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[Downhome]

Might as well give the heads up here: Shout! Factory's LE for the Nightbreed Director's Cut is selling out pretty quickly. The first thousand copies that are numbered and get shipped two weeks earlier are already all gone (just made the cutoff myself!), and they've secured an additional 1500 copies for their website, leaving 2500 for the other websites to sell it. Judging by how hammered DiabolikDVD is looking right now on their page for the pre-order, I imagine it's selling at just as speedy a clip, so don't dally.

I'm shocked we don't have a more active all purpose Blu-ray thread here. I did a search here for this release and this was the most recent post I found on it. I also started a thread about the upcoming Halloween set and NO ONE responded to it. Crazy.

As for Nightbreed, Shout is now sold out of the first 2,300 and you can't order it from them, and Diabolik is sold out as well. There is no longer a truly reliable site to order it from. You can still order it at B&N, Best Buy, and a few other places but I wouldn't trust any of them. If you want it, order it ASAP and consider it a long shot in terms of actually getting it.

As for Criterion, I'll be ordering Scanners and Pickpocket tomorrow using two coupons I have. Here is my collection as of 115 Criterion titles as of right now...

 

[Borgnine]

Having the inside case face outwards instead of the outer sleeve. A bold move.

 

[Fjordson]

I'm shocked we don't have a more active all purpose Blu-ray thread here. I did a search here for this release and this was the most recent post I found on it. I also started a thread about the upcoming Halloween set and NO ONE responded to it. Crazy.

As for Nightbreed, Shout is now sold out of the first 2,300 and you can't order it from them, and Diabolik is sold out as well. There is no longer a truly reliable site to order it from. You can still order it at B&N, Best Buy, and a few other places but I wouldn't trust any of them. If you want it, order it ASAP and consider it a long shot in terms of actually getting it.

As for Criterion, I'll be ordering Scanners and Pickpocket tomorrow using two coupons I have. Here is my collection as of 115 Criterion titles as of right now...

Wow, beautiful set there! I'm only up to about 15 criterions.


I'm still itching to buy something :lol would you guys recommend the Samurai trilogy? Love me some Mifune.

 

[Son of Cervantes]

It's not that good...if you want samurai films and have already seem all of Kurosawa's, I recommend Masaki Kobayashi's Hara-Kiri, Samurai Rebellion, and if you're really interested in a film version of Musashi Miyamoto's life (or rather the Eiji Yoshikawa novel), the Kinnosuke Nakamura version is much better than the Mifune version.

 

[Ridley327]

I'm shocked we don't have a more active all purpose Blu-ray thread here. I did a search here for this release and this was the most recent post I found on it. I also started a thread about the upcoming Halloween set and NO ONE responded to it. Crazy.

As for Nightbreed, Shout is now sold out of the first 2,300 and you can't order it from them, and Diabolik is sold out as well. There is no longer a truly reliable site to order it from. You can still order it at B&N, Best Buy, and a few other places but I wouldn't trust any of them. If you want it, order it ASAP and consider it a long shot in terms of actually getting it.

As for Criterion, I'll be ordering Scanners and Pickpocket tomorrow using two coupons I have. Here is my collection as of 115 Criterion titles as of right now...

Nice rack.

I figured posting about the Nightbreed stuff in here made the most sense, since I've been making it a habit of posting about Shout! Factory stuff in here, as they've become a hell of a boutique label so quickly.

 

[Fjordson]

It's not that good...if you want samurai films and have already seem all of Kurosawa's, I recommend Masaki Kobayashi's Hara-Kiri, Samurai Rebellion, and if you're really interested in a film version of Musashi Miyamoto's life (or rather the Eiji Yoshikawa novel), the Kinnosuke Nakamura version is much better than the Mifune version.

What about Three Outlaw Samurai?

 

[Son of Cervantes]

Three Outlaw Samurai is an origin story for a TV show which, as far as I know, has never gotten a US release. It's not a bad movie by any means but it's one if those films I scratch my head about wondering why Criterion deemed it worthy of release.

Seriously, if you haven't seen any of Masaki Kobayashi's movies, make those a priority!

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

What exactly is wrong with the Lola restoration?

It's a shame a lot of studios don't give a damn about film preservation. I was just reading about how the 70mm elements for John Wayne's The Alamo are just rotting away because MGM refuses to pay for a restoration or to allow for a crowd funded restoration effort (as they don't want to seem cheap). So depressing to think in a few years an important piece of film history will be lost.

Taken from the blu-ray.com review:

Because the film's original negative no longer exists, the restorers had to work with surviving elements that were not in perfect condition. As a result, a number of important corrections were made while the film was restored and reconstructed -- contrast was rebalanced, torn frames were repaired and realigned, and in some cases non-existing details were digitally recreated by borrowing existing details from other parts of the film.

However, it appears that at some point -- either during or after the restoration was completed -- specific digital corrections were also performed to make the film look smoother/better balanced. While these corrections were likely beneficial in some areas, it is easy to see that in other areas they destabilized the image. For example, because of specific filtering corrections some darker areas of the film almost completely collapse.

