The Criterion Collection

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Just my opinion, but here are 5


Wages of Fear
The 400 Blows
The Seventh Seal
The Third Man
Last Year at Marienbad

(that was way harder than I thought it would be!)

great top 5, although I'd probably sub 8 1/2 for Wages.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

Not eveything should be the same. That is why Godard's films from 1966 starting with Made in U.S.A. and on are considered "Essay Films" for a reason. Just like that guy posted above saying he didn't like Pierrot le fou because it wasn't a true romantic drama. Well I doubt it was suppose to be a romantic drama entertainment film, you know with all of the Vietnam references and the whole thing about not being a slave to society and it's ways.

You can get smart with all the "gimmick" and "calculus exam" things all you want, but if you want entertainment, you can very well see a Michael Bay film. He loves to get paid for the sort of thing. Someone is in the wrong place for that.

I'm not a fan of Bay. But last I checked he did have a film in the Criterion Collection. So if I were a Michael Bay fan I actually would be in the right place.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by wilky61

surfdude12, lesson 101 about the French New Wave is that it's not about the plot of the film... it's about the experience for the viewer.

Yeah, its not the "plot isn't meant to make sense" that bothers me, I love many films in that category (Marienbad, Mulholland Dr). I think it was just my personal dislike of the mixing up of those specific genres combined with the plot making no sense.

[Member-38928]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Just my opinion, but here are 5


Wages of Fear
The 400 Blows
The Seventh Seal
The Third Man
Last Year at Marienbad

(that was way harder than I thought it would be!)

thank you. In that order?

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

I'm not a fan of Bay. But last I checked he did have a film in the Criterion Collection. So if I were a Michael Bay fan I actually would be in the right place.

touché. But I meant Godard is the wrong place.

[wilky61]

Originally Posted by bentvalve

thank you. In that order?

Have you seen any/all of these films? Personally, I would never recommend blind-buying a CC film due to the expense involved. Personally, I've only found that a few of them have significant replayability.

For example, I would not recommend 8 1/2 or especially The Seventh Seal (which is one of nine films I've ever rated a 1/10 on my IMDB account).

I did, however, quite enjoy Wages of Fear. Third Man is decent but I prefer at least a dozen other film-noirs, and IMO no film is worth $50-60.

So I dunno. I'm sure I'm a bit of an oddity in this thread, but I wouldn't recommend blind-buying Criterions for the sake of buying Criterions...

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

touché. But I meant Godard is the wrong place.

And I wasn't trying to insinuate Armageddon was a worthy Criterion release either. I imagine they only released it to fund more worthy, but less "mainstream" films.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by bentvalve

thank you. In that order?

No particular order...... just narrowing it down to 5 was tough (based on what I would buy first if I had to start over for some reason.........)

Originally Posted by wilky61

Have you seen any/all of these films? Personally, I would never recommend blind-buying a CC film due to the expense involved. Personally, I've only found that a few of them have significant replayability.

For example, I would not recommend 8 1/2 or especially The Seventh Seal (which is one of nine films I've ever rated a 1/10 on my IMDB account).

I did, however, quite enjoy Wages of Fear. Third Man is decent but I prefer at least a dozen other film-noirs, and IMO no film is worth $50-60.

So I dunno. I'm sure I'm a bit of an oddity in this thread, but I wouldn't recommend blind-buying Criterions for the sake of buying Criterions...

No film is a 'safe' Blind-Buy in my opinion......

[Beta Man]

Someone posted on this thread that there was a cheap Blu-ray player that they purchased for watching Blu-rays that were region "B" locked....... I'm in the market for yet another player, and want to get one capable of playing Region "B" titles..... What player was this? I want to say it was a "Sylvania" but I could be wrong.

thanks!

[Nick At Now]

Originally Posted by bentvalve

Hey guys, what are 5 or so must own Criterion blu-rays? I only have 3 so far......Yojimbo, Sanjuro and Walkabout on order and id like to spend some more money.

In my opinion...

The 400 Blows
Repulsion
8 1/2
M
The Third Man

no particular order

[Kevtronn]

Black Orpheus (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003N2CVOK

First Films of Akira Kurosawa Box Set DVD
http://www.amazon.com/First-Films-Ak...4465696&sr=8-1

Louie Bluie DVD
http://www.amazon.com/Louie-Bluie/dp...4465601&sr=8-2

[JediFonger]

for math-enthusiast, calc IS fun.

for filmgoers who luv thinking, niche films like what Criterion supplies IS entertaining when you think .

as for myself, i luv brainless movies like dumb&dumberer and Citizen Kane w/equal reckless abandon =).

Originally Posted by ChadFL

No, I just don't want to feel like I'm taking a calculus exam when watching a movie. You shouldn't have to decipher a film, you should be able to enjoy it. Or at least I think you should. Films are usually considered entertainment.

[Volume11]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I'm not as passionate about his works as others, but it's certainly a 'good' film, and a must own if you enjoy collecting films of cinematic importance, as it pretty much exemplifies the French New-Wave movement (was it a movement??? you decide )

When it's gone, it's gone...... I recommend getting a copy, and if you don't like it, wait a year or so , and easily sell it for more than you bought it for.

I don't view PLF as important in the least concerning film history. Plenty of films tagged with the French New Wave moniker have easy to understand plots and more thematic meat on their bones that truly embody the French New Wave...if anything, I think Godard stands out against many of his once new wave peers starting with PLF and continuing through many of his subsequent films that ended up being personal vehicles in expressing himself politically/socially in obtuse manners meant to alienate everyone (which begs the question many critics have been asking for years...why make a film to express yourself if you have disdain for your audience?). His most recent films are trash IMO, as his best are his early titles if viewed from the FNW perspective. PLF is where I think he started to really change as a filmmaker, and in my mind, became way too jaded on life and people in general.

