The Criterion Collection

[JHas]

Originally Posted by jcs913

It's every bit as good as the review says. There is excellent contrast and even some decent depth at times. There is a nice layer of grain, but not overwhelming like The 39 Steps was at times. It would be nice if Criterion could get another early title, like Murder! and transform it like this. Who knows, as this is the 3rd Hitchcock with maybe more to come...

I would think their next Hitch release would be "Foreign Correspondent" since it's on the Hulu channel.

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by Whirlygig

Probably all-in for April's Blus, but probably not in April...

Agreed. I am already saving up for the July Barnes & Noble sale. Luckily, I purchased so many titles during the November sale that they should carry me through until that time.

[Whirlygig]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've dismissed this particular title, simply because it strikes me as an offering from Criterion's quirky side that I am not interested in (Wes Anderson movies, etc.). It's interesting to read the widespread animosity toward that release on this forum, though.

If this is an indication that you generally do not like Wes Anderson movies, then let me offer that neither do I, and I do like Tiny Furniture. I would maybe characterize the former as feeling, to me, more like phony, forced quirkiness and the latter feeling more like genuine quirkiness (if forced into a corner to use the word quirky in a sentence with either). However, I still would not recommend that most people should watch (or buy, at least) Tiny Furniture. Obviously many loathe it.

[Whirlygig]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

Agreed. I am already saving up for the July Barnes & Noble sale. Luckily, I purchased so many titles during the November sale that they should carry me through until that time.

Don't forget the likely February criterion.com 50% flash sale!

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

I too figured the two Cronenbergs hinted in the drawing would be released together (Naked Lunch and Scanners); so there's some credence lent to a Cronenberg early film set, maybe?

I believe there was some rumor-mill chatter about a set of Cronenberg's early works - possibly, but hopefully not an Eclipse set.

If CC does for early Cronenberg what they did for the BBS Story or Coward/Lean, I would be very happy Cinemach.

Possibly wishful thinking, but those early Cronenberg horror films do feel like a distinct subset of his larger body of work.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by Whirlygig

If this is an indication that you generally do not like Wes Anderson movies, then let me offer that neither do I, and I do like Tiny Furniture. I would maybe characterize the former as feeling, to me, more like phony, forced quirkiness and the latter feeling more like genuine quirkiness (if forced into a corner to use the word quirky in a sentence with either). However, I still would not recommend that most people should watch (or buy, at least) Tiny Furniture. Obviously many loathe it.

I would say the opposite and say Wes is a 'genuine' and very original storyteller. I think your observation on Dunham as being 'genuine' would be the reason why many do not like her. She is seen as not 'genuine' by many. Her portrayal of herself as 'struggling' with many issues is not valid in most peoples eyes, which is why there is the hate...

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by ROclockCK

If CC does for early Cronenberg what they did for the BBS Story or Coward/Lean, I would be very happy Cinemach.

Possibly wishful thinking, but those early Cronenberg horror films do feel like a distinct subset of his larger body of work.

Oh god, just the thought of a set with Shivers, Rabid, The Brood and Scanners makes me foam at the mouth. That would be release of the year as far as I'm concerned.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

Oh god, just the thought of a set with Shivers, Rabid, The Brood and Scanners makes me foam at the mouth. That would be release of the year as far as I'm concerned.

Ha!

I would also love to see Criterion release a set with these movies.

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by ROclockCK

If CC does for early Cronenberg what they did for the BBS Story or Coward/Lean, I would be very happy Cinemach.

Possibly wishful thinking, but those early Cronenberg horror films do feel like a distinct subset of his larger body of work.

Originally Posted by jrsl76

Oh god, just the thought of a set with Shivers, Rabid, The Brood and Scanners makes me foam at the mouth. That would be release of the year as far as I'm concerned.

That would be a great set; I'm not super-familiar with these films but I'm interested in checking out some more early Cronenberg. We at least know Scanners is coming, though, and I can't gather those other pictures would be especially hard for Criterion to procure.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by rkish

I guess I can gush about " The Man Who Knew Too Much"...it got a good review on this website and looks to have some good extras, including a commentary. Del Toro seems to be a Hitchcock aficionado and has input on this release as well. Besides the fact that it been nicely priced at $24.99 for some time now.

It doesn't hurt that I have a snow day off today and my copy is out for delivery right now.

I missed out on the cheap prworders for this month, so I'll probably grab thus and a couple more in April when I go to b&n in Augusta and Portsmouth. Gasp, horror, I speak blasphemy because I actually will buy from b&n outside of sales and coupons.

