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-   -   Criterion releases on Blu-Rays (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/hd-talk/531071-criterion-releases-blu-rays.html)

macnorton 05-08-08 09:00 AM


Originally Posted by splattii2
Eye Candy is the least of my worries. I actually don't own a single BD disc even though I've had a ps3 for a year. I don't own a game either, so it's really just a box taking up space (I got it for free). I'm waiting for someone to release a movie worth owning, and I'll jump in. The majority of titles being released in North America on BD are terrible, and I don't need to see enhanced fodder. lol. Criterion will at least give me a chance to buy something worth owning. In terms of SD DVD, I've purchased Criterion for the transfers, as often (at least to me) the picture seemed superior to other offering of the same film (like La Haine or Man Bites Dog for example) from other companies. When or if they release 'La Haine' on BD for example, I'm not sure it'll be a vast improvement over the current HD release. When I purchased Man Bites Dog on Criterion SD, I already owned the other SD DVD and I knew I was "upgrading". Anyhow, if they are the same price as other BD titles, then it's not an issue I guess.

Not to sound rude, but man your collection must be tiny after reading that statement.

Anyways, awesome news. Enhanced versions of Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill please!

splattii2 05-08-08 09:03 AM


Originally Posted by Adam Tyner
Try importing The Seventh Seal on BD from the UK -- when I picked it up, it was only $27 or so shipped from amazon.co.uk -- and that should silence any concerns you have about how spectacular classic films can look in high definition.

I'm not sure if this was directord towards me, but I never suggested classic films wouldn't look good in HD. Using the The Seventh Seal example, my questions is will the Criterion BD of "Seventh Seal" be that much superior to the currrent UK BD release?

splattii2 05-08-08 09:09 AM


Originally Posted by macnorton
Not to sound rude, but man your collection must be tiny after reading that statement.

Anyways, awesome news. Enhanced versions of Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill please!

Yes, my BD collection = 0. My HD = La Haine, Blade Runner & Tideland. For SD over 500 Non R-1 and/or PAL DVD's. I'm an arthouse/indy/international fan. I attend many film festivals. In the last 4 years I attended 102 films at the Toronto Film Fest alone...lol Anyhow, I don't want to get off topic. I'm all for Criterion, I've just always considered them a premium product, and I question if this will continue in BD. That's all.

tsetse27 05-08-08 09:09 AM

Indeed great news! (looks like I will try to sale my still sealed copy of Third Man and Contemp.)

Next question...

What kind of packaging design it will be? I assume they will still include those thick booklet which means there will be outer sleeve...

Adam Tyner 05-08-08 09:11 AM


Originally Posted by splattii2
I'm not sure if this was directord towards me, but I never suggested classic films wouldn't look good in HD.

I misread your earlier post, seeing one of your "HD"s as "SD" and thinking you were saying that classic films wouldn't look much better in high definition than they do on DVD. Completely my mistake.

Neil M. 05-08-08 09:35 AM

I wonder how this will affect their SD sales. I know that I might hold back on some of the older titles I wanted in hopes that they'll release it on blu-ray instead. So they're potentially losing current purchases from me. But I'm glad they're keeping the same pricing.

rehmus 05-08-08 09:37 AM

i could see maybe buying the new titles, but isn't it a little excessive to upgrade something like The Last Emperor if you bought it recently? I mean the difference has got to be quite small.

On the flipside... I hope everyone starts selling off their SD Criterions in the trade forum for cheap! I could live with that!

Giles 05-08-08 09:52 AM


Originally Posted by rehmus
i could see maybe buying the new titles, but isn't it a little excessive to upgrade something like The Last Emperor if you bought it recently? I mean the difference has got to be quite small.

On the flipside... I hope everyone starts selling off their SD Criterions in the trade forum for cheap! I could live with that!

