Criterion Collection Discussion

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Did you actually find a Criterion copy that was not too high? I seem to recall it was OOP and the DVD had a high price

In The Mood For Love is most definitely not OOP.

[AreaUnderTheCurve]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Did you actually find a Criterion copy that was not too high? I seem to recall it was OOP and the DVD had a high price

It's $23.98 on Amazon US.

I figured that since I said Che is not talked about much, I'll post my review that I wrote for another site that was accidentally deleted. I'd love to discuss it.

[Show spoiler]The Argentine

“Well, it’s impossible to defeat imperialism without identifying its head, the United States of America. In a capitalist system, most people live in an invisible cage. For example, there you accept the myth of the self-made man without understanding that the opportunities of most people are determined by forces they do not even see.”

It’s impossible to discuss director Steven Soderbergh’s phenomenal biopic, Che, without mentioning American politics. The quote above still rings true today, arguably more than ever in the country’s history. In a time where protesters want to make a difference and where income inequality has reached exhausting heights, Che’s messages about what it means to be a revolutionary have never been more pertinent. There’s a reason why young, impressionable teenagers wear clothing bearing his image: they like his message.

In Part One, Ernesto “Che” Guevara (Beneicio del Toro) and his friend Fidel Castro (Demián Bichir) have decided that the current ruling class in Cuba is completely unacceptable. Batista is weak in their eyes because of his collusion with the United States. Their country is riddled with, as John F. Kennedy put it, “humiliation and exploitation” of its citizens. The two come together to attempt to overthrow Batista and put Cuba on a path they perceive to be correct.

Soderbergh captures this battle, along with scenes from Guevara’s United Nations visit, in his signature style: close-ups, shaky cam, and realism. He even opts for voiceovers from Che’s U.N. visit and his interview with Lisa Howard. These instances provide insight into the “Argentine” and his way of thinking, from his views on what is most important to a revolutionary to his stance on the United States. These voiceovers are expertly placed throughout the narrative as we watch the struggle Che and his cohorts go through to achieve their goals. The voiceovers complement what we see, breaking the rule of “show, not tell” in an incredible and entertaining fashion.

Soderbergh decides to show us, in a quite romanticized way, the positives of Che, with very little negatives. Sure, his divisive and incendiary comments at the U.N. are present (the admittance and continuation of executions among them), but the narrative leads us to believe that Che was a kind man. It suggests that Che’s sole purpose was to make Cuban lives better than they have ever been: land reform, the taxing of the rich, restoring their 1940 constitution that Batista suspended, caring for the sick, helping the poor and even military tribunals for criminals. As Che says, “Love of humanity, justice, and truth.”

The realism in the armed struggles is reminiscent of Michael Mann’s revered shootout sequence in Heat. The typical Hollywood clichés are not present: there are no sparks as lead collides with cars and buildings; there are no fireworks to denote explosions; there is no excessive gore when the soldiers are shot. This is the realism that should accompany such subject manner. Small firefights can go a long way and become vastly entertaining if care is taken to demonstrate realism.

The realism is extended in terms of how long and laborious the mission of the revolutionaries was. There are marches through jungles, the spreading of their message to the peasants, the gathering of support among warring factions, and caring for the wounded. This isn’t a fast-paced film because the audience is supposed to show empathy for the fighters’ cause. They are supposed to feel the patience that these diligent men and women went through to topple an oppressive regime and their satisfaction in achieving it.

“When we’re done in Cuba,” Che says to Fidel, “you let me bring the Revolution to all Latin America.”

____

Guerilla

“Anywhere in the world where men are being exploited by men, conditions are right. When children work in mines, and 50% of miners reach 30 years of age, […] If infant mortality rates are the highest in Latin America because of lack of hospitals and medical care, the situation is right for me.” – Ernesto Guevara

At the end of Part One, the Cuban Revolution had just begun. Che rose to prominence and his name was known by major parties involved in world politics. Now he wants to continue the revolution all over Latin America and Part Two shows this aspect of his life.

Che has decided to bring a revolution to Bolivia, which at this very moment is dealing with what he perceives to be a military dictatorship. Like the quote from the film above suggests, miners are dying very early in life and it is eventually noted that the military is killing miners who are protesting their treatment. Infant mortality rate is also the highest in Latin America. The revolutionary has a difficult task ahead of him to replicate his achievement in Cuba.

Xenophobia is a problem for the Bolivians. Che’s revolution is not entirely supported and his assistance is frowned upon. The Communist Party of Bolivia will not support him if he insists on an armed struggle. These facts create a significant problem for Che and his determination to continue the revolution.

