re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

The November sale is going to be mighty expensive for me.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

The Vanishing is one of my favorite Criterions, so I'm very excited about that upgrade. I've only seen La Dolce Vita once, at least I think so, is that the one where I watched it at work, so I didn't get the best viewing experience of it, I'll probably end up picking it up, but I need to get 8 1/2 first.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

That cover for The Vanishing is great.

Really great month, but I'll have to give my old dvds of The Vanishing and F for Fake a spin sometime soon to see if I want to upgrade. The Vanishing had to have been one of the first 3 or 4 Criterions I ever bought and I probably haven't watched it in 9 or 10 years. F for Fake is a one of a kind marvel, but it's not the kind of thing you just throw in on a lazy Friday night at home. Oh, who am I kidding. It's Welles. Of course I'll upgrade. Some day.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

La Dolce Vita!

:swoon:

I'm a little confused as to whether Playtime in the Tati box is actually a new transfer, or whether Criterion considers the existing Blu-ray transfer to be the "digital restoration."

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I'm pretty sure Playtime will be the new 4k restoration.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Does anyone have any idea if Criterion will be re-releasing Blu-Ray only versions of the titles that were issued as dual-releases?

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Doubt it.

Dunno why they would do that considering the reason for the dual format. It'd be stupid of them to do that.

I'd prefer no DVD with my BD. But the price is the same for us BD people, so whatever.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Actually, they just announced that they are releasing Foreign Correspondent in separate BD and DVD versions, so it's likely they'll do that with more of their dual format editions in the future.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I'm not saying it's not goofy, but part of my justification for upgrading to Blus of movies I already own on DVD is that the cases are smaller and take up less room. The dual-releases take away that excuse :o)

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I'm sure that just like with old digipaks being converted to keep cases, whenever Criterion goes back to print on the dual-formats, they will do separate BD and DVD. Like DaveyJoe said, they've already started with Foreign Correspondent.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I did not know that.

What was their reasoning for that?

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Huh? My copy of Rififi is dual-format, and it comes in the same size case as the Criterions that are Blu-ray only. Are there dual-format releases that have bigger packaging? Box sets maybe?

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

:shrug: must be.

I think it was a case of Criterion giving in to the vocal minority. If anything, they should just dump DVD at this point entirely. People can buy Blu-ray players for under $100 now.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Yeah I think it's an issue with the digipacks, some of them have been pretty thick, especially those that contains books as well.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

A small number of releases could have been released in standard cases instead of the thicker digipacks if they had dropped the dvds. Releases with thicker books would still need digipacks.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

It's not the books as much as it is needing two DVDs (one for the extras) instead of just one (a single blu disc is enough for everything), so you have three discs which necessitates a digipack over the regular clamshells which can have two hubs for two discs, but not three.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Yeah, I'm just saying some of the digipacks are real monsters, like Red River.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Well, yeah, that and Picnic at Hanging Rock have actual novels inside them.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Yeah.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

here's more details of the Tati box:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uplo...1405490977.jpg

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uplo...1405490991.jpg

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uplo...1405491004.jpg

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/uplo...1405491016.jpg

THE COMPLETE JACQUES TATI - Blu–ray & DVD Editions
Though he made only a handful of films, director, writer, and actor Jacques Tati ranks among the most beloved of all cinematic geniuses. With a background in music hall and mime performance, Tati steadily built an ever more ambitious movie career that ultimately raised sight-gag comedy to the level of high art. In the surrogate character of the sweet and bumbling, eternally umbrella-toting and pipe-smoking Monsieur Hulot, Tati invented a charming symbol of humanity lost in a constantly modernizing modern age. This set gathers his six hilarious features—Jour de fête, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Mon oncle, PlayTime, Trafic, and Parade—along with seven delightful Tati-related short films.

JOUR DE FÊTE
In his enchanting debut feature, Jacques Tati stars as a fussbudget of a postman who is thrown for a loop when a traveling fair comes to his village. Even in this early work, Tati was brilliantly toying with the devices (silent visual gags, minimal yet deftly deployed sound effects) and exploring the theme (the absurdity of our increasing reliance on technology) that would define his cinema. Here, Jour de fête is presented in three versions: the original 1949 black-and-white release, a 1964 version featuring hand-painted color sequences and newly incorporated footage, and the full-color 1994 rerelease, which finally realized Tati’s original vision for the film.

