The Criterion Collection

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by MTS

Heh. I went into A Barnes & Noble today and asked where there criterion collections were. The lady behind the counter didn't know what I was referring to. I asked if they had any movies, and she directed me to the handful of terribly overpriced recent releases like Gone Girl and The Hobbit. About ten titles. In the whole store. Oh, and the original Star Wars trilogy.

The B&N I work at is set up this way. We've never had a full media department, so all we offer is about 20 titles; we just don't have the space because we're not a "major market" store. We only get the titles my store is set up to have. I believe some of the newer titles we have (Interstellar, Wild, Unbroken) are all 30% off (or 40% for members), so I wouldn't say they're terribly overpriced, especially with a 15 or 20% off coupon that's floating around this weekend.

Oh, and heads up to anyone wanting to do online/ship to home orders while in-store. Just this week we can no longer price match our online prices if the ship to home order is done in store. If your item cheaper online, then the only way for you to get that online price is if you order it yourself. Apparently it didn't cause a fuss when it was tested out in other stores, so that's the way it is now. Luckily, nothing should be any different for the July and November Criterion sales.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by RipleyLV426

Couldn't find any either, it's horrendous! Couldn't find a current one, dont look now , either.

I didn't find much Criterion to work with, but they seem to have a sale on Cinema Guild stuff, so if anyone wants Museum Hours, Stray Dogs, Manakamana or possibly other Cinema Guild stuff, they are $20.99 before the coupon.

[Marlow27]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If we're talking about the best film by a director, then I would not refer to that title simply as a masterpiece.
I would refer to it as the director's crowning achievement.

A director can have several masterpieces, but only one crowning achievement.

I think that Rear Window is Alfred Hitchcock's crowning achievement.
I think that Double Indemnity is Billy Wilder's crowning achievement.
I think that Stagecoach is John Ford's crowning achievement.
I think that Seven Samurai is Akira Kurosawa's crowning achievement.
I think that Out of the Past is Jacques Tourneur's crowning achievement.
I think that The Conversation is Francis Ford Coppola's crowning achievement.
I think that Laura is Otto Preminger's crowning achievement.
I think that Criss Cross is Robert Siodmak's crowning achievement.
I think that The Shining is Stanley Kubrick's crowning achievement.
I think that Touch of Evil is Orson Welles's crowning achievement.
I think that The Gold Rush (1925) is Charlie Chaplin's crowning achievement.
I think that The General is Buster Keaton's crowning achievement.
I think that Chinatown is Roman Polanski's crowning achievement.
I think that The Big Heat is Fritz Lang's crowning achievement.
I think that Jaws is Steven Spielberg's crowning achievement.
I think that The Maltese Falcon is John Huston's crowning achievement.
I think that On the Waterfront is Elia Kazan's crowning achievement.
I think that Fanny and Alexander is Ingmar Bergman's crowning achievement.
I think that Blow Out is Brian De Palma's crowning achievement.
I think that Alien is Ridley Scott's crowning achievement.
I think that Play Misty for Me is Clint Eastwood's crowning achievement.
I think that The Thin Red Line is Terrence Malick's crowning achievement.
I think that Casablanca is Michael Curtiz's crowning achievement.
I think that The Big Sleep is Howard Hawks's crowning achievement.
I think that Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) is John Carpenter's crowning achievement.
I think that In a Lonely Place is Nicholas Ray's crowning achievement.
I think that Escape from Alcatraz is Don Siegel's crowning achievement.
I think that La Dolce Vita is Federico Fellini's crowning achievement.
I think that L'Avventura is Michelangelo Antonioni's crowning achievement.
I think that Taxi Driver is Martin Scorsese's crowning achievement.
I think that The Sound of Music is Robert Wise's crowning achievement.
I think that Pickup on South Street is Samuel Fuller's crowning achievement.
I think that Friday the 13th (1980) is Sean Cunningham's crowning achievement.
I think that Raw Deal (1948) is Anthony Mann's crowning achievement.
I think that Point Blank is John Boorman's crowning achievement.
I think that Detour is Edgar G. Ulmer's crowning achievement.
I think that The Night of the Hunter is Charles Laughton's crowning achievement.

