+1 for standardized packaging.

Stranger things have happened in this biz.

Maybe they can re-release the current BDs with a new numbering system so Blu-ray feels like its being treated like a format to replace DVD and not an extension. That would be nice.

I don't get this. Is it an OCD thing, or is it something else?

I have several Blu-ray Discs that are in "non-standard" packaging that aren't Criterion. I'm on the side that thinks standardization is boring.

No, no, very bad idea. I'm very happy the way Criterion has treated the spine numbers with Blu-rays.

I think had the studios treated Blu-ray as a special format with say, special cover art that does not suck, and perhaps always including the theatrical version with director's cuts or unrated cuts (Where the fuck is my theatrical version of Donnie Brasco?)... then maybe Criterion would follow suit. But as it stands, Blu-ray is really just an upgrade PQ and AQ. Nothing more, sometimes less.

I wish they'd kept the spine numbers consistent with the laserdiscs. 'Man Who Fell To Earth', for instance, should be the same catalog number on all three formats. I gotta agree with Gizmo; they treated DVD as an entirely new set of releases than laserdisc, why aren't they doing the same with BR?

I just want to point this out out, but I called that they would probably be switching packaging a month or two ago. They probably heard the complaints and decided to make the change.

For those that have both - are Blu-ray and DVD "booklets" the same size? If so - could'nt they just have used normal BD cases + slip covers from the start? My Name is Bruce comes with a 36 page comic and it fits inside a normal BD case just fine. Unless they are recycling the same booklets from the DVD to BD it should have been normal from the get-go.

I think they will release them in the new plastic but put slip cases over them, so that they match the look and feel of the previous releases, they will probably offer a trade-in service as well

I sure hope so. As much as I love the Blu Ray release of The Third Man the packaging just looks and feels cheap.

I also hope the new packaging shows up for Ran, but who knows if that will happen?

....and while they're at it, how about a trade-in service for the old DVDs?

I'd pony up a couple bucks to upgrade to Blu, but considering a) what I paid for the DVD, and; b) the price they are asking for the upgrade, I'm in no hurry to start replacing my Criterions.

Did they ever go through with that trade-in service?

Because DVD and Blu-ray are nearly the same thing while LaserDisc has pretty much nothing in common with DVD.

Nope. The BR booklet is about an inch shorter. Which is a real shame 'cause it would have been nice to have been able to just move the old (complete) DVD booklets into the new BR case. You CAN put it in the sleeve, but it'll stick out of the top in a pretty ugly fashion.

All 3 are discs and all 3 were suppose to be the next big 'thing' to replace the previous.

And only one of them succeeded. I think Criterion put things into perspective when considering DVD vs. Blu-ray.

I wouldn't hardly call Laserdisc a failure when it continued to produce both players and discs for well over a decade with full studio support for a good chunk of its lifetime. DVD was clearly the next step and new spine numbers for existing, already produced LDs were made for DVD. The same was not done for Blu-ray. Surprised this question has not been asked to Criterion - or if they chose to ignore it.

I emailed Jon Mulvaney about the spine numbering in December, here's what he had to say:

So they're not going to take advantage of the extra capabilities of Blu-ray. And that's on top of the Blu-ray editions having worse packaging and less physical features than their DVD counterparts. How far the mighty have fallen.

Isn't the main thing getting the movie in HD though? Maybe they don't want to shaft the DVD customers by withholding extras. PiP seems kind of tacky for Criterion.

If they really wanted the BDs to blend in, they should have gone all the way and used DVD-sized packaging. Not that I'm suggesting they should have done that; I would have been in favor of new spine numbers.

I thought it would have been really nice if Criterion had a BD-Live network, so you'd be able to get other commentaries from historians, restorationists, etc.


I didn't get a reply to that email.

But now after this Ran stuff and the BD not having the whole package, I think....fine. You can use your BD-Live network to fix your mistakes, just like every other studio, and stream the content. Sheesh. So much for Criterion BDs being the top tier product I expected them to be. They still didn't respond to my query about The Third Man's extra features being non anamorphic. Then again, we're in the first year, so they can only improve.

re: "this Ran stuff"

they lost the rights to the 1 extra not being included on the BD.

Sorry, I missed this. What is the extra not appearing on the Blu-ray of RAN?

Its apparently 2 extras if the information is correct (2 pages back).
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/9288500-post679.html

Shame though for those that want to get rid of the DVD and replace it with the Blu-ray...which is now not possible unless they don't care about extras or make a copy to toss inside the already odd-looking Blu-ray case.