I am thinking he means the artwork inside. So, now it won't show with the blue tint to it. Personally, I liked the original Criterion digipacks with the slipcovers.

I like the clear case. But it sort of looks like the case is a little thicker than a standard BD case. Hard to tell.

I think the new case looks perfectly fine; I just find it a little silly that it's what all the fuss/effort was about. The advantage of these over standard BD cases looks quite negligible to me, so I wish they'd put the time and expense toward content production, instead. Also, even though HD DVD is gone, BD still needs to differentiate itself from DVD on the shelf, so I think the standard blue cases serve an important and helpful purpose.

In the end, I'm just glad they've moved to something plastic and left the cardboard behind. I'll happily pay $5 each to order these cases and inserts for my Chungking Express and The Third Man discs. I hope they give us the option!

I don't mean that it shows more, but that being clear (or, as with most their standard DVD cases, black) allows the design and artwork speak for itself. The electric blue of a regular BR case detracts from Criterion's overall asthetic, as would the branding "hub" on the top, and forces designers to work around this color when creating a cover image. Most, if not all, other studios are content to just use the DVD or poster image no matter how much it might clash or ugly it appears, whereas Criterion has never made any illusions about being very presentation-focused. While this may or may not seem like an issue to you, it's fairly obvious why they've opted, twice now, to use different packaging than Sony's default.

Hooray! I can finally start buying Criterion BDs now. I refused to purchase the horrible cardboard junk. Hopefully they'll go back and offer this option for their releases to date, whether it's a specially-ordered case/cover art or a reissue.

So all the fuss about special cases was because they wanted a clear case instead of blue? Seems very silly especially since they went through the whole process of making the previous digi-packs with slip covers.

The blue could have easily been hidden by *gasp* a slip cover!

Personally, I like my Blu-rays to stand out a bit from my SDs. Maybe Criterion could have used cases with a slight blue tint to them perhaps. I don't mind having standard, clear cases that much, but I like the differentiation (is that even a word?).

i actually like the packaging on the last metro, currently my only criterion blu-ray (not for want of trying - I am still waiting for my copy of 400 blows to ship)

I'm looking forward to seeing the Seventh Seal. I hope they do a good job with it.

The member who posted the pics on blu-ray.com says the packaging is the same height as a standard BD case, but a little thicker. Sounds very close to a PS3 game case.

Yup. Any PS3-phobes who are unaware, PS3 games come in clear cases. Replacement cases should be easy to obtain.

I wish this weren't the case as the thinness is one of my favorite qualities of the standard BD cases, but at least I know Criterion will often use the space with a nice booklet.

I prefer the thinner case, but it's definitely not going to stop me from any purchases.

Well, those cases have a PlayStation 3 logo etched on them at the top. I don't know if that fits the Criterion aesthetic. It's not that noticeable though.

Or, are there "unofficial" replacements without the logo?

oh we're still on the cases? I was hoping for some new news or something.

We're still curious about the case of Benjamin Button.

From Criterion's Twitter page:

Late?

Pass.

Dreams could be pretty cool.

If it's "late", it's not Dodeskaden, so since it's color, it'd better be Kagemusha!

Yeah, not a lot of "great" Kurosawa color films. In fact, "RAN" is the only one I'd put in that category, with "KAGEMUSHA" a distant second.

I'm embarrassed for Kurosawa when watching "DREAMS" - eye candy, at best - and "DODES'KADEN" can only be described as well-intended failure with Kurosawa aping the insurgent Japanese New Wave directors in a decidedly non-revolutionary/old fart sorta way.

So yeah... "KAGEMUSHA" I guess. Perhaps even "MADADAYO", which only occasionally becomes mired in sentimental schmaltz.

I agree it's probably Kagemusha, but eye candy (Dreams) in hi-def wouldn't be all bad. I think some of the scenes/colors in Dreams are pretty stunning. Maybe I'm in the minority here.

In the new issue of Hi-Def Digest, they said the only reason that the Blu-ray cases are the same as their DVD cases, was because they wanted to fit the little booklets inside them still.

^ I thought they were cutting back on booklets and going the online route for printed supplements.

That is horrible if true