I'll gush about Purple noon tomorrow. I did watch rashomon, Brazil, and week end, but I can't really gush over them. The first two I've seen before, and I'm still pondering the last one. Surprised it hasn't generated a lot if discussion since godard is so popular.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

Yeah, the Naked Lunch upgrade is bittersweet in that it seems unlikely Scanners will be coming before Q4 (presumably October), but you can never really tell with Criterion.

I'm a little nervous it might end up in an Eclipse set. However it would seem unlikely that they would license films from a major U.S. studio only to release them in a bare-bones DVD-only box set. And while they may also have The Brood (and maybe Shivers and other stuff), it doesn't necessarily mean they'll be in a box set.

To my knowledge there is no information that they would even have Rabid or Shivers, I was just playing off of the idea of a BBS style set.

They almost certainly have The Brood and Scanners however.

[Whirlygig]

Originally Posted by jcs913

I would say the opposite and say Wes is a 'genuine' and very original storyteller. I think your observation on Dunham as being 'genuine' would be the reason why many do not like her. She is seen as not 'genuine' by many. Her portrayal of herself as 'struggling' with many issues is not valid in most peoples eyes, which is why there is the hate...

Hmm. To me it seems clear that Dunham's characters, especially the ones she plays herself, are coming from a very real place. A lot of Tiny Furniture is evidently based on her real life, and feelings, no? And I feel like I have actually known, even dated, people like those inhabiting her worlds. With a Wes Anderson film I guess I usually feel like the characters were just designed to appear interesting, and like I've never known anybody really like them. Like he's just trying to be clever. With Dunham I feel like she's just trying to be real.

By "struggling" are you (or those you represent) driving at that some might consider her works to be full of "first world problems", or that since she herself is now currently successful she automatically has no ability to truly understand a person who isn't? Or what exactly do you mean by that?

I think any simple analysis like those may presume too much about the private life of a person they do not know. She is clearly quite humble in real life, just listen to her. Humble people often don't feel their success is earned or warranted, and so even if they are, they may never feel like it by their own standards.

[Simple Lines]

Does anyone in this thread know enough about Ballad of Narayama to comment on the orange issue mentioned HERE?

Is it correct or not?

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by Whirlygig

Hmm. To me it seems clear that Dunham's characters, especially the ones she plays herself, are coming from a very real place. A lot of Tiny Furniture is evidently based on her real life, and feelings, no? And I feel like I have actually known, even dated, people like those inhabiting her worlds. With a Wes Anderson film I guess I usually feel like the characters were just designed to appear interesting, and like I've never known anybody really like them. Like he's just trying to be clever. With Dunham I feel like she's just trying to be real.

By "struggling" are you (or those you represent) driving at that some might consider her works to be full of "first world problems", or that since she herself is now currently successful she automatically has no ability to truly understand a person who isn't? Or what exactly do you mean by that?

I think any simple analysis like those may presume too much about the private life of a person they do not know. She is clearly quite humble in real life, just listen to her. Humble people often don't feel their success is earned or warranted, and so even if they are, they may never feel like it by their own standards.

Opinions are always going to differ. You said that Wes' characters feel forced, I say they are well developed from a good foundation (Wes' imagination). It's difficult to compare Lena and Wes' characters though, as they are based on fantasy and Lena, I think believes, reality. I think Lena forces her 'self loathing' or 'struggle' on the viewer. I believe many of those 'viewers' , or frankly haters, simply don't buy it. I also don't buy that Lean is humble. She's clearly looking or trying to say something by making TINY. Did she find it? We can possibly assume by her success. Whether or not she can continue it, or be forced to reinvent herself, which will happen when the 'buzz' wears off is what defines a good writer/director, IMO...

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Debbie Downer

Really looking forward to Repo Man and Naked Lunch releases. But I'm going to pretend I care more about those obscurer releases to maintain my film buff cred.


Wooo. Pierre Etaix collection! Can't wait to dip into those classics. Will Ferrell can't hold a candle to him.

Too bad cause Etaix made some very good movies but of course he is not well known outside of the Francophone world

L'ignorance est une belle chose, elle nous permets de croire que nos choix sont superieur aux autres

[Simple Lines]

Originally Posted by Whirlygig

With a Wes Anderson film I guess I usually feel like the characters were just designed to appear interesting, and like I've never known anybody really like them. Like he's just trying to be clever. With Dunham I feel like she's just trying to be real.

You say that as if Wes Anderson is a fraudulent clown for doing what millions of people have done in the arts since the beginning.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by jcs913

Opinions are always going to differ. You said that Wes' characters feel forced, I say they are well developed from a good foundation (Wes' imagination). It's difficult to compare Lena and Wes' characters though, as they are based on fantasy and Lena, I think believes, reality. I think Lena forces her 'self loathing' or 'struggle' on the viewer. I believe many of those 'viewers' , or frankly haters, simply don't buy it. I also don't buy that Lean is humble. She's clearly looking or trying to say something by making TINY. Did she find it? We can possibly assume by her success. Whether or not she can continue it, or be forced to reinvent herself, which will happen when the 'buzz' wears off is what defines a good writer/director, IMO...

