The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I gave Easy Rider a spin last night. It was the 3rd or 4th time I've seen it. It's funny because the first time I saw it I was a bit underwhelmed and

[Show spoiler]and was happy when Fonda and Hopper got blasted in the end.

The more I see the film the more I love it. Strangely part of it has to do with going through a phase where I grew my hair much longer than ever before (Although not nearly as long as Hopper's but maybe as long as Fonda's in the picture). Another part of it is my affinity for road movies, the desert and anything with Hendrix and Dylan mixed in

When I first saw Easy Rider, I had a hard time keeping a straight face during the first third, because of the hippie vernacular has been parodied so many times since then. I kept thinking about the "Hey man, is that Freedom Rock? Well, turn it up man!" line from the old commercial back in the 1980s.

When Jack Nicholson appeared, however, the movie snapped me to attention. His character lends a real pathos and tragedy to the story, because he seems to represent the rational middle ground that sometimes does not have much of a chance between two polarized extremes.

I have still felt the same way during subsequent viewings, but I've grown to appreciate the flow of the early sequences of the film more than I did during my initial viewing.

America Lost and Found: The BBS Story is such a tremendous set. I do not love every film in that set, but I think that, as a whole entity, the BBS catalogue has made me understand the 1960s in a way that no other films have.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

America Lost and Found: The BBS Story is such a tremendous set. I do not love every film in that set, but I think that, as a whole entity, the BBS catalogue has made me understand the 1960s in a way that no other films have.

Agreed. It's a great set even with the ballast that is Drive, He Said/A Safe Place. I don't know what the hell Criterion was thinking giving those two films spines when they should have been extras.

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Any reason to believe that? I haven't seen/read anything from Criterion indicating that.

There was a post on Criterion's website exposing that that they were phasing out all dual format. The post explained the reasons why, in brief.
Personally I like the dual format releases but I'm not a huge fan of the but digipaks, I prefer the three-disc plastic cases.

http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3195-re-format

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Agreed. It's a great set even with the ballast that is Drive, He Said/A Safe Place. I don't know what the hell Criterion was thinking giving those two films spines when they should have been extras.

Yeah I agree, especially A Safe Place, that one isn't that great. At least Drive, He Said is mildly entertaining and directed by Jack.
The set is fantastic though, a real standout, a must-own.

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by starman15317

The masses were wrong with Forrest Gump, but that's the only big thing I see when looking at films considered to be classics.

I really like Forrest Jump, and I think a lot of the internet hate is because it beat Pulp Fiction to the Best Picture Oscar. I also really like Tom Hanks acting, he is one of the best. But to each his own...

[StLouisRibs]

Hm. So presumably The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind will come in a digipak-style thing (due to its being labeled as a "box set" on the website) and the Les Blank set in a 3-disc Scanovo (due to its lack of such a label)?

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

There was a post on Criterion's website exposing that that they were phasing out all dual format. The post explained the reasons why, in brief.
Personally I like the dual format releases but I'm not a huge fan of the but digipaks, I prefer the three-disc plastic cases.

http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/3195-re-format

I had seen that, I just didn't read it as anything being rereleased. Seemed to only be referring to future releases.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

I really like Forrest Jump, and I think a lot of the internet hate is because it beat Pulp Fiction to the Best Picture Oscar. I also really like Tom Hanks acting, he is one of the best. But to each his own...

I've never had a problem with Forrest Gump. It's a fun and engaging film that gets a lot of mileage from the concept of an innocent person growing up in an America that is losing its innocence. I personally think that Gary Sinise has the best role of the film, but Tom Hanks and the others all shine as well. This movie brings a smile to my face as long as I don't overthink it.

I would not be surprised to see this one picked up as a Criterion title in a couple of decades, if there is still a Criterion Collection by then. I can see Forrest Gump being a charming film in decades to come that future viewers instinctively pull for, in the same way that today's audiences pull for a film like Marty (1955).

That said, I would have voted The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, or Quiz Show as a Best Picture winner over Forrest Gump. 1994 was quite a strong year in terms of nominations.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Agreed. It's a great set even with the ballast that is Drive, He Said/A Safe Place. I don't know what the hell Criterion was thinking giving those two films spines when they should have been extras.

Wellllllllllll, yes and no. I haven't watched Drive, He Said yet but for all its issues (and they are legion) I think in the context of a BBS set A Safe Place is more than ballast or filler.

Murder ala Mod is definitely an extra to me. It doesn't really bring anything of its own to the table. It just fleshes DePalma out a little.

