The Criterion Collection

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by spanky87

Has anyone seen Pickup on South Street? Is it a good film-noir?

I love Sam Fuller and POSS is one of his best.

[spanky87]

Originally Posted by retablo

You can't go wrong with Sam Fuller.

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Very good

Originally Posted by jrsl76

I love Sam Fuller and POSS is one of his best.

Silly me, I didn't even realize he directed it. Just saw Niagara and discovered Jean Peters and wanted to see something else she did. I'll definitely check it out now since I really like Shock Corridor, and absolutely love Naked Kiss (the only two of his I've seen so far).

[BohemianGraham]

Kinda surprised more people didn't try to talk about the past few new releases, other than how excited they were to see Rashomon and Brazil.

I haven't watched Purple Noon yet, as I've been trying to slog through the last two books of A Song of Ice and fire. The first three were exciting and interesting, but the 4th thus far has been rather dull.I'm thinking of taking a break to watch Purple Noon. I'm soliciting opinions o. It.

Also, the website seems to be booked and won't Let me go to the next page of posts, so I'm seeing if thus post will do it.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by Grethiwha

Hello Blu-ray.com Criterion community. I need somewhere on the internet to share my enthusiasm for that Kobayashi set. So excited! The only thing that could make it better was if it was blu-ray. Or included more films. Come to think of it, that Pierre Etaix collection is the same price even though it's blu-ray and contains 5 films and is a proper release with special features and stuff. What the hell? Well that's okay cause I'm in romantic love with Criterion at the moment. The four previously available Kobayashi films are some of my favourite films. And now they've just doubled the amount of available Kobayashi. Lemme break it down.

[Show spoiler]So Criterion seems to have hand-picked the most interesting films from Kobayashi's early period. The set is called "Masaki Kobayashi Against the System". His first feature film "The Thick-Walled Room" from 1953, featured on this set, was considered controversial at the time for its politically-charged subject matter and went unreleased until 1957. Between 1953 and 1956 Kobayashi directed mostly innocuous, studio-friendly domestic dramas. While I'd be interested in buying a "Masaki Kobayashi Respects the System" collection of these, to see them (I wish I had Hulu+ cause a lot of them have become available there recently), what's here is far more interesting.

"Black River", from 1957, was his last film before "The Human Condition". It released about the same time as "The Thick Walled Room" finally got out, when Kobayashi was free again to, er, go against the system. "Black River" is the only one on this set I've seen; it and "Inn of Evil" are available on the internet if you look for them, and they're the only ones besides the four widely available ones that you could even find, on the internet, until in the last year on Criterion's Hulu+ channel. Anyway, "Black River" is very good.

And then there's "The Inheritance". This is a film that he made right after "The Human Condition" and "Harakiri" and right before "Kwaidan" and "Samurai Rebellion". That's enough said for me.

Finally, "I Will Buy You" was made in the aforementioned period between 1953 and 1956 when Kobayashi was churning out studio-friendly films. Considering its inclusion in this set, perhaps it is the best and boldest film from this period.

But yeah, SO EXCITED FOR THIS.


Also, I blind-bought "Three Outlaw Samurai" since I can't find it online and it was totally worth it so I may have to do the same with "Ballad of Narayama" and "Gate of Hell" now. Loving these lower-priced obscure Japanese blus. Love the cover art.

Thanks for taking the time the write something on Kobayashi. I know nothing about him, but I'm always keen for more Japanese films.
I'll definitely being getting this Eclipse box-set, along with Gate of Hell.
I'll also be getting the Pierre Etaix box and possibly Richard III as well.

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I've been trying to slog through the last two books of A Song of Ice and fire. The first three were exciting and interesting, but the 4th thus far has been rather dull.I'm thinking of taking a break to watch Purple Noon. I'm soliciting opinions o. It.

I kind of think Martin's splitting of Crows and DwD hurts the individual reading experience, but damned if I know how he could have included all that sprawl into one book. The magnificent Roy Dotrice audiobooks make those two titles a bit easier IMHO. I'd definately recommend a break.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by spanky87

Has anyone seen Pickup on South Street? Is it a good film-noir?

Hell yes. Is a good small, B-Noir. Not as outlandish as other Fuller films but totally worth checking out

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I haven't watched Purple Noon yet, as I've been trying to slog through the last two books of A Song of Ice and fire. The first three were exciting and interesting, but the 4th thus far has been rather dull.I'm thinking of taking a break to watch Purple Noon. I'm soliciting opinions o. It.

