The Criterion Collection

[Nuck Horris]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

BTW, what the heck happened to Vincent Gallo?

https://www.theguardian.com/film/fil...-written-water

He still acts, sorta...

[mja345]

"Buffalo 66" is a classic. One of the best dark comedies of all-time. Gallo is a total nutcase from everything I've read, but he's a talented dude. Gallo also breaks the Hollywood code in that he talks shit about fellow actors and filmmakers on a regular basis. He's a real iconoclast. Shame he hasn't directed more films because "Buffalo 66" is a masterpiece. Ben Gazzara and Anjelica Huston are absolutely perfect as his parents.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching my Criterion Blu-ray of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

The threat of nuclear annihilation as a result of erroneous judgment is such a horrifying scenario that the best response may simply be to laugh. I imagine that this was Stanley Kubrick's take on such a scenario, and that it was the main reason why he adapted Peter George's serious novel, Red Alert, by altering it into a scathing satire. The mastery of this movie's uneasy comedy lies in the fact that the characters themselves are dead serious. George C. Scott's hilariously physical performance (which comes across as the polar opposite of his performance in Hardcore, which I watched last weekend) is my favorite comedic element of the movie, but it's not difficult to believe that an actual military official would employ the same over-the-top mannerisms. In fact, R. Lee Ermey's mannerisms in Full Metal Jacket are similar, but are not played for comedic effect. Sterling Hayden, who starred in some great films noir and is best known for his role in The Godfather, is perfect as a psychotic brigadier general precisely because he plays the role as straight as an arrow. Even Peter Sellers, in his three roles, conveys a solid blend of slapstick and somberness.

Props to Kubrick and company for making this film look notably more high budget than it really was. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb only takes place on a handful of claustrophobic sets, but the scope of the story makes it seem much more expansive.

I'm still not fully sold on this movie's reputation of acclaim as one of the absolute best films ever made (an 8.5 on the Internet Movie Database), and I can list several Kubrick movies that I like better, but I have no reservations about giving it a five star rating simply because Kubrick was able to pull this movie off during the height of Cold War tensions.

The transfer on this Criterion Blu-ray excels, and, despite not having exposure to the previous Blu-ray, I'm glad that I waited for this release. I'm still going through the extras right now, and I'm quite enjoying them.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by jw007

I don't know if you or anyone else here saw The Brown Bunny in a movie theater like I did, but... I did.

And wheww, whatever you do, don't ever take one of your parents to see this film in a theater with you... (which I didn't, but I'm sure it may have happened somewhere on the planet).

I went to see Bad Santa with my mom when it first came out.

The scene where Billy Bob Thornton has

[Show spoiler]backdoor relations with a fat woman in the dressing room

was awkward.

To this day my mom still refuses to go to the movies with me without reading several reviews about it first.

...true story.

[Pequod]

I was browsing reddit and came across this thread about whether y'all want to see Criterion start to release 4k films.

If Criterion started releasing them, would you buy them? Or is Blu-ray the last physical format that you're going all-in for?

I can't fathom buying 100+ Blu-rays and then upgrading them all, and I'd prefer Criterion upgrade many of their DVDs first before spending more resources on 4k releases, but that's just me.

[Arch Stanton]

The guy saying he can't even tell the difference between DVD and Blu Ray sure does need an eye test.

(But he still buys the BDs lol)

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Pequod

I was browsing reddit and came across this thread about whether y'all want to see Criterion start to release 4k films.

If Criterion started releasing them, would you buy them? Or is Blu-ray the last physical format that you're going all-in for?

I can't fathom buying 100+ Blu-rays and then upgrading them all, and I'd prefer Criterion upgrade many of their DVDs first before spending more resources on 4k releases, but that's just me.

Standard Blu-rays hit the sweet spot for me. Films look incredible in this format on my 4K television, and the idea of upgrading so many of my already-awesome discs to the 4K UHD Blu-ray format breaks my heart (and it would break my wallet).

I'm all for seeing movies in their best possible home video presentation, though, and I've ready bought a handful of 4K UHD Blu-ray + Blu-ray combo packs for newly-released films (The Revenant, etc.).

Right now, I'm treating the 4K UHD Blu-ray + Blu-ray releases as a "from here on out" purchase strategy, meaning that I'm simply buying newly released movies instead of going back and upgrading Blu-rays that I already own.

