OldBoy

well, that would just be odd and not fit snuggly in the collection.

OldBoy

i'm pissed because i always want the "better edition"...it is a sickness like most here have. i can't help it, if there is something better out there i want it. if these were Fox they would be less than $20, some considerably so, but this is Criterion and thus $25-40 i would suspect. that is what i am pissed about and i think it is very understandable and justified.

tofferman

I sold my Seven Samurai (2nd pressing) last year in anticipation of this release, so that is great news. Could the other films that comprised the Kurosawa boxset be far behind? Should one wait in anticipation of a new Kurosawa boxset or get this individual releasein September?

Also, I still have the Brazil 3 disc set and will probably upgrade as well, but am not sure if I will sell my current set or simply keep it and purchase the movie only edition. decisions, decisions...

darkside

I sold three of my Kurosawa discs when Criterion hinted at the new releases coming. I'm thrilled about Seven Samurai and may pick up that single disc Brazil as well (though I would really like to wait and see if Criterion supports HD DVD or Blu-ray down the road). Great news for September.

Funny how so many bitched that Criterion was taking too long to release their DVDs again with anamorphic transfers and now people are mad for them doing it. You really are never forced to double dip and there are many, many DVDs I have stuck with the first version on and skipped the newer release.

LorenzoL

Double dipping on Seven Samurai and buying Brazil and Amarcord.

wergo

Well, I'm not mad at them for doing it, but they surely know their demographic; the very early-adopter types who surely are enthusiastic for HDTV. It was lovely of them to give plenty of warning that three of the worst-looking Kurosawa titles were gonna be upgraded (was there an announcement about 'Brazil'? if there was, I missed it.), I just can't help but think that they're gonna lose sales to potential customers with a tight budget who might hold off on buying this without assurance that there won't be another upgrade VERY soon and/or piss off customers who buy this only to find that they've only had time to play it once before having to buy it again.

Just a note saying that either no HD upgrade is planned over the next couple of years or else a warning that the different formates may well be coming out almost back-to-back. We're never FORCED to double-dip (quadruple-dip, actually - I still have my laserdisc boxes of 7S and 'Brazil') but we ARE forced to live with the edition we have if we don't

I'm very glad they did this; but they surely know that they're playing catch-up with a soon-to-be-obsolete NTSC edition.

Having said that; when are the anamorphic editons of 'Salo' and 'Alphaville' coming out?

The Void

I'm glad to hear of the new anmorphic Brazil release. I had never seen the movie, so I rented the current Criterion disc and loved it. The only reason I didn't buy the current Criterion DVD is because it's non-anamorphic. I figured it would be re-released eventually. I'm glad I waited!

zekeburger1979

I'll be buying the Seven Samurai set and the Brazil 3-disc set. My wallet is hurting for September already (also buying Blade Runner as well). Thankfully, I'm asking for the Star Wars DVD box set for Christmas.

Fade to Black

Just ordered these on amazon.ca so the prices are in CDN$:

Spirit of the Beehive $31.42
Jigoku $23.55
Brazil (1 Disc) $23.55
Seven Samurai (3 Disc) $39.80

chente

I hope Playtime is part of the Tati box that was hinted about a few months ago.

OldBoy

yeah...tough noogies.

basaro

Wow, 3-disc set for seven samurai,cool! I might just have to upgrade that sometime.

I'm undecided yet whether to sell my current brazil set and re-purchase the whole thing, or just upgrade to the single disc release for the new transfer. Hmmm, decisions, decisions.

Randy Miller III

I wonder if the 3-disc set of Brazil will use a new packaging style---I'd love to see a digipak case or three thinpaks in a slipcover. They'll probably stick with the old one, though, especially for the single-disc release.

gryffinmaster

From the artwork that was provided on the first page, it looks like they might be sticking with the old style, even though they changed both Amarcord and Seven Samurai for the new issues. I imagine Brazil will receive a Charade-like release.

They'd probably be able to pull off the completely new Brazil set in a new format (clear thinpacks are a great idea - good for those who don't have the set, but not quite tempting enough for those who've already got it), as long as that single disc 16x9 release can mold into the old set.

dman988

Well, it's not that I hate double dipping, it's just that I've watched the dvd a grand total of two times throughout the tenure of my ownership of it, and I can say I won't watch it for a while, despite me loving the film.
I just may buy the single disc - whatever. It must look great for me to double dip.
But like I said, the Seven Samurai looks astounding and I'll gladly double-dip for new special features and a better transfer. I don't think I've seen my Seven Samurai dvd more than once, but I don't mind.

The Spirit of Beehive sounds great - I am looking forward to it very much.

wendersfan

I've not been one of those begging and hoping for an anamorphic Brazil. To be honest, I couldn't give two shits about the re-releases of it or The Seven Samurai. Would it be too much for, I dunno, Sansho the Bailiff? Some Naruse? How about something new from Eastern Europe? Maybe a Kustarica? What about some Theo Angelopolous? Jesus, there's tons of great cinema out there being ignored, while we get - even more Kurosawa.

I'm so underwhelmed I can hardly muster the energy to type.

PopcornTreeCt

That's what I do. I sold my old Fritz Lang's M Criterion for more than I paid for the new one.

Uh, just replace the disc in the old one with the new one and ditch Criterion's new styled case.

Matthew Chmiel

Remastered and packed to the gills Seven Samurai?
Remastered and packed to the gills Amacord?
Remastered Brazil that's available in a single-disc for those of us who already own the boxset?

Criterion is going to make me poor come September.

bboisvert

Keep in mind that Criterion has to actually make some money too...

While it may be unfortunate, I suspect that the vast majority of people (even "film buffs") wouldn't have the slightest clue about anything that you just typed above.

But -- even being double-dips -- things like Brazil and 7S will sell quite well. I don't begrudge Criterion sprucing up some of their best-sellers that were originally in mediocre editions. And, honestly, the thought of a 3-disc 7S pretty much makes me cream my pants.

kms_md

while not exactly thrilled to be "upgrading" this title, these sentiments echo my own. i will spring for the single disc.

wendersfan

Well, they'd make more money from me if they'd release fewer DVDs of tired old classics from Fellini and Kurosawa, and more films by people whose work is hard to find. I saw Amarcord and Seven Samurai decades ago, in a cinema, I don't really feel the need to buy them on DVD.

Geist

As tempting as these are, I'm thinking that they are perfect titles to re-buy in Blu-Ray whenever Critierion dips it's toe in and I get a player.

slop101

Sure, from you, but your tastes run too esoteric even for Criterion to make any kind of money on - they make money on the Kurosawas, so they can in turn fund the more obscure titles you're into.

Patrick Mirza

Playtime is in with the September Criterions.

Randy Miller III

Others have chimed in with suggestions of non-anamorphic Criterions in need of an upgrade, and I'd love to see cleaner transfers for both The Killer and Hard Boiled.