The Criterion Collection

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

Actually, what is the preferred opinion on I Only Want You to Love Me? The DVD or Blu-Ray? I am region-free, so whichever works for me.

I wonder--considering it has that blu-ray outside of the US, if there's a chance of a US upgrade for it.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Usually I hate comedy zombie films, but my God, Shaun Of The Dead is a pisser.

Usually? I can't think of more than a couple of those existing

...and I don't usually either.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Good call!

Funny how I stumbled onto The Virgin Spring years ago. I watched the 1972 Wes Craven film, The Last House on the Left, and, while I did not quite warm up to that rather mean-spirited flick, I was intrigued when I found out that it was essentially a remake of the Bergman film.

The film is rare in that I could tell someone exactly how the film will end and it would still have the same affect as if they went in blind.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by sc1957

Looking at my copy of the New Line Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection, Safety Last is listed as being 73 minutes in length.

The upcoming Criterion version is listed as being 84 minutes.

Let the conspiracy theories commence.

One possibility might be frame rate. MoC released "The Passion of Joan of Arc" with a 20FPS and 24FPS version. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but they each have a different running time.

[jrsl76]

My girlfriend was going to get me Badlands, but as I found it in store at Best Buy this morning and had a RZ cert, I grabbed it and she will now be getting me Colonel Blimp instead (maybe my favorite Archers film).

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Let's not forget The Virgin Spring. How great that would look in HD.

Any film by Sven Nykvist would look fantastic in HD, lets just make it a maxim.

[DarkRyder]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

I wonder--considering it has that blu-ray outside of the US, if there's a chance of a US upgrade for it.

Considering Olive possibly had the opportunity to release on blu, perhaps they saw something that struck them as no big difference. Same goes with MoC; they release certain films on DVD only, because the transfer does not offer much in terms of an upgrade.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

Considering Olive possibly had the opportunity to release on blu, perhaps they saw something that struck them as no big difference. Same goes with MoC; they release certain films on DVD only, because the transfer does not offer much in terms of an upgrade.

Ahh, that explains your asking about the quality difference of the import.

I didn't notice that their DVD was released in the past couple years.

Random fact--that film was my intro to his filmography.

[DarkRyder]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Ahh, that explains your asking about the quality difference of the import.

I didn't notice that their DVD was released in the past couple years.

Random fact--that film was my intro to his filmography.

I've yet to see the film, but I am undertaking a project in which I am watching at least one film of his a week for the whole year (I've already seen a few, fyi) and I just want to obtain his full filmography. I have a giftcard I got for Christmas and 2 RZ certificates, one which expires today, and because of that I want to figure out which of his film(s) to get off the BBY site.

[The Great Owl]

Turns out that there is a StudioCanal Blu-ray of Melville's Army of Shadows out on the market now.

Our very own pro-bassoonist states that the color schemes are different on the StudioCanal version than the Criterion version. I then looked up the StudioCanal version review of Le Cercle Rouge, and there is a color scheme difference with that version from the Criterion as well.

Curiosity will get the best of me one of these days, because I'd love to have the "correct" versions of two movies in my all-time Top Ten List.

For now, though, I'm just going to plead ignorance, since I do not have the ability to watch Region B titles. I'll just imagine that Criterion has the ultimate versions of these films.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

I've yet to see the film, but I am undertaking a project in which I am watching at least one film of his a week for the whole year (I've already seen a few, fyi) and I just want to obtain his full filmography. I have a giftcard I got for Christmas and 2 RZ certificates, one which expires today, and because of that I want to figure out which of his film(s) to get off the BBY site.

Sounds like a great plan to me ..good luck on finding everything. I personally liked the film a great deal though I find it one of the least 'essential' ones I've seen so far.

The lead actor is shockingly perfect though, as he has this great look on his face that begs 'I only want you to love me' for the entirety of the film. Every time I see someone with that heartbroken, and wide-eyed look I call it 'I only want you to love me face'.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

Actually, what is the preferred opinion on I Only Want You to Love Me? The DVD or Blu-Ray? I am region-free, so whichever works for me.

I'm not sure about the blu-ray but the Olive dvd is a good release. I don't know why they didn't go blu-ray, prob predicting poor sales.

