DR Matt H.
A few posers for you-
In your valued opinion what are the top Five Criterion releases so far?
In your valued opinion what are the Five releases that you would like Criterion to tackle?
Is it possible that some manufacturer will combine in one unit the two Hi-Def systems(HD DVD and Blu-Ray)?
If not-What system would you recommend and Why?
1. So many to choose from, but the ones I have admired the most:
1. SEVEN SAMAURAI
2. THE THIRD MAN
3. PITFALL/WOMAN IN THE DUNES/THE FACE OF ANOTHER
4. THE SCARLET EMPRESS
5. ACE IN THE HOLE
But that's really the tip of the iceburg.
2. I'd love to see Universal give Criterion the rights to the Dietrich/Durbin/West movies that haven't already been released. They did such a fine job with THE SCARLET EMPRESS that I'd love to see what they'd do with SHANGHAI EXPRESS. As for foreign films, it looks like all of the Janus collection will eventually be done by them, so I won't waste any votes on wanting those. We'l eventualy have them.
3. Two manufacturers have already jumped into the combo fray. LG did the first one with ful Blu-ray capability but slightly crippled HD-DVD capability, and Samsung is supposed to release a combo unit that fully embraces both Blu-ray and HD-DVD in November. However, the prices right now are prohibitive. You could buy two separate machines for about $300 less, so those combo machine prices have got to come down before they're viable.
4. Both Blu-ray and HD-DVD offer equal quality (and they both upconvert standard definition DVDs equally wel, an important consideration). If you're only going to get one, you need to then consider the software side of the ledger. What movies would you MOST want in high def, and then see which format supports that particular film.