The Criterion Collection

[SammyJankis]

All of this Ride the Pink Horse love makes me even more eager to watch my blind buy.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

All of this Ride the Pink Horse love makes me even more eager to watch my blind buy.

I purchased the Blu-ray a couple of weeks ago to rewatch it and I did...and I didn't care for it on this viewing either.

[Scottie]

Looks like City Lights, The Hidden Fortress, and Tokyo Story will be re-released in BD-only editions in March.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/City-...lu-ray/147154/

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-H...lu-ray/147156/

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Tokyo...lu-ray/147155/

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I purchased the Blu-ray a couple of weeks ago to rewatch it and I did...and I didn't care for it on this viewing either.

Yes, well, I'm a sucker for noirs and Great Owl's taste in them, I must admit, lines up with mine.

Then again, you have a Veronique avatar.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Greed and The Passion of Joan of Arc are both among my favorite silent films.

Another is Dziga Vertov's The Man With a Movie Camera, which was released on blu-ray earlier this year by Flicker Alley (and which I won on eBay last night). It's absolutely dazzling, a unique exercise in "pure cinema." If you've never seen it, you owe yourself a look, especially the version accompanied with a score by the Alloy Orchestra.

Other silent films I have revisited often and recommend wholeheartedly: King Vidor's touching The Crowd starring the tragic James Murray; Victor Seastrom's epic The Wind, which features a great performance by Lillian Gish; F. W. Murnau's poetic Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans; Charles Chaplin's comic tearjerker, City Lights (thank you, Criterion!); and well, the list goes on and on ...

I do wish that more silent films were being released on blu-ray. I know there's a limited audience for them, but it's an enthusiastic one, and I can't help but feel that a limited edition series, if marketed correctly, might be a winner.

I concur wholeheartedly with all these recommendations and would add Murnau's "The Last Man" as one of the great silents and an example of just how far silent movies came in terms of storytelling with pure imagery; there's not a single intertitle in the movie and the only text appears in a letter (come on, Kino, put it on blu!). As a fan of German Expressionism, I'd also recommend Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (slow, but trippy) and Murnau's Faust.

A four hour "reconstruction" exists of Greed, that combines the extant footage with photos taken during production and extensive intertitles explaining what was supposed to be happening (an entire storyline is put back into the movie this way). I've only seen the reconstructed version and was riveted almost from the beginning. I really hope it'll be released on blu, with both versions on the disc (seamless branching?).

Most other Stroheim movies would be welcome on blu as well (afaik there's only Foolish Wives), he really was one of the great movie makers of the silent era.

But hey, there are tons of great silent movies that I would love to see on blu-ray. La Roue, Napoleon (I caught that on the big screen in 2012!), He Who Gets Slapped, The Last Command, The Joyless Street, a bunch of Soviet silents and last, but not least, Louis Feuillade's Tih Minh.

[silverlakephil]

I saw Murnau's The Last Man or The Last Laugh at The Silent Movie Theater here in L.A. awhile ago and quite enjoyed it.

[colbyw]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

What's the best Criterion title that you watched for the first time this year? It doesn't have to be blu; as long as it's in the collection.

I will have to go with:

High and Low
Z
Blue is the Warmest Color

Good question!

[jbieste]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

What's the best Criterion title that you watched for the first time this year? It doesn't have to be blu; as long as it's in the collection.

Three Colors

[SkyAntoine]

Just watched Jellyfish Eyes with my kids. I can't even find the words to describe what I just witnessed. Visually stunning, but I'm never getting that 1 hr 40 minutes back.
My five year old daughter loved it. She's not very smart, yet.

[WonderWeasel]

I finally got around to seeing Red River last night. Damn, John Wayne loves beef. A Lot. Very good film, with a couple of minor flaws. The short time Coleen Gray was on-screen, I

[Show spoiler]was hoping her character would die or be cast off from the rest of the film, and silently rejoiced when the former did happen. It was quite possibly the whiniest performance I have ever seen. Joanne Dru's Tess was a much better character. I also wasn't a huge fan of how quickly the conflict was resolved at the end; it seemed kind of rushed.

