Criterion Collection Discussion

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

Can I get your number?

Watch it CC, the 'man' is watching...

By the way, since we have your attention...
I never heard your thoughts on the UK Bergman box set???

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by jcs913

Wasn't Wild Strawberries also?

Stawberries was hinted in 2010/11s new year's toon. The scuttlebut (almost surely idle speculation) I heard was F&A took Strawberries' slot for some reason. I know stuff comes up, etc., but it is kinda craptastique if Y Tu Mamá También doesn't materialize after consecutive annual clues.

[blkhrt]

For those who are excited about the possibility often the Trilogy of Life coming, keep in mind that it was leaked in 2010 that it was coming at some point (at least Canturbury Tales). So it seems likely that it is in fact coming soon.

http://criterioncast.com/2010/11/18/...-restorations/

[nametag]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

It's excellent! The first time I watched it, I didn't pay enough attention to it.. but once I bought the UK release, and gave it proper attention, I was impressed by it and it was one of my (many) favorites of the past year. It's not only well-made, but tells a very simple story that relies mainly on emotions, which is something other films dealing with the same issues rarely achieve. It doesn't set out to make any huge statements, but practically puts them aside, focusing on the human connection instead. Simply put, it's a very relevant film.

Agreed, fantastically realistic romance film - quite a rarity of you ask me.

[BluPix]

As far as I'm concerned October's slate of releases is something to look forward to. The two films I've seen I absolutely love and, while they were expected on Criterion blu for some time, I'm enormously pleased to see them confirmed: In the Mood for Love by Wong Kar-wai and Rosemary's Baby by Roman Polanski.

However, both of the two I haven't seen are from directors whose other work I admire. The Forgiveness of Blood is by Joshua Marston, who directed one of the best films on class and the experience of immigrants, Maria Full of Grace—which I recommend everyone see—plus many episodes of popular TV series like The Newsroom and Six Feet Under.

Sunday Bloody Sunday is from John Schlesinger, who directed one of the best buddy film masterpieces of all time, Midnight Cowboy (it's really much more than a mere buddy flick) plus the classic crime drama Marathon Man.

The plots and trailers to Forgiveness and Sunday both look intriguing to me. So, I definitely plan to own all four of these films, either on their release dates or, at the latest, very shortly thereafter.

More info at IMDb:
The Forgiveness of Blood
In the Mood for Love
Rosemary's Baby
Sunday Bloody Sunday

I am a bit surprised there wasn't at least one more horror-themed film for October (such as The Blob, which so many people had been expecting). Also, this is the first month in a while where none of the featured directors was granted a release of two of their films simultaneously. I'd grown to like that. (It would have been nice to have seen a pairing with Polanski's The Tenant or, for an even closer pairing, Wong's 2046.)

Regardless, I'm still very pleased at October's lineup.

[dsman71]

Amazing I was really excited about the potential releases and as it turns out Im passing on everything, go figure LOL

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by Darkcritic

I am 18 so you beat me by little . I think you are the youngest one in the forum. You know a lot about film for you age (I love how I am talking like I am all that older ).



I find it amusing to see they don't have a single Almodovar. So much style, if there ever was a director who perfectly embraced the "auteur" theory is probably him.

Also, I forgot to ask you something. What do you think of Heige's Weekend? It is one of those titles I am uncertain about.

Well, it's definitely pleasant to see people who are still in their teens so intelligently discussing such a wide variety of films, including the older movies, foreign-language pictures and "independent"/"arthouse" films that most people, no matter their age, would know nothing about and have no interest in seeing, much less talking about.

For what it's worth, I thought Andrew Haigh's Weekend was one of the top films of its year, 2011. I already imported the Peccadillo Pictures blu-ray and will most certainly upgrade the Criterion blu when it arrives next month. (It will be one of my fastest upgrades ever, lol. )

I agree that the work of Pedro Almodovar—one of my favorite directors—would fit nicely into the Criterion Collection. Now that Criterion has a working relationship with Sony Pictures, which owns the US rights to much of Almodovar's work, I keep hoping Criterion releases a big box of his filmography, including both older and more recent films. I'm sure such a package would quickly become one of Criterion's most coveted and bestselling titles.

