Criterion Goes Blu-ray
It was only a matter of time before it happened and it looks like the time has finally arrived. The folks over at Criterion are jumping on the Blu-ray bandwagon. They have selected a number of titles from their collection that will be available in the hi-def format later this year. The initial offerings are:
The Third Man
Bottle Rocket
Chungking Express
The Man Who Fell to Earth
The Last Emperor
El Norte
The 400 Blows
Gimme Shelter
The Complete Monterey Pop
Contempt
Walkabout
For All Mankind
The Wages of Fear
According to an email sent to newsletter subscribers, the new releases will be priced to match the standard-def editions. If that’s not enough, there’s also this little extra tidbit:
Alongside our DVD and Blu-ray box sets of The Last Emperor, we’ll also be putting out the theatrical version as a stand-alone release in both formats, priced at $39.95. Our Blu-ray release of Walkabout will be an all-new edition, featuring new supplements as well as a new transfer; we will also release an updated anamorphic DVD of Nicolas Roeg’s outback masterpiece at the same time.
Sounds good to me! I’ve been wanting to pick-up a copy of Walkabout for a while and it looks like this may be the perfect opportunity!
Ah you best me to it! Yeah, this looks like just one more reason to make the switch to Blu. Bottle Rocket is an interesting first choice. Also the Monterey Pop disc would be cool too. And I’m sure The Last Emperor will look pretty frakkin gorgeous.
Comment by Andrew James — May 7, 2008 @ 5:19 pm
And so enters the BSG vernacular.
Comment by Marina Antunes — May 7, 2008 @ 5:26 pm
I knew there was a reason I had never bought 400 Blows.
but I am getting burned with Wages of Fear, a film I bought this year and could really use some high definition.
Comment by rot — May 7, 2008 @ 5:58 pm
No Armageddon?
Comment by Henrik — May 7, 2008 @ 6:26 pm
^ Heh.
Bottle Rocket would be my first purchase…if I had Blu-Ray.
Comment by Joseph — May 7, 2008 @ 6:39 pm
They’re saving Armageddon and The Rock for the next round.
To be honest, I don’t know but I could see both of those choices as good blu-ray candidates considering the effects and all.
Comment by Marina Antunes — May 7, 2008 @ 10:17 pm
Hmmm, Still not enough reason to get me to upgrade to Blu. I’m going to be well behind the curve on this one. And big-time OUCH on double dipping on Criterion releases. My bank account is not strong enough for that!
Although this would be a good time for the Criterion folks to buy back the rights to a lot of their Out of Print (OOP) titles such as Robocop, Salo, Hard Boiled, How to get Ahead in Advertising, The Killer, Rebecca which retail at used stores and ebay for generally a few hundred dollars each.
Comment by Kurt — May 8, 2008 @ 6:19 am
I’d probably buy Blu going forward but I don’t think I’d double dip any of the titles; particularly any of the recent Criterion anamorphic releases. Seriously, how many frackin’ times do I have to buy Seven Samurai or Playtime? As far as I’m concerned I’m already spoiled having these amazing films looking the best they’ve ever looked. I’d feel frivolous and sort of stupid if I bought them all again.
Comment by Agent Orange — May 8, 2008 @ 1:27 pm
Would it be all that noticeable a difference with something like Seven Samurai? I do not know the technical side of all this but if it was crisper then the original CC version than I would definately go for it.
Comment by rot — May 8, 2008 @ 1:41 pm
Yes, Wages of Fear and Seven Samurai are getting their THIRD criterion release. For the passionate and early adopters, that is a TRIPLE DIP from the same company (a company that is 3-4x the cost from any other to boot!)
Comment by Kurt Halfyard — May 8, 2008 @ 2:10 pm
Seeing as I resisted the second version of SS the blu-ray would be a double-dip for me, and I would do it if I knew the quality of picture was substantial.
Comment by rot — May 8, 2008 @ 2:27 pm
Also I would be very tempted to buy For All Mankind on blu-ray, a stunning documentary about Man’s walk on the moon that I think is superior to the more recent doc on the subject, ‘In the Shadow of the Moon’. Shadow was interesting for some of the tales the astronauts told but Mankind is a work of art.
