Dan

Janus teased Inland Empire last year as well.
Not sure this one will be worth the "upgrade" based on Josh's comment, but I guess it depends on what extras from the original DVD get ported over along with anything new.

dex14

Not necessarily. I imagine they’d use the same process that they used to clean up the miniDV on Bamboozled. Here is a bit about that process:
https://www.criterion.com/current/po...-up-spike-lee-

dex14

Fast Times!

Mike86

I don’t own Fast Times at Ridgemont High so maybe I’ll grab that eventually.

andicus

I will definitely pick up Fast Times!

slop101

Watched Fast Times not long ago, but first time in decades, and it wasn't nearly as funny, or as good as I remember it being.

clckworang

I just recently bought Fast Times on Blu-ray. I'm pretty sure I paid less than $5. I might upgrade if the new edition has some better extras or a much better presentation.

Why So Blu?

Here's hoping Universal releases Fast Times in 4K on disc like they did with Do the Right Thing. CC still not getting into the 4K field is irritating me now.

clckworang

That was a thought I had a well. If Criterion boasts about a new 4k transfer, I'd be wondering about a possible UHD release.

Why So Blu?

It also happened with Parasite.

Mike86

Surprised that Criterion hasn’t gotten on the 4K bandwagon when other smaller labels like Shout Factory/Scream Factory, Vinegar Syndrome, and Kino all have already.

Josh-da-man

I might pick up Fast Times at Ridgemont High; sounds like most of the extras are from the previous SE, but it will include the tv version.

TomOpus

Last Criterion I bought was Godzilla. this woulda been a nice first 4K for them...Phoebe Cates in 4K

E Unit

I tell you that’s how Criterion can really bank on their streaming service. Make all the content they can 4K, exclusive to streaming. Hell, I’d sign up for that.

Gizmo

How has Criterion not embraced 4K? The BD excuse was waiting fir a “winner”, and it’s clear 4K discs are the end of physical media. Sucks they have many titles tied up with them.

Coral

The problem is that it could sway a chunk of their customers from buying physical discs. Why buy the 1080p disc when they can stream it in 4K?

I always said Criterion releasing UHD-BD would be tough because that would be a niche within a niche, but I keep seeing labels who are more niche than Criterion - and they're releasing in 4K.
Criterion films may not be mainstream, but a sizeable chunk of them aren't exactly obscure either. Much less obscure than these small labels - in which most of the titles they release I've never heard of before.

At least 1 of the titles they announce each month should be in 4K. They don't have to do it for all releases.

BTW, Criterion released their first BD title roughly 2.5 years after the format hit the shelves. On Sunday, it will be exactly 5 years since the first UHD-BD titles were released - and so far we've seen nothing from Criterion.

OldBoy

Fuck Fast has gotta be great. so many young famous now people. great HS teenage angst movie. can't fucking wait!!

slop101

Not enough of their movies are 4K scans - most of them are in 2K, even after extensive restorations.
I guess they could release the few they have 4K scans of on 4K discs, but it might just confuse people.

rocket1312

​​​​They have released plenty of 4k scans. Whether or not they have the UHD rights I cannot say. That said, I'm not sure why it would confuse people to release some of them on UHD. Literally every other major label (even some minor ones) does exactly that.

Gizmo

Which sucks since I doubt we’ll ever get a Wes Anderson in 4K on disc or streaming (not that I’ve seen, at least). Those are mainly with Disney, which isn’t keen on 4K discs or much in terms of catalog streaming.

Adam Tyner

The boring answer: because it's easier not to.

Let's use Memories of Murder as an example. If they were to release it on Ultra HD Blu-ray, they'd likely feel compelled to do an HDR grade (if one weren't already handy), and they'd have a different authoring workflow. They'd have to come up with a way to visually distinguish between their UHD release and a standard BD. Or they'd release them as a single SKU UHD/BD combo pack, which would come at a higher MSRP and would cause their curmudgeonly userbase to revolt. But if there were separate SKUs for UHD BD and plain ol' Blu-ray, quite a few of their fans would probably still revolt since even if they'd be happy with Blu-ray, they'd resent that the thing they want is no longer the very best. Hell, some might use the first UHD release as a jumping-off point altogether, fearing that they'd be forced to buy their entire collection all over again. Because of the emphasis on The Collection, whatever they do for Release #1 sets the template for every subsequent UHD release, making it tougher to dip their toes into the water. And releasing their first UHD BD could have a ripple effect. Hey, _____ was remastered in 4K; why should I buy it on Blu-ray now when a UHD reissue may come along at some point? Why isn't _______ coming out in UHD when it's way more popular than [fill in a different blank]? Then there are licensing headaches. MGM and Universal are about the only major studios on these shores that've licensed out their titles for UHD BD. Obviously Criterion would still have a wealth of material to draw from -- presumably most any Janus release would be fair game, for instance -- but many of their most commercially viable titles are straight up not on the table for anything beyond Blu-ray.

And at the end of the day, if you really wanted Memories of Murder, you'd probably buy it on Blu-ray anyway. How many more sales would Criterion gain if they gave it a UHD release? How many sales would they lose if it were Blu-ray only? Is it enough to make a difference (or even worth the hassle)? Probably not. It's easier to stick with the status quo.

Criterion isn't a leader. They don't outclass other labels in terms of the quality of their presentations or the volume/quality of the extras they produce. Maybe I'll be surprised (I was with Arrow!), but unless Criterion is basically forced to embrace UHD BD -- maybe from a director they want to work with who insists upon it, or maybe because of a keeping-up-with-the-Joneses if more comparable prestige labels dive in -- I'd imagine they'll just stick with DVD/BD. If there's ever anything from Criterion on the UHD front, it'll be streaming/digital only.

I'd love to be wrong, though! I think it's as absurd as anyone that Criterion is bypassing UHD BD, but a decision like that seems in-character for them.

Isle of Dogs is streaming in UHD, and it was pegged for a day-and-date UHD BD release, but that never materialized.

davidlynchfan

Criterion should just revert back to releasing 480p DVDs only [/REVERSEPSYCHOLOGYPOWERBABY].

Dan

Yeah, I think Adam is spot on, regardless of how frustrating it is to be someone who genuinely wants those UHD releases to happen. We have this conversation every time there's a release that shows up on UHD elsewhere. The fact is, if you want UHD of those titles, then wait for someone else to release them, or import them. I don't see Criterion budging.

Coral

Just release a new collection for UHD-BD (give it a dumb name like Criterion 4K Series or whatever) and start at #1 again and be done with it.
Any new titles/restorations/etc can also be released in the other collection - they'll just have different numbers. Any titles that are already in the original collection and is already optimal, Criterion can pick and choose which they want to bring over to the new collection. For example:

Criterion 4k Series #1 - "The Grand Budapest Hotel". Doesn't need a restoration or anything, so it remains unchanged at #1205 in the DVD/BD collection
Criterion 4k Series #2 - "Wes Anderson's Accidental Phone Recording". It's a new film, so it gets released in the old collection at #1,090 or whatever as well.

Criterion customers can choose to continue with the old collection only, buy the new collection only... or buy both. Their choice. The new collection won't have any titles the old collection doesn't.
If they're happy with BD, then nothing changes.

sauce07

If I remember right, the Fast Times Commentary that is being used on the Criterion disk is like 30 minutes longer than the movie. They talk over the end credits and it just keeps going over a black screen.