The Criterion Collection

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

I've never seen a Dardenne's film.
Where should I start dammit?
La Promesse? Rosetta? The Kid with a Bike? Two Days One Night?

I currently have Two Days One Night in my cart but I feel like I'm making random grabs in the dark.

I like the sound of their style and plots but something is eluding me, making it hard to decide on one...
Basically, help lol. Guidance for this fool would be appreciated.

Hard to answer, I believe my first was The Kid with a Bike, then I saw the two older ones, The Kid with a Bike is certainly a great start, but I am not sure if Two Days One Night could be better.

[Rodney-2187]

Oh the pain of waiting for my B&N shipment to arrive.

[llj]

Finished Blue is the Warmest Color. It was good; there's not much more to say specifically about the quality of the film. I liked it, I was "warm" to it (haha) but I don't know if it's a film that I have strong enough feelings about to get into arguments over. Just a solidly told, well acted and shot coming of age story from a bisexual/lesbian slant. I took a long time to get to this because all the hype 2 years ago turned me off of it, and I wanted to wait to watch it when I wouldn't be so biased against the hype and controversy (I'm very anti-hype you see).

Regarding the sex scenes, they are less graphic than I thought. I mean they are obviously explicit to some degree--lots of different positions, moaning and clutching and grabbing and sound effects, but there are no actual 'box shots', not even any real glimpses of pubic hair (they probably shaved though). Usually those areas were covered up by a head or hand anyway. But it's not porn-y. Allow me to elaborate: porn is usually made up of "money shots" and very unobtrusive cuts--usually they don't cut until someone 'comes'. The scenes in "Blue..." are actually pretty cut up and edited. You'd see some boob grabbing and then a jump cut would occur to suggest some position change, or moving onto some other sex stuff. It's not really erotic in the sense that there's no leadup or foreplay, it's more like a summation of various sex positions. So the accusations levelled against its sex scenes graphic-ness is a bit puzzling. And all the "male gaze" stuff. Well, sure, Kechichi obviously admires the women visually but it's really not porn-y at all.

I did have to turn down the volume a bit though. I live in a condo and it was 1:00am in the morning, and the walls between units aren't exactly the best at containing sound in one area...

[jshaide]

Ordered my haul on the website with the BNTROPICAL code. Though since there were three pre orders in there (unless they cancel them), I won't get my package until August 1st.

So I picked up:
In A Lonely Place
The Manchurian Candidate
A Brighter Summer Day
Fantastic Planet
Dr. Strangelove
The In Laws
Carnival of Souls
A Touch of Zen
The New World
Wim Wenders

[SignoftheHammer]

Picked up the following:

Fantastic Planet
Ikiru
The Seventh Seal

Ended up being a couple of dollars less for each than if I were to buy in store here in Canada after the exchange rate and shipping. Not a huge price difference, but I thought I'd take part in the sale.

[Rodney-2187]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Is Inside Llewyn Davis worth getting? Is the picture better than the first blu released, or is it just worth it for the extras?

That is one of my favorite movies. I'd say the video quality is about the same, but some here may have better eyes than I do. The packaging, artwork, and excellent bonus features make it one of my favorite Criterion discs.

[Majin Blu]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

Carnival of Souls and Persona are so different that it really depends on what you're looking for. Do you want some low-budget but effective horror or a cerebral and spiritual look at two women who become one and then the other? I enjoy Persona more than Carnival of Souls, but I've also had the opportunity to view the former more times than the latter. They're both really great, but I prefer Persona.

Originally Posted by mja345

"Persona" is a f**king amazing film and in my top 20 of all-time. It's one of those that will leave you thinking about it at really unexpected times. If you can somehow get two titles during the sale, pick up "Persona" along with "3 Women" as they're terrific to watch as companion pieces.

I chose Persona.
That and Apu trilogy is all I'm getting for this sale (unless some extra money that I can spare on movies come up).
Thanks for responding!

