The Criterion Collection

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

Yes, I also look forward to more 90s foreign films in the Criterion collection.

Films like:
Cyrano
Indochine
Raise the Red Lantern
Farewell to my Concubine
Mediterraneo
City of lost Children
Ju Dou
Fresa y chocolate
Rhapsody in August
Ulysses Gaze & Eternity and a Day (well,these 2 are not foreign to me! I can't believe there isn't a single Greek film in the collection. There should be at least one Angelopoulos, or some older ancient Greek tragedy films)

Other 90s films I'd like to see that don't yet have a North American BD release are:

After Life (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 1999)
Anna Magdalena (Yee Chung-Man, 1998)
Antonia's Line (Marleen Gorris, 1995)
Autumn Moon (Clara Law, 1992)
Barton Fink (Joel Cohen, 1991)
Beyond Rangoon (John Boorman, 1995)
The Blue Kite (Tian Zhuangzhuang, 1993)
Bullet in the Head (John Woo, 1990)
Butterfly (José Luis Cuerda, 1999)
Celestial Clockwork (Fina Torres, 1995)
Centre Stage (Stanley Kwan, 1991)
Cold Comfort Farm (John Schlesinger, 1995)
Cold Fever (Fridrik Thór Fridriksson, 1995)
Come See the Paradise (Alan Parker, 1990)
Comrades - Almost a Love Story (Peter Chan, 1996)
Cookie's Fortune (Robert Altman, 1999)
Crash (David Cronenberg, 1996)
Cyclo (Tran Anh Hung, 1995)
Dogfight (Nancy Savoca, 1991)
Europa (Lars von Trier, 1991)
Faraway, So Close! (Wim Wenders, 1993)
Felicia's Journey (Atom Egoyan, 1999)
Flirting (John Duigan, 1992)
Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1998)
Goodbye South, Goodbye (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1996)
He's a Woman, She's a Man (Peter Chan, 1994)
Household Saints (Nancy Savoca, 1993)
Kolya (Jan Sverak, 1996)
Lone Star (John Sayles, 1996)
Lost Highway (David Lynch, 1997)
The Lovers (Tsui Hark, 1994)
Maborisi (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 1995)
Magic Hunter (Ildikó Enyedi, 1994)
Mary from Beijing (Sylvia Chang, 1992)
Minbo--or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extoration (Jūzō Itami, 1992)
Moloch (Alexandr Sokurov, 1999)
The Mystery of Rampo (Okuyama Kazuyoshi, 1994)
The Ogre (Volker Schlöndorff, 1996)
Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori, 1994)
Prospero's Books (Peter Greenaway, 1991)
The Secret of Roan Inish (John Sayles, 1995)
Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee, 1995)
Shall We Dance? (Masayuki Suo, 1996)
Shanghai Triad (Zhang Yimou, 1995)
Short Cuts (Robert Altman, 1993)
Smoke (Wayne Wang, 1995)
The Soong Sisters (Mabel Cheung, 1997)
The Story of Qiu Ju (Zhang Yimou, 1992)
The Straight Story (David Lynch, 1999)
To Live (Zhang Yimou, 1994)
The Wedding Banquet (Ang Lee, 1993)
Women from the Lake of Scented Souls (Xei Fei, 1993)

[CriterionBlues]

Getting ready to re-shelve some of my collection:

[Yami]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

Ulysses Gaze & Eternity and a Day (well,these 2 are not foreign to me! I can't believe there isn't a single Greek film in the collection. There should be at least one Angelopoulos, or some older ancient Greek tragedy films)

I'd love a release of Nikos Koundouros' brilliant O Drakos

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Getting ready to re-shelve some of my collection:

I'm so glad you are not selling these lol I'd be so poor! Nice collection though!

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I'm so glad you are not selling these lol I'd be so poor! Nice collection though!

Selling them would be a crime! When I upgrade to BD, then I donate the old DVD to the library.

