criterionforum.org

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2009 1:53 am**

RobertAltman wrote:
exte wrote: And I don't think I've seen Cate Blanchett any more beautiful than she is in this movie.
Just saw the film, and I have no idea what you´re talking about here. Whoever CGI-ed the Blanchett face did a lousy job. She looked like something belonging in an Akon video. The age make-up/CGI only worked on Pitt - Jason Flemying looked like an idiot in his old man make-up. And was it Blanchett playing Daisy as an old woman? Her voice annoyed the crap out of me...

Yes, I believe it was Blanchett, and yes that CGI/airbrushing/whatever on her face is terrible. Her face looks particularly fake in the scene when he surprises her with a visit at her dance performance. It's laughable.

Overall I thought the whole film looked over-processed, with Pitt being the only person, place or thing that came off looking OK. Something about the Tugboat seemed particularly bad.

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2009 5:39 am**

tavernier wrote:
RobertAltman wrote:One question about the quite nice derivative score: The theme they repeated 40-50 times throughout the film, where have I heard it before?
Throughout the film.

=D>

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2009 8:01 am**

During the sequence where Benjamin Button narrates the chain of events leading up to

Spoiler

Daisy's leg injury (a result of dancing in front of a car, of course),

was I the only one wondering how he knew any of what he was recounting?

Posted: **Tue Feb 10, 2009 9:56 am**

Cde. wrote:During the sequence where Benjamin Button narrates the chain of events leading up to
Spoiler
Daisy's leg injury (a result of dancing in front of a car, of course),

was I the only one wondering how he knew any of what he was recounting?

The thought occurred to me, but I spent most of the sequence wishing I was watching a Kieslowski film instead. If it were the Curious Case of Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, he could have figured it out.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 4:47 am**

If the film's three hours long and that's the listed length for the extras, I guess no commentary track-- I thought that was a big deal for Fincher?

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 6:05 am**

Hmmm. I read that article wrong. The release date is May 5, not June 2nd. I suppose we'll know for certain tomorrow morning when the press release for Button goes out. The price point of 39.99/45.99 is Criterion's pricing structure for upper tier releases...

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 11:58 am**

If this is indeed a June release, this will be our first month with 3 Blu-rays.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 1:27 pm**

I know that Benjamin Button hasn't had the um... strongest support, but I'm actually a defender of it. I'm a big fan of Fincher's, and while this certainly isn't his best work, it also isn't his worst (If nothing else, I prefer it over Alien 3 and perhaps Panic Room). I'm also an unapologetic fan of delicate sentimentality, and if that's the basis for my dissent from the rest of the group, so be it.

The benefit to this release, regardless of one's appreciation of the film itself, is that it's creation is something of a milestone in visual effects, and an in-depth look into Fincher's process for the whole thing should prove illuminating to anyone with even an academic interest in the director. Would I prefer that this be The Game coming out instead of Benjamin Button? Of course, but I'm sure I'd be buying this even if I didn't particularly like the movie.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 2:54 pm**

I don't think the film is horrible either. Just average. It has some charm at points, but ultimately collapses under its own shiny Oscar baiting weight. It's cliche-ridden and ill-conceived, but it also has nice moments like the segment in the Russian hotel with Tilda Swinton. Actually, that's the highlight of the entire film. The rest is flawed in some very obvious, fundamental ways.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:07 pm**

I saw this in the theater and thought it was a total snooze fest. I buy everything Criterion releases anyway because I support their mission, and will give TCCOBB a second chance (if you will) when the Blu-ray comes out. All in all just hoping this sells very well for them so they can put The Quiet Man out.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:19 pm**

Does Criterion incur less costs when it releases something like this, obviously in conjunction with another label (like The Life Aquatic, for example)? I was wondering if the studio incurs the bulk of the costs in terms of extras, mastering and the like since releases like this are obviously on a much faster track than the typical Criterion release.

And this edition might include the original short story by Fitzgerald? It's probably too recent to be public domain though.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 3:46 pm**

Good question Tribe. I think they save money in terms of mastering, cleaning up etc etc as the print is provided by the studio. But as I queried above, they may be spending that money on developing extras for the their release. In the case of The Life Aquatic they had the Maysles tag along with Anderson for the entire shoot. That certainly couldn't have been cheap.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:06 pm**

ianungstad wrote:Hmmm. I read that article wrong. The release date is May 5, not June 2nd. I suppose we'll know for certain tomorrow morning when the press release for Button goes out. The price point of 39.99/45.99 is Criterion's pricing structure for upper tier releases...

Single-disc "Button" DVDs will sell for $29.99 in the U.S. and $36.99 in Canada. Two-disc DVD and Blu-ray sets will be priced at $39.99 in the U.S. and $45.99 in Canada.