Comment by rot — May 8, 2008 @ 2:38 pm
The folks over at Digital Bits are concerned that Blu-Ray releases of classic films are going to be scrubbed to clean, losing the filmstock grain. They believe companies are using too much Digital Noise Reduction because the average blu-ray customer want’s everything squeaky clean, even if that means throwing out the cinemtographers style or technical-limitations-used-as-art in the process. They equate this to the same idiocy of demanding 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 films in pan-and-scan:
“To quote Han Solo, “I’ve got a BAD feeling about this.” I suspect THIS issue is going to be the new anamorphic widescreen, the new black bars. This is the issue that enthusiasts and the studios are going to have to make an effort to explain to consumers who are new to Blu-ray and high-definition in general. Unfortunately, what seems to happening right now is that the studio marketing folks are conducting focus groups with new Blu-ray consumers, who are saying they want perfect pictures every time. As a result, a few of the Hollywood studios are currently A) using excessive Digital Noise Reduction to completely scrub film grain from their Blu-ray releases, or B) not releasing as many older catalog titles as they might otherwise for fear that people will complain about grain. Some studios are even going so far as to scrub the grain out of NEW releases that have been shot on film. Case in point: New Line’s Pan’s Labyrinth Blu-ray Disc. When I saw this film in the theaters, it was dark and gritty. The grain was a deliberate stylistic choice - part of the artistic character of the film. New Line’s Blu-ray, on the other hand, is sparkly and glossy - almost entirely grain-free. So much fine detail has been removed that the faces of characters actually look waxy. Everyone looks like a plastic doll. It’s worth noting that the European release doesn’t suffer the same fate. One can only assume that there are fewer marketing fingers in the pie over there?
This isn’t just a Blu-ray issue, it’s going to affect ALL high-definition presentations of older films, if we allow it to. Film enthusiasts (and those at the studios who actually CARE about and respect the integrity of older films) need to really start educating people on this subject - new Blu-ray consumers, friends and family, fellow studio employees. FILM IS SUPPOSED TO LOOK LIKE FILM. Older titles on Blu-ray are NOT supposed to look perfect, as if they were shot today on video! The Blu-ray presentation should replicate, as closely as possible, the best original theatrical experience of the film. THAT’S the goal. I’ll tell you right now, this is an important issue, just as anamorphic enhancement and presenting films in their original aspect ratios on DVD were before it.”
Comment by Kurt Halfyard — May 9, 2008 @ 9:24 am
fascinating, this idea that film grain is considered part of the aesthetic. Lynch certainly thought so with Inland Empire, and you can see how murkiness enhances what his film is about.
Comment by rot — May 9, 2008 @ 9:40 am
It’s amazing how many people who own Blu Ray, who claim to be film lovers, whine and bitch about grain and don’t know the difference between soft focus filters and bad PQ. I want films to have texture, not a glassy smooth sheen.
Some people are stupid I guess.
Comment by swarez — May 9, 2008 @ 10:46 am
I think people who own Blu Ray love technology more than they love film.
Comment by Henrik — May 9, 2008 @ 10:55 am
@Henrik/Swarez agreed. But I think a lot of people buy Blu-ray when they upgrade their system and are sold that. So they aren’t necessarily film lovers. That being said, there are a lot of film lovers that have upgraded as well. In any art or technology arena there is going to be a lot of ignorance, my issue is when the ‘willfully’ ignorant start driving the business model. Then we get things like the support of Pan & Scan and such.
Several of the movies that have really struck me integrated the filming technique and associated ‘grain’ with the thematic component of the story. Inland Empire being the chief example, but also Collateral/Miami vice showing a very ‘different’ L.A. or Miami to underscore the different side of the city, a side that most don’t see.
Comment by Kurt Halfyard — May 9, 2008 @ 11:56 am
I just got the word that Kino will be releasing on Blu Ray soon. Their first release will be Wong Kar Wai’s Fallen Angels, which is fitting for the Criterion release of Chunking Express.
Comment by Swarez — May 9, 2008 @ 1:07 pm
What a second, I totally missed this: chungking express is getting a criterion version? and blu-ray one at that, holy shit!
Comment by rot — May 9, 2008 @ 1:24 pm
They should re-release M because their DVD of that looks way worse than the new german disc that was released in 2006(?). But that one is only available in germany with no subtitles or nothing! Damnit.
Comment by Henrik — May 9, 2008 @ 1:28 pm
We need a “Raise the Red Lantern” Blu-ray/Criterion.
Comment by Andrew James — May 9, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
Just remember that we live in a world where majority rule always dictates product and marketing decisions. How many people do you know watch their widescreen tvs at the wrong aspect ratios? I know lots. a lot of people just buy what they’re told to and in order to sell the idea of HD the discs are going to have to really reek of clarity regardless of how the film was meant to look upon its release.
Plus, remember how bad DVD was when it first appeared in 1997?. The transfers were horibble. Seems to me that we’ll be faced with the opposite problem for a couple of years and then directors will start to claim ownership over their films on HD and there will be a massive HD double dip campaign. It’s gonna be ugly people.
Comment by agentorange — May 9, 2008 @ 4:15 pm
Technically a Blu-Ray release of Seven Samurai would be the 4th Criterion release. M has already had 2 releases, and I believe a third on Laser Disc.
I’m with Kurt that I am going to be comfortably behind the curve on HD releases. DVD upconverts to HD already and looks fabulous, and the film actually looks how it is intended. And I’m still not convinced that Blu-Ray is going to be dominant for any length of time. Direct downloads are the true next wave and those are already being done by the smaller distribution companies.
Comment by Matt Gamble — May 10, 2008 @ 9:47 am