Scharphedin2 wrote:This is obviously going off topic, but I think it is an important discussion.
First off, I have tremendous respect for what Gary does, and I think Beaver is a fantastic and fun site (although definitely not the only site, and I think as a reader, one needs to approach the site with some healthy scepticism). The screen caps and comparisons are a great service to the internet film community, however, I think the best approach is to look at these for general guidance, and then form a personal opinion based on your eyes rather than on the site's final verdict.
Absolutely true. However, I'm simply unable to purchase every DVD release of a film from around the world and then compare them each of them on my very own equipment with my very own eyes. I simply don't have the money or the time! (Granted, I've bought certain favorite titles many times over, but this is hardly the norm.) The Beaver is one of my favorite references, and certainly one of the most important ones, along with the reviews and comparisons posted on this forum and excellent sites like the DVD Times.
Scharphedin2 wrote:.. there is the bias against certain labels, and Kino would (to me at least) appear the most glaring and unjust example. I can completely sympathise with Beaver being unenthusiastic about Kino for reasons of pricing, or general quality of transfers, or whatever other reason, but it appears that this lack of enthusiasm has almost resulted in a black listing of the label, which really is not fair considering the obvious quality of the films that the label releases month after month. Even if all their releases were of completely hopeless technical quality, I still think that these should be mentioned, since the label obviously fills a very important niche.
I read this along with Pro-B's assertion of a bias in favor of Criterion, and I hope we all would acknowledge that some biases are in fact earned. Specifically, those that are based upon a track record of our experiences and observations that to some degree can be objectively considered and established. However, once a bias is established, it can be hard to shake it off, creating a mindset where a once-objective conclusion has become a prejudice.
However, I think Gary's quite justified in his criticisms of Kino, and I don't understand the assertion that Kino is somehow "blacklisted" at the Beaver. It seems to me that Kino's releases are very often the subject of reviews and comparisons. Off the top of my head, I'd conjecture that Kino is one of the more widely reviewed DVD houses by the Beaver, if only because they release films that tend to appeal to a Beaverish cinematic sensibility. But I'll allow for the possibility that Kino's releases are neglected by the Beaver as a result of bias, and I simply haven't noticed. But the fact that those Kino releases that
are reviewed so often come up short is certainly no fault of Gary's or Henryk's or any of the other Beaver reviewers.
DVD distributors earn a good or bad reputation by their history of releases. We should appreciate Kino for the great films they put out, but at the same time acknowledge that their transfers of those films are decidedly second-rate. And, as you note, they charge a premium. Likewise New Yorker, Facets, Koch Lorber, Wellspring, etc. etc. To acknowledge this is not necessarily the same as expressing a bias; very often, it's simply acknowledging the truth.
Ask yourself: if Criterion consistently released interlaced, artifact-ridden, non pre-converted PAL> NTSC transfers, or English alterations of original language title cards, etc., would they not also have earned the ire often directed at Kino? Putting the Beaver aside, how many Kino releases have I subsequently replaced with MoC releases, personally noting an obvious improvement? The answer is every single one where it's possible to do so. And I'd have to acknowledge that some of the shittiest DVD transfers in my collection are from Kino - for example, Kino's "Kieslowski Collection", "Wong Kar-Wai Collection", and non-anamorphic "Time Regained". I'm looking to replace all of them, and have gotten a pretty good start on the Wong titles.
Getting back to the Optimum Bunuels, I understand that Pro-B is convinced that Criterion has screwed up the color timing on their (non B&W) Bunuel releases. That's a somewhat subjective characterization in any circumstance, and I certainly haven't the knowledge or experience to dispute or confirm it. So, I accept it, but only because I defer to Pro-B's authority on the matter. But what of something that's not so subjective? For example, what if Criterion had screwed up the audio a la Optimum's "Obscure Object" disc? Does anyone here doubt that it would be corrected and replaced? Can anyone here say with any degree of certainty or optimism that Optimum will do the same? I think we all hope and expect them to stand by their product, correct it, and exchange the faulty discs. But, unlike Criterion, they lack a track record that makes this a foregone conclusion.
And what about film scholarship? I haven't heard the commentary on Optimum's "Belle de jour" disc, but I've read the reviews cited in this thread. Does anyone think that the commentary Optimum commissioned is "Criterion quality"? How many sneering remarks would a commentary like that receive if it showed up on a Criterion release?
I think there's some other psychology at work here, too. Certainly, the prospect of a new DVD house releasing high quality transfers of canonical films is very exciting to all of us (Masters of Cinema, to name but one!). And perhaps in our excitement we temper our critiques accordingly, hoping to shepherd these bright upstarts along. We note their mistakes in passing, minimizing them to the extent we can, rationalizing them away if possible, and generally hoping that such minor transgressions are simply initial missteps that are sure to be corrected. Perhaps it's simply because we like rooting for the underdog. But, from personal observation, we rightly hold Criterion to an exactingly high standard, while at the same time cut far too much slack to far too many lesser DVD houses.