The Criterion Collection

[UncleBuckWild]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

The Italian release is average.

Pro-B

Thanks. I guess i'll settle for the Criterion DVD.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jw007

I watched Things to Come for the first time late last night and was silently blown away. The first half just seemed like any other movie but then once it went 100 years into the future, I was amazed at the set design, costumes, makeup/hair and props. It totally was futuristic for a 1936 film and though I should wrap this bit in spoilers, I loved that in those future sequences there was a clear plastic screen shaped in 16:9 aspect ratio! How on earth did they know back then we would be watching material on 1:78 screens?! Not only that there was more of a nature-oriented theme going on in that utopian future with plants and trees all over the futuristic city (that reminded me a bit of the 1970s film Logan's Run). I was quite amazed with this film. It truly is a visionary and ground-breaking movie. For those who own or have seen this film, please share your thoughts?

I don't own the Criterion but I've seen the film many times. The first thing that always struck me was the prediction of WWII. Pretty amazing. In that same vein-Don't know if you've ever seen or heard of Men Must Fight? This was a MGM anti-war film from 1933 that also predicted another war in 1940 from a Eurasian enemy and features an attack on America.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

H.G. Wells was probably like terrence malick a alien from the future. thats why he could know all this stuff.

HG Wells was a socialist pamphlet-tosser (especially in his non-SF novels), Malick is just........an alien. That's about the only theory science has been able to come up with.

(I mean....would Earth people start a "normal" conversation about their families by bringing up the origins of the planet? Little giveaway things like that would trigger my aliens-on-earth alarms, right there. )

[SammyJankis]

I usually hate when people do this, but I feel like it needs to be said. If Criterion were to release The Act of Killing, I wouldn't complain. It's a modern film that deserves the treatment.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

I usually hate when people do this, but I feel like it needs to be said. If Criterion were to release The Act of Killing, I wouldn't complain. It's a modern film that deserves the treatment.

I saw the preview today during The Hunt and I thought it looked rather impressive.

[MitchA17]

So today, I pulled an unintentional end-of-an-era/beginning-of-an-era double feature: Heaven's Gate and Easy Rider.

I watched Heaven's Gate on Netflix, so I'm not exactly sure which cut it is, but I could easily see that it is 1): a film with several flaws, and 2): a gorgeous, excellently acted near-masterpiece. I'll definitely pick up during the next sale.

I hadn't seen Easy Rider in years, and I picked up the BBS Story box set during the Amazon 50% off sale. I'd also meant to watch it on the 4th of July, but never got around to it. I'd forgotten what a great movie it is. Great soundtrack, beautiful cinematography, and excellent performances. It's easy to see why Jack Nicholson became a star, and Karen Black (R.I.P.) does a lot with a small amount of screen time.

[Show spoiler]The bad trip in the cemetary is still disturbing, and for the life of me, I can't understand how someone could say they find it "silly" now.

And the ending is still sudden, shocking, simultaneously unsatisfying and satisfying, and makes you think about it for a while after the movie's over.

Don't know what I'll watch before going to bed. Easy Rider's theme of characters taking drugs to escape their insecurities may have put me in the mood for Knocked Up .

[The Great Owl]

For the Terrence Malick fans in the thread...

Here's my review of To the Wonder on Blu-ray.

My brain is full...

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I saw the preview today during The Hunt and I thought it looked rather impressive.

It's one of the most disturbing, absorbing, and all-together fascinating documentaries I've seen in a while. It's difficult to adequately put it into words. It just needs to be experienced.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

For the Terrence Malick fans in the thread...

Here's my review of To the Wonder on Blu-ray.

My brain is full...

Will check it out after I watch it on Monday.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

It's one of the most disturbing, absorbing, and all-together fascinating documentaries I've seen in a while. It's difficult to adequately put it into words. It just needs to be experienced.

If you want to see a haunting documentary to cap off the night, check out Werner Herzog's new 35-minute short film about texting while driving.

I'm not making this up. Werner Herzog actually created a public service announcement film for AT&T...and it is an emotional gut punch.

Don't surf on your smartphones while driving. Not even on Criterion announcement day.

[MitchA17]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If you want to see a haunting documentary to cap off the night, check out Werner Herzog's new 35-minute short film about texting while driving.

I'm not making this up. Werner Herzog actually created a public service announcement film for AT&T...and it is an emotional gut punch.

Don't surf on your smartphones while driving. Not even on Criterion announcement day.

Very well-made and emotianally devastating. Having lost a friend to a texting-related accident, I didn't need converting on the issue, but this definitely sends the message home. Most effective PSA I've seen in a long time.

