The Criterion Collection

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

Yes, you do want to buy THE KID WITH A BIKE. It's a wonderful, touching, powerfully acted and beautiful-to-look-at film. It would make a great second feature with THE 400 BLOWS (and is at least as re-watchable as that), or with the Dardenne brothers' own LA PROMESSE (which I don't like as much). The excellent set of interviews make the film that much more rewarding (you learn how much of the script was changed during production and rehearsals).

Go for it!

haha darn it! you had to go and make things complicated by getting me excited again!
I've already cancelled it from my order and I feel better for it too.
8 Criterions is enough for me this round. Barnes and Nobles' sale is likely around the corner anyway and knowing me, I'll be weak and buy it then.

I really hate B&N though. If they didn't have 50% off sales, I would never use them. I ordered plenty of Criterion blu-ray's last year and I kid you not, about half of them arrived with broken cases.

They also arrived without stickers on the front and a couple had scuff marks on the discs when I opened them. The boxes were perfectly fine and they were well padded during delivery, indicating they just sent me returned damaged products.

I knew B&N reseal and resend off returned products. Hell, amazon does the same thing but Amazon's always come in perfect condition and if they don't, they do everything they can to resolve the situation at their own expense. B&N take half a year to reply and basically tell you to send them back (with your own money) and they'll resend new ones. It's pityful.

Ultimately I ended up just buying replacement cases and fixing things myself. It cost less than it would cost to send them back to B&N anyway.

... Those 50% off Criterion sales though *drool*. SNAP OUT OF IT! *shakes head*

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Further proof hollow escapism is all film can be to some viewers.

I absolutely adore Wendy and Lucy. It could easily have been miserablist porn, but instead Kelly Reichardt notes how much money Wendy has in her pockets at all times. The world as seen through her films is always tangible.

Side note: I know you like Brad Bevret, but didn't he pan her follow up, Meeks Cutoff. That's an incredible film which he wrote off in the same manner as Mr. & Mrs. Cat..

I like Brad, but that does not mean I agree with his reasoning (I frequently don't). Meeks Cutoff though is a film I have watched twice now and still am unsure how I feel about it.

Also all reviews from this point forward must now reference cats in some way or I will not read it.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Snicket

I like Brad, but that does not mean I agree with his reasoning (I frequently don't). Meeks Cutoff though is a film I have watched twice now and still am unsure how I feel about it.

Also all reviews from this point forward must now reference cats in some way or I will not read it.

Not to get all worked up, it's just that he often dismisses colder, more cerebral and "arty" films in favor of all things visceral and schmaltzy (In a Better World, Extremely Loud)...idea: we should start a critic discussion thread

Two paws up?

[Mansinthe]

i just wonder if there will be a "ecplise dvd" sale sometimes ?

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

i just wonder if there will be a "ecplise dvd" sale sometimes ?

Eclipse sets are generally included in Criterion sales.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

idea: we should start a critic discussion thread

I guarantee 9 out of 10 of the posts will the be 'I don't care what critics think and I never listen to them' type of posts.

[joie]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

... I knew B&N reseal and resend off returned products. Hell, amazon does the same thing ...

I've decided that the best way to get an absolutely "new" movie is to pre-order, before it's released, or to buy from a physical store, where the movie can be seen before buying. The re-wraps are usually obvious: shrinkwrap instead of cellophane, and the "factory" often gets carried away with the heatgun and warps the clear plastic over the paper artwork.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

I haven't seen Carnival of Souls in a couple of years and the one I did see, was a bizarre cut version that looked truly awful. It was so soft and smeary. Worse than a worn out VHS!
The Criterion DVD will look like Blu-ray quality by comparison lol
Really excited to check it out again.

As I said though, it was bizarrely cut. It's not an offensive movie and it's already short but they cut it to only 60 something minutes! So weird.

That's nearly a third of the film gone!

I have the odd desire to watch the colorized version one day that's available on DVD. There's just something about it that's so weird, because the film is just one of those films that needs to be in black & white, it's so much more effective that way. It's the wrongness of a color version that makes it such a curiosity to me.

I love the haunting atmosphere of it... and think it works with it better than most films of the time that I can think of. I'm also always struck by how inventive some of the editing is for this type of film. It almost makes sense that it was underrated for such a long time because of how it stands out.

[redrunner97]

I'm grabbing Videodrome today!

[UNCMT9]

Ministry of Fear arrived loosely in its case. Hope it's ok..

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by UNCMT9

Ministry of Fear arrived loosely in its case. Hope it's ok..

Yeesh. That's the worst, are there any scratches?

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

I guarantee 9 out of 10 of the posts will the be 'I don't care what critics think and I never listen to them' type of posts.

More often than not, these are the same people who will use a Rotten Tomatoes score to prove the merit of a film.

[Mansinthe]

i think ive gotten a little criterion addiction...

2 months ago i owned none of there releases and now i have 14 + 4 on the way and few of there releases from other labels...

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

i think ive gotten a little criterion addiction...

2 months ago i owned none of there releases and now i have 14 + 4 on the way and few of there releases from other labels...

Yeah, my Criterion Collection ballooned big time. It went from about 10 beloved classics to over 200...

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

i think ive gotten a little criterion addiction...

2 months ago i owned none of there releases and now i have 14 + 4 on the way and few of there releases from other labels...

yup, you've got the bug. I guess Criterion is kind of like videodrome in a way . . . to be super cheesy - bluraydome.

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

I guarantee 9 out of 10 of the posts will the be 'I don't care what critics think and I never listen to them' type of posts.

Originally Posted by brandon_260

More often than not, these are the same people who will use a Rotten Tomatoes score to prove the merit of a film.

Everyone loved to jump all over After Earth because of bad reviews, but other than that it's a stream of "Critics are worthless" comments.

[UNCMT9]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Yeesh. That's the worst, are there any scratches?

Looks flawless actually. I cleaned it up nicely so hopefully it's ok..

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Everyone loved to jump all over After Earth because of bad reviews, but other than that it's a stream of "Critics are worthless" comments.

I hadn't been following After Earth or the reviews, but after your post I went and checked out the reviews on IMDB - wow, divisive to say the least! To be honest, all the negative reviews make me kind of want to see it and check out what all the hubbub is about.

[Jett Rink]

Recently someone posted a link to a Criterion rating thread, about which one's to buy, etc. Anyone know what thread it was, I forgot.

[Visco.]

It looks like a lot of people are getting in on the amazon sale. The items all say "in stock but may take a few days to process"

I hope they find my copies..