The Criterion Collection

[stobbart]

Originally Posted by Jr7936

my last emperor dvd set came today for 7 something, in perfect shape, included all 4 discs, the outer case and the big book. I am thinking of replacing disc 1 with the blu ray version to make the complete set.

........Thats a really good idea actually, just picking this up super cheap somewhere and then putting the blu in the set

[dag]

On Thursday night I watched Pleasures of the Flesh, the first film from the Oshima's Outlaw Sixties Eclipse set. What a bleak view of human nature! Interesting little film, and not a bad use of 95 minutes of my time. Don't know if I'll rent any of the other films in the set; I would dearly love for Zip.ca to pick up Eclipse 25 for me to rent.

[Jr7936]

stobbart
Quote:
........Thats a really good idea actually, just picking this up super cheap somewhere and then putting the blu in the set

I was shocked when I saw it so low. What happened was the other guy had one for 4.99 but it was only disc 2 and right after some seller put on the complete set at a few cents lower to have the cheapest price.

[wilky61]

So how do you guys feel about The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus? I mean, of course most of you would probably say that half the films Criterion has released are must-owns so where do these must-owns rank in priority to the other must-owns?


I have many films, but I only have a couple Criterions (CCoBB & SSoS); I have films from many eras, but I only have a couple foreign films. I've been looking at these Criterion releases recently, most of which I've seen at least once in the past. I just wish they were closer to the $15-20 range....

Seven Samurai
Breathless
400 Blows
Third Man

Army of Shadows
Cercle Rouge

Days of Heaven
Thin Red Line

Red Shoes
Black Narcissus

Diabolique
Wages of Fear

So what would your priorities be? Or, which do you find yourself revisiting and marveling at most?

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by wilky61

So how do you guys feel about The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus? I mean, of course most of you would probably say that half the films Criterion has released are must-owns so where do these must-owns rank in priority to the other must-owns?


I have many films, but I only have a couple Criterions (CCoBB & SSoS); I have films from many eras, but I only have a couple foreign films. I've been looking at these Criterion releases recently, most of which I've seen at least once in the past. I just wish they were closer to the $15-20 range....

Seven Samurai
Breathless
400 Blows
Third Man

Army of Shadows
Cercle Rouge

Days of Heaven
Thin Red Line

Red Shoes
Black Narcissus

Diabolique
Wages of Fear

So what would your priorities be? Or, which do you find yourself revisiting and marveling at most?

I guess at the top of my list of Criterions would have to be The Thin Red Line, Seven Samurai and the Yojimbo/Sanjuro double. I'm now up to 11 Criterion blu-rays, but those four are the most important to me.
My copy of The Leopard is the BFI edition, but I would consider it one of the most essential films in my collection.

[Yankees0222]

Originally Posted by wilky61

So how do you guys feel about The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus? I mean, of course most of you would probably say that half the films Criterion has released are must-owns so where do these must-owns rank in priority to the other must-owns?


I have many films, but I only have a couple Criterions (CCoBB & SSoS); I have films from many eras, but I only have a couple foreign films. I've been looking at these Criterion releases recently, most of which I've seen at least once in the past. I just wish they were closer to the $15-20 range....

Seven Samurai
Breathless
400 Blows
Third Man

Army of Shadows
Cercle Rouge

Days of Heaven
Thin Red Line

Red Shoes
Black Narcissus

Diabolique
Wages of Fear

So what would your priorities be? Or, which do you find yourself revisiting and marveling at most?

I have almost all of the criterion blu releases and my favorite one has to be Charade. That movie is just so much fun to watch : ) The Red Shoes is also at the top of the list as far as I'm concerned.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by wilky61

Or, which do you find yourself revisiting and marveling at most?

I rewatch The Third Man fairly frequently. I also rewatched M a few weeks ago after a fairly long layoff and it still gets better with each viewing. It seems like such a simple story and simple style on the surface but there's an awful lot going on in that film.

I haven't rewatched most of my Criterions primarily because I've picked most of them up in the last few months. That said, Paths of Glory and Revanche will almost certainly get regular workouts.

[abintra]

On the off chance this might be a useful starting point for anyone, the following are the current releases by IMDb ratings and amount of votes.