This way, I've still got standard Blu-ray versions of films that I would already purchase on Blu-ray in the first place, but I won't be left hanging if the 4K UHD format dries up, which is a distinct possibility. (The new Sony Playstation, for example, does not feature 4K UHD Blu-ray capability, because Sony expressed a belief that most people are turning to streaming for movies.)

With Criterion releases, I'd prefer to follow my same policy of "from here on out" purchases of 4K UHD Blu-ray + Blu-ray combo packs, if Criterion ever does such a thing. The Criterion titles that I already own on Blu-ray already look stellar to my eyes.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

ETA: BTW, what the heck happened to Vincent Gallo?

I saw his band RRIICCEE play awhile back. It was a good show. Don't know if they still play/tour.

(Edit: looks like they haven't toured since 2010)

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Pequod

I was browsing reddit and came across this thread about whether y'all want to see Criterion start to release 4k films.

If Criterion started releasing them, would you buy them? Or is Blu-ray the last physical format that you're going all-in for?

I can't fathom buying 100+ Blu-rays and then upgrading them all, and I'd prefer Criterion upgrade many of their DVDs first before spending more resources on 4k releases, but that's just me.

If I was in my 20s, with a good paying job, and just building a film library, I'd be all over UHD like a plague of locusts. But I've been doing the video thing since the late 70s (ah...the bliss of paying $18 a pop for a one-hour blank Betamax tape) and went from Beta to LD to DVD to BD. I'm too old and tired to be upgrading yet again. I need to be more concerned with having a comfortable retirement than keeping up with the latest video format.

If I win tonight's Powerball jackpot, though, all bets are off.

On the other hand, come November, we might all be looking forward to being suffused with an incandescent glow. If that happens, the question of upgrading to 4K becomes moot.

[AaronJ]

I don't have a 4K TV, and don't plan on getting one. I'm honestly not sure that I would be able to notice the difference anyways. I mean, how much better could something like Persona look than it already does?

But I agree with the poster who said that he would rather see Criterion focus on updating than moving to a new format. I would love to see my DVD box-sets of Bergman and Dreyer updated, for instance. To my mind, there would probably be a much bigger difference between the DVD versions of those and a BD version, than there would be between the already stunning BD L'Avventura and a 4K version.

But then, what do I know?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I went to see Bad Santa with my mom when it first came out.

The scene where Billy Bob Thornton has

[Show spoiler]backdoor relations with a fat woman in the dressing room

was awkward.

To this day my mom still refuses to go to the movies with me without reading several reviews about it first.

...true story.

Holy smokes, I think I took my dad to see that movie in the theater and that was one of the first films where he started questioning my taste in film. Quite a squeamish experience.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by jw007

Holy smokes, I think I took my dad to see that movie in the theater and that was one of the first films where he started questioning my taste in film. Quite a squeamish experience.

I'm sure it was squeamish. But it shouldn't have made him question your taste in film. Bad Santa is a hell of a movie!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jayembee

On the other hand, come November, we might all be looking forward to being suffused with an incandescent glow. If that happens, the question of upgrading to 4K becomes moot.

I was just thinking last night that my viewing of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb might be quite timely after all.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by jw007

Holy smokes, I think I took my dad to see that movie in the theater and that was one of the first films where he started questioning my taste in film. Quite a squeamish experience.

I went to the theaters with my dad to see "Bad Santa" as well. Great comedy. I watched all kinds of crazy films with my dad when I was a kid. He took me to see "Fear and Loathing" when I was 11 or 12 in the theaters, which was the one time I saw my mom genuinely pissed off about him letting me watch something. Also, took me and my grandma to see "Jackie Brown" in theaters. My grandma just rolled with the constant barrage of f-bombs, to her credit.

I also remember watching "Bad Lieutenant" with him when I was 12 or 13, which is probably one of the last films in the world you want to watch with your dad or mom. But my dad is a movie fanatic and he thought exposing me to different kinds of films at a young age was beneficial and he was right. I showed my 15 year old nephew "The Shining" when he was over at my place last year and it got him on a big Kubrick kick. Exposing kids to good films, good books, good music, etc. is so important.

I also remember the first R-rated movies I saw distinctly. First one I saw on VHS was "Revenge of the Nerds" when I was about 7. First one I saw in theaters was "Jerry Maguire" when I was 9.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jw007

Holy smokes, I think I took my dad to see that movie in the theater and that was one of the first films where he started questioning my taste in film. Quite a squeamish experience.

Back in the early 70s, the girl I was dating and I often went to the movies for dates, and one time we saw Deliverance. Her only specific comment about it was something like, "Gee, I didn't know people actually did that..." She didn't have to say what scene she was referring to. I don't recall whether she actually liked the film in general, though I don't remember her saying that she disliked it, either.

