The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Not sure if it's been mentioned yet, but Night of the Living Dead and The Silence of the Lambs are confirmed DigiPacks.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I watched the trailer and that is exactly what I thought - that it looked like a comic Barry Lyndon!

I wish we'd get some more of the British kitchen sink dramas into the CC. There are a few note-worthy ones that don't have U.S. releases as of yet.

Agreed. One of my favourite genres. And not just because I'm a Brit. I went on a Region B sink-buying spree earlier this year, and picked up Poor Cow, A Kind of Loving, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. All fantastic films.

Ironically, Up the Junction has a US BD release (Olive), but nothing in the UK. Another good one.

Given Criterion released This Sporting Life on DVD, there is a chance it could get an upgrade (I haven't picked up the Region B Network BD release yet). Also Billy Liar, although I have the Region B Studio Canal BD, which is excellent.

Twilight Time is releasing The L-Shaped Room soon - one of the few I haven't seen.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Agreed. One of my favourite genres. And not just because I'm a Brit. I went on a Region B sink-buying spree earlier this year, and picked up Poor Cow, A Kind of Loving, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. All fantastic films.

Ironically, Up the Junction has a US BD release (Olive), but nothing in the UK. Another good one.

Given Criterion released This Sporting Life on DVD, there is a chance it could get an upgrade (I haven't picked up the Region B Network BD release yet). Also Billy Liar, although I have the Region B Studio Canal BD, which is excellent.

Twilight Time is releasing The L-Shaped Room soon - one of the few I haven't seen.

I'd also add Room at the Top and Look Back in Anger, the original kitchen sink drama.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Agreed. One of my favourite genres. And not just because I'm a Brit. I went on a Region B sink-buying spree earlier this year, and picked up Poor Cow, A Kind of Loving, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner. All fantastic films.

Ironically, Up the Junction has a US BD release (Olive), but nothing in the UK. Another good one.

Given Criterion released This Sporting Life on DVD, there is a chance it could get an upgrade (I haven't picked up the Region B Network BD release yet). Also Billy Liar, although I have the Region B Studio Canal BD, which is excellent.

Twilight Time is releasing The L-Shaped Room soon - one of the few I haven't seen.

awesome! a few titles I had not heard of, so I'll look into them.

I might do the same... go to AmazonUK, that is. I actually have a couple of those sitting in my cart (or the UK it is 'basket', I believe.) just haven't paired them with other stuff to soften the shipping blow.

[GhastlyGraham]

So with this exciting news regarding NOTLD, how hopeful should I be for an eventual blu-ray re-release of Blood for Dracula and especially Flesh for Frankenstein?

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Reddington

A Taste of Honey is solid kitchen-sink drama. If anything, Tom Jones might be compared with Barry Lyndon - although it is much lighter in tone.

Tom Jones at times is Barry Lyndon meets Benny Hill. All that’s missing is the Yakety Sax theme.

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by Chabrolesque

Of course, I don’t necessarily think being an “issue movie” is inherently a terrible thing. I have no idea how well something like I, Daniel Blake will age, but for now I found it vital and moving. And going much further back, a movie like Inherit the Wind—as heavy-handed and unsubtle as it is—is still a lot of fun to watch, and even powerful at times.

Hollywood issue films are invariably mediocre or bad, but you can make a quality films about important social issues. The trick is trying to find something universal in the material.

Originally Posted by Chabrolesque

: In defense of Loach—while I find him inconsistent and can agree that he often lets his tendency towards social commentary get in the way of the story he’s trying to tell, I do think he’s made more good movies than just Kes. I’ve only seen about a third of his filmography, but Sweet Sixteen, My Name is Joe, Riff-Raff, Ladybird, Ladybird, and Land and Freedom all have a lot to offer—and I might even call a few of them great.

He has made a few good films, certainly, but whether they are memorable or worth rewatching is another matter entirely.

