Criterion Collection on DVD. Recommendations please.

Black Narcissus
Branded to Kill
Brazil
Cries and Whispers
High and Low
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Rebecca
The Red Shoes
Rushmore
Seven Samurai
Shock Corridor
Wages of Fear

Also highly recommended--I haven't seen all of these specifically on Criterion, but they're great (or at least very interesting) movies:

Band of Outsiders
Contempt
Diabolique
Double Suicide
Elements of Fear
The Grand Illusion
The Hidden Fortress
I Know Where I'm Going
K(w)aidan
The Lady Vanishes
Last Temptation of Christ
M
Rashomon
The Shop on Main Street
Seventh Seal
Straw Dogs (when it comes out in March)
Time Bandits
The Vanishing (original movie)
Wild Strawberries
Yojimbo

High and Low, one of my favorite s, looks *fantastic*.

I keep thinking about picking up the CC version of 'The Rock' because I wonder WTF every time I see it and my curiosity just keeps growing and growing.

Also: Tokyo Drifter. Fucking GREBT or whatever the kids are saying these days. I wish CC would go back and do all of Wong Kar Wai's flicks. And some anime, too.

I'd also recommend the new Trouble in Paradise Criterion DVD as it is not only a wonderful film, but an additional Lubitsch film (a silent one) is tacked on. Likewise Under the Roofs of Paris: a great film, and the DVD also includes René Clair's Paris qui dort. Really it depends what your tastes are. My favorite Criterion is the Dreyer box set, but I understand many people would find his later films too slow, or what have you.

If you see the three Jacques Tati Criterions, snatch them up. They are not only wonderfully films and nice DVDs (all with additional short Tati films), but they are now '"rare," having recently gone out of print.

Also, be on the lookout for a 2-DVD set of films by Stan Brakhage, coming out in February I believe.

Also love Sullivan's Travels, Hidden Fortress, Le Trou, Le Million and Vagabond. I AM PSYCHED to see that they're releasing Band Of Outsiders

1) Kurosawa's "Ikiru"
2) Bunuels's "Exterminating Angel"
3) Powell & Pressburger's "Tales of Hoffman"

and (not that it will ever happen, but...) Peckinpah's "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia".

hmm. why not? I wouldn't be surprised at all if this were Criterion'd.

Pretty much my thought. To my sheer delight, I've been able to find a number of Critierion releases used...at a local outlet of the Wherehouse, no less! (Picked up Black Orpheus there recently.) This is especially important in that the one problem with the company are their ridiculously high prices new -- have they ever offered an explanation as to why? I've seen just as fine discs (mastering, bonus stuff, etc.) from small companies at much cheaper prices.

Because the expense of licensing the films, obtaining the best available prints, doing digital restoration, etc. is very high. Not to mention hiring someone to do new subtitles as they often do, plus all the bonus materials that come with many of their releases. I think their DVDs look and sound on average much nicer than those from such companies as Fantoma, etc. I think Fantoma tends to license more obscure films, and the costs are lower as a result. Anyway, Criterions aren't really much more expensive than, say, Kino's DVDs, which tend to be mastered poorly by comparison.

Believe it or not, Ikiru and Tales of Hoffmann are each set to be released sometime in the next 18 months.

(*crossing fingers* Now, you know I'm hoping my luck holds and I get the job I'm up for, just so I can say I've a budget to break!)

Oh, beyond sweet.

Recheck that catalog again, Nichole -- Sid and Nancy has been OOP for a while. There are a number of DVDs no longer available (the John Woo selections, the original Spinal Tap release)...

my faves are
contempt
band of outsiders
hiroshima, mon amour
discreet charm of the Bourgeoisie
george washington
ratcatcher

i am sure there are more i cant think of

According to the CC discussion board, they might re-release The Seven Samurai as a 2-disc (from better sources), which is both great news and sucky news 'cause I HAVE THE OLD ONE-DISC, DAMMIT.

