2011 Bluray Picks
Nearly eight months ago I wrote about Paramount Home Video’s failure to even state an intention to put out a Shane Bluray. George Stevens‘ 1953 classic is one of the jewels in the Paramount crown, and they’re reluctant to Bluray it, I’m told, because it’ll cost too much to upgrade the materials, etc. How admirable.
A Shane Buray nonetheless sits at the top of my 2011 wish list, however unlikely this may be. Second-ranked is a Bluray of Fred Zinneman‘s From Here to Eternity, which was remastered by Sony’s Grover Crisp in late ’09 (and shown in Cannes last May) in preparation for a Sony Home Video Bluray…which has been on the back burner ever since. Third and fourth are Ben-Hur and Barry Lyndon Blurays from Warner Home Video, which I understand are definitely in the pipeline.
Divorced from reality as this may sound, I’d also love to see a Bluray of The Bridges at Toko-Ri (’54) because of Loyal Griggs‘ exquisite, extra-ripe color photography.
Two years ago I wished for Paramount Home Video Blurays of To Catch A Thief and The Ten Commandments (both shot in VistaVision) and one of George Pal’s War of the Worlds (’53). And I’m still craving a Bluray of Marlon Brando‘s One-Eyed Jacks (also in VistaVision, obviously requiring a restoration and a strategy that will remove it from public domain). Paramount’s absentee landlord reputation, of course, makes this unlikely.
My other 2011 Bluray hopes/expectations: Sweet Smell of Success, The Empire Strikes Back, The Birds, Taxi Driver, Chinatown, Citizen Kane, Lolita, Blow Up, Red River, Pulp Fiction. It’s been reported over and over that Lawrence of Arabia won’t come out until 2012. Here’s an Amazon wish list.
Still BARRY LYNDON at the top o’ my list…and CHINATOWN would also be a dandy addition.
Creepymalaise beat me to it. I was going to watch Barry Lyndon for Christmas and was surprised to find it wasn’t on Blu-Ray.
I would happily pay $20-$30 for just about every first-to-second tier Hitchcock film.
I know poor MGM has the rights to Spellbound, Notorious and Rebecca, but where are Vertigo, Rear Window, Strangers on a Train, To Catch a Thief, etc.? I understand a Birds blu-ray is in the works…
And I desperately wish that Criterion still had the rights to The 39 Steps, would love to see a Blu-ray release of that.
Criterion prices consumers out of their products.
I sit patiently waiting for a Scandal Sheet blu ray. (There isn’t a dvd either.) Kansas City Confidential is getting a blu ray release in February so hopefully someone notices Phil Karlson’s superior film too.
Criterion prices consumers out of their products.
I sit patiently waiting for a Scandal Sheet blu ray. (There isn’t a dvd either.) Kansas City Confidential is getting a blu ray release in February so hopefully someone notices Phil Karlson’s superior film too.
Criterion has SWEET SMELL in February. Wait for the Barnes and Noble sales and stock up.
SCANDAL SHEET is part of a Sam Fuller box set. Whether the box will ever be broken up into singles is anyone’s guess: http://www.amazon.com/Collection-Hollywood-Adventure-Shockproof-Underworld/dp/B0024FAG6W/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1293655086&sr=8-4
Yeah but I’m not spending that much money on a bunch of films I’ve never seen.
“‘Scandal Sheet’ isn’t on DVD!”
“Yes it is.”
“Well, I’m not getting it.”
This is fantastic stuff.
Kubrick’s assistant Leon Vitali is currently working on the Blu-ray transfers of Lolita and Barry Lyndon for a 2011 release.
A copy of The Last Detail would be awesome but will settle for the previously announced Stanley Kubrick boxset
Somehow I knew I’d get that response…
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and ON THE WATERFRONT are streaming in HD on Netflix Instant, by the way.
Don’t hold your breath on RED RIVER. The long vs. short version conflicts are making this one a no-go for the foreseeable future.
“Criterion prices consumers out of their products.”
