This has been available on (non-Criterion) blu-ray from Image since August, and the BD is selling at Amazon for $9.99. As I remember it, this was one of the few Criterion DVDs that had virtually no special features included on the DVD. I’ve read the DVDBeaver reviews. Does anyone have any opinion about one versus the other?
The Blu-rays of Time Bandits and The Long Good Friday both suck. You are right that the Criterion dvds have 0 extras. The Blu-rays offer a marginal upgrade in picture quality and sound but are not worth buying. I would say pick up the Criterion dvds.
The best version to own of Time Bandits is the 2-disc DVD set put out by Anchor Bay after Criterion had first shot at the DVD. Image’s Time Bandits bluray has significant problems, starting with an interlaced transfer. The Criterion DVD of Time Bandits has a commentary you can’t get anywhere else though so it’s still recommended for big fans of the movie. Now that Criterion DVD will be a bit more expensive (I got mine for $6 on eBay a few months ago but that price is sure to go up now.)
The other Image blu-rays released last summer of the Handmade Films are better than the Time Bandits, but are far from the ideal upgrades. Still, I have to recommend the Image version of Withnail over the Criterion, even though Criterion has a short “looking back” and cast interviews supplement that’s pretty good. I reviewed Withnail & I at CriterionCast.com and the other Image blu-rays were reviewed or discussed on that site last summer as well.
Amazon marketplace has used copies at reasonable prices. My bigger concern is that Criterion aren’t giving consumers a ‘heads up’ for some of their OOP discs.
Yeah Chris, that’s what stands out to me, two titles going OOP is significant news even if they are two older releases that have been surpassed by the new formats. Oh how I pity the poor sucker who paid full retail price ($40) for Time Bandits within the past few years!
It doesn’t seem like the Criterion fanbase is especially alarmed or grieving over the loss of these two spine #s, maybe because most either already have them or have decided to pass on the offer. But the price for used copies of these will certainly go up now from the $6 – $10 range that I’ve seen them at for the past couple years now, so anyone who wants to complete the collection someday should probably jump on the best deal available soon.
…you do know that threads like this rub off as completely insane, right? Are you most interested in actually watching movies or just in collecting them?
Definition of “otaku:” link.
No, this thread is not insane. I do enjoy collecting DVDs, particularly but not exclusively Criterion titles, but I definitely watch them regularly and write about them with my family, friends, on my blog and elsewhere. Are you more interested in stirring up conflict or in finding things to discuss amiably with others who share an interest?
@ Anonymouse I watch over 600 films a year and I only own one DVD – does that seem insane?
I watch somewhere between 300 and 500 films per year and own 0 DVD’s. You’re as insane as I am. As for stirring up conflict, there are certain aspects of this site which drive me nuts:
Well, it is consumerism and as inane as that may seem, we all benefit by it and are complicit in it.
Well, Peabody aren’t you on the record as saying you only watch a film once? So, yeah, owning a DVD in you case would be a bit odd.
Consumerism is one thing, collecting hundreds of Criterion DVD’s (see the Criterion forum section) is quite another. It’s an otaku activity.
Anonymouse, I’ll have to wait and see the video, I’m at work and the stream is blocked. I just got the sense from some of your recent comments that you enjoy cruising the threads looking for reasons to take shots at Criterion fans.
As for my situation, I’m conducting a thorough investigation of everything Criterion has released since they started issuing DVDs. I expect that my project will take me several years and I’m documenting it pretty thoroughly. It’s my hobby and I enjoy the connections it helps me forge with others who get where I’m coming from. I definitely understand that old DVDs from 1999 going out of print is pretty trivial in the big scheme of things but it’s still a noteworthy happening in my world.
Anonymouse, with all cordial respect, I have to say that if you dislike the otaku mentality, hanging out on an art house film forum website doesn’t seem very “sane.” :o) You’re rolling around in poison ivy, man!
@Ari
… and I’m cheap too.
“I just got the sense from some of your recent comments that you enjoy cruising the threads looking for reasons to take shots at Criterion fans.”
…not just Criterion fans, I’m speadin’ the love everywhere!
Here’s my take on the acquisition issue.
I love the films and novels that I love. Now, my budget—like most of yours—is limited. But I will do what I can, within reason, to have a core group of my favorite “texts” at my disposal. And, yes, I return to them often. I don’t “collect,” per se;I rarely blind-buy, and I’m not interested in a Criterion release simply because it’s a Criterion release (although I do think the Criterion packaging—the transfer, the supplements, the booklet—is superior. The majority of films I am perfectly content watching via Netflix. But those I want—damn me—I really want.
Yeah, there’s something about the materiality of objects that I like. I like things. I mean, I have far more books than I have DVDs or even CDs/LPs and most of those books I’ve read once and probably will never read again but I still keep them (some I haven’t read at all but hereby pledge to read one day). But, anyway, there’s been plenty of threads on this before on the collectors’ virus.
“I love the films and novels that I love. Now, my budget—like most of yours—is limited. But I will do what I can, within reason, to have a core group of my favorite “texts” at my disposal. And, yes, I return to them often. I don’t “collect,” per se;I rarely blind-buy, and I’m not interested in a Criterion release simply because it’s a Criterion release (although I do think the Criterion packaging—the transfer, the supplements, the booklet—is superior. The majority of films I am perfectly content watching via Netflix. But those I want—damn me—I really want.”
Well you see, you and I are essentially what I would call “normal human beings” as opposed to (euphemism) “Criterion enthusiasts.” There are many, many people on this site who just happen to own (literally) in the hundreds of “Criterions.” I don’t think this is particularly “normal” behaviour, but I’ll leave it to others to decide.
-“Criterion enthusiasts.”-
Yes, as a practical matter, this thread should probably have been created under the “Criterion” tab. I’m not sure watching 500 films per year is any saner than owning 500 DVDs, though.
Hmmm, so… I’m not “normal”? As it so happens, I’m about 7 or 8 Criterions from happening to enthusiastically own at least one literal version of all the Criterions! Well I guess that’s not really my question to answer, I’ll leave it for others to decide for me. But whatever they say, at least I have my health, my family, my job, my life… and my movies. Oh how I love my movies. :)
CriterionRefs
I just noticed on Criterion’s website that Time Bandits and The Long Good Friday are both listed as Out of Print. However, Withnail & I and Mona Lisa (the other two Handmade Films in the Criterion Collection) are still offered for sale on the site. I thought this is worth mentioning in case collectors still need to obtain any of these discs at the going rate (rather than the artificially enhanced OOP rate) from the usual secondary market outlets.