The Criterion Collection

[oliver_67]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

How does Senso compare to The Leopard? I think The leopard is stunning and discovered Senso in collection but not seen.

Is it worth a blind buy?

Senso is top tier Visconti and should be in any serious cinephile's collection.

[Scottie]

Hey Pro-B,

What other reviews can we see soon?

[pro-bassoonist]

Hey Scottie

Tonight (in a couple of hours) we will have Time Bandits, and then Finally Sunday. Immediately after that we will have Safe, Les Blank, The Killers (UK), and Tesis. All of the recent Masters of Cinema titles are on deck as well.



Pro-B

[Alex DeLarge]

Thanks Pro-B! Can't wait to check out the Hellman Westerns as I snagged them the first day of B&N's Criterion sale. I received two 20% coupons in the mail as a B&N member so today I purchased Pasolini's TRILOGY OF LIFE and Robert Downey Sr's Eclipse set.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Senso is definitely easier to get into.

Originally Posted by oliver_67

Senso is top tier Visconti and should be in any serious cinephile's collection.

Ah sweet thanks

I need to stop asking for recommendations cause I cant afford them atm so unfair.

Can we start a charity up to fund my addiction?

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hey Scottie

Tonight (in a couple of hours) we will have Time Bandits, and then Finally Sunday. Immediately after that we will have Safe, Les Blank, The Killers (UK), and Tesis. All of the recent Masters of Cinema titles are on deck as well.



Pro-B

Can't wait for the Time Bandits review! Thanks as always Pro-B!

[Namuhana]

I think I'm finished with the sale. I picked up Seven Samurai in store, my mom purchased The Long Day Closes for me while we were there (as a Christmas present for me), I pre-ordered L'avventura and it's on its way, and I just ordered The Darjeeling Limited with a 20% off coupon. I'm quite happy with what I purchased!

[bugsy_pal]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I finally opened and watched my copy of Howard's End tonight, and am at a loss as how to judge the quality of my disc. It played all the way through, but I was pretty appalled by the "video noise" (some speckling and banding) in several of the scenes, especially those with dark shadows. (I was unpleasantly reminded of the "laser rot" that eventually infected so many of my LaserDiscs.) Although the disc wasn't unwatchable, I was left wishing that the movie looked as clear as the bulk of the more recently produced supplementary features.

I checked several websites, and there seems to be a lot of controversy surrounding this particular Criterion release. So I thought I would ask all of you, whom I trust more than the average viewer: should I simply be happy with the disc I have, or is there a "flawless" pressing of this film that might make an exchange worthwhile?

P.S. I purchased my copy directly from Amazon USA on June 13, 2013, so I'm guessing it's probably from a later pressing ...

What you saw has nothing to do with laser rot. It's noise that is part of the transfer. I am not sure what it is, but it's always been there. I didn't mind it, and I felt that most of the picture looked pretty good. I remember it being very noticeable on the end credits, and here and there throughout the film.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Are 3-Disc Scavano cases going to be a thing of the past as well? I was always of the camp that said digipak's should only be used for the special titles, but I've changed my mind a little.

I only want digipak's for releases that have booklets which are too thick for a standard case. For example, while Fanny and Alexander is a really beautiful looking set, I'd personally prefer it in a 3-Disc clear case.

Also on the subject of the 3-Disc cases... Has anyone tested out how it looks when you put a cover from a standard 14mm Criterion (1 or 2-Disc) case into one of the 3-Disc cases? The 3-Disc cases are like 16 or 17mm wide which isn't much wider but I'm interested in finding out if this affects the look of the spine much.

I may want to add 1 or 2 discs to a Criterion that's already got 1 or 2 discs so it would be great if these 3-Disc cases became available for purchase, but it probably wouldn't be worth it if the cover's spine would look bad with he extra 2-3mm width.

Has anyone else been wondering about some of these types of things?

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching Roman Polanski's Macbeth.

