Criterion announces first Blu-ray titles - Page 3

Danny_N · 05-09-2008, 02:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jari K

Well, 1080p doubles the resolution vs. SD DVD, so yes, it´ll look better.

1080p is 5 times the resolution of SD. The increase in resolution of SD to BD is in fact bigger than the increase in resolution of VHS to SD.

Jim_K · 05-09-2008, 07:18 AM

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 · 05-09-2008, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yee-Ming

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 · 05-09-2008, 03:53 PM

Quote:

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 · 05-09-2008, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew markworthy

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 · 05-09-2008, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny_N

1080p is 5 times the resolution of SD..

1080 vs 480 - NTSC OR 576 - PAL.

Around double?

Brandon Conway · 05-09-2008, 04:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by andrew markworthy

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 · 05-09-2008, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway

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

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

Brandon Conway · 05-09-2008, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Danny_N

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.

Man-Fai Wong · 05-09-2008, 09:04 PM

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 · 05-10-2008, 06:30 AM

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