I couldn’t have been happier when Criterion announced that they would be releasing blu-rays. The initial list was a great selection. But the effort has become half-assed at best. Look at all the releases that won’t be getting the high definition treatment. They only plan to release 1 or 2 hi-def releases a month? Come on Criterion, you guys were the pioneers of releasing classic films digitally, what happened to that spirit? If everyone emails and raises a stink, then maybe they won’t tease us anymore. To see one of my all time favorite movies- Zentropa, finally get released by criterion at a time when they are releasing blu-rays only to have an inferior copy on standard def is a crime. The world has gone hi-def. It is time Criterion did too.
Some interesting points above for sure. But I have to take issue with one or two points. Ryan, you say the world is far from going HD and is still way too expensive. Maybe that was the case a year ago, but look how far things have gone in that time. Check the sales figures of Blu-rays vs. standard dvds on any of the sites like digital bits. Blu-ray is out-pacing the initial sales of dvds when that format was introduced. Every tv set sold today is pretty much hi-def capable. The prices of the players is about HALF of what it was about a year ago. As are the discs. I recently bought most of the Kubrick films on blu-ray and paid approximately $15 a piece for them. Chris, you bring up a good point: Criterion is releasing all of their dvds with high definition transfers already. So why not go that extra step and put it out in hi-def. If it is a matter of cost, then charge me for it. I’d rather pay it up front now, than to wait a year or two after I’ve bought it once on standard only to have it come out then and have to double dip for it. It almost seems like Criterion is punishing the people who have made the investment in the better format. I’m not buying ANY of their standard def releases, because I know damn well that they will come out eventually and I’ll have to buy it twice, or do some trade in deal down the road. No thank you. It was their bold attitude in releasing only product of the highest quality, and that attitude is gone. I’m not saying they should stop releasing standard def dvds. To the people who say that it’s not worth it to Criterion to release everything in hi def, I say BS. Obviously they are in business to make money. But it is also obvious that they they put quality higher on their priority list than do most companies. That’s why we love them so much. And that is why people are willing to pay more for their product.
Ryan, I can honestly say I’ve only paid more than $20 for blu-rays once. That was Baraka I paid $21.99 for it. Criterions are the exceptions of course. I have pre-ordered them from Amazon at around $27 a piece. Unfortunately if you have to shop at Best Buy, you will pay more. I’m a very frugal shopper (call me cheap) and I have managed to get my Blu-rays used or online. I’m also willing to wait for the prices to drop. I don’t need to get anything the week it’s out and doing that saves a great deal. You are right when you say that there aren’t enough old movies on the format yet. Very true, but some of the ones that are, are mind blowing (The Searchers). I can’t wait for the Hitchcock stuff to come out. As far as I’m concerned, universal really messed up a lot of those dvds, and some have NEVER had a decent release, until only a couple of months ago, but I haven’t seen them yet because I know they will be out eventually on Blu-ray and were back to the frustration that Criterion is putting me through. KIFAH, I agree with you about the transfers. Most of them look stunning already. I can’t imagine DOWN BY LAW looking any better, but until you see it, you don’t know. I thought GOOD NIGHT NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK looked amazing on standard, until I saw the Hi-def. It is also true that many Hi-def dvds don’t look any better than their standard counterparts and here is where the studios have too make sure this doesn’t happen. If they can’t improve the picture, there is no point in putting it out in hi-def. I’m willing to bet that there will be a noticeable improvement on these Criterion releases. I just have to wait to find out.
CITY OF LOST CHILDREN- Not really a Christmas movie, but I always watch it around this time for some reason. Maybe it’s all the demented Santa Clauses at the beginning. Also THE JUNKIES CHRISTMAS by William S. Burroughs. It makes me glad that I’m not a junky. And finally, my favourite: A CHRISTMAS CAROL with Alistair Sim. I watch that one every year as well.
To the people who say they own 100’s and even 1000’s of movies I ask: When do you have time to see them, or do you even watch them? I’ve read some of the posts on this and other sites and there are people who actually purchase EVERY Criterion dvd that comes out. That just makes me wonder. Do people just buy them to say they have them or do they really like the films. I can’t say I’ve ever purchased a dvd that I didn’t already see and like enough to know I’m going to watch it again and again. It should be about the films, not the size of your collections. The few movies I’ve purchased without seeing before were in sets with other movies I really wanted. JOHN CASSAVETES FIVE FILMS boxset was one. A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE is one of my all time favourite movies, but I was pissed off to have to buy the whole set just to get it. Now years later, Criterion is finally putting them out individually. Sometimes Criterion really pisses me off.
