The Criterion Collection

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by llj

As a Canadian, I never 'got' the greatness of poutine, other than the fact that it was a nice way to fill your stomach for cheap. Back in the 90s I used to get it for $1 in my high school cafeteria whenever I needed something to fill me up. Now prices have gone up and it's basically the same price as a burger. It's just fries with hot gravy melting some cheese curds. Meh.

Poutine is like clean water. If you grow up with it being plentiful and available, it's hard to grasp its greatness. However, when you've been forced to live where it is scarce you truly understand its value.

[MeMynonsense]

Was checking out the extras on The 39 Steps, and I can very confidently say that the 40 min chat with Hitch is one of the best supplements incorporated with any of his titles, across labels.
It starts very comically in the Chamber of Horrors, Madame Tussauds to provide the obligatory flavour of macabre. It mostly covers his pre-hollywood career right from his days as a production-designer with an interesting anecdote that got him his first directorial gig.
He spends a substantial chunk of time discussing The Lodger & Blackmail (both of which compare favourably to The 39 Steps, IMO) and analogised his smooth transition to sound - “as a duck takes to water as a duck takes to a quack”.
He also reiterated why Murder! remained his only whodunnit and his general repugnance for mysteries.

While the rest of the supplemental package is equally informative, no amt of critical and scholarly analysis can match a Hitchcock masterclass.

[theater dreamer]

Ambiance and steely resolve are in abundance in Jean-Pierre Melville's captivating Le silence de la mer.

Having just finished Le silence de la mer, I'm puzzled as to why I rarely see this film being talked about, let alone mentioned, in our discussions. It's an extraordinary work, and, when one considers that this is Jean-Pierre Melville's directorial debut, what has been achieved here is all the more remarkable.

I've experienced a great number of movies in my nearly forty-five years. Few have grabbed, and maintained, my attention the way this one did. There is virtually no action to speak of; in fact, there is very little in the way of actual conversation. The vast majority of the dialogue in the film comes in the form of monologue by Werner von Ebrennac, a German officer who has taken up temporary residence in the home of a French family, consisting of an older uncle, and his younger, adult niece. The family exercises their own form of resistance in the form of silence. The uncle and niece go about their daily routines, electing to all but ignore the presence of the German officer. Henri Decaë, Melville's cinematographer, wonderfully captures the smoke billowing from the uncle's pipe, and the reflection of the fireplace on the niece's stoic face as she goes about knitting. At first glance, there is nothing remarkable about the family; their united front is emblematic of their country. Von Ebrennac, however, is not what one would expect from a Nazi officer. This is not a hardened career soldier; rather, he is well-educated, and speaks with tremendous verve about literature, and, his first love, music. He opines about his love and admiration for France, though he had never visited the country before the war. He also speaks of the German temperament, and how it frightens him. He recalls one summer afternoon with his fiancee; they are sitting among the trees, reveling in the wonders of nature, when she is stung by a mosquito. She catches the insect, and elects to punish its impudence by pulling its wings off. Von Ebrennac alludes to how dangerous Germans are when they are lonely. Each night, for months on end, this routine repeats itself; the officer returns to the home at the same time, always knocking before entering. He addresses the family for a spell, before bidding them good night, and retiring to his room. The uncle, in voice over, begins to respect the officer, though this is never enunciated. He also notices that the officer has a pronounced limp. Still, he and his niece remain steadfast in their silence. The officer is an idealist, yet he demonstrates a naivety to what is happening beyond the battlefields; he speaks of the day when Germany and France will be united, and France can begin to heal. He acknowledges the defiance of the French people as necessary, even after their defeat at the hands of Germany. Multiple times, von Ebrennac draws analogies from classic literature. First, in an interesting parallel, he compare's France's plight to that of the Beauty in Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's Beauty and the Beast; later, he alludes to Shakespeare's Macbeth.

I don't want to go beyond painting a very broad picture of the movie's narrative. This is a film that makes you think; it also challenges conventions. With the Criterion flash sale comes up in October, this should be on everybody's short list. Le silence de la mer would serve as a wonderful introduction to Melville's filmography, or French cinema, in general. I cannot recommend this one enough, guys.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Ambiance and steely resolve are in abundance in Jean-Pierre Melville's captivating Le silence de la mer.