[jw007]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

That's right. It was my piqued interest in that film that lead me to the forum here. I searched for posts that mentioned Heaven's Gate and I found that JW had been curious, too, so I struck up a chat with him. JW - you were my first buddy here.

I really fell in love with film when I found this thread and found so many others like me who love to talk about it.

Yeah, back then I was thinking we were gonna be the best of buddies but over the years we've been distant. Sometimes I disagreed with you on certain films and sometimes you disagreed with me too. At times we got annoyed at each other too. But that's all in the past. Let's re-ignite our blu-ray.com friendship again!

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yeah, back then I was thinking we were gonna be the best of buddies but over the years we've been distant. Sometimes I disagreed with you on certain films and sometimes you disagreed with me too. At times we got annoyed at each other too. But that's all in the past. Let's re-ignite our blu-ray.com friendship again!

:: sniffle ::

[rainbowbattlekid]

so, i don;t know much about how criterion does things, but does this new scan of Man Who Fell to Earth maybe mean anything about a new criterion release? i missed out on the blu so i'm wondering if i should just pick this up:

http://www.davidbowie.com/news/tmwft...toration-55976

[jw007]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

:: sniffle ::

I know, that deserved a special Meme, but I suck at finding stuff like that.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yeah, back then I was thinking we were gonna be the best of buddies but over the years we've been distant. Sometimes I disagreed with you on certain films and sometimes you disagreed with me too. At times we got annoyed at each other too. But that's all in the past. Let's re-ignite our blu-ray.com friendship again!

Think about it this way - I'm not sure with which CC thread regular my tastes are LEAST aligned, but even with that person I am MORE aligned than with 99% of the general population.

I think of a lot of people here as "friends" and J dubs, you are most definitely among them.

[zorbonaut]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

Persona/3 Women/Mulholland Drive is a great trilogy.

I really need to re-watch Persona. I love Bergman but just thought Persona was average which is surprising because I think Bergman is brilliant.

Love 3 Women and Mulholland Drive though.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

Persona/3 Women/Mulholland Drive is a great trilogy.

I think Mulholland Dr/Mulholland Dr/Mulholland Dr makes a better trilogy to watch.

[JJJ225]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

Persona/3 Women/Mulholland Drive is a great trilogy.

Indeed. 3 great, great films that deal with similar themes.

[Polaroid]

Trying to think of the 3rd film to go with:

The Innocents/The Uninvited/ _______

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Trying to think of the 3rd film to go with:

The Innocents/The Uninvited/ _______

Kuroneko or I Married a Witch would be my first picks.

The Phantom Carriage and The Devil's Backbone would be other possibles.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by octagon

Kuroneko or I Married a Witch would be my first picks.

The Phantom Carriage and The Devil's Backbone would be other possibles.

Oooh forgot I Married a Witch, but not sure if its too light hearted?

I was kind of thinking maybe Onibaba myself...

These trilogy lists are fun :P

I need to watch The Innocents again... such a creepy film, wish more modern horror were like it, no cheesey jump scares or over the top makeup/CGI, lol.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Oooh forgot I Married a Witch, but not sure if its too light hearted?

I was kind of thinking maybe Onibaba myself...

These trilogy lists are fun :P

I need to watch The Innocents again... such a creepy film, wish more modern horror were like it, no cheesey jump scares or over the top makeup/CGI, lol.

If you're not keeping it to Criterion blu-rays, I'd say "The Haunting" (the original, obviously) or "The Changeling." If you're keeping it to Criterion Blu-Rays OR Dvds, I'd say maybe Carnival of Souls or Onibaba.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Oooh forgot I Married a Witch, but not sure if its too light hearted?

I thought about that but I kind of find The Uninvited fairly light hearted too. It's not an outright comedy. It's certainly not Topper or I Married a Witch but (for me, anyway) there was never any real sense of dread either. To me there was always an undercurrent of 'don't get too worried, nothing too terrible is going to happen here'.