The Criterion Collection

[rkish]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

Precisely the fear that prevents me from going region-free!

Awww come on...you know you want to!

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by rkish

Awww come on...you know you want to!

You kiddin'? Money's so tight I'm snorting pixie stix to get a buzz these days! What makes this relevant? Instead of a mirror, I use Criterion Blus.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by octagon

Weird, I was just coming back to clarify something in my earlier post. I was thinking of Red Harvest when I made the no coherent story joke.

The Maltese Falcon is a great read, btw. It's practically a shooting script for the Huston film. Virtually all of the dialogue in the film is Hammett. It's pretty remarkable, really.

Very much agreed. Both are great. Huston is very very faithful to the book.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Very much agreed. Both are great. Huston is very very faithful to the book.

With so many versions of this film having been made, I've long put off reading the book to complete the comparison.

Which reminds me, after seeing the HBO take on Cain's Mildred Pierce, I planned on checking out the novel and re-watching the original film.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

You kiddin'? Money's so tight I'm snorting pixie stix to get a buzz these days!

I've been tempted too, but I really can't afford another splurge. Since discovering importcds, my wallet's been taking a pounding.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

+1. His Great Movie series outshines his weekly reviews.


Although I'm a Criterion/Kino/Olive/Eureka fanboy, if you want to cultivate taste, renting is the best option. There's not a big financial requirement, so you don't have to feel pressured to "get your money's worth."

Tune into TCM and various other streaming options: Hulu, Netflix, & I'm not sure how great it is but Mubi.com has a 30 films available for streaming per month for 4.99 plan, which sounds enticing. Also, pick a few good best of lists Time's top 100, Ebert's Great Films, Rosenbaum's alternate 100, 1001 Movies to see..., and although quite populist and safe: AFI's top 100.

I really suggest reading proper film criticism/essays. I've been reading quite a bit of J Rosenbaum, J Hoberman, AO Scott, Manohla Dargis, David Bordwell and their writing has been invaluable.

TCM-HD was easily the BEST HD upgrade that DirecTv made this past year (the wife and I are watching "Goodbye Mr. Chips" right now). That and Netflix and Hulu have saved me a lot of money and turned me on to a great number of films that I never have known about or watched.

[Scottie]

I concluded my day of films with another great movie - Au Revoir Les Enfants.

This is a very powerful film that centers around a boarding school in France during World War II. The Germans occupied France at this time and they did whatever they could to rid France of Jewish people.

It's a very great film because it shows a different side to World War II - the innocent children whose lives and dignity were stripped at such a young age because their religious affiliations were different than what was "the ideal".

Au Revoir Les Enfants has some really great acting for such young children. It was not predictable by any means and I am pretty shocked about what transpired. The fact that it was inspired by director Louis Malle's own childhood makes it all that much powerful, in my opinion.

I think one of the best parts of the film was when they all watched the Charles Chaplin short film "The Immigrant".

[Show spoiler]It was the only time in the entire movie where everybody was united in such a fun occasion. For people who have seen the film, you will notice that there was frequent fighting and name calling among all the students. However, in this one instance, they were all brought together and actually happy.

Great film. I really recommend seeing it.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I've been tempted too, but I really can't afford another splurge. Since discovering importcds, my wallet's been taking a pounding.

I avoid MoC and a few other discussions just to protect myself. I recently bought an SACD through that site and it was all I could do not to buy a dozen.

Originally Posted by rkish

TCM-HD was easily the BEST HD upgrade that DirecTv made this past year (the wife and I are watching "Goodbye Mr. Chips" right now). That and Netflix and Hulu have saved me a lot of money and turned me on to a great number of films that I never have known about or watched.

I wish I could get TCM-HD but I just don't see it happening. Reason 143 I'm cutting the cord (I think).

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

With so many versions of this film having been made, I've long put off reading the book to complete the comparison.

Which reminds me, after seeing the HBO take on Cain's Mildred Pierce, I planned on checking out the novel and re-watching the original film.

Hmmm, do you think the story is a bit regressive, didn't Jeanne Dielmann put a nail in the coffin of thinly veiled feminism?

On the topic, I haven't seen the HBO production, but Todd Hayne's work is pretty interesting, even when structurally his films don't exactly work. I can totally see Safe fitting in the Criterion Collection.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Hmmm, do you think the story is a bit regressive, didn't Jeanne Dielmann put a nail in the coffin of thinly veiled feminism?

On the topic, I haven't seen the HBO production, but Todd Hayne's work is pretty interesting, even when structurally his films don't exactly work. I can totally see Safe fitting in the Criterion Collection.

Safe would definitely be a nice addition.

Dielmann is actually on my list at the local library and I'm hoping to get notification of availability this week, so I have to get back to you on that coffin.