1949 • 86 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio

MONSIEUR HULOT’S HOLIDAY
Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tati’s endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort, where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tati’s masterpiece of gentle slapstick is a series of effortlessly well-choreographed sight gags involving dogs, boats, and firecrackers; it was the first entry in the Hulot series and the film that launched its maker to international stardom. We are presenting Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday in the 1978 rerelease version, reedited by Tati himself, along with the original 1953 theatrical version.

1953 • 88 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio

MON ONCLE
Slapstick prevails again when Jacques Tati’s eccentric, old-fashioned hero, Monsieur Hulot, is set loose in Villa Arpel, the geometric, oppressively ultramodern home of his brother-in-law, and in the antiseptic plastic hose factory where he gets a job. The second Hulot movie and Tati’s first color film, Mon oncle is a supremely amusing satire of mechanized living and consumer society that earned the director the Academy Award for best foreign-language film. This edition features both the original French release and My Uncle, the version Tati created for English-speaking audiences.

1958 • 116 minutes • Color • Monaural• In French with English subtitles • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

PLAYTIME
Jacques Tati’s gloriously choreographed, nearly wordless comedies about confusion in an age of high technology reached their apotheosis with PlayTime. For this monumental achievement, a nearly three-year-long, bank-breaking production, Tati again thrust the loveably old-fashioned Monsieur Hulot, along with a host of other lost souls, into a bafflingly modern world, this time Paris. With every inch of its superwide frame crammed with hilarity and inventiveness, PlayTime is a lasting testament to a modern era tiptoeing on the edge of oblivion.

1967 • 124 minutes • Color • 5.1 surround • In French with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

TRAFIC
In Jacques Tati’s Trafic, the bumbling Monsieur Hulot, kitted out as always with tan raincoat, beaten brown hat, and umbrella, takes to Paris’s highways and byways. In this, his final outing, Hulot is employed as an auto company’s director of design, and accompanies his new product (a camper outfitted with absurd gadgetry) to an auto show in Amsterdam. Naturally, the road there is paved with modern-age mishaps. This late-career delight is a masterful demonstration of the comic genius’s expert timing and sidesplitting knack for visual gags, and a bemused last look at technology run amok.

1971 • 97 minutes • Color • Monaural• In French with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio

PARADE
For his final film, Jacques Tati takes his camera to the circus, where the director himself serves as master of ceremonies. Though it features many spectacles, including clowns, jugglers, acrobats, contortionists, and more, Parade also focuses on the spectators, making this stripped-down work a testament to the communion between audience and entertainment. Made for Swedish television (with Ingmar Bergman’s legendary director of photography Gunnar Fischer serving as one of its cinematographers), Parade is a touching career send-off that recalls its maker’s origins as a mime and theater performer.

1974 • 89 minutes • Color • Monaural • In French with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio

TATI SHORTS
Jacques Tati’s career, which stretched from the mid-thirties to the late seventies, encompasses more than just the six features for which he’s best known. The charming short films he wrote or directed are essential parts of his filmography as well. Collected here, they include three wacky 1930s comedies he wrote and starred in—On demande une brute (1934), Gai dimanche (1935), Soigne ton gauche (1936)—and the two later films he directed and starred in: L’école des facteurs (1946), which introduces the postman character reprised in Jour de fête, and Cours du soir (1967), made during the filming of PlayTime. We’re also pleased to present Forza Bastia (1978), a soccer documentary begun by Tati and completed by his daughter Sophie Tatischeff after his death, and Dégustation maison (1978), Tatischeff’s César-winning short, shot in the town from Jour de fête.

SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTOR’S SET FEATURES
• New digital restorations of all six feature films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-rays of Jour de fête, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Mon oncle, Trafic, and Parade and uncompressed stereo soundtrack on the Blu-ray of PlayTime
• New digital restorations of all seven short films
• Two alternate versions of Jour de fête, a partly colorized 1964 version and the full-color 1994 rerelease version
• Original 1953 theatrical release version of Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday
• My Uncle, the version of Mon oncle that director Jacques Tati created for English-language audiences
• Introductions by actor and comedian Terry Jones to Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Mon oncle, and PlayTime
• Archival interviews with Tati
• In the Footsteps of Monsieur Hulot, a 1989 documentary about Tati’s beloved alter ego
• Five visual essays by Tati expert Stéphane Goudet
• New interview with film scholar Michel Chion on the sound design of Tati’s films
• “Jour de fête”: In Search of the Lost Color, a 1988 documentary on the process of realizing Tati’s original color vision for that film
• Once Upon a Time . . . “Mon oncle,” a 2008 documentary about the making of that film
• Everything Is Beautiful, a 2005 piece on the fashion, furniture, and architecture of Mon oncle
• Selected-scene commentaries on PlayTime by Goudet, theater director Jérôme Deschamps, and critic Philip Kemp
• Tativille, a documentary shot on the set of PlayTime
• Beyond “PlayTime,” a short 2002 documentary featuring on-set footage
• An Homage to Jacques Tati, a 1982 French TV program featuring Tati friend and set designer Jacques Lagrange
• Audio interview with Tati from the U.S. premiere of PlayTime at the 1972 San Francisco International Film Festival
• Interview with PlayTime script supervisor Sylvette Baudrot from 2006
• Tati Story, a short biographical film from 2002
• Professor Goudet’s Lessons, a 2013 classroom lecture by Goudet on Tati’s films
• Alternate English-language soundtracks for Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday and PlayTime
• New English subtitle translations
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critics David Cairns, James Quandt, Jonathan Rosenbaum, and Kristin Ross

TITLE: THE COMPLETE JACQUES TATI (7-BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2401BD
UPC: 7-15515-12831-5
ISBN: 978-1-60465-904-7
SRP: $124.95
PREBOOK: 9/30/14
STREET: 10/28/14

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Funny we're talking about Criterion's packaging. I just got my Barnes and Noble order, and out of five titles, four were damaged so that the discs don't sit securely in the hubs.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

That sucks. Usually you should be OK if you place an order for 4 or 5 titles at a time. Big reason I'm glad they are going back to single format (and more hard case) releases, otherwise I wouldn't care less.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

You're in LA dude, I'm sure you have a B&N that sells Criterions. I'm in OC and there's one right by my work and they're very well stocked and every package is pristine.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Finally, a Tati box set! If you haven't given his films a shot yet, do yourselves a favor when this comes out. Timeless work!

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

So when is Foreign Correspondent being re-released as a Blu-ray only edition? I just bought it and am wondering if maybe I shouldn't return it.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

October 7th.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

In for Ford and Fellini.

Man I tried HARD to get into Tati's stuff. I really wanted to get something out of Playtime and M Hulot's Holiday. But the tediousness of bth films was overwhelming. I found myself zoning out every few minutes.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Collectors did threaten to boycott them over the dual-case millimeter issue. I recall seeing a few boycott threads in the comments section on Criterion's site. IMO, that's the most pathetic reason to boycott a video company. I haven't seen anyone threaten to boycott major studio BD's for their unstable recycled cases, but I suppose those don't impose upon anyone's precious millimeters.
"We soon found that we had to start releasing stand-alone DVD editions alongside the dual-format ones because a fairly large proportion of our audience has not made the leap to Blu-ray yet."

People can also buy shelves that can fit cases of varying millimeters.

To quote Brian of Nazareth: "There's no pleasing some people."

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

As someone who has never seen them, but is seriously considering a purchase at some point- what was it specifically about the material that didn't click with you?
My resistance up till now to even looking into his work is my antipathy towards most slapstick. Unless it's up to Buster Keaton level (which it sounds like Tati might be).

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

IMO Playtime is a masterpiece (the choreography, use of sound, direction & cinematography are top notch) and his other films are ok.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

The Hulot films are pretty unique for slapstick. Most of the comedy comes from the world that Tati creates and his ability to get laughs from some of the most mundane situations. I think one reason why people have difficulty with Tati, and specifically the Hulot films, is that he forsakes the traditional narrative and instead uses vignettes within the world he created for the film. He's a great director and I would put him in the same category as Buster Keaton. He's not as great of a performer as Keaton but then the character is not the focus of the comedy.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I only like Playtime but that is some film.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

That's fucked. Those "fans" need to get over themselves.

again, what horse shit. Anyone still clinging to DVD deserves to get left in the dust. It's 20-fucking-14. Blu-ray had been in the market for eight years, and players have dropped to 10% of the original cost. What more do these luddites need? Fuck 'em.