[cakefactory]

Are half of those still in the plastic wrap? If so, you have some watching to do!

[Scottie]

Last April I owned every single film that Criterion released on Blu-ray. By May, I had stopped this because it's a waste of money, in my opinion, especially when I don't find the films to be particularly good or rewatchable.

I've been keeping a list.

No Longer In My Collection [141]

3:10 To Yuma (BD)
39 Steps, The (BD)
400 Blows, The (BD) + DIGIPACK
¡Alambrista! (BD)
America Lost And Found: The BBS Story (BD)
And Everything Is Going Fine (BD)
Antichrist (BD)
Babette’s Feast (BD)
Beau Serge, Le (BD)
Bigger Than Life (BD)
Black Moon (BD)
Black Orpheus (BD)
Blob, The (BD)
Bottle Rocket (BD)
Branded To Kill (BD)
Breaking The Waves (BD + DVD)
Breathless (BD)
Brief History Of Time, A (BD + DVD)
Broadcast News (BD)
By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volumes One And Two (BD)
Cage Aux Folles, La (BD)
Carlos (BD)
Che (BD)
Children Of Paradise (BD)
Christmas Tale, A (BD)
Chronicle Of A Summer (BD)
Complete Jacques Tati, The (BD)
Complete Jean Vigo, The (BD)
Complete Monterey Pop Festival, The (BD)
Cousins, Les (BD)
Cronos (BD)
Crumb (BD)
Darjeeling Limited, The (BD)
David Lean Directs Noël Coward (BD)
Devil’s Backbone, The (BD)
Earrings Of Madame De…, The (BD)
Eating Raoul (BD)
Everlasting Moments (BD)
Every Man For Himself (BD)
Eyes Without A Face (BD)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (BD + DVD)
Fat Girl (BD)
Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (BD)
For All Mankind (BD)
Foreign Correspondent (BD + DVD)
Forgiveness Of Blood, The (BD)
Four Feathers, The (BD)
Freshman, The (BD + DVD)
Gate Of Hell (BD)
George Washington (BD + DVD)
Gimme Shelter (BD)
Godzilla (BD)
Gray’s Anatomy (BD)
Grey Gardens (BD)
Harakiri (BD)
Havre, Le (BD)
Heaven’s Gate (BD)
Hollis Frampton Odyssey, A (BD)
House (BD)
Ice Storm, The (BD)
If… (BD)
In The Realm Of The Senses (BD)
Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion (BD + DVD)
Island Of Lost Souls (BD)
Jubal (BD)
King Of The Hill (BD + DVD)
Kuroneko (BD)
Last Emperor, The (BD) + DIGIPACK
Last Metro, The (BD) + DIGIPACK
Les Blank: Always For Pleasure (BD)
Life During Wartime (BD)
Life Of Oharu, The (BD)
Lola Montès (BD)
Long Day Closes, The (BD + DVD)
Makioka Sisters, The (BD)
Man Who Knew Too Much, The (BD)
Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, Vol. 1 (BD + DVD)
Master Of The House (BD + DVD)
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (BD)
Metropolitan (BD)
Mikado, The (BD)
Ministry Of Fear (BD)
Moment Of Truth, The (BD)
Monsoon Wedding (BD)
My Life As A Dog (BD)
Mystery Train (BD)
Naked Kiss, The (BD)
Night Of The Hunter, The (BD) [RE-ISSUE]
Night To Remember, A (BD)
Norte, El (BD) + DIGIPACK
Organizer, The (BD)
Orpheus (BD)
Overlord (BD)
Paths Of Glory (BD)
Phantom Carriage, The (BD)
Pierre Étaix (BD)
Pina (3D + BD)
Playtime (BD)
Quadrophenia (BD)
Repo Man (BD)
Richard III (BD)
Ride With The Devil (BD)
Riot In Cell Block 11 (BD + DVD)
Rosemary’s Baby (BD)
Royal Tenenbaums, The (BD)
Rushmore (BD)
Safety Last! (BD)
Salò, Or The 120 Days Of Sodom (BD)
Samurai Trilogy, The (BD)
Sansho The Bailiff (BD)
Senso (BD)
Shallow Grave (BD)
Shock Corridor (BD)
Slacker (BD)
Spy Who Came In From The Cold, The (BD)
Stagecoach (BD)
Summer Hours (BD)
Sunday Bloody Sunday (BD)
Sundays And Cybèle (BD)
Sweetie (BD)
Things To Come (BD)
Three Outlaw Samurai (BD)
Times Of Harvey Milk, The (BD)
Tin Drum, The (BD)
Tiny Furniture (BD)
Tokyo Drifter (BD)
Tootsie (BD)
Topsy-Turvy (BD)
Trilogy Of Life (BD)
Two-Lane Blacktop (BD)
Uninvited, The (BD)
Vanya On 42nd Street (BD)
Videodrome (BD)
Vie De Bohème, La (BD + DVD)
Visiteurs Du Soir, Les (BD)
Wages Of Fear, The (BD)
Walkabout (BD)
War Room, The (BD)
Week End (BD)
White Material (BD)
Zazie Dans Le Métro (BD)