Having just finished Le silence de la mer, I'm puzzled as to why I rarely see this film being talked about, let alone mentioned, in our discussions. It's an extraordinary work, and, when one considers that this is Jean-Pierre Melville's directorial debut, what has been achieved here is all the more remarkable.

I've experienced a great number of movies in my nearly forty-five years. Few have grabbed, and maintained, my attention the way this one did. There is virtually no action to speak of; in fact, there is very little in the way of actual conversation. The vast majority of the dialogue in the film comes in the form of monologue by Werner von Ebrennac, a German officer who has taken up temporary residence in the home of a French family, consisting of an older uncle, and his younger, adult niece. The family exercises their own form of resistance in the form of silence. The uncle and niece go about their daily routines, electing to all but ignore the presence of the German officer. Henri Decaë, Melville's cinematographer, wonderfully captures the smoke billowing from the uncle's pipe, and the reflection of the fireplace on the niece's stoic face as she goes about knitting. At first glance, there is nothing remarkable about the family; their united front is emblematic of their country. Von Ebrennac, however, is not what one would expect from a Nazi officer. This is not a hardened career soldier; rather, he is well-educated, and speaks with tremendous verve about literature, and, his first love, music. He opines about his love and admiration for France, though he had never visited the country before the war. He also speaks of the German temperament, and how it frightens him. He recalls one summer afternoon with his fiancee; they are sitting among the trees, reveling in the wonders of nature, when she is stung by a mosquito. She catches the insect, and elects to punish its impudence by pulling its wings off. Von Ebrennac alludes to how dangerous Germans are when they are lonely. Each night, for months on end, this routine repeats itself; the officer returns to the home at the same time, always knocking before entering. He addresses the family for a spell, before bidding them good night, and retiring to his room. The uncle, in voice over, begins to respect the officer, though this is never enunciated. He also notices that the officer has a pronounced limp. Still, he and his niece remain steadfast in their silence. The officer is an idealist, yet he demonstrates a naivety to what is happening beyond the battlefields; he speaks of the day when Germany and France will be united, and France can begin to heal. He acknowledges the defiance of the French people as necessary, even after their defeat at the hands of Germany. Multiple times, von Ebrennac draws analogies from classic literature. First, in an interesting parallel, he compare's France's plight to that of the Beauty in Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's Beauty and the Beast; later, he alludes to Shakespeare's Macbeth.

I don't want to go beyond painting a very broad picture of the movie's narrative. This is a film that makes you think; it also challenges conventions. With the Criterion flash sale comes up in October, this should be on everybody's short list. Le silence de la mer would serve as a wonderful introduction to Melville's filmography, or French cinema, in general. I cannot recommend this one enough, guys.

It's a great film and an excellent companion piece to Leon Morin, Priest (My favorite JPM film).

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Having just finished Le silence de la mer, I'm puzzled as to why I rarely see this film being talked about, let alone mentioned, in our discussions. It's an extraordinary work, and, when one considers that this is Jean-Pierre Melville's directorial debut, what has been achieved here is all the more remarkable.

I watched Le Silence de la Mer a couple of years ago, by way of the MOC Blu-ray, and I agree that it's an outstanding work of cinema that benefits from subtlety and understated interactions. It also paints an interesting picture of the different facets of the Resistance, just as Leon Morin, Priest and Army of Shadows do.

I now own two editions of this movie, since I purchased the Criterion Blu-ray just for the added extras. I need to watch the movie again and then go through the rest of the Criterion disc.

[Banned User]

Le silence de la mer is just simply an amazing film. To think had the resistance leaders, who it was screened for, disliked it we may never have seen the picture. The story behind the making of the film it as interesting as the film.

Now if we could just get Le Samourai on Bluray

[bwdowiak]

Does anyone know anything about a possible blu-ray release of Arnaud Desplechin’s My Golden Days? At 100% on RT and a metacritic score of 87, it was one of the best reviewed films of 2016.

