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[TheKaeptain]

Too bad it's a barebones release.

Movie>other crap.

 

[inm8num2]

Movie>other crap.

What are you doing in a Criterion thread, then? That's their bread and butter on top of the films themselves - documentaries, interviews, and even sometimes discs include a bonus film from the director.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Great. Where in the hell is Life Aquatic blu-ray though? Ugh.

Probably going to receive a DF upgrade sometime around Grand Budapest Hotel's release—maybe Moonrise Kingdom, too.

Criterion first and foremost is about providing the best video transfer possible—the supplements, their whole film-school-on-a-disc philosophy, comes second. There've been times when they've leaned towards supplements or towards lower-budget releases with excellent production, but this is the formula. I think their biggest restriction in terms of lineup and what gets priority is the video rights market in the US, which is far more studio-oriented than it ought to be. Whenever Masters of Cinema or Arrow announces some awesome release that people would expect from Criterion, it's important to investigate if it's even possible for Criterion to get the title and follow through on a special-edition budget. Movies like Thief are way too expensive for the company to devote lots of time producing extras; of course, it's become roughly possible in recent years for Criterion to license them at all.

 

[TheKaeptain]

What are you doing in a Criterion thread, then? That's their bread and butter on top of the films themselves - documentaries, interviews, and even sometimes discs include a bonus film from the director.

Because I like movies. All that other shit is superfluous in the grand scheme of things.

 

[inm8num2]

Because I like movies. All that other shit is superfluous in the grand scheme of things.

No, not really. I won't bother explaining that many film enthusiasts (or even casual fans) enjoy BTS stuff because that notion seems outside your grasp

The good news is that your opinion isn't a universal one.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Criterion supplements are great for learning about technical details, but a lot of the analytic work can be found online coming from a massive array of great critical film writers. The best case scenario's when Criterion or MoC commissions all-new essays and videos that reveal something truly new about a film, and that's not the case very often (David Kalat's supposed to be retired, too!).

 

[Anastasia]

I buy Criterion for superior video transfers, first and foremost, and to support the company's mission statement. I really like supplements, but to me that's not the main concern when it comes to these releases. A good transfer does way more for me and my enjoyment of the film.

 

[inm8num2]

Nobody said transfers aren't the most important thing. But Criterion does a great job putting together supplemental features. It's quite possible to enjoy the film and the bonus content together. When someone's passionate about a movie and wants to dig deeper into it, that's where supplements come into play.

Criterion's track record mostly speaks for itself. Great transfers plus great bonus features, albeit with a few hiccups like Earrings of Madame De... or Children of Paradise which had poor transfers (I think they outsourced those ones through a French company, IIRC from other forums).

 

[HoJu]

I wonder if the release of Fantastic Mr. Fox is a signal that Criterion will release more animated films.
I mean, I doubt it, because they have a contract with Anderson or something, but a boy can dream. a boy can dream.

Spoiler

also I really want a compilation of important short animated films. I want Hedgehog in the Fog on my shelf and to be with me forever.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Now that they've got a deal with WB, the obvious choice is without a doubt Twice Upon a Time. There still isn't a DVD release of this, wtf.

 

[DiscoJon]

I wonder if the release of Fantastic Mr. Fox is a signal that Criterion will release more animated films.

More animated stuff from Criterion would be great.

I'd love to see these films get a proper high-def Blu-ray release:


1. Perfect Blue

2. Robot Carnival

3. Neo Tokyo


Just bought the new Akira Blu-ray reissue, so I've got anime on my mind.

 

[obin_gam]

Shush now, we all know what must be the next animated Criterion...

 

[codhand]

Fantastic Mr. Fox is quite possibly Wes Anderson's best film. I liked Rushmore a lot when it came out, mustve seen it 10 times, but his other films are too kitchsy for me. and so is FMF, but it works for me because it's animated.

 

[bowery]

cant wait for the day paul thomas anderson has a contract for criterion to release his films, think he has an equal standing to wes anderson if not higher for making great films in this generation

also i finally watched bottle rocket and its easily my favorite wes

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

So Becker and Kim Hendrickson just finished a talk at some museum in Ohio—some tidbits spilled on the stream:

•New prints of Napoleon are in the works, featuring new, unseen material; CC's very interested.
•More Jan Troell's on the way: Here's Your Life is scheduled, and they're looking to license The Emigrants and The New Land from Warner (who they've got a deal with now—they say they've talked over The Devils!).
•Art Theatre Guild is out of the question due to split ownership (the ultimate problem for these productions), but the Oshima films are coming (no doubt through a deal with Sozosha)—not to fear, the company's going to put them out some day...
•Red River is coming, both versions too (probably a companion to the MoC release), and so are the Cronenbergs.
•Bicycle Thieves is currently knee-deep in a 4k restoration and scan, meaning that CC's gonna get started on an upgrade soon; they spoke highly of Andrei Rublev, which itself is undergoing such a process, so that's exciting.
•They're doing another animation release, not saying what or when; the main reason for avoiding such films in the past has been great work and dedication from other publishers (Zeitgeist and the Quays being their example).
•No talk about the vaseline scans they got from Gaumont for Children of Paradise and The Earrings of Madame de...

