The Criterion Collection

[mmarczi]

I haven't seen the particular movie at the top, but that director's most recent, One Day in the Life of Noah Piugattuk, was very good, though slow. Certainly wouldn't fit everybody's tastes.

[jw007]

On the subject of Canadian films/directors, where would you all rank Guy Maddin and his film My Winnipeg? Perhaps the greatest Canadian homage film?

[Kaiju]

So I ordered The Elephant Man from Amazon, and I got it, but I dunno... something is off.




Needless to say, not a Criterion disc. What the ****.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Karosanyo

Thanks for the reply. I think MGM still has the rights. I know that Criterion had a deal with them to license films. I can't believe that Yimou's early films haven't been released on Blu-ray. I think "Raise The Red Lantern" is Yimou's masterpiece. I remember watching it a lot on Bravo (before that channel was turned into reality TV trash) in the early 2000s. Perhaps Criterion will get on the ball if we keep writing to them for a release. I did that a lot for "Kwaidan"...and their release was stunning.

(1) I agree with you about Raise the Red Lantern being Zhang's masterpiece.

(2) I, too, remember the days when Bravo was an arts channel. It was where I saw Berlin Alexanderplatz for the first time. I also remember when A&E -- which stood for "Arts and Entertainment" -- was artistic and entertaining.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Rayjaymay

Don’t know who currently owns the rights to all the films, but a John Sayles box set would be awesome.

Not a complete filmography, but I’m also hoping they can pick up Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series.

Sayles's films are all over the place with respect to rights. Only a few are on Blu-ray: Matewan from Criterion, Baby It's You and Eight Men Out from Olive. On DVD, they're largely from MGM/UA or Sony. Lone Star is owned by Warner.

[Katatonia]

Originally Posted by Kaiju

So I ordered The Elephant Man from Amazon, and I got it, but I dunno... something is off.




Needless to say, not a Criterion disc. What the ****.

Someone just repackaged it at some point...switching out the Criterion disc for the UK StudioCanal disc.

I'm guessing it was a marketplace purchase from Amazon?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

How about being old enough to go back to the early 80s when BRAVO had on air hosts like Martin Scorsese and David Ansen introducing commercial free movies that had NEVER aired on American television before? AMC actually lived up to its name by showing only American Movie Classics and later Sundance and IFC were an indie/foreign film lovers dream. Yeah, I might be a geezer when I say the old days were better, but is there anyone here who can say these channels as they exist today are an improvement over the way they once were? What is it, Season 38 now on THE WALKING DEAD?

Back when AMC first aired the "reboot" of the series The Prisoner (circa 2010), I recall making a comment in one or another Usenet newsgroup to the effect of "It's not American, it's not a Movie, and it's not a Classic."

There was a time when all of the acronymic names of cable channels actually stood for something. Now, they're just meaningless branding.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

The Walking Dead did absolutely nothing for me, though admittedly, I did go into it with a bit of a closed mind. There was this whole "zombies and vampires" craze in entertainment for about 15 minutes that just held no interest for me.

Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, however...that's a completely different story. Collectively, they contain some of the best writing for television I've ever seen.

I watched the entire first season (all seven episodes!) of The Walking Dead, and decided I didn't need to see any more. I just didn't find it interesting.

I watched the entire first season of Mad Men, got about 2 or 3 episodes into the second season, and decided that was enough. It was a series that I had more admiration than affection for.

I felt the same way about Breaking Bad, although it only took me three episodes to decide that I didn't need to keep going.

I've not seen any of Better Call Saul.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Rui

Canada's greatest film is 'Strange Brew' and I will fight anyone who disagrees.

Originally Posted by jgogg

As a Canadian, I would confirm that it's certainly Canada's most Canadian film.

Not Men with Brooms?

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by Vigojean

I noticed the British are ashamed to admit that Kubrick and Gilliam directed their best movies. Because they’re not British? 🤷*♂️ I like If... and Kes and Trainspotting as much as the next guy, but come on, better than Brazil? Barry Lyndon? Clockwork Orange?

