Criterion & Eclipse Cover Art & Packaging Babble-on Vol.5

[daniel p]

Not that I was interested in upgrading Double Life of Veronique anyway (the DVD was a blind buy, and I wasn't completely enamored with the film), but I am similar to TheGodfather on this one. I have only been upgrading my favourite films onto Blu-ray, Criterion or otherwise. In this instance where the packaging and booklet have been reduced in quality, I would think twice about the upgrade. I too consider the packaging and booklets a big enough part of the release for me to consider not upgrading (downgrading) if the DVD transfer is strong enough.

I hope this doesn't happen too often with rerelases.

[Finch]

Seriously though: are you guys really replacing all the films in your collection and upgrade everything to blu-ray?

Some occasional exceptions apart, I tend to always upgrade to Blu. What helps that hitherto I've not had a problem selling the DVDs for a decent price; once or twice I actually made a profit even.

[cdnchris]

The Naked Kiss
Shock Corridor

[Feego]

The Naked Kiss

Hideous. I didn't know Ronald McDonald moonlighted as a blonde, transvestite prostitute.

Shock Corridor

Not as bad as I thought it would be. It's actually pretty good, but I still question the color choices.

[mfunk9786]

I agree with Feego, but both of these look much better in person than I expected, they actually took me aback when they arrived. Shock Corridor actually has some of my favorite cover/package art in recent memory.

[stagefright50]

Seriously though: are you guys really replacing all the films in your collection and upgrade everything to blu-ray?

Some occasional exceptions apart, I tend to always upgrade to Blu. What helps that hitherto I've not had a problem selling the DVDs for a decent price; once or twice I actually made a profit even.

Agreed, I've managed to pay for my upgrades by reselling the SD copies on Ebay... with the exception of Third Man, Man Who Fell To Earth, and Pierrot le Fou. I'm hanging onto those. Having said that, I will be keeping my SD copy of Veronique for the packaging but, I'm excited to see the film in 1080p!

[Cinephrenic]

I've sold my entire collection to upgrade to blu and kept several films as exceptions, like out-of-print and films that won't see a blu-ray anytime soon. I didn't even lose any money from what I originally paid. There were some films that didn't sale at desired prices, but other profits from auctions and shipping covered it.

[Finch]

Re Shock Corridor cover: I also liked it much better holding the package in my hands but nothing doing for The Naked Kiss.

[dad1153]

Seriously though: are you guys really replacing all the films in your collection and upgrade everything to blu-ray?

Only Criterions that, through my own experience, I know I'd rewatch often-enough to justify the expense of an upgrade. That means no Blu upgrade for me of "M," "Videodrome" or "Seven Samurai," all excellent movies that just aren't high in my rewatch pile. Same with catalogue titles from other studios ("Dances With Wolves," etc.): if I've owned the DVD for years and haven't made it a habit to rewatch (or just plain watch) it, why spend money on a BD facelift? I'll save my BD re-purchases for movies I know I'll watch over and over again ("Apocalypse Now," "The Third Man," etc.) or wanted to buy for years but never got around to it ("Double Life of Veronique").

[mfunk9786]

To me, upgrading them now while the values of the DVD versions are still relatively high is just smart business - if you decide to watch M in five years, you might feel a little salty when you realize that you only have the DVD, and that it's now only worth $5 for a nice used copy.

[swo17]

What utter contempt you must have for your DVDs, to just ran out on them like that.

[matrixschmatrix]

That worry was one of the major things that pushed me into going blu- my projector is only 720p, so the video difference isn't enormous, but I hated the idea that I was choosing to spend money on something that was just going to drop in value when I could have something better. That doesn't stop me buying DVDs, but it does mean that I go for blu whenever possible.

Although I have found that in upgrading Criterions the worst times to sell the DVD are right when the blu is announced and right when it comes out- you're usually better off if you wait a little while after the blu release.

[triodelover]

Seriously though: are you guys really replacing all the films in your collection and upgrade everything to blu-ray?

The Crits I orignally bought in SD, yes. Ditto for the few MoCs. Some Crits that haven't been reissued by Criterion yet but have highly praised BDs on onthe labesl, e.g. Studio Canal's Le Cercle Rouge and Gaumont's French Can-can. Hollywood classics (for lack of a better term) that will always get multiple rewatchings here at Chez Triode - Casablanca, The Maltese Falcon (though I kept the SE for the inclusion of the 1931 version), the Chaplins as Crit issues them. To add to what others have said, resale value is good, and if I have a lazy streak and don't wish to bother with that, i have a local used merchant who buys the DVDs at more than fair prices.

[oldsheperd]

To me, upgrading them now while the values of the DVD versions are still relatively high is just smart business - if you decide to watch M in five years, you might feel a little salty when you realize that you only have the DVD, and that it's now only worth $5 for a nice used copy.

It's a boon I can find a used copy of a CC SD for 5 bucks when I'm not interested in spending 29 bucks to upgrade to Blu.

[mfunk9786]

Huh?

[oldsheperd]

Huh?

For me, personally, it depends on the film being upgraded. Do I need to upgrade my SD copy of Army of Shadows to blu? Even though I love the film, I personally don't think it's warranted. So like let's say that they upgrade a CC to blu like Europa or something and someone wants to sell me their SD copy for 5 bucks then it's a deal for me. Europa is an okay film and worth 5 bucks.

[mfunk9786]

I wasn't implying that the value of the DVDs are $5, I am just saying that years down the line, the DVDs for films that have already been upgraded to Blu in 2009-11 are obviously going to become increasingly obsolete as time goes on, so upgrading while you can get 75%+ of the cost of the Blu for them makes more sense than waiting until a time when changing your mind could end up being costly.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Miller on his BBS artwork.

[zedz]

Miller on his BBS artwork.

Thanks for the link. Is anybody else as surprised as I am that he only had five days to design the entire set? Surely that's not Criterion's normal practice?

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I was rather surprised, myself. For a high-profile gig like this, I'd think that there'd be a lot of meeting and discussing as well as fine tuning.

[Roger Ryan]

I can't believe how good the results were for just five days of work...and the packaging ranks high on this site's best of the year list. More time was spent on Chaplin's MODERN TIMES cover art than on the entire BBS box!

[fdm]

Surely that's not Criterion's normal practice?

Could have fooled me.

[Finch]

[James]

The White Material and Kes covers are brilliant (and hopefully a sign of what's to come in 2011 as far as simplistic cover designs go). The Blow Out cover seems a bit too busy in my opinion, but maybe it's in line with the movie?

[matrixschmatrix]

It would be wrong to have a Blow Out cover where it was easy to decipher, I think it's pretty excellent.