Sidney/Hard Eight's been in the running for a release for a while now, so either the rights are a bother or PTA's out of town.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Todd Haynes' Safe was also apparently confirmed there.

 

[TheKaeptain]

and let me guess NO ONE ASKED ABOUT EDWARD YANG?

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

I tweeted to them about World Cinema Foundation titles on Hulu, to no avail. A Brighter Summer Day's been restored by WCF, so it's coming down to rights, demand, and scheduling.

 

[TheKaeptain]

I tweeted to them about World Cinema Foundation titles on Hulu, to no avail. A Brighter Summer Day's been restored by WCF, so it's coming down to rights, demand, and scheduling.

It's the music. It's been the music forever.

 

[BaronLundi]

Nobody said transfers aren't the most important thing. But Criterion does a great job putting together supplemental features. It's quite possible to enjoy the film and the bonus content together. When someone's passionate about a movie and wants to dig deeper into it, that's where supplements come into play.

I own many Criterions and I appreciate their efforts when it comes with supplements and extras (same with MoC or any other publisher really) but what matters the most is the movie. Give me a good restoration/transfer, 1080p/24, no DNR, no cropping, lossless sound, good subtitles and I'll gladly give up any supplement and commentary track. You can usually find those elsewhere if needed. Printed material on the other hand...

Anyway you can't usually trade things this way so I'll gladly take the whole package when it's there.

•No talk about the vaseline scans they got from Gaumont for Children of Paradise and The Earrings of Madame de...

Gaumont's own BR for Madame de... has been postponed (in september shortly prior to the release date) and all masters and discs manufactured have been destroyed (which was quite a ballsy move). Eclair labs are doing a new restoration and the new master should be out sometime before the end of first quarter 2014.

For Children of Paradise, scan was done by L'Immagine Ritrovata and restoration by Eclair, it's a Pathe release though not Gaumont. And I reckon we are fucked for now...

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Nah, just saying Becker and Kim didn't even get around to their thoughts on the Pathé fiasco and shoddy stuff Gaumont got rid of. I know they're smart about not banging their friends' goods, but that doesn't mean they get to slack off and keep the crap for years to come.

 

[overcast]

Please Criterion, find a way to release the Before trilogy. I need them all of Blu ray somehow.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Masters of Cinema Q1 2014:

Computer Chess DF

Hands Over the City DF

Nashville Blu

Fellini's Roma Blu

Serpico Blu

Wake in Fright DF

Wings (Wellman) DF (!)

White Dog Blu

Kind of a middling slate, but everything's gonna be top-quality.

 

[codhand]

any of em region-free?

 

[swoon]

i can't believe someone called wings, hands over the city, nashville and wake in fright "middling"

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Hands Over the City and Nashville are already on CC; Wings I'll apologize for, but Wake in Fright's been around too. Not commenting on the films themselves, just the releases (slate just feels like a retread of what others have put out).

No region-free releases here, unfortunately. MoC at least gets to put out stuff CC could rarely acquire in Region 1, so this must be the price we pay.

 

[swoon]

oh okay. region locks though!

 

[codhand]

the Region A, Wings BD is the shit

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

Hmmm I've never heard of Wake in Fright, great looking cover though!

 

[BaronLundi]

Yeah just got my copy of the US BR of Wings today. Dammit.

Fuller, Nashville and Wake in Fright are great news. I wonder if Fellini's Roma will feature the "lost" scenes.

I don't think many of you people will be interested but MoC is doing a Black friday deal of sorts:

Finally: It's Black Friday at our Eureka webstore. Every day this week we shall be reducing two MoC blu-rays, starting today at 11.30am UK time with SILENT RUNNING, REPO MAN & THE LOST WEEKEND for just £6.99!!!

That includes shipping.

 

[cj_iwakura]

Still need to see Blue, but the dang NC-17 makes it almost impossible to find in a theater.

How explicit is the content? Maybe I shouldn't even see it in theaters.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Far less explicit than blood and gore.

Guess what? The Midnight Cowboy Blu's two years old now. Also: the Zatoichi set's out today—check out this kick-butt super-cut!

 

[cj_iwakura]

Far less explicit than blood and gore.

I'm not into sexual content, so I'm wondering how far it goes.

 

[mattiewheels]

Midnight Cowboy's probably my favorite movie, a CC bluray would be fantastic.

 

[Diseased Yak]

UPS just dropped off my Zatoichi boxed set off. Holy shit, so fucking amazing!

 

[BearChair]

Is there anything in terms of licensing or cost preventing an Ikiru blu ray. I keep hoping it gets announced and every month I'm disappointed.

