The Criterion Collection

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Somehow the drawing did not made me think of that, it as more of a Kurosawa feel to it but you may be right.

It's a popular series that's bandied around here every so often. I'm not fussy about what we get, except for Anatomy of A Murder, I'd really like that. If it is a Kurosawa, I'm just going to have to watch Amazon.ca for the cheap pre-order price.

[DionJP]

Originally Posted by punisher

my first Criterions were LD's..Blade Runner and 2001 a Space Odyssey..love to see them on a Criterion blu ray....
no offense meant to the existing releases of these movies , i do own them

Neither need a Criterion Blu-ray.

[DionJP]

Originally Posted by KubrickFan

Didn't the director say that a Criterion BD was in the works? Or maybe I just figured that since they released it on DVD too.

I hope that if we get it, both the original cut and director's cut are included.

The Tin Drum is a definite release for 2012.

[Rizor]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Three Colors Trilogy Blu-ray Review

I absolutely love these films and the trilogy will be mine on Tuesday.

But I can't help feeling slightly disappointed. The art and packaging feels boring, and not even in a classy or beautiful way. Moreso the art directors though "hey, let's throw some random images on the covers to show how hip we are." The only film with a good cover is Red.

The transfers seem to be from the same source as the French BDs, though this time properly encoded in 1080p and with higher bitrate.

They've dropped some major extras from the previous Miramax DVDs but included other pieces so it doesn't appear to be a rights issue. The Criterion set loses three fantastic commentaries by Annette Insdorf (who provided commentary on Criterion's Double Life of Veronique release). All told, they've dropped about 3 hours worth of video supplements. I imagine some of it may have been redundant with the new interviews, but the choices seem arbitrary. Here's a list of what's missing from the Criterion release:

BLUE
- Audio commentary by Annette Insdorf
- A Conversation with Juliette Binoche (8 min)
- Interview/commentary with producer Marin Karmitz (17 min)
- Interview/commentary with film editor Jacques Witta (14 min)
- Kieslowski student film Concert of Wishes (16 min)

WHITE
- Audio commentary by Annette Insdorf
- A Look at Blanc featurette (7 min)
- A Discussion on Kieslowski's Later Years (22 min)
- A Discussion on Working with Kieslowski (19 min)
- A Conversation with Julie Delpy (6 mins)
- Interview/commentary with Marin Karmitz (6 min)
- Interview/commentary with Julie Delpy (22 min)

RED
- Audio commentary by Annette Insdorf
- Insights into Trois Couleurs: Rouge (22 min)
- A Conversation with Irène Jacob (11 min)
- Interview/commentary with Irène Jacob (11 min)

[SlickDamian]

The Three Colors Triology looks absolutely amazing and perhaps the best Criterion blu-ray release yet! Very excited about this one.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by octagon

I'm definitely planning on grabbing Three Colors next week and I was also leaning toward picking up Double Life of Veronique (time and funds permitting) before the end of the B&N sale but now I'm kind of having second thoughts. Four Kieslowski films seems a little like overkill. Is DLV sufficiently different from the Colors films to warrant getting them all now?

(FYI, potential replacements for DLV on the 'if I can squeeze it in list' include Life During Wartime, My Life as a Dog and Vivre Sa Vie).

Double Life is a very different film than any of the three in the trilogy, although its direction and pace are very similar. I think all four together offer quite a bit thematically, as they differ but also build upon one another. Double Life is still by far my favorite of the four, although that's not a knock on the trilogy--I just find its story fascinating. And I know I'm in the minority but White may actually be my favorite of the trilogy, mostly due to the concluding scene.

Vivre Sa Vie is one of my all-time favorite films, so you can't go wrong with that.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

[Show spoiler]I actually re-watched part of Veronique last night.
Yes, I think they're sufficiently different, although clearly from the same film-maker.
I personally prefer the trilogy, particularly Red, however they are plenty on this forum that will prefer Veronique.
I don't think four Kieslowski's is overkill and I doubt you'd regret getting all them.

