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Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love" and David Gordon Green's "George Washington" -- whenever a conversation on exemplary cinematography comes up, my mind always goes to those two films. Both would be immediate buys on Blu. (Talkin' to you, Criterion. :-)

I consider Clint Mansell's music for "Requiem For a Dream" to be one of the all-time great fusions of music and film. The piece called "Marion Barfs" is the strongest moment, musically, in the whole film, IMHO. The momentum, the camerawork, and the editing makes for an amazing, intense two...

It is, indeed, the filmmaker's "right" to do whatever they want with their creations. More power to them; I'm not their master. But it is also my "right" to not reward them for making alterations to their creations that are, IMO, wrong, misguided, boneheaded, or, in some instances, obviously...

Hi, Peter ~ I own the earlier 5-star SD, and I did do a comparison. Does the Blu look better than the SD? In some ways, certainly. But in other -- and to me more important -- ways, no, it doesn't. The Blu-ray is not an improvement over the SD if the changes made (what, oddly enough...

Friedkin, obviously, had all the right in the world to alter the look of this masterpiece as he saw fit. I, also obviously, have all the right in the world to decry it as I see fit. I watched it on a calibrated 50" Viera plasma, and I was mortified. Just terrible. As bad, sometimes even...

Yeah, I kinda figured that was gonna be the case -- especially with such (artistically) high grade titles. Studios aren't going to make it easy. Thanks, Mark, you dream killer. :-)

My fantasy world does not consist of hot babes in slinky bikinis and anachronistic high heels, tons of money, exotic sports cars, etc. My fantasy world consists of Criterion being in a position to release a Blu-ray version of Terrence Malick's "Days of Heaven." Their SD release was great...

Warner may only be the distributor of these titles, but Warner isn't exactly some no-name, no-influence party that's just thankful to have a play in the game. It's Warner. It's a phone call, a meeting, a memo: "Hey, New Line, your shabby transfers are costing you -- and us -- sales. Our more...

Love this film! It's so heartless and wicked-funny. For anyone that has it, give yourself a laugh by freeze-framing the shot of a close-up of a newspaper article, where Payne (or whoever did the insert) complains in the article itself about having to write up fake newspaper articles for just...

Blade Runner was my first Blu purchase. I bought it before I had a player. After setting up my new 50 " Panny Viera and Sony 550, BR was the first title I checked out. My jaw dropped. I have since added a number of Blu titles to my library, and I still put BR in to show off the system to...

Ron ~ I caught this in the theater and found it to be terrific. A modest film, but a solid one, focused more on character than action. That being said, the action that is in it is very good; it's just not an empty "shoot-'em-up." It's better than that. I am a real fan of character...

Dude ~ That is some righteous shit, dude, man, re: TCM's ugly women. The remake was the shit for fixin' that. Now, if we can all rally around the hope that Coppola's "Godfather" remake will finally grow a pair and fill the screen with smokin' hot %$#& with big hooters and glassy-eyed...

"Carrie" is one of my fond movie memories from the time I saw it as a kid at the drive-in during its theatrical run in the mid-70s. (My poor, unsuspecting parents... bless their hearts.) It's a film I own on DVD, in a nice special edition. It's a film I'd love to own on Blu-ray...

Renee Falconetti -- The Passion of Joan of Arc :-)

Quick question for current Blu-ray player owners: How IS the upscaling of SDVDs with your BD player? I am waiting for the new Sony to make my first BD player purchase -- the handful of as-yet-unplayed BD titles I have already purchased mock me on a daily basis until then -- but I recall...

I actually DID have sex with the 5-disc set. And it WAS amazing. (Don't get me wrong: I'm not perverted or anything; I was just hoping to generate a 6th disc in the process. :-) (With the above said, let me offer a special word of thanks to Charlie for not packaging this thing in a...

Great posts! I have to say, the single most memorable and impressive episode of television, one that has stuck with me through the years, is E.R.'s "Love's Labor Lost." From the first season, I think. Devastating. Also, from my youth, the one television memory that sticks with me and takes...

I looked at the product photos from the DVDActive link, but am still a little confused. Can anyone confirm if Warner will be releasing a high definition version of the ULTIMATE set that includes all the extra items that will be in the SD ultimate set?

Back to that, IMO, amazing ending... I'm a person who, if you're gonna give me a horror story, really GIVE it to me. I am not interested in Friday the 13th hokem, Freddy K., or tongue-in-cheek "Scream" shenanigans. I want to walk out of that theater messed up, my legs a little shaky, my breath...

For me, if she came across as "rational," it would have helped me appreciate the fact that so many chose to follow her up to and (presumably) beyond the point of wanting to sacrifice a child. As an example, Edward Norton's performance in "American History X" was that much more compelling and...

For what it's worth, I was around thirty years ago, and it was a stereotyped cliche then. Thirty years later makes it that much more tired. And to reiterate, IMO, the Carmody character would have been more effective had Harden not been so over-the-top with it.

Dennis ~ I am, of course, aware of the Carmody character's origin. I never read "The Mist" but if her screen presentation closely mirrors King's presentation of her in his story, then so much the worse for King for what I consider to be a tired, creatively lazy, boring stereotype. And it's...

Andy, thematically, your position is fine (for me). I get what you are saying -- and I agree. Thematically. My use of the word "nihilism" had more to do with the actual on-screen ACTIONS -- and how those actions made ME feel. It was a grim close to things. It was a rejection of value...

Saw "The Mist" this weekend. Loved the grim, nihilistic ending. Like someone else mentioned, it reminded me of those great 70s downers. I like a film to create a mood for me (good or bad); IMO, that's the measure of a film's effect. Unfortunately, the ending was the only thing I cared for...

I, too, recall that original Saul Bass artwork, and seeing it again reminds me how wonderful, evocative, and effective that simple piece of art is. It's stunning. I would swap out my current "The Shining" DVD cover (from the new set) to that Bass one in a heartbeat.

I posted this angry rant some time back after another lousy night at the movies. If anything, things have grown even worse, so I'm just gonna post it again. -------------------------------- Just a word to all you boneheaded, ignorant, arrogant, too-cool-to-be-courteous, cell-phone-yackin'...

Here's a real-world example for all of you studio bean counters to suck on: I recently ordered a universal player. (Have yet to open it; life is busy.) I recently ordered a number of not-yet-released blue-ray AND HD-dvd titles. (Blade Runner, Kubrick titles, etc.) The player is getting...

Hey, Holadem ~ First, kudos for stepping back. Obviously, there was no upside for you in fighting this guy -- regardless of whether you won or lost the fight itself. The deck was stacked against you in ways you couldn't control, so wise decision. As a BJJ practitioner, I have never felt a...

Hey, Reggie ~ Like you, I'm a huge fan of 70s films. I don't have any breaking info on upcoming releases right now, but I wanted to second your request for more 70s titles -- both major and obscure. I'm partial to drive-in favorites, such as "Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry," "Vanishing Point,"...

I agree with John above regarding the DH scenes as "excessive bloodshed," rather than "gore." While the degree of violence going from "excessive bloodshed" to flat-out "gore" is, ultimately, in the eye of the beholder, I have always felt that real, hardcore "gore" money shots are few and far...