I really love the Brakhage collection, more than I thought I would (though I might never watch The Act of Seeing... ever again, except to gross people out, which actually I did a few days ago). If you take stills from Dog Star Man, then you have a year's worth of 4AD album covers (and that year would be 1984). According to Brakhage, Eye Myth was made over the course of one year. One year! For a 9 second film! The transfer looks great, but maybe some of the source materials could've been in better shape. I mean, Mothlight had all sorts of crud on the film that they didn't sweep off, like grass, insect parts, etc.! (heh. *grin*)

Aside from a few commentaries and making-ofs - especially if it's an in-depth thing, like the Three Colors trilogy - I don't care about extras. I'd much rather have a $24.95 one-disc version of Brazil w/ the Criterion transfer and a commentary or two than the $50+ three-disc box set.

the criterion release i saw most recently (and loved more than anything i've seen lately): band of outsiders

I've had ridiculous luck with a number of Criterion releases turning up used in my neck of the woods -- most recently, Andrei Rublev and The Third Man.

As for prices/extras: keep in mind that Criterion has to license the rights to these films and then does their best to work with the top of the line prints, people, and equipment to make the best transfers possible. This costs a lot of money for discs that generally don't exactly fly off of a standard retailer's shelves. That is why the discs are expensive, not the extras. The extras are added both because the hard-core cineastes appreciate them and because they help justify the price a bit more. But most of those extras cost very little extra to produce or obtain. It's the transfers themselves that are the largest expense. Take Playtime, for example. It's going to be re-released in a few months, but the delay is because they have finally gained access to a 65mm telecine machine - something that is extremely rare and not at all cheap. The transfer will be that much better for it, but if you think that the CC is raking in the dough, I can assure you that they are not.

That all being said, don't trust the prices on the official site. I highly recommend buying through Deep Discount DVD, who generally have the best prices on most titles and offer free US shipping.

Oh, and just as a matter of point, Straw Dogs also just went out of print last week.

My girlfriend gave me Criterion's Band of Outsiders for our 4-year anniversary. Great gift.

(Ironically I picked up a few of the old DVD sets last month via the B&N 50% off sale but hey.)

awesome, I have & love a few of the old sets (Varda, Czech new wave, I think 1 other one)

In the coming months, you can look forward to Eclipse sets of the six extraordinary features directed by Kinuyo Tanaka, Japan’s first successful woman director; and five searingly radical documentaries from the husband-and-wife team of Kazuo Hara and Sachiko Kobayashi. And we’ll get you singing and dancing with Blu-ray upgrades of Carlos Saura’s electrifying Flamenco Trilogy and Ernst Lubitsch’s joyously risqué pre-Code musicals. Also in the pipeline are sets devoted to the early films of Ruben Östlund and the revolutionary cinema of Sara Gómez.

super cool revival, all in for those Tanaka & Lubitsch sets

I saw in passing that Janus apparently oversaw a restoration of the Roy Andersson catalog, which hopefully means they make a Criterion appearance. None of his movies are available in the US/Region A, and none of them have received 4K transfers.

oh nice, a decade or w/e of dithering over that Lubitsch set finally pays off

Nice to see House Party finally getting the respect it deserves.

Hell yes, just announced World Cinema Project No. 5 at last:

https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/8451-martin-scorsese-s-world-cinema-project-no-5

Extremely here for The Fall of Otrar in particular.

Other January selections look good too -- going for Birth and Yi Yi as well.

I don't get why they're releasing certain newer titles (Caught by the Tides, for eg) without spine numbers.

That's part of their Criterion Contemporaries line, which aren't numbered, though it is interesting to see which new films they release get put into that category and which end up in the numbering sequence. (As it stands said film didn't fully land for me; the conclusion, being the actual new footage, was the strongest, but otherwise stitching together both released sequences and outtakes from the previous films into a totally new narrative felt...weird.)

The Birth cover reminds me of that iconic image of Moira Shearer from The Red Shoes.

was expecting an Eclipse set as part of the announcements (gimme that Kinuyo Tanaka ffs!), but WCP being back is great

Thinking about upgrading from my old DVD of Altered States. Not a Russell fan generally, but I've loved that movie since I was a kid.

50% off sale is live.

Indeed! Kept it simple this time by getting Flow on DVD for my mom for Xmas (she hasn't bothered with Blurays) and in combination with a channel subscriber discount that was a reasonable pickup.

ooh Flow

I just want that Lubitsch set but it ain't here yet

I got me my Spinal Tap 4K and also No Country for Old Men 4K.

I had no business buying the big Fellini box considering it is taking me years to get through the Bergman box. But here we are. Hopefully no more big important best director ever boxes will come out before I watch these.

Wait till they come out with the complete Fassbinder

Bought Altered States (upgrading from a DVD I’ve had forever) and One False Move.

unfortunately the one i really want (pee wee) is a december preorder and not 50% off right now

Yeah, I've got a couple of old codes I'm saving until spring to get that one on sale next time.

