This is somewhat of a mixed bag. It is great to see that optimum will bring Delon's work but his best films (especially from his 80s) are not here. It is a shame as I was secretly hoping that the huge French set will appear in the UK. Either way the films Optimum have selected are:


Un Flic (1972)

Plein Soleil (1960)

L'Eclisse (1962)

Traitement De Choc (1973)

Flic Story (1971)


Street date is June 25th.

I would think that the transfers will be from these boxes:





Pro-B

no chance of Un Flic getting a separate release ?

It is being released in as an individual disc actually....(will have to check the date later tonight)

Pro-B

Its to be assumed that the a/v quality on these is superior to the R1s?

Optimum will undoubtedly do a better job with Plein Soleil than Miramax did.

However, I must say that I'm very pleased with both Criterion's L'Eclisse and Anchor Bay's Un Flic -- despite the latter being bare-bones. Optimum will thus probably better Anchor Bay's extras, but they'd be hard-pressed to significantly surpass Criterion. (EDIT: Come to think of it, it may depend on what aspect ratio for L'Eclisse Optimum goes with. I seem to remember there being some doubt as to whether or not Criterion's AR was correct, and I don't remember what AR the French disc uses. Or am I thinking of another Antonioni title altogether?)

I don't own Kino's release of Flic Story, but I'm sure Optimum will at least equal them, based on past releases I own from both companies.

I think that we should just wait and see what comes out of this set before making any silly predictions. This being said I think that Anchor Bay's release of Un Flic is solid. As to Criterion their disc is not in the proper aspect ratio (and yes, the OAR is indeed 1.66:1) but so is Studio Canal's...

As to Plein Soleil...the only way possible is up (a better release)...

So, like I said, there is too much room for speculation here, we better wait and see what happens first.

Pro-B

I thought Optimum was a UK company? Or do they do separate releases?

the current anchor bay Un Flic is fine except for some macro blocking that crops up during the train heist section.

I like the film enough to upgrade if the Optimum disc doesnt have that issue.

Yes, they are! I am not so sure how to read your question? If you are asking why the titles overlap it is because now Studio Canal have an official offshoot in the UK. Basically, it boils down to the fact that whatever companies licensed titles from Studio Canal-France in the past (and yes, that will be Anchor Bay, WB, etc) now everything (I think with a few very minor exceptions) is on Optimum's table to release and rerelase. And I sense that they want to go the cheaper route: big names=boxsets but not complete works as it is the case with many French boxsets!

Un Flic will be sold as a single disc as well!

Pro-B

That Melville set looks pretty cool, and probably cheaper than the criterions that are available/soon to be available. Does it have English subs?

I searched, and maybe I'm an idiot, but couldn't find anything. Information on subs and links/input on general reviews would be appreciated. Thanks

The Melville set isn't English-friendly. As to info on subs, etc...there are a number of sources but it truly depends on the film you are interested in (or disc). Perhaps you could ask on this forum, I am sure the needed info could be found.

Ciao,
Pro-B

Maybe that was ambiguous. I just meant information on subtitles/general reviews for the melville set. But if it's not English friendly, that answers my question.