Other Sellers on Amazon
95% positive over last 12 months
Image Unavailable
Color:
-
-
-
- Sorry, this item is not available in
- Image not available
- To view this video download Flash Player
The Golden Age of Television (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]
Return this item for free
Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
Learn more about free returns.- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Return this item for free
Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges
Learn more about free returns.- Go to your orders and start the return
- Select the return method
- Ship it!
Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
DVD
November 24, 2009 "Please retry" | The Criterion Collection | 3 |
—
| $34.77 | $15.21 |
Purchase options and add-ons
Genre | Drama |
Format | Color, Box set, Multiple Formats, Widescreen, NTSC |
Contributor | Frankenheimer, John, Hunter, Kim |
Language | English |
Number Of Discs | 3 |
Frequently bought together
Similar items that may ship from close to you
- Studio One AnthologyJack LemmonDVDFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Mar 25Only 5 left in stock - order soon.
- Dark Film Mysteries Film Noir Collector's SetEdward G. RobinsonDVDFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Mar 25
- The Red Shoes (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]Moira ShearerDVDFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Mar 25
- David Lean Directs Noel Coward (In Which We Serve, This Happy Breed, Blithe Spirit, Brief Encounter) (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]Noel CowardDVDFREE Shipping by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Mar 25Only 13 left in stock (more on the way).
- 12 Angry Men (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]Ed BegleyDVDFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Mar 25
- High Sierra (The Criterion Collection)Humphrey BogartDVDFREE Shipping on orders over $35 shipped by AmazonGet it as soon as Monday, Mar 25
Product Description
The hugely popular live American television plays of the 1950s have become the stuff of legend. Combining elements of theater, radio, and filmmaking, they were produced at a moment when TV technology was growing more mobile and art was being made accessible to a newly suburban postwar demographic. These astonishingly choreographed, brilliantly acted, and socially progressive "teleplays" constituted an artistic high for the medium, bringing Broadway-quality drama to all of America. The award-winning programs included in this box set--originally curated for PBS in the early 1980s as the series The Golden Age of Television, featuring recollections from key cast and crew members--were conceived by such up-and-comers as Rod Serling and John Frankenheimer and star the likes of Paul Newman, Mickey Rooney, Rod Steiger, Julie Harris, and Piper Laurie.
Product details
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 4 ounces
- Item model number : CRRN2391DVD
- Director : Frankenheimer, John
- Media Format : Color, Box set, Multiple Formats, Widescreen, NTSC
- Release date : June 5, 2014
- Actors : Hunter, Kim
- Studio : Criterion Collection
- ASIN : B00KHW4XHM
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 3
- Best Sellers Rank: #50,370 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #8,517 in Drama DVDs
- Customer Reviews:
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon-
Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.
One of the problems with digital technology is that some people can't resist trying to "fix" older film and television resources. The overuse of clean-up software is a good example: When applied injudiciously, characters waving their arms or walking quickly will have their hands or feet virtually disappear. Over-correction can be worse than none at all, since new errors are introduced and the material is compromised.
Criterion apparently thought that the soundtrack on "Requiem" was too noisy, so they applied a noise-gate. The result is that when a character stops talking, low-level sounds like background conversations or the music score are abruptly cut off or, worse, sputter in and out, sounding like someone jiggling a loose speaker wire. Sometimes even the dialogue is affected. This is too bad, especially since it was unnecessary.
Criterion's source for the kinescopes was the early-'eighties program "The Golden Age of Television". Rhino Records released some of these same episodes ("Requiem", "Patterns", and "The Comedian") on VHS in 1993. I did a direct comparison between Rhino's VHS and Criterion's DVD, and saw that they appeared to derive from the same source: Both pictures are slightly dark on the left-hand side and lack contrast on the right-hand side, for example. But Criterion apparently tried to boost the contrast, which aggravated the left-to-right disparity. So, although Rhino's version has the inherent characteristics of VHS, their picture is more consistent.
But the real problem with Criterion's "Requiem", as I said, is the soundtrack: The sound on the Rhino release is fine, but that on the Criterion version is painful to listen to. It's bad. It would be acceptable if there were no other choice, but, judging by the far-superior sound on Rhino's tape, there was no reason to tamper with it. I had them playing side by side for this comparison; every time I heard a particularly bad passage on the Criterion disk, I listened to the same passage on the Rhino tape, and Rhino's sound was always clear, with no drop-outs.
What a shame! Rod Serling's first-produced television plays, "Patterns" and "Requiem for a Heavyweight", are two of the greatest live TV dramas ever, and to have the first and only DVD release of "Requiem" mishandled so badly is a grave disappointment.
"Requiem For a Heavyweight", for instance, has had minimal corrections made (a slight tint to the original transfer was removed, and the sound was re-synched, that sort of thing.) No serious effort was made to stabilize the image, or to remove considerable dirt and moire artifacts in the old transfer.
Not only would the above-mentioned corrections be fairly trivial to accomplish, there is now a process that has been developed called LiveFeed Video Imaging that restores the "live broadcast" look to programs that were preserved as kinescope films. And since these programs were originally aired as live performances, they're **exactly** the sort of material that the process was invented for! Why on earth would Criterion think people would rather have these shows look like jittery old movies?
When one considers the source of this release, the only words that come to mind are "travesty" and "lost opportunity". While a release of this quality might have been passable in say, 1985, this is the year 2009-- it's inexcusable for a company that heavily trades on its customer's passion for quality presentation to essentially ignore 25 years of advances in restoration technology. (And this from a set that lists 8 different restoration technicians **and** a QC Manager!)
For those who have the original laserdisc sets.. take heart-- there's no need to buy this. For everyone else, please keep in mind that (just as with "The Fugitive" and "My Three Sons"), there's nothing to be gained by encouraging companies to release substandard product, when they're fully capable of providing something vastly superior.
Top reviews from other countries
Reminds us that good writing transcends low technology.