The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by James78

Good decision. Enjoy!

Thank you!

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

If Criterion feels like releasing another mini-series anytime soon, my vote goes to Top of the Lake.

Good series, though I'd place a couple above it, namely The Decalogue.

[jayj15]

I watched Henri-Georges Clouzot's debut "The Murderer Lives at Number 21" last night. What a great debut it was! With Le Corbeau, Diabolique, and Wages of Fear, he's becoming one of my favorite french directors.

[Danny-Stefano]

Where is Bergman's masterpiece Cries and Whispers? That is his best looking film and it still hasn't been released on Blu-ray.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jayj15

I watched Henri-Georges Clouzot's debut "The Murderer Lives at Number 21" last night. What a great debut it was! With Le Corbeau, Diabolique, and Wages of Fear, he's becoming one of my favorite french directors.

Thanks for the recommendation! I love The Wages of Fear, I plan to upgrade my old DVD of Diabolique at the next big sale, and Le Corbeau is a fine DVD, so the debut movie sounds like one that I should check out.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Danny-Stefano

Where is Bergman's masterpiece Cries and Whispers? That is his best looking film and it still hasn't been released on Blu-ray.

It really should be on BluRay. But, my is it disturbing

[*PREACHER*]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

It really should be on BluRay. But, my is it disturbing

Agreed........nice avatar by the way!!!

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

My Band of Outsiders write-up...

[Show spoiler]



Band of Outsiders is one of the most accessible Jean-Luc Godard films, and, although I have revisited it several times, I am always surprised at the lightning-fast pacing of the story. This movie wears its American pulp crime influences on its sleeve, but it also includes enough Godard stylistic winks, by way of nonchalant voiceover narration and character interaction with the audience, to remind us that we are in his trademark world of forlorn, but energetic, souls who travel along their path in life through a combination of emotional detachment and offbeat timing when connections are made with other such souls.

I grew up listening to the music of The Cure, and Anna Karina's Odile reminds me of one of the many females in The Cure's lyrics, with her irresistible beauty and sparkling eyes that belie a unique blankness of someone lost in her own strange world. Arthur, with his dismissive abruptness, lends credence to the popular assumption that women are attracted to jerks, but the viewer relates to him just the same as the desperation of his personal home life is eventually made apparent during the film. Franz is quieter and less forward than Arthur, but his daydreams and unique musings nonetheless lead him down the same dangerous road as he and Arthur emulate American outlaws with fast cars and fast guns.

These three characters alternately repel and attract one another with bright electricity, and the viewer cannot help but smile at how they bump one another aside at a cafe table during a pivotal scene as they simultaneously lean in closer to one another in confidence. These three souls do seem to gel together in harmony during a lively dance sequence that provides one of the most iconic images of French New Wave, and during a rushed tour of the Louvre, but Godard's narration intercuts even these moments to illuminate individual thoughts of people who will never truly understand one another.

The video transfer of this Blu-ray shines with detail, especially during the scenes that sweep across the Bastille areas of Paris. This is important in a film that familiarizes us with a handful of landmarks so that we know them as we know our own backyards. Dirt-covered lots that provide joyful obstacles for car rides, pathways leading to and from a boat tied to both ends of a short water crossing, and large homes on the outskirts of Paris are all brought to life in this high definition presentation.

Highly recommended!

Great write up! This may just be my most wanted Criterion now!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by *PREACHER*

Agreed........nice avatar by the way!!!

Thank you sir. Femme Fatale is an incredible film. A misunderstood masterpiece if there ever was one. (A Criterion release would be one of my most treasured discs But that's never going to happen).

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Thank you sir. Femme Fatale is an incredible film. A misunderstood masterpiece if there ever was one. (A Criterion release would be one of my most treasured discs But that's never going to happen).

You're constantly adding to the number of films I need to see

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

You're constantly adding to the number of films I need to see

Yeah, I think alongside Blow Out, Femme Fatale is DePalma's most visually sophisticated film. Are you a fan of his work Coop?

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Yeah, I think alongside Blow Out, Femme Fatale is DePalma's most visually sophisticated film. Are you a fan of his work Coop?