Looking through this list, I was thinking to myself "This would make a really great intro into classic film for someone who was just starting out."

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Marlow27

Looking through this list, I was thinking to myself "This would make a really great intro into classic film for someone who was just starting out."

Isn't that what the 50 years of Janus films set was aimed for?

[stylesclash516]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

Text THANKS to 73277 to get a Sears.com coupon code.

I picked up Summer Interlude priced $20.99 - $10 coupon + 99 cents shipping + 7% NJ states sales tax bringing my grand total to:

$12.82

CORRECTION; Originally, I posted:

Criterion Collection pre-orders are $26.99 and come out to $17.98 shipped after $10 off.

While the coupon is currently available, Criterion pre-orders are not. I apologize for the misinformation.

Thanks for the heads up! I also grabbed Summer Interlude for a little over twelve dollars.

[filmmusic]

Can anyone recommend any Spring films in Criterion collection?
Films that is, in which we see bloomy countrysides and generally feel very spring-y?
One that comes to mind is Howards End, maybe Badlands too.
(also know about Late Spring but haven't seen it)
I guess Kes too? (or is this more autumny?)

[Needleman]

Watched House. I thought it was pretentious, random, shitty drivel. That's a great thing though! I don't typically dislike a movie that much, which is a sign of merit in some way on its part. Typically apathy follows things that are actually worthless.

The transfer varies in quality. At best it looks great, at worst it looks good. The audio is okay. Dialogue is oftentimes crunchy and frequency response is decent. This site grades Criterion stuff on a curve, I've seen "reference quality audio" attributed to many Criterion releases that sincerely don't deserve it. Along with "decent video and poor audio" delivered to cult titles of higher quality. Dunno how that works. It's simply not a matter of a titles age, it's because of what elements were transferred. Optical prints of old titles typically sound reasonable to poor. The original magnetic tracks (if accessible/still around) typically sound remarkably good.

House used a low contrast print and an optical track. Considering that the restoration work is of very high quality, but it's not the highest quality presentation of this film that's possible. Regardless of reasons (I presume Toho didn't grant access to the OCN and magnetic tracks).

[octagon]

Seiki SR4KP1 (region free) BD player at Sears

This thing just dropped to $49.99 and it's a no-brainer now with the $10 coupon floating around.

I have an earlier model region-free Seiki and I love it. The included remote is terrible but it's pretty easy to change region settings (strictly speaking, it's not region free, one changes the region by entering a text code and unlocking a 'region' menu on the main setup menu) and it just works.

Here's the dedicated thread if anybody wants more info.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=216607

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

It's amazing how many of these I agree with.

Though I have to disagree on Hitch's crowning achievement. For me it will always be Vertigo.

In all honesty, my choice for Hitchcock's crowning achievement could easily have gone to Vertigo, North by Northwest, or Psycho as well.

Last fall, though, I was fortunate to see theatrical presentations of Vertigo, Rear Window, and Psycho. While all three viewings were tremendous for me, I was most impressed by how wonderful Rear Window came across on the big screen. That's why I ultimately consider it to be Hitchcock's best.

It's amazing how Hitchcock utilizes such a confined setting with Rear Window, but somehow manages to keep things more sprawling and eye-popping than all three of The Lord of the Rings movies put together. It's really really something else.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A director can have several masterpieces, but only one crowning achievement.

I think that The Big Heat is Fritz Lang's crowning achievement.

As much as I like The Big Heat, Fritz Lang's crowning achievement to me will always be one of his German epics, either Metropolis or Die Nibelungen. I would argue it is Die Nibelungen. It is one of the most incredible, moving, and influential films ever made. The writing, the acting, the cinematography, Lang's direction of all the pieces without losing sight of the smaller human elements that drive the story, the innovations required to bring many of the film's scenes to the screen, the sheer scale and intricacy of the sets.....the filming of Siegfried and Kriemhild's saga is a legend in itself. The Big Heat is a well constructed house. Die Nibelungen is Versailles.

