The Criterion Collection

[AgentOrange]

I just watched Anatomy of a Murder tonight.

It was pretty good, but I expected alot more.

Even though I'm a legal lay-person, I just couldn't get past how unrealistic the courtroom behavior of the attorneys seemed to be throughout. How many times would there have been a mistrial if those outbursts had been taking place in a real courtroom either then, or now. Considering the book was written by a judge, and supposedly everything aimed for "realism", perhaps that judge was a bit too liberal on the bench

I also found it a bit odd for the lawyers to be asking so many leading questions, almost testifying themselves rather than asking the witnesses. Basically stuff that is usually saved for the closing arguments. Yet at the end of the film the choice was made to not include a scene portraying closing arguments. Maybe it's a bit "cliche" in a courtroom drama to have the big star of the film deliver the overdramatic closing argument, but the ending of this film was just very... underwhelming to me and I found that choice to be a bit strange.

[zeroman987]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

I just watched Anatomy of a Murder tonight.

It was pretty good, but I expected alot more.

Even though I'm a legal lay-person, I just couldn't get past how unrealistic the courtroom behavior of the attorneys seemed to be throughout. How many times would there have been a mistrial if those outbursts had been taking place in a real courtroom either then, or now. Considering the book was written by a judge, and supposedly everything aimed for "realism", perhaps that judge was a bit too liberal on the bench

I also found it a bit odd for the lawyers to be asking so many leading questions, almost testifying themselves rather than asking the witnesses. Basically stuff that is usually saved for the closing arguments. Yet at the end of the film the choice was made to not include a scene portraying closing arguments. Maybe it's a bit "cliche" in a courtroom drama to have the big star of the film deliver the overdramatic closing argument, but the ending of this film was just very... underwhelming to me and I found that choice to be a bit strange.

Lawyers are allowed to ask leading questions on cross-examination. In fact, the whole point of cross-examination is for the lawyer to get his story out. You can tell this by the position the lawyer takes. On direct, the lawyer will stand towards the back of the court room - near or behind his table. This draws attention to the witness and allows them to tell their story uninterrupted. In contrast, on cross, the lawyer will move closer to the witness and in full view of the jury. He/she wants to be the center of attention. It doesn't really matter what the witnesses says (one of two things - yes or no), it only matters what the lawyer says. They don't necessarily want to show the witness is lying or being untruthful, rather they want the jury to hear their version of the truth.

Also, "outbursts" used to happen relatively frequently in courtrooms (and in some places they are still fairly common, especially in family law cases). I can't really comment on the outburst in the film because it has been forever since I last saw it. Mistrials are pretty rare though. It takes really egregious behavior to get a mistrial.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by zeroman987

Lawyers are allowed to ask leading questions on cross-examination. In fact, the whole point of cross-examination is for the lawyer to get his story out. You can tell this by the position the lawyer takes. On direct, the lawyer will stand towards the back of the court room - near or behind his table. This draws attention to the witness and allows them to tell their story uninterrupted. In contrast, on cross, the lawyer will move closer to the witness and in full view of the jury. He/she wants to be the center of attention. It doesn't really matter what the witnesses says (one of two things - yes or no), it only matters what the lawyer says. They don't necessarily want to show the witness is lying or being untruthful, rather they want the jury to hear their version of the truth.

Also, "outbursts" used to happen relatively frequently in courtrooms (and in some places they are still fairly common, especially in family law cases). I can't really comment on the outburst in the film because it has been forever since I last saw it. Mistrials are pretty rare though. It takes really egregious behavior to get a mistrial.

Thank you for the insight.

I guess I just felt that the behavior was TOO egregious between Jimmy Stewart and prosecutor. I suppose regardless of era it would depend on the particular judge and courtroom, so it's always up for interpretation.

I guess it will be one of those films I have to watch again when I'm in the mood for it. Even though I enjoyed it overall, I really was annoyed at times during the courtroom scenes, and then the ending of the film was a bit blasé as well.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

I just watched Anatomy of a Murder tonight.

It was pretty good, but I expected alot more.

Even though I'm a legal lay-person, I just couldn't get past how unrealistic the courtroom behavior of the attorneys seemed to be throughout. How many times would there have been a mistrial if those outbursts had been taking place in a real courtroom either then, or now. Considering the book was written by a judge, and supposedly everything aimed for "realism", perhaps that judge was a bit too liberal on the bench

I also found it a bit odd for the lawyers to be asking so many leading questions, almost testifying themselves rather than asking the witnesses. Basically stuff that is usually saved for the closing arguments. Yet at the end of the film the choice was made to not include a scene portraying closing arguments. Maybe it's a bit "cliche" in a courtroom drama to have the big star of the film deliver the overdramatic closing argument, but the ending of this film was just very... underwhelming to me and I found that choice to be a bit strange.

