The Criterion Collection

[Ray Jackson]

Just finished watching The Sword of Doom.

Great samurai flick...beautifully shot.

Not on the same level as a Kobayashi film like Harakiri or Rebellion in terms of story and substance...but as a pure Samurai film, it's pretty badass.

Was terribly disappointed by the ending though.

The whole film is building up to a showdown between

[Show spoiler]the main bad guy and Toshiro Mifune's student--possibly even Mifune himself. And then all of a sudden the bad guy gets attacked by like 50 guys, kills most of them and it's over?

Was this is a case of there was supposed to be a sequel and they never got around to filming it?

...if not the ending makes no sense.

[diskspinner]

I am almost certainly picking up M, How is the other Fritz lang film in the collection, i.e. Ministry of fear, nobody ever talks about that in this thread...

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

There's nothing Norah Jones can't do. Every album and every side project is something different and great.

Norah is indeed spectacular.

[Bandit Tajomaru]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Just finished watching The Sword of Doom.

Great samurai flick...beautifully shot.

Not on the same level as a Kobayashi film like Harakiri or Rebellion in terms of story and substance...but as a pure Samurai film, it's pretty badass.

Was terribly disappointed by the ending though.

The whole film is building up to a showdown between

[Show spoiler]the main bad guy and Toshiro Mifune's student--possibly even Mifune himself. And then all of a sudden the bad guy gets attacked by like 50 guys, kills most of them and it's over?

Was this is a case of there was supposed to be a sequel and they never got around to filming it?

...if not the ending makes no sense.

It was supposed to be the 1st film in a trilogy.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Just finished watching The Sword of Doom.

Great samurai flick...beautifully shot.

Not on the same level as a Kobayashi film like Harakiri or Rebellion in terms of story and substance...but as a pure Samurai film, it's pretty badass.

Was terribly disappointed by the ending though.

The whole film is building up to a showdown between

[Show spoiler]the main bad guy and Toshiro Mifune's student--possibly even Mifune himself. And then all of a sudden the bad guy gets attacked by like 50 guys, kills most of them and it's over?

Was this is a case of there was supposed to be a sequel and they never got around to filming it?

...if not the ending makes no sense.

Yep. Planned to be a trilogy but it never happened.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I love U2. I watched their HBO special from Paris the night before last. Just an amazing show. They keep pushing the boundaries with their set design, and they sound as good as ever.

I really need to see them again.

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I've seen them 21 times, which when I type it out seems excessive. I wonder if jw has me beat though?

Still would love a Criterion Rattle and Hum.

I've only seen U2 a total of 6 times in 5 different venues!

21 times is astounding... I invite you to post any reviews or remarks on my site if you'd like, shadedpain4.

I went from loving U2 to hating U2 all within 2 decades. Now I just "like" U2. When you're the webmaster of one of the most popular U2 sites on the internet for almost 20 years, it can take a toll on you!

With that said, I'd really love to see Rattle & Hum as a Criterion film too.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I am almost certainly picking up M, How is the other Fritz lang film in the collection, i.e. Ministry of fear, nobody ever talks about that in this thread...

Ministry of Fear is a solid wartime thriller with a good performance by Ray Milland. His leading lady is Marjorie Reynolds, who was probably better suited to light-hearted fare like Holiday Inn and The Time of Their Lives. Carl Esmond, Dan Duryea and Alan Napier stand out among the supporting cast.

I suppose some might describe Ministry of Fear as "Hitchcockian" since the protagonist is a man who gets unwittingly swept into a dangerous situation that is not of his own making. Personally, I wouldn't rank it with Lang's best works ... it's not of the same high caliber as Man Hunt, The Woman in the Window, or Scarlet Street ... but there are some memorable scenes, particularly one that takes place in a village fair.

Criterion's transfer, as you might guess, is very good. The supplemental package is a little sparse, which is probably why it carries a MSRP of just $29.95. Overall, I enjoyed the film and am glad it's in The Collection. Hope that helps!

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I am almost certainly picking up M, How is the other Fritz lang film in the collection, i.e. Ministry of fear, nobody ever talks about that in this thread...

I'm pretty sure Ministry of Fear came up here in the last week?

Anyway, it's not his masterpiece, but it is great fun. I enjoyed it more on the second watch when I knew not to take it too seriously.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by WinterLand

If you have liked all the other movie you have seen with James Mason then I find it impossible that you will not like Odd Man Out.

When I saw the movie, I was switching between a state of utter concentration and a feeling of euphoric unease of that makes sense, I was so concentrated about the story but I was feeling so euphoric uneasy because the cinematography is out of this world I did not know where to look.

I felt like a man not feeling good enough to look at a beautiful woman.

I like James Mason, but I hated Odd Man Out. He spends 2/3 of the film

[Show spoiler]passed out, dying, or in need of help. That's hardly a proactive protagonist, and the film suffered IMO from not having a leading character to get behind.

