Any current Criterion must-haves?

I would recommend Rumble Fish depending on your preferences.

 

So many great titles to choose from, obviously, but I just recently watched the Criterion version of The Graduate, and was completely blown away. I also have the currently in-print commercial Blu-Ray disc, and almost couldn't believe the difference in quality.

 

Sale has been extended to 8/14 according to the B&N email I got today.

 

The Complete Jacques Tati

 

Badlands, Paris Texas, Charade, 12 Angry Men

 

Four that I thought were must haves:

-The Game
-Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
-A Hard Day's Night
-Thief

Thief is the one I really think is far and away better than the previous release (a non-anamorphic DVD that came out in 1995).

 

Yeah when you compare the commercial DVD/Blu-ray side by side, the Criterion ones ARE that much better.

 

I couldn't agree more. Watching the Criterion Graduate is like watching a brand new movie. They really did an amazing job on the new transfer. A must own disc!

 

I didn't get an email from B&N, but if that's the case I will be picking up THE BREAKING POINT when it's released on Tuesday. Thought I was going to have to wait on that one until the next sale.

 

Like many have said there are so many CC titles that must haves would inevitably have to be universally well regarded titles soon to be out of print. Barring that the 5 DVD 4K digital tranfer of Krzysztof Kieslowski's 12 part, extended series, Dekalog, at half price has to be one of the best values in my eyes.

 

I'm expecting THIN RED LINE, THE NEW WORLD and HEAVEN'S GATE in the mailbox today. These will be my first Criterion purchases.

There are many titles on their library I would like, but I decided to spring only for those that are (1) in my personal top ten or twenty and (2) are stunningly photographed.

So while BLOOD SIMPLE is a personal favorite, it's not a movie that relies on its photography.

My Criterion wish list would include Ridley Scott's debut, THE DUELLISTS, which is currently OOP on Blu-ray . . .

 

Three titles bought during the current sale that I really liked:
In a Lonely Place
The Before Trilogy
Don't Look Now

 

Tarkovsky's "Stalker" was just released.
Monterrey Pop is a must own IMO.

 

I haven't seen the others, but the Criterion Thin Red Line is a total reference disc.

 

THIN RED LINE was as good as expected, but I'm disappointed with HEAVEN'S GATE. The quality of the source material seems to jump around quite a bit, so consecutive scenes have differing levels of grain, almost like jumping between DVD and Blu-ray. At one point I checked my box to ensure I was, in fact, watching a Blu-ray and not an upscaled DVD.

(Also, wasn't the scene inside the Heaven's Gate dancehall originally in a sepiatone? This effect seemed absent from the Blue-ray.)

I assume Criterion does everything top-notch, so has somethingo's gone wrong with the original print?

 

GHOST WORLD!!!

 

Ron,

The BR of "Heaven's Gate looks quite different from both the original film release and the first low-budget MGM DVD (which I also have).
Cimino supervised the grading of the Criterion release, saying this is how it should have looked. Thus, the massive difference.
Also, some footage in the Criterion does differ in quality, as parts of the film had deteriorated over the years.

Hard to say if it's objectively "better" now; the original sepia look fits so well with a lot of the scenes. The film is much cleaner looking, but one has to accept that this is Cimino's vision.

C.

 

I recall the dance within Heaven's Gate being more sepia-toned than the surrounding footage -- to the point where the final dance between Jim and Ella was monochromatic -- and I always assumed this was a very deliberate artistic choice. So it was odd to see the effect absent in the "definitive" Blue-ray.

 

If you don't have Verdoux or Limelight I highly recommend them. They're just great films.

 

The Graduate blu RAy, what's the 5.1 like?