The Criterion Collection

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I really disliked Peeping Tom to the point that I couldn't wait for it to end.

I agree!
It was quite a chore to sit through it..

[PowellPressburger]

Peeping Tom, it isn't a masterpiece but Carl Boehm's performance is great. Love the use of color and locations in the film.

the region locked UK release however controversial is still the best way to see the the movie.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

Peeping Tom, it isn't a masterpiece but Carl Boehm's performance is great. Love the use of color and locations in the film.

the region locked UK release however controversial is still the best way to see the the movie.

Count me as another Peeping Tom fan. Again, I wouldn't compare it to P&P's 1940s output, but it is quite the jarring thriller and way ahead of its time.

[Santa Barbara]

Originally Posted by buffetfroid

The Long Good Friday/Mona Lisa set is great!

Is it? I like a lot of Bob Hoskins movies and both of those are blind spots for me. Looks like I'll be importing the Arrow versions!

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by Santa Barbara

Is it? I like a lot of Bob Hoskins movies and both of those are blind spots for me. Looks like I'll be importing the Arrow versions!

Both fantastic films. Hoskins is superb, especially in The Long Good Friday. Such presence, intensity, and swagger. Buy with confidence. Just ordered the Arrow BD of The Long Good Friday myself, but not yet seen it. The Criterion DVD are good, but OOP prices are mostly unrealistic. Happy to have them in my collection.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I really disliked Peeping Tom to the point that I couldn't wait for it to end.

It's a shame because I admire Michael Powell.

Originally Posted by filmmusic

I agree!
It was quite a chore to sit through it..

I kinda recall that I had seen some negative reviews on this thread recently, although I couldn't recall who had chimed in.

what didn't you guys like about it?

I thought the use of color was incredible. The story was involving and accessible without being disposable. What I mean is, there was a lot of depth to the point of all of it that became apparent in the second half of the film. The extended scene with Moina Shearer dragged a tad, but after that it picked up quite a bit.

Another CC film it reminded me of was Repulsion. I'm pretty certain, Scottie, that you are very fond of that one. Of course, you can't necessarily say, "if you like this, you should like that (which, before Octagon checks in, I should point out that I do realize that I just said that in a previous post ) I thought that the "daddy issues" that were explored in PT were more interesting that what Polanski did in Repulsion.

Put another one on our scorecard, I guess, for polar opinions.

[Scottie]

Brad - I feel like I've grown distant from Polanski and his films. Chinatown and Repulsion are my two favorites by him, but I have no idea what a rewatch will do for me.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Excellent information. Thanks so much for sharing!

Question for those who organize their collections by director. Do you do this for your whole collection, or just for directors that you really enjoy and/or have a large collection of? I started to transition to this with some of my favorite directors but am unsure of how far down this particular organizational road I want to go. It felt weird enough removing Criterions from the Criterion section of my collection.

[Show spoiler]

Amazing collection.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Brad - I feel like I've grown distant from Polanski and his films. Chinatown and Repulsion are my two favorites by him, but I have no idea what a rewatch will do for me.

put Peeping Tom in your rewatch queue, too!

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

put Peeping Tom in your rewatch queue, too!

Sure, why not?

I have the following P&P films on my DVR.
-The Thief of Bagdad
-A Canterbury Tale
-A Matter of Life and Death
-The Tales of Hoffman

I also have The Red Shoes (love) and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (meh) on my rewatch list, too.

[Cochese04]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Question for those who organize their collections by director. Do you do this for your whole collection, or just for directors that you really enjoy and/or have a large collection of? I started to transition to this with some of my favorite directors but am unsure of how far down this particular organizational road I want to go. It felt weird enough removing Criterions from the Criterion section of my collection.

I thought about organizing by director once, but aborted that plan pretty quickly. Too many issues. I want Halloween and Halloween II together, but the latter wasn't directed by John Carpenter and would seem out of place in a Carpenter section. And what about Alien? Even if I wanted to separate it from the Alien sequels and put it in a Ridley Scott section, I wouldn't be able to since it's in the Alien Anthology. Same problem with the first two Terminator films, which are in the Terminator Anthology and can't very well be put into a James Cameron section.