Purple Noon is a superb film. It's also one of the most accessible Criterion releases, in my opinion. It does not reinvent the wheel or make any real intellectual demands on the viewer. Instead, it's more of a good old popcorn movie. I do think that it's the best film version of The Talented Mr. Ripley, but others may disagree.

Purple Noon is probably remembered by most as the film that made Alain Delon a star. He commands so much attention in the film, and it's a joy to cheer for his character, despite all ethics to the contrary.

This was one of the first movies that I watched on Blu-ray, and it's a beautiful film for the format. Near the end of Purple Noon, the camera shows a closeup of a female character's face and the detail is quite incredible. I thought to myself while watching the scene that this is what movies in high definition are all about.

[The Great Owl]

I'm intrigued by the release of Richard III, although I probably will not buy it right away in April.

This makes me wonder, though, about a possible Blu-ray of Hamlet in the future. The Laurence Olivier version is the definitive cinematic version of the play and, although I have to be in a specific mood to watch my Criterion DVD of the film, I'd love to experience it on Blu-ray.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

I kind of think Martin's splitting of Crows and DwD hurts the individual reading experience, but damned if I know how he could have included all that sprawl into one book. The magnificent Roy Dotrice audiobooks make those two titles a bit easier IMHO. I'd definately recommend a break.

Yeah, I read through the first three in less than a week, and that was only reading a couple hours a day, as I work full time. I only have about a third of this one read so far, and It's dull as he's focusing on the characters I hate or am indifferent to. Book three has been my favourite thus far, and I read that one the quickest. Just think, there are two more to come, and he claims that book 6 will be out next year at the earliest.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Grethiwha

Hello Blu-ray.com Criterion community. I need somewhere on the internet to share my enthusiasm for that Kobayashi set. So excited! The only thing that could make it better was if it was blu-ray. Or included more films. Come to think of it, that Pierre Etaix collection is the same price even though it's blu-ray and contains 5 films and is a proper release with special features and stuff. What the hell? Well that's okay cause I'm in romantic love with Criterion at the moment. The four previously available Kobayashi films are some of my favourite films. And now they've just doubled the amount of available Kobayashi. Lemme break it down.

Thank you for your reviews of the Kobayashi films. I had never heard of them before the announcement yesterday, but the descriptions intrigue me.

Totally off topic, but your avatar got me thinking about The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser. Glad to see another fan of Werner Herzog in the fold.

I am also a big fan of Stroszek. In fact, that's partly how I discovered Herzog's works, because I sought out this film due to my love of the band, Joy Division. (Stroszek was apparently the last film that Ian Curtis watched before his suicide.)

I have the Herzog/Kinski DVD box set, but my stand-alone Herzog box set that included The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser was destroyed in a flood years ago.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Kinda surprised more people didn't try to talk about the past few new releases, other than how excited they were to see Rashomon and Brazil.

I haven't watched Purple Noon yet, as I've been trying to slog through the last two books of A Song of Ice and fire. The first three were exciting and interesting, but the 4th thus far has been rather dull.I'm thinking of taking a break to watch Purple Noon. I'm soliciting opinions o. It.

Also, the website seems to be booked and won't Let me go to the next page of posts, so I'm seeing if thus post will do it.

I guess I can gush about " The Man Who Knew Too Much"...it got a good review on this website and looks to have some good extras, including a commentary. Del Toro seems to be a Hitchcock aficionado and has input on this release as well. Besides the fact that it been nicely priced at $24.99 for some time now.

It doesn't hurt that I have a snow day off today and my copy is out for delivery right now.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Purple Noon is a superb film. It's also one of the most accessible Criterion releases, in my opinion. It does not reinvent the wheel or make any real intellectual demands on the viewer. Instead, it's more of a good old popcorn movie. I do think that it's the best film version of The Talented Mr. Ripley, but others may disagree.

Purple Noon is probably remembered by most as the film that made Alain Delon a star. He commands so much attention in the film, and it's a joy to cheer for his character, despite all ethics to the contrary.

This was one of the first movies that I watched on Blu-ray, and it's a beautiful film for the format. Near the end of Purple Noon, the camera shows a closeup of a female character's face and the detail is quite incredible. I thought to myself while watching the scene that this is what movies in high definition are all about.

good, popcorn type flicks areally a nice break from Martin. I like his booK's but this one is trying. He and Ken Follett are both authors that seem to have horny twelve year old boys write their sex scenes, and they really don't seem to fit with the rest of the novel. Also ad stayed the current crop of characters are uninteresting and are not all that developed in comparison to others.