I don't know, Widescreen Review didn't really care for Criterion's transfer of 'The Last Emperor' in standard def, but of course those reviewers are really anal and persnickety. I'm gonna cave in and just sell off the current version for the bluray edition - try to get back most of the 50 bucks I purchased this for.

orangecrush 05-08-08 10:15 AM


Originally Posted by rehmus
i could see maybe buying the new titles, but isn't it a little excessive to upgrade something like The Last Emperor if you bought it recently? I mean the difference has got to be quite small.

On the flipside... I hope everyone starts selling off their SD Criterions in the trade forum for cheap! I could live with that!

If you have a large display, the difference will be very significant.

CSM126 05-08-08 10:23 AM


Originally Posted by rehmus
i could see maybe buying the new titles, but isn't it a little excessive to upgrade something like The Last Emperor if you bought it recently? I mean the difference has got to be quite small.

Actually, the difference may well be vast. Due to it's length, The Last Emperor was pretty heavily compressed to fit on DVD (especially the extended cut), resulting in digital noise issues (the skies looking like their full of mosquitoes due to the pixelation/noise, for instance). The increased space on a BR disc means less compression is necessary, meaning less compression artifacts. Not to mention BR can handle a wider range of colors and shades, and with a film as colorful as Last Emperor is, that's huge. I imagine it will look quite fantastic in HD.

macnorton 05-08-08 10:56 AM


Originally Posted by splattii2
Yes, my BD collection = 0. My HD = La Haine, Blade Runner & Tideland. For SD over 500 Non R-1 and/or PAL DVD's. I'm an arthouse/indy/international fan. I attend many film festivals. In the last 4 years I attended 102 films at the Toronto Film Fest alone...lol Anyhow, I don't want to get off topic. I'm all for Criterion, I've just always considered them a premium product, and I question if this will continue in BD. That's all.

That is a valid and fair statement...for the record I was not trying to attack you (just a CYA). Hopefully Criterion can satisfy your needs down the line.

bookcase3 05-08-08 10:57 AM


Originally Posted by CSM126
Actually, the difference may well be vast. Due to it's length, The Last Emperor was pretty heavily compressed to fit on DVD (especially the extended cut), resulting in digital noise issues (the skies looking like their full of mosquitoes due to the pixelation/noise, for instance). The increased space on a BR disc means less compression is necessary, meaning less compression artifacts. Not to mention BR can handle a wider range of colors and shades, and with a film as colorful as Last Emperor is, that's huge. I imagine it will look quite fantastic in HD.

As one who bought The Last Emperor CC, I'll wait to see how "vast" that difference will be. I knew I should have waited!

macnorton 05-08-08 10:59 AM


Originally Posted by Neil M.
I wonder how this will affect their SD sales. I know that I might hold back on some of the older titles I wanted in hopes that they'll release it on blu-ray instead. So they're potentially losing current purchases from me. But I'm glad they're keeping the same pricing.

I have a rule (and this may work for you too), if it is available on SD DVD only grab it. If there is a Blu release coming or at the same time, go for the Blu. No player yet (I am waiting for that new BDP50 from Panasonic), but I can let my collection grow...did the same thing with DVD back in the day. And as long as their are reviews to quality, I won't buy anything that doesn't met the high marks.

JackBurton 05-08-08 11:25 AM

This is great news! I'm not sure how many of my current titles I would upgrade, but The Third Man and The 400 Blows will be very tempting.

Neil M. 05-08-08 01:30 PM


I have a rule (and this may work for you too), if it is available on SD DVD only grab it. If there is a Blu release coming or at the same time, go for the Blu. No player yet (I am waiting for that new BDP50 from Panasonic), but I can let my collection grow...did the same thing with DVD back in the day. And as long as their are reviews to quality, I won't buy anything that doesn't met the high marks.
I could go that route but I tend to buy a lot of Criterions at one time and I may not end up watching them for several months. That's one of the reasons why I don't buy many of the earlier releases at one time. It seems whenever I do so, they announce a new upgrade. It's nice that they announced the 13 blu-ray titles. Again, I don't know how I'm going to proceed in terms of buying Criterions. Part of me says just go ahead and upgrade when the time comes. But then another part says to just wait. An example would be High and Low. I have no doubt this will be coming to blu-ray in the future. I already have the first release which I want to upgrade. But I don't want to get in the habit of triple-dipping Criterions. I'm so torn right now but am very glad to have this problem. I guess it's going to come down to how many they release each month. I really hope that Criterion doesn't get in the habit of releasing something on SD and then bringing out the blu-ray a year later.