As to the HBO production, it is immaculately produced and I enjoyed it, even if it is a bit airless. The noir really takes a back seat to the drama, which I found addressed the WW II-era of women's station in life convincingly complex. It's been a year since I watched it, though. Maybe a (long) double feature with Dielmann is in the cards.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

On the topic, I haven't seen the HBO production, but Todd Hayne's work is pretty interesting, even when structurally his films don't exactly work.

Might just be me, but I really regret having seen it. All it did was annoy me.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I concluded my day of films with another great movie - Au Revoir Les Enfants.

This is a very powerful film that centers around a boarding school in France during World War II. The Germans occupied France at this time and they did whatever they could to rid France of Jewish people.

It's a very great film because it shows a different side to World War II - the innocent children whose lives and dignity were stripped at such a young age because their religious affiliations were different than what was "the ideal".

Au Revoir Les Enfants has some really great acting for such young children. It was not predictable by any means and I am pretty shocked about what transpired. The fact that it was inspired by director Louis Malle's own childhood makes it all that much powerful, in my opinion.

I think one of the best parts of the film was when they all watched the Charles Chaplin short film "The Immigrant".

[Show spoiler]It was the only time in the entire movie where everybody was united in such a fun occasion. For people who have seen the film, you will notice that there was frequent fighting and name calling among all the students. However, in this one instance, they were all brought together and actually happy.

Great film. I really recommend seeing it.

It's a wonderful film and I'm tempted to say it's one of the best films on the occupation. Malle almost paints it in a fantastical light, giving it a parable type feel without drowning in whimsy like Life is Beautiful.

We were talking about it a couple weeks back, Malle was a master of tone and underappreciated as a visual artist. He knew where to place a camera and how to marry form with function. None of his pictures looked alike because he didn't bludgeon them with big Malle Style. The material dictated how the film would look.

[Hypnosifl]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Thanks for the info on the region free player. I got busy during the weekend. I plan to save some money for an Oppo blu ray player.

I've been looking into a region free player myself, it looks like a less expensive option is to order a modified player from 220-electronics.com which I've seen people recommend as reliable on this forum, for instance on this thread.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Thanks for the info on the region free player. I got busy during the weekend. I plan to save some money for an Oppo blu ray player.

I hope to too.

..but don't you have to modify it somehow? I hope I'll be able to figure that out..

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

Safe would definitely be a nice addition.

Dielmann is actually on my list at the local library and I'm hoping to get notification of availability this week, so I have to get back to you on that coffin.

As to the HBO production, it is immaculately produced and I enjoyed it, even if it is a bit airless. The noir really takes a back seat to the drama, which I found addressed the WW II-era of women's station in life convincingly complex. It's been a year since I watched it, though. Maybe a (long) double feature with Dielmann is in the cards.

I'm sure you know what you're getting into with Jeanne Dielmann. It's 3 1/2 hours and (rightfully) details the tedious tasks she has to do to make ends meet. If the film ends up "wearing" on you, that's because it's supposed to. I feel tempted to say I was a single mother once, because the experience was so intimate.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Might just be me, but I really regret having seen it. All it did was annoy me.

I really love Far From Heaven that Haynes did wish CC would release that on BLU. I always loved the original Mildred Pierce and while Haynes version is probably closer to the Cain book, honestly I rushed out to purchase the BLU the day it was released - and I made it thru maybe 2 parts befor growing bored with it.

Jeanne Dielman on the other hand I was engrossed in. I was never bored and found the film hypnotic. I only wish it would have went to BLU day and date with the DVD release. Those days of seeing what to Blu on announcement day was always irritating, but thankfully over minus the Eclipse releases.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Might just be me, but I really regret having seen it. All it did was annoy me.

Why did it annoy you?

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I'm sure you know what you're getting into with Jeanne Dielmann. It's 3 1/2 hours and (rightfully) details the tedious tasks she has to do to make ends meet. If the film ends up "wearing" on you, that's because it's supposed to. I feel tempted to say I was a single mother once, because the experience was so intimate.

Agreed.

It's very effective in making you feel that, though I was never tired from the film, as something was always being done possibly.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Why did it annoy you?

Those who have seen it could probably add to this---but personally, I couldn't help but feel frustrated. The first part does a pretty good job at portraying that social relevance previously mentioned, but from there (and yes, it's close to the original work, so you'd probably know what to expect) it's just several hours of characters doing the same terrible things over and over and nothing ever changing. Nothing kept me appealed...instead, I slowly grew increasingly bitter . Not happy that I blind-bought.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Agreed.

It's very effective in making you feel that, though I was never tired from the film, as something was always being done possibly.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's no trite character development exposition scenes. Those brutally honest processes accumulate into an affecting portrait of a woman trying to keep afloat in a male dominated world.