The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by EnigmaticWarrior

Hello blu-ray.com members, I've recently had the urge to check out some films from the Criterion Collection. (Don't really know why, now that I think about it. ) Anybody have any recommendations as to a single movie I could try buying and watching before I start delving deeper into this massive collection of classic/arthouse/contemporary films? Something that a "mainstream" person like me could easily sink into? I don't have any specific genres that I primarily watch (I'll watch anything that's considered good ), but I can't endure excessive violence and excessive strong language/swearing just annoys me to no end.







Still Walking definitely caught my attention when I was exploring the Criterion Collection several days ago. As someone who's been watching slice of life anime series for a while now, would this be the "safest" one, or is there something else that is even more accessible for a person like me?

Other films in the Criterion Collection that captured my attention are Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line (since Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is coming out soon, though I heard Malick's film are really divisive among moviegoers), The Seventh Seal, Seven Samurai, 8 1/2, The Red Shoes, Wings of Desire, Solaris, The Last Emperor, Yojimbo & Sanjuro, and Paths of Glory. So, any helpful recommendation(s) would be greatly appreciated, you guys.

Can't go wrong with any of those.

[ShellOilJunior]

Might wanna take a look at this lineup (potential spines for some of them not already in collection?):

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=7411

Friday, September 30th -

Zéro de conduite at 2:45 PM
Blow Out at 6:00 PM
Sweet Smell of Success at 8:15 PM
Island of Lost Souls at 10:30 PM
Quadrophenia at 12:00 AM

Saturday, October 1st -

Being John Malkovich at 12:00 PM
Putney Swope (Q&A with director Robert Downey, Sr., to follow) at 2:15 PM
The Times of Harvey Milk at 4:45 PM
The Rock at 7:00 PM
The Phantom Carriage at 9:45 PM
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas at 12:00 AM

Sunday, October 2nd -

Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines, and Mystery of Raymond Scott (Q&A with director Stan Warnow to follow) at 11:30 AM
Rushmore at 1:30 PM
The Killing at 4:15 PM
Belle de jour at 6:00 PM
12 Angry Men at 8:00 PM
TBA Film at 10:00 PM

[PowellPressburger]

Putney Swope (Q&A with director Robert Downey, Sr., to follow) at 2:15 PM

With the Criterion Closet Video w/ Robert Downey Sr - I kind of was expecting this title from Criterion.

Quadrophenia would be interesting.

[EnigmaticWarrior]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Can't go wrong with any of those.

That's great to hear.

Originally Posted by the sordid sentinel

I am a "mainstream" Criterion guy as well. From your list I own Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The Seventh Seal, Seven Samurai, and Paths of Glory. All are WELL worth the time and effort. I also highly recommend Paris, Texas.

As far as a single recommendation from your list I would start with Paths of Glory. It's the most straight forward and accessible of those you mention.

*goes to read the review of Paris, Texas here at blu-ray.com and notices it's rated R. Then goes looking around the internet to see why.* I can never understand the MPAA sometimes. There doesn't appear to be anything too objective in the movie that warrants an R-rating. Thanks for recommending that to me, the sordid sentinel.

Hmm, besides that CC sale that Barnes & Noble has every November, do any of these movies ever go on sale at all? Just curious.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Might wanna take a look at this lineup (potential spines for some of them not already in collection?):

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=7411

Friday, September 30th -

Zéro de conduite at 2:45 PM
Blow Out at 6:00 PM
Sweet Smell of Success at 8:15 PM
Island of Lost Souls at 10:30 PM
Quadrophenia at 12:00 AM

Saturday, October 1st -

Being John Malkovich at 12:00 PM
Putney Swope (Q&A with director Robert Downey, Sr., to follow) at 2:15 PM
The Times of Harvey Milk at 4:45 PM
The Rock at 7:00 PM
The Phantom Carriage at 9:45 PM
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas at 12:00 AM

Sunday, October 2nd -

Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines, and Mystery of Raymond Scott (Q&A with director Stan Warnow to follow) at 11:30 AM
Rushmore at 1:30 PM
The Killing at 4:15 PM
Belle de jour at 6:00 PM
12 Angry Men at 8:00 PM
TBA Film at 10:00 PM

Belle de Jour we knew about, but Quadrophenia would be incredible... I bet this TBA Film at 10:00 PM is the super surprise...

[ShellOilJunior]

At first when I scanned the lineup I thought I read "Deconstructing Harry" which would be freaking amazing in the collection.

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Both, plus poop eating. It's definitely not for kids.

Is that on the MPAA rating? "Rated NC-17 for swearing, excessive violence and poop eating"?

