Killer CAV Criterion vs. DVD

I own the Criterion CAV LD and I've owned three copies of the dvd, but I never did any direct comparisons. They are very close, I'm pretty certain, but neither are showpieces. In supplements, the edge goes to the LD. I know it has something the dvd doesn't. I believe it's one or more deleted scenes, but I'm not positive about this.

The LD has a higher coolness factor, if that matters.

 

The Killer CAV LD has many more extra features than the DVD -- an essay on HK crime films, an old Woo student film, and trailers for 11 Woo films. The DVD only has deleted scenes, the trailer, and a commentary.

However.......

For some reason, the special features that were on The Killer CAV LD that didn't make their way to The Killer DVD were put on the Hard Boiled DVD instead. Why Criterion did this I have no idea. IIRC The Killer LD also had a little bit of "behind the scenes" footage on the making of Hard Target; this isn't included on either DVD.

If you just want The Killer, then obviously the LD is your best bet.

 

Wasn't there a rumour not too long ago that Winstar's rights to Killer (and Hard Boiled) were about to lapse here in the states and Fox-Lorber was going to allow Criterion another crack at them? And it appeared that Criterion was interested.
What became of this?

 

Wasn't there a rumour not too long ago that Winstar's rights to Killer (and Hard Boiled) were about to lapse here in the states and Fox-Lorber was going to allow Criterion another crack at them? And it appeared that Criterion was interested.

What became of this?

It was just a rumor. The only Fox Lorber titles Criterion will be rereleasing for the moment are Jules and Jim, The 400 Blows, Claire's Knee, and Chloe in the Afternoon. The Killer and Hard Boiled will be rereleased later this year by Buena Vista, not Criterion.

 

Thanks Jean-Michel.

That's still good news, by my reckoning. Hopefully Buena Vista will do these films justice - like I know they are capable.

Not that the Winstar's were crap, as I think the quality of presentation holds up nicely against the Criterion eds., but these titles could use a bit of a restore, to put it mildly. Hopefully BV will do just that.

Any word on the effort BV plans to expend on these gun-fu classics?

 

Does anyone know yet if the RR of 400 Blows is going to be a straight re-issue of the previous CC DVD?

 

That is correct Jean-Michel,

I remember this debate when the films were released on DVD.

IRRC, back then, RSDL releases were not common and expensive to produce.

If you are lucky enough to own both Hard Boiled and The Killer Criterions (like me), you have all the supplements from both LDs.

I owned the CLV LD of the Killer and the transfer is the same on the DVD. Better colors and resolution, but same transfer source.

Doug

 

If you have the Criterion DVDs of both movies, you do NOT have all the supplements from both laserdiscs.

The DVDs are missing a lot of the supplements from THE KILLER CAV laserdisc. The missing supplements include: a comparison of the different gun shot sounds used in THE KILLER, numerous text supplements (at this time Critierion did not include text supplements on their DVDs), photos from award shows, many posters, lobby cards, behind the scenes photos for each of John Woo's movies. The HARD BOILED DVD only includes a single poster or lobby card for each of his movies in the trailer section of the DVD. A real disappointment.

As for quality, THE KILLER LD and DVD are about the same. On the other hand, Criterion's HARD-BOILED laserdisc beats Criterion's DVD easily. The transfer on Criterion's DVD is way too dark. This is easily noticeable if you compare it against Criterion's own laserdisc. I don't know how that DVD got past Criterion's quality control. Unfortunately, Criterion's laserdisc (CAV and CLV) of HARD-BOILED is a known rotter so beware.

There is no good DVD of HARD-BOILED yet because the other DVD, from Fox Lorber, is cropped.

 

I wouldn't expect much from BV on these films. There track record with foreign films is not good.

Criterion wouldn't re-release 400 Blows as a direct port. It would be anamorphic, and if the rumors of them licensing and releasing the R2 Antoine Doinel box set are true, it will have quite a few extras.

 

I wouldn't expect much from BV on these films. There track record with foreign films is not good.

I would at least expect it to be better than the Fox Lorber versions.

 

I am very concerned that BV will edit these. I don't care if they look the best they ever did. If they are cut or altered in any way I will not buy them.

I have e-mailed Disney and let them know that altering these movies would be unacceptable.

Matt