I don't think I've seen enough to call myself one. I haven't seen anything past the 70s, so I imagine I'm missing most of the 'big ones'. I definitely want to see Femme Fatale after it's been referenced a couple times here.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

I don't think I've seen enough to call myself one. I haven't seen anything past the 70s, so I imagine I'm missing most of the 'big ones'. I definitely want to see Femme Fatale after it's been referenced a couple times here.

Oh wow. You've got some catching up to do. Of course the first films I saw from him were the gangster films (Scarface, Untouchables, Carlito's Way), but now I am more pulled in by his more playful "meta" work: Dressed to Kill, Femme Fatale, Blow Out, Body Double. I don't think his work gets enough credit outside of a small cult of enthusiasts, and it really should because he's just such a master craftsman that knows exactly what he's doing.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Oh wow. You've got some catching up to do. Of course the first films I saw from him were the gangster films (Scarface, Untouchables, Carlito's Way), but now I am more pulled in by his more playful "meta" work: Dressed to Kill, Femme Fatale, Blow Out, Body Double.

Those latter ones are the ones I plan on seeing. Unfortunately, I have zero interest in gangster films.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Those latter ones are the ones I plan on seeing. Unfortunately, I have zero interest in gangster films.

I slightly edited my prior post.

No interest in the gangster films? Those films are worth seeing just for the sake of conversation, anyways....and didn't you reccomend the DiLeo set to me? Caliber 9 is definitely a gangster flick.

[The Great Owl]

Fritz Lang's The Big Heat is awesome, and it's a lot more intense than I expected, given the time of release. Lee Marvin played one scary dude in this one. Actually, everyone in this movie is scary, and it gives one pause thinking about behind-the-scenes politics in typical American towns. This also makes me want to see Fritz Lang's Ministry of Fear, even if Ministry of Fear is generally regarded as one of the director's lesser offerings.

Both of the blind buy Blu-rays that I've seen today (Greed in the Sun and The Big Heat) have been home runs. I'm about to watch Taxi for Tobruk, and here's hoping that it's another home run.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Fritz Lang's The Big Heat is awesome, and it's a lot more intense than I expected, given the time of release. Lee Marvin played one scary dude in this one. Actually, everyone in this movie is scary, and it gives one pause thinking about behind-the-scenes politics in typical American towns. This also makes me want to see Fritz Lang's Ministry of Fear, even if Ministry of Fear is generally regarded as one of the director's lesser offerings.

Both of the blind buy Blu-rays that I've seen today (Greed in the Sun and The Big Heat) have been home runs. I'm about to watch Taxi for Tobruk, and here's hoping that it's another home run.

It also has some of the most killer lighting of all film-noir. I too haven't seen Ministry of Fear, but I've yet to see a Fritz Lang film I didn't love, so it should be a very safe blind buy.

Have you seen Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis? Take a look at the soundtrack, it might be up your alley: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00000260Q?pd=1 it's very corny, I know, but its still a very unique blend of sensibilities

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Have you seen Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis. Take a look at the soundtrack, it might be up your alley.

The only Metropolis that I've ever seen has been the The Complete Metropolis restored version. I was fortunate to see it in the theater here in Atlanta shortly after the restoration. A Blu-ray purchase is somewhere near the horizon, but it probably won't be anytime soon unless I see a big sale. I dearly love the movie, though.

I've always heard great things about the Giorgio Moroder release, and it does seem like my cup of tea with the soundtrack.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I slightly edited my prior post.

No interest in the gangster films? Those films are worth seeing just for the sake of conversation, anyways....and didn't you reccomend the DiLeo set to me? Caliber 9 is definitely a gangster flick.

Yes, I liked those Italian films.... but when it comes to most of the 'big' American gangster films, I really can't say I'm interested. I know, I know, I shouldn't judge them before seeing them...but I would at least consider them less of a priority to watch compared to the other ones.

[*PREACHER*]

Speaking of gangster films...anyone else besides me excited for the two sets being released by Warner.

The classics set will be mine on day 1.