Or it could be a little of "those damn kids, get off my lawn!," because even though I didn't enjoyed Dunham much, there are a lot of people out there in her position, whether they want to be or not. The fictional version of her that is. Youth unemployment is high, and not all of it us because of the so called useless degrees. I think because We as a society have placed such an emphasis on university education leads to success, a lot of traditional jobs that never required it now do so, and a lot if kids who don't want to go or would be happier elsewhere are forced to go to university and have to figure out what to take to get a job. And the way university works, at the time someone starts one discipline, the job market is screaming for them, but by the time they finish, There's no prospects and they're stuck with a degree and no idea with what to do with their lives.

ThaT's just how I interpreted it, but I could be overreaching. Many might say I'm giving Dunham too much credit.

[Whirlygig]

Originally Posted by jcs913

I think Lena forces her 'self loathing' or 'struggle' on the viewer. I believe many of those 'viewers' , or frankly haters, simply don't buy it.

Speaking presently about Tiny Furniture, if her struggle is simply to locate her identity, and from it extrapolate a meaning or at least direction to life, then it is an archetypal one that we all can relate to in some way even though our own may be different. Hopefully most of us also experience self-loathing now and then, it's good for you. If you express that struggle with authenticity, I feel you've won most of the battle.

When I used the word "forced" I was not referring to forcing things on the viewer -- that's inherently what all films do, and we may not like what we see (and that's often the point). I was just referring to a lack of authenticity which I perceive in his work.

Originally Posted by jcs913

I also don't buy that Lean is humble.

Well, I hear it in both her literal voice in interviews and her recent reward acceptances, and in her figurative voice through Tiny Furniture and Girls. If you feel she is full of self-loathing to feed you, isn't there a relationship between humbleness and self-loathing?

Originally Posted by jcs913

She's clearly looking or trying to say something by making TINY. Did she find it? We can possibly assume by her success. Whether or not she can continue it, or be forced to reinvent herself, which will happen when the 'buzz' wears off is what defines a good writer/director, IMO...

What was it they say about half the people loving you and half the people hating you = success? I'm not sure whether TINY has 50% love. But it & other work had enough buzz, that she now has Girls, which definitely seems to be a success. I'd say, from the episodes I've seen thus far, there has already been some degree of reinvention. But I don't know that I agree that reinvention is necessary to be considered a good artist. Reinvention in response to something is good, but if there's no need to why do it? Fact is, everyone reinvents themselves as they grow so it is pretty hard to avoid that at least that much reflecting itself in your work.

[Whirlygig]

Originally Posted by Simple Lines

You say that as if Wes Anderson is a fraudulent clown for doing what millions of people have done in the arts since the beginning.

That was of course a risk I took in attempting to take an abstract feeling, that often hard to define feeling of why we like one thing but not another, and force it into some kind of contrasting statement with concrete words...

Inauthentic, forced, hollow, uninteresting, I could add adjectives forever and still not quite arrive at either truth or even something everyone would read and interpret the same way.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Or it could be a little of "those damn kids, get off my lawn!," because even though I didn't enjoyed Dunham much, there are a lot of people out there in her position, whether they want to be or not. The fictional version of her that is. Youth unemployment is high, and not all of it us because of the so called useless degrees. I think because We as a society have placed such an emphasis on university education leads to success, a lot of traditional jobs that never required it now do so, and a lot if kids who don't want to go or would be happier elsewhere are forced to go to university and have to figure out what to take to get a job. And the way university works, at the time someone starts one discipline, the job market is screaming for them, but by the time they finish, There's no prospects and they're stuck with a degree and no idea with what to do with their lives.

ThaT's just how I interpreted it, but I could be overreaching. Many might say I'm giving Dunham too much credit.

Sadly BG, I think your evaluation is correct. But what does that say about the kids that don't go or don't have a chance to even go to a university. I think that is where some of the hate for her comes from, as there are many many kids that will never have that chance to get an advanced degree. Frankly, she has a writing degree from Oberlin, which 98% of students applying to college could not even afford to attend. So you see how people may not 'buy' the feel sorry for me and my contemporaries attitude that comes across in the film and show. Again, just my observation. Like I said, if she can continue writing/directing her and other characters at a high level, then she will be successful for a long time. If she cannot, then she will not be remembered as someone who's voice helped define her generation.