"Brazil" gets a Criterion release on Blu-Ray in December

[reidw]

Sorry that Brazil is coming from Criterion. I have not been impressed with any of their BD transfers that I've bought so far (The Last Emperor, Twelve Angry Men, Paths of Glory, A Night to Remember). I also wish that they would use standard Bluray blue cases. Their semi-clear cases are so lacklustre. To me they're just coasting on the reputation they built up in the Laserdisc, premium VHS and DVD environments.

[cupboy]

I like those cases. They're heavy like UK cases. You want them to use eco-cases?

Speaking of Brazil, Blame It On Rio would be totally hot on Blu-ray.

[Josh Z]

Sorry that Brazil is coming from Criterion. I have not been impressed with any of their BD transfers that I've bought so far (The Last Emperor, Twelve Angry Men, Paths of Glory, A Night to Remember).

There aren't enough "rolleyes" icons in the world to properly respond to this, so I'll have to make due with just one for now.



Wait, here's another one for good measure.

[Landy]

Sorry that Brazil is coming from Criterion. I have not been impressed with any of their BD transfers that I've bought so far (The Last Emperor, Twelve Angry Men, Paths of Glory, A Night to Remember). I also wish that they would use standard Bluray blue cases. Their semi-clear cases are so lacklustre. To me they're just coasting on the reputation they built up in the Laserdisc, premium VHS and DVD environments.

You're kidding right? (I hope so, for the sake of humanity)

[reidw]

No Landy I'm not kidding. The four films I've named are all great films. Each deserved a good BD and in my opinion they didn't get it. I know in this assessment I'm going against just about every critic but to me the transfers are all dull and lacking in the wow PQ factor I expect from Bluray. In brief from a PQ standpoint they're boring. Perhaps my standards are just different but I have to call it the way I literally "see" it.

[Landy]

Criterion can only do so much with the original elements and the films that you mentioned aren't going to look any better anywhere else. But you don't have to get the Criterion release if you don't want to. Stick with Universal's if that is what you prefer:

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/4984/brazil.html

[HDDVD73]

12 Angry Transformers looks awesome!

[Josh Z]

No Landy I'm not kidding. The four films I've named are all great films. Each deserved a good BD and in my opinion they didn't get it. I know in this assessment I'm going against just about every critic but to me the transfers are all dull and lacking in the wow PQ factor I expect from Bluray. In brief from a PQ standpoint they're boring. Perhaps my standards are just different but I have to call it the way I literally "see" it.

You need to educate yourself on how movies are made, what they are supposed to look like, and what restoration efforts are possible on very old titles that have been neglected for decades.

Criterion does heroic work on its Blu-ray releases more often than not. If you're going to write off a whole company because 12 Angry Men doesn't look as shiny as Transformers or Avatar, that's no one's error but your own.

[CriticalMass]

You need to educate yourself on how movies are made, what they are supposed to look like, and what restoration efforts are possible on very old titles that have been neglected for decades.

Criterion does heroic work on its Blu-ray releases more often than not. If you're going to write off a whole company because 12 Angry Men doesn't look as shiny as Transformers or Avatar, that's no one's error but your own.

Well I also have had issues with highly praised Criterion transfers in the past. Silence Of The Lambs and Robocop were two notable entries in their disgrace bin. Both transfers were praised upomn their release, and I could not have been more shocked at how dark and muddy the transfers were. It didn't take long for MGM to release VASTLY superior masters.

They are not infalible, they are not necessarily reference material, and we still are stuck in the dark ages of region coding. Criterion don't deserve to be put on any pedestal, they need to earn it.

[cheez avenger]

Well I also have had issues with highly praised Criterion transfers in the past. Silence Of The Lambs and Robocop were two notable entries in their disgrace bin. Both transfers were praised upomn their release, and I could not have been more shocked at how dark and muddy the transfers were. It didn't take long for MGM to release VASTLY superior masters.

They are not infalible, they are not necessarily reference material, and we still are stuck in the dark ages of region coding. Criterion don't deserve to be put on any pedestal, they need to earn it.

Huh? Robocop was released via Criterion on LD and DVD. MGM released their transfers of Robocop on Blu-ray, a vastly superior format.

How old are you? Criterion has been around since 1984, I believe. I think they have earned it.

[twonunpackmule]

MGM's release of Robocop is balls.

[CriticalMass]

Ok... perhaps it wasn't MGM, but I have a Robocop trilogy on DVD from the UK that shat all over the Criterion treatment... not in features, mind you, but in visual quality.

I am 36. I have had vast collections of frightfully expensive (back in the day) Criterion laserdisc box sets, gatefolds, and singles. This, by the way, was back in the day when a boxed set used to really mean something. It used to be special. Cracking open that Brazil LD set, with two versions of the movie and hours of interesting behind the scenes material (back when most people just rented VHS that you'd be lucky to get a 5-minute EPK fluff-piece as an extra) is one of the greatest home video memories of my life! Not to mention Se7en, and the original theatrical cut of CE3K... the only place I had ever seen it!

Many of these titles were upgraded to DVD, and naturally added to... and I would hate to think of the dollars I have spent on Criterion editions alone over the years.

So I think my opinion is as valid as anyone's on this subject, and I have earnt the right to be critical. Perhaps 'earn' was the wrong word to use in my previous post (and I've been on these forums long enough to have known better!)... but I stand by my opinion that a notable amount of their releases disappointed.

These days, I don't really get to enjoy the benefits of Criterion because of BD region locking. I know they are bound by legalities, but 4 years into the format and we still don't have the covnenience of multi-region blu-ray players. Hell, even irrespective of that, I tried to buy a bunch of their BD releases when they had an awesome sale, even just to own them, but was denied because I don't live in the mighty USA.

Getting slightly off track here, but the point is I have always been a Criterion fan... they do great work overall and have been instrumental in the preservation of important international and domestic movies that would have otherwise perished into extinction. Oh, and they released Armageddon! :-P
But that doesn't mean that image quality is a given with every release... I am sure reidw and I are not the only ones who have been disappointed with multiple Criterion releases.

And no... I am not a troll.

[twonunpackmule]

Yea, but that Robocop Criterion I think was a port of the LD. A lot of the early Criterions aren't very good. However, given the timeframe of its release...

The MGM has the incorrect color timing...if I remember correctly.

[eastx]

Also, region-free Blu-Ray players are available. Instead of feeling resentment over region coding issues, do something about it.

[dianebrat]

Criterion can only do so much with the original elements and the films that you mentioned aren't going to look any better anywhere else. But you don't have to get the Criterion release if you don't want to. Stick with Universal's if that is what you prefer:

http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/4984/brazil.html

The section in the Criterion Godzilla is very informative on what their limitations were and why they could only restore "so far" in many cases.

I think one of the best features on any of these kinds of treatments is the restoration backstory, there are so many ins and outs that I really find myself sucked into how they've brought the film back from the dead, A Start is Born (1954) is one of those where how it was made and then restored is as interesting a story as the movie itself.