Also, owning Criterion DVDs makes you feel like you're part of an exclusive, really sophisticated club.
Yeah, I have the Criterion edition of Robocop. Most of the Criterion movies I've seen are like Kurosawa types, so the image quality is never that great to begin with. Last Criterion Collection I saw were Cassovetes' Death of A Chinese Bookie & Tarkovsky's Solaris. We just got a Criterion Cinema theater down the street from us, haven't been there yet, just a high-end theater I guess.
Pretty much, but you're also getting the best DVDs out of it. I saw a big boost in quality with Ran, comparing the Criterion with another DVD release (I can't remember which studio).
I haven't seen many of the Criterion versions of the films I like. The only one I have is RoboCop. Judging the quality of that, I'd love to get more. There's a small problem though, the Criterion version of RoboCop advertises commentary by Paul M. Sammon, the film buff historian, and his track is not included!? What gives?
I hadn't noticed on mine. I did (and always do) enjoy Paul Verhoven's commentary though. Well Ran isn't that old, and it's in color. The black and white stuff - there's only so much you can do to improve it. Janus used to distribute the old Kurosawa films IIRC.
. . . I'm sorry, did I say it was all class? Well, they're still one of the best places to go for what the average consumer would consider to be "obscure." I guess sneaking those two in is a pretty small cloud to have to bear for such an appreciable silver lining.
It is a bit unusual to see The Rock and Armageddon as a Criterion collection. I was under the impression that any Criterion film went through a vetting process to select a film that had cinematic significance to the art.
i had reservations about that as well. i wondered if merely having a recognizable style, even if that style is shit, is enough for Criterion to consider you a worthy "auteur". the thing is, i don't buy Criterion films because i take them seriously or listen to their opinions on what is or is not good. i buy them because they offer a superior product. if i have a choice of purchasing a weird french import of Salo or the Criterion version, i'm not thinking twice about which version is going to be the better version.
Are the CC available in Blu-Ray now? If so, then it may be worth looking into, as DVD (in my eyes) is finished.
Grrrlol. If you can give me a solid practical reason for the existence of Blu-Ray I'll buy the whole DVD is finished. Blu-Ray has been around for years now, with no real success. And no wonder. What the hell is the point, beyond videogaming storage room potential?
I mean actual reasons. Not just stuff PR managed to somehow smear into the public consciousness until everyone just bought it hook, line 'n sinker.
It can hold more shit? I don't know anything about Blu-ray at all, I didn't even pay attention to the supposed Blu-ray Vs. HD-DVD "war" that had supposedly occurred.
Simple. Higher resolution. Blu-Ray is better for the exact same reasons that DVD was better than VHS. It simply looks better. I have a large, plasma television, and I want to use it to it's fullest potential.
DVD was also better than VHS because it was more convenient, could hold more film and could be interactive. Also, a lot of people won't notice the difference between 720p and 1080p, even when they have the monitor for it. I do, but it is often rather marginal and there aren't that many movies where it's real added value. I do think that it's useful, but to most of the buying public it won't add that much.