EDIT: Oh, btw, Vivre Sa Vie is one of my favourite Criterions and definitely my favourite Godard. I would pick it over Veronique, but not because of anything against Veronique.

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

[Show spoiler]Double Life is a very different film than any of the three in the trilogy, although its direction and pace are very similar. I think all four together offer quite a bit thematically, as they differ but also build upon one another. Double Life is still by far my favorite of the four, although that's not a knock on the trilogy--I just find its story fascinating. And I know I'm in the minority but White may actually be my favorite of the trilogy, mostly due to the concluding scene.

Vivre Sa Vie is one of my all-time favorite films, so you can't go wrong with that.

Okay, then...Double Life of Veronique stays on the 'if i can work it in' list and Vivre Sa Vie gets moved up alongside it.

Thanks for the feedback.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Rizor

I absolutely love these films and the trilogy will be mine on Tuesday.

But I can't help feeling slightly disappointed. The art and packaging feels boring, and not even in a classy or beautiful way. Moreso the art directors though "hey, let's throw some random images on the covers to show how hip we are." The only film with a good cover is Red.

The transfers seem to be from the same source as the French BDs, though this time properly encoded in 1080p and with higher bitrate.

They've dropped some major extras from the previous Miramax DVDs but included other pieces so it doesn't appear to be a rights issue. The Criterion set loses three fantastic commentaries by Annette Insdorf (who provided commentary on Criterion's Double Life of Veronique release). All told, they've dropped about 3 hours worth of video supplements. I imagine some of it may have been redundant with the new interviews, but the choices seem arbitrary. Here's a list of what's missing from the Criterion release:

BLUE
- Audio commentary by Annette Insdorf
- A Conversation with Juliette Binoche (8 min)
- Interview/commentary with producer Marin Karmitz (17 min)
- Interview/commentary with film editor Jacques Witta (14 min)
- Kieslowski student film Concert of Wishes (16 min)

WHITE
- Audio commentary by Annette Insdorf
- A Look at Blanc featurette (7 min)
- A Discussion on Kieslowski's Later Years (22 min)
- A Discussion on Working with Kieslowski (19 min)
- A Conversation with Julie Delpy (6 mins)
- Interview/commentary with Marin Karmitz (6 min)
- Interview/commentary with Julie Delpy (22 min)

RED
- Audio commentary by Annette Insdorf
- Insights into Trois Couleurs: Rouge (22 min)
- A Conversation with Irène Jacob (11 min)
- Interview/commentary with Irène Jacob (11 min)

True, but I don't miss the extras. Annette Insdorf is intelligent and insightful, but it's sort of like Peter Cowie doing commentaires on EVERY Bergman film.. I have her book about Kieslowski, and a lot of that is just repeated information.

[runnersdialzero]

Look what Daddy picked up today at Hastings.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

I picked these up in 2009 and have enjoyed them not only for the stories but to see some old Japan as all four were filmed in the early 30's. They are less than 80 minutes long and are micro dramas. I think you would enjoy them.

Thanks Ronin! The description of those films intrigued me...it wasn't until I read a bit more about Shimizu, that I saw he was a very good friend of Ozu.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Happy to accept responsibility

Well...I've got a pretty good idea about both your tastes on Japanese cinema and trust ya!

[buffetfroid]

Originally Posted by Monty70

On that note, I watched a really wild pre code film today called Kongo (1932) with Walter Huston. I found this in a cool Pre code horror suggestion list.

Kongo is pretty awesome. My copy is currently stuck in my VCR so I'm probably going to need to re-record it.

[Henge86]

Originally Posted by runnersdialzero

Look what Daddy picked up today at Hastings.

I watched mine this morning amazing film great artwork :-)

[rkish]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

I'm glad you asked this actually. Something Mr. SB still has yet to see, is films from Shimizu. I have been waiting for the 15th (announcements) before I order some things from the B&N sale (to save some money for future titles, just need to see how much for Feb titles after just wanting the Gorin set in Jan and some Kino releases.) and this is actually on my list (along with finally going back and upgrading some of my dvds, like Solaris).

