buying criterion 4k? check the blu-ray extras, too

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Buying a movie ought to end with watching the movie. Physical media occasionally inserts a small administrative hearing between those two events. You have the film, a handsome box, possibly a booklet, and a player that would prefer you had read the back more carefully.

Before buying a collector’s edition, check every disc in the box, not just the large format logo on the front. The feature and the extras can have different compatibility rules. That matters most when importing a set or buying one for somebody whose home theater is a mystery.

three checks before the little plastic ceremony

• format: a standard Blu-ray player cannot play a 4K UHD disc. A “4K restoration” on a regular Blu-ray still means an HD disc; the restoration describes the source, not a secret player upgrade.
• region: Criterion’s U.S. Blu-rays are generally Region A, while its UHD discs are region-free. Its UK Blu-rays are a separate Region B line. Check the accompanying Blu-rays even when the UHD feature will play.
• display: getting the UHD picture requires a UHD player, UHD display and suitable HDMI connection. HDR support also needs to match. A new television does not teach an old disc player a new format.

Criterion’s technical FAQ explains the distinctions. Check your player’s model number and manual against the specific edition before ordering.

The payoff for doing this boring part is being able to choose the interesting part. Here are two U.S. Criterion combos where the extras give you a reason to care about that second format.

repo man: the television version is part of the joke

Repo Man sends Emilio Estevez and Harry Dean Stanton into Los Angeles car repossession, punk music and a Chevy Malibu with an extremely inappropriate secret. Choose it when the evening needs science fiction with dirty fingernails rather than another committee deciding the fate of the galaxy.

Criterion’s edition contains the film on one Dolby Vision UHD disc and on a Blu-ray with special features. Among those extras: Alex Cox’s cleaned-up television version, deleted scenes, commentary and interviews with Iggy Pop and Keith Morris.

The TV version is an especially good reason to look past the resolution badge. There is an additional editorial curiosity here: what happens when a movie with this temperament gets dressed for broadcast? The set gives that question somewhere to go after the credits.

brazil: the paperwork has an alternate ending

Terry Gilliam’s Brazil puts a daydreaming bureaucrat inside a system that has made being alive look like a clerical error. Pick this one for elaborate dystopian absurdity, with considerably more machinery than anyone seems capable of managing.

Criterion’s three-disc edition includes the director’s cut on Dolby Vision UHD, plus two Blu-rays carrying the film and supplements. It also includes the studio’s shorter “Love Conquers All” version with commentary, and The Battle of “Brazil,” a documentary about the release dispute.

That makes this a particularly useful collector’s edition for somebody interested in how movies get altered on their way to an audience. The alternate cut is evidence you can watch, rather than another paragraph assuring you that Hollywood was difficult. Allow time for the director’s 143-minute film first; the administrative dispute can have its own evening.

Both sets make the same practical case: choose the movie, then check the edition. A booklet looks lovely on a shelf. Playable extras are better.

Image credits: featured image, “1, Blu-ray, Backside”, Kent Madsen, CC BY-SA 2.0; player photograph, JulianVilla26, CC BY-SA 4.0; HDMI photograph, D-Kuru/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0. Images resized for display; no other changes. Hardware and disc photographs illustrate the format discussion; they do not depict either recommended edition.