Are these Criterion 4K UHDs NOT the best versions?

In this video, I talk about some recent Criterion Collection blu-rays and 4Ks, comparing them to other versions available.
For Criterion 4K and blu-ray imports, be sure to check out the shop at www.boutiquehomevideo.co.uk/c...
You can also pre-order upcoming Criterion discs through Boutique Home Video above.

[@ElliotCoen]

UK folks looking for Criterion imports, check out Boutique Home Video here - www.boutiquehomevideo.co.uk/criterion-collection/

[@Slask7]

This kind of notions and comparisons could be less entertaining for a wider audience, but to me these videos are extremely precious. With home video being more and more dominated by boutique labels, we’re seeing several releases of the same titles (and actually these double dips often concern films that just a few years ago would’ve had barely one dvd or blu-ray release). So it’s not that easy to decide between labels that are considered the best, or between an established label and a less known one, especially when there are significant prices at play. Thanks for these advices, and I hope to see more in the future!

[@ElliotCoen]

Thanks for the kind words! I’ll try to help where and when I can. I’m only one man and by no means an expert when we get to the really technical stuff, so always have a look at reviews from other outlets alongside mine. Cheers!

[@dravenlee4473]

When it comes to 4Ks in different regions, it comes down to master and encoding for me. If it's the same master, it's the encoder. If it's FiM, they win. They just know what they are doing. Criterion is still great but I feel like companies like Arrow and Second Sight have caught up to them. Especially when they use FiM.

[@ElliotCoen]

Yeah seeing FiM on a disc’s production credits fills me with a real sense of relief. We’re in good hands.

[@444chroma]

Thank you for this much needed public service announcement regarding compression. Criterion does so many things right this is one area they could stand to improve a little

[@1977Suspiria]

Studio Canal's 4k Limited Edition of Don't Look Now is definitely superior to the Criterion release. BFI have released some superior releases of films already released on Criterion BluRay too. Titles like Le Belle Et La Bete & Naked with more modern restorations & a better array extras. BFI releases are also incredible value for money, I don't think any label does the quality of releases BFI do for the prices they sell them especially if you wait to few months they usually fall below a tenner.

[@ElliotCoen]

Indeed, BFI are great. I can’t wait to see what The Wages of Fear 4K looks like soon from them.

[@tompoynton]

@@ElliotCoenThe Proposition and Get Carter were phenomenal

[@ElliotCoen]

@@tompoynton yep loved both! I wish they were able to do 4Ks a bit more frequently, but better to have few but have them be great

[@1977Suspiria]

@@LancasterDodd LOL. Whatever, man. Why you so hurt? I love Criterion, I have far more of their titles than any other label, but I also have loads of titles from other labels of films that Criterion have themselves put out but I deemed the other label's version preferable for whatever reason, I don't have some weird obsession with any label that I'll just buy their release just because they put it out. Also, you realise we actually do get Criterion releases of our own here in the UK, right? So what exactly would I ve struggling to cope with? 🤨🤷‍♂️

[@tompoynton]

@@LancasterDodd I too am 15 years old

[@Dumballa]

Appreciate the insight. Haven't gotten either one yet. This helps 👍🏻

[@marcoesquandolez4737]

Thank for the fabulous reviews. I imported/ordered the 2nd Sight Mean Streets before I realized Criterion was also doing it! Oh well!

[@ElliotCoen]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching

[@theminstryoftruth61]

Mean Streets didn't do well originally in the U.K. The distributor then mortgaged his house and re-released it and it broke box office records at Odeon Kensington and Swiss Cottage, running for 25 weeks straight.

[@ElliotCoen]

Wow I didn’t know that! Great history. Thanks for sharing.

[@MosesWine]

My understanding is that the 1080p blu ray in the Criterion edition of Dont Look Now is their previously oop restoration. So you can in fact compare the new restoration to the old one. Colour timing is quite pleasing on both.

[@spicemelange]

I went for the Criterion for two reasons: 1) I simply preferred the Hydesister artwork of the Criterion. 2) I got it during the sale and it was so much cheaper than the Second Sight release. You don't see Second Sight releases on sale very often, and when you do it's not much of a discount!

[@ModernPlague]

I keep wanting someone to compare the Criterion 4K version of _The Others_ to the Studio Canal 4K. I've been holding off on that one until I know about any differences.

[@spaceodds1985]

Have both the Ltd Edition 4K of Don’t Look Now and the Criterion BD that I purchased some years ago. The only Criterion BD I ever sold due to IMO a better UK edition is Thief.

[@ModernPlague]

What makes the UK edition of Thief better, the encode?

[@spaceodds1985]

@@ModernPlagueProbably, it just looked more solid then the Criterion.

[@balladofthebroken7569]

Dammit, I just bought the Criterion version of Don’t Look Now 4k. Should I sell it and get the Studio Canal 4K??

[@brunomachado7279]

I happen to have two versions of Don't Look Now studiocanal: the regular and the steelbook. I ordered on Amazon, there was a huge delay and they sent me another copy. Some time later, the first copy arrived. And I already had the Criterion blu ray. A Don't Look Now overdose 😂😂 Elliot, the two versions of The Trial are this similar? One has HDR and the othe doesn't. Cheers!