My kids are going to make the choices. Likely something they got for Christmas. Hellboy 2 or Ironman or Indiana Jones. It’s become a tradition to let them stay up to midnight watching movies. If I can stay awake long enough after midnight, I’m going to watch either THE ICE STORM or DAYS OF HEAVEN. I got them both for Christmas!!
Holy crap, that was the longest post I’ve ever read. My eyes are spinning. I have a wee bit of New Years eve hangover. First let me address the points you made about me contradicting myself. About me being frugal AND buying Criterion, I can and DO have it both ways. I can’t possibly see how one couldn’t, given access to the internet. Things might be different for you, if you’re shopping in Australia, I don’t know, I’m speaking for myself here. Criterion is selling their Blu-rays at the same prices as their DVDs. The couple I ordered from Amazon actually dropped in price when I was finally billed. They sold around the 26-27 dollar range. That’s what I’ve been paying for Criterions all along.
quote: “Remember, they have a catalogue of over 450 titles and they did not release all of them overnight when DVD’s came out.”
I never said they should be releasing all of their previous DVD releases in Blu-ray. Give me a break. But they should be releasing all new ones from now on in Blu-ray. I will not purchase from them standard def discs when I know they will eventually get released in Hi def. This is double-dipping at it’s worst and I’m surprised criterion is doing this. When they began years ago, they released only laser discs – skipped the whole vhs thing. Why? Because it was an inferior format. When they started releasing in DVD, they released EVERYTHING in that format. Now hold your horses for 1 second, I’m not saying they should stop selling DVDs, now that Blu-rays are here. I’ll get crucified for even bringing that up. But they, of all companies need to make the effort if they want to keep their reputation of giving the consumer the highest quality product out there.
I’m not going to address all of your other points. You yourself said somewhere that you were repeating yourself and that post is way too long to re-read. I might add, it is more than a little patronizing in places too.
one more quote: “I just think it is wrong to go slagging off the company when they are doing so much good”
Yes, they are doing good and you are correct when you say that they didn’t have to create these boards. But these boards are a great way for Criterion to hear what movie freaks like you and me want. I’m sure they want to hear what bugs us as well as what pleases us. What company doesn’t? I had been emailing them weekly to go hi-def when the format war ended. Now that it has, I want them to improve their services. I don’t want them going backwards.
In the movie IN AMERICA when Christie asks her father to say goodbye to Frankie. Goosebumps, lump in the throat and watery eyes all at once. Great scene.
THE COOK, THE THIEF, THE WIFE and whatever the rest of the title is. I decided right then and there that Greenaway is not for me and I hung around with other friends after that movie.
THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS or THE BOSS OF IT ALL by Lars Von trier, BROKEN FLOWERS by jarmusch. VERA DRAKE, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT and one more: PIANO TUNER OF EARTHQUAKES. I know that most of the few who saw that one didn’t like it, but the BROTHER’S QUAY are just so damned Criterion worthy. Actually there are quite a few in the last 5 years when I think about it, but I’ll stop there.
Steve, I couldn’t agree with you more. Sometimes I wonder if some of these fans don’t just buy all the Criterions to say they have them in their “collections”. I seriously think a lot of the Criterion fans don’t even watch them. Since this site has opened, I have read the most asinine posts ever. I thought IMDB was bad. If you read the Criterion forum pages there are fans who LIST all of their “spine numbers” after every post. This is insane. Sorry, I just had to get this off my chest and this seemed a good place to do it.
I understand the original post though. A lot of films are out there that only get very minimal exposure by the company that releases the movie and I certainly have had my wishlist of possible Criterion releases. But, with that said, you make a good point that most of the films mentioned in this post already have great versions out there.
The Cook, the Thief His wife and Lover. I made it up to the child molestation scene and that was the straw. The very name greenaway just gives me the sours to this day.
Always with friends, but they have to play by my rules when they’re in my house. I don’t like talking during a film and absolutely don’t allow cell phones. Come to think of it, I watch movies by myself mostly.
Boy I wish I had a solution. Never has there ever been so many useless, pointless posts over and over. After reading all these inane posts, I’m beginning to question the whole Criterion thing. I ignore any posts that begin with the words WHO, WHAT, TOP, FAVORITE, WORST, LEAST and a few others. I wanna do a Man Bites Dog thing on all those posters.