Part Two is all about Che’s predicaments, many of which are drastically worse than what he encountered during Cuba’s revolution. There is dissent, desertion, a lack of determination, a lack of resilience, and even a lack of support from the peasants. These problems do not deter Che, however. He continues to spread his ideals and messages through his followers and those he hopes to have on his side.

Director Steven Soderbergh continues his cinéma vérité in Part Two, opting to show realism instead of exaggeration. The camera acts as a guide for the audience, a lens for them to see the struggles. These techniques allow them to be in the mind of the protagonist and his soldiers, and in the fights they encounter. In the case Che himself, the director puts us in his mindset as he struggles. We are in the head of a man who eventually goes insane with the idea of a revolution all over Latin America. This is the director’s craft, something not many filmmakers can accomplish. His biopic is arguably one of the best in existence because of his love for the medium and his determination to give the best he can.

The supplements on the Criterion release are fascinating. Each part of the film contains a commentary track with the author of the novel the film is adapted from (Che Guevara: A Revolutionary Life). Deleted scenes also exist for each part and there’s a documentary that was created in 1967 after Che’s death. The real meat of the bonus features, however, lies in two featurettes: Making “Che,” and “Che” and the Digital Cinema Revolution!

Making “Che” goes into detail about the hurdles that had to be cleared in order for production to start. The most significant hurdle was that of a decade-long process to make the film. At one time Terrence Malick was signed on to direct. That fell through and Soderbergh took the reins. Extensive research was also performed as the filmmakers didn’t know how Che died. Many trips were taken to Cuba to interview people who knew him, a process that happened over the course of six years. Script issues were also a problem: at one point the story was going to be condensed to a single movie, but that was a mistake. Soderbergh didn’t like the idea of compression and characters being combined into one. He opted for a two-part film: Cuba and Bolivia.

I am a proponent of digital cinema and will always prefer it, so Che and the Digital Cinema Revolution! is what I found most interesting in the bonus features. Che was the first film to use the now-famous RED camera. Here, Soderbergh goes into detail about how he likes to shoot. He wants to decrease the time to start production, especially since his crew didn’t have a lot of time to do so. The first version of the camera was used and nbaturally, as is the vase with all new technologies, problems persisted. The outcome is phenomenal even with these problems. Soderbergh is, along with Michael Mann, David Fincher, and James Cameron, leading the digital revolution and the sooner it becomes the norm the better.

[CHEЯNOБLY!]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Most Requested Criterion Blu (Cumulative) Over 1,400 requests in.

• Badlands
• Rashomon
• A Man Escaped
• Touch of Evil
• Brazil
• The BRD Trilogy
• Stray Dog
• Weekend
• Le Petit Soldat
• In the Mood for Love
• Le Samourai
• The Fountain
• The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
• Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
• The Virgin Spring
• The Cranes are Flying
• Sisters
• Persona
• Berlin Alexanderplatz
• Alice in the Cities
• La Dolce Vita
• Pi

Why do people keep voting for Badlands when they know it's Warner Bros.? Seems like wasted votes.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by BlayWulf

I hate people that call themselves fans of a director but denounce his best films.

"Best" films are an opinion. People that are huge fans of filmmakers will most likely love the more "obscure" films more because they are probably sick and tired of the same ol'.

Also for example, someone who is a huge fan of say Fassbinder might believe Satan's Brew is one of his best films. "But no! You have to like The Marriage of Maria Braun the most!" doesn't sit right with me.

[CHEЯNOБLY!]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

"Best" films are an opinion. People that are huge fans of filmmakers will most likely love the more "obscure" films more because they are probably sick and tired of the same ol'.

Also for example, someone who is a huge fan of say Fassbinder might believe Satan's Brew is one of his best films. "But no! You have to like The Marriage of Maria Braun the most!" doesn't sit right with me.

Agreed. Same thing with music: you get an album because the "big" song you heard, but after listening to it over and over on a daily basis you start to appreciate the deeper cuts more. But there are also people who rattled off more obscure titles to be obscure.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

In The Mood For Love is most definitely not OOP.

Yeah! It was my mistake. I got my copy back in 2003 but on Amazon.ca it's only been available from sellers, that is why I figured it was OOP

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by BlayWulf

I hate people that call themselves fans of a director but denounce his best films. Fantastic mr fox is in fact one of his best films, as well as moonrise kingdom. Just because criterion is "too good" for animated films doesn't automatically mean they only deal in "earlier Anderson." considering darjeeling limited has a blu ray release. Moonrise kingdom will most definately get a criterion release later on.

I enjoy movies from quite a very different group of directors (Lucas, Ozu, Kurosawa, Eiseinstein, Chaplin.....) but I would never make the claim that I like all the movies they have made. What is "the best film" by the way? It's all opinions. Some of their movies I consider some of the greatest movies ever made. Take my list and ask others here what they think of these movies and they may well say that they are junk.