And to keep this Criterion related, if I had to choose a smaller film from Lang as a candidate, I would pick M. Lang in the U.S. directed some excellent movies, made all the more memorable because of the experiences he brought with him as one of the pioneers of German cinema. But he was relegated to a shadow of what he had been. Even then, he was still better than most of his peers; few could take a B-movie and elevate it into something darkly lyrical and unforgettable like Lang.

If you have not seen Die Nibelungen, get on it as soon as you can. And prepare yourself for one of the great experiences in the history of cinema.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

In all honesty, my choice for Hitchcock's crowning achievement could easily have gone to Vertigo, North by Northwest, or Psycho as well.

Last fall, though, I was fortunate to see theatrical presentations of Vertigo, Rear Window, and Psycho. While all three viewings were tremendous for me, I was most impressed by how wonderful Rear Window came across on the big screen. That's why I ultimately consider it to be Hitchcock's best.

It's amazing how Hitchcock utilizes such a confined setting with Rear Window, but somehow manages to keep things more sprawling and eye-popping than all three of The Lord of the Rings movies put together. It's really really something else.

Nice. The only Hitchcock films I've seen in a legitimate theater (that is, not in some film class auditorium with a crap projector, etc.) are Vertigo and The Birds. I guess not unsurprisingly those are my two favorite Hitch films. I know I'm probably in the minority with The Birds, but I've always found it very, very unsettling. For me, it's horror at its most basic level: Things suddenly go wrong for no clear reason whatsoever, and just as suddenly, they go back to normal. That's unfortunately how life so often works, and I find it eerie as hell.

Plus, I might possibly just have a "thing" for Tippi Hedren.

But that's the thing about Hitch: He made so many really strong films, and so many of them were strong in so many different ways. Psycho is so different from The Birds which is so different from Shadow of a Doubt which is so different from Rear Window which is so different from Vertigo, and so on. The man was truly a genius -- and I mean that in the true sense, not the way it's thrown around with abandon these days.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If we're talking about the best film by a director, then I would not refer to that title simply as a masterpiece.
I would refer to it as the director's crowning achievement.

A director can have several masterpieces, but only one crowning achievement.

I think that Rear Window is Alfred Hitchcock's crowning achievement.
I think that Double Indemnity is Billy Wilder's crowning achievement.
I think that Stagecoach is John Ford's crowning achievement.
I think that Seven Samurai is Akira Kurosawa's crowning achievement.
I think that Out of the Past is Jacques Tourneur's crowning achievement.
I think that The Conversation is Francis Ford Coppola's crowning achievement.
I think that Laura is Otto Preminger's crowning achievement.
I think that Criss Cross is Robert Siodmak's crowning achievement.
I think that The Shining is Stanley Kubrick's crowning achievement.
I think that Touch of Evil is Orson Welles's crowning achievement.
I think that The Gold Rush (1925) is Charlie Chaplin's crowning achievement.
I think that The General is Buster Keaton's crowning achievement.
I think that Chinatown is Roman Polanski's crowning achievement.
I think that The Big Heat is Fritz Lang's crowning achievement.
I think that Jaws is Steven Spielberg's crowning achievement.
I think that The Maltese Falcon is John Huston's crowning achievement.
I think that On the Waterfront is Elia Kazan's crowning achievement.
I think that Fanny and Alexander is Ingmar Bergman's crowning achievement.
I think that Blow Out is Brian De Palma's crowning achievement.
I think that Alien is Ridley Scott's crowning achievement.
I think that Play Misty for Me is Clint Eastwood's crowning achievement.
I think that The Thin Red Line is Terrence Malick's crowning achievement.
I think that Casablanca is Michael Curtiz's crowning achievement.
I think that The Big Sleep is Howard Hawks's crowning achievement.
I think that Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) is John Carpenter's crowning achievement.
I think that In a Lonely Place is Nicholas Ray's crowning achievement.
I think that Escape from Alcatraz is Don Siegel's crowning achievement.
I think that La Dolce Vita is Federico Fellini's crowning achievement.
I think that L'Avventura is Michelangelo Antonioni's crowning achievement.
I think that Taxi Driver is Martin Scorsese's crowning achievement.
I think that The Sound of Music is Robert Wise's crowning achievement.
I think that Pickup on South Street is Samuel Fuller's crowning achievement.
I think that Friday the 13th (1980) is Sean Cunningham's crowning achievement.
I think that Raw Deal (1948) is Anthony Mann's crowning achievement.
I think that Point Blank is John Boorman's crowning achievement.
I think that Detour is Edgar G. Ulmer's crowning achievement.
I think that The Night of the Hunter is Charles Laughton's crowning achievement.

