Criterion
 

Now that Toshiba is going to cease production of HD-DVD.

What's the timetable for Criterion to start releasing it's catalog of films on Blu-ray? (maybe by the end of 2008?)

Criterion releases are the only SD-DVD's I still purchase.

let me ask another (fun) question to the masses here:

what are your top five wish list titles

1) Playtime
2) The Last Emperor
3) Fanny and Alexander
4) The River
5) Black Orpheus

I would love the upcoming Ice Storm on BD so I don't have to buy the SD version. But I doubt that's possible for a March title.

I want every single Kurosawa title released as soon as possible, accepting that it's going to take Criterion awhile to ramp up on this. But yeah... the Kurosawa films should be first... IMO.

edit: did not mean that to sound like "get off your lazy asses, Criterion!". More like "when you are capable, make these a priority... please!"

I hope day and date with DVD happens, but I don't know. Might be more likely to see a just few of the biggest most popular titles first. Can Criterion sustain 3 types of products? Blu, DVD and their Eclipse line? Would we get Blu Eclipse movies unrestored?

But a big x2 on Playtime Blu Ray. Hell yeah!

If Criterion were to go Blu, I would think that the first titles that they would release would be-
Seven Samurai
Ran
Brazil
Playtime
Wes Anderson Films *Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums,The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Since Criterion has the rights to all the extras and I don't see Disney putting them on Blu anything soon at all I think that Critieron would put them out to make some extra $$$ and see how sales would do.*
The Seventh Seal
Thats about all I can think of that I would think Criterion would start off with if they were going to start making Blu Ray discs.

Quote from a Q & A on Criterion's site.

Will Criterion be releasing its catalog in Blu-Ray or HD DVD?

We know this is a concern for many of our customers, but we honestly don’t think consumers should have to take a stand in a format war. That said, we know how good our films can look in high definition because we’ve been doing all our mastering and restoration in HD for years. But the format war has as much to do with patent licenses and pressing plants as it does with putting gorgeous images on your screen. At this point, any solution that would let consumers upgrade with confidence would be a step in the right direction, and as soon as that solution emerges, we’ll be there.

Which would I buy? Too many Criterion titles to even list.

Here a question for you all:

Since Blu-Ray typically has 20-33% high list price than its DVD counterpart, would you still be willing to buy Criterion Blu-Ray's if they see the same kind of markups?

For instance, something like House Of games or Days Of Heaven has a $40 list and sells for $25-$30. Would you buy a Blu-Ray of it for more than that?

As a Canadian, I'd easily pay $40 CAD for a single title. Maybe $50 CAD... if it qualifies on my complete subjective "worth-it-o-meter".

Since Criterion prides itself on exclusive extras, I would imagine that they will take their time putting out titles on Blu-ray, so that they can develop new, interactive features previously impossible on DVD. they ought to be the one company that will push the envelope in doing truly innovative things with PiP, BD-live, and other interactive content.

I think my maximum price I would pay for a single disc would be $40 - (maybe) $50. At $50 blind buys would stop. And at either price point I would be very selective of titles I'd replace.

I used to assume Criterion meant quality. But then I was severely disappointed with their release of the Red Shoes which IMO left a lot to be desired in picture quality. Same with the release of Sid & Nancy which looked just as if the only thing they did was convert the laserdisc release over to DVD.

So , I dunoo... I really don't see them as that big a deal anymore. I'm more excited now if we get a remastered major studio release of a classic more than I am getting a Criterion release.

and now you have The Last Emperor where the OAR was compromised from it's 2.35:1 image cropped to 2.20 due to the demands of the director of photography and not Bertolucci himself... shame, shame, shame.... :mad:

Both of those releases were laserdisc ports, and both were released over eight years ago.

But I know what you are saying: I don't know if I can bear to sit through "There Will Be Blood" because that "Parallax View" DVD is kinda shitty.

I can give them a pass on RED SHOES and SID AND NANCY since those were early titles from 98/99 and definitely were LD transfers.

Sad about THE LAST EMPEROR. I hadn't heard that. At least it's not as far off as APOCALYPSE NOW is at 2:1

I'm not sure if you're trying to be snarky there but it really isn't the same thing.

Favorite Criterion titles? I don't know but Charade and The Third Man pop to mind. I may be waiting a long time on those, however.

Actually the image was cropped to 2.00:1....shame indeed.

Crazy, old cinematographers should be kept away from their films.

The Red Shoes is one of the first titles I'd buy barring it was a brand new HD transfer.

oops, that's right I was going with the alternate 70mm aspect ratio (2.20) and not the new cropped ratio number - anyway the new cropping still sucks

Thanks. Cancelling my pre-order.

Just give me Contempt.

As much as I want to upgrade a lot of Criterions I have no doubt their pricing will prevent that. I will upgrade the ones I really love like Third Man and Seven Samurai first and work on the others as I get the money.

I suppose people with any shred of taste can concern themselves with high-definition DVD now. ;)

Mostly kidding, of course, but it's nice to see a thread without all the childish "format warrior" prattle!