When I was just a kid, my mother, who was a high school English teacher at the time, occasionally summarized the story of Macbeth to me and my brother to scare us during road trips. My mother's descriptions of Macbeth seeing a soldier's head at the witches' cauldron and of Macbeth seeing Banquo's ghost put some pretty terrifying visuals into my head back then.

While I prefer Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood as an adaptation of the Shakespeare Macbeth because of the sheer power of Toshiro Mifune as the title character, I have to tip my hat to Roman Polanski's interpretation because it comes the closest to matching the ghastly mental images conjured by my childhood mind when I used to listen to my mother's retelling of the play. Polanki's version, which benefits from sprawling film location settings in the British Isles and unflinching violence, is a dark visual feast that brings the inherent bleakness of the play to a tangible level.

The beautiful Francesca Annis, whom I've loved since early adolescence, thanks to her roles in Krull (1983) and Dune (1984), is wonderful as the Lady Macbeth. She conveys not only the sinister ambition of the character, but also the frail aspects of the character's subsequent descent into madness. Jon Finch, whom I recognized from Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy and from The Vampire Lovers, is entrancing to watch as the title character, mostly because of his effectiveness at the soliloquies.

Macbeth is not my favorite Polanski film by any stretch, but it is a fascinating skeleton in his dark cinematic closet, and it is a wondrously macabre Shakespeare adaptation that really captures the spirit of its source.


This reminds me that, although I've seen Kurosawa's Throne of Blood many times by way of my old Criterion DVD, the Blu-ray upgrade is still sitting in my unwatched stack. I should remedy this soon. Maybe even tomorrow night.

EDIT: I knew it!
When I saw the porter on the screen in Polanski's Macbeth, I thought that he looked just like the character, Hodges, from the 1981 movie, Dragonslayer. Indeed, Sydney Bromley played both characters.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Are 3-Disc Scavano cases going to be a thing of the past as well? I was always of the camp that said digipak's should only be used for the special titles, but I've changed my mind a little.

I only want digipak's for releases that have booklets which are too thick for a standard case. For example, while Fanny and Alexander is a really beautiful looking set, I'd personally prefer it in a 3-Disc clear case.

Also on the subject of the 3-Disc cases... Has anyone tested out how it looks when you put a cover from a standard 14mm Criterion (1 or 2-Disc) case into one of the 3-Disc cases? The 3-Disc cases are like 16 or 17mm wide which isn't much wider but I'm interested in finding out if this affects the look of the spine much.

I may want to add 1 or 2 discs to a Criterion that's already got 1 or 2 discs so it would be great if these 3-Disc cases became available for purchase, but it probably wouldn't be worth it if the cover's spine would look bad with he extra 2-3mm width.

Has anyone else been wondering about some of these types of things?

I've thought of things like this, but at this point its energy and time that I shouldn't put an effort into doing, esp. trying to force a compatibility between a 14mm and 17mm Scanavo disc case. I do like the 3 disc plastic Scanavo cases a lot though. I wish Criterion would continue to use these types of cases if they ever went back to making booklets as opposed to leaflets or posters. But even the booklets still fit in the standard 14mm cases too. So I don't know anymore. As for spines looking differently, I have a few 3 disc Scanavo cases here I could experiment with if you want to see what a standard 14mm spine would look in a 17mm case.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

That is fantastic. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is one of my favorite films of all time. Definitely more re-watchable than Don't Look Now! But anyway, that's interesting how many times you've seen both of these films.

I caved in tonight and ordered the Star Trek: The Original Series, Three-Season Pack Blu-ray set, since I saw it for $68.99 on Amazon. I was actually eyeing it yesterday when it was on sale on Amazon for $84.99, so I'm glad that I waited a day. It'll be a long while before I get around to watching these shows, but I'm looking forward to reliving some memories of watching them with my brother back when the reruns were aired during the mid-1980s.

I still hold Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now on a slightly higher plane in terms of sheer artistic innovation, but I've definitely watched Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan many more times during my life so far. That may change when the Criterion Blu-ray of Don't Look Now surfaces, but we'll see...

[Marlow27]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just finished watching Roman Polanski's Macbeth.

