Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of February 16

By brenden ⋅ February 17, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment

Oh geez. I can’t afford this. Nobody can afford this. This is an inordinate amount of awesomeness for one week. Three Criterion discs, three classics from Studio Canal, a Scorsese, an anime anthology, Audrey Tautou and faux-vintage blaxploitation. How’s a guy supposed to pick a top five out of all this greatness?! Sigh…I’m going to cheat, that’s how. …Continued…

May titles announced! STAGECOACH, Fritz Lang’s M, Roeg’s WALKABOUT, Brakhage on Blu-ray

May titles announced! STAGECOACH, Fritz Lang’s M, Roeg’s WALKABOUT, Brakhage on Blu-ray! http://ow.ly/16OqE (via @Criterion)

P.S. check out the Criterion YouTube channel: lots of trailers in beautiful HD

P.S. check out our YouTube channel: lots of trailers in beautiful HD. http://www.youtube.com/criterioncollection (via @Criterion)

The Criterion Collection loses rights to films, Pierrot Le Fou Blu-ray to go Out Of Print OOP

By brenden ⋅ February 3, 2010 ⋅ One comment

This is a sad, sad day. The Criterion Collection has announced that they have lost the right to publish a significant group of their titles. I’m aghast. From the sounds of things, all of these titles will now be a part of the Studio Canal/Lionsgate deal which has recently brought us the less-than-spectacular Blu-ray release of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran. You might remember that Criterion was just about to release Ran on Blu-ray when the earlier part of this deal yanked the carpet out from under them. It’s so depressing to know that a superior transfer exists but until the current Studio Canal disc goes Out Of Print we’ll never see it. …Continued…

Che - Collector’s Edition Blu-ray Disc Review

By brenden ⋅ February 1, 2010 ⋅ 2 comments

I wasn’t prepared for the sheer awesomeness of Che. I honestly didn’t think Steven Soderbergh had it in him. But by the time I had finished viewing Part 1 of the film, I was convinced. This is some of his best work and some of the best cinema of 2009! …Continued…

Just posted Joe Mantegna’s Top 10 Criterion titles

Just posted Joe Mantegna’s Top 10 Criterion titles: http://ow.ly/W8Bn (via @Criterion)

Criterion brings Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven to Blu-ray

By brenden ⋅ December 15, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

This day just keeps getting more and more exciting! First we get all this fantastic Kurosawa news and then the full details of the upcoming M Blu-ray disc. And now, to top it all off, Criterion has announced the release of Terence Malick’s brilliant Days of Heaven! March may just end up being the best Blu-ray release month ever. Details below: …Continued…

Criterion Announces Seven Samurai, Yojimbo and Sanjuro Blu-ray Editions - UPDATED!

By brenden ⋅ December 15, 2009 ⋅ One comment

As most film fans know, Criterion is releasing a beautiful boxed set of 25 Akira Kurosawa films on DVD to celebrate the the director’s centenary. As incredible as the set seems, it has only served to depress me on a couple of levels - I already own a lot of the films in the set and they’re not making the 25 films available on Blu-ray. Well, they may not be on Blu anytime soon but the label did announce today via a blog post on their site that they’ve been struggling to create a month of high-def Kurosawa releases. They have, sadly not been entirely successful. Here’s what they had to say… …Continued…

Blu-ray Picks for the Week of December 1

By brenden ⋅ December 2, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

A day late and still a copy of Terminator Salvation short. The Blu-ray Blog was up and down yesterday, thanks to a flood of traffic from Blu-ray fan and celebrity gossip hound, www.egotastic.com, so it wasn’t possible to get our weekly release list online. Here we are a day later with a collection of titles not quite as numerous as previous weeks but quite vital all the same. …Continued…

Read Chuck Stephens’s liner notes for the devastating mafia exposé GOMORRAH, out today on Blu-ray and DVD

Read Chuck Stephens’s liner notes for the devastating mafia exposé GOMORRAH, out today on Blu-ray and DVD: http://ow.ly/Ffoh via @Criterion

Blu-ray Picks for the Week of November 24

By brenden ⋅ November 24, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

It’s another wallet-killer this week, folks! Between these pre-holiday releases and the incredible Black Friday deals on offer at the moment our poor bank accounts don’t stand a fighting chance. …Continued…

Twenty questions with Criterion designer Eric Skillman

Twenty questions with Criterion designer Eric Skillman http://bit.ly/6hlBYh (via @Criterion)

New Criterion Blu-ray Announcements: Hunger, Lola Montès, Revanche

By brenden ⋅ November 16, 2009 ⋅ One comment

It’s another one of those magnificent Mondays where the Criterion Collection reveals another series of additions to their line up of glorious Blu-ray discs. Details and trailers below: …Continued…

Amazon matches Barnes & Noble 50% Off Criterion Blu-ray and DVD Sale Prices!!

By brenden ⋅ November 13, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

I know, this is kind-of a rehash of an old post about a Criterion Blu-ray sale. But you know what?

THERE’S ANOTHER CRITERION BLU-RAY SALE!!! …Continued…

50% OFF Criterion Blu-ray Discs at Barnes & Noble

By brenden ⋅ November 10, 2009 ⋅ One comment

The holidays have come early!! Blu-ray.com is reporting that all Criterion Collection Blu-ray discs are about to be available for 50% off their suggested retail price at Barnes & Noble, both online and in their brick and mortar shops. This is amazing news, since I missed out on picking up any of the films when Amazon.com had a similar sale a few months back. …Continued…

Read Wim Wenders’s lyrical treatment for Wings of Desire, out tomorrow on DVD and Blu-ray

Read Wim Wenders’s lyrical treatment for Wings of Desire, out tomorrow on DVD and Blu-ray: http://bit.ly/1SIpHa (via @Criterion)

Arnaud Desplechin interviews Wes Anderson in a great, freewheeling conversation!

Arnaud Desplechin interviews Wes Anderson in a great, freewheeling conversation! http://bit.ly/X8nNF (via @Criterion)

R.I.P. The Third Man - Criterion Blu-ray goes Out Of Print!

By brenden ⋅ October 27, 2009 ⋅ One comment

No! Say it ain’t so! Criterion Collection discs have a habit of going out of print (AKA O.O.P. for those of us used to seeing the sign on Criterion sites and catalogue listings) and selling out quickly. Until today, no Criterion Blu-ray had suffered this fate. Carol Reed’s The Third Man is the first to fall. …Continued…

Amazing, intimate piece on Bergman in W Magazine

Amazing, intimate piece on Bergman in W Magazine http://bit.ly/zrQr1 (via @Criterion)

New Criterion Blu-ray Announcements: Che, 8 1/2 and Paris, Texas

By brenden ⋅ October 16, 2009 ⋅ One comment

Holy crap! I think Christmas just came early. This new batch of Criterion titles, just announced for release in January 2010, includes one of the finest films ever made and is the first title from my list of Top 10 Criterion DVDs that deserve a Blu-ray upgrade to graduate to high-def! And that film is Fellini’s brilliant 8 1/2 (clocking in at #6 on my list!) On any other day, the announcement of Soderbergh’s epic Che and Wenders‘ Paris, Texas on Blu-ray would, alone be great cause for celebration. But 8 1/2 coming to Blu eclipses just about any other news you’re going to hear this month! …Continued…