[Show spoiler]Seven Samurai 8.8/10 104,299 votes
Paths of Glory 8.6/10 48,551 votes
M 8.6/10 43,119 votes
Third Man, The 8.5/10 54,167 votes
Modern Times 8.5/10 39,345 votes
Great Dictator, The 8.4/10 40,713 votes
Seventh Seal, The 8.4/10 40,168 votes
Yojimbo 8.4/10 31,454 votes
Times of Harvey Milk, The 8.4/10 2,457 votes
Diabolique 8.3/10 16,064 votes
Wages of Fear, The 8.3/10 15,384 votes
8½ 8.2/10 32,153 votes
Night of the Hunter, The 8.2/10 27,613 votes
400 Blows, The 8.2/10 25,996 votes
Au revoir les enfants 8.1/10 10,590 votes
Sweet Smell of Success 8.2/10 9,349 votes
Red Shoes, The 8.2/10 9,000 votes
Charade 8.1/10 23,545 votes
Sanjuro 8.1/10 9,132 votes
Army of Shadows 8.1/10 5,829 votes
Cercle rouge, Le 8.1/10 5,533 votes
Close-Up 8.1/10 2,216 votes
For All Mankind 8.1/10 1,461 votes
Breathless 8.0/10 22,314 votes
Solaris 8.0/10 20,864 votes
Wings of Desire 8.0/10 20,468 votes
Chungking Express 8.0/10 17,898 votes
Paris, Texas 8.0/10 17,338 votes
Days of Heaven 8.0/10 13,462 votes
Black Narcissus 8.0/10 7,380 votes
Leopard, The 8.0/10 6,969 votes
Vivre sa vie 8.0/10 5,064 votes
Last Emperor, The 7.9/10 25,603 votes
Stagecoach 7.9/10 15,330 votes
Amarcord 7.9/10 13,792 votes
Repulsion 7.9/10 13,761 votes
Kagemusha 7.9/10 11,913 votes
Yi Yi 7.9/10 6,403 votes
Last Year at Marienbad 7.9/10 5,876 votes
Playtime 7.9/10 5,508 votes
Norte, El 7.9/10 2,226 votes
Still Walking 7.9/10 1,955 votes
Monterey Pop 7.9/10 1,151 votes
Double Life of Véronique, The 7.8/10 11,184 votes
Crumb 7.8/10 7,287 votes
Smiles of a Summer Night 7.8/10 4,533 votes
Gimme Shelter 7.8/10 4,031 votes
Pale Flower 7.8/10 373 votes
Walkabout 7.7/10 7,383 votes
Shock Corridor 7.7/10 2,928 votes
Magician, The 7.7/10 2,343 votes
Senso 7.7/10 1,459 votes
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas 7.6/10 86,285 votes
Hunger 7.6/10 9,484 votes
Pierrot le fou 7.6/10 7,137 votes
Kes 7.6/10 5,108 votes
Revanche 7.6/10 4,213 votes
Red Desert 7.6/10 3,238 votes
Thin Red Line, The 7.5/10 64,742 votes
Black Orpheus 7.5/10 3,660 votes
Everlasting Moments 7.5/10 1,854 votes
House 7.5/10 1,766 votes
Bigger Than Life 7.5/10 1,729 votes
Howards End 7.4/10 11,044 votes
Mystery Train 7.4/10 8,165 votes
Fish Tank 7.4/10 7,988 votes
Last Metro, The 7.4/10 4,229 votes
Secret of the Grain, The 7.4/10 2,475 votes
Naked Kiss, The 7.4/10 2,107 votes
Videodrome 7.3/10 21,454 votes
Che 7.3/10 13,097 votes
Lola Montès 7.3/10 1,650 votes
Darjeeling Limited, The 7.2/10 50,940 votes
Bottle Rocket 7.2/10 22,823 votes
Monsoon Wedding 7.2/10 11,542 votes
Blow Out 7.2/10 10,643 votes
Topsy-Turvy 7.2/10 6,334 votes
Broadcast News 7.1/10 10,901 votes
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence 7.1/10 4,732 votes
Christmas Tale, A 7.1/10 2,805 votes
Summer Hours 7.1/10 2,355 votes
White Material 7.1/10 999 votes
Gomorrah 7.0/10 16,559 votes
Mikado, The 6.9/10 163 votes
Sweetie 6.8/10 1,192 votes
Antichrist 6.7/10 25,189 votes
Cronos 6.7/10 6,831 votes
Man Who Fell to Earth, The 6.7/10 6,818 votes
Ride with the Devil 6.7/10 6,764 votes
In the Realm of the Senses 6.6/10 5,967 votes
Something Wild 6.6/10 5,557 votes
Robinson Crusoe on Mars 6.6/10 2,105 votes
Fat Girl 6.4/10 4,307 votes