When I was just a kid, my mother, who was a high school English teacher at the time, occasionally summarized the story of Macbeth to me and my brother to scare us during road trips. My mother's descriptions of Macbeth seeing a soldier's head at the witches' cauldron and of Macbeth seeing Banquo's ghost put some pretty terrifying visuals into my head back then.

Your mother sounds amazing!


I have Macbeth on the way. Can't wait to watch it.

[pro-bassoonist]

Time Bandits Blu-ray REVIEW



Hey guys,

Here's the review for Time Bandits. I wanted to mention that I don't have the final packaging yet, but as usual when the disc arrives I will include photos in the review and will post them here for you to see. (I also will post a few in the official thread on the forum).

Have a wonderful week everyone

Pro-B

p.s. You are welcome Alex DeLarge and lordmorpheus72. See you on the forum

[KilloWertz]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Time Bandits Blu-ray REVIEW



Hey guys,

Here's the review for Time Bandits. I wanted to mention that I don't have the final packaging yet, but as usual when the disc arrives I will include photos in the review and will post them here for you to see. (I also will post a few in the official thread on the forum).

Have a wonderful week everyone

Pro-B

p.s. You are welcome Alex DeLarge and lordmorpheus72. See you on the forum

Thanks.

It looks like I'll be keeping my copy of the Arrow release, but I'll definitely get this as well so I can play it on more than just my Region Free player. That and for the exclusive Criterion features.

[jshaide]

Very excited to see those Les Blank reviews. Am I better off going to bed or waiting til morning, or will it be up soonish?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I caved in tonight and ordered the Star Trek: The Original Series, Three-Season Pack Blu-ray set, since I saw it for $68.99 on Amazon. I was actually eyeing it yesterday when it was on sale on Amazon for $84.99, so I'm glad that I waited a day. It'll be a long while before I get around to watching these shows, but I'm looking forward to reliving some memories of watching them with my brother back when the reruns were aired during the mid-1980s.

I still hold Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now on a slightly higher plane in terms of sheer artistic innovation, but I've definitely watched Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan many more times during my life so far. That may change when the Criterion Blu-ray of Don't Look Now surfaces, but we'll see...

Well, here's hoping that your 3 season pack of the Original Series gets more replay than Don't Look Now! At least for your sanity and mine! I didn't learn much in the way of substance or ethics or morality tales from Roeg's film but from the 80 episodes of classic Star Trek, I didn't even have to blink cause every episode was an invaluable lesson in the human condition. Yes, its a treasure trove of sci fi morality plays that I can revisit time and time again. The Original Series was the very first blu-ray I ever bought (well, collection of blu-rays that is) back in 2011 (for $180 at MSRP - I couldn't wait!), and there was a reason why.

Long live classic Trek! Amen!

[Sifox211]

Last night I went to see Playtime in a showing at my local art house cinema. The only previous time I'd seen it was on the original Criterion BD. After that viewing I felt a bit lukewarm to it, finding it clever but not very engaging. This occasion, however, was very different, and I guess shows up the difference between viewing at home and on the big screen in company. It was a totally engrossing experience and the better view afforded by a cinema size screen definitely helped pick up on all the sight gags. The sound track, especially all the effects, really lifted it too, and the closing scenes at the roundabout and airport, with the very 60s music, was magical.

I'll be interested to compare how it goes when I watch the new Criterion BD. The less cold colour palette in the cinema viewing didn't bother me - and how would we know which was correct, without being in a French cinema in 1967

I'd also recommend watching Criterion's "Anatomy of a gag" video before viewing this film, even if you haven't seen Playtime before. I feel that the insight into how the visual jokes play out in the restaurant scene really helped.

[orbital]

Originally Posted by jw007

I didn't learn much in the way of substance or ethics or morality tales from Roeg's film ...

Maybe it's because that's not the point of Roeg's film.

Originally Posted by jw007

... but from the 80 episodes of classic Star Trek, I didn't even have to blink cause every episode was an invaluable lesson in the human condition.

For one thing I'd say DON'T LOOK NOW does not feature as much sleazy male chauvinism as TOS.