To be fair, Gilliam notoriously isn't very keen on his country of birth, and has considered himself as British since the late 60s. He's a naturalised Brit now and has been for getting on 20 years.


Also, very strong agree on Canadian Bacon being the greatest Canadian film of all time. "Shall I put it up on the big board?" ".........no." True story - I once said to my English teacher (who was a Shakespeare obsessive) that Ran and Canadian Bacon were how you should do Shakespeare. She didn't like that.

[Kaiju]

Originally Posted by Katatonia

Someone just repackaged it at some point...switching out the Criterion disc for the UK StudioCanal disc.

I'm guessing it was a marketplace purchase from Amazon?

Nope, direct from Amazon Services LLC. Has the Criterion sticker on the plastic wrapping and everything. So bizarre.

[JasonMichael]

Originally Posted by Kaiju

Nope, direct from Amazon Services LLC. Has the Criterion sticker on the plastic wrapping and everything. So bizarre.

Was it an Amazon warehouse deal? I have received some strange items when ordering those. One time I ordered a "Used-like New" book from their warehouse deals because it was $5 instead of the $30 rate for a new copy, and it came in a sealed plastic bag with a viscous black sticky substance covering the book. They were fine about me sending it back for a refund, but I had to wonder who would think that was an acceptable book?

[Vigojean]

Originally Posted by Jackie Scanlon

To be fair, Gilliam notoriously isn't very keen on his country of birth, and has considered himself as British since the late 60s. He's a naturalised Brit now and has been for getting on 20 years.

Right you are, sir. My mistake. Speaking of Gilliam, he was supposed to direct American Beauty. I’ve cried many nights thinking about that. Ironically it was directed by a Brit, who did a good job, Gilliam directing American Beauty?? My heart aches

[gbm82]

Originally Posted by Kaiju

Nope, direct from Amazon Services LLC. Has the Criterion sticker on the plastic wrapping and everything. So bizarre.

The discs are probably manufactured and packaged at the same place...

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by Vigojean

Right you are, sir. My mistake. Speaking of Gilliam, he was supposed to direct American Beauty. I’ve cried many nights thinking about that. Ironically it was directed by a Brit, who did a good job, Gilliam directing American Beauty?? My heart aches

Where did you hear that?

[Doc Moonlight]

Originally Posted by Vigojean

I finally saw Criterion’s Mon oncle Antoine. No disrespect, but this is really considered the greatest Canadian film of all time? I know the director turned out to be a pedophile, so now the movie has gone out of favor, but the fact that it was consistently ranked Canada’s greatest cinematic achievement is puzzling. It’s good, but not great. Shouldn’t a Cronenberg movie be considered Canada’s greatest film?

It's also been called "the most depressing Christmas film of all time".

[Vigojean]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

Where did you hear that?

I read it years ago but can’t remember where. I’ve always wanted to ask Gilliam why he didn’t do it. The dream sequences would’ve been magical

[castor]

Originally Posted by jw007

On the subject of Canadian films/directors, where would you all rank Guy Maddin and his film My Winnipeg? Perhaps the greatest Canadian homage film?

It's by far the greatest Canadian homage film I've ever seen. Actually it's the only Canadian homage film I've ever seen. But seriously, it's a very great, hilarious film.

[Kaiju]

Originally Posted by gbm82

The discs are probably manufactured and packaged at the same place...

[Jackie Scanlon]

Originally Posted by Vigojean

Speaking of Gilliam, he was supposed to direct American Beauty.

Originally Posted by Gacivory

Where did you hear that?

I don't think he was ever "supposed" to direct it - he was offered it but turned it down without even considering it, like many other directors who were offered it (I remember press articles at the time suggested it had been offered to almost every working A-list director as it was quite the hot property) before Mendes basically begged Dreamworks to let him do it.

The consensus back then was that there was too much of a risk of the film going the wrong way due to the subject matter, so no established directors would touch it with a barge pole. It's been re-assessed more negatively in recent times, not only in the metoo era, but also more generally with critics.

I still like it and think it's a good film exactly as it is and, much as I really like Gilliam, I don't think he was right for American Beauty at all (and neither did he) - it needed someone with a much more subtle approach.