The Third Man
Paths of Glory
People on Sunday/Kes/Chungking Express (all very pleasant surprises - I expected to like them all but I didn't expect to be so completely blown away by any of them)

Of the ones I own:

The Third Man
Salo
Chungking Express


Films I have seen and love but do not own the Criterion BD:

Traffic
Dazed and Confused
Antichrist

No particular order for either list. Choosing only three is very difficult. :ohnoes::D

How long do titles usually take to show up for preorder on amazon after they're announced?

Usually a few days to a week or two, but all of March's release were put up on Amazon yesterday.

Pretty sure you can just take it in to a local store an exchange it. Pretty simple solution.

Am I the only one who absolutely loves The Complete Monterey Pop?!
I'd easily put that in my top 3.

Probably because the only thing I love more than film, is music.
And even though I was born in the late 80's, my favorite music/lifestyle is that of the mid to late 60's.

I watched Great Expectations (I freaking love TCM) last night and have had kind of a mixed reaction since.

In general while I appreciate the spectacle and craft (of all involved) of Lean's epics and enjoy them well enough I can't really say I've liked any of them. At least not in that visceral 'omg, best. movie. ever.' sense. I would readily put them on a great films list but they wouldn't even be a consideration for any of my favorites lists.

That said though, Great Expectations has been worming around in my head in way that makes me a bit more interested in the upcoming set.

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret and what I know to be the truth. All of Lean's earlier British films are better than his Hollywood epics. There's a great UK DVD set of all the British films. Get it now.

Sorry Joe...but I think that according to this site...it's region B.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Le-Sil...Blu-ray/30763/

Count me in! :D

You've also got Second City and various original members of Saturday Night Live.

I recently watched this (earlier this week) myself and really liked it a lot.

IMO, the first hour of it seemed to be just another ok film, but once the film gets to Pips adulthood, I completely changed how I felt about it. That back story was a necessary setup for everything that was about to come.

There was plot twist after plot twist in this film, and I have to admit that I didn't see them coming. :o:p I really liked how the film kept you engaging you further in the story as it kept going along. As more and more was revealed, I became increasingly impressed (and surprised) with the directions the film was taking. It keeps throwing curve balls at you, right up to the last minutes.:whip: I loved that aspect. :p

Also, I especially enjoyed Alec Guinness as Mr. Pocket. An absolutely delightful character that was fun to watch. :D

I would recommend it highly to anyone.

May I ask if there was anything specific that turned you off to this film? Not trying to argue, everyone has different tastes, just curious. ;):)

I finally had some time to watch a few movies last night and today.

People on Sunday - I really liked this. I think it may be one of the best silents I have ever seen. It feels intimate, modern, and real. As a time trip back to Weimar-era Berlin, it is a feast for the eyes. There is so much detail and life to the city, it is as much a character as the people appearing in the film. I loved the way Berliners are shown enjoying their weekend, with the five main actors blending into the whole setting.

For all of its modern feel, People on Sunday is also a window looking into a lost world. I have read several books about the Battle of Berlin in 1945, and have watched film footage of the US and Britiish bombings, the Soviet advance into the city, the house to house fighting, anti-tank guns firing down city streets, the bombed out tenements, shops, factories, public buildings. As I watched the movie, I could not help comparing in my mind those images of a dead and skeletal Berlin with what I was seeing in front of me. The movie is a celebration of life, but it is a sad and surreal viewing experience knowing what fate lay in the near future of all of those people shown on screen. Watching the playing children was especially touching.

Does anyone know what became of the main actors? I have not viewed the supplements yet, so I do not know if they address this.

I also liked the modern music score best. It seemed to give the film a more immediate and contemprary feel to match the dynamic of the city and its people. This is a silent film that just demands to be seen and recognized as a marvel of time and place. I recommend it highly.

After all these years, I still apologize for Terry Jacks' "Seasons in the Sun".

"Good-bye my friend, it's time to die..."

By comparison, Dion is Callas.

Never had any interest in People On Sunday before, but your post makes it look very intimate, beautiful and touching.

I didn't think much of the writing;)

But seriously folks...I wouldn't say I wasn't say I was turned off, exactly. I didn't love it but I didn't dislike it either and there were aspects I really liked a lot. In a weird way it almost reminded of post-70s Polanski - a story that I didn't really connect with coupled with really, really effective atmosphere.

And as I said earlier, it did click with me on enough levels to make me want to see more of his stuff from that period.

That David Lean set looks interesting. Would you recommend it to someone who hasn't seen any of Leans films?

On another note, my Army of Shadows bluray came from Amazon today. Excited to watch it. My copy of Taxi Driver came also, which should I watch first?

I don't believe they went on to do much of anything because none of them were actors.

SpiderBaby was beating the drum pretty hard when it was announced so I thought 'okay, why not...it sounds interesting enough' but I was completely blown away. I still find it kind of hard to believe something so superficially simple and straighforward could be so engaging but it really does draw you in.

It's well worth a look.

Gotta say that Lawrence of Arabia touched me in a psychological soft spot. I've seen it several times, projected and on my own screen, and I've enjoyed every grain of sand in those long, telephoto shots. I even included Aqaba on a Middle Eastern trip once and hired a car with some friends to camp in the desert at Wadi Rum so we could march around and sing "I'm the man who broke the bank at Monte Car-lo!" Yeah, I'm a fan.

I think the psychology of that movie separates Lawrence from Lean's other, colder epics. The hero is a very complex guy you sometimes like and sometimes don't, sometimes admire and sometimes loathe. I'm a little at a loss to name another movie character who is that complex....and filmed so strikingly...and involved in so many great action shots. It's a 216-minute character study.

I can't imagine whoever owns Lawrence every licensing it, to Criterion or anyone else. And more's the shame since it's not even available on blu here. My top blu wait.

Check it out. The other epics have a certain heaviness, but this one is worth the time.