I saw it in the theater and would really like to see it again. The young girl who plays the main character’s love interest absolutely kills it and although the movie borrows heavily from Truffaut, it still comes off as fresh. A lot of good music, too, as the character reminisces about his time growing up in the early 80’s through early 90’s.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Does anyone know anything about a possible blu-ray release of Arnaud Desplechin’s My Golden Days? At 100% on RT and a metacritic score of 87, it was one of the best reviewed films of 2016.

I saw it in the theater and would really like to see it again. The young girl who plays the main character’s love interest absolutely kills it and although the movie borrows heavily from Truffaut, it still comes off as fresh. A lot of good music, too, as the character reminisces about his time growing up in the early 80’s through early 90’s.

It doesn't look like Magnolia Pictures has licensed to Criterion in the past. It would be a first.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

It doesn't look like Magnolia Pictures has licensed to Criterion in the past. It would be a first.

hmm... I didn't even realize that the put out their own blu-rays. I guess that's cause I don't own any of them. I believe this film already has a DVD release, so maybe that's a bad sign.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Does anyone know anything about a possible blu-ray release of Arnaud Desplechin’s My Golden Days? At 100% on RT and a metacritic score of 87, it was one of the best reviewed films of 2016.

I saw it in the theater and would really like to see it again. The young girl who plays the main character’s love interest absolutely kills it and although the movie borrows heavily from Truffaut, it still comes off as fresh. A lot of good music, too, as the character reminisces about his time growing up in the early 80’s through early 90’s.

It looks like Magnolia initially planned both a dvd and blu release, but went to dvd only sometime before release date.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

It looks like Magnolia initially planned both a dvd and blu release, but went to dvd only sometime before release date.

wow. that is incredibly lame. maybe because Criterion has A Christmas Tale, there'd some chance that it could happen here. I think the Criterion crowd would enjoy it.

Thanks for finding out this info as I couldn't see much about it anywhere.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

wow. that is incredibly lame. maybe because Criterion has A Christmas Tale, there'd some chance that it could happen here. I think the Criterion crowd would enjoy it.

Thanks for finding out this info as I couldn't see much about it anywhere.

I hope there is still a chance for a release, Clouds of Sils Maria had a DVD only release and eventually got a Criterion release! I hope that if they do release it, they get My Sex Life... or How I Got Into an Argument, for a double release!

[ShellOilJunior]

The foreign contemporary pipeline to Criterion is IFC. Just pray that the good ones end up with them.

Releasing DVD-only is pointless.

[Martin_31]

Has anyone seen Frank Ocean's 100 favorite films list. Pretty impressive. http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/fra...mpaign=twitter

[lordmorpheus72]

My wife surprised me with early birthday presents last night. The five below are what she bought me. Four of them were on my want list, but she picked out Make Way for Tomorrow all on her own. She remembered that I love Ozu and Tokyo Story when she read that Make Way for Tomorrow inspired Ozu to make Tokyo Story. My wife rocks!

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

My wife surprised me with early birthday presents last night. The five below are what she bought me. Four of them were on my want list, but she picked out Make Way for Tomorrow all on her own. She remembered that I love Ozu and Tokyo Story when she read that Make Way for Tomorrow inspired Ozu to make Tokyo Story. My wife rocks!

Can we share your wife? My birthday is March 2nd.

Take care.

-

Very nice present though Enjoy!

[jordan-r]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I don't think I know anything about her/have ever heard her music. What kind of artist is she?

I'll answer this, because I'm a huge fan and probably more excited about this rumored release than anyone else. Her music tends to be very dramatic and somber, with a definite focus on glamour and opulence, but also with dark emotional undertones. (For example, her album Born to Die is a collection of pop songs that mostly focus on obsessive love and young people in bad situations -- I think she's said that all her love songs from that period of her career are actually directed at alcohol, as she was a teenage alcoholic.) Her videos match the general tone of her music, with some very striking visuals and narratives -- I think the ones that best capture her aesthetic are "Born to Die," "Shades of Cool," and especially "Ride." She's one of the most intelligent pop musicians working today, and is sometimes unfairly dismissed as another dumb pop star, though she's anything but. The meticulous and carefully considered nature of her work, IMO, makes it a natural fit for Criterion -- while she hasn't exactly reinvented cinematic or musical language or anything like that, she's an important artist doing some great work.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

