The Criterion Collection

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

The Innocents, The Uninvited and Cat People

Why?

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Why?

Why not?

[El Sleezo]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

The Innocents, The Uninvited and Cat People.

How would you rank them and why?

Just a simple ranking would be great, but a brief explanation as to why you think one is better than the other would be fantastic.

And if you want my pledge of eternal loyalty, you will give me your pick for the scariest old school picture in the CC.

...let’s say pre-1970.

Innocents, Uninvited, Cat People. CC is pretty lacking in horror imo, but I’d say Kuroneko, Onibaba (region B blu-ray), and haxan are their best offerings. Rosemary’s Baby is my favorite quality-wise, but I never found it spooky.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

Why?

[Show spoiler]

[Akibiyori]

Originally Posted by Jonbaker

Does anyone know if there will be any more Chaplin releases on Criterion, including the shorts?

Criterion still has the First National shorts, A Woman of Paris, The Circus, and A King in New York to release.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

The Innocents, The Uninvited and Cat People.

How would you rank them and why?

Just a simple ranking would be great, but a brief explanation as to why you think one is better than the other would be fantastic.

And if you want my pledge of eternal loyalty, you will give me your pick for the scariest old school picture in the CC.

...let’s say pre-1970.

Sorry boss, haven't seen The Innocents or the original Cat People and I can't really rank them. I will say that I was not a fan of The Uninvited, it didn't really thrill or engage me much.

My pick for horror would easily be Night of the Living Dead. If for no other reason than I find it hard to be scared by most movies, but I can see how this particular one influenced so many others and pushed the envelope while maintaining some level of taste and coherency. The film didn't really excite me on the first viewing, but revisiting it last month with the nice, cleaned-up CC picture really let me appreciate all the grit, gore, textures, and expressions of every frame. It's tight, tense, simple, but leaves enough ambiguity and openness to let social themes and greater fears seep into the picture.

[benedictopacifico]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

The Innocents, The Uninvited and Cat People.

How would you rank them and why?

Just a simple ranking would be great, but a brief explanation as to why you think one is better than the other would be fantastic.

And if you want my pledge of eternal loyalty, you will give me your pick for the scariest old school picture in the CC.

...let’s say pre-1970.

1. The Innocents - One of the most interesting and beautifully shot horror movies ever.
2. Cat People - Great movie, with that famous minimalist horror style of Lewton/Tourneur.
3. The Uninvited - Good movie, but no for repeating viewings.

Repulsion, Carnival of Souls, Rosemary’s Baby, Häxan.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

Ordered the Bergman Collection from B&N and canceled my Amazon pre-order. While I'm fairly certain that Amazon will eventually price match I took the certain savings over the possible savings. Sooner or later I will also pick up Andrei Rublev during the sale. That will probably be the extent of my participation.

Amazon is now price matching B&N.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by regeyer

Amazon is now price matching B&N.

Thanks. Just checked, and my pre-order has dropped to $149.99.

Now we know the set is definitely included in the B&N sale, I'll cancel. Amazon's packaging has been particularly poor of late, so I'd rather buy in person in-store.

[Arawn]

I saw Carnival of Souls last week on TCM, never saw it before. Great film!

[Crow T. Robot]

Picked up and Ordered from B&N



Watership Down...The Emigrants/The New Land are blind buys

Steve

[mikeyfridebuzz]

My Criterion haul over the weekend. Went Friday and Sunday.



Will be picking up 3 more and then I think I'm done.

Pre-ordered



picking up in Store after 11/20:

[willtopower]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

The Innocents, The Uninvited and Cat People.

How would you rank them and why?

Just a simple ranking would be great, but a brief explanation as to why you think one is better than the other would be fantastic.

And if you want my pledge of eternal loyalty, you will give me your pick for the scariest old school picture in the CC.

...let’s say pre-1970.

Ranking:
Innocents - epitome of gothic horror. Superb atmosphere and a ghostliness that is affecting.
Cat People - A great representation of the RKO/Val Lewton horror output. In many ways, I think these films added style to horror that lets them stand above many of the Universal efforts. Leopard Man is my favourite, but Cat People is moody in all the right ways.
Uninvited - A wonderful gothic horror that also builds a great atmosphere. It's not top tier like Innocents, but for anyone able to appreciate atmosphere and this classical gothic style, it should be rewarding.

I think the scariest is Night of the Living Dead, but that's such a well known staple, it almost feels like a cop-out to suggest. So as an alternative, I will recommend Night of the Hunter. This is a perfect movie for me. I do think it stands as a horror film.