I think Anatomy of a Murder holds up pretty well even by current standards but by the standards of its time it was very realistic. Courtroom dramas (and even police procedurals) that pay more than lip service to rules of evidence and procedure are relatively recent developments (thanks in no small part to the likes of William Kennedy Smith and Orenthal James Simpson). Surprise witnesses, dramatic outbursts, extreme badgering by attorneys, obvious hearsay testimony...these were all pretty much staples at the time and AoaM showed a lot of restraint by comparison.

As for closing arguments, somebody like Frank Capra might have gone with a (melo)dramatic close but I think Preminger was right to just skip it entirely. There was little to be gained by summarizing what the audience had already seen and the film wasn't about the outcome of the trial anyway. It really wasn't even about the trial itself...it was about the various people involved.

A somewhat anticlimactic 'life just goes on' ending was actually kind of perfect.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by rkish

That is sort of why I'm waiting on Pigs and Battleships...with my luck I'll buy the MoC version and Criterion will decide to release it.

I bought the MoC version of Pigs and Battleships and Citerion still haven't announced it

[Brian_]

Anyone have any luck replacing a defective disc thru Criterion? Unfortunately I ordered back in October and I just got around to watching it, so I can't return it to Amazon.

The disc (The Seventh Seal) just stops playing 1 hour and 20 minutes into the film, verified on 3 different players. The disc is in perfect condition.

There is a help section on Criterion which tells me to e-mail mulvaney@criterion.com if you have a defective disc, but I haven't gotten a response. So I just wanted to see what other people's experiences were before ordering a new copy.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by Brian_

Anyone have any luck replacing a defective disc thru Criterion? Unfortunately I ordered back in October and I just got around to watching it, so I can't return it to Amazon.

The disc (The Seventh Seal) just stops playing 1 hour and 20 minutes into the film, verified on 3 different players. The disc is in perfect condition.

There is a help section on Criterion which tells me to e-mail mulvaney@criterion.com if you have a defective disc, but I haven't gotten a response. So I just wanted to see what other people's experiences were before ordering a new copy.

Give Criterion a week or so to respond by e-mail. If you get no response by then, you can either try resending the e-mail to the Jon Mulvaney e-mail address you listed above or try contacting them through the 'orders' e-mail address or their phone number, if you can still find it buried in this thread somewhere. I had a similar issue in the past with The Steel Helmet DVD from the Sam Fuller Eclipse set that I had sitting around for a while and Criterion had no issue with sending me a replacement. The disc played fine on one of three blu-ray/DVD players, but it had stopping/stuttering issues on the other two. I had to send in the defective disc and Criterion sent me a replacement, which had no issues playing. Definitely don't order a new copy, though, because Criterion will take care of it.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

I'd LOVE to see 'Basketball Diaries'

I have this film on BD (forgot the distribution company) and it is a remarkable release AQ/PQ wise.

Great film too, btw.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by Brian_

Anyone have any luck replacing a defective disc thru Criterion? Unfortunately I ordered back in October and I just got around to watching it, so I can't return it to Amazon.

The disc (The Seventh Seal) just stops playing 1 hour and 20 minutes into the film, verified on 3 different players. The disc is in perfect condition.

There is a help section on Criterion which tells me to e-mail mulvaney@criterion.com if you have a defective disc, but I haven't gotten a response. So I just wanted to see what other people's experiences were before ordering a new copy.

I know ccfixx already responded, but to add to his response, CC is a great company to work with for their customer service.

Although I had to email them more than once (just re-sent the email, didn't get snippy or anything), I was able to send in my "skipping" copy of In the Realm of the Senses along with my Three Colors disc for a replacement.

When Jon responded, he said he would make a note by my email that I am to receive a replacement and to send them both in.

Got them back a week later and the replacement "...Senses" disc works just fine.

Just be patient with them...

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

If you want to watch it in its native Czech without subtitles, it's on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT6x7...ature=youtu.be

The stills I've seen and the little bit that I've watched look great. It'll be the first film I watch once I crack that set open.

Thanks. Alot of Czech films are up on there.

I recommend (if it's still up, I can't seem to find it at the moment) Oldřich Lipský's Happy End (which the film literally plays in reverse) and Daisies director Věra Chytilová's Fruit of Paradise (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygOPE...ature=youtu.be). These 2 looks like they won't be released by Criterion.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Brian_

Anyone have any luck replacing a defective disc thru Criterion? Unfortunately I ordered back in October and I just got around to watching it, so I can't return it to Amazon.