——————————————————————————————————

Never Ordered [004]

Jimi Plays Monterey / Shake! Otis At Monterey (BD)
Monterey Pop (BD)
Sanjuro (BD)
Yojimbo (BD)

——————————————————————————————————

Never Pre-Ordered [005]

André Gregory And Wallace Shawn: 3 Films (BD)
Big Chill, The (BD) [RE-ISSUE]
Foreign Correspondent (BD) [RE-ISSUE]
Leopard, The (BD) [RE-ISSUE]
Tess (BD) [RE-ISSUE]

——————————————————————————————————

Cancelled Pre-Orders (Pre-Viewing) [001]

Hearts And Minds (BD + DVD)

——————————————————————————————————

Cancelled Pre-Orders (Post-Viewing) [031]

Ali: Fear Eats The Soul (BD)
Big Chill, The (BD + DVD)
Bitter Tears Of Petra Von Kant, The (BD)
Ciénaga, La (BD)
Day In The Country, A (BD)
F For Fake (BD)
Fellini Satyricon (BD)
Five Easy Pieces (BD)
Friends Of Eddie Coyle, The (BD)
Gates Of Heaven / Vernon, Florida (BD)
Hoop Dreams (BD)
Judex (BD + DVD)
Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou, The (BD)
Macbeth (BD)
My Winnipeg (BD)
Night Porter, The (BD)
Palm Beach Story, The (BD)
Pickpocket (BD + DVD)
Ride The Pink Horse (BD)
Rose, The (BD)
Safe (BD)
Scanners (BD + DVD)
Silence De La Mer, Le (BD)
Soft Skin, The (BD)
Sword Of Doom, The (BD)
Thin Blue Line, The (BD)
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (BD + DVD)
Time Bandits (BD)
Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders (BD)
Vengeance Is Mine (BD)
Watership Down (BD)

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Last April I owned every single film that Criterion released on Blu-ray. By May, I had stopped this because it's a waste of money, in my opinion, especially when I don't find the films to be particularly good or rewatchable.

I've been keeping a list.

That is a fascinating list there, iScottie! Have you had any regrets so far regarding the films you've eliminated from your collection?

I know there are films in the Collection that I'm simply not interested in and will never add to my library ... but at present, I still have a long list of Criterion films that I know I do want to own, and I'm still playing catch-up.

What I need to do is start divesting myself of some of my DVD collection ...

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by jmclick

That is a fascinating list there, iScottie! Have you had any regrets so far regarding the films you've eliminated from your collection?

I know there are films in the Collection that I'm simply not interested in and will never add to my library ... but at present, I still have a long list of Criterion films that I know I do want to own, and I'm still playing catch-up.