America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
-Last Picture Show, The 8.1/10 16,186 votes
-Five Easy Pieces 7.5/10 12,523 votes
-Easy Rider 7.3/10 34,110 votes
-King of Marvin Gardens, The 6.4/10 1,695 votes
-Head 6.1/10 2,666 votes
-Drive, He Said 5.9/10 274 votes
-Safe Place, A 5.7/10 167 votes
By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volumes 1 and 2
Complete Monterey Pop Festival, The

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by stobbart

I have never seen a Bertolucci film all the way through. Seen most of The Conformist and thats about it.

I saw The Conformist tonight as a double with The Garden Of The Finzi-Continis.
Would love to have a copy of The Conformist on blu-ray.

[kazama]

Just finished watching Still Walking and guys, this movie is incredibly awesome! It was the second movie I've seen from Kore-eda, Dare mo shiranai was the first (which I highly recommend by the way), but I will definitely check his other movies.

[BasicGreatGuy]

Originally Posted by kazama

Just finished watching Still Walking and guys, this movie is incredibly awesome! It was the second movie I've seen from Kore-eda, Dare mo shiranai was the first (which I highly recommend by the way), but I will definitely check his other movies.

Another thumbs up for "Still Walking." Glad to read that. I am eagerly awaiting for it to arrive at the end of the week (hopefully).

[Gremal]

"Most watchable" Criterion in terms of repeat viewing I would say is Third Man.

[Jr7936]

just ordered still walking since it was in my gold box and I used some amazon.com promotional credits that I applied to star wars but i figured I have 6 months to decide about it. I also saw senso for the 1st time last night, it was very good and very slow moving but kept my interest for the entire film

[tfunk]

Originally Posted by Gremal

"Most watchable" Criterion in terms of repeat viewing I would say is Third Man.

I could not agree more with that statement. I'm still watching so many Criterions from the B&N sale and now this latest Criterion sale, but once I'm finally caught up, The Third Man is getting the first rewatching.

[wilky61]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I'm curious if the way you blocked the titles above indicates your order of preference in the films, because I always say that you should make purchases based on what YOU will enjoy and rewatch. Recommendations are fine, but I basically know what my next dozen or so Criterion purchases will be (upcoming announcements notwithstanding), and no amount of championing of, say, The Thin Red Line will make it more of a priority for me to pick up. (Not to say I don't like recommendations, just that I have a backlog on my wantlist as it is.)

That said, I know lots of people want to blind-buy and/or collect so I made some notes above. Of your list, I would seriously recommend you go buy The Third Man now as it seems to be getting more and more expensive on the aftermarket.

The Criterions I rewatch the most are Paris, Texas, The Third Man, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Last Year at Marienbad, Pierrot Le Fou and Vivre Sa Vie.

The short answer to your question is that I did not clump them according to my preference (but simply according to director). But you address the battle I have when deciding whether or not to buy Criterions. It's always this three-way war of how much the film costs vs. how much I actually enjoy the film vs. how much I just feel "compelled" to add it my collection of fine cinema (also keep in mind the potential that I enjoy the film in the future more than I currently do).

But to get back to the idea of ranking my list... in general my favorites are toward the bottom of the list, not the top. Seven Samurai. Breathless. 400 Blows. I've seen each of these films 1-2 times in the past (~3 years back), and they've never really spoken to me personally although they're considered the most "essential" or "important." Then toward the bottom of the list, I'm crazy about JP Melville's style, and I think the Clouzot films are pretty nasty (with Diabolique probably having the greater rewatchability). The films off the list that I've never seen are the Powells and the Malicks.

I've always had a very odd, perhaps even problematic, relationship with the Criterion Collection, though. I always seem to like the films that aren't the most salient. My favorite Kurosawa is easily Drunken Angel. My favorite Godard is Alphaville or possibly Pierrot Le Fou. Like I said, I think Melville's films are deftly crafted, but he flies pretty low under the radar most of the time whereas I typically avoid Fellini/Bergman like the plague. Rushmore and Sullivan's Travels and Ace in the Hole and La Jetee are probably my other CC favorites. And Jules et Jim for one that people have actually heard of.