Took delivery of America Lost & Found for less than 60 bucks today. 7 films at less than 9 bucks a movie. In November, I picked up around a dozen CC blu-rays including 49.95 Seven Samurai and Night Of The Hunter for less than 20 bucks a film. If ya wanna bitch and whine and expect grown-ups to sympathize, you’d be better off targeting Sony Picture Classics, which are difficult to get for less than 20 bucks per film.
I’d like On The Waterfront. Nearly everything else I want from the 70′s back is rumored to be in the works.
Where are you getting the information about Red River being a “no-go for the foreseeable future,” bmcintire? Criterion has acquired the rights to it, and I assumed they’d be releasing their Blu-ray in 2011. Being Criterion, I just figured they would include both versions. Seems silly to scuttle the release entirely because they can’t decide. I know Bodgdanovich says that Hawks favored the short version.
Rashad’s comments about Criterion pricing consumers out of their products are, like the rest of his comments here, asinine. Criterion has had an extremely successful business model for over 25 years, outlasting every other specialty distributor. They flourished when the DVD market was declining for everybody else, and they have a large and loyal consumer base.
The fact that Rashad can’t or won’t buy Criterion products or Sony’s Fuller set is relevant to no one but Rashad.
“Yeah but I’m not spending that much money on a bunch of films I’ve never seen.”
First off, you were complaining that they were too expensive, now you’re saying you wouldn’t buy them because you’re film illiterate. Make up your mind.
#2, the criterion collection is on Netflix. A large percentage of it is permanently streaming from Netflix. The only thing stopping you from seeing them is yourself.
Blu-ray hasn’t caught on the way they’ve hoped, leaving Criterion as pretty much the only thing (other than WB, sometimes) releasing great older movies on Blu-Ray. If you want to watch shitty CGI movies where the CGI looks even cartoonier and fake, there are plenty of distributors for that. All of whom are priced on par with or more expensive than Criterion. Stupid.
The reason I mention the streaming is that it may be the only way to see these films in HD. As catalog titles go the way of boutique distributors and MODs on DVD it’s encouraging that the majors still stir the embers for a few golden oldies a year on BD, but it’s only a few–and that number thins once you dip below 1970 where the studios are concerned. Criterion, etc., aren’t going to pick up that much of the slack.
‘Empire’ is coming out this year on Blu I believe which will be an amazing transfer. When you see it on SPIKE HD its like watching a 3D movie without the headaches. The colors just pop!
Barry Lyndon is my dream disc. If I get that I’m good to go.
“The fact that Rashad can’t or won’t buy Criterion products”
I own the Benjamin Button blu which I got used for 10 and I own their Armageddon dvd which I paid a penny for.
I don’t care what the excuse or reasoning is, no movie should be 30-40 dollars and barely drop in price over the years. Fucking Battle of Algiers is still about 40 dollars and it’s only the damn dvd.
Here’s the Home Theater Forum’s helpful Blu-ray release list, updated regularly: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/237841/blu-ray-release-listing
…and its equally helpful Blu-ray glitch list, particularly for newcomers or unwary bargain hunters: http://www.hometheaterforum.com/forum/thread/281144/blu-ray-glitch-list-titles-you-might-want-to-avoid
‘I don’t care what the excuse or reasoning is, no movie should be 30-40 dollars and barely drop in price over the years. Fucking Battle of Algiers is still about 40 dollars and it’s only the damn dvd. ‘
To sum up, you’re too stupid to shop smart, but too smart to pay full MSRP. The blessed virgin weeps.
Your pathetic attempts at wit are neither humorous or sharp.
Good day sir.
CC Baxter – I could easily be mistaken, but I have not seen any licensing agreements on RED RIVER going out to Criterion.
The primary problem with RED RIVER has to do more with international distribution. MGM holds worldwide rights on this, but the majority of foreign audio only matches the long version. Hawks and Bogdanovich have both noted their preference for the short version (primarily because Walter Brennan’s narration replaces a lot of hand-written diary pages) and at this point, the short version is the only one that has been transferred in HD. And Fox will probably not want to burn a worldwide title on an English-only release, especially since the long version can’t simply be edited to match the short version.
