Slow-mo Criterion
Let me get this straight. England’s Optimum Home Entertainment is bringing out Bluray versions of both parts of Steven Soderbergh‘s Che two days from now and Criterion still hasn’t officially announced they’ll be putting out their own Che Blurays sometime in the fall? They’re still playing the cartoon hinting game? Why is Criterion so slow and Optimum so fast? That’s it — I’m getting a multi-region player.
And no excuses about how Criterion needs more time because they always put together a great package. When another region commercially releases a Bluray title that I’ve been looking forward to several months before the U.S., I feel jealous and resentful. We live in a now/sooner/ADD world. We don’t live in a world that goes by the words “chill down,” “eventually,” “read a book” and “never sell a wine before its time.”
Don’t quote me, but I was under the impression that bluray players and discs were region free; i.e. they have given up on this region coding horseshit that did nothing at all to stop the spread of international dvds around the world.
…………
OK scratch that. Wikipedia says in part:
“….As of late 2008, almost 70% of all released discs were region-free.
Major studios have different region coding policies. Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios have released all of their titles region free.[60][61] Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. have released most of their titles region free………….”
Boy, man, you choose the funniest things to get super pissed-off about.
But seriously: Joncro’s initial speculation to the contrary, Blu-ray players and discs are by no means universally region free, and getting a decent all-region Blu-ray player can be a bit of a hassle. Buyer beware, and all that. I’ll be experimenting with a firmware hack on a particular player later this weekend and hope to publish a positive outcome.
Chill down. Read a book. There could be a thousand legal and/or business reasons Criterion hasn’t officially announced it yet. I’m also sure that Criterion is pretty gunshy after they slipped that they’d be doing “Eraserhead,” which pissed off David Lynch so much he pulled the project.
“We don’t live in a world that goes by the words “eventually,” “chill down,” “read a book” and “never sell a wine before its time.”
some of us do
Here in the UK i just received the combined 2 disc 2 part Bluray in the mail today. Having only been able to catch part 1 in the cinema (part 2 seemed to get a very limited release if any) i’m looking forward to putting aside much of tomorrow to check it out.
The UK disc is region B only (i.e. not US) so if you did want to grab an import copy Jeff you will need to splash for a multi region player.
The extras look a little thin (no comentary track which would have been great) but looks like a good package. BTW the Benjamin Button UK release was i beleive identical to the Crterion one so not sure how much difference Che will have from them.
Wells to Larry Braverman: Oh, yeah? And on which side of the equation is the “chill down”/”read a book” group when it comes to Dylan’s line about “he who is not busy being born is busy dying”? Because “chill down” and “read a book” is what people talk about doing when they’re downshifting and easing themselves out of the race — in the evenings, on the weekends or for good. Something scares me about that. I for one love the serenity of a life spent constantly on the treadmill.
Jeff, unless you’ve seen the contract you have no idea why Criterion doesn’t have a firm street date. If memory serves, sometimes they have to agree to wait until a window for a non-Criterion version has closed.
Plus, perhaps they are waiting for Soderbergh’s input and that man is definitely not a chill down,” “read a book” kinda guy so your ass has to wait for him to finish whatever of the other dozen pots he has boiling to get to it.
Jeff, I’m afraid you have not one iota of my sympathy. I live in London, and have always had to go the extra mile to keep up with your lavish Blu Ray and DVD schedules in the US. By now, most DVD players are multi-region, and there are sites exclusively for US product, but this was not always the case. Multi-Region Blu Ray players are chipped, and another expense I don’t need on top of moving house. But I’m getting one anyway.
And yes, my copy of Che will be waiting for me in all it’s 1080p glory when I get home from work on Monday. I’ll let you know what the transfer is like, I’m dying to see it.
While we’re on the subject, is it just me, or do studios seem to be testing the patience of Blu Ray buyers? Some of the releases planned are baffling, absolutely baffling. Street Fighter? Fuckign, Street Fighter? Who the fuck wants to see that ever, let alone relishing the prospect of seeing it in HD? The Ladykillers? The Butterfly Effect TRILOGY? Pink Panther 2? The Score? Paycheck? Fucking PAYCHECK? Fucking straight to DVD Seagal movies? Do ANY of these titles get your blood flowing? Any of the quicken the pulse? None of these films made any impression in the first place, what the fuck will HD do for them?
Where’s Apocalypse Now? Fight Club? Heat? The Conversation. Aguirre? Fitzcarraldo? Days of Heaven? Titles that will get geeks, the people who are guaranteed to adapt this tech first, excited and get them talking about this HD revolution? I mention FIght Club as it is if nothing else, visually impressive, but mainly as it is one of the titles that launched the DVD revolution, alongside The Matrix. Is it that Fox just really ARE that stupid? Warners were wise enough to release The Matrix, though it’s appeal is sullied by those interminable sequels, and they did back the wrong horse initially having it as a HD DVD exclusive, but at least they’re trying.
