Known as the Friedkin Effect, or the Mann Mess.

Or the Lucas Larceny.

The Crass Coppola Cut.

[hugs his original WKW blu-ray releases]

I don’t care what version is what, this set is going to be amazing and brand new to me in every way and really looking forward to it.

All right, who cares about all that Criterion-fanboy jazz. Where the hell is Streetwise?!

From CriterionForum:
I saw some of those titles getting new releases directly from Paramount. It may be that Paramount is done licensing for a bit and investing in their own releases.

Is no one getting this Wong Kar set bc of these color changes?

I’ll get it in the summer during the 50% off sale.

I’m holding out to read the reviews before I even think about getting it.

I thought it was no brainer with that array of films. When doesn’t Criterion get high marks in everything?

I already have the blu-rays of the movies in the set that I like. So even without the changes, I'd be skipping this release.

If you want a laugh, head on over to the BR.com CC forum and read about people losing sleep and have panic attacks over the OOP titles. Spending a bunch of money trying to find remaining copies of films they've never seen. Jesus christ...

I think this just about covers it. No need to be specific.

I have most everything on that list, but Paramount pulling licenses like this is a little concerning. I know the new regime there suddenly seems recommitted to physical media (if you want a laugh, take a look at the new Days of Heaven artwork), but I can't believe it will last. It never does, does it? Hopefully they don't just start hoarding stuff and relegating it to streaming hell. Losing Fox was bad enough.

Yea, the Paramount cover of Days of Heaven is bad. If the just simply removed the 2 characters and left the house, it would look much better.

I wonder if Paramount has any plans of releasing these Criterion OOP titles in 4K, because most people who really wanted these titles probably already bought the Criterion - which leaves less people who'll buy the Paramount release.
Release them in 4K and that would give a chunk of them a reason to buy.

Off the top of my head:

The Last Emperor - Aspect ratio cropped to 2.0:1 by the cinematographer
Children of Paradise - Smeary, DNR'd "restoration" licensed from the current rights holders
The Earrings of Madame de... - Same^

Their compression is no great shakes, they'll sometimes settle for licensor-supplied masters that aren't up to snuff, and extras seem a good bit more sparse than they once were (and this was true even before the pandemic). I appreciate what Criterion does, and they certainly have a powerful brand, a great deal of clout, and a frequently impressive release slate, but they don't exactly lead the pack anymore.

I'll get it but I'm going to wait for the next half off sale.

The flippers have Rosemary's Baby on eBay for $200.

Didn't Criterion also use the Michael Mann revisionist look to Thief?

I happen to have all those Paramount releases already. I think I just got Medium Cool at one of the recent sales.

Yeah, he teal-and-orange'd it up. That was a disappointment but not quite the travesty of the others mentioned.

That film as well as several others in the Collection are also only provided as revisionist Director's Cuts without the original versions.

Aah, thats was only the highest priced one. I was excited for a minute so i could flip mines too.

These changes are bad, the screenshots look bad and feature compression artifacts, banding.. Fallen Angels actually distorts the image to change the aspect ratio. I'm not the strictest of purists, I actually enjoy the aforementioned Criterion release of Thief, but these changes are too drastic for me. WKW is one of my favorite directors, his films were all ready perfect to me, the decision to revising them this way is baffling to me.

i don't know. i don't know how some color changes or whatever could affect so drastically. and plus, i never saw anyway in any incarnation so all new to me. i just want to see the movies truthfully and this seems like a great set, including the usual superb extras and i am sure pristine a/v despite changes that were approved by WKW.