Criterion discs in your collection?? please advise..

[craptest]

I've seen Criterion's "Life of Brian" DVD and I was extremely impressed.

I'm considering importing the following Criterion discs and I was hoping maybe someone out there has an opinion -especially RE image quality.

1. The Third Man (Lot's of conflicting reviews. Some say the image restoration is amazing (eg www.thedigitalbits.com ..while others mention ugly compression artifacts)

2. Rebecca

3. Notorious (Worth getting over Anchor Bays cheapo disc?)

4. Seven Samurai (there's a cheaper R2 version. No extras though. Read one report on amazon suggesting the R2 had a nicer transfer. Who do you believe? Some people out there think the Abyss SE transfer looks good :D)


There's no R4 versions on the horizon as far as I can tell.

Also. Anyone have the R1 SE of Citizen Kane or Touch of Evil? Get them asap or wait for an R4 release? Any alaising or other probs with the transfers?

[King Eric]

I would say if you love the movie then go for the criterion
version.Even if the transfer's are not spot on the amount of care they put into the suppliments make them worth it.I havn't got that many because of the cost but the ones i have got are great.They include Brazil,The rock(No.1 in my collection),The royal tenebaums,This is spinal tap,Walkabout.All these movies are important to me in some way so that justifies paying the extra money.The next one i plan on getting is Whitnail and I.

[regiebabe]

The Rock is EXCELLENT in its Criterion form! And you're right, Criterion do a great job on their DVDs. They did on their LDs as well (many of their DVDs contain their LD special features/audio commentries). I've enjoyed some of their LDs as well, naturally.

[craptest]

I'll probably end up getting the Criterion discs. I just hate paying more money to import only to have the local product turn up months later. Like what happened when I bought Nightmare Before Xmas SE from the U.K:mad: :mad:

But at least with Criterion I know the chances of a future local disc being better than my expensive import are pretty slim.

Imagine having waited for the R4 release of 'Monty Python's Life of Brian' and then still having to import the superior version. That's the only thing worse. Waiting and getting crap. Wish distributors would make honest announcements..

"Next year we will be releasing..[ADD TITLE HERE].. with an absolutely crappy transfer. We will endeavour to find the worlds worst looking amaray cover while we are at it.. and that audio commentary you're looking forward to will probably be missing."

[DigitalG]

Originally posted by regiebabe
The Rock is EXCELLENT in its Criterion form! And you're right, Criterion do a great job on their DVDs. They did on their LDs as well (many of their DVDs contain their LD special features/audio commentries). I've enjoyed some of their LDs as well, naturally.

I cant belive i dont have the criterion of The Rock yet, i would get the R2 but either way it is too expensive :mad:

The cheapest criterion atm is royal tenanbuams, good movie and great DVD. with DTS soundtrack and a great set of extra's.
I can recomended it :)

[undroo]

The Rock CC isn't bad, but if the transfer is anything like Armageddon then you'd probably be better off buying the R4 special edition.

I'd get The Rock CC if someone was selling it 2nd hand for a nice price, but I wouldn't go out of my way for it.


Life of Brian is awesome, I love the deleted scenes...they're so badly damaged, it makes you appreciate how much effort it takes to keep the film proper in good condition!

[King Eric]

The Rock CC isn't bad, but if the transfer is anything like Armageddon then you'd probably be better off buying the R4 special edition.

The CC rock is refrence quality all the way.The transfer looks stunning on my setup and the sound is awesome.It is however the only dvd i have where i actually prefer the DD track over the dts.I think the new uk special ed has most of the same suppliments as the CC so that might be another way to go.

PS;On investergation the uk sp ed has all the CC suppliments and is uncut unlike the previous uk release so the choice is yours uk you get the pal speedup or CC you get the ntsc at the correct speed.

[MrMacabre]

Originally posted by Digital G
The cheapest criterion atm is royal tenanbuams, good movie and great DVD. with DTS soundtrack and a great set of extra's.
I can recomended it :)

I thought Chasing Amy Criterion was cheaper... :confused:

[Tsargrad]

I only have the Chasing Amy one. Regarding the Rock I just bought the local release as the film isnt a fave and I didnt need the extras.

The old Robocop release which is now OOP is a good release.

[DigitalG]

Originally posted by MrMacabre
I thought Chasing Amy Criterion was cheaper... :confused:

yep forgot about that, still if your after chasing amy get the criterion (if u have multi-zone) because the r0/r4 version SE w/ clerks, the cover art looks very cheap... :mad:

[TheHumanFly]

Can I point out that some Criterion titles are also region free? A lot are region 1 but many of them are region free! This is good for having discs you can take to friend's places :D

[undroo]

Originally posted by orko007
I only have the Chasing Amy one. Regarding the Rock I just bought the local release as the film isnt a fave and I didnt need the extras.

The old Robocop release which is now OOP is a good release.

I was under the impression that the R4 release was a lot better?
Anamorphic and far less grainy.

I can certainly understand that the criterion extras would be better - but you're going to watch the film more often than the extra's.

The extra's on the CC version of The Rock are pretty cool, the Seals guy that shows you gun handling and the do's and don'ts of drawing out a gun, having the gun at your side with one arm bent at the elbow for range, rather than both hands holding the gun with the arms stretched out. Completely bagging the John Woo style of turning the gun over on its side.
Kind of cool, and I look out for that type of thing now!

[TheHumanFly]

Originally posted by undroo
I was under the impression that the R4 release was a lot better?
Anamorphic and far less grainy.HAHAHAHAHAHA. Anamorphic and far less grainy? A mate of mine owns Robocop SE which he compared to my far-superior-criterion-collection-director's-cut-region-free-edition-of-RoboCop-with-insert-card-and-special-little-black-sticker. The colours and overal picture quality is better on the criterion (which includes the original audio commentry lifted from the laserdisc release). Not to mention that it has none of those unforgivable pauses! Unless you're hell-bent-over on listening to the remixed-brand-new-improved-extra-special-5.1-soundtrack then our release dosen't have anything to offer. Heck it's in 1.85:1 not the Paul-Verhoeven-Director-Approved-screen-ratio-of-1.66:1. No I wouldn't touch our release with a 10-foot-poll! I must make a note of obtaining a copy of the rock (*hint* *hint* PM ME) #108 isn't it in the Criterion Collection?

[undroo]

Fairy nuff.

I have neither and none too fussed about the film at any rate.

[Tsargrad]

I prefer the R4 SE of RoboCop.. There is hardly any difference, but it won overall for the PAL transfer and a better commentary.. not a cut and paste interview mess like the criterion

[TheHumanFly]

The picture quality of the Crterion is better. It's not so dark and saturated and the croping is better.

[chris denyer]

Why not try www.dvdcompare.org.uk for your comparisons.
I do like the respect that Criterion give the titles they release generally,but this doesn't mean that their isn't a better version "out there." Or the same edition sans extras.

For example...I was contemplating ordering "Down By Law" Criterion Edition which has a 2nd disc with extras,but ended up ordering a R0 UK version for $38 AU which has same transfer and audio but no second disc. Saved some bucks for sure.
:)
And I did not have to import it either-Rockaway Records in Brisbane ordered it for me and they told me that they ordered it from within Aust.