Recommend Me Criterion Releases

[jroadley]

OK, so after reading a thread on here about someone who may be addicted to Criterion releases, I'd though I'd start this thread to recommend me (And others reading) your favourite Criterion releases. I already own the following, and have just ordered "M",

Beastie Boys
Chasing Amy
Do The Right Thing
Life Of Brian
Night Porter
Peeping Tom
Picnic At Hanging Rock
Rushmore
Silence Of The Lambs
Spartacus
The Rock
Withnail And I

So, there you go... Let the recommendations begin :D

[Narshty]

Well, pick up Dead Ringers and Charade, because for those two it's now or never...

Six others which I love include:

Billy Liar
Brazil
Rififi
The Ruling Class
Sisters
Written on the Wind

But I treasure all my Criterions - click my www button down there for my collection.

[Grumpy]

Heres some more

Armageddon
RoboCop (oop, you might be able to find a copy on the forums, soon to be release as a not Criterion version in the UK)
Sanjuro
Seven Samurai
Yojimbo

Happy hunting

[Tristan H]

And mine:

Spartacus
Dead Ringers
Mon Oncle
Notorious
Rebecca
Brazil
M. Hulot's Holiday
Sullivan's Travels
The Third Man
L'Avventura
The Unbearable Lightness of Being (also OOP, but still available)
Charade

[jroadley]

Thanks, just ordered Rebecca and Notorious for £50 from *********, if anyone knows a cheaper retailer let me know ;)

[MJ Ryan]

Apart from some of those titles already mentioned, I would also recommend "Gimme Shelter" and "Walkabout".

[Ridcully]

No mention of The Rock :confused: or Life of Brian:confused: :confused:

[ali]

One that I'd really recommend is the recently released That Obscure Object of Desire - it really is one of the best they have released. Taste of Cherry is superb as well. Check out the link in my signature to find out which others I like!


ali

[DeadKenny]

Originally posted by Ridcully
No mention of The Rock :confused: or Life of Brian:confused: :confused:


The Rock's pretty good in DTS.

Life of Brian - definitely (considering the new R2 is now pants)

and... Last Temptation of Christ - need I say... plenty of scorsese featured extras and a damn good anamorphic transfer too :D.

also... For All Mankind (even if Deep Blue Day has been cut from the soundtrack for some strange reason. Same track that's in Trainspotting and is the very reason I got hooked on that film. Still, rest of Eno's music in it is great and it's a great piece of history).

[Tim Fleming]

Kurosawa's High and Low - imho, possibly his most underrated film (and one of his best)

Clouzot's Wages of Fear - suspenseful, stylish, superb

and

Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill - two of the most stylish Yakuza films; ultra cool - verging on the surreal

regards, Tim...

[TinTin]

Originally posted by Tim Fleming
Kurosawa's High and Low - imho, possibly his most underrated film (and one of his best)

Clouzot's Wages of Fear - suspenseful, stylish, superb

and

Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill - two of the most stylish Yakuza films; ultra cool - verging on the surreal

regards, Tim...

What's the WOF print like all the reviews I've read said it wasn't very good. Also I see there's an R4 version of Rififi, can you suggest any R4 review sites?

thanks in advance

[Ed Parsons]

I Know Where I'm Going
Charade
The 39 Steps
The Lady Vanishes
Black Narcissus

[DeadKenny]

Way to dig up an old thread :clap:

[FunkyD]

Are these criterion releases really worth it?

As long as you get the full version in the correct aspect ratio and decent sound isn't that all you need? I don't mind waiting for a decent release of a movie to get the right version - am I missing something?

I reckon that in time most of the criterion oop titles will be re-released anyway...

[DeadKenny]

Originally posted by FunkyD
Are these criterion releases really worth it?

As long as you get the full version in the correct aspect ratio and decent sound isn't that all you need? I don't mind waiting for a decent release of a movie to get the right version - am I missing something?

I reckon that in time most of the criterion oop titles will be re-released anyway...


Some are worth it, some less so. It depends what you like though. I don't believe in buying Criterion for the sake of it, or that the sun shines out of their arse, but some are truly outstanding.

Criterion do concentrate on cleaning up prints which is something most companies don't do (they go for digital over-remaster gloss instead). They're generally in the correct aspect ratio and the audio will be as faithful as possible to the original (rather than the automatic 5.1 remasters many companies do whether it suits the film or not).

Very few Criterion titles are actually OOP compared to the number they've released. It's a bit of a myth that they only release them for a short while then they go OOP and become valuable on ebay. Some do, but buying Criterion for that possibility is going to result in a long wait.

Some do turn up re-released by other companies with some or all of the Criterion extras, though many have flaws (even the excellent R2 Time Bandits has a lip-sync problem unfortunately, though it's worth it over the Criterion for being anamorphic and the same extras). Some extras are Criterion property and may never turn up anywhere else. Criterion might re-release them but that depends if the rights have expired.

[Soprano]

Originally posted by jroadley
Thanks, just ordered Rebecca and Notorious for £50 from *********, if anyone knows a cheaper retailer let me know ;)


I think theres a Criterion box set coming out with those two titles (and two or three more) coming out soon.....

[jroadley]

I can't even remember starting this thread :dork: could to see it back though :thumbs:

[StuBruise]

Originally posted by Soprano
I think theres a Criterion box set coming out with those two titles (and two or three more) coming out soon.....

