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The Criterion Collection Thread — Page 4

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joefavs said:

The November sale is here again and again I’ve gone a little overboard. I just ordered…

12 Angry Men
Barry Lyndon
Bottle Rocket
Brief Encounter
The Exterminating Angel
His Girl Friday
The Princess Bride

A friend and I might also go halvesies on the Zatoichi boxed set, since our access to the series dies with Filmstruck at the end of the month.

His Girl Friday is great fun.

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 (Edited)

I got Red River and A Brief History of Time during their sale, both blu-rays of course. I always get blu-rays unless for whatever reason they’ve only released it on DVD.

The Person in Question

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I find it surprising that enough of the kind of people who buy Criterion discs are still buying DVDs that it’s still worthwhile for Criterion to press them.

I mean, why don’t they keep selling Laserdisc while they’re at it?

TV’s Frink said:

I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.

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CHEWBAKAspelledwrong said:

I find it surprising that enough of the kind of people who buy Criterion discs are still buying DVDs that it’s still worthwhile for Criterion to press them.

I mean, why don’t they keep selling Laserdisc while they’re at it?

You’d be amazed how many people feel DVD is good enough. Is there any studio or label that isn’t releasing DVD’s of new titles?

Besides the fact Laserdiscs were essentially thrown under the bus to hasten acceptance of DVD, there also isn’t an LD pressing plant left in the world. The last plant shut down in 2002. If there wasn’t still some record pressing plants left there would be no vinyl revival going on right now.

Would be interesting if someone could find a way to manufacture LD’s again. I’d be happy if Pioneer just made a new player. That might actually be easier.

Forum Moderator

Where were you in '77?

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My LD comment was sarcasm…

And yes, all the major studios are putting new releases on DVD. I figured the old combo pack was a strategy towards eventually ceasing DVD-only packages, but now many new release BD don’t have DVDs in the package, but DVD-only is still strong. Have these people even watched a Blu-Ray? I’m sure most of them would be upset if their Netflix stream shot down to 480 due to a bad connection.

Was shocked to see this on Bill Hunt’s site the other week. If anything, I’d have expected the physical media market left to videophiles, with everyone else going to streaming over DVD.

TV’s Frink said:

I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.

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It might just be purely because it’s a little bit cheaper most of the time. As for Criterion, I don’t know. They’ve commented on it before, I believe, but I agree that it seems strange that people buying Criterion films would want a DVD over a blu-ray, especially since most of the more mainstream films in their catalogue have been released in DVD editions by their respective studios at some point anyway.

The Person in Question

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CHEWBAKAspelledwrong said:

My LD comment was sarcasm…

And yes, all the major studios are putting new releases on DVD. I figured the old combo pack was a strategy towards eventually ceasing DVD-only packages, but now many new release BD don’t have DVDs in the package, but DVD-only is still strong. Have these people even watched a Blu-Ray? I’m sure most of them would be upset if their Netflix stream shot down to 480 due to a bad connection.

Was shocked to see this on Bill Hunt’s site the other week. If anything, I’d have expected the physical media market left to videophiles, with everyone else going to streaming over DVD.

My sarcasm sequencer was offline. 😉

With Samsung getting out of the BD & UHD player market, some people are already worrying about the future of the format.

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Where were you in '77?

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SilverWook said:

With Samsung getting out of the BD & UHD player market, some people are already worrying about the future of the format.

Samsung’s players never did great numbers; most people who own Samsung decks got them bundled with a Samsung TV at no cost.

OPPO’s departure is a much bigger deal, but even they sold in fairly limited numbers. Panasonic has picked up the torch with their latest players, though:

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/panasonic-dp-ub9000-review

Edit: Anybody sign up for the Criterion Channel? It launches April 8th.

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MTFBWY…A

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I thought Oppo’s deal was they wanted to concentrate on their phone business?

Nice looking Panasonic player. Although for 800 bucks, I would think they could put a little door or cover on the USB port. 😉

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Where were you in '77?

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SilverWook said:

I thought Oppo’s deal was they wanted to concentrate on their phone business?

That’s what they said. At least they’re still supporting their players with firmware updates.

Nice looking Panasonic player. Although for 800 bucks, I would think they could put a little door or cover on the USB port. 😉

That’s British pounds, actually 😉 I have an OPPO 205 and just sold it (at a profit) so I could grab the Panny.

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MTFBWY…A

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I’m so excited for the Criterion Channel to roll out on Monday! I’m curious to see how large of a selection of films we’re gonna get at launch.

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Watched One Eyed Jacks last night. First time. Really good movie. Even more stunning transfer that makes the impressive vistas that much more stunning.

TV’s Frink said:

I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.

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I recently got my first Criterion Collection film in Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker. It’s such a powerful film in more ways than one. I felt so much beauty and terror. I am so glad I discovered Tarkovsky. I’m debating now between Andrei Rubvec and Solaris for my next film from the collection. I’m leaning strongly towards Andrei Rubvec but am not sure. I know eventually I will hopefully be getting Akira Kirosawa’s Seven Samuari but I want to continue onward with Tarkovsky as his filmmaking amazes me.

“Heroes come in all sizes, and you don’t have to be a giant hero. You can be a very small hero. It’s just as important to understand that accepting self-responsibility for the things you do, having good manners, caring about other people - these are heroic acts. Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives.” - George Lucas

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Twilight Time just published their list of May limited edition titles. I’m intrigued by Morituri (1965) and Warlock (1959). Are either of these worth picking up?

TV’s Frink said:

I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.

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Does anyone know if the Criterion Channel ever releases films online before releasing them in physical format soon after? As I just saw they’ve added The Mirror. I’ve been craving seeing it for a long time now but would prefer to wait on seeing it on the big screen.

“Heroes come in all sizes, and you don’t have to be a giant hero. You can be a very small hero. It’s just as important to understand that accepting self-responsibility for the things you do, having good manners, caring about other people - these are heroic acts. Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives.” - George Lucas

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There isn’t any precedent as it’s brand new. But I would never assume something on there is slated for physical release.

TV’s Frink said:

I would put this in my sig if I weren’t so lazy.

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CHEWBAKAspelledwrong said:

There isn’t any precedent as it’s brand new. But I would never assume something on there is slated for physical release.

Thank you for clarifying that for me. I suppose I could always sign up for the free trial and watch it. I really hope they release it in physical form soon too. It’s the one film I want to purchase the most.

“Heroes come in all sizes, and you don’t have to be a giant hero. You can be a very small hero. It’s just as important to understand that accepting self-responsibility for the things you do, having good manners, caring about other people - these are heroic acts. Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives.” - George Lucas

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I’ve added Andrei Rublev and Solaris to my collection. Really looking forward to watching them. I greatly enjoyed The Steamroller and Violin which comes with Andrei Rublev. It’s so cute and really a contrast to Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker.

“Heroes come in all sizes, and you don’t have to be a giant hero. You can be a very small hero. It’s just as important to understand that accepting self-responsibility for the things you do, having good manners, caring about other people - these are heroic acts. Everybody has the choice of being a hero or not being a hero every day of their lives.” - George Lucas