[MifuneFan]

Film Forum will be showing Marcel Pagnol's The Baker's Wife (1938) in late December, sourced from a new 4K restoration, and distributed by Janus Films.

There even appears to be a page on Criterion's site for it already:

https://www.criterion.com/films/29390-the-baker-s-wife

[MJD64]

For me, THE INNOCENTS is the best ghost story ever put on film. Still unnerving after all these years, with Deborah Kerr's high-strung governess one of the great performances in horror (her behavior and actions often make her scarier than the ghosts). CAT PEOPLE is another favorite, the simmering horror working with the simmering fear of sexuality, and it's all wonderfully suggestive and subtle. THE UNINVITED isn't in the class of the previous two, but it's an effectively moody, spooky entertainment and one can hear the musical influence on the later pop standard hit "Stella by Starlight"...

As an addendum, I'd like to recommend the eerie Japanese anthology film KWAIDAN, one of the most ravishing color horror films in the history of the genre.

[javy]

Originally Posted by MJD64

For me, THE INNOCENTS is the best ghost story ever put on film. Still unnerving after all these years, with Deborah Kerr's high-strung governess one of the great performances in horror (her behavior and actions often make her scarier than the ghosts). CAT PEOPLE is another favorite, the simmering horror working with the simmering fear of sexuality, and it's all wonderfully suggestive and subtle. THE UNINVITED isn't in the class of the previous two, but it's an effectively moody, spooky entertainment and one can hear the musical influence on the later pop standard hit "Stella by Starlight"...

As an addendum, I'd like to recommend the eerie Japanese anthology film KWAIDAN, one of the most ravishing color horror films in the history of the genre.

Kwaidan is good. And on Japanese horror, I watched Kuroneko during October. I loved that shit. Totally dark and atmospheric. The scene where she lures her first victim into her domain with the trees moving behind the cabin was very hypnotic and surreal. And the shadow that was cast onto the curtain as she tore into her victim was exquisite. The film is beatiful and truly horrific. And oh my evil god, that score had me in a trance. Not really but it could've of if I would've let it.

The Innocents is excellent. I need to check out Cat People. I absolutely love everything about The Uninvited.

[mfitzwah]

Originally Posted by Akibiyori

Criterion still has the First National shorts, A Woman of Paris, The Circus, and A King in New York to release.

It would be cool if the First National Shorts were packaged as a supplement to one of the yet-to-be-released features.

Era-appropriate: w/ A Woman of Paris. But tonally appropriate: w/ The Circus.

[willtopower]

Originally Posted by MJD64

For me, THE INNOCENTS is the best ghost story ever put on film. Still unnerving after all these years, with Deborah Kerr's high-strung governess one of the great performances in horror (her behavior and actions often make her scarier than the ghosts). CAT PEOPLE is another favorite, the simmering horror working with the simmering fear of sexuality, and it's all wonderfully suggestive and subtle. THE UNINVITED isn't in the class of the previous two, but it's an effectively moody, spooky entertainment and one can hear the musical influence on the later pop standard hit "Stella by Starlight"...

As an addendum, I'd like to recommend the eerie Japanese anthology film KWAIDAN, one of the most ravishing color horror films in the history of the genre.

Great post! I second everything you said.
KWAIDAN is excellent. I love that film. The set design is to die for.

[BluProofie]

The Innocents is wonderful. So ahead of its time and filled with unnerving images and gorgeous cinematography. I love the ambiguity of it all, too.

[MJD64]

Originally Posted by javy

Kwaidan is good. And on Japanese horror, I watched Kuroneko during October. I loved that shit. Totally dark and atmospheric. The scene where she lures her first victim into her domain with the trees moving behind the cabin was very hypnotic and surreal. And the shadow that was cast onto the curtain as she tore into her victim was exquisite. The film is beatiful and truly horrific. And oh my evil god, that score had me in a trance. Not really but it could've of if I would've let it.

The Innocents is excellent. I need to check out Cat People. I absolutely love everything about The Uninvited.

Absolutely agree on KURONEKO. If you haven't already, check out director Kaneto Shindo's period thriller ONIBABA, which has a supernatural element but manages to be even more disturbing by hewing closer to reality in its story of dark eroticism and the horrific. The anamorphic B&W cinematography is striking (courtesy of Kiyomi Kuroda, who also shot KURONEKO) as is the music by Hikaru Hayashi (who provided the score for KURONEKO). Would love to see Criterion upgrade this classic to Blu.

Originally Posted by willtopower

Great post! I second everything you said.
KWAIDAN is excellent. I love that film. The set design is to die for.

Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, the set design combined with Yoshio Miyajima's gorgeous lensing makes KWAIDAN visually irresistable.