What I need to do is start divesting myself of some of my DVD collection ...

Nope. The only thing that I had ordered, cancelled, and later purchased during a Criterion sale was All That Jazz. Pro-B's review made me see a new perspective to the film that I could perhaps find rewarding in another viewing (the TV version I had was also censored, which didn't help).

Other than that, I feel fine with what I've gotten rid of thus far.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jmclick

So, I started to get intrigued two days ago when a couple of people mentioned what it might look like if we got to pick and choose what Criterion would release if we were in control.

I had some down time today, and started making a list, just for fun. I decided I would take the helm this August, and release one title per day. I didn't stop to figure out which films might be impossible to license, but I did make some small effort to keep the mix varied and interesting. Yes, my favorite actors are over-represented, and no, I didn't include any films that are currently considered "lost". I hope my choices interest you; if they don't, please feel free to take control over the September release schedule and let us know what you've got in mind!

[Show spoiler]Aug 01: Mulholland Drive (2001, David Lynch) – my selfless gift to the group; please hold your applause
Aug 02: Journey's End (1930, James Whale) – only a single complete print remains; why not allow it an audience?
Aug 03: Ossessione (1943, Luchino Visconti) – the sexiest version of James M. Cain's Postman Always Rings Twice
Aug 04: Atlantic City (1980, Louis Malle) – Malle. Lancaster. Sarandon. Magic.
Aug 05: The Lady Eve (1941, Preston Sturges) – Stanwyck at her funniest and "vexiest"; my favorite Sturges (upgrade)
Aug 06: Late Marriage (2001, Dover Koshashvili) – a stunning Israeli film for adults that deserves a much, much wider audience
Aug 07: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969, Sydney Pollack) – tough, gritty, and supremely well-acted
Aug 08: Heaven Can Wait (1943, Ernst Lubitsch) – Ameche's personal favorite was also Lubitsch's last masterwork. (upgrade)
Aug 09: Baby Face (1933, Alfred E. Green) – both versions of the ribald pre-Code shocker on one disc
Aug 10: The Crying Game (1992, Neil Jordan) – now that we've moved on from the "big reveal", this gem of a movie deserves a reappraisal
Aug 11: Ride the High Country (1962, Sam Peckinpah) – poetic and elegiac; one of the greatest Westerns – no, the greatest films – ever made
Aug 12: The Macomber Affair (1947, Zoltan Korda) – Hemingway done right; Bennett proves she, not Crawford, is the screen's "witchiest" Joan
Aug 13: The Dark Corner (1946, Henry Hathaway) – Noir nastiness: "How I detest the dawn. The grass always looks as though it had been left out overnight."
Aug 14: La Vie En Rose (2007, Olivier Dahan) – Marion Cotillard's first Oscar-winning performance. There will be more to come
Aug 15: Julia (1977, Fred Zinnemann) – Lillian Hellman may have invented most of her memoir, but it's still a great story and an outstanding film
Aug 16: Nightmare Alley (1947, Edmund Goulding) – Power just a pretty boy? Hardly. And Goulding is unjustly neglected these days
Aug 17: Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt (1989, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman) – unforgettable Oscar-winning Documentary could make a stone cry
Aug 18: Night and the City (1950, Jules Dassin) – both the American and British versions on my release, each with a different original score (upgrade)
Aug 19: The Last Flight (1931, William Dieterle) – quirky film about the "lost generation" has a small – but fervent – cult following
Aug 20: All I Desire / There's Always Tomorrow (1953/1956, Douglas Sirk) – two subtly subversive 1950's melodramas
Aug 21: The Hours (2002, Stephen Daldry) – with a feature-length commentary by all three Oscar-winning actresses (Streep, Kidman, and Moore)
Aug 22: Lifeboat (1944, Alfred Hitchcock) – vastly underrated; let's include the recently discovered Memory of the Camps included as a bonus
Aug 23: Blood Money (1933, Rowland Brown) – pre-Code perversity: Frances Dee cross-dresses and wants to be hurt – hard, and by someone who knows how
Aug 24: Walk on Water (2004, Eytan Fox) – compelling, provocative mystery-thriller with a commanding and complex performance by Lior Ashkenazi
Aug 25: The Story of Temple Drake (1933, Stephen Roberts) – kinky pre-Code, based on a Faulkner novel; Miriam Hopkins and Jack LaRue are superb
Aug 26: The Alamo (1960, John Wayne) – not really my cup of tea, but the roadshow negative is being allowed to rot by MGM, and should be preserved for history
Aug 27: The Black Cat (1934, Edgar G. Ulmer) – stylish sets, gorgeous cinematography and masterful editing. My favorite 30's horror film.
Aug 28: The Painted Veil (2006, John Curran) – lyrical and haunting, a winner in every department; Watts and Norton are sublime
Aug 29: The Mating Season (1951, Mitchell Leisen) – sparkling comedy with a dazzling performance by the inimitable Thelma Ritter
Aug 30: Pickup on South Street (1953, Samuel Fuller) – Ritter again, this time in a brutal, fascinating Cold War thriller/noir (upgrade)
Aug 31: Carl Th. Dreyer Boxset (1928–1995) – The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vampyr, Day of Wrath, Ordet, Gertrud, Carl Th. Dreyer – My Metier (upgrade)