Yeah, you’re probably right Steve, I didn’t see the whole scene, but I saw what was coming. Molestation or torture are pretty much huge turn-offs for me when it’s children involved.
For what it’s worth I’d say Mr. Arkadin is fantastic and worth buying. I purchased Scenes from a Marriage as I remember seeing this years ago on the big screen and loving it. After watching the dvd though, I wonder if it may have been the wine I had before the movie. It just doesn’t compare to other Bergman films. It is definitely not something I want to watch again and again. I’d say rent it.
Criterion's lame blu-ray debut over 4 years ago
I couldn’t have been happier when Criterion announced that they would be releasing blu-rays. The initial list was a great selection. But the effort has become half-assed at best. Look at all the releases that won’t be getting the high definition treatment. They only plan to release 1 or 2 hi-def releases a month? Come on Criterion, you guys were the pioneers of releasing classic films digitally, what happened to that spirit? If everyone emails and raises a stink, then maybe they won’t tease us anymore. To see one of my all time favorite movies- Zentropa, finally get released by criterion at a time when they are releasing blu-rays only to have an inferior copy on standard def is a crime. The world has gone hi-def. It is time Criterion did too.
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Criterion's lame blu-ray debut over 4 years ago
Some interesting points above for sure. But I have to take issue with one or two points. Ryan, you say the world is far from going HD and is still way too expensive. Maybe that was the case a year ago, but look how far things have gone in that time. Check the sales figures of Blu-rays vs. standard dvds on any of the sites like digital bits. Blu-ray is out-pacing the initial sales of dvds when that format was introduced. Every tv set sold today is pretty much hi-def capable. The prices of the players is about HALF of what it was about a year ago. As are the discs. I recently bought most of the Kubrick films on blu-ray and paid approximately $15 a piece for them. Chris, you bring up a good point: Criterion is releasing all of their dvds with high definition transfers already. So why not go that extra step and put it out in hi-def. If it is a matter of cost, then charge me for it. I’d rather pay it up front now, than to wait a year or two after I’ve bought it once on standard only to have it come out then and have to double dip for it. It almost seems like Criterion is punishing the people who have made the investment in the better format. I’m not buying ANY of their standard def releases, because I know damn well that they will come out eventually and I’ll have to buy it twice, or do some trade in deal down the road. No thank you. It was their bold attitude in releasing only product of the highest quality, and that attitude is gone. I’m not saying they should stop releasing standard def dvds. To the people who say that it’s not worth it to Criterion to release everything in hi def, I say BS. Obviously they are in business to make money. But it is also obvious that they they put quality higher on their priority list than do most companies. That’s why we love them so much. And that is why people are willing to pay more for their product.
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Film quotes you love over 4 years ago
George: “Rubbing alcohol Martha?”
Martha: " Sure! Never mix, never worry!"
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
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Guilty Pleasures over 4 years ago
JEEPERS CREEPERS and MOULIN ROUGE (although I’ll never admit that to my wife)
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Criterion's lame blu-ray debut over 4 years ago
Ryan, I can honestly say I’ve only paid more than $20 for blu-rays once. That was Baraka I paid $21.99 for it. Criterions are the exceptions of course. I have pre-ordered them from Amazon at around $27 a piece. Unfortunately if you have to shop at Best Buy, you will pay more. I’m a very frugal shopper (call me cheap) and I have managed to get my Blu-rays used or online. I’m also willing to wait for the prices to drop. I don’t need to get anything the week it’s out and doing that saves a great deal. You are right when you say that there aren’t enough old movies on the format yet. Very true, but some of the ones that are, are mind blowing (The Searchers). I can’t wait for the Hitchcock stuff to come out. As far as I’m concerned, universal really messed up a lot of those dvds, and some have NEVER had a decent release, until only a couple of months ago, but I haven’t seen them yet because I know they will be out eventually on Blu-ray and were back to the frustration that Criterion is putting me through. KIFAH, I agree with you about the transfers. Most of them look stunning already. I can’t imagine DOWN BY LAW looking any better, but until you see it, you don’t know. I thought GOOD NIGHT NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK looked amazing on standard, until I saw the Hi-def. It is also true that many Hi-def dvds don’t look any better than their standard counterparts and here is where the studios have too make sure this doesn’t happen. If they can’t improve the picture, there is no point in putting it out in hi-def. I’m willing to bet that there will be a noticeable improvement on these Criterion releases. I just have to wait to find out.