That’s the real reason Blu Ray is under-performing, because studios seem to be treating it as a dumping ground for cheap product that no one wanted in the first place. I just don’t see who they are aiming this bile at. Any ideas? Anyone?
It is often a very depressing feeling to peruse the Blu Ray shelves at DVD shops and try to find something, ANYTHING worth buying. I’ve got Cool Hand Luke, I’ve got LA Confidential, I’m not buying Chronicles of Riddick just because it’s HD.
Yeah, even I’m kinda going “WTF?” over Jeff’s reaction to this one — as was already pointed out above, Criterion frequently gets sloppy-seconds whenever release windows are concerned, but conversely, they almost always far, far surpass the original release in the end.
About one of the only UK editions I can name right off the top of my head where the domestic version outstrips the Criterion is WITHNAIL & I.
Also, paradoxically, the fact that the studios are releasing straight-to-DVD Seagal movies in Blu warms the cockles of my heart to no end.
Deathtongue_Groupie is correct. “Che” Parts 1 & 2 are exclusively available for rental from Blockbuster, which has a distribution deal with IFC. There’s a 60 to 90 day window of exclusivity — depending on the movie — I’m not sure which applies to “Che” — hence the wait for the Criterion edition. It’s clear Criterion means to release the DVD set in the fall. My guess would be sometime in September or early October.
Jeff –
I don’t think I’ve ‘downshifted’ or ‘eased out of the race’. I guess I’d rather enjoy the journey, not think about the finish line (I don’t know where it is), and not worry about Criterion Blu Ray release dates for movies I’ve already seen.
And since we’re quoting Dylan:
“A person is a success if they get up in the morning and gets to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.”
Hi GK London, in a recent interview DVD producer David Prior stated that the Blu-Ray of Fight club is being prepped for a tenth anniversary release. Also venerable DVD/Blu-Ray site The Digital Bits sites anonymous industry sources that state Blu-Ray editions of Heat and Chinatown are forthcoming.
I love how Jeff suggests watching DVDs is “life spent constantly on the treadmill” but reading a book is “being busy dying.”
Putting it on two separate discs? Quite the capitalist move.
Ok, Ok I feel a bit better. Chinatown is next year though, right?
But still, the bile question still stands. And my point is more about the strategy of release, or apparent lack thereof.
Can’t wait to see Heat in Blu. And as it’s Warners, it’ll be region free, so no matter where it comes out, we’ll all get a look.
“he who is not busy being born is busy dying”
Let me get this straight, Zimmy’s saying that instant gratification is the highest morality?
You better be thankful I never drove you to Granma’s house. The last eleven years has seen the publication of Tony Russell’s storied Pre-War Discography, Harold Lloyd on DVD, Neil Young’s Archives, and the “Royal Albert Hall” Dylan goes electric concert. Next year, we’ll get The African Queen on Blu. Who knows, mebbe someday Brownlow’s Hollywood will come out on DVD…patience
Jeff, here’s a really solid and inexpensive all region DVD player – probably cheaper than the average locked region player:
http://www.hkflix.com/hardware/xq/asp/pid.176/qx/details.htm
http://www.dvdbeaver.com/FILM/hardwarereviews/momitsu_bdp-899.htm
I just bought one and it really does the job well. I had to grab the UK Blu Ray (Region locked B) disc of SEXY BEAST.
“Where’s Apocalypse Now? Fight Club? Heat? The Conversation. Aguirre? Fitzcarraldo? Days of Heaven?”
Amen — but do I need to answer this for you? BD’s of “Fitzcarraldo” wouldn’t exactly instigate shortages at Best Buy or Amazon.
Jeff – I can’t believe (actually, yes I can) you are getting your panties in such a wad over a movie you have already seen and is at least tentatively scheduled for release. Your ire over Warner Bros. faked/pulled DVD release of THE DEVILS made much more sense.
GK London – what does the second (blue) “15″ rating on part two of the Blu-Ray release mean? Are these warnings doled out separately for sex and violence in the UK?
bmcintire: The blue “15″ is the Irish classification.
Seeing it twelve times in the theater wasn’t enough?
Can’t believe you don’t already have a multi-region player, Jeff – yes, definitely get one. Just in LA alone, you can find all kinds of goodies in the “Import” section at Amoeba, often at excelllent prices. And, sometimes you can even buy some hot foreign release on DVD even as it’s only just starting to show in theaters here in the States. They had “Tell No One”, for instance, available on import DVD while it was still playing at your Laemmles & such last year. Plus, who can resist a Korean-made DVD of “Pan’s Labryinth” in a leather-ish case? Not me.
It’s not a perfect site by any means, but I often use http://www.blurayregioncodes.com (hope that link works) when I’m trying to figure out if UK discs will play on my US-bought machine. It doesn’t have every Blu-ray on there, but it’s often been invaluable when sorting out the region-free wheat from the region-locked chaff.
And as far as I’m aware, Fox tends to region-lock their Blu-rays. It’s almost as if they’re afraid that Wolverine will leak on… oh.
Boshbarnetwonkydonkey is right, it’s the irish certificate. I knew my nationality would come in useful someday.