[GilliamsBrazil]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Might wanna take a look at this lineup (potential spines for some of them not already in collection?):

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=7411

[Show spoiler]Friday, September 30th -

Zéro de conduite at 2:45 PM
Blow Out at 6:00 PM
Sweet Smell of Success at 8:15 PM
Island of Lost Souls at 10:30 PM
Quadrophenia at 12:00 AM

Saturday, October 1st -

Being John Malkovich at 12:00 PM
Putney Swope (Q&A with director Robert Downey, Sr., to follow) at 2:15 PM
The Times of Harvey Milk at 4:45 PM
The Rock at 7:00 PM
The Phantom Carriage at 9:45 PM
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas at 12:00 AM

Sunday, October 2nd -

Deconstructing Dad: The Music, Machines, and Mystery of Raymond Scott (Q&A with director Stan Warnow to follow) at 11:30 AM
Rushmore at 1:30 PM
The Killing at 4:15 PM
Belle de jour at 6:00 PM
12 Angry Men at 8:00 PM
TBA Film at 10:00 PM

Being John Malkovich? Score!

[HyperRealist]

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

At first when I scanned the lineup I thought I read "Deconstructing Harry" which would be freaking amazing in the collection.

You and I are friends now.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by jcs913

Glad to hear you ordered the Park Circus releases. You will not be disappointed, until Criterion finally releases them...

You know, Altman has made so many films and some are etched in stone to the masses, but IMO Criterion certainly released one of his best. He was such a 'Hollywood' director, but this is a nice off color output. As you know Rich, I am such a fan of thought provoking films that are just 'there' and this one is the epitome of that. For others that have not seen this film, it is similar to something that you would get from David Lynch. I don't know if you still have the disc part of Netflix, but you can rent the CC dvd from them. Like I said, it is not a big downgrade from the BD.

THANKS as always for your insight John! Unfortunately, I canceled the disc portion of my NetFlix sub. But after all the good feedback about this film, I will likely add it to my Nov. sale list...if I still have enough cash by that time!

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by EnigmaticWarrior

Hello blu-ray.com members, I've recently had the urge to check out some films from the Criterion Collection. (Don't really know why, now that I think about it. ) Anybody have any recommendations as to a single movie I could try buying and watching before I start delving deeper into this massive collection of classic/arthouse/contemporary films? Something that a "mainstream" person like me could easily sink into? I don't have any specific genres that I primarily watch (I'll watch anything that's considered good ), but I can't endure excessive violence and excessive strong language/swearing just annoys me to no end.

Still Walking definitely caught my attention when I was exploring the Criterion Collection several days ago. As someone who's been watching slice of life anime series for a while now, would this be the "safest" one, or is there something else that is even more accessible for a person like me?

Other films in the Criterion Collection that captured my attention are Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line (since Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life is coming out soon, though I heard Malick's film are really divisive among moviegoers), The Seventh Seal, Seven Samurai, 8 1/2, The Red Shoes, Wings of Desire, Solaris, The Last Emperor, Yojimbo & Sanjuro, and Paths of Glory. So, any helpful recommendation(s) would be greatly appreciated, you guys.

Thin Red Line is definitely "accessible". It was a big budget Hollywood war film. However while it's accessible, I found it a bit slow and philosophical to really be believable. It was such self-reflecting philosophical overkill (rubbish) that it destroyed the suspension of disbelief or me. I felt like the script was handled by philosophy grad students or student film interns...

I'm definitely mainstream in my tastes, I just found Thin Red Line a bit... boring. Not awful by any means, and it was pretty to look at. It just wasn't anything to write home about, if you just want a good war film there are probably dozens of other options on blu-ray without having to pay extra for the Criterion edition.

Seven Samurai I think would be the "most essential" choice for me out of everything Criterion Collection has put out on blu-ray. I would get that first. Especially if you liked Magnificent Seven. Just be prepared that this masterpiece is 4:3 screen, so-so image quality, and Japanese subtitled. That was basically the film that got me looking at Criterion in the 1st place (had the 1st edition DVD).


I'm pretty "mainstream" in my tastes, these are some of my favorites (so far). All extremely accessible IMO:

Seven Samurai
Yojimbo/Sanjuro
Pale Flower (another personal favorite, was a total blind buy for me).
High and Low
Le Circle Rouge
Modern Times
Paths of Glory
If....
Kiss Me Deadly

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by KubrickFan

Is that on the MPAA rating? "Rated NC-17 for swearing, excessive violence and poop eating"?

I think it's a bit classier, like grotesque images, and materials of a sensitive nature intended for a mature audience, rather than poop eating. I think that's what Pink Flamingos says.

I kinda bowlderised it too, normally I'd call it shit eating.

[octagon]

Speaking of which, do people really grin or is that just a figure of speech?

