★★★★★ 5
BD Version.
One of my top five films of all time. I won't speak much about the film itself, under the assumption most readers have already seen it. You can be guaranteed a fantastic film if you haven't seen this yet.
As far as the BD itself, the transfer is absolutely fantastic! The DVD version itself already had a pretty pristine transfer, but of course with the BD upgrade the resolution and detail is so much better, and of course comes loaded with extras and an accompanying booklet that is actually quite thorough and should be considered an item in itself, and not just a supplement to the disc.
I haven't watched them all, but the extras that are bundled with the film are plentiful and quite informative. Often times with extras you feel as though it is just filler and fodder (let's be honest, it usually is) but at least Criterion makes a conscious effort to make it interesting. I'd say the extras are worthwhile, and also an upgrade from the DVD version.
The biggest difference I noticed from my first viewing is that the subtitles are slightly changed from the DVD version, and also theatrically. There are probably lots of different translations, but it IS different from the DVD but not drastically. The same point is made, but just using a different delivery. Not sure how I feel about some of the changes, but I probably just got used to the previous translation.
I'm not sure where some of these discrepancies or complaints are coming from that have surfaced recently, but my copy was packaged in the special made Criterion jewel cases, NOT the cardboard ones, and of course not the actual blue ones. For a while, with some of the earlier releases, Criterion was releasing its BDs in cardboard slip case and digi-pack format which angered a lot of customers who spoke their voice and got them to upgrade to the now standard jewel cases. A good move in my opinion, but now I'm stuck with Third Man and 400 Blows in cardboard. Reportedly, you can send in the old cases to get upgraded to new ones, but it'll cost you 5 bucks each, so... I think I can live with it.
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Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2010