Killer's Kiss is a closer call. I don't think it really needed its own spine but I don't know that I would have argued too much had it gotten one.

If the purpose (or at least one of the purposes) of a BBS set is to tell the story of BBS then I think Drive, He Said and A Safe Place both bring something to the table beyond simple filler. For better or for worse, they're part of the story.

[The Great Owl]

I really like Drive, He Said. A lot of my affinity for this movie comes from the fact that my father coached high school football and basketball during the late 1960s and through the 1970s. I was not alive during the 1960s, but I sense that this film was more authentic than most in terms of capturing the vibe of the college scene during the Vietnam era.

A Safe Place is all over the map, and it's one of my least favorite Criterion titles, but I warmed up to a few aspects of the film more than most. It's a visually interesting movie during several scenes, and there were a handful of endearing moments (I like the discussion of phone numbers.).

[salad]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I had seen that, I just didn't read it as anything being rereleased. Seemed to only be referring to future releases.

I may be mistaken, but I thought I read that 'Foreign Correspondent' will soon be reissued in a blu-ray only edition in plastic case. The presumption is that other dual format digipaks will similarly be reissued as their initial print runs are sold through.

Also Criterion non dual format digipaks have apparently been replaced with plastic versions like 'Night of the Hunter.'

[shadedpain4]

I know someone mentioned the best buy sale earlier, but two pre-order titles that did not come up for me on the list using the sale link, are also $19.99:

Y Tu Mama Tambien
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

[atlantajoseph]

Originally Posted by salad

I may be mistaken, but I thought I read that 'Foreign Correspondent' will soon be reissued in a blu-ray only edition in plastic case. The presumption is that other dual format digipaks will similarly be reissued as their initial print runs are sold through.

Yep, this was the basis of my comments. FWIW, YMMV, grain of salt and such.

[atlantajoseph]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I know someone mentioned the best buy sale earlier, but two pre-order titles that did not come up for me on the list using the sale link, are also $19.99:

Y Tu Mama Tambien
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

Good catch on Tie Me Up, thanks. Tu Mama has already been price-matched by Amazon.

[CBHampson]

I would just like to say thanks to anyone in here who ever recommended Harakiri, or mentioned that it was their favorite samurai film.

I purchased it a few weeks ago, watched it tonight, and was FLOORED.

Incredible. A masterpiece in every sense of the word. The rare film that utterly transcends it's genre.

10/10

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by atlantajoseph

I believe they are phasing out the existing dual-format packages in favor of separate releases. Although I'm not passionate either way, I do think that the dual-format releases offer extra value and are just kinda cool ... so I'm glad I got the titles I wanted before they are separated into DVD and BD exclusives.

Why do you believe that? I mean, sure, it's going to happen eventually, but not for a while. They aren't likely to be flooding the market with separate releases if they have a large stock of the dual-format on hand.

Back when they went for the dual-format, the idea was that they'd transitiom older titles to DF when the stocks of the separate BD and DVD copies got low enough. There's no reason to believe that the same isn't true going back the other way.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by octagon

Wellllllllllll, yes and no. I haven't watched Drive, He Said yet but for all its issues (and they are legion) I think in the context of a BBS set A Safe Place is more than ballast or filler.

I encourage you to watch it at least once then watch Jack's interview.

[myka22]

Originally Posted by CBHampson

I would just like to say thanks to anyone in here who ever recommended Harakiri, or mentioned that it was their favorite samurai film.

I purchased it a few weeks ago, watched it tonight, and was FLOORED.

Incredible. A masterpiece in every sense of the word. The rare film that utterly transcends it's genre.

10/10

I had the same reaction the first time I saw it. It truly is a special movie.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I encourage you to watch it at least once then watch Jack's interview.

I plan to watch it if only so I can finally mark the set as watched and knock my unwatched movies total down by seven. That might not sound like much of a motivator but I'm having a hell of a time just holding serve around 390 unwatched

[octagon]

Originally Posted by CBHampson

I would just like to say thanks to anyone in here who ever recommended Harakiri, or mentioned that it was their favorite samurai film.

I purchased it a few weeks ago, watched it tonight, and was FLOORED.

Incredible. A masterpiece in every sense of the word. The rare film that utterly transcends it's genre.

10/10

Harakiri had me walking away in that oh so pleasant 'omg, best movie ever' afterglow. It definitely had an impact.

And here's a stream of consciousness recommendation: I had a very similar reaction to Pale Flower. Aside from being b&w and Japanese they really have very little in common other than the fact that they both hit me in a very, very similar way.