A few years ago, Sony issued such a box on DVD (following retrospective-style theatrical re-releases of those films), but its long since gone out of print.

[Ctzalman]

Originally Posted by Yami

I'm 16. Anyone younger than that? :P

You're just a young kid. What are you doin' here? You oughta be out in a convertible, bird-doggin' chicks and bangin' beaver!

[DarkRyder]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

Can I get your number?

1-900-MIXALOT

And kick them nasty thoughts!

[Darkcritic]

Originally Posted by Yami

I guess I did. I'd dread to look back on those comments now. As I said, I find age to be largely irrelevant, it just so happens to be normally linked to intelligence, often erroneously.

I wasn't talking about age directly linked to intelligence (In fact, I hold the same posture as you do ) but that I think is great you have been exposed to so much great cinema by that point because of how hard it is to get some films you talk about .

[pro-bassoonist]

PRESS SHEET:

IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE

Hong Kong, 1962: Chow Mo-wan (Hero’s Tony Leung Chiu-wai) and Su Li-zhen (Irma Vep’s Maggie Cheung Man-yuk) move into neighboring apartments on the same day. Their encounters are formal and polite—until a discovery about their spouses sparks an intimate bond between them. At once delicately mannered and visually extravagant, In the Mood for Love, directed by Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express), is a masterful evocation of romantic longing and fleeting moments. With its aching musical soundtrack and its exquisitely abstract cinematography by Christopher Doyle (2046) and Mark Lee Ping-bin (Flight of the Red Balloon), this film has been a major stylistic influence on the past decade of cinema, as well as a milestone in Wong’s redoubtable career.

2000 · 98 minutes · Color · 5.1 Surround · In Cantonese and Shanghainese with English subtitles · 1.66:1 aspect ratio

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• High-definition digital restoration, approved by cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bin, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
• @ “In the Mood for Love,” director Wong Kar-wai’s documentary on the making of the film
• Deleted scenes, with commentary by Wong
• Hua yang de nian hua (2000), a short film by Wong
• Archival interview with Wong and a “cinema lesson” given by the director at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival
• Toronto International Film Festival press conference from 2000, with stars Maggie Cheung Man-yuk and Tony Leung Chiu-wai
• Two new interviews with critic Tony Rayns, one about the film and the other about the soundtrack
• Trailers and TV spots
• Plus: A booklet featuring an essay by novelist and film critic Steve Erickson and the Liu Yi-chang story that provided thematic inspiration for the film

TITLE: IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2185BD
UPC: 7-15515-09941-7
ISBN: 978-1-60465-638-1
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 10/2/12


THE FORGIVNESS OF BLOOD

American director Joshua Marston broke out in 2004 with his jolting, Oscar-nominated Maria Full of Grace, about a young Colombian woman working as a drug mule. In his remarkable follow-up, The Forgiveness of Blood, he turns his camera on another corner of the world: contemporary northern Albania, a place still troubled by the ancient custom of interfamilial blood feuds. From this reality, Marston sculpts a fictional narrative about a teenage brother and sister physically and emotionally trapped in a cycle of violence, a result of their father’s entanglement with a rival clan over a piece of land. The Forgiveness of Blood is a tense and perceptive depiction of a place where tradition and progress have an uneasy coexistence, as well as a dynamic coming-of-age drama.

2011 • 109 minutes • Color • 5.1 surround • In Albanian with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital transfer, approved by producer Paul Mezey, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Audio commentary featuring director and cowriter Joshua Marston
• Two new video programs: Acting Close to Home, a discussion between Marston and actors Refet Abazi, Tristan Halilaj, and Sindi Laçej, and Truth on the Ground, featuring new and on-set interviews with Mezey, Abazi, Halilaj, and Laçej
• Audition and rehearsal footage
• Trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film writer Oscar Moralde

TITLE: THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2189BD
UPC: 7-15515-09971-4
ISBN: 978-1-60465-641-1
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 10/16/12


SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY

John Schlesinger followed his Academy Award–winning Midnight Cowboy with this sophisticated and highly personal take on love and sex. Sunday Bloody Sunday depicts the romantic lives of two Londoners, a middle-aged doctor and a prickly thirtysomething divorcée—played by Oscar winners Peter Finch (Network) and Glenda Jackson (Women in Love)—who are sleeping with the same handsome young artist (Murray Head). A revelation in its day, this may be the 1970s’ most intelligent, multitextured film about the complexities of romantic relationships; it is keenly acted and sensitively directed, from a penetrating screenplay by novelist and critic Penelope Gilliatt.