[@ElliotCoen]

Haha that’s a lot of copies of Don’t Look Now. Yeah I should have mentioned specifically about the HDR on The Trial. Honestly, I can barely tell any difference between the two. Maybe looking at the very darkest portions there’s subtle differences here and there, but you really really have to look for it. If you can only get the Criterion disc, I wouldn’t be too worried about lack of HDR.

[@brunomachado7279]

@@ElliotCoen A lot of Don't Look Now, indeed! Great to now about The Trial, I've already got the Criterion disc!

[@princesmith8008]

I've noticed quite a few times that whenever Criterion and some other boutique label (like SS or Arrow) are releasing the 4k version of the same title, Criterion always ends up losing. Like they always come up with the inferior version out of the two. I'm new to 4k collecting but this has happened often enough for me to notice.

[@1977Suspiria]

Tbf, nobody beats the impressive packages Second Sight drops.

[@princesmith8008]

@@1977Suspiria Yeah I guess, but what about Arrow?

[@1977Suspiria]

@princesmith8008 Those two don't crossover titles very often but thry did a few times with the Arrow Academy range &, yes, I preferred the Arrow Academy versions like My Darling Clementine & One Eyed-Jacks. Though I think I'd very slightly give the edge to Criterion with regards to their's & Arrow Academy's Night Of The Hunter but there's hardly any difference, both transfers are from the same source & both have that awesome 3 hour making of.

[@rocky01542]

Why do you think Criterion didn't use HDR on The Trial when SC did and is its absence really not noticeable at all?

[@ElliotCoen]

Comparing the two pictures, they are so incredibly close (to my eyes) that it’s hard to even tell which has the HDR and which doesn’t. That could be the reason Criterion passed on the HDR, or it could have been an oversight which didn’t actually end up mattering all that much! It’s gonna be dependant on your setup and sensitivity to this sort of stuff but for me, the two discs are very very close in picture.

[@wright96d]

Hey Elliot! You seem to be one of the more technically minded KZbin Blu-ray reviewers. With that being the case, I think you’d find great interest in the Blah-ray blog. It’s dedicated to comparing audio tracks on multiple releases of a film, often going back to laserdisc, and occasionally VHS. With Mean Streets, for instance, the laserdisc PCM is the best audio track available. If you give it a look, and connect with the mission, for lack of a better term, I’d really love to see you begin to reference it (when available) in your videos.

[@TheLegend-qj7wh]

🗑

[@wright96d]

@@TheLegend-qj7wh What?

[@Blixthand]

I find it a bit annoying when two different labels put out the same movie so close to each other. In a perfect world there would be no region differences and no differing distribution rights, but as is I'm at least happy Mean Streets is the same transfer, even if there might be some differences in how the discs are written/encoded. It would be both super annoying and a waste of valuable time they could spend on restoring an even greater variety of movies if several labels just did their own restorations. Now it mostly comes down to packaging, availability, price and special features, which is still a lot of factors to consider, but at least for me the movie is still the most important thing, the thing I'm actually buying to watch, and if I'm likely not gonna notice the difference, the choice becomes easier.

[@AchtungEnglander]

Which label is obsessed with teal? It's Criterion isn't?

[@TheAlexZorba]

Whenever there is an option I seem to skip on Criterion. Seventh Seal, Citizen Kane and Don't Look Now off of the top of my head. I ordered Second Sights Mean Streets for the double dip after watching your video other day.

[@princesmith8008]

Which version you ordered? I ordered the Limited Edition, but that beautiful Criterion artwork is really evoking my OCD lol.

[@TheAlexZorba]

@princesmith8008 I assume you are asking about Mean Streets? I ordered the LE. The Criterion does have nice original artwork while Second Sight is using the movie poster from 1973. I am going to keep the Criterion for the double dip

[@fmulder1989]

In terms of packaging amazon is not great , once received a damaged disc.

[@ElliotCoen]

I rarely use Amazon internationally now. Far too many experiences of box sets been completely crushed because they’re sent in a plastic bag to the other side of the world!

[@fmulder1989]

@@ElliotCoen Yeah i live in Belgium and in some cases I was forced to order in the USA because criterion is not available in my country . What would you recommend in terms of better packaging?

[@ElliotCoen]

@@fmulder1989 you could try Boutique Home Video as I think they ship into Europe as well as UK. Might be more expensive than Amazon but personally I think it’s worth the peace of mind!

[@fourlights]

​@@fmulder1989Try wowhd it's the cheapest way to get us imports and I get all my scream factory and kino lorber from there, the only thing is delivery takes about 2 weeks but there's no customs charges and free delivery.

[@u77750]

The criterion version of the Trial was fabulous. The special features were great!

[@jhberg17]

Blocking in the sky or water is so annoyingly common with 4K. Hate that.

[@theminstryoftruth61]

At least Second Sight allow you to buy their discs outside of the U.S, until World Cinema (laughable) leader Criterion. We don't allow the plebs to buy directly from us, but don't mind grey market sales from Amazon or Ebay or from Boutique Home Video. How very quaint.

[@moviesbye9294]

Criterion is overpriced dog shit! I have one laserdisc from them, but not a single dvd, BD or UHD, and I am proud to say that!

[@ElliotCoen]

Ok but you've gotta tell us...what's the one laserdisc from them?

[@moviesbye9294]

@@ElliotCoen Dead Presidents. It's the only way to get the unrated cut with all the bonus features. And since Disney 💩 now owns it, it will never be realased again.