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Tom Jones at times is Barry Lyndon meets Benny Hill. All that’s missing is the Yakety Sax theme.

Absolute rubbish. Tom Jones is quite brilliant. Director Tony Richardson decided to make a period film in a cinéma vérité, almost documentary like style, jump cuts, handheld camera on a lot of shots, all unknown at the time for this kind of film (& I don't think anyone has tried it since), of course it's like a cartoon version of a very long book, but beautifully done with a lot of standout scenes (the meal), they certainly got it at the time, it was a world-wide hit & won Oscars for best film, best director, best adapted screenplay & best music score.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by CinemaScope

of course it's like a cartoon version of a very long book

It's an incredibly faithful adaptation. Henry Fielding's asides to the reader translate well into a lot of fourth-wall breaking.

[iamhopkat]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

there's this:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=198166

This is a great list. What is the best resource to know which company owns the rights to any given movie? How does one keep in the loop about which company is about to acquire the rights to a movie? There is a lot of talk here about Criterion acquiring the rights to the Godzilla movies. How is that information acquired?

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by iamhopkat

What is the best resource to know which company owns the rights to any given movie?

search for the film on filmaf.com ... it's not an absolutely perfect answer, but it will usually give you a pretty good idea on all but the most complicated cases.

Originally Posted by iamhopkat

How does one keep in the loop about which company is about to acquire the rights to a movie?

Trying to keep this short - Labels tend not to talk about it until they have acquired the rights, because revealing the information prematurely can affect the negotiation. Once they get the rights, different labels have different behavior, but they tend to respect each other. For instance, Kino knows (or can find out) what Shout has licensed, but if you ask in the Kino thread, the Kino insider will say "It's with another label" rather than "It's with Shout", out of deference to Shout's desire to announce it in its own time. The logic is, it sometimes takes years from acquiring the rights to actually having a product available, and they don't want people constantly asking for updates.

Originally Posted by iamhopkat

There is a lot of talk here about Criterion acquiring the rights to the Godzilla movies. How is that information acquired?

I believe that the Godzilla movies (it's something like 7 or 9 of the classic era, plus Rodan and maybe Mothra) started streaming somewhere with the "Criterion" logo at the head of them, which led people to ask, and receive confirmation that Criterion has licensed the films.

[Blu Titan]

So happy I held off on buying NOTLD, Elevator to the Gallows and Hero. Great month for BD announcements .

[jl1rp]

Nice February three or four will be added.

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

It's an incredibly faithful adaptation. Henry Fielding's asides to the reader translate well into a lot of fourth-wall breaking.

There's a good book about film making in England in the sixties, Hollywood England by the film critic Alexander Walker, there's a lot about Woodfall Films in it. I haven't read it for years, but Tony Richardson, John Osborne & Albert Finney really wanted to make Tom Jones, but they insisted it had to be in colour, they kept raising the money only for the deal to fall through, John Osborne kept rewriting the script, cutting out stuff to make it cheaper to make. United Artists came in & saved the day (it was a cheap film as far as they were concerned), Richardson, Osborne & Finney were working for next to nothing so United Artists gave them a percentage of the profits (they obviously had no idea just how popular it would turn out to be) & it made the three of them rich. And the film made a huge difference to film making in England, as after its success all the big studios started making films in England, it was boom time, but hardly any of the films were successful, so by 1970 the boom was over.

[iamhopkat]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

search for the film on filmaf.com ... it's not an absolutely perfect answer, but it will usually give you a pretty good idea on all but the most complicated cases.



Trying to keep this short - Labels tend not to talk about it until they have acquired the rights, because revealing the information prematurely can affect the negotiation. Once they get the rights, different labels have different behavior, but they tend to respect each other. For instance, Kino knows (or can find out) what Shout has licensed, but if you ask in the Kino thread, the Kino insider will say "It's with another label" rather than "It's with Shout", out of deference to Shout's desire to announce it in its own time. The logic is, it sometimes takes years from acquiring the rights to actually having a product available, and they don't want people constantly asking for updates.



