The Criterion Collection

[BTTF_]

Random question....

is the B&N 50% off coming any time soon? Based on past years.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by BTTF_

Random question....

is the B&N 50% off coming any time soon? Based on past years.

July

[Joe Dalek]

La notte and The Great Beauty have been added to Criterion's Hulu Plus site.

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by iamnoone

UMBRELLAS is absolutely one of my favorite films, too, but I can't say I like Demy's other films very much, if at all. I'll still spring for the set during the 50% off sale as I love UMBRELLAS, but the other discs probably won't see much spin in my player.

Can you please give me some details on why you don't like the other 5 Demy films? I would have to really dislike the other films to consider not buying the set. Also, can anyone tell me if the Demy films are on Hulu? I haven't signed up for Hulu yet, but i have heard that it only costs $8 per month. It would be nice to avoid blind buying every now and then. Although, so far I have a good track record of picking out blind buys (Investigation of a Citizen..., Zatoichi, The Complete Jean Vigo,etc.)

[spargs]

Scanners and Insomnia are definite buys for me.

Intruiged by the Demy set and Pickpocket. I'll need to read up a bit about Demy, as I'm not as familiar with his films as I probably should be. And Bresson is one of many directors whose films have been on my list to discover, but keeps getting pushed back during my seemingly neverending quest to catch up on my viewing/buying.

Not a fan of The Big Chill, so I'll be passing on that.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I'm not going to pretend that Scanners is some under appreciated art house masterpiece (all Criterion press releases hype their films that way), but it's certainly about more than "a guy who can make heads explode." Thematically it ties in well with other (superior) Cronenberg films like Dead Ringers and Videodrome.

[Show spoiler]Disreputable medical and corporate ethics, definitely. A bit of body horror, but more to do with being able to get inside heads and controlling minds and the repercussions and responsibilities of such than just blowing up people's heads. Women whose unborn children are essentially being experimented on by a pharmaceutical company.

It's cheesy but with enough menace, weirdness and intelligence to make it something more than MST3K fodder.

And the cover is gorgeous you philistines.

Totally agree. It is well made and it's tons of fun. At the end of the day, it is what it is. There's no deeper meaning here than heads getting blown off . My main criticism was directed at Criterion's press release for the film...best analogy: trying to hit a home run while using a toothpick as a bat.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

I'm not going to pretend that Scanners is some under appreciated art house masterpiece (all Criterion press releases hype their films that way), but it's certainly about more than "a guy who can make heads explode." Thematically it ties in well with other (superior) Cronenberg films like Dead Ringers and Videodrome.

[Show spoiler]Disreputable medical and corporate ethics, definitely. A bit of body horror, but more to do with being able to get inside heads and controlling minds and the repercussions and responsibilities of such than just blowing up people's heads. Women whose unborn children are essentially being experimented on by a pharmaceutical company.

It's cheesy but with enough menace, weirdness and intelligence to make it something more than MST3K fodder.

And the cover is gorgeous you philistines.

This post is dead-on, this is a great defense of the movie that acknowledges the quality realistically. Well, besides maybe the cover part, I dunno if I'd go that far I have felt compelled to watch it a few times over the years which is more than I can say for many movies of higher quality and I wouldn't say it's exactly a "good movie" but it's certainly entertaining and has some good ideas in it.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

While I absolutely adore Cronenberg's work, Eyes Without a Face and Seconds are films I would consider much more "highbrow" than Scanners. Eyes Without a Face especially has a very chilling, sublime poetry to it.

Yes, I definitely agree with this post. Scanners is much more comparable to things they've released like Fiend Without a Face or Equinox or The Blob. It's a bit better than any of those, but it's no lost classic like Seconds and Eyes Without a Face. I'd highly recommend it if you like exploding head effects and ambitious, low-budget movies that don't entirely succeed at their goals. I would not recommend it if you're expecting something high-brow.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by jw007

I've never seen Scanners, but do you think this would be a safe blind-buy? I'm not huge on horror but I like Cronenberg a lot (I have Videodrome and Naked Lunch on BD).

Grade A brain explosions do sound intriguing.

I would NOT suggest it as a blind buy if those are your only two Cronenberg movies. Both of those are vastly superior in all respects. You should greatly reduce your expectations for Scanners. It's a fun movie, but it's just not even remotely as ambitious as either of those two movies, and both of those have extremely solid lead performances while Scanners revolves around a black hole of charisma that seems like he was hired after being rejected from Degrassi. If you've seen his earlier stuff like Rabid and Shivers or if you've watched a fair number of low budget 70s/80s horror/sci-fi movies you are probably safe blind-buying it, but be aware it's nowhere near as good as his better-regarded movies. It's not really a horror movie compared to most of his others from that period, though, so if you dislike horror that shouldn't be a concern. It's more of a sci-fi thriller that has a couple massively gory effects in it.

[Edward J Grug III]

Thanks to the person who drew my attention to the Deep Discount voucher. Like the previous international buyer, it made it pretty much on par with the B&N sale. Plus, aside from the Zatoichi set, we've almost finished our un-watched Blu Ray pile.