After that, I had a Billy Wilder mini-marathon with The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes and Ace in the Hole. Since Private Life isn't Criterion, I'll keep my synopsis short: it's an effective, if somewhat vanilla (by Wilder standards) satire of the famous detective. There's some good humor throughout, especially when

[Show spoiler]our protagonist spoils Watson's chances with the female dancers in a Russian ballet company.

Definitely worth a watch.

In complete contrast to that is Ace in the Hole. Chuck Tatum is the most despicable character I have ever seen Kirk Douglas play. Hell, the only characters in the film with any redeeming qualities are Mr. Boot and the poor bastard stuck in the cave. It is the most cynical Wilder film I have seen, and has bullied its way past The Apartment and Some Like it Hot to become my new favorite of his.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've become a big devotee of Twilight Time over the past three years. I do not collect everything from the label, like some do, just as I do not collect everything from Criterion, but I noticed that they always seem to have at least one title a month that strikes my fancy. Many of the Twilight Time Blu-rays rival some of the better Criterion titles, with some of my personal favorites being The Big Heat, Breaking Away, The Driver, House of Bamboo, Violent Saturday, Man Hunt, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Mysterious Island, Picnic, and Experiment in Terror.

If I had to pick a favorite Blu-ray label from the past couple of years, though, then I'd have to go with Kino Lorber. Kino Lorber has done a magnificent job of releasing good old "Saturday afternoon movies" that I tend to revisit most often, and I love their business model.

I'm really impressed with the quality of the U.S. region A releases that Arrow Video have released this year, and I'm looking forward to more from this studio. Some of their titles are a little too icky for my tastes, but my less responsible horror/slasher film aficionado self really loves what they've done with Eaten Alive, Blood Rage, Contamination, and others. Also, their releases of Spider-Baby, Pit Stop, and Edgar Allan Poe's Black Cats are top-notch all around.

I've also spent a heck of a lot of money on Blu-rays from Code Red and Scorpion Releasing this year. They both do a fantastic job with their discs, but I wish that their discs were easier to purchase. The whole "sporadic availability" thing gets really old really fast.

Great, thanks for your response.

I must say one thing though about the Kino-Lorber label, and that is their decision not to "clean up" or enhance or do any light restoration work on their films, unlike Criterion. Isn't this a bit of an issue? What I love about Criterion is that they go the extra mile and present the film in the most organic and cleanest way possible. Wouldn't Kino benefit if they did that too? I'm guessing its a "purist" thing.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

What's the best Criterion title that you watched for the first time this year? It doesn't have to be blu; as long as it's in the collection.

Repo Man has gotta be the best thing I bought in 2015, after neglecting this cult classic for far too long. The greatest thing about this release of course is Harry Dean Stanton's interview ("Harry Zen Stanton"), which blew me away, quite literally. F'ing amazing. I never realized just how him and the director Alex Cox did not get along whatsoever. I've included it in full below if anyone wants to see it.

Repo Man Interview - Harry 'Zen' Stanton - YouTube

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by jw007

I must say one thing though about the Kino-Lorber label, and that is their decision not to "clean up" or enhance or do any light restoration work on their films, unlike Criterion. Isn't this a bit of an issue? What I love about Criterion is that they go the extra mile and present the film in the most organic and cleanest way possible. Wouldn't Kino benefit if they did that too? I'm guessing its a "purist" thing.

That's how Kino likes to present it, that they're "purists". Personally, I think they're being cheap and they occasionally mess up their releases (just go read the thread for Nosferatu), so the quality control seems to be lacking as well (another sign of "cheapness", in my opinion).

I find Kino frustrating, they are often so close to getting it just right and then they muck it up some way (framerate conversion, intertitles, score, tinting, you name it). And all the issues are easily fixable on their side, they just don't seem to care enough to actually do it. Always read reviews before buying Kino and do some comparisons (many of the Kino silents are out in the UK on Eureka/MoC).

[mja345]

Originally Posted by jw007

Repo Man has gotta be the best thing I bought in 2015, after neglecting this cult classic for far too long. The greatest thing about this release of course is Harry Dean Stanton's interview ("Harry Zen Stanton"), which blew me away, quite literally. F'ing amazing. I never realized just how him and the director Alex Cox did not get along whatsoever. I've included it in full below if anyone wants to see it.