I think they might have arrived by now ;)

The boxset is called "Wrong Men and Notorious Women" and was released on 13/5. It contains the Criterion editions of:

The 39 Steps
The Lady Vanishes
Rebecca
Spellbound
Notorious

~~stu

[tips4tnt]

Originally posted by StuBruise
I think they might have arrived by now ;)
Maybe not tho - he did order them from DVD Soon ;)

[DeadKenny]

Originally posted by tips4tnt
Maybe not tho - he did order them from DVD Soon ;)

:lol:. Took DVDSoon 3 months to ship Spellbound when it was in stock everywhere else :oh-hum:

[Michael Mackenzie]

Originally posted by FunkyD
Are these criterion releases really worth it?

As long as you get the full version in the correct aspect ratio and decent sound isn't that all you need? I don't mind waiting for a decent release of a movie to get the right version - am I missing something?

I reckon that in time most of the criterion oop titles will be re-released anyway... I only actually own two Criterions (The Rock and The Silence of the Lambs), since I'm not really that interested in any of their other output (although I might pick up Spartacus and Walkabout at some point), but I consider them to be far and away superior to their non-Criterion counterparts. The Rock especially has what I consider to be the best image quality on any DVD I have ever seen, and The Silence of the Lambs, despite being non-anamorphic, is far more faithful to the director's original intentions in terms of color than the travesty that is the MGM special edition and its "halogen" lighting.

And if all that matters is the correct aspect ratio and "decent sound" (whatever that might be), there are plenty of ex-rental DVDs waiting at Blockbuster for a fiver. :D (Just kidding.)

[bengray]

Originally posted by DeadKenny
Some do turn up re-released by other companies with some or all of the Criterion extras, though many have flaws (even the excellent R2 Time Bandits has a lip-sync problem unfortunately, though it's worth it over the Criterion for being anamorphic and the same extras).

Has the Anchor Bay R2 release of Time Bandits been corrected on subsequent pressings? Anyone know? Thanks.

[Michael Mackenzie]

Originally posted by bengray
Has the Anchor Bay R2 release of Time Bandits been corrected on subsequent pressings? Anyone know? Thanks. Doubt it. They didn't correct Tenebrae either. The 5.1 track slips out of sync about half-way through. They did correct Suspiria's DTS, I suppose, but it had severe sync problems throughout (about 5 seconds delay).

[MarkG1]

I'd recommend

Grand Illusion
Seven Samurai
Brazil
Life of Brian
The Third Man
Rushmore
Rififi
Hidden Fortress
Traffic
Royal Tenenbaums
Monterey Pop Festival
Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas

[bengray]

Originally posted by Whiggles
Doubt it. They didn't correct Tenebrae either. The 5.1 track slips out of sync about half-way through. They did correct Suspiria's DTS, I suppose, but it had severe sync problems throughout (about 5 seconds delay).

What's wrong with Tenebrae? Is the R1 okay? I know both discs are missing some footage.

[Dear Mr Echo]

Two Criterion editions I wouldn't like to be without are The Red Shoes and Diabolique so I'd stick them on your list :)

[bengray]

I love Kwaidan personally. Beautiful, dreamlike and very creepy.

[Michael Mackenzie]

Originally posted by bengray
What's wrong with Tenebrae? Is the R1 okay? I know both discs are missing some footage. I have the R1 but I haven't watched it through, but one thing is for sure its non-anamorphic picture is a hell of a lot better than the R2's anamorphic picture. (The R2 is full of double-exposed frames, suggesting it has been recorded from an interlaced source.) On the Dolby 5.1 track on the R2, the sound drifts a little out of sync about half way through, and doesn't sort itself out until near the end. (The DarkDreams review (http://www.darkdreams.org/darkdreams.html) documents this.)

[Reedo]

The Blob
Fiend without a Face
Wages of Fear
Les Diaboliques

:notworthy

[bengray]

Originally posted by Whiggles
I have the R1 but I haven't watched it through, but one thing is for sure its non-anamorphic picture is a hell of a lot better than the R2's anamorphic picture. (The R2 is full of double-exposed frames, suggesting it has been recorded from an interlaced source.) On the Dolby 5.1 track on the R2, the sound drifts a little out of sync about half way through, and doesn't sort itself out until near the end. (The DarkDreams review (http://www.darkdreams.org/darkdreams.html) documents this.)

Thanks. :)

[ljp]

Not a mention of Man Bites Dog yet?

[SimonI]

The Criterion set of Contempt (aka Le Mepris) is absolutely stunning - not only a great transfer (apparently the only one ever done in its OAR) but a great set of extras. Also get ...And God created woman as a useful and entertaining companion piece!

Did anyone mention Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas yet, or, for a complete contrast, how about Mon Oncle?

[Narshty]

CD-Wow have got Tokyo Olympiad (http://www.cd-wow.com/detail_results_2.php?product_code=2903&affid=5502) for an unprecedented £13.99. This is one of my absolute favourite Criterions (it doesn't matter a bit whether you enjoy sports or not - I don't, and I was riveted) and I couldn't recommend it any higher.

[balstino]

Only these babies are essential in my opinion...

Notorious
Seven Samurai
Gimmie Shelter

:)

[StuBruise]

Originally posted by Narshty
CD-Wow have got Tokyo Olympiad (http://www.cd-wow.com/detail_results_2.php?product_code=2903&affid=5502) for an unprecedented £13.99. This is one of my absolute favourite Criterions (it doesn't matter a bit whether you enjoy sports or not - I don't, and I was riveted) and I couldn't recommend it any higher.

Or even better, £12.40 (http://thedvdforums.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=214125) ;)

~~stu

[AndyH]

Alphaville is the most completely bonkers weird Criterion I've ever seen.

Actually its yone of the most strange films I've ever seen!

If you like the sound of ancient Sci-Fi in a B&W French subtitled styleee (which is bonkers and weird and probably only makes sense if you're very clever and watch it eight times back to back) and have some money to burn its possibly worth a go ;)

Cheers,
Andy 'should be a reviewer' H.