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Guilty Pleasures over 4 years ago
Kifah, you rule this board. That’s what guilty pleasures are all about. Sticking to your guns.
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Criterion's lame blu-ray debut over 4 years ago
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?id=1195&show=review
If this review doesn’t make you salivate for Criterion Blu-rays, nothing will. I’m starting to shake with excitement.
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FAVORITE CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY MOVIES over 4 years ago
CITY OF LOST CHILDREN- Not really a Christmas movie, but I always watch it around this time for some reason. Maybe it’s all the demented Santa Clauses at the beginning. Also THE JUNKIES CHRISTMAS by William S. Burroughs. It makes me glad that I’m not a junky. And finally, my favourite: A CHRISTMAS CAROL with Alistair Sim. I watch that one every year as well.
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How Big Is Your DVD Collection? over 4 years ago
To the people who say they own 100’s and even 1000’s of movies I ask: When do you have time to see them, or do you even watch them? I’ve read some of the posts on this and other sites and there are people who actually purchase EVERY Criterion dvd that comes out. That just makes me wonder. Do people just buy them to say they have them or do they really like the films. I can’t say I’ve ever purchased a dvd that I didn’t already see and like enough to know I’m going to watch it again and again. It should be about the films, not the size of your collections. The few movies I’ve purchased without seeing before were in sets with other movies I really wanted. JOHN CASSAVETES FIVE FILMS boxset was one. A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE is one of my all time favourite movies, but I was pissed off to have to buy the whole set just to get it. Now years later, Criterion is finally putting them out individually. Sometimes Criterion really pisses me off.
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WHAT MOVIE WILL YOU BE WATCHING THIS NEW YEAR'S EVE? over 4 years ago
My kids are going to make the choices. Likely something they got for Christmas. Hellboy 2 or Ironman or Indiana Jones. It’s become a tradition to let them stay up to midnight watching movies. If I can stay awake long enough after midnight, I’m going to watch either THE ICE STORM or DAYS OF HEAVEN. I got them both for Christmas!!
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Why all the hate? over 4 years ago
It’s no more worthy of the Criterion treatment than Transformers is.
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Why all the hate? over 4 years ago
How’s that for for hate?
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Films for Canadians over 4 years ago
Wasn’t Porky’s Canadian? If it was, that would be up there for me.
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Films for Canadians over 4 years ago
Whoa, I almost forgot WHEN NIGHT IS FALLING. A very beautiful Canadian film with some incredibly beautiful women. Very good film indeed.
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The Best Canadian Films of all time? over 4 years ago
WHEN NIGHT IS FALLING is a wonderful film by Patricia Rozema. Here is a director who’s talent is pretty much ignored sadly to say.
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Criterions on the Cheap over 4 years ago
A two-for-one sale of Criterions and I missed that? What the hell was I doing last fall anyways?
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Criterion's lame blu-ray debut over 4 years ago
Holy crap, that was the longest post I’ve ever read. My eyes are spinning. I have a wee bit of New Years eve hangover. First let me address the points you made about me contradicting myself. About me being frugal AND buying Criterion, I can and DO have it both ways. I can’t possibly see how one couldn’t, given access to the internet. Things might be different for you, if you’re shopping in Australia, I don’t know, I’m speaking for myself here. Criterion is selling their Blu-rays at the same prices as their DVDs. The couple I ordered from Amazon actually dropped in price when I was finally billed. They sold around the 26-27 dollar range. That’s what I’ve been paying for Criterions all along.
quote: “Remember, they have a catalogue of over 450 titles and they did not release all of them overnight when DVD’s came out.”
I never said they should be releasing all of their previous DVD releases in Blu-ray. Give me a break. But they should be releasing all new ones from now on in Blu-ray. I will not purchase from them standard def discs when I know they will eventually get released in Hi def. This is double-dipping at it’s worst and I’m surprised criterion is doing this. When they began years ago, they released only laser discs – skipped the whole vhs thing. Why? Because it was an inferior format. When they started releasing in DVD, they released EVERYTHING in that format. Now hold your horses for 1 second, I’m not saying they should stop selling DVDs, now that Blu-rays are here. I’ll get crucified for even bringing that up. But they, of all companies need to make the effort if they want to keep their reputation of giving the consumer the highest quality product out there.