Wait a minute ... you were seriously comparing those two?

[Helikaon]

Originally Posted by jw007

I finally opened up my blu-ray edition of Secret Sunshine last night and watched it. There were times when I couldn't believe I was being emotionally manipulated by this amazing film. In one scene, and I will not reveal which one, I found myself laughing in the beginning and by the end of the scene I found tears rolling down my cheeks. I don't recall myself ever having such a 180 degree turnaround of emotions in any one scene in a film in recent memory.

I've also been in a "Korean phase" as of late, so this South Korean film really was the perfect timing in my life. I recently discovered this phenomenal Korean restaurant nearby and on my third trip there in just a few weeks, in front of the waitstaff, I smiled and proclaimed it to be the best restaurant in my immediate neighborhood.

The next time I return to this Korean restaurant, I am going to tell them that I just saw this absolutely marvelous movie from 2007, Secret Sunshine, which was totally engaging from beginning to end. The director, Lee Chang-dong, was asking questions rather than providing answers. This film is about ordinary lives rather than extraordinary lives. And Mr. Chang-dong believes that an ordinary life requires questioning, since someone who is beyond ordinary doesn't need questioning. In a press conference for the film, Chang-dong said "the idea behind that choice of title being that even in an altogether ordinary life, there can be a metaphysical quest."

Personally, I found the story, adapted from Yi Chong-jun's novel, to be devastating and horrifically depressing at times. Yet, at the same time there was an air of powerful optimism, and some of that may stem just from the technical shooting of the bright sunshine that permeates the production and infiltrates one's mind with a "sunny" disposition. Yet, the sunniness is terribly deceptive at the same time and the very last shot is that of a putrefying puddle in a backyard, to show just how ordinary a life can be. By the way, I don't believe I'm giving away a spoiler when I mention this shot, because it has nothing to do with the outcome of the story.

The great part about this film is the focus on religious fanaticism; in this story it is Christian evangelicalism. Chang-dong stated that "it is not a film about religion; it's a film about people, whether they are religious or not." The Korean citizens of Miryang, a small town in South Korea, and many of whom were cast locally rather than have extras come all the way from Seoul (though some may have), really added a striking amount of authenticity to the story. The religious characters who enveloped the Korean widow "Shin-ae" (played by Jeon Do-yeon) were very realistic and the timing for them to come into her life couldn't have been better for Shin-ae's tragic turn of events. Yet, Shin-ae's inability to ingratiate herself with these local religious townspeople of Miryang is one of the many complexities she faced. I was riveted by these religious citizens and found myself snickering at them and how pathetically "fake" they appeared... and then I found myself admiring them at the same time and how devout and faithful they were in the cruel world that Shin-ae inhabited. Kim Jong-chan (Song Kang-ho), who played the mechanic that Shin-ae befriended, was another ordinary individual, living a mundane daily lifestyle, working in an auto shop by day and eating take-out food and having fun on the karaoke machine at night. He was almost a protector of Shin-ae, as he witnessed her devastating plight firsthand. He followed her around like a lapdog but was imperfect himself and could not always express himself openly with her. He seemed insecure, and in one sequence he had his TV set on while he was sleeping, almost like a companion to his lonely existence.

The great thing about Secret Sunshine is that the director Lee Chang-dong doesn't add unnecessary melodrama as a device to an already melodramatic story. In one pivotal scene, he could have chosen a closeup or even a medium shot in a very powerful part of the story, but he kept the camera distanced from the character/s and let us feel, as viewers, the alienation and dread from afar, just as Shin-ae was feeling.

The video and audio quality of this digitally-shot film is remarkable and the interview of Lee Chang-dong is excellent in the supplements. Overall, this is a film I feel belongs firmly in my library and I have no reservations of giving Secret Sunshine **** (4) and 1/2 stars out of 5.

Wow, high praise! I, personally, couldn't get through it and consider it to be Lee Chang-dong's weakest film by far. Perhaps my expectations were too high, because I absolutely love Oasis and Poetry, and Peppermint Candy was great.