All too rarely, wonderful things happen.
A few weeks ago, while we were away from Obsessed Towers, one of those things happened. Hot on the tails of the disgustingly good high definition re-releases of Luc Besson’s early works- and somewhat quietly- Optimum Home Entertainment released the first part of its exceptional Studio Canal Collection, with seven true classics given beautiful and respectful high definition treatment and fitted with gorgeous packaging along with it. I was lucky enough to be sent a copy of each of the seven films in the collection, and I am truly blown away.
The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum
Films that changed the world of film-making first time around, and new releases that will hopefully herald a new concentrated effort by film distributors to match the ineffable genius of the Criterion folks.
Blu-ray afficionados will already know of the fabled few movies that are not only good, but are the holy grails of the high definition transfer world- Wall-E, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Deep, Raging Bull to name but a few- and can justifiably add any of these seven releases to the list. It’s even difficult to pick out a best in terms of the quality of transfer (if pushed I’d probably go for The Deer Hunter).
It never looked like it would happen, but perhaps Criterion may actually have some competition now, albeit from a U.K. based company. Indeed owners of the existing Criterion versions on offer need not pick up the SCC blu-rays, so similar are they (albeit besides the comparatively superfluous critique booklets). But that is a good thing for anyone who hasn’t yet sampled what Criterion releases represent for the discerning buyer.
My one gripe? The packaging might look good, but like the Wall-E special edition DVD release, in its ridiculous and loathsome double-ended slip-case box, the ergonomics do not match the aesthetics. Rather than sticking to the familiar, and far more effective method of having a simple tray for the disc to sit in, there is just a cardboard slot- while this doesn’t necessarily represent a massive problem on first viewing, if you watch the films as much as I intend to, the packaging simply cannot stand up to the rigours of obsession and will inevitably, and invariably in my experience, buckle and cave. And then you run the risk of either losing the disc or damaging it- and for something as expensive and prestigious as these high-market releases, the error is rather an inexcusable one.
Look out for in-depth Blu-Ray reviews coming in the next few days of each title.
