Criterion Announces First HD Titles for Blu-Ray

[AndyDursin]

Coming this fall...first group of Criterion Blu Ray discs:

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 (will accompany all-new regular DVD with new extras)
For All Mankind
The Wages of Fear

Jenny Agutter in HD. Nice!

[Monterey Jack]

Whooo, now we can pay EIGHTY dollars for a 2-disc set, instead of only forty!

[AndyDursin]

Whooo, now we can pay EIGHTY dollars for a 2-disc set, instead of only forty!

That's what I thought, but they'll be "priced to match" the standard def DVDs, believe it or not!

I remember when some of their lasers used to retail for $124.99! And this was back in 1993...

[Monterey Jack]

Funny it took the overinflated prices of BluRay to finally make Criterion prices seem like a bargain.

[AndyDursin]

Funny it took the overinflated prices of BluRay to finally make Criterion prices seem like a bargain.

LOL exactly right. I had thought the same thing. Perhaps this will make the rest of the studios rethink their pricing for discs that often times have nothing on them!

[Eric W.]

Funny it took the overinflated prices of BluRay to finally make Criterion prices seem like a bargain.

LOL exactly right. I had thought the same thing. Perhaps this will make the rest of the studios rethink their pricing for discs that often times have nothing on them!

Namely and especially: Fox.

[DavidBanner]

Bill Hunt has an interesting and I think totally appropriate rant at Digital Bits regarding Blu-ray discs and film grain.

He's absolutely right that you're going to hear a bunch of noise about how the Blu-ray Criterions are too grainy - even though that's the intended and correct look for the films! When you look at the Blu-ray of Close Encounters, it looks very grainy compared to the discs of CARS and SURF'S UP, but if you know the film, it's a terrific transfer and worth the time.

But I guarantee that we're going to see people complaining that the Criterion Blu-rays don't look hi-def enough. Anyone want to take the bet?

[AndyDursin]

Bill Hunt has an interesting and I think totally appropriate rant at Digital Bits regarding Blu-ray discs and film grain.

He's absolutely right that you're going to hear a bunch of noise about how the Blu-ray Criterions are too grainy - even though that's the intended and correct look for the films! When you look at the Blu-ray of Close Encounters, it looks very grainy compared to the discs of CARS and SURF'S UP, but if you know the film, it's a terrific transfer and worth the time.

But I guarantee that we're going to see people complaining that the Criterion Blu-rays don't look hi-def enough. Anyone want to take the bet?

I won't because that's exactly what will happen

It's a fine line, though, because there are some mediocre HD transfers that go beyond just the elements that they're working with. I do think CLOSE ENCOUNTERS is a bit grainy even for a catalog film (THE DEER HUNTER and the Kubricks don't look nearly as grainy on balance), but I guess that has to do with the lighting of Zsigmond and how it was filmed. Overall though I was quite happy with CE3K.

There are dozens upon dozens of crazies on the net who aren't real movie buffs but instead are "tech whores" as I call them who just want to see something that shows off their home theater systems. And they have every right to say what they want, but at the same time, they can't distinguish as you say between something like CARS and CASABLANCA.

[Eric W.]

Bill Hunt has an interesting and I think totally appropriate rant at Digital Bits regarding Blu-ray discs and film grain.

He's absolutely right that you're going to hear a bunch of noise about how the Blu-ray Criterions are too grainy - even though that's the intended and correct look for the films! When you look at the Blu-ray of Close Encounters, it looks very grainy compared to the discs of CARS and SURF'S UP, but if you know the film, it's a terrific transfer and worth the time.

But I guarantee that we're going to see people complaining that the Criterion Blu-rays don't look hi-def enough. Anyone want to take the bet?

Only if I want to lose my shirt because it's been happening since day one of both BD and HD-DVD anyways.

The only thing worse than the "too grainy" complaints is when I see the "How do I get rid of those black bars/I hate black bars" troll posts and threads.

[Paul MacLean]

The fact is older film stocks were more grainy than they are today, and the original negatives for a lot of old movies don't even exist anymore.

Gimme Shelter and Monterey Pop were both shot in 16mm -- they probably won't look much different from the standard DVDs of these films (and not even as good as standard DVD transfers of a lot of recent films).

As such, BluRay releases of these titles are probably a waste of time.

[Monterey Jack]

I feel the same way for people bitching that there are no Blu-Ray versions of movies like Grindhouse and Cloverfield, both of which were supposed to look like crap.

[Paul MacLean]

I do think CLOSE ENCOUNTERS is a bit grainy even for a catalog film (THE DEER HUNTER and the Kubricks don't look nearly as grainy on balance), but I guess that has to do with the lighting of Zsigmond and how it was filmed. Overall though I was quite happy with CE3K.

I know that before the age of CGI, effects sequences endured multi-generational passes thru optical printers in order to put together the various elements in the shot. So the effects shots were always several generations removed from the non-effects footage.

They tried to compensate for this by shooting effects in VistaVision (which had a larger frame than anamorphic 35mm) but the blemishes and grain still piled-up. This would be my assumption as to why CE3K looks so much more grainy.

Quite a bit different from today, where the negative is scanned and all the effects, color timing, etc. are done on computers. In fact HD transfers of recent movies actually look better than projection prints of the same films (provided they've been well-mastered and transfered of course).

But heaven help the company that releases The Blair Witch Project on BluRay!

[Eric W.]

But heaven help the company that releases The Blair Witch Project on BluRay!

I need a vomit emoticon.

[John Johnson]

Walkabout

A young sister and brother are abandoned in the harsh Australian outback and must learn to exist in the natural world, without their usual comforts, in this hypnotic masterpiece from Nicolas Roeg. Along the way, they meet a young aborigine on his “walkabout,” a rite of passage in which adolescent boys are initiated into manhood by journeying into the wilderness alone. Walkabout is a thrilling adventure as well as a provocative rumination on time and civilization.

Disc Features

New, restored high-definition digital transfer, from a newly manufactured restoration element (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
Audio commentary featuring director Nicolas Roeg and actress Jenny Agutter
Video interviews with Agutter and actor Luc Roeg
Gulpilil—One Red Blood (2002), an hour-long documentary on the life and career of actor David Gulpilil
Theatrical trailer
PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by author Paul Ryan

Release Date 18th May.

http://www.criterion.com/films/522

[AndyDursin]

The Director's Cut of RIDE WITH THE DEVIL comes out in April (both DVD and Blu Ray)

There's also an Blu Ray edition of DAYS OF HEAVEN coming next month as well.