Today was that Dario Argentine & Bernardo Bertolucci helped Sergio Leone create the story for “Once Upon A Time in The West”

I saw on eBay and Amazon some films cheaper compared to Criterion’s normal price is it smart to buy from other sellers outside of Criterion?

Same record store as my post last week. All out of print or currently unavailable.

They have probably 100 other titles at good prices but are available new. And apparently still have 4 boxes from the same seller to put on the shelf. I'm going every Friday until they tell me they have put everything out.

It's a throwback/homage to the Rock Hudson/Doris Day movies of the late 50s/early 60s. Clever and great set design if you're into mid century modern.

Went in totally blind…all I knew is that it was French, and that it kinda had the vibe of Do The Right Thing.

What a special film…it was so hyper real and unafraid to shine a light on a world that is rarely seen. The director didn’t try to force empathy or induce hated, he just let it be.

I feel like Sean Baker has taken a ton of influence from it.

So raw, so explosive…what a ride!

I just discovered that both my 2015 2K and 2021 4K restoration Criteron discs of "Mulholland Drive"--a film that is absolutely revered for Lynch's masterful sound design--are limited to DTS audio-only lossless codecs. This is depressingly short-sighted and unfortunate for a studio that is supposedly lauded for their impeccable restoration, preservation and archiving standards.

Dolby secured the streaming rights with every major platform on the market from the outset--and DTS is doomed to obscurity as the physical media market vanishes. No one foresaw that Dolby was infinitely more suitable for archival purposes and the long-term survival of film audio soundtracks. Presumably because studios predictably prioritized cost over longevity, they completely ignored the burgeoning streaming market and maintained their focus on flashy physical media releases.

There are no streaming services that support any DTS format, because DTS offers no scalable lossy fallback format similar to DD+ that is compatible with existing bandwidth limitations. So, as DTS continues to be phased out of soundbars, televisions and physical media players, this also strongly suggests that my entire collection of Criterion discs may be unplayable at some point in the future.

The film industry, which has been notoriously negligent about film archiving and preservation from its inception, is partly to blame. DTS has always had much lower licensing costs, and unlike Dolby, is royalty-free in terms of media player compatibility. Audio mastering engineers also failed to advocate for proactive preservation strategies when creating final audio mixes of their films, as their studios foolishly believed that physical media would be the prevailing format, despite the inevitable technological advances of wireless technology.

What makes me most sad is that films I treasure, such as "Mulholland Drive", will likely never see a new restoration for years, if ever. And if these restoration masters have not preserved the original PCM or analog mixes, the opportunity to create a pristine lossless or Atmos mix for future generations to enjoy is lost forever. In Lynch's case, it's a galling insult. We'll inevitably see advances in wireless technology in the near future to allow lossless, TrueHD Dolby Atmos soundtracks to be compatible with streaming platforms. When that happens, the future of physical media will be grim.

Even my existing Sonos Arc Ultra soundbar will not support DTS lossless or X surround mixes--only the lossy DTX 5.1 scalable back up tracks. It would be facile to blame Sonos for this, but ultimately Sonos has always been about prioritizing streaming audio performance, and it handles Dolby TrueHD Atmos soundtracks beautifully. Although I used to resent Sonos for ignoring calls for lossless DTS compatibility, it really makes no sense for them to invest in an audio codec that is limited to a dying format like physical media. It isn't on brand for them.

It would be somewhat understandable for Criterion to miss the boat for the 2015 2K restoration; but to release a definitive 4K reference standard of this important film in 2021 with a locked down, obsolete format such as DTS 5.1 is unforgivable in my eyes. And they continue to release new titles in DTS to this day. I do love my Criterion discs for their loving attention to visual detail--my discs look dazzling. But to have no means available at all to listen to the audio tracks of a film like "Mulholland Drive" in any format that compromises nothing of what its creators intended calls into question whether Criterion is truly living up to its name.

I blind bought these after giving Dazed & Confused a big fat 5 star rating. My partner and I loved them, and was wondering how romantic these were for upcoming Valentines Day, or if it was a Marriage Story type thing?

Is the Seventh Seal the only Bergman film on Criterion 4K? Can we expect more? If I could have any Bergman on 4K, it would be Fanny and Alexander

I have the standalone DVD, so maybe the box set version of it in the Whit Stillman Trilogy set has more features, but I’m kind of underwhelmed that it’s just audio commentary and then a few alternate castings. It’s one of my favorite movies ever and I wish we were given a little more!

I picked up the Lone Wolf & Cub collection awhile ago. I just started watching the first film today, Sword of Vengeance. I'm wondering if there's something wrong with the sound design on this film or if it's intentional.

The music and dialogue is fine, but I notice there is absolute silence in a lot of incidental moments. Say, for example, the main character rushes to grab someone. In any other film, I'd hear a sound of a scuffle or a grunt or reaction or something. Here, it was deathly silent. I'm noticing it sometimes in sword fights, as well.

I've never seen any of these movies before, so I don't know if they're meant to be like that, but it just threw me off. Is the sound meant to be like that?

I picked up a secondhand copy of WR: Mysteries of the Organism and it came with the usual essay booklet. However, it also came with a small booklet about Technicolor movies and a Criterion Post Card. These were not mentioned on the back of the case, so are there other releases with extras like this?

The technicolor booklet features a still of Spartcus on the cover, but when I checked my copy, it didn't have similar extras, just the essay booklet. Thanks!

The DVD of Royal Tenenbaums was one of my first Criterion Movies. I got rid of the DVD when I got the bluray and always regretted it. Found it today for 8 bucks. The Shine laserdisc was only 6! Not a bad haul

Hello, does anyone know the name of the song Lydia sings directed at Carl on the night of the first episode of Fanny and Alexander. It’s so beautiful and sounds familiar to me in some way. Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is bothering me haha.

Been getting into some of his movies lately and noticed most of them are overlooked because he has so many.

Just curious what is your favorite film by him?

I have already seen Amadeus. Fucking loved it. I will be seeing five easy pieces this weekend. What are some other great movies about the said subject?

Criterion edition or BFI edition?

I wanted to put this out there to see if anyone else has had this or a similar experience OR if anyone cared to shine some light on what they might think the difference is here..

UPCOMING SPOILERS FOR "HAPPINESS" & "THE CELEBRATION" [Festen]

I picked up HAPPINESS as soon as it dropped for the October flash sale and had heard whispers of what to expect but felt compelled to check it out.. MAN oh MAN was i ever bothered by the pedo dad character. There's tons of bleak stuff going on but the stuff with the father made me highly uncomfortable. I almost felt embarrassed to have been so effected by it. Didn't hate the film but could not picture ever watching it again so i sold it right off..

Now weeks later i realize that i did not have the same reaction to the incest-pedo father in Vinterberg's "The Celebration". I was totally blown away by the subject matter that it got into but i was not NEARLY as effected. Maybe due to how captivated i was in the shooting style and it moves along well and has plenty of funny moments too.

Maybe HAPPINESS was too detailed/ in your face. I don't know

Thoughts here??