[pro-bassoonist]

Gilda Blu-ray REVIEW



Speedy Blu-ray REVIEW





Pro-B

[pedromvu]

Just heard the audio supplement from Pather Panchali were Satyajit Ray talks about the film-making process in general from his experience from that film, it is pretty good.

It always struck me how different some of these well known directors talk about film-making or their inspirations or life in general, I always enjoy the interviews with Bergman, Truffaut, Cassavetes because of their openness and how passionate they are about their job not only as a craft but they often talk about what drives them to do their films.

While on the other side from Interviews I have seen of Fritz Lang, John Ford and Bresson, they seem to be reluctant to talk about anything from their process, almost like if it was only a job for them that they happen to be just very good at, and if they talk about it it is about more technical aspects.

Haven't yet seen any interview with Ray, but my impression is he might be from the first camp, Bergman interview with Erland Josephson from Cries and Whispers is a good example of how incredibly open they were when asked things about their life and relationships, that is just something you don't see nowadays, at least most actors seem to refuse to talk about anything not directly related to their roles these days.

[mja345]

One of my favorite interviews I've seen with a director is the Fellini interview on the "La Dolce Vita" disc. He comes off as such a great dude in that interview, completely open about his thought process as a director and very funny. As you mentioned, Pedro, Truffaut was another director who was extremely candid in interviews. Off the top of my head, Louis Malle gives a great interview on the "My Dinner With Andre" disc, which is conducted by Wallace Shawn.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by mja345

One of my favorite interviews I've seen with a director is the Fellini interview on the "La Dolce Vita" disc. He comes off as such a great dude in that interview, completely open about his thought process as a director and very funny. As you mentioned, Pedro, Truffaut was another director who was extremely candid in interviews. Off the top of my head, Louis Malle gives a great interview on the "My Dinner With Andre" disc, which is conducted by Wallace Shawn.

Great, haven't seen the one form La Dolce Vita but I am in the process of watching the supplements of My Dinner with Andre, I have like 7 movies supplements that I need to catch up before continuing with my unwatched list, in moments like this sometimes I feel a bit relieved that not all discs come with 3+ hours of supplements since I always feel the urge to complete them

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Just heard the audio supplement from Pather Panchali were Satyajit Ray talks about the film-making process in general from his experience from that film, it is pretty good.

One of the best references about Ray's film-making is Andrew Robinson's book The Inner Eye. Every film by Ray is discussed in it, and Robinson includes a lot of input from the maker himself from the many hours of interviews he did with Ray. There is also "Our Films, Their Films" a collection of Ray's essays on cinema in which he discusses both others' and his own work.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Great, haven't seen the one form La Dolce Vita but I am in the process of watching the supplements of My Dinner with Andre, I have like 7 movies supplements that I need to catch up before continuing with my unwatched list, in moments like this sometimes I feel a bit relieved that not all discs come with 3+ hours of supplements since I always feel the urge to complete them

I know that feeling all too well.

[SkyAntoine]

Was looking for a lighter late night watch and saw Summer with Monika for the 1st time last night. After finishing every Bergman film I want to go on a binge watch of all of his movies in the collection. Even though I would have this in the lower middle tier of his titles, it is a very fine film. Interesting characters and Andersson plays the lead to a T.

I don't know if Wes Anderson ever said this was an influence, but I'm a big fan of Moonrise Kingdom and this seemed like an earlier, naughtier version. 8/10

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Just heard the audio supplement from Pather Panchali were Satyajit Ray talks about the film-making process in general from his experience from that film, it is pretty good.

It always struck me how different some of these well known directors talk about film-making or their inspirations or life in general, I always enjoy the interviews with Bergman, Truffaut, Cassavetes because of their openness and how passionate they are about their job not only as a craft but they often talk about what drives them to do their films.

While on the other side from Interviews I have seen of Fritz Lang, John Ford and Bresson, they seem to be reluctant to talk about anything from their process, almost like if it was only a job for them that they happen to be just very good at, and if they talk about it it is about more technical aspects.

Haven't yet seen any interview with Ray, but my impression is he might be from the first camp, Bergman interview with Erland Josephson from Cries and Whispers is a good example of how incredibly open they were when asked things about their life and relationships, that is just something you don't see nowadays, at least most actors seem to refuse to talk about anything not directly related to their roles these days.

From what I gather Ray was a great cinephile himself, so I too would expect he'd be in the more passionate camp.

My favourite Ford anecdote involves him being asked, by Godard, "What brought you to Hollywood?". "A train" replied Ford.

[Firecrackker]

Is Gilda blind buy worthy?

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Firecrackker

Is Gilda blind buy worthy?

Depends what you're into.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Firecrackker

Is Gilda blind buy worthy?

You'd better believe it. Gilda is an excellent film noir, it's one of the sexiest movies ever made, and, judging from my region free Italian Blu-ray (which I will be gladly upgrading with the Criterion purchase), the transfer is near-perfect.