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by CHEЯNOБLY!

Why do people keep voting for Badlands when they know it's Warner Bros.? Seems like wasted votes.

To be fair, it's a wasted vote in an imaginary contest. So there's not much harm done.

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by CHEЯNOБLY!

Why do people keep voting for Badlands when they know it's Warner Bros.? Seems like wasted votes.

I bet your one of those people that don't vote because you think someone other than your favorite will win, then complain for 4 years that he won instead of at least trying to make a change with your vote......anyways....its not any official vote, they are all winners (the new american way, no losers)

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by BlayWulf

I hate people that call themselves fans of a director but denounce his best films.

I think these people just do it so they don't give others the impression they haven't seen Anderson's other films. By citing a lesser known film as their favorite it makes them look like they've seen all his films - highly acclaimed and lesser mentioned.

It's like citing Breathless as your favorite Godard film only to have someone scold you for not looking beyond his 60's output (Even though you may have seen them).

[Swift1246]

THREE COLORS: BLUE, AMARCORD, HARAKIRI...

all 50% off on their website.

I emailed Amazon. Everyone do the same!

[AreaUnderTheCurve]

Originally Posted by Swift1246

THREE COLORS: BLUE, AMARCORD, HARAKIRI...

all 50% off on their website.

I emailed Amazon. Everyone do the same!

How is Blue on sale when it can only be purchased in the set?

[TheRev81]

Ran isn't getting a Criterion Blu Ray release is it?

[CHEЯNOБLY!]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

I bet your one of those people that don't vote because you think someone other than your favorite will win, then complain for 4 years that he won instead of at least trying to make a change with your vote......anyways....its not any official vote, they are all winners (the new american way, no losers)

Whoa, I guess we know who you voted for.

Yes, I've voted. I really don't care who wins, by the way, because, as the person before you stated, it's an imaginary contest. I'm not trying to rub anyone who is wishing and hoping for Badlands the wrong way, but it ain't coming. Just saying it would make more sense if people voted for titles that had a realistic chance of being released by CC. Jeez Louise.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by TheRev81

Ran isn't getting a Criterion Blu Ray release is it?

They no longer have the rights for it, you can either get the Criterion DVD or get the Studio Canal Blu-ray

[paul000]

Anyone know if ordering a criterion from amazon's warehouse deals is legit?
It says 'Item not in the original case. Missing shrink-wrap, activation codes for bonus online content may be missing or expired.'
Are they just going to ship me a disc in a sleeve?

[TheRev81]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

They no longer have the rights for it, you can either get the Criterion DVD or get the Studio Canal Blu-ray

I have the Criterion DVD, just not sure if it's worth the upgrade. I am upgrading Seven Samurai to Blu Ray. So I'm strongly considering the same for Ran.

Originally Posted by paul000

Anyone know if ordering a criterion from amazon's warehouse deals is legit?
It says 'Item not in the original case. Missing shrink-wrap, activation codes for bonus online content may be missing or expired.'
Are they just going to ship me a disc in a sleeve?

It's Legit they say that for all their products

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by TheRev81

I have the Criterion DVD, just not sure if it's worth the upgrade. I am upgrading Seven Samurai to Blu Ray. So I'm strongly considering the same for Ran.

You will hear different comments depending on who you ask. I bought the Studio Canal but decided to also keep my DVD from Criterion. Is the Blu-ray the best possible, no I suppose it's not. It's far from being the horrible thing some make it out to be also. If you can manage to get it during a sale that might be for the best. There is a debate is even Criterion could have done much better if they had release it.

As for Seven Samurai, the upgrade is very well worth the time, it's a wonderful release

[TheRev81]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

You will hear different comments depending on who you ask. I bought the Studio Canal but decided to also keep my DVD from Criterion. Is the Blu-ray the best possible, no I suppose it's not. It's far from being the horrible thing some make it out to be also. If you can manage to get it during a sale that might be for the best. There is a debate is even Criterion could have done much better if they had release it.

As for Seven Samurai, the upgrade is very well worth the time, it's a wonderful release

How about the Extras? (for Ran)

Edit- Never mind I checked, they're the same.

I'm upgrading

[Darkcritic]

Just saw Ramsay's We Need to Talk About Kevin in a local theater and I am really impressed. It is an incredibly good film and a very visually rich one too. Loved the performances, the shot composition, the wonderful mise-en-scene and the surprising use of the modest musical score and sound effects. The most refreshing aspect of it all is just how cinematically complex it can be, the symbolism found here is always interesting. The variety of background sound cues at pivotal moments, the redish "leitmotif", the use of unfocused close-ups and so many other details make for a rich film. Now, I would like to see Criterion upgrading Ratcatcher .