Criterion Blu-ray titles! (2 Viewers)

[Jim_K]

Fantastic and it's about time! MSRP matching the SD to boot!
Out of their initial 12 I'll be upgrading The Third Man and Wages of Fear. Didn't care enough for the others to pick up on SD so the same goes for BD.
I have to say with the exception of a few titles I'm a tad disappointed with their initial wave. I'm really surprised that many of their most popular titles (Brazil) were passed over and many of their flagship directors aren't represented like Kurosawa (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood, Rashomon, Ran, Hidden Fortress, etc), Bergman (Seventh Seal, The Virgin Spring, etc), Powell/Pressburger (Red Shoes, Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus), Hitchcock (39 Steps, Lady Vanishes, Notorious, Rebecca, etc), and Fritz Lang (M, Testament of Dr Mabuse, etc).
Beggars can't be choosers I guess. Still I'm glad they're about to take their first step into High Def.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

IIRC, most footage in For All Mankind was shot on 16mm, so I wonder how much of an improvement we'll see on BD?
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this. Just wondering about the technical limitations, is all. And if there is an improvement, yes I'll double-dip.

Judging by the 16mm & 8mm archival footage used for In the Shadow of the Moon, it ought to look better than you expect. Of course, In the Shadow… used digital transfers direct from the archival elements, so the effect may be blunted in For All Mankind by a couple of layers of duping.

 

[andrew markworthy]

I'm really surprised that many of their most popular titles (Brazil) were passed over and many of their flagship directors aren't represented like [...] Bergman (Seventh Seal, The Virgin Spring, etc [...]

Actually, Seventh Seal is already available in high def from Tartan, and it looks pretty good.

I don't know how other folks have found it, but generally I think older black and white releases in high def have been superb and for the first time (to me at least) they look truly 'filmic'. Casablanca in HD is a particular case in point.

I doubt I'll double dip all that much from the first releases. A lot of the movies on the list are ones I respect, but don't particularly like, if you see what I mean. However, Third Man is a definite (sorry to sound stupid, but I didn't know there'd been a re-release) and also Walkabout (nothing to do with wanting to see Jenny Agutter in the nude at five times the detail of course, but rather because I only have the somewhat indifferent R2 release).

What I will double dip for in a heartbeat from the Criterion back catalogue are the major Kurosawa movies (i.e. all of them), the works of Ozu (if there are good enough prints available), Spirit of the Beehive, Beauty and the Beast, some of Bergman (Cries and Whispers a definite must, some of the better-known black and whites as well, but I can happily leave all of the early and most of the late movies alone) and that's about it. Sorry to sound a Philistine, but a lot of the other movies in the list don't get enough airings in our household to merit changing from the excellent SD versions.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

However, Third Man is a definite (sorry to sound stupid, but I didn't know there'd been a re-release) and also Walkabout (nothing to do with wanting to see Jenny Agutter in the nude at five times the detail of course, but rather because I only have the somewhat indifferent R2 release).

Don't feel bad -- I didn't know about that re-release either.
But now I know why everybody loves Walkabout so much!

 

[Jari K]

1080p is 5 times the resolution of SD..

1080 vs 480 - NTSC OR 576 - PAL.
Around double?

 

[Brandon Conway]

I don't know how other folks have found it, but generally I think older black and white releases in high def have been superb and for the first time (to me at least) they look truly 'filmic'. Casablanca in HD is a particular case in point.

That's because HD can pick up the detail in gray tones much more clearly than SD.
And 1080p is 6x the resolution of 480p. (Remember, you have to do the math for the full numbers: 1920x1080 vs. 720x480. Or 2,073,600 pixels for HD vs. 345,600 pixels for SD. 2,073,600/345,600 = 6.)

 

[Danny_N]

And 1080p is 6x the resolution of 480p.

For NTSC. For PAL it would be 5x if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Brandon Conway]

For NTSC. For PAL it would be 5x if I'm not mistaken.

True. PAL is 720x576, or 414,720 pixels. 2,073,600/414,720 = 5.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Great to see Criterion finally going Blu (and offering MSRP match w/ their SD titles to boot).
*BUT* The Last Emperor in MAR.
_Man_

 

[Seppo]

Hopefully none of Criterion's releases will be region coded.

 

[Lew Crippen]

That is up to the licensing agreement with the owner of each movie. Many studios or distributors retain international distribution rights not only of the films but of digital recordings as well.
Many of the Criterion DVD releases were not region coded, but many others were.

 

[andrew markworthy]

Hopefully none of Criterion's releases will be region coded.

Alas, if the SD issues are the template for this, there's no guarantee. I'm sure Criterion would be only too happy to be region free, but there are regional licences, etc that restrict what they can sell. The only thing we can hope is that if a Criterion BD release is Region A only, that a European distributor will obtain the rights for Europe and issue what is basically a Criterion disc but under a different title. I believe this has happened on several occasions with SD releases (The Rock being a case in point).

 

[Jeff Ulmer]

I am happy to see Walkabout as one of the first titles, but the move to BD (which I don't have yet) is making me seriously reconsider any more Criterion SD purchases - the two immediate candidates being Mon Oncle Antoine and Trafic.
Adding new extras is fine, but I'm hoping they keep Jenny's commentary on Walkabout - fixing the one bit that isn't in sync with what she's talking about.
I also hope that Picnic at Hanging Rock gets the BD treatment sooner than later, as long as these are done properly.

 

[oscar_merkx]

great news indeed

 

[Dan M]

hope they bring on a blu SPARTACUS soon

 

[MatthewA]

hope they bring on a blu SPARTACUS soon

And hopefully it is not the same transfer as Universal's HD DVD. Maybe Robert Harris can supervise once he finishes with The Godfather trilogy.

 

[TonyD]

And hopefully it is not the same transfer as Universal's HD DVD. Maybe Robert Harris can supervise once he finishes with The Godfather trilogy.

second that.
the hd dvd is awful
must haves for me
Armageddon
Brazil
Charade
the Third Man
Chasing Amy
Do the Right Thing
Sparticus(remastered for hd)
Days of heaven
the Last Emperor (oar only)

 

[Will*B]

Fantastic to see Contempt is getting an HD release. Saw a 35mm screening a few years back, but the print was severely damaged. I assume they're using the same master as the SD disc. If so, then it really will look absolutely beautiful.

 

[troy evans]

Armageddon

I think Disney will release this to Blu. They did a great job with The Rock and carried over all the extras that were on the Criterion release. In a way, you could say that The Rock is our first Criterion Blu-ray. I know it technically is not, however.

 

[TonyD]

I think Disney will release this to Blu. They did a great job with The Rock and carried over all the extras that were on the Criterion release. In a way, you could say that The Rock is our first Criterion Blu-ray. I know it technically is not, however.

i was going to say all that too, but by the time i put that list on there i forgot.