GoldenJCJ 05-08-08 04:43 PM

Great new!

I've been meaning to pick up Gimme Shelter, For All Mankind, and The Wages of Fear for the longest time. I'm glad my procrastination finally paid off.

I'll also definitely pick up Bottle Rocket and possibly Monterey Pop. I just bought the re-release of The Third Man so I might skip it depending on the reviews.

GoldenJCJ 05-08-08 04:47 PM


Originally Posted by aeron
Where's Armageddon? :-)

I know people laugh at this title but if Criterion still owned the rights, it would certainly be a wise move to release it in Blu. There are a lot of people that would eat up a HD version of Armageddon and help give Criterion a big push into the HD world.

bunkaroo 05-08-08 05:05 PM


Originally Posted by GoldenJCJ
I know people laugh at this title but if Criterion still owned the rights, it would certainly be a wise move to release it in Blu. There are a lot of people that would eat up a HD version of Armageddon and help give Criterion a big push into the HD world.

I have no shame in saying I would happily by a Criterion Blu-Ray of this. Frankly I'm surprised BV hasn't done their own Blu-Ray or even Special Edition of this yet.

Drexl 05-08-08 05:28 PM

I'm pretty sure someone posted an excerpt from an interview where Michael Bay said that Armageddon needed some serious work and a new master, something about damage in a fire. It would probably need a new master anyway if the last one was done when the film was new.

In any case, I'd think Disney would release it like they did with The Rock.

DonTHX1378 05-08-08 06:22 PM

It will be interesting to see how good The Third Man looks on Blu. I have the HD Casablanca and it doesn't really look any better than the SD version. Digtial Bits has a really good piece they posted today about older films and the transfers for Blu. I know that when Seven Samurai came on kungfuHD, it looked amazing, but you could cleary see most of the film grain that was present in the film. Not that it's a problem, I think that grain adds something to the look and feel of a film. But I can see some people having a problem with it just like the bits have posted.

fausti 05-08-08 06:30 PM

The Third Man
Bottle Rocket
Chungking Express
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Last Emperor
Walkabout

Those titles I will definitely purchase.

Criterion, please also release Kwaidan (the uncut version), Mishima, RAN, and all of Michael Powell's films on BD. I would be one super, super happy camper.

DVD Guy ATL 05-08-08 06:42 PM


Originally Posted by Adam Tyner
Try importing The Seventh Seal on BD from the UK -- when I picked it up, it was only $27 or so shipped from amazon.co.uk -- and that should silence any concerns you have about how spectacular classic films can look in high definition.

It's about $46 now, after VAT is removed and shipping added. Anyone know of an alternative source for this one? (Sorry to veer off topic.)

PopcornTreeCt 05-08-08 06:56 PM


Originally Posted by chris_sc77
I dont give one shit about Blu-ray but I am very thrilled about OCtober Criterion DVD's (Walkabout, Chunking Express, Bottle Rocket). This is officially the best year Criterion has given us.
I will continue to support Criterion until they start releasing new releases on Blu-ray with exclusive content.

So, you're gonna buy Criterion DVDs that have inferior picture and audio quality than their Blu-ray counterparts that cost exactly the same?

:)

HumanMedia 05-08-08 07:20 PM


Originally Posted by naitram
Third Man will be epic.

I wonder what their release schedule will be like for these... 3-4 a month?


Thats their current release pattern, so I assume it will be the same for BD. I wonder which titles will be release in which months?

bunkaroo 05-08-08 07:35 PM


Originally Posted by DVD Guy ATL
It's about $46 now, after VAT is removed and shipping added. Anyone know of an alternative source for this one? (Sorry to veer off topic.)

XploitedCinema has it in stock for $46. They're domestic so you get it quick. Great customer service.


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