711 A Hard Day's Night

[Drucker]

Looks like a must have. Can't figure out why Audio/Video/Supplements all get 5 stars and the overall package gets 4.5 stars, though.

[mfunk9786]

Because for some baffling reason, Blu-ray.com seems to think that we care what the reviewer thinks of the movie.

[Ashirg]

Because the film is in black and white.

[FrauBlucher]

Beaver

[flyonthewall2983]

Just found out that this will be playing 4th of July Weekend at my arthouse theater. I should bring my mother along, she'd enjoy it. She should know, at least.

[Drucker]

So I just popped this in to check it out. The film starts about four seconds in, with no Janus logo and no Criterion logo. I have never seen a Criterion disc begin without the logo. Is this a first?

Second issue: audio tracks both 1 and 3 are labeled: English LPCM Stereo, though I'm 99% certain that the first track is the mono one.

Anybody else catch/notice this? I assume just mis-labeled and no big deal. All 3 tracks are definitely different (I only have a stereo set-up).

[sir_luke]

I read somewhere that it was Lester's preference that the viewer just immediately be dropped directly into the movie.

[cdnchris]

Yes, and i'm pretty sure I recall it being mentioned in the supplements that that is Lester's preference (either the booklet or one of the features.) The Criterion and Janus logos end up appearing after the end credits.

[rspaight]

I'm not a fan of that decision, because I end up missing that iconic first note while my receiver locks on to the bitstream.

[MichaelB]

I'm not a fan of that decision, because I end up missing that iconic first note while my receiver locks on to the bitstream.

My cure for that is to press the "skip back" button the second the picture appears.

[captveg]

I'm not a fan of that decision, because I end up missing that iconic first note while my receiver locks on to the bitstream.

My cure for that is to press the "skip back" button the second the picture appears.

Ain't nobody got time for that

[rspaight]

I'm not a fan of that decision, because I end up missing that iconic first note while my receiver locks on to the bitstream.

My cure for that is to press the "skip back" button the second the picture appears.

Sure, that's what I do, too, but it's annoying.

I wonder if the wizards at Oppo and/or other BD player makers could figure out a way to read the audio format, "pre-send" an empty signal to the receiver to lock it in, and then commence playing the file.

Or I could hook everything up analog. First world problems.

[Zot!]

That just sounds like poor authoring. Wouldn't this issue present itself for everyone bitstreaming (meaning pretty much everyone)?

[Roger Ryan]

What I believe to be the anti-piracy circuitry in my Viera plasma usually prevents a 1080p HDMI signal from coming through for two or three seconds (this is not a problem when the resolution is lower). Unless some additional "leader" is provided in front of the feature or extra, I lose a bit of programming. Since I already have the remote in hand after pressing "play", I usually just hit "rewind" as soon as the picture locks in to view the couple of seconds I missed.

[Charles]

I don't have A Hard Day's Night yet, but this has been an ever present annoyance on BDs and CDs. (Oppo 93, Pioneer Elite AVR)

So... apologies for ignorance, but someone mentioned using the 5.1 or 7.1 analog connections.

Does going that route eliminate the HDMI (duh) handshake delay AND provide all of the audio performance options ... as good as (better than?) routing them through the HDMI?

If so, what in the HELL have I been waiting for?

[flyonthewall2983]

Saw it today with my mother, who told me about seeing it when it came out. I'm curious, is the sound mix for the latest theatrical release mono, stereo or surround?

[Gregory]

Daily I've used a fairly good and dependable older receiver for about two decades, which only has RCA jacks for the audio inputs, so I've been using HDMI for the video and RCA cables for the audio, which is fine with me. Glad that I've been able to avoid this particular annoyance, at least, since I have other problems to contend with (a player that won't play certain discs for no apparent reason).

[Jeff]

Saw it today with my mother, who told me about seeing it when it came out. I'm curious, is the sound mix for the latest theatrical release mono, stereo or surround?

New 5.1 mix.

[flyonthewall2983]

It sounded and looked terrific. I've definitely changed my tune as far as the film went, I enjoyed it very much.

[Jeff]

It sounded and looked terrific.

Agreed. Sold out crowd at the Alamo Drafthouse here in Denver with an electric enthusiasm in the audience. The new mix and the picture restoration are both pretty amazing.

You can read Giles Martin's notes on the 5.1 mix here.

[Forrest Taft]

Anyone else have a problem with their BD? One of the features, Picturewise, won't play. It freezes after one second, and I have to turn the player on/off to get back to the menu. Was I just unlucky and received a faulty disc, or is this a production error that has slipped through unnoticed by Criterion's QC? Thank God for this wonderful thing they call "Dual format" packages (I hope this is something that has come to stay ), as I was able to pop in a digital versatile disc and watch it on SD. I got that disc free of charge too, didn't have to pay extra for it! Fortunately I'm not one of those trendy types who collects the extra discs in these packages in order to put beer cans and stuff on them. It would be a waste to use this fully functioning disc as an oversized, impractical coaster, but oh well, to each his own I guess.

[tavernier]

I watched it with no problems.

[acroyear]

Saw the DVD-only version being sold at the check-out counter at my local Whole Foods.

Also, is it too obvious to point out? Spine #711 is 7+1+1= #9, #9, #9, #9...

[Drucker]

Saw the DVD-only version being sold at the check-out counter at my local Whole Foods.

Also, is it too obvious to point out? Spine #711 is 7+1+1= #9, #9, #9, #9...

And 7-1-1=5, and the Maharishi killed Paul!

[swo17]

Nah, it's a reference to that time they played on the roof of a 7-Eleven.