Pre-Order Sony Pictures Classics 30th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD Collection (4K UHD) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[titch]

This is an impressively diverse collection of art-house classics, many titles of which I'll bet no-one posting on this thread has seen - Synecdoche New York and The Celluloid Closet being two examples. This release reminds me of the heyday of LaserDisc, when lovingly curated - pricey - boxes were released. Apparently, a major driver behind the LaserDisc releases, was that the heads of the major film studios really liked the format and wanted to have the films readily accessible in their own home theatres. I can see this particular box-set being gifted to Hollywood insiders this coming Christmas.

And for anyone wailing about their own favourite titles not being included in a 4K set - chances are they'll turn up. You might have to look over the pond. The German 4K Howard's End has been available since 2018. It is cheap and looks splendid - by far the best looking version of the film, which has been released to date.

See on Amazon

 

[Martin_Teller]

Several very good films in that set, but the only one I would buy is ORLANDO. I'll wait for it to pop up on eBay.

 

[jayembee]

This is an impressively diverse collection of art-house classics, many titles of which I'll bet no-one posting on this thread has seen - Synecdoche New York and The Celluloid Closet being two examples.

You'd lose that bet. Of the 11 films included, there are only two I haven't seen: SLC Punk and Still Alice.

 

[Lord Dalek]

Given that Cohen Media Group now controls the Merchant Ivory library, not a helluva lot SPC could do about it.

This. Sony only held a US license to Howards End and that expired 20 years ago.

Ironically they do own Merchant Ivory's follow up The Remains of the Day in perpetuity but that's not a SPC film.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

You'd lose that bet. Of the 11 films included, there are only two I haven't seen: SLC Punk and Still Alice.

Ha - those are 2 of the 5 I HAVE seen!

 

[titch]

You'd lose that bet. Of the 11 films included, there are only two I haven't seen: SLC Punk and Still Alice.

I'm impressed.

 

[JoshZ]

Of the 11 titles in the set, 7 of them appeal to me: City of Lost Children, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, The Devil's Backbone, Orlando, Run Lola Run, Synecdoche New York, and Volver.

That's is a pretty strong hit-ratio. However, I have little to no interest in the other 4. Also, when I break it down:

Crouching Tiger - I already have the existing UHD and the addition of Dolby Vision does nothing for me as a projector user. So, basically, scratch this one right off the list.

The Devil's Backbone - I'm pretty satisfied with the Criterion Blu-ray.

Run Lola Run - I'm not sure how much this would benefit from 4K given its shooting style of inclusion of video footage.

Synecdoche - The Blu-ray for this is frustratingly soft and I would very much welcome a sharper image, but I suspect that the softness may be inherent to the photography.

Orlando - I have this on Blu-ray but haven't watched the disc in ages, and don't recall how satisfying or unsastifying it was on that format. My recollection is that the movie has fairly soft and grainy photography, but maybe I'm misremembering?

City of Lost Children - I just bought this on Blu-ray recently and it's a little frustrating that an upgrade is available already. I haven't even watched the disc yet. Nevertheles, it's the one I'd most want in 4K, just on principle.

Volver - This is another one where I think 4K (and especially HDR) could have a real benefit. Almodovar's use of color should look very nice. But, again, I haven't watched the Blu-ray in years and don't know how well it holds up.

Overall, I just can't justify either the price of the box set or the amount of shelf space it would take up, sadly.

 

[jayembee]

I'm impressed.

You shouldn't be. I've been around a while, and when I lived in the Boston area, I had solid access to a number of art/rep theaters.

 

[Garysb]

 

[AlexNH]

This is an impressively diverse collection of art-house classics, many titles of which I'll bet no-one posting on this thread has seen - Synecdoche New York and The Celluloid Closet being two examples. This release reminds me of the heyday of LaserDisc, when lovingly curated - pricey - boxes were released. Apparently, a major driver behind the LaserDisc releases, was that the heads of the major film studios really liked the format and wanted to have the films readily accessible in their own home theatres. I can see this particular box-set being gifted to Hollywood insiders this coming Christmas.

And for anyone wailing about their own favourite titles not being included in a 4K set - chances are they'll turn up. You might have to look over the pond. The German 4K Howard's End has been available since 2018. It is cheap and looks splendid - by far the best looking version of the film, which has been released to date.

See on Amazon

The Celluloid Closet was shown on HBO in 1996. I taped it at that time.

 

[B-ROLL]

The Celluloid Closet was shown on HBO in 1996. I taped it at that time.

I suspect the 4K will look a tad bit better than your 480i recording assuming the tape hasn't been exposed to extreme heat/cold/moisture or electromagnetic fields ...

 

[Colin Jacobson]

To my immense shock, Sony sent me a copy of this set.

Sony supports my site... erratically. They didn't send any of the 3 "Columbia Classics Collection" sets to date, and I didn't expect this one.

But it arrived today - a rare Sunday FedEx delivery!

Will dig into it in the coming days.

Did want to indicate that if it's not already clear, the set if 4K only. No BD copies of the movies.

Which seems a little odd but it is what it is, to coin a cliche.

 

[compson]

Now on sale for $139.99 plus tax, down from over $200

See on Amazon

 

[JoshZ]

Now on sale for $139.99 plus tax, down from over $200

Sold! Feeling glad I didn't bite on the Columbia vol. 3 box. I came very close to caving on that one.

 

[Worth]

The cheapest you can get this in Canada is $400.

 

[Nick*Z]

30 years, 13 movies (several, quite forgettable), $200. Not lovin' this at all.
Now, if it had been 30 years, 30 movies, $200, there might have been room to maneuver in this discussion!

...and yes, we Canucks are expected to pay double that price for what's being offered here. Not happening.

By the way, who said it was 18 movies. ORLANDO, THE CELLULOID CLOSET, THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, RUN LOLA RUN, SLC PUNK, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, VOLVER, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, STILL ALICE and CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.

I count 13.

 

[Nick*Z]

30 years, 13 movies (several, quite forgettable), $200. Not lovin' this at all.
Now, if it had been 30 years, 30 movies, $200, there might have been room to maneuver in this discussion!

...and yes, we Canucks are expected to pay double that price for what's being offered here. Not happening.

By the way, who said it was 18 movies. ORLANDO, THE CELLULOID CLOSET, THE CITY OF LOST CHILDREN, RUN LOLA RUN, SLC PUNK, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON, THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE, VOLVER, SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, STILL ALICE and CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.

I count 13.

And that's only because I can't count. It's actually 11. Whoops. My bad. Even worse for any prospect of owing this collection.

 

[Will Krupp]

And that's only because I can't count. It's actually 11. Whoops. My bad. Even worse for any prospect of owing this collection.

I thought your numbers (or mine) were off! Lol

I did something I've never done before with this set. I bought it when it was on sale for about $130.00 or so because I desperately wanted Call Me By Your Name in 4K. I had no interest in keeping any of the other titles as they just didn't appeal to me. I sold the other 10 on ebay, got my purchase price back (so CMBYN was free) plus a generous profit. I've never taken a chance like that before but now I'm kind of hooked. What a rush those last few seconds of an auction gives you!

 

[david hare]

More fun than the movie!

 

[Will Krupp]

More fun than the movie!

You're just lucky I adore you, mr. smartypants!