Good grief, not only do I agree with you wholeheartedly in terms of "masterpieces" vs. "crowning achievements", but I agree with almost all the films you chose for each director! GREAT POST!

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I think that The Night of the Hunter is Charles Laughton's crowning achievement.

Good one

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by oildude

As much as I like The Big Heat, Fritz Lang's crowning achievement to me will always be one of his German epics, either Metropolis or Die Nibelungen.

I agree Die Nibelungen is incredible, but for me it is still Metropolis, maybe in this case we can add a second one, one for Silent one for talkie, i would choose M over The Big Heat, although i need to revisit the latter.

[WalterNeff]

"Crowning Achievement"? Wouldn't a better term be "Magnum Opus"?

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If we're talking about the best film by a director, then I would not refer to that title simply as a masterpiece.
I would refer to it as the director's crowning achievement.

A director can have several masterpieces, but only one crowning achievement.

I think that Rear Window is Alfred Hitchcock's crowning achievement.
I think that Double Indemnity is Billy Wilder's crowning achievement.
I think that Stagecoach is John Ford's crowning achievement.
I think that Seven Samurai is Akira Kurosawa's crowning achievement.
I think that Out of the Past is Jacques Tourneur's crowning achievement.
I think that The Conversation is Francis Ford Coppola's crowning achievement.
I think that Laura is Otto Preminger's crowning achievement.
I think that Criss Cross is Robert Siodmak's crowning achievement.
I think that The Shining is Stanley Kubrick's crowning achievement.
I think that Touch of Evil is Orson Welles's crowning achievement.
I think that The Gold Rush (1925) is Charlie Chaplin's crowning achievement.
I think that The General is Buster Keaton's crowning achievement.
I think that Chinatown is Roman Polanski's crowning achievement.
I think that The Big Heat is Fritz Lang's crowning achievement.
I think that Jaws is Steven Spielberg's crowning achievement.
I think that The Maltese Falcon is John Huston's crowning achievement.
I think that On the Waterfront is Elia Kazan's crowning achievement.
I think that Fanny and Alexander is Ingmar Bergman's crowning achievement.
I think that Blow Out is Brian De Palma's crowning achievement.
I think that Alien is Ridley Scott's crowning achievement.
I think that Play Misty for Me is Clint Eastwood's crowning achievement.
I think that The Thin Red Line is Terrence Malick's crowning achievement.
I think that Casablanca is Michael Curtiz's crowning achievement.
I think that The Big Sleep is Howard Hawks's crowning achievement.
I think that Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) is John Carpenter's crowning achievement.
I think that In a Lonely Place is Nicholas Ray's crowning achievement.
I think that Escape from Alcatraz is Don Siegel's crowning achievement.
I think that La Dolce Vita is Federico Fellini's crowning achievement.
I think that L'Avventura is Michelangelo Antonioni's crowning achievement.
I think that Taxi Driver is Martin Scorsese's crowning achievement.
I think that The Sound of Music is Robert Wise's crowning achievement.
I think that Pickup on South Street is Samuel Fuller's crowning achievement.
I think that Friday the 13th (1980) is Sean Cunningham's crowning achievement.
I think that Raw Deal (1948) is Anthony Mann's crowning achievement.
I think that Point Blank is John Boorman's crowning achievement.
I think that Detour is Edgar G. Ulmer's crowning achievement.
I think that The Night of the Hunter is Charles Laughton's crowning achievement.

Most of those I agree with, but there's no way that Blade Runner isn't Ridley Scott's crowning achievement.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If we're talking about the best film by a director, then I would not refer to that title simply as a masterpiece.
I would refer to it as the director's crowning achievement.

A director can have several masterpieces, but only one crowning achievement.

