Paramount and Criterion to release "Button" 5/5

[azul017]

Yes, you hear that right: Paramount and Criterion are releasing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on single-disc and double-disc DVD editions as well as a barebones single-disc edition on May 5, 2009.

Extras on the 2-disc DVD and Blu will include commentary by director David Fincher, a four-part documentary and more.

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I expected Paramount to do another Zodiac-styled release followed by a more lavish 2-disc edition down the road, but wow. A Criterion release of a Fincher movie? I'm preordering the 2-disc SE asap.

[Andrew Forbes]

Fincher movies usually get loaded editions. This one will probably just cost more. Hurray.

[HGervais]

Not doubting you at all but what was the source of that report.
Fincher & Criterion have been engaged in a mating dance for years now, that they finally came together isn't much of surprise. That it was this movie and not Fincher's The Game is.

[HGervais]

And there it is along with artwork.

[cdouglas]

My least favorite Fincher movie gets the Criterion treatment? Hurm.

[HGervais]

I don't know how Criterion would improve superior Fincher films such as Seven, Fight Club or Zodiac...well maybe Criterion could offer up a better transfer on Zodiac but still outside of The Game there really are not other options for Criterion. Criterion wins because it gets a big-name Hollywood prestige movie, Fincher wins because he finally gets a film with a CC spine number, 476 btw, and people who normally support Criterion win because this puts some more money towards the bottom line and hopefully helps grow the brand.

[cdouglas]

I don't know how Criterion would improve superior Fincher films such as Seven, Fight Club or Zodiac...well maybe Criterion could offer up a better transfer on Zodiac but still outside of The Game there really are not other options for Criterion. Criterion wins because it gets a big-name Hollywood prestige movie, Fincher wins because he finally gets a film with a CC spine number, 476 btw, and people who normally support Criterion win because this puts some more money towards the bottom line and hopefully helps grow the brand.

Yeah, you make a good point. Still, I really do wish this were The Game, as it could use a deluxe edition release, and it's a better film than BB. Maybe somewhere down the road...

[BenShultz]

Crap. I'm a Criterion whore, I love David Fincher, but this movie bores the piss out of me.

Can't wait to read the booklet in this one, but aside from that...eh.

There's so much news I've heard this month that makes me check the calendar, just to make sure April 1st didn't sneak up on me.

[Mitchell Hattaway]

Not doubting you at all but what was the source of that report.
Fincher & Criterion have been engaged in a mating dance for years now, that they finally came together isn't much of surprise. That it was this movie and not Fincher's The Game is.

Wasn't there a Criterion laserdisc release of The Game?
What is this relic of a format called laserdisc? There were a whole lot of movies released under the Criterion banner back in the laser days that I don't think you can consider any longer as being part of the Collection as we know it today.

[azul017]

Wes Anderson's movies aren't? What about the early Criterions for two of Bay's "prestigious" titles: Armageddon and The Rock
It's surprising since people yearn for a Criterion of Aronofsky's The Fountain (the current edition has very good PQ and audio and some useful special features), yet there's little enthusiasm when Fincher scores one for Benjamin Button. It's a shame because I find BB the most accessible and enjoyable of Fincher's canon.

[HGervais]

What is this relic of a format called laserdisc? There were a whole lot of movies released under the Criterion banner back in the laser days that I don't think you can consider any longer as being part of the Collection as we know it today.

What is this ancient relic of a format you refer to as laserdisc? Yes The Game did get a CC release in the laser days but so did Goldfinger, King Kong, The Magnificent Amberson's, Halloween and scores of other movies. I just don't think you can consider any of them as being in the Collection as we now know it.

Wes Anderson's movies aren't? What about the early Criterions for two of Bay's "prestigious" titles: Armageddon and The Rock

I was not saying this was Criterion's first big-name prestige movie. And to go further, no I don't think Anderson's movies can be counted as big-name movies in the way that Fincher's movies are. Wes Anderson is bascially an indie darling....which is not a negative to me...but his films don't carry the weight in Hollywood that a film by David Fincher does. My point, such that it was, is that Benjamin Button offers up something most of their releases don't... instant name recognition to the average DVD buying public. Certainly Armageddon and The Rock do that as well but we are also talking about DVD releases from almost 10 years ago. Hell the Criterion Armageddon is a non-anamorphic transfer.

It's surprising since people yearn for a Criterion of Aronofsky's The Fountain (the current edition has very good PQ and audio and some useful special features), yet there's little enthusiasm when Fincher scores one for Benjamin Button. It's a shame because I find BB the most accessible and enjoyable of Fincher's canon.