“I don’t care what the excuse or reasoning is, no movie should be 30-40 dollars and barely drop in price over the years.”
Just to clarify, when you first said it was too expensive, the point was that they’re regularly onsale for 40-50% off, and you said that even then it was too much to pay for a movie you’d never seen. So which is it? And why can’t you Netflix it?
For that matter, I don’t think you’ve given much thought to the counter-argument that the movies would not be available AT ALL if not for Criterion, and that the reason *you* haven’t seen them is precisely because they were never given much release on video because it was cost prohibitive. The alternative for Criterion is *not* cheaper quality releases. The alternative for Criterion is *nothing* for about 95% of the movies they release.
“Hawks and Bogdanovich have both noted their preference for the short version”
Question, Bmc — have you seen Hawks independently note that preference, or is that just second-hand by way of Bogdanovich? (Just curious, I don’t doubt PB’s word.)
“I own their Armageddon dvd which I paid a penny for.”
Rip off.
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Actually, Rashad, SpinDozer’s attempts at wit are both sharp *and* humorous.
But they’re still not as funny as the “Scandal Sheet” exchange, or arguing that you *do* buy Criterions based on your purchase of two of the worst most-head-scratching titles they ever released as evidence.
You were trying to be bone-dry ironic, right?
You must’ve been.
For those who haven’t seen Resnais’ sumptuous Wild Grass, The Bridges at Toko-Ri figures prominently in it. I’d much rather see a Blu-ray of Bridges than those middlebrow bores Shane, Ben-Hur, and Ten Commandments.
Many DVDs prior to the mass enclave of “special editions v.2.0″ were high quality cheap alternatives to Criterion Disney had an exceptional two disc releases, as did Warners and Fox. You were given the film, possibly a documentary type backstory or commentary track, and other inticing material to enhance or provide history and context to a popular film; and more importantly no commericals or trailers prior to the menu. But around 2002 when DVD players became the mainstay of video releases, studios decided to also make their products more quickly and cheaper, so the product was turned back into the buisness model of VHS and now the same practice has been converted over to BluRay today. Criterion on the other hand has never waned from their model, so in essence your paying for quality and the experience of the DVD or BluRay in question. Their picture quality alone is worth the price of admission, but oddly enough I think its the love of unseen film that keeps me coming back; as a friend once noted Criterion is the white man’s crack
Overall Id rather spend what extra cash I have on a quality disc that could enlighten me over a disposable Little Fockers disc clamored over by the masses.
I wouldn’t mind a Blu of BRIDGES, which among its virtues has an outstanding performance by Mickey Rooney (whose diverse career is being celebrated on TCM today as it happens). But there’s nothing highbrow about it (we’re talking Mark Robson, auteur, here, which I say with love) and it, too, could be lumped in with those “middlebrow bores” you noted–all movies I suspect I’m not alone in enjoying.
“‘Empire’ is coming out this year on Blu I believe which will be an amazing transfer.”
Yes, but it will be the version that makes damn sure you understand how Darth Vader got from Cloud City to his Star Destroyer.
I love Peter madly, but he’s flat-out wrong on this one. Gerald Peary’s extraordinary book “Howard Hawks, Filmmaker” goes into great detail about the two versions of RED RIVER. Basically, the short version is comprised of two elements: the overseas version (easier to overdub narration than replace written pages), and a patchwork finale which was done at literally the last-minute to prevent a plagiarism suit by Howard Hughes (who claimed Hawks vengefully ripped off the finale of THE OUTLAW, from which Hughes fired Hawks). Peary also specualtes that Hawks let editor Christian Nyby direct THE THING as a thank-you for saving RED RIVER in time for its opening. I’ve seen both versions many times, and the short version is unmistakably the inferior one (even the music is different). I think it’d be swell to include both cuts, and perhaps even do an A/B analysis, but any claim that the long version isn’t the preferred one is ludicrous.
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