Nicely done!

I wish that more people would get on board with Nightmare Alley. It's a brilliant film noir.

Ossessione is still in my unwatched DVD stack, so I need to get cracking on that one.

[tallrichard]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Nicely done!

I wish that more people would get on board with Nightmare Alley. It's a brilliant film noir.

Ossessione is still in my unwatched DVD stack, so I need to get cracking on that one.

Tyrone Power's Nightmare Alley and Victor Mature's Kiss of Death are my favorite Film Noirs....I would love both to be released by Criterion!

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Yami

I'd love a release of Nikos Koundouros' brilliant O Drakos

Hmm.. Haven't seen that one.
To tell you the truth I've only seen one Angelopoulos film too. (Landscape in the mist)
I was scared to see them because everyone said they are REALLY slow, but OK.. It wasn't that bad..

[vertigo12314]

Originally Posted by iScottie

when I don't find the films to be particularly good or rewatchable.

It's the right thing to do and you won't look back

[The_Iceflash]

Originally Posted by jmclick

So, I started to get intrigued two days ago when a couple of people mentioned what it might look like if we got to pick and choose what Criterion would release if we were in control.

I had some down time today, and started making a list, just for fun. I decided I would take the helm this August, and release one title per day. I didn't stop to figure out which films might be impossible to license, but I did make some small effort to keep the mix varied and interesting. Yes, my favorite actors are over-represented, and no, I didn't include any films that are currently considered "lost". I hope my choices interest you; if they don't, please feel free to take control over the September release schedule and let us know what you've got in mind!

