The Criterion Collection

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by mja345

Ray, go down to the nearest Best Buy to you. In the first row of blu rays, in the second section, there are two copies of "Showgirls". Pick up the second copy, which is behind the first. Go to the register and buy it. Inside the case, you will find a handwritten note. There are two addresses on it. Promptly drive to the first address. At the first address, a man will supply you with a gimp mask. Bring the gimp mask to the second address and put it on before you go in. The second address is where you will drive tonight at midnight. You will find that it is an address to a very large mansion. When you arrive at the mansion, punch in 4982 as the code at the gate. Park your car behind a black BMW adjacent to the first fountain you see. Walk to the mansion and ring the doorbell. I can't say anything further...

Excuse my bad Paint skills

[ajburke]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I watched McCabe & Mrs. Miller for the first time recently...

[Show spoiler]Kind of a strange film in that it really doesn't seem to be going anywhere for the first hour or so, but

[Show spoiler] then the second half of the film contains some great scenes - pretty much everything from the entrance of the horny cowboy onward.

About the beginning... I felt that McCabe is depicted differently in the first half of the film than he is in the second. You get the impression that he is some kind of badass. Perhaps that is fueled by the legend that all of the other characters seem to believe, but still... as a new audience, what else does one have to go by?

I wasn't knocked out by Julie Christie either. Altman is very concerned with establishing a living / breathing town, which is kind of cool, but it distracts from character development, including hers.

Interesting, too, that Ebert calls this a "perfect" film. I'm probably wrong, but I think he might have felt that way because of how the Leonard Cohen songs really elevate all else that is going on. Most of my "perfect" films all have great scores or soundtracks.

Perhaps too much criticism for a good film.

Thanks for posting! I had a some similar thoughts that I posted a few months ago, though I think it's still an excellent film overall (not entirely sure if you do). Here is the relevant part of my old post:

I like westerns in general, but I do tend to favor deconstructionist/post-1960 works. I liked that the protag was out of his element and something of a charlatan. I loved the snowy Pacific Northwest locale. The only gripe I can muster up after one viewing is that I wish there was a little more Mrs. Miller. I was expecting her to have a bigger role, and even though the brothel is important to the story, I felt a little misled by the title. I guess I was expecting (and hoping for) a little more high-end-bawdy-house-minutia. I certainly didn't allow that to ruin the movie for me though.

[ThisKid]

For those who want a Criterion of California Split, the gods have spoken. Craig Keller said this on Twitter-
https://twitter.com/evillights/statu...58755664044032

More Altman, More Life.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by ThisKid

For those who want a Criterion of California Split, the gods have spoken. Craig Keller said this on Twitter-
https://twitter.com/evillights/statu...58755664044032

More Altman, More Life.

That would be incredible.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by ThisKid

For those who want a Criterion of California Split, the gods have spoken. Craig Keller said this on Twitter-
https://twitter.com/evillights/statu...58755664044032

More Altman, More Life.

Cool!

Were Happy Birthday rights really causing problem for this?

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by jshaide

Were Happy Birthday rights really causing problem for this?

I can't swear that "Happy Birthday" wasn't involved, but here's a fairly comprehensive list of cuts, and "Happy Birthday" isn't on it.

That said, the fact that he refers to "Basketball Joe" when he means Cheech and Chong's "Basketball Jones" tells me that this isn't necessarily a definitive list.

http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/...art=75#p375567

[Also worth mentioning: there is an uncut version of the film in HD which has shown on TV somewhere, so they should be able to release a fully uncut Blu if they can clear all the music rights; interesting to Quantum Leap fans, one of the missing songs in the DVD is "Georgia on My Mind".]

EDIT: I looked back at the list and I see it now, it was buried in #3.

[thatguamguy]

As a follow-up, "Happy Birthday to You" is listed on the IMDb as part of the soundtrack. I remember that Elliott Gould mentioned in an interview somewhere that he spearheaded the project to get the film recut after he heard that it couldn't be released becaue of what the soundtrack would cost to clear, and that the cuts were made either by Altman or with his blessing/approval in order to get the cost of the music clearance down, not because anything was unclearable per se... so, with "Happy Birthday To You" in public domain, that *might* have freed money in the budget to pay for the other songs. So it could possibly have had a positive impact on the release. But it seems like a stretch.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I wasn't knocked out by Julie Christie either. Altman is very concerned with establishing a living / breathing town, which is kind of cool, but it distracts from character development, including hers.

The thing about the first hour is, the dialogue track is legendarily awful. It really adds a layer of obscurity which is maybe one too many the first time through.

A few years back, a friend of mine set up a projector in a decent sized space and used to show double features. At one point, I hosted "McCabe" and "The Long Goodbye". At this point, I'd seen McCabe 4 or 5 times, and watching it, I understood almost every word of dialogue, more than I remember catching before... so when everybody started complaining more and more that they couldn't understand it, I was surprised, but I told them "Don't worry, it gets better after the first reel or two." Buried within all that dialogue, there's more character development than you realize, but Altman has never really shown much interest in traditional set-up and pay-off for character development. It's more about little asides that make the character seem a little more dimensional.

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I felt that McCabe is depicted differently in the first half of the film than he is in the second.

