The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Heart of a dog comes with a lovely pamphlet on top of the usuall fold out for those interested. It was a nice surprise.

I've been keeping my eye on the price on Amazon hoping it will hit around $22. I've been watching the Marx Brothers set, too, hope it goes back to $35 when I should have ordered it.

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I've been keeping my eye on the price on Amazon hoping it will hit around $22. I've been watching the Marx Brothers set, too, hope it goes back to $35 when I should have ordered it.

It was $22 at some point before release because that's what I paid on Amazon.

[Sifox211]

Nautilus Art Prints have released a lovely Playtime:



Playtime (regular) €50. Signed and hand numbered.

There is also an alt version.

[MifuneFan]

Looks great

[SammyJankis]

Speaking of prints, Black Dragon Press revealed their White print out of the Three Colors set and it's pretty stunning, I think.

[Show spoiler]

and here's Blue

[Ray Jackson]

How often do you rewatch your favorite Criterions?

I was watching this amateur review of An Autumn Afternoon on Youtube and he talks about his philosophy on not re-watching films very often and how the magic of a film tends to dissipate over time as it gets viewed too often.

Not that what he said was anything I haven't heard or thought before, but for some odd reason his words hit me like a ton of bricks and I thought to myself, "Have I been wasting my life all these years, letting the same 100 films or so dominate my movie-watching existence?

Should I do something drastic and sell off half my collection and use the money to seek out new cinematic experiences?

Is there any intrinsic value in re-watching the same films over and over again, or is it a form of escapism that robs a great movie of its artistic worth?

All of a sudden I find myself in a disturbing existential quandary.

...anyone have any thoughts on this?

(relevant comments begin at 1:12)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zcr9S9PxGQ

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

How often do you rewatch your favorite Criterions?

I was watching this amateur review of An Autumn Afternoon on Youtube and he talks about his philosophy on non re-watching films very often and how the magic of a film tends to dissipate over time as it gets viewed too often.

Not that what he said was anything I haven't heard or thought before, but for some odd reason his words hit me like a ton of bricks and I thought to myself, "Have I been wasting my life all these years, letting the same 100 films or so dominate my movie-watching existence?

Should I do something drastic and sell off half my collection and use the money to seek out new cinematic experiences?

Is there any intrinsic value in re-watching the same films over and over again, or is it a form of escapism that robs a great movie of its artistic worth?

All of a sudden I find myself in a disturbing existential quandary.

...anyone have any thoughts on this?

(relevant comments begin at 1:12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zcr9S9PxGQ

Absolutely not RayJ! If I love a film it doesn't matter how many times I watch it, it never loses anything and a good amount of them get even better with repeat viewings. I've never experienced a film deteriorating for me over time with repeat viewings. I've seen Raiders of the Lost Ark atleast 200 times and I get the same amazing experience every time I watch it. As one of the other posters had mentioned I'm one of those viewers who watches every film I own atleast once a year. There's quite a bit of them I'll watch more than that annually though, some maybe even 20 times a year.

Edit: If you do just strictly stick with a certain number of films to watch without seeing other films out there you definitely need to take some time to put those aside to check out all of the other great films out there as well so you have even more to add to your collection. Selling them off sounds pretty drastic to me though if you love the films.

[shadedpain4]

I think it depends on the film. I try to be around 90/10 new watches to re-watches, but that's because there are so many movies I want to see that I haven't seen. The ones I do watch regularly are either all time favorites (Late Spring, Lost in Translation, ITMFL, 2001, etc) or films that I think structured in a way to reward re-watching (The Fountain, Holy Motors, Mr Nobody, Upstream Color).

[Scottie]

Maybe the fact that I watched The 400 Blows and Breathless, for example, at least five times in one year contributed to me getting rid of the films.

I first watched both films for leisure and then the film classes I took in college for some general education credits killed them to death.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

How often do you rewatch your favorite Criterions?

I was watching this amateur review of An Autumn Afternoon on Youtube and he talks about his philosophy on non re-watching films very often and how the magic of a film tends to dissipate over time as it gets viewed too often.

Not that what he said was anything I haven't heard or thought before, but for some odd reason his words hit me like a ton of bricks and I thought to myself, "Have I been wasting my life all these years, letting the same 100 films or so dominate my movie-watching existence?

Should I do something drastic and sell off half my collection and use the money to seek out new cinematic experiences?

Is there any intrinsic value in re-watching the same films over and over again, or is it a form of escapism that robs a great movie of its artistic worth?

All of a sudden I find myself in a disturbing existential quandary.

...anyone have any thoughts on this?

(relevant comments begin at 1:12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zcr9S9PxGQ

personally, I feel better about a film if I give it a little time before I come back to it. I think two watches in a somewhat short period of time works out okay - especially w/ CC films, most of which have inherent repeat watch rewards.

my absolute favorite films, I have only seen about 6 times in my lifetime.

I really liked An Autumn Afternoon and will watch it again some time, but I'm estimating that itch won't come for at least another 18 months or so. (I first saw it like a little over a year ago.)

that's just me, though... I know people talk about watching certain films once a year. for me, the magic is robbed a little when I know it too well.

[llj]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

How often do you rewatch your favorite Criterions?

I was watching this amateur review of An Autumn Afternoon on Youtube and he talks about his philosophy on not re-watching films very often and how the magic of a film tends to dissipate over time as it gets viewed too often.