EXACTLY. Criterion should have stuck to their guns, but the flip flopping just shows how weak they are.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

If you've left dvd behind, then why do you even care if there are separate releases? It sounds like you'd welcome a blu-ray package free of an extra disc on an out dated format. It's not like blu-ray are going away because of this. Also, I'd bet anything that it was the library/school segment of Criterion's customer base that was most vocal about this. I don't think this is about Joe Blow down the street freaking out about an extra disc they can't play.


Criterion is a business and answers only to the bottom line. If they've decided that it makes more financial sense to go back to separate releases, then so be it. It's not like they're ambassadors of blu-ray fighting the righteous fight.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I don't really, but the excuses people make for refusing to move on are just ridiculous at this point. My in-laws are the same way. What I care about is that Criterion tried something, got complaints, tried something else, got more complaints, and just gave up and went back to separate releases entirely, which is a shame, because it's a poor business model, in my humble opinion.

You're right on both counts, but I don't care that much if they include a DVD or not. Yes, I personally prefer a Blu-ray only release, but honestly, the dual-format solution didn't stop me from buying titles, and it would have been their best move based on what they were trying to accomplish (pleasing everyone while maintaining their margins). They should have stuck to it, despite the complaints.

I'd like to see proof of this before thinking this was the case. I'm not saying you're wrong, but I don't think there are a high number of schools or libraries that really care about this content, and further, would have been overly vocal about it. I would love for Criterion to further explain their "a fairly large proportion of our audience has not made the leap to Blu-ray yet." statement, because they aren't saying if this meant actual lost sales, or just empty complains. Hell, I complained about the early packaging issues (cheap cardboard), but I still bought the damn titles I wanted.

I agree. I think Joe Blow down the street couldn't care less. If he sees one package available, that's what he'll buy.

Yeah, you're right. It just feels like they don't even know what their own business plan is any more, because they can't stick to a single structure for long enough. I think they let the empty complaints get to them. Sure, they probably saw a decrease in sales, but that doesn't mean it was tied directly to people refusing to buy the dual-format releases because there was a filthy Blu-ray in there. If anything, I'd just like to see more information on how and why Criterion made the decisions they made, because I don't think it's in their (OR their consumers') best interest to continue to pump out separate DVD and Blu-ray packages.

Criterion also cater to a very niche market, I'm sure they want to make sure that they don't possibly leave anyone out.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

Yeah. They should have just stayed dual format. How many CC fans still get the DVDs as their prime source. For any released film since they went BD... getting a current CC DVD is pointless. Fuck those people. BD ain't expensive anymore. New releases sure but the rest not so much.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

I personally am glad that they've gone back to separate releases. As many have stated, most of us have no need for the DVD and it just sits there, taking up space. For a one-disc release, it's not a huge deal. But then you look at stuff like Zatoichi that went from a 9 blu-ray set to a 27 disc dual format behemoth. The Tati set would have been about the same size as well if they were still doing dual-format.

re: The Criterion Collection 4K/Blu-ray Discussion and Release Thread
 

As far as schools/libraries not caring, I'd have to disagree with you. This is hardly proof of anything, but I did a quick google search and here are a handful of schools with dedicated Criterion pages on their library catalog sites. These were all page 1 hits.

http://libraries.unl.edu/Criterion

http://www.library.txstate.edu/news-...n-Exhibit.html

http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/media/lists/criterion.php

http://guides.lib.washington.edu/con...81&sid=2106113

Here's another page 1 hit. It's a press release from Alexander Street Press (a distributor of digital content to libraries) announcing that they had secured the rights to provide Criterion titles to libraries via streaming.

http://alexanderstreet.com/press-roo...014-03-27/1341

Again, this is not proof of anything, but I'd bet that outside of classic/foreign film nerds, academic institutions and libraries are the only people buying these releases.

I'd agree that Criterion thought it was in their best interest to release films dual-format, but that obviously isn't the case. Otherwise they would not have abandoned the practice. And I certainly don't believe that they would make this change purely on the basis of a few internet complainers. People bitch on the internet all the time. Furthermore, the kind of person who cares enough to bitch on the internet is more than likely going to buy the releases anyways because ultimately what they care most about is the films themselves.