Criterion Collection Discussion

[exolstice]

Originally Posted by greekak229

Like, in just one heartbeat? Is that even possible?

I have a slow metabolism.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by retablo

Yeah Pale Flower, Tokyo Drifter, Branded To Kill, etc... the new wave stuff. Pale Flower had such a great visual style, but style doesn't equal substance to me. Plus I got tired of the lengthy scenes showing the game that I couldn't follow, lol. Mostly I just dislike films where the plot follows no cohesive narrative, and things happen randomly without much logic. Anyone can write nonsensical stories; it's much harder to write something that feels like a cohesive whole.

You couldn't be more wrong about Pale Flower. It is in no way like those other films and has a very deep plot with a ton of substance and character. I don't see how anyone could compare it to Branded to Kill & Tokyo Drifter. Let alone say Pale Flower follows no cohesive narrative when it most surely does.
I can follow you on Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill. I didn't care for them either. I just find your particular take on Pale Flower confusing. Makes me think I must have seen a different film.

[kristoffer]

It will be intersting to see how good cc can the Samurai trilogy to look on BD.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by kristoffer

It will be intersting to see how good cc can the Samurai trilogy to look on BD.

I really like the DVD that came out in 2004 (probably going to have to sell it now) This Blu-ray should be a very good release

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by FaceInTheLeaves

Inevitably, films dealing with Empire and Britain in the early twentieth century are going to be 'dated'. Coward's writing and Lean's (beautiful) direction are definitely from another time. Whether that's a good or bad thing is probably a matter of personal preference.

In this case it's a very good thing, brilliant in fact!

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I am looking forward to this David lean set, just can't afford it right now at the price it's selling here in Canada. I might order the US edition or just wait for the sale at B&N (if there is one) I really enjoy David Lean movie but I am not too surprise by the lack of talk about this sets. For most people David Lean is The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and sort of forget a lot of his earlier work or that there is more to him as a director.

Can't forget Ryan's Daughter! That's one that's crying out for a blu release. The 2006 DVD claims to be a digital transfer from 'restored 65 mm elements' so a release shouldn't be that problematic. I just did the math incidentally~ the David Lean set free ships in Canada for $94.49 down from $134.99. With tax it's $105.83. Shipping from the US it's $68.99 ($92.15 with expedited shipping and import fee). Saving of $15 bucks, and also I have more confidence in UPS than in the Canadian mail system.

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I like posting about the movies I watch in the collection including the Eclipse sets and in general very few people will comment and dicussion about the covers, upcoming sale, top ten Criterion....will just bury my post in a matter of minutes

But many of us see them and appreciate them anyway!

[billzfan]

Went wild this week and picked up A night to remember, Wings of Desire, Last Temptation, Rules of the Game, and 12 Angry Men. Criterion is getting a huge chunk of my tax return, lol.

[betto]

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

I watched Amarcord last night and for the first 30 minutes, I was fully engrossed in it and laughing myself silly. I don't know how or why this happened, but I started to get bored after about 45 minutes or so. It's a real shame because I wanted to love it.

On to the next few.

Did you end up finishing it? I always wonder what to do with films like this, where you just get bored after a while but end up halfway through. Should you just finish it and get it over with? Try to watch it some other time? Or just never think about it again :\

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by betto

Did you end up finishing it? I always wonder what to do with films like this, where you just get bored after a while but end up halfway through. Should you just finish it and get it over with? Try to watch it some other time? Or just never think about it again :\

I always just have to finish it otherwise I never will. Then again I've had movies I disliked so much I not only stopped them halfway, but listed them on ebay a few minutes later.

Watched The Last Temptation of Christ. Looked good, but they really skimped on the special features and booklet. Not a big deal, but IMO they should have had at least made a feature on the controversy when the film was released.
You could make a full feature just on that alone.

[Sinthetic]

Originally Posted by betto

Did you end up finishing it? I always wonder what to do with films like this, where you just get bored after a while but end up halfway through. Should you just finish it and get it over with? Try to watch it some other time? Or just never think about it again :\

It's a tough question really, but I always finish off a film once I've started it. If I am unable to finish it the same night, I will do so the morning after.

The way I see it, if I get bored during a film, I don't want to add it to my collection. I have contemplated if I would enjoy it more in a different mood. Ultimately, there are too many films to watch and not enough time to spend worrying about wishing you had felt differently about them.

[jrmac2000]

I can't wait for the David lean set to arrive! I've heard nothing but great things about the transfers, and I have been holding out for blu rays of these films for a while. Criterion being the maker is icing on the cake! Now if they'd just redo summertime I'd be completely happy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[octagon]

Originally Posted by retablo

Yeah Pale Flower, Tokyo Drifter, Branded To Kill, etc... the new wave stuff. Pale Flower had such a great visual style, but style doesn't equal substance to me. Plus I got tired of the lengthy scenes showing the game that I couldn't follow, lol. Mostly I just dislike films where the plot follows no cohesive narrative, and things happen randomly without much logic. Anyone can write nonsensical stories; it's much harder to write something that feels like a cohesive whole.