I have already placed an pre-order for Fassbinder's Despair that comes out Tuesday, now just need to get something from this B&N sale.

Cool...glad to hear endorsements from a few of ya...tanks! Trying to save some bucks for the Gorin set in Jan.

Let me know what ya think about the Shimizu set, after you have a chance to view any of the films.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by oildude

Thanks for posting this, doc, and to rkish for beating me to the question about the Shimizu set. I am viewing these now on hulu plus. Whimsical is a good word to describe the tone of them, but as you say it is a method for delivering deeper social commentary. Knowing the aggressive militancy dominating Japanese society and politics at this time, and seeing a pre-war Japan, makes these really interesting to me.

I am thinking about getting the Shimizu set also, but I have now exceeded my planned budget for Eclipse series for this sale. I have loaded up on the Japanese sets after the recommendation here and screening them on hulu plus. I may have to make a decision between this one and Basil Dearden's London Underground.

Then again, it is a long time to the next B&N Criterion sale, and the price of these is really attractive right now. I can eat in more often and splurge less on other stuff for awhile if I need to.


Edit: Actually, these Shimizu films are not pre-war, as Japan was already ravaging China. These are pre-Pearl Harbor films, before Japan expanded her war across most of Asia and the Pacific.

Thanks for the feedback...got a feeling I'll like them as well. If you an swing the Dearden set, you might like it. jcs913 talked me into the Dearden set...I enjoyed the films, but I think that he might give you a better description and feedback about that set.

[benbess]

After The Lady Vanishes are we likely to see more C releases of Hitchcock films?

[rkish]

Originally Posted by oildude

I stopped at one of my nearby B&Ns today after work and saw they have added a lot of new Eclipse sets, including some that had not previously been in stock. One of these was Silent Ozu. I had it in my hands but put it back down, thinking about the future BFI verisions. I went for Postwar Kurosawa instead.

So what made you get the Silent Ozu set? Did you decide it was not worth waiting for the BFI blu-ray releases? If you nudge me enough, I may go back and get it tomoorrow.

The Post War Kurosawa set is a GREAT set of films...I bought it during the last sale and recommend it highly. Especially since 2 of the films star my favorite Ozu lead actress, Setsuko Hara.

I opted for the Silent Ozu for two reasons...one...it only cost $16 and change...two...I already own the Silent Naruse and thought it would look good with it. Both are silent sets and will pair well with the BFI silent set coming out in Feb...if I thought the Silent Ozus would see the blu treatment by BFI...I would gladly wait for them.

[vertigo12314]

Originally Posted by benbess

After The Lady Vanishes are we likely to see more C releases of Hitchcock films?

I'm hoping for 39 Steps.

[Darkcritic]

A simple question. Which one is better (or you prefer), The Naked Kiss or Shock Corridor? As surprising as it may sound, I have never seen a single Fuller film (Not because I don't want to but because they are widely unavailable in my country ) and looking at Amazon's pricing I may pull the trigger on one of them (The other title I want is Le Cercle Rouge but I am already a Melville fan ). In the future I may get the other one but for the moment I will buy one of them to try Fuller's filmmaking.

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by Darkcritic

A simple question. Which one is better (or you prefer), The Naked Kiss or Shock Corridor? As surprising as it may sound, I have never seen a single Fuller film (Not because I don't want to but because they are widely unavailable in my country ) and looking at Amazon's pricing I may pull the trigger on one of them (The other title I want is Le Cercle Rouge but I am already a Melville fan ). In the future I may get the other one but for the moment I will buy one of them to try Fuller's filmmaking.

I'd go with Shock Corridor. Not only is it the better of the two films (in my opinion, at least), the Criterion BD also includes The Typewriter, The Rifle & The Movie Camera, an excellent documentary on Fuller produced by the BFI and IFC back in 1996...featuring Martin Scorsese, Jim Jarmusch, Tim Robbins, Quentin Tarantino, and Fuller himself.