On the subject of The Third Man, I disliked the first time I saw it when I was still in high school primarily due to that grating zither, but it has been growing on me in memory and stature ever since even though I don't think I've rewatched it in its entirety. For instance, I would cite the 5-minute "ferris wheel" scene in this movie as one of my top three all-time scenes. And watching certain CC films that rely heavily on presentation/visual elements in spectacular high-definition could positively affect my perspective on the film. Anyway, it appears to be going currently for $70. Anyone know if that's a reasonable price relative to its recent price-point?

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by wilky61

So how do you guys feel about The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus? I mean, of course most of you would probably say that half the films Criterion has released are must-owns so where do these must-owns rank in priority to the other must-owns?


I have many films, but I only have a couple Criterions (CCoBB & SSoS); I have films from many eras, but I only have a couple foreign films. I've been looking at these Criterion releases recently, most of which I've seen at least once in the past. I just wish they were closer to the $15-20 range....

Seven Samurai arguably the greatest film of all-time, looks great on blu and has an excellent package of materials
Breathless some love it, many hate it. It's not one of my favorite Godard's, but I still enjoy it and I'm glad I own it.
400 Blows arguably the greatest film ever about childhood and just an excellent film
Third Man highly entertaining and great use of black and white photography and shadows

Army of Shadows one word: atmosphere. one of my favorite films ever
Cercle Rouge a "cool" film and it's Melville.

Days of Heaven I'm biased because Malick is my favorite director and I wrote my thesis on him. Many critics call this the most beautifully filmed movie of all-time. Their sentiment is echoed by myself. The story grows on me each time I watch it, and I've seen it dozens of times.
Thin Red Line easily the best Criterion yet in terms of PQ and AQ. Enough said.

Red Shoes influential but not a fan
Black Narcissus hate it

Diabolique love the film--the last half hour is masterfully shot.
Wages of Fear a film I should've loved but thought was merely okay. there's tension throughout, but when the characters are so unlikeable, it greatly diminishes the effect.

So what would your priorities be? Or, which do you find yourself revisiting and marveling at most?

Personally, I can't stand Black Narcissus and it might just be my least favorite Criterion on blu. Mind you, I'm in the minority with that view. My other thoughts are above.

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by wilky61

On the subject of The Third Man, I disliked the first time I saw it when I was still in high school primarily due to that grating zither, but it has been growing on me in memory and stature ever since even though I don't think I've rewatched it in its entirety. For instance, I would cite the 5-minute "ferris wheel" scene in this movie as one of my top three all-time scenes. And watching certain CC films that rely heavily on presentation/visual elements in spectacular high-definition could positively affect my perspective on the film. Anyway, it appears to be going currently for $70. Anyone know if that's a reasonable price relative to its recent price-point?

The Third Man for $70 is at the low end of what I've seen it going for on the likes of eBay and such. I might have to just bite down and get it pretty soon before the prices just become outlandish.

As for your other Criterion concerns, I'd go for what you're going to enjoy the most. It's your collection, these are movies that you'll want to watch and re-watch. That's what I do.

[Gremal]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

The Third Man for $70 is at the low end of what I've seen it going for on the likes of eBay and such. I might have to just bite down and get it pretty soon before the prices just become outlandish.

As for your other Criterion concerns, I'd go for what you're going to enjoy the most. It's your collection, these are movies that you'll want to watch and re-watch. That's what I do.

Agreed on all counts, Cinemach...even your sig line. I've been dying to see LoA and Chinatown on BD for years.

[wilky61]

Originally Posted by Gremal

Agreed on all counts, Cinemach...even your sig line. I've been dying to see LoA and Chinatown on BD for years.

Of course I'm on board with those suggestions, but I feel pretty confident those are going to get big-time releases (Vertigo is another). I'm holding out for films like The Conformist, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and Aguirre: Wrath of God () to receive (hopefully) amazing restorations/presentations.

Also, with regard to the above discussion, I'm leaning toward adding Third Man/Thin Red Line to my collection at this time and holding off on the rest.

[Gremal]

Well you guys know what I preordered in the THANKS window: Au Revoir Les Enfants and Solaris. Looking forward to both.

So many Criterions are attractive and impeccably produced, but the fact is I've only watched most of the ones in my collection once. Compared to even the Pixars I own that get tons of repeat viewing by me, my fiancee and other family, that is a poor track record!