Not that what he said was anything I haven't heard or thought before, but for some odd reason his words hit me like a ton of bricks and I thought to myself, "Have I been wasting my life all these years, letting the same 100 films or so dominate my movie-watching existence?

Should I do something drastic and sell off half my collection and use the money to seek out new cinematic experiences?

Is there any intrinsic value in re-watching the same films over and over again, or is it a form of escapism that robs a great movie of its artistic worth?

All of a sudden I find myself in a disturbing existential quandary.

...anyone have any thoughts on this?

(relevant comments begin at 1:12)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zcr9S9PxGQ

While I don't rewatch my films over and over other than a very select few, I'd never think of selling my "untouchables".

That said, I do think it's good to keep expanding your bubble for perspective reasons and not get stuck in a limited world inhabited only by things you are familiar with.

I'd almost say I agree on some level with this guy that 90% of most movies don't get better with repeated viewing (that's what makes the 10% special), but then I don't know how much I want to admit agreeing with a guy who looks like a 12 year old Jamie Oliver

[MassiveMovieBuff]

I do have to add that if I didn't watch all of my blu rays on a regular/annual basis I most likely wouldn't collect and spend my money on it. With my logic if you aren't going to watch the movies you buy frequently or atleast enough to warrant the own then it doesn't make much sense to spend the money on collecting. That's why I'm not a big blind buyer because if the movie sucks then I just wasted my money but I have had luck with some amazing blind buys with a good amount of them being Criterion releases.

[Ray Jackson]

Pauline Kael once said that she refused to watch any film more than once.

While I have my doubts about the veracity of that statement and I think it's far too extreme for my taste, I do think there's an element of merit to that line of thought. I killed my beloved Goodfellas by watching it a hundred thousand times over the last ten years or so.

...it's dead.

And what did I really learn about anything during that 25th viewing of Badlands a few weeks ago? More or less than I would've learned by watching something completely new? Is it not the cinematic equivalent of comfort food that we seek above all else? And if so, is watching Blade Runner nothing more than the analog to a Kit Kat bar or a cheap frozen pizza?

Watching Westworld these past couple of months has reminded me of the fact that most people live within endless loops of lifestyle habits and daily routines. We're programmed and we don't even know it.

Well not this host...not anymore.

From now on I'm going to be like Chris Cooper in Adaptation. Every now and again I will purge my collection of all but a select few titles and move on to a higher state of being. Maybe next time this year, I'll have rid myself of this insidious film addiction and taken up bird watching. I wonder if there's a Criterion equivalent in the world of birds?

...I just hope I don't get ripped apart by alligators some day.

[Show spoiler]

[llj]

Well, we are creatures of habit, it's natural to want to look for a routine. I don't know if we're programmed and don't know it, more like we're programmed and we prefer it that way.

That said, we won't grow as people if we don't keep trying new things.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Maybe the fact that I watched The 400 Blows and Breathless, for example, at least five times in one year contributed to me getting rid of the films.

It was just the opposite for me

The 400 Blows
1st: 6/10
2nd: 8/10
3rd: 9/10

Breathless
1st: 6/10
2nd: 8/10

The opposite has happened though, I don't believe I had the same impression the second time watching movies like Fight Club or Requiem for a Dream.

Of course these re-watches happened after years not immediately.

[Arch Stanton]

Films do lose the viscera over time, but I think different qualities emerge that were previously unknown or undeveloped so it's a win some lose some type scenario. I would not recommend selling half your collection whatsoever on a whim idea, especially with OOP issues and what not in the future if you ever want them back.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

How often do you rewatch your favorite Criterions?

I was watching this amateur review of An Autumn Afternoon on Youtube and he talks about his philosophy on not re-watching films very often and how the magic of a film tends to dissipate over time as it gets viewed too often.

Not that what he said was anything I haven't heard or thought before, but for some odd reason his words hit me like a ton of bricks and I thought to myself, "Have I been wasting my life all these years, letting the same 100 films or so dominate my movie-watching existence?

Should I do something drastic and sell off half my collection and use the money to seek out new cinematic experiences?

Is there any intrinsic value in re-watching the same films over and over again, or is it a form of escapism that robs a great movie of its artistic worth?

All of a sudden I find myself in a disturbing existential quandary.

...anyone have any thoughts on this?

Yes, I have thoughts on this.

I think you should do whatever you want to do, and not worry about what other people do.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

It was just the opposite for me

The 400 Blows
1st: 6/10
2nd: 8/10
3rd: 9/10

Breathless
1st: 6/10
2nd: 8/10

The opposite has happened though, I don't believe I had the same impression the second time watching movies like Fight Club or Requiem for a Dream.

Of course these re-watches happened after years not immediately.

I still think they're both good movies. I'm just burnt out beyond belief.

Ironically I still kept Persona even though I watched it as much (if not more) in a shorter period of time.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I still think they're both good movies. I'm just burnt out beyond belief.

Ironically I still kept Persona even though I watched it as much (if not more) in a shorter period of time.

Just wondering how many times have you watched each of the films in question?

I believe the most I have seen a movie is like 5 times, not sure which though, might be 4.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Yes, I have thoughts on this.

I think you should do whatever you want to do, and not worry about what other people do.

This. But at the same time, you will most definitely regret selling most of what you get rid of.