Cause it seems like that would be really unpleasant.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by jcs913

Belle de Jour we knew about, but Quadrophenia would be incredible... I bet this TBA Film at 10:00 PM is the super surprise...

As per my comment under the story John (BTW...the very first time that I've gotten the first comment in... ), it would be a great choice and a big surprise! Do you remember if the film was in DD 5.1 when it was released on DVD? The closest I have to The Who music in multi-channel is the DVD-A of Tommy (which is phenominal on its own). I had always hoped that Quadraphenia would be released in a multi-channel mix. This might be the only shot we get at it (BTW...my FAVORITE Who album! )

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by rkish

As per my comment under the story John (BTW...the very first time that I've gotten the first comment in... ), it would be a great choice and a big surprise! Do you remember if the film was in DD 5.1 when it was released on DVD? The closest I have to The Who music in multi-channel is the DVD-A of Tommy (which is phenominal on its own). I had always hoped that Quadraphenia would be released in a multi-channel mix. This might be the only shot we get at it (BTW...my FAVORITE Who album! )

I think the original track was 2.0, but I think the Rhino dvd is 5.1, but do not remember. BTW, that Tommy DVD-A is very nice....

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Putney Swope

This and the other films of his Criterion has is in my top 3 releases they should prob release next year so far (that has been rumored, along with a Gorin Eclipse and Weekend. Funny I own 2 of these, in Swope and Weekend already though.). I love it.

[ShellOilJunior]

In RE: Being John Malkovich

I'm guessing Criterion could get an interview with Charlie Kaufman for the extras. I'm sure he'd be willing...

[EnigmaticWarrior]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

Thin Red Line is definitely "accessible". It was a big budget Hollywood war film. However while it's accessible, I found it a bit slow and philosophical to really be believable. It was such self-reflecting philosophical overkill (rubbish) that it destroyed the suspension of disbelief or me. I felt like the script was handled by philosophy grad students or student film interns...

I'm definitely mainstream in my tastes, I just found Thin Red Line a bit... boring. Not awful by any means, and it was pretty to look at. It just wasn't anything to write home about, if you just want a good war film there are probably dozens of other options on blu-ray without having to pay extra for the Criterion edition.

Seven Samurai I think would be the "most essential" choice for me out of everything Criterion Collection has put out on blu-ray. I would get that first. Especially if you liked Magnificent Seven. Just be prepared that this masterpiece is 4:3 screen, so-so image quality, and Japanese subtitled. That was basically the film that got me looking at Criterion in the 1st place (had the 1st edition DVD).


I'm pretty "mainstream" in my tastes, these are some of my favorites (so far). All extremely accessible IMO:

Seven Samurai
Yojimbo/Sanjuro
Pale Flower (another personal favorite, was a total blind buy for me).
High and Low
Le Circle Rouge
Modern Times
Paths of Glory
If....
Kiss Me Deadly

It's good to see a contrasting opinion on The Thin Red Line, since yours isn't the only one that I've seen. I guess everybody reacts to this movie a whole lot differently, depending on the individual themselves.

I'm glad to see another person recommending Seven Samurai. I do have some Blu-rays in 4:3 (Pinocchio, Snow White, Bambi, and Dumbo) and I have seen screenshots of the movie (courtesy of the website's screenshots section for the movie) so the original aspect ratio won't be an issue with me. And I've been watching movies and series with subtitles on my entire life regardless of the fact if the spoken language is English or a foreign language, so that won't be an issue with me either.

And thank you for your list of CC movies to check out, AgentOrange. It's really appreciated. I'll go look some of them up soon.

Originally Posted by Roninblues

The only one from your list that I didn't like was Days of Heaven. Still Walking is accessible for anyone and an enjoyable film. Thin Red Line is great for real-life color while The Red Shoes is good for theatrical color. Wings of Desire had me drawn into the possiblility of the film. There is plenty written on Paths of Glory and the Kurosawa films.

Thanks for your input as well, Roninblues. I'll be sure to pick up Still Walking whenever a sale occurs!

Speaking of which, (I don't know if my question earlier was overlooked, but I'll ask it again anyway) besides that CC sale that Barnes & Noble has every November, do any of these movies ever go on sale at all or are sales completely random? Just curious.

[HyperRealist]

Originally Posted by EnigmaticWarrior

Speaking of which, (I don't know if my question earlier was overlooked, but I'll ask it again anyway) besides that CC sale that Barnes & Noble has every November, do any of these movies ever go on sale at all or are sales completely random? Just curious.

Amazon has put Criterions on sale below $20 before. I'm sure Criterion will have another 50% off sale when they hit 100,000 Facebook fans.