[Show spoiler]Aug 01: Mulholland Drive (2001, David Lynch) – my selfless gift to the group; please hold your applause
Aug 02: Journey's End (1930, James Whale) – only a single complete print remains; why not allow it an audience?
Aug 03: Ossessione (1943, Luchino Visconti) – the sexiest version of James M. Cain's Postman Always Rings Twice
Aug 04: Atlantic City (1980, Louis Malle) – Malle. Lancaster. Sarandon. Magic.
Aug 05: The Lady Eve (1941, Preston Sturges) – Stanwyck at her funniest and "vexiest"; my favorite Sturges (upgrade)
Aug 06: Late Marriage (2001, Dover Koshashvili) – a stunning Israeli film for adults that deserves a much, much wider audience
Aug 07: They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969, Sydney Pollack) – tough, gritty, and supremely well-acted
Aug 08: Heaven Can Wait (1943, Ernst Lubitsch) – Ameche's personal favorite was also Lubitsch's last masterwork. (upgrade)
Aug 09: Baby Face (1933, Alfred E. Green) – both versions of the ribald pre-Code shocker on one disc
Aug 10: The Crying Game (1992, Neil Jordan) – now that we've moved on from the "big reveal", this gem of a movie deserves a reappraisal
Aug 11: Ride the High Country (1962, Sam Peckinpah) – poetic and elegiac; one of the greatest Westerns – no, the greatest films – ever made
Aug 12: The Macomber Affair (1947, Zoltan Korda) – Hemingway done right; Bennett proves she, not Crawford, is the screen's "witchiest" Joan
Aug 13: The Dark Corner (1946, Henry Hathaway) – Noir nastiness: "How I detest the dawn. The grass always looks as though it had been left out overnight."
Aug 14: La Vie En Rose (2007, Olivier Dahan) – Marion Cotillard's first Oscar-winning performance. There will be more to come
Aug 15: Julia (1977, Fred Zinnemann) – Lillian Hellman may have invented most of her memoir, but it's still a great story and an outstanding film
Aug 16: Nightmare Alley (1947, Edmund Goulding) – Power just a pretty boy? Hardly. And Goulding is unjustly neglected these days
Aug 17: Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt (1989, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman) – unforgettable Oscar-winning Documentary could make a stone cry
Aug 18: Night and the City (1950, Jules Dassin) – both the American and British versions on my release, each with a different original score (upgrade)
Aug 19: The Last Flight (1931, William Dieterle) – quirky film about the "lost generation" has a small – but fervent – cult following
Aug 20: All I Desire / There's Always Tomorrow (1953/1956, Douglas Sirk) – two subtly subversive 1950's melodramas
Aug 21: The Hours (2002, Stephen Daldry) – with a feature-length commentary by all three Oscar-winning actresses (Streep, Kidman, and Moore)
Aug 22: Lifeboat (1944, Alfred Hitchcock) – vastly underrated; let's include the recently discovered Memory of the Camps included as a bonus
Aug 23: Blood Money (1933, Rowland Brown) – pre-Code perversity: Frances Dee cross-dresses and wants to be hurt – hard, and by someone who knows how
Aug 24: Walk on Water (2004, Eytan Fox) – compelling, provocative mystery-thriller with a commanding and complex performance by Lior Ashkenazi
Aug 25: The Story of Temple Drake (1933, Stephen Roberts) – kinky pre-Code, based on a Faulkner novel; Miriam Hopkins and Jack LaRue are superb
Aug 26: The Alamo (1960, John Wayne) – not really my cup of tea, but the roadshow negative is being allowed to rot by MGM, and should be preserved for history
Aug 27: The Black Cat (1934, Edgar G. Ulmer) – stylish sets, gorgeous cinematography and masterful editing. My favorite 30's horror film.
Aug 28: The Painted Veil (2006, John Curran) – lyrical and haunting, a winner in every department; Watts and Norton are sublime
Aug 29: The Mating Season (1951, Mitchell Leisen) – sparkling comedy with a dazzling performance by the inimitable Thelma Ritter
Aug 30: Pickup on South Street (1953, Samuel Fuller) – Ritter again, this time in a brutal, fascinating Cold War thriller/noir (upgrade)
Aug 31: Carl Th. Dreyer Boxset (1928–1995) – The Passion of Joan of Arc, Vampyr, Day of Wrath, Ordet, Gertrud, Carl Th. Dreyer – My Metier (upgrade)

Interesting list. I have to say though, most here if given the choice would simply want the Criterion DVDs re-released on Blu-Ray. The same things being released over and over again on Criterion is what many seem to want most. Never mind trying to get as many deserving films to receive the Criterion treatment as possible.

[aes3728]

Speedy playing at Tribeca Film Fest. Criterion given credit for the restoration. This bodes well for a release sooner than later.

https://tribecafilm.com/festival/events/speedy

[The_Iceflash]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Last April I owned every single film that Criterion released on Blu-ray. By May, I had stopped this because it's a waste of money, in my opinion, especially when I don't find the films to be particularly good or rewatchable.

