The Last Emperor (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
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Movie Reviews of The Last Emperor (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
Movie Review: Criterion should be ashamed to release this.
Summary: 3 Stars
For someone who grew up worshipping at the altar of Criterion, receiving this flimsy, chintzy digipack of one of history's most sumptuous films is a huge disappointment. It is quite simply of godawful design both functionally and aesthetically. The still image they chose for the cover graphic is both boring and pretentious. Beth Dorfsman...where are you?
How the mighty have fallen. I remember the days when Criterion Laserdiscs were the ultimate home video indulgence. Their design was nearly always leagues above the competition, as was their commitment to providing outstanding liner notes, superior transfers -- the whole experience. If you would have shown me this pathetic little piece of cardboard back in 1990 I would have been utterly flabbergasted. Although Criterion did not release an LD of The Last Emperor, we all owned gorgeous Japanese imports with glossy black gatefold jackets, one of which displayed an entire diagram of the Forbidden City. I understand that the very small format of Blu-Ray provides some challenges, but Criterion has delivered outstanding presentations on recent releases such as "If..." "Jigoku" and many others.
I also think it is a cynical, telling move that they did not include the Director's Cut on this release. It is quite simply so you will not flood the market with the Standard-Def version and they can do a shameless double-dip. And this is from the guys who are so concerned with you the viewer, right?
Alas, the transfer also does not look particularly stellar. There is of course higher resolution but this soft image is certainly not a show-off title in your collection. Honestly, I watched the film on Laserdisc a couple of years ago and I enjoyed it every bit as much then if not more. This is a big slide downhill for a company which was once the touchstone of quality.
Movie Review: Not everything that shines is gold
Summary: 3 Stars
I was swept out of my feet when I saw the movie more that 20 years ago. I bought it on VHS format. When it was released on DVD I dumped the VHS and bought the DVD format, then there was a second version of the movie and here comes the sad part. It was the original director's cut of 218 minutes (read 3 hours and 38 minutes). Dump the short version and buy the complete movie. Never regretted it. And what do I see now? The Last Emperor on Blu-ray? Far out! But there's a catch. Despite the bunch of documentaries, bonus material and interviews and so on, and so on, The Criterion Collection's edition on Blu-ray offers us a 164 minutes version of the movie. That's almost an hour less than the Artisan DVD edition I own. I don't get it. If Blu-ray offers us high definition quality and 8 hours of time, why not have the whole movie on Blu-ray DVD? There's plenty of room for whatever else they want to put in. I don't know if director Bertolucci agreed or not on that, but whoever decided to mutilate and desecrate the movie in this edition is a shame and tasteless ignorant (unless it is a mistake in printing the running time information). That's why I rate it only 3 stars. If you ask me for the movie itself, it is a 5 star 2 thumbs up movie not only for the director's superb work, but also for the cast, costumes, photography, locations, script, everything. You want to know what's the movie about? There's more than enough information about it everywhere. Read some of the reviews in Amazon for instance and for the time been buy the 218 minutes DVD edition of the director's cut. And yes, I agree with everybody that says this: the DVD version is extremely poor and not enhanced for widescreen TV sets (16:9) and the Blu-ray edition is, as I already mentioned - the short version -, is also a very bad transfer.Movie Review: A rare Criterion misfire
Summary: 3 Stars
I must add my voice to those who are disappointed in the video and audio quality of this Blu-Ray release. When my fiancee and I sat down to watch this movie, she remarked, "Wow, this is beautiful photography. I bet it will look even better when we get it on Blu-Ray" . . . to which I had to reply sheepishly that this *is* the Blu-Ray.
I should have read the customer reviews here before purchasing this disc. Instead, I relied on the usual superior standards of Criterion releases to guide my purchase decision. Now that I learn that this release omits a lengthier cut of the film that's been included in previous versions as well . . . I'm just mystified that Criterion put their stamp on this disappointingly murky print of an otherwise beautiful and haunting work of cinema. I'll be checking the reviews for all further Criterion purchases now.
Movie Review: Compare DVD to Blu-Ray
Summary: 3 Stars
I will not purchase the Blu-Ray version as I like the extended cut on DVD. It is sad when a company downgrades a movie from DVD to Blu-Ray. I was so pleased when The Kingdom of Heaven came out on Blu-Ray. I was longer and filled in all the missing parts missing in the original DVD. This is what Blu-Ray is to me. Better reproduction. More features. And if possible the addition of deleted or missing parts from the DVD.Movie Review: Excellent film, disappointing HD quality
Summary: 3 Stars
The film is an excellent story and well acted. I was disappointed in the quality of the high def. It did not have the crispness or realism I have seen in other Blu-ray DVDs or even over cable. Recording is not poor, just not what I consider good high def.