Other good Blu Ray region sites.
http://bluray.liesinc.net/
Pretty comprehensive list, listing all available and tested discs.
http://movietyme.blogspot.com/
Good for verification. Any UK readers may want to be wary of the fact that though a films US Blu may be region free, the Canadian distributor may lock it, and some importers, such as PlayUSA.com, only sell Canadian versions. Case in point, my damn copy of Synecdoche NY was supposed to be region free, but they sent me the Canadian version the swine.
I’m assuming that Wells already has a mulit region DVD player, it’s the Blu Ray multi he’s interested in. Not sure if this site helps, as it’s based here in the UK.
http://www.mrmdvd.com/catalog/
I know Apocalypse etc on Blu wouldn’t be top of the sales charts, but that’s not my point. I must but forthright and admit it is mostly selfish, as I want to see these films in HD, but they’re the kinds of titles that would make me tell every HD luddite friend I have to sort out their fucking home system. And I would show them why using films that are worth watching for reasons other than they are in HD. I’m a little embarrassed showing Pirates 2 to friends, who are admittedly, very impressed. Shame it’s such a pretty piece of shit.
Rent it on DVD from Blockbuster, who have the exclusive for now (this was mentioned earlier by TM).
Get a 30 day trial to Blockbuster …
All this fuss and no one seems to be pissed that Che has been divided into two separate purchases? It’s one thing to charge tickets to two theatre screenings, but no reason it shouldn’t all be on one DVD set; people not wanting to sit through all four hours in one sitting is rendered moot in the home format, where you can stop and start at leisure.
Blockbuster doesn’t have it in Blu Ray.
Both parts can be purchased together in a box set, but I don’t really understand why they’re available separately at all.
Putting it on two separate discs? Quite the capitalist move.
Both parts together run 267 minutes. On a 50 GB Blu-ray that would leave you with a video bitrate of about 20Mbps, assuming an average audio bitrate of about 4Mbps — but that’s with no extras whatsoever (the Optimum discs do have some extras, although I don’t know the running time). 20Mbps isn’t terrible (some titles are less than 15) but 25-30 is considered ideal (40 is the max). That said, it’s entirely possible Optimum are shipping this on two BD-25s instead of BD-50s, which would offer no bitrate advantage over a single BD-50.
About one of the only UK editions I can name right off the top of my head where the domestic version outstrips the Criterion is WITHNAIL & I.
There are a fair number of others — Picnic at Hanging Rock, Black Narcissus, Tokyo Drifter, and Sid and Nancy come to mind — but those came out after the Criterion version. The only exception I can recall is In the Mood for Love, which Criterion released in an inferior transfer about a year after the UK DVD came out.
It’s like no one remembers the first three years or so of DVD, where all that was available were new releases or questionable catalog content with the occasional classic to test the waters.
The reasoning is simple: the technology is still very, very new. Hell, there’s not even an industry-wide agreement on what “good” BluRay mastering looks like. Everyone’s still learning how to handle the grain issue, how much of the film look to preserve, how to retouch something without destroying it… this is all new territory.
In the next 15 months, you’ll start to see a more uniform approach to transfers, and that’s when the floodgates will start to open on classic titles and full catalogs.
It’s a cycle. We’ve been through it (some of us) at least three times already. Relax. You’ll be able to own your 93rd different copy of “Apocalypse Now’ soon enough.
I didn’t actually become a ‘collector’ until only about 6 years ago as I had moved around far too much before and it was never practical. I don’t really remember the first few years of DVD as I was out in the middle east and the shops out there were a anti-piracy campaigner nightmare.
It’s frustration mostly that gets me going (and booze, it was Saturday night, and nothing makes me feel more pathetic than drinking and writing talkbacks), I just don’t know who will be lining up to buy the shit that some companies are releasing. As you said, McW, it takes a lot of time to produce one of these transfers, and it may even be a benefit down the line that the companies have been testing the process with these bullshit titles and not something that will benefit from experience.
Anyway, there are films out there that look great on Blu Ray, and I’ll feel a lot better once I get a multi-region Blu Ray player and can finally get all of the Criterion Blu Rays.
And it’ll be my 94th edition of “Apocalypse”.
Eh, I say let Jeff buy the multi-region player, the two separate blu-rays without any supplements, and pay the overseas shipping.
While he’s waiting for all of that to arrive, Steven Soderbergh will be busy recording his commentary track and compiling the copious supplements for the sure-to-be-definitive Blu-ray that I will walk down the street and buy a couple of months later.
Wells and most of society may be into the “gratify me right now, damned the quality, I can’t wait” culture that sends people through the McDonald’s drive-through. I’m not though, and I’m sure as hell glad that Criterion has never worked that way either.
Criterion makes their monthly announcement of forthcoming releases on the 15th of each month (give or take a day sometimes), and they announce 3 months ahead of time. On June 15th they announced their releases for September. On July 15th they will announce their releases for October. There are very few exceptions to this pattern.
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