Based on what I have read, no one wants a Criterion of The Fountain more than Aronofsky does. As for BB, I'm going to buy it because I like Fincher and I'm a Criterion whore.

[barnaclelapse]

I don't know how Criterion would improve superior Fincher films such as Seven, Fight Club or Zodiac...well maybe Criterion could offer up a better transfer on Zodiac but still outside of The Game there really are not other options for Criterion. Criterion wins because it gets a big-name Hollywood prestige movie, Fincher wins because he finally gets a film with a CC spine number, 476 btw, and people who normally support Criterion win because this puts some more money towards the bottom line and hopefully helps grow the brand.

Yeah, I guess they're not doing that with Wes Anderson anymore.

[azul017]

As for BB, I'm going to buy it because I like Fincher and I'm a Criterion whore.

BB will mostly likely be the second Criterion in my collection (perhaps the third with In the Realm of the Senses coming next month) but I think this is a very good movie deserving the Criterion label.

I just can't get behind buying a lot of Criterion discs. Not because of the price preminum, but that the Criterion line is aimed towards a small market in some cases and while a lot of the Criterion movies I see are very good -- I can't see myself watching them more than once. (Maybe BB will be one of the higher-selling Criterions out there once it surfaces.)

[HGervais]

As for BB, I'm going to buy it because I like Fincher and I'm a Criterion whore.

BB will mostly likely be the second Criterion in my collection (perhaps the third with In the Realm of the Senses coming next month) but I think this is a very good movie deserving the Criterion label.

I just can't get behind buying a lot of Criterion discs. Not because of the price preminum, but that the Criterion line is aimed towards a small market in some cases and while a lot of the Criterion movies I see are very good -- I can't see myself watching them more than once. (Maybe BB will be one of the higher-selling Criterions out there once it surfaces.)

I will grant you that some films in the collection are cinematic vegetables but as a company Criterion is worthy of my support and my money. They release too many fine films that otherwise would either not be available or if they were would probably be crap New Yorker or Image discs....and then again there are dozens of movies there that I do return often to. I'm sure BB will be a higher selling item and I'm sure Criterion hopes so as well but at the end of the day the inclusion of Benjamin Button has more to do with business and dollars & cents than it does with artistic merit and some rotating subjective scale of what belongs in the Collection and what doesn't. And that's okay. The Fincher film is going to be much less of a sore thumb when compared to The Rock or Armageddon or even The Night Porter by virture of who David Fincher is and what films he has on his resume. It's because of releases such as Benjamin Button that we can get releases such as In the Realm of the Senses. It is not an either/or situation. As I noted above, this is a probably a winner for everyone.

[Future Man]

Didn't realize this movie was some sort of instant classic. May have to check it out after all, as off-putting as the makeup looks to me.

[Stubblecat]

And we laserdisc fans remember that Seven was also a deluxe Criterion box set back in the old days. Luckily New Line ported over pretty much everything from that set onto their deluxe DVD treatment.

[hoytereden]

Criterion also released Pink Flamigos on laserdisc!

[azul017]

Criterion has finally posted the full details on the 2-disc editions (DVD and Blu-ray) on their website:

-Interviews with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett
-Audio commentary featuring Academy Award-nominated director David Fincher
-Never-before-seen footage revealing the innovative techniques behind the Academy Award–winning visual effects and makeup
-Step-by-step examination of the motion-capture process aging Brad Pitt
-In-depth exploration of David Fincher’s creative process on the set
-Interview with acclaimed composer Alexandre Desplat about the score
-Featurettes on the film’s storyboards, costumes, and Academy Award–winning art direction
-Stills galleries, including costume design and candid behind-the-scenes production photos
-Optional French- and Spanish-dubbed soundtracks
-Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, and optional French and Spanish subtitles
-PLUS: An essay by film critic Kent Jones

Note on the Criterion website, it says "director-approved editions."

[Joel Pearce]

If you want a sneak look at the makeup stuff, there was a TED talk about it at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ed_ulbrich_shows_how_benjamin_button_got_his_face.html

[J.M. Vargas]

-Optional French- and Spanish-dubbed soundtracks
-Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing, and optional French and Spanish subtitles

That's definitely Paramount's influence on Criterion. Unless they're foreign movies additional soundtracks/subtitles in languages other than English are no-go on Criterion (same with Anchor Bay and/or Blue Underground).