I've been keeping a list.

Good move! No use wasting money on films you don't think are good or rewatchable. We both obviously have great taste in film because of the 9 Criterion Blu-rays I own, 7 aren't mentioned on your list(s).

[BobbyMcGee]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Last April I owned every single film that Criterion released on Blu-ray. By May, I had stopped this because it's a waste of money, in my opinion, especially when I don't find the films to be particularly good or rewatchable.

I've been keeping a list.

Wow, that is an amazing list of films. I guess if you get a hankering to revisit some of these films in the near future you can just re-watch them via Hulu Plus which is a much cheaper alternative to re-buying them.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by BobbyMcGee

Wow, that is an amazing list of films. I guess if you get a hankering to revisit some of these films in the near future you can just re-watch them via Hulu Plus which is a much cheaper alternative to re-buying them.

Almost all of the films that I have gotten rid of I have seen more than once. I won't arbitrarily pick out films and just pull them out to sell. Take Lord of the Flies or Naked Lunch, which I still currently own. I disliked both films tremendously when I initially watched them, but I am still going to rewatch them, thus giving them the benefit of the doubt that there may be SOME redeemable qualities in them for me. Even if I do end up selling them, which I know I will, I may be able to say, hmm...that film wasn't that bad actually.

What I've realized more and more over the past few months is that I can appreciate a film without feeling a compulsion to own it. For example, I have recently removed Paths of Glory from my collection this past week. I think it's an excellent film but it's not a film that I LOVE. I've never been a fan of war films and the subject of this one in particular can be a bit heavy to sit through time and time again. As a result, I don't see a reason for me keeping it. Having already seen it twice now, I think that's more than enough for one lifetime.

One of the biggest determinants in whether or not I keep a film is being able say to myself, "Boy, I sure can't wait to rewatch _____ again." Take In the Mood for Love or La Dolce Vita, I could watch those films frequently every few months. Another determinant is if I am so lost in a movie that I lost track of time and before I know it the film is over. It doesn't happen too frequently but it sure feels darn good when it does.

There are so many films out there that I haven't seen yet. I have a lot of unwatched Blu-rays as well as the following Criterions before I can say I've seen every single Criterion film released on Blu-ray:

-An Autumn Afternoon
-Cries and Whispers
-Kagemusha
-Shoah
-World on a Wire
-Zatoichi #17-#25

To keep watching the same films over and over just seems like a waste, to be honest, especially, as I've mentioned, I have yet to see many, many films. Furthermore, I can't believe the money I was spending on new releases when I knew upfront that most of them didn't interest me to begin with. By watching movies through Amazon Instant Video, Hulu, Netflix, or some shaddy site that has the movies conveniently uploaded, I've been able to save a good chunk of change. Of course I've changed my opinion on a lot of films and have even kept some pre-ordered that I almost immediately thought I wouldn't like, i.e. Odd Man Out, but it's nice to be able to make a decision ahead of time.

Of course these are my own opinions on the subject. I know others (and I am at fault for this myself) collect films strictly for the brand label, i.e. Criterion, Twilight Time, Shout!, when not all of the films are, in my opinion, tolerable, let alone okay, but everyone has to do with they have to do.

[tisdivine]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

Are half of those still in the plastic wrap? If so, you have some watching to do!

Hahah thats the 1st thing that popped in my mind as well. Instantly followed by WOW amazing collection.

[tisdivine]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Last April I owned every single film that Criterion released on Blu-ray. By May, I had stopped this because it's a waste of money, in my opinion, especially when I don't find the films to be particularly good or rewatchable.

I've been keeping a list.

I did this same thing as a list on Criterion.com titled Criterions Ive Seen/Owned but No Longer Own. Its mostly just for myself to keep track with brief descriptions on why I dont own them any longer.