Of course, there might also be a time when the shoe was on the other foot. I remember when my parents went out one evening to see The Graduate. When they got home, I asked them how it was, and my mother said, "It's definitely for grown-ups" and didn't get into specifics. By the time I saw it a few years later, it already struck me as rather tame.

[jon angell]

my was when my wife & I and another couple that had her mother with them when to see An American Werewolf In London and the part where they are walking in the moors and one said "you are talking about the woman I love and the other goes "no I am talking about the woman that you want to F&#@ The girl's mother goes "they can't say that can they" and everyone around us did LOL
still to this day one of the funniest things I ever heard at the movies

[jw007]

Originally Posted by mja345

I went to the theaters with my dad to see "Bad Santa" as well. Great comedy. I watched all kinds of crazy films with my dad when I was a kid. He took me to see "Fear and Loathing" when I was 11 or 12 in the theaters, which was the one time I saw my mom genuinely pissed off about him letting me watch something. Also, took me and my grandma to see "Jackie Brown" in theaters. My grandma just rolled with the constant barrage of f-bombs, to her credit.

I also remember watching "Bad Lieutenant" with him when I was 12 or 13, which is probably one of the last films in the world you want to watch with your dad or mom. But my dad is a movie fanatic and he thought exposing me to different kinds of films at a young age was beneficial and he was right. I showed my 15 year old nephew "The Shining" when he was over at my place last year and it got him on a big Kubrick kick. Exposing kids to good films, good books, good music, etc. is so important.

I also remember the first R-rated movies I saw distinctly. First one I saw on VHS was "Revenge of the Nerds" when I was about 7. First one I saw in theaters was "Jerry Maguire" when I was 9.

Interesting. I took my dad to see a Quentin Tarantino film and it just happened to be Kill Bill: Volume 2. After doing a lot of research I assumed it would be less bloody/gory than the first volume, but it still was tough for my dad to take in. He's very sensitive about violence in movies and grew up in the "50's" listening to the Big Bopper and Buddy Holly.

One of the first R-rated films I saw by myself in the theater was Pulp Fiction. I think The Crying Game was the first R-movie I saw by myself (I was 14). Interestingly, the latter film influenced Quentin Tarantino a lot and he wanted Uma Thurman's character's hairstyle to resemble that of Miranda Richardson.

I think the last film I recall seeing with my dad in the theater was Tron: Legacy (2010), which I found to be fun, but my dad couldn't relate to it.

I did, however, screen a Criterion film, Il Sorpasso, on my flatscreen HDTV last year and invited my dad to watch it with me. So that's the last official film we've seen together, and he liked the story (though even that film made me cringe at times because the main character was all about chasing women... and sex, even if its off-screen, makes things awkward when you're watching with a parent).

[Arawn]

Taking a date to Deliverance?

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by Arawn

Taking a date to Deliverance?

On Valentine's Day 2008, I took my wife to see There Will Be Blood.

She still hasn't let me hear the end of that one!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jon angell

my was when my wife & I and another couple that had her mother with them when to see An American Werewolf In London and the part where they are walking in the moors and one said "you are talking about the woman I love and the other goes "no I am talking about the woman that you want to F&#@ The girl's mother goes "they can't say that can they" and everyone around us did LOL
still to this day one of the funniest things I ever heard at the movies

That reminds me of another time...I think I may have posted this one before, but...

Again, it was the 70s. I went to a local cattleplex to see A Boy and His Dog. Now, the film was rated "R", and its ad copy went something like "A kinky tale of survival in the year 2024".

Just before the movie started, I looked around to see how many were in the audience (not many), and a few rows behind me was a little girl and who must have been her mother and grandmother. Presumably they thought the film was going to be a heartwarming family-friendly story about...well, a boy and his furry friend.

I was going to speak up and suggest that it's not a film they would probably want their girl to see, or even to see themselves, but I decided the hell with them if they weren't paying attention to anything other than the title. Besides, it might be fun to see at what point they realize what they'd gotten themselves into and leave. I ended up getting absorbed in the movie (this was actually the second time I'd seen it), and by the time I thought to look, they were already gone.

Another time (in the 90s), Boston's Museum of Fine Arts Film Program was doing a series of Hong Kong films. A father had brought two kids with him, which would've been fine for many of the films in the series. But in this case, the film was Naked Killer. They didn't last long.