 

[bowery]

is fat girl any good?

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Is there anything in terms of licensing or cost preventing an Ikiru blu ray. I keep hoping it gets announced and every month I'm disappointed.

Priorities: stuff like It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is apparently more important. But the real reason is probably that elements for Ikiru haven't held up well over time, no matter how thorough Criterion is.

 

[BearChair]

is fat girl any good?

It's not a bad movie, but the content is certainly challenging. I don't know how much you already know about the movie, so I don't want to spoil it, but the ending comes out of nowhere. And is pretty shocking. It's an intriguing movie, but I can't really imagine owning it and watching it more than once.

I would rent it first, before buying, but that is my general rule anyway

 

[bowery]

It's not a bad movie, but the content is certainly challenging. I don't know how much you already know about the movie, so I don't want to spoil it, but the ending comes out of nowhere. And is pretty shocking. It's an intriguing movie, but I can't really imagine owning it and watching it more than once.

I would rent it first, before buying, but that is my general rule anyway

thank you

 

[jerry1594]

When is Criterion releasing Béla Tarr's stuff the Facet's releases are trash

 

[omgkitty]

Can't decide what I want to do. I just got paid and I was planning on buying:

Cassavetes set
Frances Ha
Tokyo Story
City Lights

I was looking though, and for the same price I can get the Zatoichi set. Any thoughts? I'm sure I'll eventually end up getting everything at some point, but can't decide on right now. I haven't seen any of the Zatoichi films, and of the ones I listed, I've only seen Frances Ha.

 

[Cosmic Bus]

Why would you buy something as enormous as the Zatoichi box without having seen any of them? Pony up a few bucks for Hulu Plus and watch a few from the series over the next couple of weeks; if you like them, then get the set next time it's on sale -- which is practically four times a year now, let's be real.

The Cassavetes box is one of the most essential things anyone has ever released, though. Buy that.

 

[EYEL1NER]

Any impressions on the Zatoichi set? Or is it too soon for anyone to have gotten theirs? I mean, I can't imagine it being a garbage set, this is Criterion we are talking about. But there always is a slim chance that something got screwed up or butchered somewhere along the line.

Mine is shipping to an APO, so it will take longer than anyone else's to get to them, but the warehouse it shipped from is in Jersey it looks like (tracking shows it departed from the city that hands everything over to the mil guys), so it shouldn't take that long to get here. I am so eager to watch them though... the only Zatoichi movies I have watched in recent memory was the first one and the Takeshi movie (which I didn't like). I think it has been probably three years since I watched the final Katsu film. So I might see if I can get an extra day off work and blow through a bunch of them.

 

[mattiewheels]

Can't decide what I want to do. I just got paid and I was planning on buying:

Cassavetes set
Frances Ha
Tokyo Story
City Lights

I was looking though, and for the same price I can get the Zatoichi set. Any thoughts? I'm sure I'll eventually end up getting everything at some point, but can't decide on right now. I haven't seen any of the Zatoichi films, and of the ones I listed, I've only seen Frances Ha.

You should think about getting a month of Hulu Plus, I think it has all the Cassavetes set and Tokyo Story, and maybe City Lights but not sure. Anyway, $8 to see most of that list.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

When is Criterion releasing Béla Tarr's stuff the Facet's releases are trash

Any good label could and should get ahold of Satantango and the rest.

You should think about getting a month of Hulu Plus, I think it has all the Cassavetes set and Tokyo Story, and maybe City Lights but not sure. Anyway, $8 to see most of that list.

Everything but Shadows.

It's funny: the Cassavetes set was my first big Criterion purchase...on DVD. Putting it on Blu is great, but I wish I had better foresight (if at all possible).

 

[omgkitty]

Ended up getting the Cassavetes set. In case anyone was wondering, the 30% off Black Friday coupon from Barnes and Noble that doesn't work on the website for Criterion films, will work on them in store. Got the box set for $48, which is close to $20 off what it would be even with the sale. This means it will also work on the Zatoichi set.

I used to have Hulu Plus but finally cancelled it a month ago because I realized I'd had it for like 2 years now and only ever watched maybe 4 or 5 films on it.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Yeah, I love how they try to stop us from using the coupons. Gonna go get either Naked Lunch or Life is Sweet on Sunday for $14 with this.

I already miss the Hulu+ channel's 100 Days of Summer, since Criterion put up so many new titles during that period.

 

[swoon]

heads up for the next hour:

murnau, borzage at fox set is 99 at amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001EZE5E2/?tag=neogaf0e-20

films are :

Lazybones, Street Angel, 7th Heaven, Sunrise, Lucky Star, They Had To See Paris, City Girl, Liliom, After Tomorrow, Young America, Song O' My Heart, Bad Girl

 

[Cosmic Bus]

hah, I was literally about to post that deal. It's an pretty fantastic set; I used to have that and the Ford at Fox one but got rid of both to help pay for my move to Seattle. :\