Repo Man Interview - Harry 'Zen' Stanton - YouTube

My uncle is friends with a guy named Miguel Sandoval, who played the character Archie in "Repo Man". He was also in Alex Cox's film "Walker". I had a chance to meet Mr. Sandoval and I asked him a couple questions about "Repo Man" and working with Alex Cox. He said that Harry Dean was the most difficult SOB he's ever been around and he's worked on a ton of films. I love Harry Dean as an actor, but I can imagine he would be a real headache, particularly for a young director like Cox. Sandoval said that Sy Richardson, who played Lite, would sit around between takes smoking a joint saying, "Man, I can't handle these crazy motherf**kers."

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

That's how Kino likes to present it, that they're "purists". Personally, I think they're being cheap and they occasionally mess up their releases (just go read the thread for Nosferatu), so the quality control seems to be lacking as well (another sign of "cheapness", in my opinion).

I find Kino frustrating, they are often so close to getting it just right and then they muck it up some way (framerate conversion, intertitles, score, tinting, you name it). And all the issues are easily fixable on their side, they just don't seem to care enough to actually do it. Always read reviews before buying Kino and do some comparisons (many of the Kino silents are out in the UK on Eureka/MoC).

That's not being "purists," that's just taking whatever they are given and slapping it on disc. They have zero quality control and continually cut corners by not adding subtitles that already exist, etc. i guess it's good some of the catalog titles are coming out, but half are from old/bad transfers and really aren't much better than the DVD.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

What's the best Criterion title that you watched for the first time this year? It doesn't have to be blu; as long as it's in the collection.

I'm trying to think of all the Criterion releases I've watched for the first time this year, but my mind keeps drifting back to Victor Sjöström and his performance in The Phantom Carriage. The last 10-15 minutes of that film are as emotional and moving as silent films get.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Nice to see Criterion giving some love to one of my favorite local theatres

Too funny, I just watched Wagons Roll At Night a few hours ago...

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

That's how Kino likes to present it, that they're "purists". Personally, I think they're being cheap and they occasionally mess up their releases (just go read the thread for Nosferatu), so the quality control seems to be lacking as well (another sign of "cheapness", in my opinion).

I find Kino frustrating, they are often so close to getting it just right and then they muck it up some way (framerate conversion, intertitles, score, tinting, you name it). And all the issues are easily fixable on their side, they just don't seem to care enough to actually do it. Always read reviews before buying Kino and do some comparisons (many of the Kino silents are out in the UK on Eureka/MoC).

I'm a bigger fan of their Studio Classics line than I am of the Kino Classics line, although I own quite a few Kino Classics discs. The KL Studio Classics line releases stuff that, no exaggeration, I never imagined would see the light of day on BD. Stuff that is profoundly obscure. The A/V quality varies, I agree, but I can't really give too much grief to a line that releases a lot of stuff that is so unbelievably obscure. And, as cliched as it may be, virtually any Blu-Ray is a significant upgrade on the DVD counterpart.

I haven't been too dissatisfied by many KL Studio Classics discs, but I'm not super anal retentive about certain A/V aspects. That's not to put down anyone who is, but I can get lost in a film without getting hung up on the A/V deficiencies. I can certainly understand if one is hard of hearing and there are no subs on a disc, then that would be super frustrating. The other thing with Kino Studio Classics is you can pick up most of their discs for 10-12 bucks at a certain point, so I'm not that disappointed if the A/V quality isn't absolutely pristine.

[tisdivine]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Looks like City Lights, The Hidden Fortress, and Tokyo Story will be re-released in BD-only editions in March.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/City-...lu-ray/147154/

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-H...lu-ray/147156/

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Tokyo...lu-ray/147155/

Do you think Tokyo Story will retain its digi?

[mattyp4]

I'm so terrible at these but the first thing I noticed is David O. Russell's Three Kings and that makes me really happy! It's like I didn't care to try to decode the rest!!

I think another might be Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale, which also makes me happy!