I really want the Wes Anderson box, and I have three $10 discount codes on top of the 50%. Decisions...

If you're in the US, B&N 50% off Criterion starts in a week or two and lasts for a month

ty!

(I bought some stuff during this flash anyway but it helps reduce the sense of urgency knowing the next sale is right around the corner, specifically after payday)

I had four coupon codes going back to 2021 and finally burned them all on Leave Her to Heaven and the Lone Wolf and Cub set.

(I got Flow, Clair Denis' White Material, and Underground Railroad... and Dazed and Confused lol)

4K or blu? I heard the 4k looks great, especially for a movie few would use to showcase their big TV or whatever.

I got Flow and A History of Violence. Will most likely get the WA set via B&N next month.

White Material's my favorite Denis ftr

haha, I got the 4k Dazed and Confused in case I need to pause it to scrutinize something in the background to figure out where in Austin they were exactly when filming a scene

Shouldn't we be getting a B&N sale by now?

Rumor has it it starts November 7. Though apparently they've been staggering imprint sales (Criterion, Arrow, etc.) a bit more to prevent overlap, and also Criterion gets a say when it will be, too.

Yep, starts November 7th. As per the crew at the B&N I used to work at. Also if you're planning to buy, say, the Wes Anderson box set for $250, hit up a local B&N and every $100 gift card you buy nets you an additional $10 gift card... can save another $20.

Speaking of which, I'm not sure I've read anything about how the Wes Anderson 4Ks actually look. Iirc only the first few movies are fresh transfers, the rest are I believe upscales.

Half the movies (Darjeeling, Mr. Fox, Moonrise, Grand Budapest, Isle of Dogs) are 2k upscales, the other half (Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, Tenenbaums, Life Aquatic, French Dispatch) are 4k restorations/masters

But do you know if they look significantly better? Does anyone? Lotta unboxing videos, but it's oddly not been reviewed that comprehensively, afaict. "Hard Boiled" was just released by Shout yesterday and I've seen more reactions to that one.

Over on the Criterion forum there's been some complaints re: packaging issues and random disc freezing with the Anderson set (also interesting clarifying discussion about why the upscales?): https://criterionforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=18451

browsing the forum thread about the box on blu-ray.com shows a lot of praise for visual quality of the 4k remasters and some comments about the color grading on Darjeeling (it's gotten colder), and as just noted some find the Royal Tenenbaums 4k disc freezes around the half hour mark, others don't have this issue.

Was just reading the Criterion forum thread, and it sounds like these upgrades are pretty modest at best, for various reasons. There have been a handful of 4k releases that have been like watching the movie for the first time, there are some that look bad (or too good), and then there are some whose improvements fall under the ymmv umbrellas, based on your TV/eyes/brain/imagination. I wonder if any of these titles will get another pass when they (I assume) get released individually.

I currently have them on DVD so since there is nothing egregious like AI or extreme noise reduction the box set is something of an easy buy for me, they're certain to look nicer than what I currently have (and four of them I don't own at all)

Not unrelated, I almost bought a used copy of "Pan's Labyrinth" today, but then I saw they are doing a new 20th anniversary run of it next year with (I think I saw) a promise of a new home release, so I suspect that means a Criterion 4k.

I have a Criterion Blu-Ray box from about 10 years ago of Cronos, Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone, so it kinda makes sense they'd upgrade it.

Del Toro's 10-movie box set will be released next year, I am excited to see Blade 2 coming to the Criterion Collection

FINALLY A MARVEL MOVIE

Lotta unboxing videos, but it's oddly not been reviewed that comprehensively, afaict. "Hard Boiled" was just released by Shout yesterday and I've seen more reactions to that one.

As someone who loves both, it doesn't surprise me that Hong Kong action heads are actually more dilligent in figuring out specifications than Wes Anderson fans.

xpost About six of his movies have Criterion editions, right? I assume they'll get Frankenstein as well. I bet a lot of his others probably have expensive rights issues, but who knows, maybe they are reverting to del Toro. In the meantime, they by and large already have pretty solid editions out, iirc.

lol Barnes and Noble site is down, what's the opposition of a DOS attack, Too Much Service?

their web site is slow garbage even at the best of times

And it's back. I think I saw a rumor that they may extend the sale for the holidays, which would be great if it expanded to include the upcoming Yi Yi and Pee Wee's Big Adventure 4ks.