'Round Midnight (1986) with Dexter Gordon is Getting a Criterion Blu-ray

’Round Midnight

I love that cover!

 

My prayers were answered! I think I requested this by emailing Criterion years ago.

Wish it was being produced as 4K.

 

Girl Can't Help It also - great performances there. A very musical month is April.

 

Good news.

Bill

 

I'd say wait another year, but it took us this long to get a Blu-ray. This film seems mostly forgotten, unfortunately.

 

Hopefully this will put it back on the map. I had thought it was a licensing/rights issue where someone's estate wasn't allowing it to be released again. But that was just speculation.

 

While he's considered one of the greats, I don't think Dexter Gordon gets mentioned enough nowadays. I wouldn't call him underrated, maybe "overlooked" in public consciousness. And I just realized I misspelled his name in the title despite knowing how to spell it. Gotta contact a mod!

 

Just came here to share the good news, happy to see word is already getting around.

 

Is this not technically 4K?

 

It is technically 1080p (I think). The restoration was in 4K but they used that to create a regular blu-ray.

Funny story--I was at Kuumbwa jazz center in the early '90s to see Louis Hayes I think. During the intermission, Kuumbwa said it would give a glass of wine to the first person who could identify the sax player in the song that they then played over the PA system. It was clearly Dexter Gordon. I got a free glass of wine.

 

Thanks, the clarification is much appreciated.

 

I wish Criterion would just make all of their new releases 4k/Blu combo packs. I've gotten to the point where I'm hesitant to buy most things on Blu since upgrading my home theater to 4k a few years ago. I get that some more obscure things may never get a 4k UHD release but I'm really not wanting to buy Blu discs only to have a 4k come out a year or two later.

For me, if I've got a well mastered 4k UHD I think that's where the upgrades end for me though short of a new release with substantial extra footage, docs, etc. I don't think 8k (if we even ever see discs in this format) is going to give much (if any) improvement for most of the films I'm interested in vs. a well done 4k/HDR/UHD release.

 

Believe it or not, most of Criterion's sales are still DVDs. So that wouldn't be a good financial decision for them.

 

Really? Wow…I don’t even know what to say to that. Why would serious film collectors still be buying things on dvd with a choice of BD and BD players being so cheap for years?

I don’t personally know anyone still buying dvds when they have a choice of 4K/BD or streaming but I guess that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there though.

I can understand people not upgrading to 4k but I can’t fathom wanting to stick with still buying dvd vs. Blu.

It is one thing to still be hanging into old dvds that you never upgraded but still buying dvd in 2022 when there are other options? Wow…

 

Libraries are a bunch of those DVDs. My local video store only carries the BLU and 4k Criterions and are very elective about the DVD versions. CC might be the only boutique label releasing some movies on 3 formats at the same time.

Most CC films won't have much 4kUHD benefit anyways. Plus the mastering to disc UHD costs are still high for the format, so it's still only obvious titles with curveballs only popping up here and there. All boutique labels have the UHD spaced out.

I probably won't go UHD. I'm still floored by nicely 2k or 4k mastered vintage films on blu-ray.

 

I used to say I was still floored with good blu-ray too until I went all in on 4K UHD with great equipment. Not saying you would feel the same way of course or that every Criterion release would benefit equally from it. Don't get me wrong, I think a well done blu-ray is really strong but some of these UHDs are incredible, rivaling or in some cases, beating the theater presentation of the same film. As you'll often hear, it's not as much the 4k vs 2k portion of things vs. the difference in HDR vs. SDR.

I'm just surprised how many small boutique labels are putting out 4k releases for films that can't be setting the world on fire from a sales perspective. I would assume Criterion would have far greater resources. My recollection was that they were late to blu-ray and they were definitely late to 4k. I'll just keep voting with my wallet, with them and others, primarily buying 4k releases at this point.

 

(This deserves a thread of its own! A classic rock and roll movie.)

