Tour of My Criterion Collection: Laserdiscs

[@RiderRated18]

Glad to see all you’re Laserdiscs together in all their splendour 👍

[@DaisukeBeppu]

My friend, thank you so much!

[@gavinthecollector2419]

Goodness what a collection

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Thank you very much!

[@gavinthecollector2419]

Just one more thing: you have a nice demeanor and are very articulate. Looking forward to more. And the Erik Satie was a nice touch.

[@MJ-nk9nw]

Love your movies! Great collection!

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Hello M J W, and thank you so much for your very kind comment. Cheers and please be well!

[@isaacdunne991]

I love your Collection man, you have the best on all of KZbin. Do you collect any other companies?

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Dear Isaac, thank you for your kind words! Yes, I do. I have a number of BFI titles, Arrow titles, etc. I have made some videos on this channel where I show my 88 films titles and Arrow titles (I am not Arrow complete though), and my Indicator titles.

[@master25]

Cool collection

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Thank you so much!

[@Tomb_of_Dracula]

Awesome collection mate.

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Thank you so much, my dear friend Road Warrior 76! You are too kind!

[@mariogiresi6792]

Stupendous collection. It’s a shame that such a beautiful format had to come to an end. I have always considered the DVD to be something of a step backwards for serious collectors, as if convenience was now replacing quality. But, ultimately, home viewing technology must advance if it is going to survive in an ever changing digital market.

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Thank you very much for the really great comment and your very kind words. I think sometimes the appeal for DVD can be that, every now and again, a blu ray does not always automatically present the best quality of a particular film. Or at the very least, the presentation aspects can be judged subjectively such that for a given title, a blu ray release does not always equal the best quality. Oftentimes it does, but not always. The same is true for laserdiscs I think. And also keep in mind that every now and again, a prior release might include a supplement that is no longer included. Case in point: the recent SWING TIME release from Criterion is really wonderful and filled with great supplements, but the original Criterion laserdisc includes a supplement that is not included in the blu ray, which is the clip from the film HOORAY FOR LOVE that provides context for the "Bojangles of Harlem" dance number in Swing Time. In any case, I think therefore that, in general, while blu ray usually provides the best quality, it is not always the case; thus the reason why many people go to DVD or VHS or laserdisc, as the case may be.

[@monsieurmike2072]

Awesome!

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Thank you very much!

[@LeeDarkParadox]

A great video Daisuke 👍 Keep up the good work ++

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Thank you so much, LeeDP! That is really kind of you to say.

[@benvanasse3397]

Hi Daisuke - Very nice indeed, I am curious about the PRINCE OF TIDES release, from what I gather it was stopped by Barbra Streisand herself over the commentary. Is this your understanding as well? What did she say that was so objectionable? Is it akin to the James Bond commentary?

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Hello! Yes, so the commentary contents could be described at times to be "not absolutely flattering". This is actually true about the essay on the back cover. While the comments are not directly insulting, they are not always 100% glowing about the work. I am planning to go through all the laserdiscs one of these days, and so perhaps I can try to see what I can do regarding a detailed description of the commentary.

[@christopherespinosa9915]

Great Collection, I currently own a large number of dvd and blu-ray criterion releases and try to get the latter whenever possible. I am aware that some of the laserdisc releases contain extras. Are this extras different from the ones found in their respective DVD-releases? I was also wondering if your collection is complete, as some of the discs are extremely hard to come by. Thanks a lot and keep up the great videos