Has anyone seen Frank Ocean's 100 favorite films list. Pretty impressive. http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/fra...mpaign=twitter

Very nice list, lots of great choices on there. I feel like it'd daunting to make a top 100 list. I mean, probably about 60-70% of the list would be there no matter what, but the other 30-40% would probably be how I feel at that particular time. I also feel like I would get too focused on a particular director, or genre when making the list, and would feel this pressure to try to make the list more balanced, etc.. It's a transient thing regardless.

[secretsquirrel]

Originally Posted by jordan-r

I'll answer this, because I'm a huge fan and probably more excited about this release than anyone else. Her music tends to be very dramatic and somber, with a definite focus on glamour and opulence, but also with dark emotional undertones. (For example, her album Born to Die is a collection of pop songs that mostly focus on obsessive love and young people in bad situations -- I think she's said that all her love songs from that period of her career are actually directed at alcohol, as she was a teenage alcoholic.) Her videos match the general tone of her music, with some very striking visuals and narratives -- I think the ones that best capture her aesthetic are "Born to Die," "Shades of Cool," and especially "Ride." She's one of the most intelligent pop musicians working today, and is sometimes unfairly dismissed as another dumb pop star, though she's anything but. The meticulous and carefully considered nature of her work, IMO, makes it a natural fit for Criterion -- while she hasn't exactly reinvented cinematic or musical language or anything like that, she's an important artist doing some great work.

I'm far from having heard her complete catalog but I'd describe Lana Del Ray's music as haunting. Usually dark or moody/brooding and haunting but even her more upbeat songs have this haunting vibe. A small portion (maybe these are the ones considered more 'pop') of her songs - some of her more upbeat songs - have a sickening sweet effect that for me feels false and mildy unsettling coming from her; but if you (collectively) don't enjoy her more pop offerings it's much easier to do so when viewed through a sardonic lens/ear. Having no way to know for sure, obviously, I have a strong gut feeling that some of the more rocky candy sweet offerings are totally written with a sardonic undertone.

[bwdowiak]

has anyone seen bwdowiak's top 100? I heard he made it today! now this is a great list!

[Show spoiler]A Man Escaped
Alice in the Cities
Alphaville
Amores Perros
An Autumn Afternoon
Aparajito
Apu Sansar
Army of Shadows
Au Revoir, Les Enfants
Bad Education
Barry Lyndon
Bicycle Thieves
Blade Runner
Blue is the Warmest Color
Breathless
Casablanca
Casino Royale
Chungking Express
Days of Heaven
Dog Day Afternoon
Double Indemnity
Drive
East of Eden
Eyes Wide Shut
Fargo
Field of Dreams
From Russia With Love
Ghost World
GoodFellas
Harakiri
Heaven's Gate
Hoop Dreams
Ikiru
In The Mood For Love
Ivan's Childhood
Jules and Jim
Kwaidan
L'Avventura
Laura
Le Boucher
Leon Morin, Priest
Mean Streets
Mulholland Drive
Munich
No Country For Old Men
Nobody Knows
North By Northwest
Notorious
On The Waterfront
Pale Flower
Paris, Texas
Pather Panchali
Pickpocket
Psycho
Pulp Fiction
Rapture
Red River
Rififi
Rome, Open City
Rosemary's Baby
Shadow of A Doubt
Sideways
Singin' in the Rain
Stagecoach
Sugar
Talk to Her
Taxi Driver
That Obscure Object of Desire
The 400 Blows
The American
The Apartment
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The Big City
The Birds
The Conformist
The Conversation
The Deer Hunter
The Dekalog
The Godfather
The Godfather 2
The Gold Rush
The Lady Vanishes
The Last Metro
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Music Room
The Return
The Secret In Their Eyes
The Shining
The Talented Mr. Ripley
The Thin Blue Line
The Third Man
The Tree of Life
There Will Be Blood
Tokyo Story
Tristana
Vivre sa Vie
Wild River
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Yi Yi
Zodiac