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

I wonder--considering it has that blu-ray outside of the US, if there's a chance of a US upgrade for it.

Hopefully. They have been going back and doing that.

[Edward J Grug III]

Thanks for all the Bergman advice, folks. As I have a Bergman-blindspot and I really want to correct that, it is much appreciated.

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

My advice is to start with The Seventh Seal, as that is, what I consider to be, Bergman's masterpiece.

I always got the impression that it wasn't an extremely accessible film though? I of course only know if it through parody and reference, so maybe that is an unfair assessment.

Originally Posted by ccg1978

I agree, I watched Summer with Monika after The Seventh Seal. I plan on watching Wild Strawberries on DVD through Netflix to determine if I want to pre-order. Seventh Seal is a must buy, Summer with Monika not so much...

OK, Noted!

Originally Posted by hoytereden

He wanted something his wife would like. Smiles of a Summer Night would be another recommendation.

Something my wife would like is key, as I can only keep blind-buying these Blu Ray as long as I don't wind up with a bunch of duds, but I also don't mean to imply that my wife has bad taste in movies or anything like that.

Having said that, I have been fairly conservative in my first purchases. I think how well she enjoys Wages of Fear will determine the future of our Criterion collection.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

I always got the impression that it wasn't an extremely accessible film though? I of course only know if it through parody and reference, so maybe that is an unfair assessment.

I don't know about extremely but yeah, inaccessible seems like a pretty fair tag. My eyebrows always go up a little when people suggest it as an introductory film. I've only watched it a couple times and I haven't really seen that many other Bergmans but that just seems off to me. It's not like Seventh Seal is some impenetrable maze of surreal metaphors. But it's not exactly user friendly either. At least it hasn't struck me that way anyway.

From my (very) limited exposure to Bergman I would suggest Fanny and Alexander as very accessible. The duration might be a bit daunting but it's broken into chapters/episodes and the breaks don't just happen, they make sense...they're logical stopping points.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by octagon

From my (very) limited exposure to Bergman I would suggest Fanny and Alexander as very accessible. The duration might be a bit daunting but it's broken into chapters/episodes and the breaks don't just happen, they make sense...they're logical stopping points.

I'm inclined to agree that Fanny and Alexander is the best Bergman for a first-time viewing. It's an accessible and fast-paced film for its length, but it also has enough of Bergman's otherworldly and magical quirks to get one accustomed to his brand of storytelling.

[hoytereden]

My wife and I are almost complete opposites concerning movies. She liked Monika, Smiles, and Fanny and Alexander but not the heavier Bergman's like Cries and Whispers, Through a Glass Darkly, etc. Same with Malick-Badlands and Days of Heaven are good with her but the ones after....... What can I say? We've been married over 30 years and just more or less watch what we both enjoy together and the others we watch on our own.

[SimBelm]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

Anytime, I'll be here.

Women in New York was fantastic. Although it's not his, the dialogue meshes with him perfectly. The plants and fish tanks covering the characters as if they were in a zoo, I can't get enough of his and Ballhaus' use of mirrors and obstructions.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

My wife and I are almost complete opposites concerning movies. She liked Monika, Smiles, and Fanny and Alexander but not the heavier Bergman's like Cries and Whispers, Through a Glass Darkly, etc. Same with Malick-Badlands and Days of Heaven are good with her but the ones after....... What can I say? We've been married over 30 years and just more or less watch what we both enjoy together and the others we watch on our own.

Is there any Bergman common ground. ?

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by octagon

I don't know about extremely but yeah, inaccessible
From my (very) limited exposure to Bergman I would suggest Fanny and Alexander as very accessible. The duration might be a bit daunting but it's broken into chapters/episodes and the breaks don't just happen, they make sense...they're logical stopping points.

That actually might be dead on the money for my wife, as that time period is her particular interest, having done her PHD on the end of the nineteenth century/turn of the century literature. (Specifically from England, but the period will still be of interest to her)

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Let's not forget The Virgin Spring. How great that would look in HD.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm inclined to agree that Fanny and Alexander is the best Bergman for a first-time viewing. It's an accessible and fast-paced film for its length, but it also has enough of Bergman's otherworldly and magical quirks to get one accustomed to his brand of storytelling.

Did you just use Bergman and quirk in the same sentence.