Have you seen Hail Mary? Blechhh.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Someone posted on this thread that there was a cheap Blu-ray player that they purchased for watching Blu-rays that were region "B" locked....... I'm in the market for yet another player, and want to get one capable of playing Region "B" titles..... What player was this? I want to say it was a "Sylvania" but I could be wrong.

thanks!

It's a Sherwood player, which is a clone of one of the Momitsu players, Beta. I'm sure you can find a thread about it over in the hardware section for the exact model number. Also, near the top of DVDBeaver's home page is a link to the player on Amazon. It's under $200... I do know that much.

Nevermind, I did the work for you. Sherwood. It's a clone of the Momitsu 899, so you'd have to use the codes for that particular model. Just remember that these machines (i.e. Sherwood, Momitsu, etc.) are all pretty cheap as far as craftsmanship goes. Some people have problems and others don't. I've never had any problems out of my Momitsu, though, and I love it.

CC

[Volume11]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

It's a Sherwood player, which is a clone of one of the Momitsu players, Beta. I'm sure you can find a thread about it over in the hardware section for the exact model number. Also, near the top of DVDBeaver's home page is a link to the player on Amazon. It's under $200... I do know that much.

Nevermind, I did the work for you. Sherwood.

CC

TBH, for $125 more you can get the Oppo BDP80 and an easy to install hardware mod that isn't affected by FW updates.

Per your edit: And the Oppo is of obvious high build quality, loads fast (about the same) as the PS3 and hasn't had a single problem loading any disc I've thrown at it, including java heavy titles that lock up on my craptacular Sharp.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by JediFonger

for math-enthusiast, calc IS fun.

for filmgoers who luv thinking, niche films like what Criterion supplies IS entertaining when you think .

as for myself, i luv brainless movies like dumb&dumberer and Citizen Kane w/equal reckless abandon =).

I definately like movies that make you think. Almost all of Criterion releases fit that cetegory at least to a certain extent. What I don't like are movies that you watch three times and still have no clue what it's supposed to be about.

[Volume11]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

I definately like movies that make you think. Almost all of Criterion releases fit that cetegory at least to a certain extent. What I don't like are movies that you watch three times and still have no clue what it's supposed to be about.

Welcome to the world of Godard. I have brought it up a few times and no one has bitten but PLF was structured similar to how Celine writes his novels. Disjointed, at times inexplicable, and often irreverent in tone. The difference is that Celine still managed to extract an emotional and engaging experience while still satirizing France and the modern world that many people could relate to...Godard, not so much.

But there is a scene in PLF where "Ferdinand" (Ferdinand Celine is the author mentioned above) actually reads passages from said author...

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

Nevermind, I did the work for you. Sherwood. It's a clone of the Momitsu 899, so you'd have to use the codes for that particular model. Just remember that these machines (i.e. Sherwood, Momitsu, etc.) are all pretty cheap as far as craftsmanship goes. Some people have problems and others don't. I've never had any problems out of my Momitsu, though, and I love it.

CC

Ahhhh all is right with the world again

Thanks CC..... I'll look into this one.... The wife said she just wants to add a "cheap" player to replace a PS3 that died....

[Show spoiler] we've been down to one Blu-ray player for quite awhile, and I've been moving it from the movie room, to the living room, and back..... and on rare occasions it makes an appearance in the bedroom, but I often leave it up in the movie room since I watch movies until 4am, then she wakes up in the morning, it's raining so she can't go for a run, and she wants to watch a work-out video/yoga etc..... We have a few spare DVD players, so I could easily connect that, but she doesn't want the Blu-ray player AND DVD player connected because she doesn't want the "Clutter" so she actually told me to go out and buy a new Blu-ray player

Originally Posted by Volume11

TBH, for $125 more you can get the Oppo BDP80 and an easy to install hardware mod that isn't affected by FW updates.

Per your edit: And the Oppo is of obvious high build quality, loads fast (about the same) as the PS3 and hasn't had a single problem loading any disc I've thrown at it, including java heavy titles that lock up on my craptacular Sharp.

I want an oppo.... I've wanted one for awhile, but for this one, the wife is telling me to go out and buy a 'cheap' player..... she doesn't know my intentions to use it for multi-region playback...... she wouldn't want to encourage me to import more of the great titles out there

Although I'm not being completely open with her..... I wouldn't buy the Oppo, and tell her it was a $100 player....... I do have some morals

[Volume11]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Although I'm not being completely open with her..... I wouldn't buy the Oppo, and tell her it was a $100 player....... I do have some morals

Just explain to her that for a measly hundred dollars more you are getting one of the most reputable players around with some of the greatest customer service from any CE company...or, and this, Im guessing, would be the more pianful of the two...buy 4 or 5 less BDs this month and that will make up the difference.

You are a Mets fan, shouldn't you be used to punishment from the things and people you love?

[Member-38928]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Wages of Fear
The 400 Blows
The Seventh Seal
The Third Man
Last Year at Marienbad

No particular order...... just narrowing it down to 5 was tough (based on what I would buy first if I had to start over for some reason.........)
No film is a 'safe' Blind-Buy in my opinion......

I do a lot of blind buying, its kind of like gambling , its fun when it turns out that I love the movie I gambled on. And really , I keep them in as new condition so trading or selling them on Ebay is an option and the loss is usually around the cost of a rental at Blockbuster video. So IMO blind buying is not much different from just renting a movie you've never seen.

I gapped it out , but I bought a few others, blind of course....as they arrived about a 1/2 hour ago.

So ive got... Walkabout, Yojimbo, Sanjuro, 400 Blows, Seventh Seal, Ran (I don't think this is a Criterion.)



What's up with these big @ss sd dvd cases??