The Criterion Collection Blu-ray Thread

[ShawAngela]

And don't forget that it's not every people who can afford to own a 4K bluray or TV player and that there are people who are also  satisfied to get a bluray release only of those movies that have been put aside of new and improved releases for years...

And I won't argue with anybody about this discussion about Sammo's new release, I'm just giving my point of view about this discussion.

[bickle14]

On 9/17/2024 at 10:20 AM, Irongod2112 said:

Hey guys, just repeating what I have already posted at bluray.com forum...

Having worked on both the Eureka and this new Criterion release. It always bugged me how dark & blue the night scenes were on the Eureka.

Criterion worked with me to correct this and I'm happy to report all the action is bright & clear for those scenes now. 

I also worked hand in hand with the great Brandon Bentley on the new audio (Criterion provided original audio stems) and I have to say this new Cantonese track is absolutely amazing!!

Subtitles have also been improved by Markgway and Ken Zhang and the Eastern Condors LIVE SHOW Extra will finaly have subtitles now for we missed the deadline on the Eureka release.

Eastern Condors is my absolute favorite HK film of all time and ALOT of love went into this.

I'm so happy that Criterion let me correct and improve everything to bring the fans the ultimate version of Sammo's greatest achievement!

Trust me, even If you own the great Eureka release this will be well worth the double dip!! 

Hopefully if this sells well perhaps Criterion will release a few more Sammo films.

Is a Region A release of The Magnificent Butcher being worked on by anyone?

[HeavenSword]

30 minutes ago, bickle14 said:

Is a Region A release of The Magnificent Butcher being worked on by anyone?

You must be thinking like me and hoping Magnificent Butcher gets a release next so you can have the standalone films and get rid of the Eureka three pack haha . I thought for sure Arrow would release Magnificent Butcher awhile back . 

[lastninja]

1 hour ago, HeavenSword said:

You must be thinking like me and hoping Magnificent Butcher gets a release next so you can have the standalone films and get rid of the Eureka three pack haha . I thought for sure Arrow would release Magnificent Butcher awhile back . 

Those are exactly my thoughts too. I hate these collective releases. In my opinion, it's a missed opportunity to present the film with a cover dedicated only to that film. The physical releases live from a beautifully designed cover. And damn, the new Criterion cover looks fantastic. I've already pre-ordered it. Since Arrow has already released "Iron Fisted Monk", uncensored by the way, the only thing missing is "Magnificent Butcher". Then the Eureka release can go.

[KUNG FU BOB]

First, great news @Irongod2112 that you got to improve things for this newer version. That's wonderful news and I salute your and @OldPangYau's efforts (along with the other team members who worked) to make this the best it can be.

As far as the discussion between @Niklaus Vogel and @nahnahnah goes... I love that you are both passionate about what you're saying, yet kept everything civil despite your differing views.

Here are my thoughts, based on my knowledge of how the business works... As fans, we often forget the bottom line is that releasing films is a business (sad but true). No matter how much the people at the top may have become involved because of a true love for cinema, their actions must be logical within the financial parameters of an endeavor. A release usually has a producer, or team of producers, who make a physical release happen. Sometimes they've been pushing for a title to get done (many releases are passion projects), and sometimes it is simply assigned to them. But in all cases, there is a top person that allocates a budget. Sometimes this person/people share the same view of the film as the producer, sometimes they don't. I once worked on a project that the producer and I were passionate about and willing to give our all to, but the top dogs had to be pleaded with to sign off on it at all. They didn't have faith that they'd see a significant return on their investment. So when we wanted something that would've needed a little more added to the production budget they immediately said no. Though the ask was for something that we felt certain would've added to sales and thrilled fans (I'd venture to guess it would've easily doubled sales) they wouldn't budge. This producer wound up working instead of sleeping and putting much more time and effort into the release than they were being compensated for, and some of the team members toiled ridiculous amounts of hours to include things that we all thought were important, literally until the last second before it had to be sent off.

Restorations are expensive, and several factors determine how a film is released- DVD, Blu-ray, or 4K. One is the same as above- if a producer thinks a film warrants the extra cost or not. Maybe they are big fans of the film, but it's already had a 4K release elsewhere, so they fear the audience has already purchased it from a different region (as 4K discs are region-free).

Maybe they released something similar in 4K whose sales didn't match expectations. For instance, "Hmmm... we thought the last HK 4K, HEROIC TRIO/THE EXECUTIONERS, was going to move this many units, but it only did half that in sales. So maybe that fanbase isn't as interested in/willing to spend extra for 4K's of these titles?" This example is hypothetical, but that's a very real thing that occurs.

Also, sometimes materials aren't available to do a 4K restoration.

When it comes to "why this and not that?" a lot of it has to do with the license holders. Often their decisions on which restorations they'll do seem arbitrary at best. Why did someone decide to create an HD master/ restore something that that's regularly lambasted, but not another title that's held in high regard? We have GLITTER (2001), which has an IMDb rating of 2.4, on Blu-ray, yet PINK FLOYD: THE WALL, which has an IMDb rating of 8.0, has never been released on Blu-ray or 4K. The answers can range from problems finding necessary materials (look at the trials and tribulations Second Sight just endured to release 1986's THE HITCHER) to difficulties securing the rights to songs on a soundtrack. Typically with larger companies, they'll send boutique labels lists- "We have these titles we're restoring, which are you interested in?" Some titles are obvious crowdpleasers, while others seem to have been picked with no rhyme or reason. In addition, they sometimes only offer a revered title in a package deal with some stinkers.

So... does EASTERN CONDORS deserve a 4K release? Undoubtedly! Is it even an option for Criterion? We have no idea. If anyone was fighting the good fight for it to get the best release possible, it's our very own group of forum members who are working on the release and sharing those opinions with the company. But they can only voice their opinions.

[dwk]

5 hours ago, HeavenSword said:

You must be thinking like me and hoping Magnificent Butcher gets a release next so you can have the standalone films and get rid of the Eureka three pack haha . I thought for sure Arrow would release Magnificent Butcher awhile back . 

I'm pretty sure Arrow has released all the titles they had licensed from Fortune Star and I don't know if they have struck a new deal for more titles.

 

My suspicion is if any one other than Criterion had licensed Magnificent Butcher, it probably would have been released by now. They really do take forever to release stuff.