1971 • 110 minutes • Color • Monaural • 1.66:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital restoration, supervised by director of photography Billy Williams, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• New video interviews with actor Murray Head, Williams, and production designer Luciana Arrighi
• Illustrated 1975 audio interview with director John Schlesinger
• New interview with writer William J. Mann (Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger) about the making of Sunday Bloody Sunday
• New interview with photographer Michael Childers, Schlesinger’s longtime partner
• Trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by film critic Terrence Rafferty and cultural historian Ian Buruma, as well as screenwriter Penelope Gilliatt’s 1971 introduction to the film’s screenplay

TITLE: SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2186BD
UPC: 7-15515-09951-6
ISBN: 978-1-60465-639-8
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 10/23/12


ROSEMARY’S BABY

Terrifying and darkly comic, Rosemary’s Baby marked the Hollywood debut of Roman Polanski (Repulsion). This wildly entertaining nightmare, faithfully adapted from Ira Levin’s best seller, stars a revelatory Mia Farrow (Hannah and Her Sisters) as a young mother-to-be who grows increasingly suspicious that her overfriendly elderly neighbors, played by Sidney Blackmer (High Society) and an Oscar-winning Ruth Gordon (Harold and Maude), and self-involved husband (actor and filmmaker John Cassavetes) are hatching a satanic plot against her and her baby. In the decades of occult cinema Polanski’s ungodly masterpiece has spawned, it’s never been outdone for sheer psychological terror.

1968 • 136 minutes • Color • Monaural • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital restoration, approved by director Roman Polanski, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• New interviews with Polanski, actor Mia Farrow, and producer Robert Evans
• Komeda, Komeda, a feature-length documentary on the life and work of jazz musician and composer Krzysztof Komeda, who wrote the score for Rosemary’s Baby
• 1997 radio interview with author Ira Levin from Leonard Lopate’s WNYC program New York and Company on the 1967 novel, the sequel, and the film
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Ed Park and Levin’s afterword for the 2003 New American Library edition of his novel, in which he discusses its
and the film’s origins

TITLE: ROSEMARY’S BABY (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2199BD
UPC: 7-15515-10071-7
ISBN: 978-1-60465-651-0
STREET: 10/30/12


Attention Canada: THE FORGIVNESS OF BLOOD is available in all Canada. All other October titles are US Only.

THREE WICKED MELODRAMAS FROM GAINSBOROUGH PICTURES



Three-DVD Box SET INCLUDES:

THE MAN IN GREY

This tale of treachery put both the
Gainsborough melodrama and actor James
Mason on the map. The star-to-be plays Lord
Rohan, a cruel nobleman who marries the naive
and sweet-natured Clarissa (Phyllis Calvert)
for the sole purpose of producing an heir;
meanwhile, Clarissa’s conniving best friend,
Hesther (Margaret Lockwood), secretly plots
against her for her own nefarious ends. The
Man in Grey, directed by LESLIE ARLISS (The
Wicked Lady), was such a box-office success
that Gainsborough used it as a template,
launching a cycle of increasingly rococo films


MADONNA OF THE SEVEN MOONS

A lurid tale of sex and psychosis, Madonna
of the Seven Moons, directed by ARTHUR
CRABTREE (Fiend Without a Face), is among
the wildest of the Gainsborough melodramas.
Set in Italy, it begins as a relatively composed
tale about a respectable, convent-raised
woman (Phyllis Calvert) who is haunted by
the memory of being raped as a teenager.
When her grown daughter returns from school,
her life begins to crack up in monumentally
surprising ways. Stewart Granger also plays a
prominent role in this sensational tale.