This is why I find it much more easy to simply keep a series together: all the Aliens (I also keep the Predators, AVPs, and Prometheus with them), all the Terminators (films and TV series), all the Resident Evils (two of which were not directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, who also directed Alien vs. Predator, which is one of the sequels to Aliens, which was directed by James Cameron... see how tangled this web can get?)

I do keep my Criterions all together, though, even if it drives me slightly nuts having Godzilla (1954) missing from the kaiju section since it's up with the Criterions. It's also prevented me from having a Shakespeare section, since I want to keep Polanski's Macbeth and Throne of Blood in the Criterion section. Seeing that row of C logos on the shelf is just too satisfying.

[Ray Jackson]

I'm using this upcoming sale as an opportunity to upgrade to blu-ray on Battle of Algiers and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

...heard they both have great transfers.

[Fabs]

Anyone else here own High and Low on blu-ray?

Is it just me, but every Blu ray disc I've bought of this film has had a foggy-like ring around the center disc hub. It's really annoying. Anyone else have this problem?

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Fabs

Anyone else here own High and Low on blu-ray?

Is it just me, but every Blu ray disc I've bought of this film has had a foggy-like ring around the center disc hub. It's really annoying. Anyone else have this problem?

I haven't noticed this on mine.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Santa Barbara

Is it? I like a lot of Bob Hoskins movies and both of those are blind spots for me. Looks like I'll be importing the Arrow versions!

Loved The Long Good Friday. Mona Lisa felt like an inferior British version of Taxi Driver to me, but Hoskins is great in it. It's definitely a great set.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I haven't noticed this on mine.

Here's a picture of it. Is there a name for this problem on discs? This is the second time I've bought High and Low and it's on each disc.

[Show spoiler]

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Cochese04

I thought about organizing by director once, but aborted that plan pretty quickly. Too many issues. I want Halloween and Halloween II together, but the latter wasn't directed by John Carpenter and would seem out of place in a Carpenter section.

Why? It wasn't directed by Carpenter, but it was co-written by him (and Debra Hill), so I don't think it would be out of place. Not like, say, putting 2010 in a Stanley Kubrick section.

I wouldn't need to worry about it, though. Halloween is the only one in that series that I want, and I have the DigiBook edition, so it sits with the other DigiBooks.

This is why I find it much more easy to simply keep a series together: all the Aliens (I also keep the Predators, AVPs, and Prometheus with them)

I have Prometheus sitting next to The Alien Anthology, but as I have neither of the AVP films, I don't have qualms about keeping the Predator films separate. Well, Predator, anyway; I don't have the others.

The only "issue" I have is whether to keep series films in the series section if I only have (and only plan to have) one film in the series. like Predator or The Mummy. Seems odd, but then, at the moment, I'm including in the series section films that are currently the only films in their respective series, but there are supposed to be more coming, like Avatar and (the new) Godzilla. I just realize now that I probably should move Independence Day over to the series section.

One thing I forgot to mention in my previous organization posting is that in the series section, I have a separate section for comics-based films, sub-grouped by Marvel (sub-sub-grouped by MCU, X-Men franchise, Spider-Man franchise, etc.), DC, and Other.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Brad - I feel like I've grown distant from Polanski and his films. Chinatown and Repulsion are my two favorites by him, but I have no idea what a rewatch will do for me.

Have you seen Carnage and Venus in Fur? Venus in Fur Being the better of the two :-)

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Sure, why not?

I have the following P&P films on my DVR.
-The Thief of Bagdad
-A Canterbury Tale
-A Matter of Life and Death
-The Tales of Hoffman

I also have The Red Shoes (love) and The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (meh) on my rewatch list, too.

Not a P&P film (Powell co-directed, Pressburger wasn't involved) but one that should be on blu-ray ASAP. I'm surprised it hasn't been upgraded yet.

[Yami]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Not a P&P film (Powell co-directed, Pressburger wasn't involved) but one that should be on blu-ray ASAP. I'm surprised it hasn't been upgraded yet.

It wouldn't surprise me if Criterion are holding out for another restoration. The UK Blu-Ray is satisfactory (especially given the price) but the quality is certainly not Criterion level.