The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by octagon

I'm not one for flowery hyperbole but Down By Law - particularly the exteriors - is hypnotic. The two thoughts that kept running through my head were 'what the hell am I watching' and 'who the hell cares, it's gorgeous'.

Down By Law is another one of those "I've always wanted to see, but somehow still have not seen." Blu-rays, sort of like World on a Wire.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've got a few Warner Archive DVD-Rs in my collection. The Window, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Stranger on the Third Floor, and While the City Sleeps.

I got all of them for low prices, and the acquisition was hassle-free, so I'm happy with them until better releases come along. I'm not holding my breath for better releases, though.

I have homemade copies of all four of those titles. You have great taste. I still look at the 2015 Criterion New Year's drawing and hope that the frame and latch are a hint regarding a remastered blu-ray release of The Window ... it's at least as worthy of inclusion in the Collection as Ride the Pink Horse (at least in my opinion).

[oildude]

Originally Posted by octagon

That's a weird one for me. It's been on my shelf for years but even when it manages to find its way into the player I either get interrupted or something isn't quite right. The room is too bright, it's too late and I don't want to play with volume control, that kind of thing.

In a weird way it's a compliment to Jarmusch but it's going to take me forever to actually watch the damn thing

I would recommend a good set of headphones if you are watching late at night alone and don't want to disturb neighbors or sleeping family members. I bought a pair last year and it has made all the difference in my enjoyment of movie watching in the wee hours.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

One of my personal "Holy Grail" films that has yet to be released on DVD or Blu-ray is a 1980 movie called The Earthling, which starred William Holden and Ricky Schroder (Yes, the kid from the Silver Spoons TV show). I've got a bootleg DVD that was taken from a VHS source, but I keep hoping that it'll surface properly on either DVD or Blu-ray.

My holy grail is Philip Borsos' The Grey Fox (1982). In the 1990s and even into the 2000s, you could go into any video rental store and get the VHS of this wonderful film. But it never made the jump to DVD and that is truly sad.

[oildude]

And to the poster above who says he hates the 80s, I suggest expanding those horizons a bit and watch more movies. Some of the best and most enjoyable films ever made were in the 1980s, like The Grey Fox, or especially Australian New Wave and American comedies. God, I'd love to see Night Shift or Gallipoli or The Year of Living Dangerously or Witness or Tender Mercies or any number of fantastic missing in action 80s films make it to Blu-ray in the US. That is just the tip of the iceberg.

The 80s were totally awesome. One needs to look no further than Phoebe Cates in one of the most memorable scenes in all of cinema for proof of that.

[MechaGodzilla]

Originally Posted by oildude

The 80s were totally awesome. One needs to look no further than Phoebe Cates in one of the most memorable scenes in all of cinema for proof of that.

I don't think that scene would do much for Infernal King, just guessing.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by oildude

I would recommend a good set of headphones if you are watching late at night alone and don't want to disturb neighbors or sleeping family members. I bought a pair last year and it has made all the difference in my enjoyment of movie watching in the wee hours.

Yeah, I have a pair of Sennheisers I really like. They (understandably enough) don't anchor sound to the screen very well but I couldn't have muscled through the Cassavetes or BBS sets without them.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I have homemade copies of all four of those titles. You have great taste. I still look at the 2015 Criterion New Year's drawing and hope that the frame and latch are a hint regarding a remastered blu-ray release of The Window ... it's at least as worthy of inclusion in the Collection as Ride the Pink Horse (at least in my opinion).

TCM has been a huge source of homemade recordings for me. I would say most of my pre-codes and other early '30s films are from there along with quite of a few noir titles. Before I got Hulu, they were also my source for test driving Criterion titles that would otherwise have been blind buys for me.

[Infernal King]

Originally Posted by oildude

And to the poster above who says he hates the 80s, I suggest expanding those horizons a bit and watch more movies.

Looks like we have ourselves another mind-reader, here!

I've seen plenty of 80s films and I will be watching many more over the course of my life, I suspect. There are films from the 80s I love but overall I hate that decade, and not just when it comes to film. Music, hairstyles, fashion, etc. It's okay that I do and you don't, it doesn't mean anything.

[Scottie]

What's up with the $39.95 price tags on the May pre-orders?

[lukejosephchung]

Originally Posted by iScottie

What's up with the $39.95 price tags on the May pre-orders?

That's MSRP...Amazon hasn't entered in their customary 30% discount yet, which would lower the cost to $27.98...

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

Did you like Dead Man?

It's a bizarre film. I need to see this one again for sure. I don't remember Dead Man resonating with me for some reason. I mean, its totally "Steampunk"/Jack White and hipster as it gets.

Originally Posted by Infernal King

One of the elements of Mystery Train that I loved the most was its gorgeous use of color. I'm not averse to black & white by any means but how does Jarmusch fare when he's not shooting in color?

I'll research those films of his you mentioned and get back to you!

The genius of Jarmusch is that he envisions what his story will look like, whether its a movie that should be color or black/white. Some of his own movies, as he says, don't belong in color. There is indeed more information being conveyed in color generally speaking. But don't be afraid to see his black and white movies as he has plenty of good ones. Night on Earth was shot all in color and its a great little gem and very entertaining. I think Jarmusch's cinematographer for Down by Law, Robby Müller, was brilliant. Some of these shots (esp. in the bayou) were breathtaking. Anyone with an eye for great black and white photography would be spellbound by his work in that movie. Plus, the film is downright hilarious and much more so than Mystery Train in my opinion (but Mystery Train was a beautiful movie and still one of my favorite Jarmusch films... just amazing how he captured Memphis' crumbling cityscapes at the time, when the city was really decaying). Müller was the DP in that one too of course.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by oildude

My holy grail is Philip Borsos' The Grey Fox (1982). In the 1990s and even into the 2000s, you could go into any video rental store and get the VHS of this wonderful film. But it never made the jump to DVD and that is truly sad.