Ordered:

HIDDEN FORTRESS
PERSONA
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT
THRONE OF BLOOD
JULES & JIM

And non-Criterion films

GHOST & MRS. MUIR
THE FILE ON THELMA JORDON
CLOAK & DAGGER
THE STRANGER
INN OF THE SIXTH HAPPINESS

Very exciting haul!

[Scottie]

For those who haven't seen Scanners, it's always playing on TV, so check your local listings if you don't want to blind buy it.

[colinrgeorge]

Apparently I gotta speak up in defense of the Scanners cover, I think it's rad.

For my money, the out-and-out ugliest piece of art Criterion ever produced is for Malkovich. It seriously looks like a five minute copy/paste job.

EDIT: Never mind. Once upon a time there was THIS.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

I would NOT suggest it as a blind buy if those are your only two Cronenberg movies. Both of those are vastly superior in all respects. You should greatly reduce your expectations for Scanners. It's a fun movie, but it's just not even remotely as ambitious as either of those two movies, and both of those have extremely solid lead performances while Scanners revolves around a black hole of charisma that seems like he was hired after being rejected from Degrassi. If you've seen his earlier stuff like Rabid and Shivers or if you've watched a fair number of low budget 70s/80s horror/sci-fi movies you are probably safe blind-buying it, but be aware it's nowhere near as good as his better-regarded movies. It's not really a horror movie compared to most of his others from that period, though, so if you dislike horror that shouldn't be a concern. It's more of a sci-fi thriller that has a couple massively gory effects in it.

Thanks for this explanation. Lately, I've been taking less chances with blind-buying and just going to the library 5 blocks from my house to borrow a film I might be interested in purchasing. Though sometimes there is a real thrill when watching a classic sci-fi thriller/horror film like Scanners for the first time in pristine Blu-ray high definition quality. I'm probably the only person who doesn't do Netflix either. I guess I can always find this movie online too or download it via a torrent somewhere but I don't mind seeing the DVD first before buying this on Blu-ray. I'm going to do some more investigations via Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB and some other websites regarding Scanners before I decide to either 1) blind-buy purchase it or 2) borrow/rent it.

[Brad1963]

Count me in for all except Scanners, I don't understand what all the fuss is all about. The Demy Box looks like the one to beat for Best Criterion of the year, and Pickpocket nice surprise.

[Scottie]

Pre-Orders are live.

The Big Chill
http://www.amazon.com/Big-Chill-Blu-...625561&sr=1-22

Insomnia
http://www.amazon.com/Insomnia-Blu-r...625613&sr=1-30

Jacques Demy
http://www.amazon.com/Essential-Jacq...625613&sr=1-29

Pickpocket
http://www.amazon.com/Pickpocket-Blu...625624&sr=1-39

Scanners
http://www.amazon.com/Scanners-Blu-r...625624&sr=1-41

[hustlermane]

Yeah, I've also never understood why so many people were clamouring for Scanners - it's really not very good, and aside from the famous head explosions is actually really dull. But as always I'm glad for the fans of the film that it's announced, and I think the cover art is awesome.

I've only seen Cherbourg, but I think I'm going to have to blind buy that Demy set. I'm too much of a sucker for a good box set.

[Blu-Velvet]

Looking forward most to the French titles, Bresson and Demy, all films I've never gotten around to seeing yet over the years, so it will be great to experience them for the first time in Criterion quality on a big screen.

This afternoon I finally watched JULES AND JIM for the first time since seeing a 16mm pan & scan print in college and possibly once on PBS maybe 35 years ago, and then tonight I watched it again with one of the audio commentaries. Great to see the full scope image, which really adds to the atmosphere of the story and artistry of the compositions, besides making it more obvious when early 1900s stock footage is inserted. The story and characters convey much greater philosophical depth now that I'm substantially older and can appreciate more of what it's trying to say, and it's also much easier for me to recognize the various New Wave techniques.

Watching most of the bonus features and commentary brings out a lot more both technically and thematically that isn't immediately obvious (and some that is). The documentary on the real-life people whose lives inspired the original fictionalized memoir/novel was fascinating. I wasn't particularly fond of it seeing it in my late teens or early 20s, and had been debating whether or not to order it when I saw the initial release announcement, but I'm really glad I picked this up on Criterion's last half-price flash sale!

[spanky87]

Ugh. Does Amazon Uk accept exchanges? Criterion is so inconsistent. Took them about a year and a half to release Tess after the UK released the 4K restoration, so I bought that one instead of waiting for them. Just ordered Cherbourg a few days ago because I wasn't sure the Criterion release was happening so soon. And I'm going to need to get that box set.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by hustlermane

Yeah, I've also never understood why so many people were clamouring for Scanners - it's really not very good, and aside from the famous head explosions is actually really dull.

But it has Patrick McGoohan in it.
(As if having Louis Del Grande wasn't enough.)

[Polaroid]

The more I look at the Scanners cover the more I love the artwork - wish the criterion logo stuff was more noticeable though lol

Can't stop seeing 'Prometheus' when I look at the insomnia cover lol >.<