There are areas of the film where contrast stability is also affected. (Cinematographer Raoul Coutard's use of light and shadow is very unique and there are sequences where contrast natively fluctuates quite a lot and in the process affects shadow definition, but these image fluctuations have nothing to do with the effects of the filtering corrections that are visible throughout the film). As a result, more often than not the film looks quite flat (see screencaptures #7 and 17). This being said, overall image stability is very good. Indeed, there are no serious transition issues and large cuts, damage marks, debris, warps, and stains have been removed as best as possible.

You can see screenshots in the review.
The 'digital corrections' sound gross. It pains me but I won't be buying it.

 

[Ridley327]

The caps on DVDBeaver were not flattering for that film, to say the least. It's a shame that Criterion got such an ugly transfer handed to them, especially when all of the other films in the set look so nice.

 

[Son of Cervantes]

Yeah, wow, sounds like a disastrous transfer. The European Blu Ray is apparently the same so it seems Criterion just wasn't able to do much about it.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

Three Outlaw Samurai is an origin story for a TV show which, as far as I know, has never gotten a US release. It's not a bad movie by any means but it's one if those films I scratch my head about wondering why Criterion deemed it worthy of release.

Seriously, if you haven't seen any of Masaki Kobayashi's movies, make those a priority!

I think Three Outlaw Samurai is pretty great actually. It's really cynical, has slick cinematography, and brisk pacing. Feels a lot more modern than some of its contemporaries.

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Hunter in the Dark's the one Gosha I've seen, thanks to Criterion on Hulu. Not sure if it's a masterpiece, but some of the fights are beautifully choreographed, and Nakadai playing a brothel lord face-to-face with Sonny Chiba's imperial samurai at the end...so awesome. Watch that, it's mid-period Gosha and an easy recommendation as far as I've heard.

Shame about Lola, but blame the restoration organizers (really wish Criterion would fix The Earrings of Madame de...).

 

[Ridley327]

I guess I complained loudly enough about the lack of animation in the Collection, because Watership Down was just made available for pre-order on iTunes from Criterion. I can't imagine them not having The Plague Dogs to go along with it, so there's two!

 

[Fjordson]

Three Outlaw Samurai is an origin story for a TV show which, as far as I know, has never gotten a US release. It's not a bad movie by any means but it's one if those films I scratch my head about wondering why Criterion deemed it worthy of release.

Seriously, if you haven't seen any of Masaki Kobayashi's movies, make those a priority!

I did pick up Harakiri the first day of the sale. Can't wait to watch that.

I think Three Outlaw Samurai is pretty great actually. It's really cynical, has slick cinematography, and brisk pacing. Feels a lot more modern than some of its contemporaries.

Interesting. I may go ahead and pick it up then.

 

[killertofu]

Anyone have Hulu Plus just for Criterion purposes? I've never seen Tokyo Drifter and it looks badass...


Also, I want a damn Before Trilogy already

 

[TheKaeptain]

Anyone have Hulu Plus just for Criterion purposes? I've never seen Tokyo Drifter and it looks badass...

Just listen to this song and ask yourself if you would watch a movie with such a kickass theme:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4G8eN72Slw

Also, I want a damn Before Trilogy already

I love those movies but there are far more important films that need to be released. Which mean CC will release the Before trilogy soon.

 

[Ridley327]

The only potential snag for a Before Trilogy set is that Before Sunrise is under Warner Bros., but given Linklater's relationship with Criterion and his clout, I wouldn't be surprised to see it at some point. I'm sure Sony would like to have some time to sell a few more copies of Before Midnight, so I can't imagine its release would happen until next year at the earliest.

 

[swoon]

this is a lot cooler than the before set. also i suspect the existing releases of those films are fine.

 

[Ridley327]

There's no Blu-ray releases for the first two films, which would be the biggest reason why anyone would want a set.

 

[TheKaeptain]

this is a lot cooler than the before set. also i suspect the existing releases of those films are fine.

When was this announced?

 

[omgkitty]

Bigger image:

I love Tati!

 

[Ridley327]

When was this announced?

Looks like Criterioncast let the cat out of the bag early.

This is definitely a set for me. Of his films, I've only seen Mon Oncle, which I thought was absolutely charming.

EDIT: It's sort of up on Criterion website if you go to the page for Playtime. October 28 is the release date.

 

[Fjordson]

I have the current Before Midnight blu, it's good. Aesthetically and as far as extras. I'd love to see a Before trilogy release, though. Or at least standalone blus for Sunrise and Sunset.

 

[Ridley327]

I think it's safe to say that the Tati box has everything you could ever want from the man:

*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: On demande une brute (1934), Gai dimanche (1935), Soigne ton gauche (1936), </>L’école des facteurs (1946), Cours du soir (1967), Forza Bastia (1978), and Dégustation maison (1978)
*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

 

[omgkitty]

 

[Ridley327]

Awesome, Blu-ray for F for Fake, as well.

 

[omgkitty]

Awesome, Blu-ray for F for Fake, as well.