THE WICKED LADY

Margaret Lockwood devours the screen as a
tightly wound seventeenth-century beauty
with loose morals, who steals her best friend’s
wealthy fiancé on the eve of their wedding.
And that’s only the beginning of this piece
of pulp from director LESLIE ARLISS (The
Man in Grey): there are no depths to which
this sinful woman won’t sink. James Mason
costars, and nearly steals the movie, as a
highwayman with whom our antiheroine
becomes entangled. This nasty, subversive
treat was the most commercially successful
of all the Gainsborough melodramas.


During the 1940s, realism reigned in British cinema—but not at
Gainsborough Pictures. The studio, which had been around since the
’20s, found new success with a series of pleasurably preposterous
costume melodramas. Audiences ate up these overheated films, which
featured a stable of charismatic stars, including JAMES MASON (Lolita),
MARGARET LOCKWOOD (The Lady Vanishes), STEWART GRANGER
(King Solomon’s Mines), and PHYLLIS CALVERT (Indiscreet). Though
its films were immensely profitable in wartime and immediately after,
Gainsborough did not outlive the decade. This set brings together a
trio of Gainsborough’s most popular films—florid, visceral tales of secret
identities, multiple personalities, and romantic betrayals.
Eclipse is a selection of lost, forgotten, or overshadowed classics in simple,
affordable editions. Each series is a brief cinematheque retrospective for
the adventurous home viewer.

Pro-B

[trombone dixie]

A top three upgrade in In The Mood For Love and my number one new addition in Rosemary's Baby... So stoked!

[georgec]

I'm game for In the Mood for Love and Rosemary's Baby. The bonus features on the latter aren't quite what I hoped, though, since there's been a long buildup to this release. Still, looks solid.

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by georgec

I'm game for In the Mood for Love and Rosemary's Baby. The bonus features on the latter aren't quite what I hoped, though, since there's been a long buildup to this release. Still, looks solid.

Yes, it would have been nice to have had at least an audio commentary or feature-length documentary on the making of the film. But, I am happy that it's at least coming to blu with some supplements and the doc about composer Krzysztof Komeda should be interesting.

I do wish, however, that Paramount would also license the rights to include its trailers along with its feature films. None of the features licensed for blu-ray to Criterion (or, for that matter Olive Films) by Paramount include the corresponding trailers and/or TV spots, even though they appeared on previous DVDs issued by Paramount years earlier. Days of Heaven, Harold and Maude, If...., 1900, etc.

[octagon]

Yeah, I'm not bowled over by the Rosemary's Baby supplements either but the Komeda Komeda feature sounds like a perfect example of why I love their releases.

I would have never thought to request something like that but my immediate reaction was 'whoa, how freaking cool is that'.

The Ira Levin radio interview sounds pretty interesting too.

Hmm, wait...maybe it's a better package than I think...

[Benchman]

Would anyone else love to see a criterion release of Spike Lee's The 25th Hour?

[HyperRealist]

So most of these people that I thought were film scholars are just kids with google.....

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by HyperRealist

So most of these people that I thought were film scholars are just kids with google.....

Well aren't you just a ball of sunshine?

I am not a film scholar, but I do hold a MLIS. I also grew up watching classic film, as my parents liked to share with my brother and I, the films they grew up watching. I've branched out considerably from what my parents like, although many of those classics they enjoy are still high on my list. I also like to read a lot (hence the MLIS), and I have a BA in history as well. I tend to look a films far differently than film scholars do.

[Yami]

The Internet and, by extension, Google can be very powerful educational tools in any field. Particularly film as you can't only read about the history of the film and those involved but often get a link to where to buy/download it.

[nametag]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Well aren't you just a ball of sunshine?

I am not a film scholar, but I do hold a MLIS. I also grew up watching classic film, as my parents liked to share with my brother and I, the films they grew up watching. I've branched out considerably from what my parents like, although many of those classics they enjoy are still high on my list. I also like to read a lot (hence the MLIS), and I have a BA in history as well. I tend to look a films far differently than film scholars do.

+1
I've been really into films and finding out/watching 'classics' since I was 14 or so and don't think that would've made me less of a valid person to comment on things if I was still that age. My degree was in English but I did take a lot of film related classes within that both in the UK and the US, and I have to say that plenty of those 'scholars' who taught me (in both countries) spoke absolute inarticulate rubbish, and this was at 2 good universities. Having a qualification or being older doesn't mean I have to take their opinion more seriously if I disagree with it.