Criterion announces first Blu-ray titles - Page 2

Re: Criterion announces first Blu-ray titles

If only other studios had half the sense that Criterion does when it comes to releasing titles such as these.

Unlike Fox or New Line, where we won't likely see Star Wars or Lord of the Rings for some time to come, Criterion goes and offers some of its most celebrated titles to its initial wave. I hope they keep the supplemental content the same as the SD predecessors. Most of these are some of the finest DVDs available right now as far as content and overall product quality.

Count on Criterion to deliver and not disappoint.

My first post in over a year. Yay!

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woohoo!
Criterion Bottle Rocket !
Looks like I have to get a Blu player...

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Well, the old R1 release was sooo bad...and the film's images are so strikingly beautiful...that the cleaned-up SD release was very tempting on its own.

And, basically, I guess I just feel that having those beautiful images now released in HD--yet likely still cropped--just ratchet-up that temptation to a new level.

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It sure will be interesting to see what Criterion's MSRP is going to be on their BDs.

Re: Criterion announces first Blu-ray titles

Great news!! Hopefully we'll start seeing day-and-date releases from them soon. But the best news of the whole announcement is:


Other studios (looking at you Fox) please take note of the above.

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Wow, GREAT news!

There are zillion Criterion-titles that I don´t have and I´ve held of buying those DVDs during the format war.

"The Third Man" and "400 Blows" are a must, and I must now also reconsider "Last Emperor" (the cropping does bother me in some degree).. We´ll see.

Anyway, thank you Criterion! About time!

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I thought Time Bandits was an Anchor Bay title?

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The Criterion Collection: Time Bandits by Terry Gilliam

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It is.
But Criterion released their version also
And if I remember correctly, Criterion had great extras on it versus the Anchor Bay version.

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This is great news!! I am especially pleased to hear them say that the prices will be the same as the standard def versions (though I won't totally believe it until I actually see it).

On a side note, I wonder if the Criterion Blu-rays will have their own spine numbering system?

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This is very exciting news indeed. I'm ashamed to say that I haven't seen even one of these films before. So, while I have decided to reign in my blind-buying on this format until prices come down, I have very much looking forward to renting them for the time being and using the responses in this thread to help choose the order in which I will do so.

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I like the fact they are releasing in the Fall, which is when I plan on buying a BD player. Sweet.

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THE THIRD MAN on BD?


Great news! Hopefully Criterion releases the Powell/Pressburger films on BD, along with THIEF OF BAGDAD. Those Technicolor films will look spectacular in high def.

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This is good news indeed. Although I already have some of these titles and I swore not to double dip, I still may have to get the HD versions of For All Mankind and The Last Emperor, the first because of the stunning views of space and the second because I’m not that happy with the quality of my R4 SD version. I’m tempted to get a second copy of Walkabout, but if Criterion releases titles that I don’t already have fast enough, I’ll be able to hold out.

No plans to replace:
•The Third Man
•The 400 Blows (already have 2 copies)
•Gimme Shelter
•The Complete Monterey Pop
•Contempt
•The Wages of Fear

OHOH, a BD release of In the Mood for Love would be an immediate pickup.

Right now I’m just pleased that I quit buying any more DVDs several years ago—and I extremely glad I resisted the temptation to become one of the complete Criterion collectors.

I agree with Martin as to El Norte
With luck I can extend this to the BD Criterions as well.

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Count me in on at least triple dipping "The Third Man" and "Wages Of Fear". Glad I held out on "The Last Emperor".

I may eventually double dip on some of the titles mentioned by folks above.

Time for a third mortgage ?

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For All Mankind looks like a must for me. I hope the producers of In the Shadow of the Moon will pick up the same cue.

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This is great news. I'll go ahead another name out there too... I'd like to see Night and the City in BD.

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Great, great news. I have no problem triple dipping on movies like The Third Man and Wages Of Fear. And I can't wait to see Contempt in 1080p. Very happy.

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I purchased the HD-DVD import (UK version I believe) of In The Shadow of the Moon and really enjoyed the film (and presentation). If you have HD-DVD playback and are a fan of For All Mankind I definitely recommend the import. Hopefully this will make its way to Bd.

- Walter.

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Sooooo.....I wonder what packaging they will use. Somehow the blue plastic just doesn't seem fitting for a Criterion disc.

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In my case, the no-buy decision was made on the SD version because it was SD (post #10 in the other thread ), so I never had to actually *make* the decision based on the cropping!

Frankly, if the director and cinematographer are OK with it, then I'll probably be OK with it too. It's been so many years since I've seen the film, I doubt I'd really notice.

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I'm more than a bit surprised that no Bergman or Kurosawa titles are present on that list, but the inclusion of THE THIRD MAN, being one of my all-time favorite films, thrills me to no end.

Hopefully the following will get the Blu treatment in 2009...

Seven Samurai
Throne of Blood
Rashomon
The Seventh Seal
Wild Strawberries
The Virgin Spring
Naked Lunch
The Orphic Trilogy

...and hell, I'll just throw this out there: The Beastie Boys Video Anthology.

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**...and they will be priced to match our standard-def editions.**

Damn, this sounds promising indeed. Of course, these Criterion-titles are not exactly cheap (e.g. "3rd Man" SD DVD is $34.99 in Amazon), so this was probably the only real option for the company (to keep the prices at least "decent").

Criterion really kept their promise. They promised "HD-titles" when we have "one winner" in the war. This is big news for the whole BR-format.

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I saw In the Shadow… theatrically. I actually considered getting into HD-DVD just for that disc, but as very late release there was some question whether it would actually appear (I'm actually somewhat surprised it wasn't cancelled). If they accepted the argument for High Definition in the first place, we can hope they will be willing to reissue on the (potentially) successful format.

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More than likely they won't. The DVD's share the LD spine #'s. I doubt they will change the trend. It would be nice though because they no longer have control of many titles.

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I know this will sound sacrilege (because believe me I'm a big Criterion fan, I have plenty of their discs in my collection), but I hope they "do it right" the first time.

I remember their first DVDs were non-anamorphic and I think a few were LD master ports. I'm hoping that from the very beginning their BDs are of high quality, A/V and extras wise.

I'm rooting for them, and I'm glad they're on the Blu train, but I'm going to wait until some reviews roll in before buying their initial BD product.

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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.

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They just updated their site to reflect the upcoming titles...

Realy looking to see if they will do Battle of Algiers soon...perhaps one of their best, if not the best that Criterion ever did...Bottle Rocket sounds awesome, I hope Anderson's other 3 titles follow shortly.

Criterion looks to end 2008 with a bang...

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I'm so glad that I held off for so long buying the new Brazil release by Criterion. Hopefully it will come out on Blu soon. I lloked on the back of the new release and it says High def transfer (as does Naked Lunch a new favorite of mine). This is excellent news.

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

I don´t know about the "native resolution" etc of 16 mm vs SD DVD (480 - NTSC/576 - PAL), though..

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Since I enjoy making lists, here's one of Criterions releases from SD which I'd buy on BD. Well, with a low purchase price of course.

Rasomon
Seven Samurai
Throne of Blood
The Hidden Fortress
Red Beard
Ikiru
The Bad Sleep Well
Ugetsu
Kagemusha
RAN
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Brazil
CHARADE
The Lady Vanishes
Stray Dog
The Man Who Fell to Earth