City Lights (Criterion Collection) BLU-RAY/DVD DUAL FORMAT EDITION

CITY LIGHTS SHINES WITH A NEW BRILLIANCE
When it comes to selecting a favorite among the sublime works of Charlie Chaplin, I can narrow it down to three features: THE GOLD RUSH (1925), CITY LIGHTS (1931), and MODERN TIMES (1936). Out of those, my favorite is whichever one I saw last, and for now the favor falls on CITY LIGHTS.

Released when talkies were already firmly grounded, Chaplin's last silent production was a staunch holdout in the face of the new technology and thankfully so, for CITY LIGHTS stands today as one of the most eloquent examples of pantomimed cinema ever made. The simple story about a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill in a beautiful performance) who falls in love with a tramp whom she mistakes for her benefactor, forms the backbone on which Chaplin constructs some of his funniest and most poignant moments. The film is both parts comedy and romance, and shows us most exquisitely that true love can indeed be blind.

Criterion's Blu-ray/DVD combo release of this ageless classic is...

Why Criterion switched to dual format.
A lot of people are complaining about the fact that Criterion now releases DVD and Blu-ray in a single bundle, eliminating the consumers' option of buying each separately. Criterion has released a well-written explanation on this (just Google "Why Dual-Format? Criterion"). Basically, since Criterion can only afford production by printing in large quantities, it is not nearly as cost-efficient to produce DVDs and Blu-rays simultaneously as producing them in "one big, cost-effective run".
The important point is that the price WOULD NOT INCREASE, as many have noticed: the great majority of Criterion Blu-rays and DVDs have been priced at 40 bucks each, and the dual format edition is also priced at $40. Amazon just doesn't cut down the price as much. If you want to save money, Barnes and Noble is hosting a 50%-off sale right now (online and in store), so you can get this for 20 bucks plus tax.
That said, this is a wonderful Blu-ray. I trust that people familiar with Criterion...

Great release (Now let's hope The Kid, The Circus and Limelight follow)
This is a beautifully presented set. The booklet is gorgeous and well worth the purchase alone. The extras are very interesting and brilliantly presented. As for the film itself, it has never looked or sounded better, simply magnificent. I personally think it is a great idea for Criterion to release a dual format edition, in a sense you save money. I do not need to go in to detail about the film it speaks for itself, beautiful.

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Blue Is the Warmest Color (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray)

Heads-Up: Special Edition Coming Later
I just want to give everyone a heads-up that Criterion will be releasing a Special Edition for this film later next year. The film is fantastic, and I am giving it 5 stars, but the review is simply a heads-up in case you didn't know there was a better edition coming out later.

Criterion specifically says this on the product page for the movie:

"A full special edition treatment of this film will follow at a later date."

I hope this helps someone. I know I'd be upset if I spend $20 on this basic edition, and then found out later that there's another coming out with a lot more extras included.

4.5 stars... Epic relationship drama will move you (and may shock you too)
"Blue Is the Warmest Color" (2013 release from France; 179 min.; original title "La Vie d'Adele - Chapitre 1 et 2") brings the story of Adele, a HS junior who is struggling to find her identity. As the movie opens, we see Adele, who lives in Lille, taking the bus to school, getting through the day at school, clearly enjoying her French Lit class, where they are discussing Marivaux's "The Life of Marianne", having dinner with her mom and dad (it appears Adele is an only child), and turning in for bed, so that she can do it all over again the next day. Adele has a few dates with Thomas, a senior. At one point Adele briefly crosses paths with a girl who has blue streaks in her hair, and for Adele it is "le coup de foudre" (love at first sight). Adele even dreams about her but it isn't till much later that she runs into the girl at a gay bar. The girl's name is Emma, and even though Emma has been with another girl for 2 years, it isn't long before Adele and Emma fall for each other. At...

A breathtaking and monumentally powerful film with two of the best performances of recent years.
A good romance in American cinema is surprisingly difficult to find because most films of a romantic nature are either romantic comedies or romantic melodramas. They're a dime a dozen. But every once in a great while, you get a film that not only casts off the rom-com or melodrama usually associated with a romance story, but actually draws you in to the relationship in such a mesmerizing way with smart and absorbing storytelling and unbelievably brilliant performances is one of the rarest things imaginable. Director Abdellatif Kechiche's BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR is that film.

Based on the wonderful award-winning graphic novel by Julie Maroh, BLUE is the story of Adele (Adele Excharpoulos), who begins the film as a naturally beautiful 15-year-old high school student who is just trying to do her best to stay uneaten in the feeding frenzy of adolescence. She keeps with her friends; she dates a cute boy; she pleases her working-class parents; she does well in school. But all...

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