Special Features

• New high-definition digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary featuring film scholar Toby Miller
• New interview with Eve Golden, biographer of actor Jayne Mansfield
• New video essay by film critic David Cairns
• Interview with filmmaker John Waters
• New conversation between WFMU DJs Dave “the Spazz” Abramson and Gaylord Fields about the music in the film
• On-set footage
• Interviews with Mansfield (1957) and musician Little Richard (1984)
• Episode of Karina Longworth’s podcast You Must Remember This about Mansfield
• Trailer
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• PLUS: An essay by critic Rachel Syme and, for the Blu-ray, excerpts from director Frank Tashlin’s 1952 book How to Create Cartoons with a new introduction by Ethan de Seife, author of Tashlinesque: The Hollywood Comedies of Frank Tashlin
  
  New cover by Jaffa the Unknown
  
  
  

 

Every couple months I stare at the 4k display screens at my local electronics store. I see the big deal, but I doubt more than 1% of my collection have a worthwhile 4kUHD upgrade now or near future. I like older artier movies. Elephant Man Cronenberg's Crash and Last Action Hero(UHD only bonus features) might be the only UHDs I feel where I'm missing out.

I see the market for the boutiques. Those cult horror movies do crazy for that fan base and they go for the trinkets or lenticular slipcovers and steel books. Tammy and T-Rex is the only head scratcher for me.

Bringing this back to Criterion a bit, 2 of their initial UHDs are not even from original Camera Negatives. Piano and Citizen Kane had the OCN's junked. Another anomaly is Silence if the Lambs, Criterion has a stuffed release, but Kino picked up the UHD rights. It's assumed Criterion passed it over as it's a bit drab visually.

As a bigger issue, I'd rather buy 3 CriterIons like Girl Can't Help It, Round Midnight and Walker than 3 UHD of movies I already have on dvd or blu. I see it as an either/or situation and would rather vote with my wallet to get curveball movies making their blu debut.

 

Well said, it all depends on personal taste and the upgrade over your previous version. Round Midnight was never on blu-ray before. Even the DVD has been out of print for ages. So this Criterion will be a tremendous purchase. I don't need a 4K version of it -- would have been nice but like Night on Earth I'll be happy with blu-ray. For those who love this movie I also recommend Francis Paudras' book, Dance of the Infidels.

 

Some of the boutique stuff can be overhyped. Crap is still crap even if it has a nice slipcover. They do unearth some gems though. I thought Tammy and the T-Rex was a lot of fun, but I know I am a bit of a bent pin...

 

Boutique label stuff can be dodgy, but the cult horror leaning stuff does seem to sell. Tammy does look like dumb fun but I wondered if it did 4kUHD business. I've also noticed some boutique labels having fans more obsessed with their titles than Criterion does now, which used to be the other around.

New York Ripper was another one on 4kUHD that had me shaking my head. Why upgrade it from blu?

I still see on blu/4k forums big debates on pre-Star Wars movies benefitting visually or selling enough to justify UHD disc. Gone With the Wind isn't even a 4kUHD guarantee, and the issue is beyond that movie's minor "politically incorrect" moments.. Criterion are picking UHD titles carefully. I generally find the "gimme everything in 4K UHD" crowd that are nauseating on blu ray forums to be quite annoying and very unrealistic.

 

I see what you are saying - sorry I missed a bit. Okay to have these boutique exploitation flicks in Blu but do they really need to be in 4K? I would agree, especially given the dodgy source elements of some of these. In fact, in my experience, for some of these films, 4K is NOT their friend because it makes the seams and short cuts even more apparent. Case by case for sure. I would LOVE to see Russ Meyer films get 4K upgrade because I know there are some prisitine source materials available but not everything is worthy or necessary.

Sorry for thread drift...

 

Well said, but I do think 4K should be the standard for all releases rather than the exception. I just like to see the source material, warts 'n all. But I certainly respect Criterion's decisions and will buy titles on a case by case basis irrespective of the resolution. Heck, it's been so long since I saw Round Midnight I was tempted to watch a DVD for the first time in ages. Now I will wait a few months and enjoy the blu-ray.

 

All boutiques are keeping their 4KUHD releases to a release every month or two. If the money is there and you keep voting with your wallet, you get more from Criterion and whoever else. Why else are big studios leasing out major films to 3rd parties including Criterion rather than doing it themselves? In an era were new movies are dvd only or burned Blu or Disney's somewhat anti-disc stance.

Wish all you want, but it has to be grounded in financial reality. I thought Criterion upgrading a 2009 4k master of Red Shoes to 4KUHD instead if upgrading Tales of Hoffman to a US Blu-ray debut a curious priority. Both film directed by Powell & Pressburger.

Another thing you completely overlook is Criterion have to negotiate for 3 formats. Which you expect DVD/Blu-ray Criterion collectors to fund your 4k habit.

 

Maybe his godson Lars Ulrich could talk him up and plug this movie in an interview.