I’m not going to address all of your other points. You yourself said somewhere that you were repeating yourself and that post is way too long to re-read. I might add, it is more than a little patronizing in places too.
one more quote: “I just think it is wrong to go slagging off the company when they are doing so much good”
Yes, they are doing good and you are correct when you say that they didn’t have to create these boards. But these boards are a great way for Criterion to hear what movie freaks like you and me want. I’m sure they want to hear what bugs us as well as what pleases us. What company doesn’t? I had been emailing them weekly to go hi-def when the format war ended. Now that it has, I want them to improve their services. I don’t want them going backwards.
Happy New Year!
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Movie scenes that give you goosebumps over 4 years ago
In the movie IN AMERICA when Christie asks her father to say goodbye to Frankie. Goosebumps, lump in the throat and watery eyes all at once. Great scene.
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Which Movies Have You Walked Out On? over 4 years ago
THE COOK, THE THIEF, THE WIFE and whatever the rest of the title is. I decided right then and there that Greenaway is not for me and I hung around with other friends after that movie.
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Which Movies Have You Walked Out On? over 4 years ago
I swear to God Logan, I didn’t read your post until AFTER I posted mine. How funny.
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Which Movies Have You Walked Out On? over 4 years ago
The Brown Bunny is one movie I would have walked out on if I saw it in the theatre. Horrible move that even the notorious scene couldn’t help.
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WHICH MOVIES...PUT OUT IN LAST 5 YEARS...DO YOU THINK WILL ONE DAY JOIN THE CRITERION COLLECTION? over 4 years ago
THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS or THE BOSS OF IT ALL by Lars Von trier, BROKEN FLOWERS by jarmusch. VERA DRAKE, A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT and one more: PIANO TUNER OF EARTHQUAKES. I know that most of the few who saw that one didn’t like it, but the BROTHER’S QUAY are just so damned Criterion worthy. Actually there are quite a few in the last 5 years when I think about it, but I’ll stop there.
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WHICH MOVIES...PUT OUT IN LAST 5 YEARS...DO YOU THINK WILL ONE DAY JOIN THE CRITERION COLLECTION? over 4 years ago
Steve, I couldn’t agree with you more. Sometimes I wonder if some of these fans don’t just buy all the Criterions to say they have them in their “collections”. I seriously think a lot of the Criterion fans don’t even watch them. Since this site has opened, I have read the most asinine posts ever. I thought IMDB was bad. If you read the Criterion forum pages there are fans who LIST all of their “spine numbers” after every post. This is insane. Sorry, I just had to get this off my chest and this seemed a good place to do it.
I understand the original post though. A lot of films are out there that only get very minimal exposure by the company that releases the movie and I certainly have had my wishlist of possible Criterion releases. But, with that said, you make a good point that most of the films mentioned in this post already have great versions out there.
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DOGMA films over 4 years ago
Lars Von Trier has only made one dogme film. The idiots.
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What films have you walked out on and why ? over 4 years ago
The Cook, the Thief His wife and Lover. I made it up to the child molestation scene and that was the straw. The very name greenaway just gives me the sours to this day.
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Do you prefer to watch films alone or with friends? over 4 years ago
Always with friends, but they have to play by my rules when they’re in my house. I don’t like talking during a film and absolutely don’t allow cell phones. Come to think of it, I watch movies by myself mostly.
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Solutions for redundant posts? over 4 years ago
Boy I wish I had a solution. Never has there ever been so many useless, pointless posts over and over. After reading all these inane posts, I’m beginning to question the whole Criterion thing. I ignore any posts that begin with the words WHO, WHAT, TOP, FAVORITE, WORST, LEAST and a few others. I wanna do a Man Bites Dog thing on all those posters.
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Solutions for redundant posts? over 4 years ago
And any posts created by Matthew Griffiths.
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What films have you walked out on and why ? over 4 years ago
Yeah, you’re probably right Steve, I didn’t see the whole scene, but I saw what was coming. Molestation or torture are pretty much huge turn-offs for me when it’s children involved.
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Are these films worth buying? over 4 years ago
For what it’s worth I’d say Mr. Arkadin is fantastic and worth buying. I purchased Scenes from a Marriage as I remember seeing this years ago on the big screen and loving it. After watching the dvd though, I wonder if it may have been the wine I had before the movie. It just doesn’t compare to other Bergman films. It is definitely not something I want to watch again and again. I’d say rent it.
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