Posted: **Thu Mar 19, 2009 5:21 pm**

Specs:

THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON two-disc and single-disc DVD are presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround, French 5.1 Surround and Spanish 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc Blu-ray is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio™, French 5.1 Dolby Digital and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles. The two-disc Criterion Edition DVD and two-disc Criterion Blu-ray include the following special features:

- The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button—four-part documentary:
- Academy Award-nominated director David Fincher introduces the surprising beginnings of what would become an epic masterpiece including the casting of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, the decision to change the location of the story to New Orleans and more.
- Follow the production from day one including the challenges of aging Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, designing over five thousand costumes and creating the animatronic baby.
- Explore the incredible visual effects techniques created specifically for the film that allowed Brad Pitt to play the title character at virtually every age. Also includes a visit to the scoring stage with composer Alexandre Desplat.
- Walk the red carpet at the film’s premiere in New Orleans, with final thoughts from cast and crew.
- Audio Commentary by director David Fincher

There is also a single-disc DVD presentation that includes the feature film.

Posted: **Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:00 am**

Well, once the final specs are up on the website, it should be intriguing to see what they've actually done with the release. The last time we had an out-of-the-blue recent acclaimed Hollywood picture was Traffic about seven years ago, and that came out 18 months after it debuted theatrically.

Posted: **Fri Mar 20, 2009 6:19 pm**

This thread is for serious discussion of the film and Criterion's DVD/BD release. If you want to complain about or defend Criterion's decision to release the film, use this thread instead. Any further smart-alecky, jokey, complainy, or whiny posts made in this thread will either be moved or deleted.

Posted: **Sat Mar 21, 2009 1:59 am**

Any guesses as to who might write the essay for the booklet? Has any critic in particular championed the film? At least we know it wont be Armond White. I don't think the special features or cover are final, which would explain the delay for a Criterion website announcement. The extras are relatively thin for a Fincher special edition, and the cover is by no means conceptual.

Posted: **Sat Mar 21, 2009 2:56 am**

bradass wrote:The extras are relatively thin for a Fincher special edition, and the cover is by no means conceptual.

If the production diary/feature that starts one day one is anything like what was on the Panic Room DVD, Criterion will keep the tradition of exhaustive/exhausting David Fincher special features. The production diaries on Panic Room cover every aspect of the production to the minute detail. I never got through all of it, and I seem to remember turning it off when the special effects guys spend about twenty minutes discussing how they got a door to splinter/break properly.

Posted: **Sat Mar 21, 2009 9:00 am**

bradass wrote:Any guesses as to who might write the essay for the booklet? Has any critic in particular championed the film?

I was hoping to see some interesting critic or writer impress me with new insight into The Life Aquatic when the Criterion DVD came out - no such luck, just an interview with Anderson in the booklet. There is a precedent for essay-less booklets.

Posted: **Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:50 am**

bradass wrote:Any guesses as to who might write the essay for the booklet?

Michael Sragow has worked with Criterion on several projects, and written many essays for them. He wrote a very effusive review of Button ("a masterpiece: funny, harrowing and magical...David Fincher has always seemed to me a talented and clever, sometimes passionate and questing, director. Now I think he's a great one. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a great American movie.")

Posted: **Sat Mar 21, 2009 2:58 pm**

Dave Kehr, Kent Jones, and Amy Taubin are all big fans as well, and have contributed essays to Criterion in the past).

Posted: **Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:53 am**

It's funny looking back at this thread and seeing so many people complaining about the special effects. Sure, some elements look poor (like the damn hummingbird and some of the compositing in the war sequences), but this film also contains probably the most astonishing and convincing use of CGI in any film, ever. The face of Benjamin Button himself is, for the first hour or so, completely digital. Not make-up, and not digital make-up either. Not any altered version of Brad Pitt superimposed onto other people's bodies, as was often reported when the film was released. Short actors wore blue hoods that allowed the effects guys to add in the totally CGI neck and head, which was animated with motion capture of Brad Pitt.

I might be stating what's obvious to most here, but it seems that a lot of people (myself included) assumed that the main effect was achieved with prosthetics and digital head switching.

Posted: **Wed Mar 25, 2009 6:14 pm**

Specs are up. The cover stays the same.

Disc Features
AVAILABLE IN BOTH DOUBLE-DVD AND BLU-RAY DIRECTOR-APPROVED EDITIONS:

- 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

Posted: **Wed Mar 25, 2009 6:22 pm**

PLUS: An essay by film critic Kent Jones

Do I win a prize or something?

Posted: **Wed Mar 25, 2009 6:40 pm**

Too bad Pitt isn't joining Fincher in on the commentary. I always enjoy it when he does them.

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