I believe that the Godzilla movies (it's something like 7 or 9 of the classic era, plus Rodan and maybe Mothra) started streaming somewhere with the "Criterion" logo at the head of them, which led people to ask, and receive confirmation that Criterion has licensed the films.

Thank you. A lot of good information - some stuff I already knew and figured out, but some new stuff as well. I was unfamiliar with filmaf.com, so will spend some time over there.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Hollywood issue films are invariably mediocre or bad, but you can make a quality films about important social issues. The trick is trying to find something universal in the material.

"Do the Right Thing" is probably the best film about race relations IMO because it doesn't offer easy solutions and isn't preachy. It also shows how sometimes an issue like race can blow up in spite of the best efforts of many (i.e. Mookie, Vito, and Sal) because they get drowned out by people who don't want harmony among human beings (Buggin' Out and Pino). It's an incredibly honest depiction of how things deteriorate despite how f**king senseless it is to judge someone on the color of their skin.

Now, "issue" films are so damn preachy. We live in a culture where people are so afraid of offending anyone that films about important issues are watered down and the preachiness has emboldened people who actually are racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. "Do the Right Thing" is a film that didn't care about offending anyone's sensibilities, so it was great. Now, message films are made so that everyone can simply wag their fingers at people with horrific bigoted outlooks without making anyone really think.

[bigbadwoppet]

Originally Posted by CinemaScope

Absolute rubbish. Tom Jones is quite brilliant. Director Tony Richardson decided to make a period film in a cinéma vérité, almost documentary like style, jump cuts, handheld camera on a lot of shots, all unknown at the time for this kind of film (& I don't think anyone has tried it since), of course it's like a cartoon version of a very long book, but beautifully done with a lot of standout scenes (the meal), they certainly got it at the time, it was a world-wide hit & won Oscars for best film, best director, best adapted screenplay & best music score.

The book had me laughing all the way through so I don't see why the movie should have been any different.

Kubrick, on the other hand, took a picaresque novel and turned it into his most boring film. Revisionists have tried to make it into his unappreciated masterpiece but the original reviews were right:nobody liked it.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by mja345

"Do the Right Thing" is probably the best film about race relations IMO because it doesn't offer easy solutions and isn't preachy. It also shows how sometimes an issue like race can blow up in spite of the best efforts of many (i.e. Mookie, Vito, and Sal) because they get drowned out by people who don't want harmony among human beings (Buggin' Out and Pino). It's an incredibly honest depiction of how things deteriorate despite how f**king senseless it is to judge someone on the color of their skin.

Now, "issue" films are so damn preachy. We live in a culture where people are so afraid of offending anyone that films about important issues are watered down and the preachiness has emboldened people who actually are racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. "Do the Right Thing" is a film that didn't care about offending anyone's sensibilities, so it was great. Now, message films are made so that everyone can simply wag their fingers at people with horrific bigoted outlooks without making anyone really think.

I think that Get Out is the best movie about race relations in a long long time. The fact that it successfully avoids preachiness by concealing the themes inside a killer intense Twilight Zone-esque horror flick makes it all the better.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I think that Get Out is the best movie about race relations in a long long time. The fact that it successfully avoids preachiness by concealing the theme inside a Twilight Zone-esque horror flick makes it all the better.

Still need to see it. I'll probably pick up the 4K disc eventually.

[CinemaScope]

Originally Posted by bigbadwoppet

The book had me laughing all the way through so I don't see why the movie should have been any different.

Kubrick, on the other hand, took a picaresque novel and turned it into his most boring film. Revisionists have tried to make it into his unappreciated masterpiece but the original reviews were right:nobody liked it.

Well I have to agree about Barry Lyndon, I saw it in London's West End a couple of days after it opened, & I could just tell that the rest of the audience found it as boring as I did. I have the Blu-ray in a Kubrick box set, so I should really give it another go.