[Show spoiler]
I think that Rear Window is Alfred Hitchcock's crowning achievement.
I think that Double Indemnity is Billy Wilder's crowning achievement.
I think that Stagecoach is John Ford's crowning achievement.
I think that Seven Samurai is Akira Kurosawa's crowning achievement.
I think that Out of the Past is Jacques Tourneur's crowning achievement.
I think that The Conversation is Francis Ford Coppola's crowning achievement.
I think that Laura is Otto Preminger's crowning achievement.
I think that Criss Cross is Robert Siodmak's crowning achievement.
I think that The Shining is Stanley Kubrick's crowning achievement.
I think that Touch of Evil is Orson Welles's crowning achievement.
I think that The Gold Rush (1925) is Charlie Chaplin's crowning achievement.
I think that The General is Buster Keaton's crowning achievement.
I think that Chinatown is Roman Polanski's crowning achievement.
I think that The Big Heat is Fritz Lang's crowning achievement.
I think that Jaws is Steven Spielberg's crowning achievement.
I think that The Maltese Falcon is John Huston's crowning achievement.
I think that On the Waterfront is Elia Kazan's crowning achievement.
I think that Fanny and Alexander is Ingmar Bergman's crowning achievement.
I think that Blow Out is Brian De Palma's crowning achievement.
I think that Alien is Ridley Scott's crowning achievement.
I think that Play Misty for Me is Clint Eastwood's crowning achievement.
I think that The Thin Red Line is Terrence Malick's crowning achievement.
I think that Casablanca is Michael Curtiz's crowning achievement.
I think that The Big Sleep is Howard Hawks's crowning achievement.
I think that Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) is John Carpenter's crowning achievement.
I think that In a Lonely Place is Nicholas Ray's crowning achievement.
I think that Escape from Alcatraz is Don Siegel's crowning achievement.
I think that La Dolce Vita is Federico Fellini's crowning achievement.
I think that L'Avventura is Michelangelo Antonioni's crowning achievement.
I think that Taxi Driver is Martin Scorsese's crowning achievement.
I think that The Sound of Music is Robert Wise's crowning achievement.
I think that Pickup on South Street is Samuel Fuller's crowning achievement.
I think that Friday the 13th (1980) is Sean Cunningham's crowning achievement.
I think that Raw Deal (1948) is Anthony Mann's crowning achievement.
I think that Point Blank is John Boorman's crowning achievement.
I think that Detour is Edgar G. Ulmer's crowning achievement.
I think that The Night of the Hunter is Charles Laughton's crowning achievement.

I think your love for Noir films has colored some of your choices. Still, while I might quibble with some of your choices, the following are ones I definitely disagree with you on:

Hitchcock: Vertigo
Wilder: Witness for the Prosecution
Ford: The Searchers (though My Darling Clementine is still my favorite of his)
Kubrick: A Clockwork Orange
Welles: Citizen Kane
Lang: Metropolis
Huston: The Asphalt Jungle
Scott: Blade Runner
Hawks: His Girl Friday
Carpenter: The Thing
Siegel: Invasion of the Body Snatchers
Wise: The Day the Earth Stood Still

On edit: Managed to miss one...

Coppola: Apocalypse Now (or maybe The Godfather Part II)

[Yami]

May be of interest so some folks on here - Don Hertzfeldt, who did a Top 10 on the Criterion website, is currently doing a Reddit AMA

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Yami

May be of interest so some folks on here - Don Hertzfeldt, who did a Top 10 on the Criterion website, is currently doing a Reddit AMA

I really, really, really, really hated It's Such a Beautiful Day.

I fail to see anything redeeming about the film. Nothing felt heartfelt or sentimental. The narration in particular got so far under my skin that I'm still trying to pull it out.

[monorail91]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

Can anyone recommend any Spring films in Criterion collection?
Films that is, in which we see bloomy countrysides and generally feel very spring-y?
One that comes to mind is Howards End, maybe Badlands too.
(also know about Late Spring but haven't seen it)
I guess Kes too? (or is this more autumny?)

A couple other that come to mind --

• Amarcord - which goes through all the seasons, but ends with a sweet spring/summer scene

• Il Sorpasso - two men's journey while everyone else is out on spring/summer vacation