The Criterion Collection

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Reddington

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is possibly Burton's finest role. Although he'll always be Major Smith to me.

Never seen an Antonioni and figure L'aaventura is the place to start.



Thanks. I've tried not to read too much about it. But from what I do know, my intention is to simply immerse myself in the experience.



All three blind buys. Out of all the titles I picked up this sale, High and Low may be the one I'm most looking forward to - in no small measure due to the high regard in which it seems to be held around these parts. Especially by yourself.

I will be eagerly anticipating your review on all three.

Pretty confident about High and Low...assuming you like Kurosawa.

Pretty confident about The Battle of Algiers...it's just that good.

Picnic at Hanging Rock could go either way.

...you might love it or you might hate it.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Bob Kramer

Nolan is the most turgid, dull director since John Sturges.

Now you are just trolling.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

My Criterion Collection corner is complete. Added a shelf for more storage and my street sign I found on eBay...

That is so freaking hot.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

My Criterion Collection corner is complete. Added a shelf for more storage and my street sign I found on eBay...

Gorgeous! I need that Criterion sign ..

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by joa

I think you protest too much. There are exception but in general its true. It's obvious most women would not appreciate the distancing style of that film, not too mention rape. That kind of thing attracts men who like that sort of violence, or nerdy film student who are interested in the technical element.

But if you like Clockwork Orange, what it matters whether women like it? You only like films women like?

long time lurker, first time poster?

you should have waited longer before making that first post. better luck next time.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

My Criterion Collection corner is complete. Added a shelf for more storage and my street sign I found on eBay...

The sign is awesome as is everything else.

Well, there is one little thing...

I have the SC Ran. It's a perfectly adequate disc and it would probably look lovely anywhere else in your home but it's more than a little out of place where you have it now

[Feiereisel]

Originally Posted by octagon

Definitely. I've used this analogy before but it works: if somebody at work or a particular reviewer had an excellent track record of turning me onto movies I wound up enjoying immensely I would of course give their recommendations more weight.



Not particularly, no.

In the first place, people here (the site generally) point to 'mistakes' that aren't necessarily mistakes. The color timing of Thief comes to mind. I can't even remember if I saw Thief theatrically let alone what the color timing looked like but I'm inclined to give Lee Kline the benefit of doubt on things like that.

As for the out-and-out mistakes? Shit happens. And it seems to happen fairly infrequently with their releases.

And I never buy any of their stuff before reviews hit the street. I'm almost always waiting for some sale or another anyway.

A good analogy; I suppose I trust them as much as it's possible to trust a company--it's just that I'm not sure I can fully embrace a corporate entity as wholly or readily as a hip work friend...as much as I want it to be, it isn't a dialogue, hence the lack of true trust.

I also read reviews and tend not to grab things on day one--Night and the City is currently testing that--which maybe mitigates the spurn-factor some are feeling.

Originally Posted by jmclick

I absolutely trust Criterion. And that trust is strengthened by their mistakes. Because every time Criterion messes up, they take responsibility for making it right with their customers (the bronzed disc replacement program; the current Dressed to Kill issue; etc.), at least in my experience.

They do a terrific job with on that front, and the responses do humanize the company (whether or not Mulvaney exists). I've had decent experiences with other companies, though--most recently I swapped my dubbed Get Carter disc for one with the director's intended audio. WB was no less accommodating.

Originally Posted by nondiatonic

Extremely eloquent exposition.

I agree with everything you've written here.

As to your second question: I don't feel I've lost any trust, not that I had any beyond the fact that their track record lends me to have high expectations of their products. These blunders are simply oversights on their part. Nothing malicious. And, in (almost) all cases they've handled each with poise and solid customer service.

The one gray area in all of this is the response to the framing of Blue in the Three Colors set. I don't want to start a discussion on this topic as there have been plenty (some in this thread). However, there exists evidence that suggests the initial scan was incorrectly framed (a potential I personally believe to be true). This is not at all the fault of Criterion. However, to use apparent smoke and mirror tactics to divert attention from the fact that it may be wrong (presumably because, in this instance, Criterion can do nothing about it--such as issue replacement discs--since this scan is the only HD source of the film) undermines their customer base.

Thanks--there are a couple of other discs about which Criterion has been suspiciously mum, so I agree that it's fair to assume that Criterion's hands were in some way tied. But there is a vast gray area there, perhaps partially accentuated because those weird moments remind us that they are in fact a company first and our secret cinephile friends (an extremely close) second.

Thanks for the responses!

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Indeed. Hou Hsiao-hsien has made marvellous movies by the looks of it. I haven't seen any yet myself but it's safe to say I'm now dying to. I can't find any affordardable discs either (don't want to watch on YouTube). Some directors are very well represented and I'm super glad for it (Bergman. Give me more Bergman!) but there really are so many great directors being ignored by criterion, especially from Asian countries. It's actually really sad

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Gorgeous! I need that Criterion sign ..

Hey CriterionBlues! Very much looking forward to your podcasts. Good luck with it. I can listen while I'm at work, so be interesting (I'm sure you will!) and I won't miss an episode.