It did make to laserdisc, though; I've got one.

Regarding this particular topic of discussion, there actually is an entire thread dedicated to films released on VHS that never made it to DVD.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=214830

One of my contributions to that thread included the following:

Theatrical films I have on LD that aren't on DVD (though some might be on MOD DVD-Rs at this point):

Hong Kong '97
The Amsterdam Kill
Check and Double Check (the Amos & Andy film that will probably never get released commercially again)
China Girl
China White
Comfort and Joy
Crime Lords
The Crowd
Drowning by Numbers
84 Charlie Mopic
Encounter at Raven's Gate
The Grey Fox
Journey Into Fear
Mademoiselle Fifi
Patti Rocks
Prospero's Books
Rain Without Thunder
Skin Art
Stacking
Thousand Pieces of Gold
Until the End of the World (both US release and Extended Cut)
Warm Nights on a Slow Moving Train
The Wash (1988 - not the Snoop Dog film)
What Price Hollywood?
The Wind
The Wizard of Speed and Time

And a series called Dangerous Loves of Gabriel García Márquez, which includes:

Fable of the Beautiful Pigeon-Fancier
Miracle in Rome
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings
The Summer of Miss Forbes
I'm the One You're Looking For

[Spanish Scott]

I finally got around to watching TCM's broadcast of Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie that I DVR'd last month. Sooooooo good. The only Bunuel film I had seen prior to it was Un Chien Andalou, back during a college class. I'm gonna dive into his other films that are on Hulu, but I had a question for those in the know:

Given that the DVD copy of Discreet is OOP, has Criterion lost the rights? Or is there a chance they'll release it on Blu-Ray at same point in the future?

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Spanish Scott

I finally got around to watching TCM's broadcast of Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie that I DVR'd last month. Sooooooo good. The only Bunuel film I had seen prior to it was Un Chien Andalou, back during a college class. I'm gonna dive into his other films that are on Hulu, but I had a question for those in the know:

Given that the DVD copy of Discreet is OOP, has Criterion lost the rights? Or is there a chance they'll release it on Blu-Ray at same point in the future?

StudioCanal has the rights, they released Obscure Object of Desire but looks like they don't plan on releasing any other of his films soon, i think there is a Canadian release similar to the UK one.

I wouldn't like to wait for it, but if StudioCanal really doesn't have any interest in releasing those titles there is still hope that some day in the future Criterion could get them back.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by Spanish Scott

I finally got around to watching TCM's broadcast of Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie that I DVR'd last month. Sooooooo good.

I am glad to hear it; I recorded it myself and was planning on watching it this weekend. TCM's '31 Days of Oscar' has thoroughly clogged my DVR 😁

[WonderWeasel]

I've been trying to familiarize myself with the works of Shakespeare lately by watching film adaptations of the plays. So far, I've watched Olivier's 'Richard III', Polanski and Welles' productions of 'Macbeth', and I plan on watching Mankiewicz's 'Julius Caesar' and Kurosawa's 'Throne of Blood' this weekend. Can you guys recommend any favorite adaptions of yours for me to watch next?

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I've been trying to familiarize myself with the works of Shakespeare lately by watching film adaptations of the plays. So far, I've watched Olivier's 'Richard III', Polanski and Welles' productions of 'Macbeth', and I plan on watching Mankiewicz's 'Julius Caesar' and Kurosawa's 'Throne of Blood' this weekend. Can you guys recommend any favorite adaptions of yours for me to watch next?

10 Things I Hate About You Trailer - YouTube

Heres a list of some though, didn't know some of these were based on Shakespeare!

http://www.shortlist.com/entertainme...ie-adaptations

I do love Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, but then again it has the stunning Claire Danes in it.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I've been trying to familiarize myself with the works of Shakespeare lately by watching film adaptations of the plays. So far, I've watched Olivier's 'Richard III', Polanski and Welles' productions of 'Macbeth', and I plan on watching Mankiewicz's 'Julius Caesar' and Kurosawa's 'Throne of Blood' this weekend. Can you guys recommend any favorite adaptions of yours for me to watch next?

I really like the 1935 version of A Midsummer Night's Dream but it's dvd only and while I throughly enjoy Mickey Rooney's Puck, your mileage may vary. It does have a absolutely gorgeous teenage Olivia de Havilland, an interesting (to say the least) supporting cast, beautiful photography, and, last but not least, Jimmy Cagney doing Shakespeare. (And he's terrific!)

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I've been trying to familiarize myself with the works of Shakespeare lately by watching film adaptations of the plays. So far, I've watched Olivier's 'Richard III', Polanski and Welles' productions of 'Macbeth', and I plan on watching Mankiewicz's 'Julius Caesar' and Kurosawa's 'Throne of Blood' this weekend. Can you guys recommend any favorite adaptions of yours for me to watch next?

Ran is an adaptation by Kurosawa of Shakespeare's King Lear. The Criterion DVD is out-of-print, but there is a blu release by Studio Canal out there. Ran is probably my favorite Kurosawa film as of today. Although, I still haven't seen the films in the Postwar Kurosawa Eclipse set yet.

Random thought:
Criterion has released an animated film for February for the past two years. So, in my dreams they will announce the release of The Iron Giant on November the 16th(the 15th is a Sunday) of this year. Maybe they can pry it out of Warner Bros. hands. It is hard to believe that this film hasn't been released on blu yet.