is entertaining. I winced when I saw two more commentaries included but they are actually quite good. The one with the producers doesn't overlap information found elsewhere. To my surprise I really enjoyed the composer's commentary. He spoke between each musical piece and was very informative. I wasn't bored listening to all three.

The are a lot of deleted scenes. The ones I remember very well are with Catherine Zeta-Jones; Soderbergh really did gut her story. A lot of critics came down hard on her sudden transformation from housewife to drug lord but nuances of a performance are lost when scenes hit the cutting room floor. There is also some unedited footage.

If you are interested in filmmaking their is a section that talks about creating the Mexico storyline visual look, editing and dialogue editing. The editing sequences are my favorite extra I have ever seen on a DVD. The editor discusses how the scene developed in the editing room and you see different cuts the scenes went through.

So, if you want a commentary, deleted scenes, or technical film info the Criterion is the disk to pick up. If you only want the movie the USA version will serve you well.

Here's a better comparison database...in my opinion.

http://www.dvdcompare.org.uk/comparisons/

Also, you may want to check out the new HK Region 0 Hard Boiled from www.dddhouse.com or hkflix.com.

For what it's worth, I love my HKL Killer...

The functions of DVD Compare and DVD Beaver are completely different. DVD Compare looks only at the printed disc specs--no attempt is made to compare the transfer, picture quality, framing, or the film elements used. Their site is most helpful to Europeans and those of us with all-region capability.

DVD Beaver actually attempts to make a qualitative determination, mostly through the comparison of screen captures. While their methods have been questioned by some, I don't know of a better way to compare two different transfers. They also post the captures so you can make your own judgment.

Another site worth checking out is The Laser Examiner (DVD Scan). They attempt to make a quantitative judgement of a given DVD across 13 video and 5 audio parameters, and assign an overall numerical score (from 0 to 10) for both video quality and audio quality. They are one of the few sites that still compares DVDs to laser discs.

While online reviews can be helpful, very few actually do a true A/B comparison between different DVD releases of the same film. DVD Beaver and The Laser Examiner are in the forefront of making DVD comparisons more scientific and less about opinion.

...hence the words "in my opinion". I feel that the rewind database, while not "reviewing" the discs, gives a more comprehensive view of the releases throughout the world, while being more centered of features. But whatever...just offering another option...

Rewind database also tells you what is censored from what

Thanks! I think I'll pick up the Criterion... those extras sound great!

If you've got a HDTV widescreen set, this is definitely the one you want (but you've also got to have a multi-regional player that can handle PAL. I bought one, and I haven't looked back). The non-anamorphic FL is awful in comparison.

Excellent! Hope you enjoy it.

What about the Gilliam movies. I really want Brazil and Time Bandits, but don't want to shell out the big bucks for the Criterions when I can get the movie of $15 each. A friend of mine said the Brazil CC is worth it because of the multiply cuts of the movie, but is it necessary?

Brazil- You NEED the CC edition. No other way to go. The vanilla disc is a waste of money, while the cc version is on nearly EVERY 10 best DVD list.

I have the CC Time Bandits and am disappointed in the sparse disc. Never saw the other transfer, so don't know if I wasted my money. If anyone tells you that the non-cc transfer is pretty good, I'd go for it.

Avid, thanks so much for the Traffic comparison - I'd been wanting the Criterion for a while (mostly for the 25 deleted scenes), but your comparision just knocked me over the edge. I'm picking it up first thing after work.

This Is Spinal Tap: I prefer the Criterion version - it has two versions of the Cheese Festival commercials, one for a regular audience, one for the movie theatre industry. Also, the commentary with McKean, Shearer and Guest as themselves is sometimes funnier than the movie (yes, such a thing is possible) and very, VERY insightful. Example: there was a whole backstory about a girl group touring with the band whose lead singer had a cold sore, and in later scenes everyone but the drummer apparrently slept with her since they got a cold sore too. This group was taken out of the film, but the cold sores on Nigel and David remained - and McKean got a rather interesting question about it at a preview. This track alone is worth the commentary, as is the original 20-minute film shot to get funding from Sir Lew Grade in lieu of a script.

Brazil: you want the Criterion. You NEED the Criterion. There is no comparison.

Time Bandits: again, the commentary track is what sells this, especially John Cleese's comments about doing Robin Hood as the "f***ing Duke of Kent" are priceless. I admit I haven't seen any other version of the film on DVD, but there would have to be a ton of extras located on a second disc to be worth the Criterion version.

Guess I'm just a Criterion snob.

Sorry - meant "this track alone is worth the disc" and "f***ing Duke of Kent, which are priceless". My editing skills are rather lax today.

I posted this same question some time ago on the now-defunct CriterionDVD site, and can now offer my own opinions on some of these...

The Killer & Hard Boiled - The consensus on these titles was that the Criterion editions were better, but not SO much better as to make them worth their astronomical asking price. At best, mildly, marginally better. I have not bothered with either of them myself as I'm not a big Woo fan, but may get round to them at some point.

This Is Spinal Tap - I've seen the Criterion disc but own this one, and think it is superior. It contains most of the features from the Criterion disc and has a much funnier audio commentary (done by the cast in character).

The Silence Of The Lambs - I have the Criterion on this one but have seen the new version. I like some of the bonus materials on the new disc better than those on the Criterion, but I think the picture quality is better on the Criterion. As somebody else said, it's more faithful to how the film looked in the theaters.

The 400 Blows - I have the Fox Lorber version and it leaves much to be desired. I don't really want the entire Antoine Doinel boxed set and don't want to pay an insane price for the oop Criterion single-disc version. So at the moment I am hosed. Eventually I will probably break down and buy the boxed set because this is one of my favorite films.

Check out this thread about the New Meh Ah Hard Boiled, the consensus is that picture and sound are better that the criterion version. And it is a helluva a lot cheaper too.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...ht=hard+boiled

Re: Brazil CC

From the specs, I'd agree the Criterion is ages ahead of its vanilla counterpart. But I'm still hesitant to spend $50+ for a non-anamorphic, stereo 2.0 disc. In the age of re-releases, aren't these clear warning signs?

It would be...

...if Criterion ever double dipped.

Which I wish they would for some of their older non-anamorphic releases..

Well, while they certainly don't have a strong history or pattern of double-dipping... it has been known to happen.

Beauty & the Beast, 400 Blows, (and rumors of a new transfer/subtitle translation on Seven Samaurai).

Still, it's rare enough that I wouldn't avoid buying a fantastic set like Brazil in the hopes that it may be revisited. (And if you're waiting for 5.1 sound, it'll be a long wait... Criterion is pretty big on keeping the audio as it was originally presented.)