If anyone needs their spirits lifted after that, here's the organic salt Kickstarter video Herzog narrated and co-edited (http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...kes-food-taste), and his appearence on The Boondocks (NSFW language):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OrQIpF60o

.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by MitchA17

[Show spoiler]The bad trip in the cemetary is still disturbing, and for the life of me, I can't understand how someone could say they find it "silly" now.

If it's meant to be in the context of what the characters in 1968 considered the imagery of a "bad trip", then, possibly.
If it's what Dennis Hopper was trying to "shock" whitebread 60's audiences with (oo, shocking religious AND patriotic imagery! ), then, yes, it's 70's-film-school silly.

"Nobody ever lends money to a man with a sense of humor." -Peter Tork, Head

In fact, let's emphasize that:

[Show spoiler]

Best quote from the Monkee's "Head" - YouTube

[MitchA17]

Originally Posted by EricJ

In fact, let's emphasize that:

[Show spoiler]Best quote from the Monkee's "Head" - YouTube

Yep. I've been slowly but surely making my way through the BBS Story box set, and I just finished Head. I absolutely loved it. I'm a sucker for anything random and absurdist, and that moment in particular was one of my favorite scenes in the film. Dr. Strangelove-trailer-esque editing applied to an anecdotal piece of advice that comes out of nowhere and has nothing to do with what's occurred right before it, or after it. Amazing.

I can't wait to re-watch it soon.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by MitchA17

If anyone needs their spirits lifted after that, here's the organic salt Kickstarter video Herzog narrated and co-edited

[Show spoiler](http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...kes-food-taste), and his appearence on The Boondocks (NSFW language):http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90OrQIpF60o.

Excellent! That's definitely Herzog on a lighter note.

[MitchA17]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Excellent! That's definitely Herzog on a lighter note.

He seems to have an unexpectedly great sense of humor about himself and his persona. Though I figure he would've been swallowed by despair a long time ago if he took himself 100% seriously.

I try to show this to as many people as I can:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFgF_f4q8WA

Originally Posted by EricJ

If it's meant to be in the context of what the characters in 1968 considered the imagery of a "bad trip", then, possibly.
If it's what Dennis Hopper was trying to "shock" whitebread 60's audiences with (oo, shocking religious AND patriotic imagery! ), then, yes, it's 70's-film-school silly.

That's an interesting way of looking at it, and it does delve into the film as a product of its time. I can see it not working for others, but I was already unsettled by the movie after

[Show spoiler]Nicholson's character gets killed

, and the cemetery scene worked to make me disturbed. Not in a "I'm offended by the symbolism" way, just in the way the film stock, sound, and editing are combined.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Excellent! That's definitely Herzog on a lighter note.

As is his turn in Jack Reacher.

I actually think comedy (straight faced absurdity) is present in most of his films, and constitutes a big draw for me. Just love that guy.

Has anyone seen Stoszek?

[MitchA17]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Has anyone seen Stoszek?

I have, yes. I loved it. I actually watched it twice in a row (first as my first-time viewing, second with Herzog's commentary), and there are several moments that made me laugh in it, even as the film gets darker and darker.

[Show spoiler]Basically, the last half-hour of the film had me laughing uncomfortably (the realistic awkwardness of the barber robbery/turkey theft), and the ending left me in a state of simultaneous captivation and nervous laughter.

Though "We've got a truck on fire, can't find the switch to turn the ski lift off, and can't stop the dancing chicken. Send an electrician." is an outright hilarious line.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

As is his turn in Jack Reacher.

I actually think comedy (straight faced absurdity) is present in most of his films, and constitutes a big draw for me. Just love that guy.

Has anyone seen Stoszek?

Yes! I love that film.

I've spent time in Cherokee, NC before, and can totally understand the bleakness of the setting.

[MitchA17]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Yes! I love that film.

I've spent time in Cherokee, NC before, and can totally understand the bleakness of the setting.

I've lived in Michigan's Upper Peninsula pretty much all my life (moving to Grand Rapids for college in a couple of weeks!), and I've spent a lot of time in rural Wisconsin, so I've pretty much grown up in that bleakness.

And you know that Herzog intentionally filmed in Ed Gein's hometown, right? (Ed Gein killed women and robbed graves to make skin furniture, and was the inspiration for Norman Bates and Buffalo Bill.)

Werner Herzog and Errol Morris were actually going to meet there and dig up Gein's mother's grave to see whether or not she was in it, but Morris ended up deciding not to fly to Wisconsin, and Herzog got tired of waiting for him at the cemetery, but his car broke down as he was leaving, and he stopped in the repair shop that was ultimately used in the film. When he decided Stroszek would be the main character, he wrote the script in a matter of days.

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Has anyone seen Stoszek?

Ian Curtis did.