Think I'll read The Talented Mr. Ripley once I finish asoiaf

[JHas]

Originally Posted by rkish

I guess I can gush about " The Man Who Knew Too Much"...it got a good review on this website and looks to have some good extras, including a commentary. Del Toro seems to be a Hitchcock aficionado and has input on this release as well. Besides the fact that it been nicely priced at $24.99 for some time now.

It doesn't hurt that I have a snow day off today and my copy is out for delivery right now.

TMWKTM came in the mail for me yesterday from Deep Discount. Thanks to whoever it was that posted that coupon for $10 off of a $50 dollar purchase a few weeks back, I got that and "Two-Lane Blacktop."

I put it in just to see what the picture quality was like and was very pleased. My only other viewing of this film was on a Hitchcock public domain set on DVD that was as awful as you would expect it to be. The extras look to be good. One of these days I plan to go through all the excerpts of the Truffaut interview from each of the 3 Hitchcock CC blu-rays.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by Debbie Downer

Really looking forward to Repo Man and Naked Lunch releases. But I'm going to pretend I care more about those obscurer releases to maintain my film buff cred.

I have no such reservations DD.

Actually, I was surprised we won't be getting a twin hit of upgraded/new Cronenberg via CC's much-hinted-at acquisition of Scanners. Or will that one be included in some kind of 'early Cronenberg' box set? Wasn't there a picture of Cronenberg at Criterion awhile back suggesting that possibility?

[Cinemach]

I too figured the two Cronenbergs hinted in the drawing would be released together (Naked Lunch and Scanners); so there's some credence lent to a Cronenberg early film set, maybe?

I believe there was some rumor-mill chatter about a set of Cronenberg's early works - possibly, but hopefully not an Eclipse set.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by rkish

I guess I can gush about " The Man Who Knew Too Much"...it got a good review on this website and looks to have some good extras, including a commentary. Del Toro seems to be a Hitchcock aficionado and has input on this release as well. Besides the fact that it been nicely priced at $24.99 for some time now.

It doesn't hurt that I have a snow day off today and my copy is out for delivery right now.

Rich, I picked up my copy at Best Buy yesterday and had a nice viewing last night. The transfer is VERY good. I was a little worried, as The 39 Steps did not impress, but this one does. Since it is a shorter film, I got to the Del Toro interview which brings a nice view into Hitchcock's start. The other extra I watched was the last, the restoration and how they did it. Too bad, they could not have performed the same magic on 39 Steps. Either way, you will have a nice treat when you view it...

[Freeza]

Originally Posted by octagon

I respectfully submit that if you saw hate at all - let alone hate in full force - it's because that exactly what you wanted to see.

To this, I respectfully ask how I came away with the same feeling of Dunham/Girls hatred after reading the past few days' posts on this and other forums, yet prior to doing so I wasn't even conscious of the awards taking place, nor that she/the show was even in the running for an award? Certainly it couldn't be that that was what I wanted to see, could it?

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by jcs913

Rich, I picked up my copy at Best Buy yesterday and had a nice viewing last night. The transfer is VERY good. I was a little worried, as The 39 Steps did not impress, but this one does. Since it is a shorter film, I got to the Del Toro interview which brings a nice view into Hitchcock's start. The other extra I watched was the last, the restoration and how they did it. Too bad, they could not have performed the same magic on 39 Steps. Either way, you will have a nice treat when you view it...

Really looking forward to seeing a pre-Hollywood Hitch - outside of The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes - in a non-crappy home video transfer.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Freeza

To this, I respectfully ask how I came away with the same feeling of Dunham/Girls hatred after reading the past few days' posts on this and other forums, yet prior to doing so I wasn't even conscious of the awards taking place, nor that she/the show was even in the running for an award? Certainly it couldn't be that that was what I wanted to see, could it?

Since I do not pick up any television channels, I had no idea who Lena Dunham was, and I had never heard of Tiny Furniture prior to the Criterion release.

I've dismissed this particular title, simply because it strikes me as an offering from Criterion's quirky side that I am not interested in (Wes Anderson movies, etc.). It's interesting to read the widespread animosity toward that release on this forum, though.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

Really looking forward to seeing a pre-Hollywood Hitch - outside of The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes - in a non-crappy home video transfer.

It's every bit as good as the review says. There is excellent contrast and even some decent depth at times. There is a nice layer of grain, but not overwhelming like The 39 Steps was at times. It would be nice if Criterion could get another early title, like Murder! and transform it like this. Who knows, as this is the 3rd Hitchcock with maybe more to come...