Hopefully, I can see some of the films that I haven't seen prior to your podcasts.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by octagon

The sign is awesome as is everything else.



Well, there is one little thing...



I have the SC Ran. It's a perfectly adequate disc and it would probably look lovely anywhere else in your home but it's more than a little out of place where you have it now

It was the most Criterion-esque title I had in a blue case so the Mini-Marquee would show thru. Well, other than Benjamin Button, but that would have brought even more scorn in this thread.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Hey CriterionBlues! Very much looking forward to your podcasts. Good luck with it. I can listen while I'm at work, so be interesting (I'm sure you will!) and I won't miss an episode.

Hopefully, I can see some of the films that I haven't seen prior to your podcasts.

Appreciate that. Just based on what we have prepped, I can safely say the content will be interesting. Hopefully we'll deliver as hosts. I imagine we'll get better as we go. And we will post the titles well ahead of time in the hopes that people can watch ahead of time. I'm a fan of a lot of different podcasts, but I hate when a new one comes out for a film I haven't seen.

Broadcast News is a good start because it is light, but we have some heavier fare lines up. Kinda have to with Criterion.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

Well, other than Benjamin Button, but that would have brought even more scorn in this thread.

Good call

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I bought Carlos during the recent sale and the second disc was defective and part of the first printing. Emailed Jon Mulvaney...the man, the myth, the legend...and received a replacement disc in the mail ten days later.

Didn't have to provide proof or send back the defective disc.

I thought that was pretty cool.

...that's how companies earn lifelong customers.

I want my $2 for shipping back. He made me send my defective copy of The Wages of Fear in lol.

In all seriousness, though, I received my replacement disc less than two weeks from the time I sent the defective one in. Great customer service.

[Martin_31]

Originally Posted by Bob Kramer

Because it's... fun? Nolanfans and Sir Ridley Subjects are the worst (best), they bristle as if I attacked their religion. It helps if I picture them as Harry Knowles, apoplectic in his wheelchair.

It isn't. Why make fun of someone who likes a certain director? It's absurd and uncalled for. Childish. This is coming from someone who isn't necessarily a fan of Scott or Nolan. The movies that I have seen from them, I've enjoyed.

[Halation]

I think the lovers of Clockwork Orange aren't so much enamored with the violence and rape as they are just overly excited about the theme (whether morality can exist without choice!!!!!), the slapstick comedy, easy politics, theatrical dialogue, and how goddamn operatic everything is. It's really more boring and juvenile than it is offensive or masculine.

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Halation

I think the lovers of Clockwork Orange aren't so much enamored with the violence and rape as they are just overly excited about the theme (whether morality can exist without choice!!!!!), the slapstick comedy, easy politics, theatrical dialogue, and how goddamn operatic everything is. It's really more boring and juvenile than it is offensive or masculine.

Speaking of operatic, I enjoy the soundtrack, I have it on vinyl somewhere.....

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Who are some other excellent Asian filmmakers you'd love to see represented in the collection?

Zhang Yimou
Chen Kaige
Tian Zhuangzhuang
King Hu
Mabel Cheung
Stanley Kwan
Clara Law
Jūzō Itami
Tran Anh Hung

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by Feiereisel

I've had decent experiences with other companies, though--most recently I swapped my dubbed Get Carter disc for one with the director's intended audio. WB was no less accommodating.

Indeed. I purchased the single-disc blu-ray of Giant because, according to the back of the insert, it had the same wealth of bonus features included with the two-disc digibook. When I opened it and put the disc in my player, I discovered that the single disc had no extras.

I emailed Warner Brothers to complain, never expecting to hear back from them, and within 24 hours, they asked for my mailing address, and sent a Fed-Ex package containing the digibook and a pre-paid label to ship back the single disc. And a little later, I got a lovely letter of apology. Very classy!

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I want my $2 for shipping back. He made me send my defective copy of The Wages of Fear in lol.

In all seriousness, though, I received my replacement disc less than two weeks from the time I sent the defective one in. Great customer service.

Maybe his wife had served him with divorce papers that day and he wasn't in the best of moods.

...because that doesn't sound like the Jon Mulvaney I know.

[soarinsteven]

So after a couple of recent disappointments (Valerie... Marketa Lazarova) I'm happy to report I had a very positive viewing of the 2007 South Korean film Secret Sunshine. Directed by Lee Chang-dong with such humane, heartbreaking delicacy.

It's no wonder Jeon Do-yeon won best actress at Cannes that year. I don't want to give away anything, but the way the film and her performance explored loss, grief, faith, and forgiveness in the minutiae of every day life moved me. Deeply.

The film depicts all this without sentimentality. Do-yeon's Shin-ae refuses to be pitied by others and the audience, and is difficult to like at certain points, but she is always sympathetic because she and her struggle feels so authentic and human. Beautiful performance. Beautiful film.

Been thinking about it for days, and I'll definitely be adding this to my collection the next flash or B&N sale.