IN the case of Branded To Kill, Suzuki came up with many plot elements ad scenes the night before shooting or on set itself, and it shows. Again, great scenes individually, but taken as a whole they don't add up to zilch for me.

We tend to have fairly similar sensibilities but I'm with Banned User here - I'm almost literally wondering if we're talking about the same movie.

I didn't find Pale Flower any less cohesive than say Kiss Me Deadly and it's quite a bit more cohesive than the average Chandler story (though I suppose that's not really the highest of bars). At times it might have been a stylish for its own sake but I never really found that distracting...in fact, for the most part it kind of worked.

As for the game, I can kind of see your point about the length of some of the scenes but I actually liked that I didn't know what they were playing. I used a Bond example after first seeing Pale Flower: Bond play bacarrat was cool, Bond playing poker was boring.

And again, I'm not trying to talk you out of anything. I just think it's interesting that we're so far apart on this one.

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by octagon

I used a Bond example after first seeing Pale Flower: Bond play bacarrat was cool, Bond playing poker was boring.

Unless you know how to play both (or neither)...in which case, it makes no substantive difference.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

As for talking about movies in the thread, that is a rather dangerous subject as it can quickly come's to an shouting and insult match (true in this thread as in any other thread). Just go back a few months to the discussion over Tiny Furniture. I like posting about the movies I watch in the collection including the Eclipse sets and in general very few people will comment and dicussion about the covers, upcoming sale, top ten Criterion....will just bury my post in a matter of minutes

I actually skimmed through most of that useless Tiny Furniture sh*t until I could something interesting, like the mini-reviews you and a couple of others do.
Don't worry, they don't get completely buried and they appreciated

[Sinthetic]

Holy crap at the ending of Fat Girl. Can we swear on here? If so, replace crap with a stronger word.

[CoopFilm]

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

Holy crap at the ending of Fat Girl. Can we swear on here? If so, replace crap with a stronger word.

I knowwww.

[Show spoiler]It's one of my favorite film endings ever.

[Marten]

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

I watched Amarcord last night and for the first 30 minutes, I was fully engrossed in it and laughing myself silly. I don't know how or why this happened, but I started to get bored after about 45 minutes or so. It's a real shame because I wanted to love it.

Originally Posted by Sinthetic

Holy crap at the ending of Fat Girl. Can we swear on here? If so, replace crap with a stronger word.

And that's why I *rarely* blind-buy anything nowadays. I'll do anything in my power to rent it first. Not only is it a waste of money if the film is not to my liking but it also creates an inventory of films which will collect dust and take up shelf space or end up in storage. I learned my lesson from the DVD days and I'm ultra-selective now with my Blu-ray collection.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by Marten

And that's why I *rarely* blind-buy anything nowadays. I'll do anything in my power to rent it first. Not only is it a waste of money if the film is not to my liking but it also creates an inventory of films which will collect dust and take up shelf space or end up in storage. I learned my lesson from the DVD days and I'm ultra-selective now with my Blu-ray collection.

I still blind buy quite a bit. Out of the 70+ Criterion Blu-rays I own, only 18 haven't been blind buys. There's only been one I was a bit meh about, and that was Lola Montes, but you have to be in a certain mood to watch that one anyways. The only one I actively hate, and that's after watching it at least 3 times before I decided that yes, I reall do hate it, is A Safe Place. However, the disc isn't going to sit around and collect dust, because I somewhat enjoy Drive, He Said, and A Safe Place shares a disc with that film. Also, A Safe Place is in the BBS box set, and it's the only "bad" movie out of that set of 7 fantastic films (yet so many people on here only want 1-2 films out of the set and break it up ).

I will say that despite all my blind buying, I'm still selective about what BDs I buy compared to my DVD collection (There's a huge difference in collection size, and BD.com doesn't even have the majority of the DVDs I own listed in their database ).

[Sinthetic]

Originally Posted by Marten

And that's why I *rarely* blind-buy anything nowadays. I'll do anything in my power to rent it first. Not only is it a waste of money if the film is not to my liking but it also creates an inventory of films which will collect dust and take up shelf space or end up in storage. I learned my lesson from the DVD days and I'm ultra-selective now with my Blu-ray collection.

I never blind buy Criterion stuff because it costs about £22 to import them and out of the 100 or so films they've released on Blu Ray, I've only felt compelled to buy around 30 of them. Most of the others have been "watch once" films.

I always go into watching the films with the intent of buying them after I watch them, but that has led to some disappointment with the more hyped releases not hitting the mark. Some of the best surprises have been things like Robinson Crusoe, My Life as a Dog and Zazie.

[James78]

I'm tempted to buy the French release of Brazil, but some people on this website have said that Criterion will release it. Does anyone know if this is a fact?

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

The only one I actively hate, and that's after watching it at least 3 times before I decided that yes, I reall do hate it, is A Safe Place.

A lot of people forget A SAFE PLACE was Criterion's 2010 Fool's Day joke. Although, they went too far with it.