FUCK YES

 

[Ridley327]

And, as previously leaked, La Dolce Vita:

 

[omgkitty]

And, as previously leaked, La Dolce Vita:

OMG THAT COVER IS SO GOOD

 

[Dragoon En Regalia]

Based Criterion. More Ford (w/Gallagher essay!), two useful Blu upgrades (hoping they add a few more features for The Vanishing), new Fellini Blu, and another monster box.

 

[Ridley327]

Based Criterion. More Ford (w/Gallagher essay!), two useful Blu upgrades (hoping they add a few more features for The Vanishing), new Fellini Blu, and another monster box.

More importantly, my hopes of a 70s Cronenberg set are kept alive with the absence of a no-brainer October release for The Brood!

THIS DREAM OF MINE WILL NEVER DIE

 

[Illithid Dude]

This is literally the best month ever

 

[Son of Cervantes]

Not my favorite Ford film, but I have the DVD and feel compelled to upgrade...

So many of my recent Criterion purchases are just upgrades from DVDs... ;_;

 

[overcast]

I saw Hulot, loved it, how are the rest of Tati's movie? Definitely worth checking out?

Never seen La Dolce Vita, I have heard nothing but great things. Probably blind buy that when it comes to.

 

[Son of Cervantes]

The one Fellini film I wish would get a Blu-Ray release is The White Sheikh. I saw it in a cinema when I was in Italy and it was a pretty magical experience. I have the Criterion DVD, but it's definitely showing its age.

 

[canoli2006]

Hey everyone! While shopping at a Phoenix, AZ area Costco today, they had several Criterion titles all for $19.99.

Bottle Rocket
Royal Tenenbaums
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Foreign Correspondent
Harold & Maude
Charade
On the Waterfront

 

[mattiewheels]

The Vanishing, *shudder*. I have to buy it, but that's a hard one for me to watch.

 

[Illithid Dude]

I saw Hulot, loved it, how are the rest of Tati's movie? Definitely worth checking out?

Never seen La Dolce Vita, I have heard nothing but great things. Probably blind buy that when it comes to.

Playtime is quite possibly the best film on architecture ever.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Tati set is fantastic. I saw Playtime right after the Blu went out of print and was kicking myself for not getting it sooner. Great month.

 

[Shiv47]

The Tati set looks flat-out amazing. Thanks be to the Tati estate for making Studio Canal keep the films with Criterion. And F for Fake is an automatic pick-up, being a Welles devotee. This will be like the sixth or seventh time I've bought it, but who's counting?

 

[Downhome]

Concenring the Limited Edition of Nightbreed, from Scream Factory's Facebook page...

***NIGHTBREED: LIMITED EDITION - Now 10,000 UNITS***

Hello all! We have some news today regarding our NIGHTBREED: THE DIRECTORS CUT (LIMITED EDITION) release that we hope will make many of you happy.

To say that we were caught by surprise over the frenzied demand for it would be an understatement. Preorders across the board went so quick that we almost had to post soon that we were sold out of the original 5,000 units. We sensed your concerns that would happen too.

We want to give as many fans of Clive Barker’s exceptional film the opportunity to purchase the set and so we went back to Warner Bros (since they have the rights to theatrical cut) and explained the situation. They graciously understood and so we can now officially tell you that we have expanded the number of units for the LIMITED EDITION SET to 10,000 total--which will all be numbered. Once they are sold out though, that will be it.

We are taking pre-orders again on our site at http://www.shoutfactory.com/product/...deluxe-edition and they should also be available soon to pre-order on other fine online retailers. If you have questions about your order from our site, please contact our customer service at shoutfactorycs@owd.com

 

[Ridley327]

Concenring the Limited Edition of Nightbreed, from Scream Factory's Facebook page...

Wow, WB did the right thing. I'm shocked.

 

[codhand]

uhh....a' fuck yes to this month's announcements

 

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

Wow what an insane month!
Having the Tati set so close to the Demy set is great, especially with how packed it is.
I hope huge sets become a more regular thing from now on.

I'm pretty impressed with Criterion as of late, providing books with Red River and Picnic on Hanging Rock was a nice surprise, seem they're on a roll

 

[inm8num2]

This entire year has been outstanding for Criterion releases.

 

[Ridley327]

I lucked out today, but as a word of warning to people who deliver stuff: please do not try to force packages into too small a space. The UPS driver thought it would be a great idea to jam it right in the mailbox, to the point where the box actually broke open. Again, no harm done, but you would think people would know better.

 

[Ridley327]

It seemed inevitable with IFC's deal with Criterion anyway, but Richard Linklater confirms Boyhood as a future Criterion release.

 

[Fjordson]

Ordered Rififi and Brazil. Think I'm finally done with this sale.

Never seen Rififi, but sounds like a great heist film.

 

[big ander]

Ordered Rififi and Brazil. Think I'm finally done with this sale.

Never seen Rififi, but sounds like a great heist film.

it's pretty great, and not just a great heist film but a heist film that served as the template for countless others. the pure focus in the actual heist scene is marvelous, and the way it (spoiler for something that happens in every heist movie)

Spoiler

unravels, equally so

.

 

[Son of Cervantes]

Rififi is an amazing movie, and a great choice! If you like it, Jules Dassin has a number of other movies available on Criterion, but none of them on Blu besides Rififi.