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Thank you very much for the kind comment! So, generally speaking, regarding Criterion laserdiscs that have been released on DVD or blu, what usually happens is that LD supplements will usually be followed with an early Criterion DVD release, but with a later Criterion blu ray release, there will usually be differences in supplemental materials. For example, BRAZIL. This was released (twice actually) on CC LD, one time in a lovely special edition CAV release with many features. Then, these features were carried over into the huge DVD set from Criterion. But when Criterion re-released the Brazil blu ray, many of the features that were on that DVD changed (even in terms of editing and contents within the documentaries themselves), and so this means that the current BRAZIL blu ray does not have the same line up of features as the Criterion Laserdisc equivalent. Then, as for your second question, yes, my CC LD collection is complete (as far as I know!), and some of the titles that are very rare (that I can think of off the top of my head) are as follows: BOOGIE NIGHTS ARMAGEDDON OLYMPIA EVITA DARLING AKIRA (CAV) BRAZIL (CLV) PRINCE OF TIDES (Spine No. 159). Etc.... Now, most of these titles are later releases, around the time just before the LD format stopped being commercially released onto the retail market. So this means that production quantity numbers were oftentimes low, and thus the paradox was created wherein the most recent LD releases tend to be the more collectible because the quantities were usually relatively lower than earlier releases. Also, regarding a relatively earlier release like AKIRA, this wasn't always that expensive as an acquisition, but lately, I have noticed that this is fetching a fairly high price on ebay these days. Then, as for PRINCE OF TIDES (Spine No. 159), this is a very rare one, perhaps the rarest one of them all (and perhaps in all of the Criterion Collection?). This is because this version was, as far as I understand, never ever RELEASED. It was manufactured under plans to be released, but the actual release was cancelled, and therefore the version was never released. (THere was a later release of PRINCE OF TIDES at around the Spine 200s or so, and this is fairly common to find around ebay etc.). But Spine 159 is a very rare one. So, I was very lucky to find myself a copy (and in excellent condition) earlier this year. Anyway, I hope that answers your question! And have a great rest of your day!

[@leocoh89]

I never got into laserdisc, my bank balance is happy about that haha. Great collection, jealous of Sonatine, when will that be released on bluray? Lovin' the spinal tap pick too. Amazed it's not black. i mean, how much more black could it have been? None more black.

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Haha! Yes, laserdiscs can get a bit expensive especially when considering the shipping that could be involved. As for Sonatine, I admit I haven't checked, but isn't there a blu ray or DVD release of it somewhere?

[@leocoh89]

@@DaisukeBeppu there's a Japanese bluray and an expensive region A from sellers i think

[@p.f.9634]

There's also a french edition which was released recently : edition-limitee.fr/index.php/15-blu-ray-dvd/2976-sonatine-blu-ray-takeshi-kitano-edition-remasterisee

[@Freddy-Da-Freeloadah]

I have a whole box of LDs!!! but the LD player that came with them needs a new laser, but that would only be $100... If I ever get around to it... IMHO

[@comicbookninja5268]

Great video! What will you do when you run out of room?

[@DaisukeBeppu]

+ComicBook Ninja, that is a good question...! I am not sure but I’ll likely get another set of cheap shelves and do a bit of rearranging.

[@DaisukeBeppu]

Also, I forgot to say that I am already starting to run out of room now!!

[@comicbookninja5268]

@@DaisukeBeppuLOL you may have to kick your family out of the house at this rate.

[@DaisukeBeppu]

@@comicbookninja5268, haha!!!

[@84paratize]

Semi-serious question: do you ever worry about what might happen to your collection in the event of an earthquake?

[@DaisukeBeppu]

+Tim Holm oh yes. Unfortunately it is something that I have to worry about. So I have bolted the shelving to the walls (all shelving units usually have this kind of measure). But this would still not necessarily prevent items from falling off said shelves. So this is something I just have to accept for now, unless I choose to have more protective storage options for my discs in which case i would have to put them away in some kind of storage units in my closet and close to the ground.

[@DaisukeBeppu]

+Tim Holm also, let me ask, do you have any protection measures in place in the event of an earthquake where you are?

[@84paratize]

@@DaisukeBeppu Not really, to be honest.. but we probably should. My hometown IS in an earthquake-prone zone, and I keep hearing warnings that we're due for a "big one" sometime soon, but since we haven't had any really large quakes in a long time, I think people have become a little complacent. My collection isn't nearly as big as yours, though, so I think it won't suffer too much in case something does happen (heaven forbid!).