criterionforum.org

But you know the film is 1 to 1.37 OAR, right? Your orig post seemed to say that full frame was incorrect or something.

The remaining special features have been announced on Criterion's website:

SPECIAL EDITION DOUBLE-DISC SET FEATURES

New, restored high-definition digital transfer

Video introduction by writer-director Peter Bogdanovich

Two audio commentaries: one by filmmaker Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Tony Gilroy, and one by film scholar Dana Polan

Shadowing "The Third Man", a ninety-minute 2005 feature documentary on the making of the film

Abridged recording of Graham Greene's treatment, read by actor Richard Clarke

"Graham Greene: The Hunted Man," an hour-long, 1968 episode of the BBC's Omnibus series, featuring a rare interview with the novelist

Who Was the Third Man? (2000), a thirty-minute German documentary featuring interviews with cast and crew

The Third Man on the radio: the 1951 “A Ticket to Tangiersâ€

what an amazing package

The Graham Greene interview and Soderbergh commentary just made this a must-buy for me.

Tribe wrote:It's a shame that MoC might release this some day.

Without fairly major upheavals to the Studio Canal-Optimum relationship, there's not the remotest chance of that happening.

MichaelB wrote:

Tribe wrote:It's a shame that MoC might release this some day.

Without fairly major upheavals to the Studio Canal-Optimum relationship, there's not the remotest chance of that happening.

I was being facetious.

Tribe

I'm almost stunned that this is still at the $39.99 price point. By far the most important release announced so far this year.

arsonfilms wrote:I'm almost stunned that this is still at the $39.99 price point. By far the most important release announced so far this year.

a-hem. sub-rosa: please stop that. they--THEY--have been known to browse the forum. But I agree with you: the most important, the greatest.

I was underwhelmed by Shadowing The Third Man, but the news about the additional commentary and the two other documentaries made me much more excited about this re-release. The Omnibus documentaries are very well done. I welcome their inclusion on any relevant Criterion release.

Here's an interesting extra feature slipped in:

Also: a web-exclusive essay on Anton Karas by musician John Doe

Have they done this kind of thing before? Is this where you put the disc in your computer drive and it functions as a key to something on a website?

No, they're right there on the website for everyone to read. There are web-exclusive essays on Jubilee, Equinox, Unfaithfully Yours, Stray Dog and I'm sure a couple of others.

You'd think they'd still have time to slip this new piece into the booklet. Oh well.

First review over at DVD Movie Central

Gigi M. wrote:First review over at DVD Movie Central

Of course it's them.

The same review could have been written based on renting the initial release and looking over the features on the website. I love that the reviewer is advertising a novel he wrote that has a blatently stolen title, and that he attributes the Third Man's cinematography to Reed.

Look for my Raymond Bernard review next week, but in the meantime, be sure to check out my new novel "Bridge to Terabithia," or my first novel "Animal Farm."

There doesn't seem to be much difference in image between the original and the new one, does there? I agree with Gary that the original never transfer was never all that problematic to begin with. Interesting re-issue...seems like all they did was load up on extras.

Tribe

Odd - I've seen the Region 2 reissue, and the improvement to the original Criterion's image quality was striking- much sharper and less grainy. Sometimes these things don't show on frozen screengrabs, I suppose.

While the image quality may not be a major improvement, I still can't wait to get my hands on this DVD. I adore The Third Man and very much look forward to all the interesting bonus material.

reaky wrote:Odd - I've seen the Region 2 reissue, and the improvement to the original Criterion's image quality was striking- much sharper and less grainy. Sometimes these things don't show on frozen screengrabs, I suppose.

Quite agree; night and day in fact. The R2 isn't letterboxed either, but I have to have the Criterion if only for the Beeb doco. A Selznick 'infestation' conjures up some images doesn't it?

Comparison between the first issue and the re-issue from DVD Beaver

I just received a copy of this and I'll say I've never had an issue with the original release but there is a noticeable improvement with the image, despite the picture boxing. There's less debris and the image does look slightly sharper. I also feel the audio is better, much cleaner, sharper, less noise (the music sounds great.) I haven't looked at the supplements yet but will be going through them over the next little while.

cdnchris wrote:I just received a copy of this and I'll say I've never had an issue with the original release but there is a noticeable improvement with the image, despite the picture boxing. There's less debris and the image does look slightly sharper. I also feel the audio is better, much cleaner, sharper, less noise (the music sounds great.) I haven't looked at the supplements yet but will be going through them over the next little while.

Chris, how many pages is the booklet?

26 (28 if you count the last couple full picture pages) Only half of that is essays, though. It's more an insert along the lines of Jules and Jim, and not a thick booklet like what you'd find in My Own Private Idaho.

cdnchris wrote:26 (28 if you count the last couple full picture pages) Only half of that is essays, though. It's more an insert along the lines of Jules and Jim, and not a thick booklet like what you'd find in My Own Private Idaho.

Thanks, still debating if I should upgrade or not. Those extras sound too good to pass up though...

I wonder how the R2 compares with the Criterion reissue? Maybe Gary at the Beaver will be able to add it to his comparison.