One of the interesting things about McCabe is that I feel like they manage to show us so many contradictions in the man that, by the end, you still don't really know who he really is. I think that the only times he is honest about anything, but especially how he feels, is when he is talking to Mrs. Miller; he aspires to something, but even he isn't sure what it is ("I got poetry in me... I do").

[castor]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

The only films that come remotely close to challenging that I can think of in the last 5-6 years are some of the ones on my list like Horse Money, Story of My Death, Hard To Be A God. Not only are these films powered by quite big and non obvious ideas, they are also aesthetically challenging too, something American films are generally not with the exception of perhaps Tree of Life in recent times. There are some quite unusual blocking and framing techniques in all 3 of the films I mentioned.

Thanks for mentioning Horse Money. After reading a few reviews of it, I decided I had to see it, so I've just ordered the BD.

BTW, Faust and Hard To Be A God are two of my all time favorite films.

[nitin]

Am watching Criterion's 4K restoration of McCabe and Mrs Miller on the big screen next Wednesday, cannot wait.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

The thing about the first hour is, the dialogue track is legendarily awful. It really adds a layer of obscurity which is maybe one too many the first time through.

A few years back, a friend of mine set up a projector in a decent sized space and used to show double features. At one point, I hosted "McCabe" and "The Long Goodbye". At this point, I'd seen McCabe 4 or 5 times, and watching it, I understood almost every word of dialogue, more than I remember catching before... so when everybody started complaining more and more that they couldn't understand it, I was surprised, but I told them "Don't worry, it gets better after the first reel or two." Buried within all that dialogue, there's more character development than you realize, but Altman has never really shown much interest in traditional set-up and pay-off for character development. It's more about little asides that make the character seem a little more dimensional.



One of the interesting things about McCabe is that I feel like they manage to show us so many contradictions in the man that, by the end, you still don't really know who he really is. I think that the only times he is honest about anything, but especially how he feels, is when he is talking to Mrs. Miller; he aspires to something, but even he isn't sure what it is ("I got poetry in me... I do").

It is pretty bad. I did notice that. I watch most English films with the subtitles on, so I was able to look past that somewhat.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your thoughts on this one. Some good analysis.

[teneightypee]

McCabe and Mrs Miller is my favourite film of all time and it certainly improves with every viewing, I'd definitely go back to it again in the near future. It's the little details and character moments I love (and always seem to forget about until I watch the film again). Like the guy in the bar getting advice about his facial hair - a town full of people who look like they haven't seen a mirror in years, in fact, they have the conversation right next to a mirror on the wall covered in dust.

I watched it again today, actually, with the excellent commentary track and it was lovely to just sit and look at the film and nothing else. Criterion really knocked it out of the park with this release, I couldn't be happier with how it looks. The sequence where McCabe is riding with his newly bought prostitutes as the camera zooms out to reveal the town in progress gives me goosebumps every time.

This is a nice video essay on the film:

https://vimeo.com/19657006

[colbyw]

FYI. Target is having a buy 2 get 1 free sale. Criterion Collection is included in sale. Works on preorders too. Works out to about 3 for $56.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by colbyw

FYI. Target is having a buy 2 get 1 free sale. Criterion Collection is included in sale. Works on preorders too. Works out to about 3 for $56.

And if You're looking for additional items to pair with a pre-order criterion to get to that three spot: The Musicals 4 movie Collection and A Married Woman are also $26 each before discounts.

[erlinmeyer]

Originally Posted by colbyw

FYI. Target is having a buy 2 get 1 free sale. Criterion Collection is included in sale. Works on preorders too. Works out to about 3 for $56.

Target doesn't seem to carry any of the titles I am interested in, and they have been released in the past year.

[colbyw]

Originally Posted by erlinmeyer

Target doesn't seem to carry any of the titles I am interested in, and they have been released in the past year.

Yeah, I was pretty upset that they didn't have His Girl Friday or The Asphalt Jungle. But, preorders are never included in B&N or flash sales so that was the pleasant surprise.

[silverlakephil]

I check the Janus Films website periodically for their Films that have a Blu-ray for screenings, and I noticed they now have one for Mizoguchi's Ugetsu !

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by silverlakephil

I check the Janus Films website periodically for their Films that have a Blu-ray for screenings, and I noticed they now have one for Mizoguchi's Ugetsu !

Yep, mentioned a week or two ago that the Film Forum here in NYC is screening it in March from a new restoration courtesy of Janus. Chances are good for a BD release this year. Might even be announced next week.

[silverlakephil]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Yep, mentioned a week or two ago that the Film Forum here in NYC is screening it in March from a new restoration courtesy of Janus. Chances are good for a BD release this year. Might even be announced next week.

Thanks. These others films have Blu-rays I've mentioned in the past, but no announcement yet from Criterion:

The Goalie's Anxiety at The Penalty Kick (Wenders)
Late Autumn (Ozu)
The Lower Depths (Renoir)
Night on Earth (Jarmusch)

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by silverlakephil

Thanks. These others films have Blu-rays I've mentioned in the past, but no announcement yet from Criterion:

The Goalie's Anxiety at The Penalty Kick (Wenders)
Late Autumn (Ozu)
The Lower Depths (Renoir)
Night on Earth (Jarmusch)

I would think Late Autumn is unlikely for a Criterion Blu release. Unless they really change how they do things.