The disc (The Seventh Seal) just stops playing 1 hour and 20 minutes into the film, verified on 3 different players. The disc is in perfect condition.

There is a help section on Criterion which tells me to e-mail mulvaney@criterion.com if you have a defective disc, but I haven't gotten a response. So I just wanted to see what other people's experiences were before ordering a new copy.

This is what I've done with a damaged shipment:

1. mail the disk to Mulvaney and include your email address.
2 He emailed me when he got it and said the replacement was on its way

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I was just snooping around Hulu because Criterion are supposedly hosting some free films there tied to the Oscars.

I noticed Bitter Rice and Alice In The Cities are up there, so I guess they really will come to Blu-ray soon (and the Wenders set isn't a fantasy after all). Week End and Le Havre have been up there for a bit as well.

I also noticed a few titles "expiring," which I found weird, because I thought the idea was to keep as much of the catalog always-accessible on Hulu Plus. The expiring titles I noticed are Breathless, The Circus and The Exterminating Angel. Any who subscribes to Hulu - do titles come and go like this?

EDIT: Never mind, I think the expiring titles are currently free to watch and are going back to subscriber-only when they expire.

So Joe...if you have the Hulu Plus app and are not a member, you can watch some of these films for "free"? I just added the app to my Wii and it would be great to watch some freebies before getting a trial.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by octagon

I'm not a prime member and my Anatomy of a Murder/World on a Wire order just went into shipping soon which nowadays is pretty good for Super Saver shipping.

Of course, 'soon' could still turn out to be Weds or Thurs.

Or early Friday.

Still, at seventeen bucks each I can't really complain, I guess.

Or can I.......

[P@t_Mtl]

Watched episode 1 of The Age Of The Medici last night. Was fun to see it again after such a long time. The image quality is not bad for a DVD. I had forgotten the style into which is was made however, it's rather funny. Rossellini made these more for education purposes than drama and entertainement so when you first watch it seem a bit strange. Once you just let yourself get into it, you quickly forget the rather drab acting and just follow what is going on. My wife however did fall asleep next to me

I am looking forward to seeing the other two movies on this set, never seen them before.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by octagon

Or early Friday.

Still, at seventeen bucks each I can't really complain, I guess.

Or can I.......

Don't feel bad. DHL is still claiming AoaM is in New Jersey, while Canada Post is claiming it arrived in Ontario last night. I'm not seeing my copy until next Saturday, as that will be the next time I see the 'rents. Also, the bloody public transit system is still on strike here, and Amazon.ca still haven't put up the May Criterion pre-orders yet.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Don't feel bad. DHL is still claiming AoaM is in New Jersey, while Canada Post is claiming it arrived in Ontario last night. I'm not seeing my copy until next Saturday, as that will be the next time I see the 'rents. Also, the bloody public transit system is still on strike here, and Amazon.ca still haven't put up the May Criterion pre-orders yet.

I was surprised that mine actually shipped on the release date and got here on the release date.

[ParticleDan]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Don't feel bad. DHL is still claiming AoaM is in New Jersey, while Canada Post is claiming it arrived in Ontario last night. I'm not seeing my copy until next Saturday, as that will be the next time I see the 'rents. Also, the bloody public transit system is still on strike here, and Amazon.ca still haven't put up the May Criterion pre-orders yet.

How'd you check the status with Canada Post?

[SpiderBaby]

Great news, Saura's Peppermint Frappé is on Hulu. Hopefully Criterion releases this ASAP, Janus has had it for a while.

[Monty70]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

Great news, Saura's Peppermint Frappé is on Hulu. Hopefully Criterion releases this ASAP, Janus has had it for a while.

I really enjoyed Cria Cuervos, so I will have to check this out.

[capnnarcolepsy]

Originally Posted by rkish

Well...I did just order Vengeance Is Mine...I was leaning toward The Insect Woman, but a number of posters recommended Vengeance and this was the last day to get it for £10.99...

I bit on Vengeance is Mine as well. My first MOC (of many to come, I'm sure)! I REALLY wanted the Repo Man steelbook too, but with SXSW coming up, I can't spend like I want to. Hopefully it'll be around for a while.

On the Criterion side of things, I just finished watching "Design for Living" a bit ago and it was absolutely wonderful. The kind of film that I feel I could watch at any time, regardless of mood. It's got a wonderful charm about it. Glad to have it and I highly recommend it.