The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

I'd add Vanya on 42nd Street to that club. One of my favorites.

All the Malle films in general, as a matter of fact. I was surprised how much Vanya drew me in. Malle seemed to know exactly how to treat varying subjects: from the dazzlingly chaos of Zazie dans Le Metro to the atmospheric surrealism of Black Moon to the sensitive humanism of Au Revoir Les Enfants, he was a master of tone.

Atlantic City & My Dinner with Andre are standouts, I haven't seen Murmur of the Heart, but I know I should.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I personally feel that Alambrista is probably the least talked about lol

It's one of them, yeah....also many recent films post-2008 or so that are in the collection don't get talked about much...which is unfortunate because most of them are very, very good.

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

All good nods. I especially like the Fullers, specifically Shock Corridor which is a total masterpiece that intelligently and entertainingly addresses the issue of institutionalization of all forms: the military, racism, mental hospitals. I find the hospital a very neat metaphor for America at the time. It's better than any given dozen issue movies, it's got a vitality that nearly 50 years hasnt diminished

Agreed on that one--it's a very effective film even today, and I don't see it mentioned much, even though it's one of the ones that more often has lower prices..so you'd expect more people to buy it/see it.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

I remember all the bile regarding Broadcast News' inclusion in the collection, but I've long loved the film and was happy to see it's release. I still need to watch my copy of Last Emperor but that one is such a great movie, I just wish that Criterion would go back and release the 4 disc version to Blu-ray. It's annoying that they left all of that stuff behind.

Sam Fuller is one of my favorite directors and those 2 blu-rays are fantastic.

I urge all Broadcast News hatred to see Morning Glory. Now that's how to do a Newsroom rom com poorly. Damn, I hate the fluff advocacy of that movie

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

Funny enough, I just popped this into the player this morning. I was very tired so I only watched the beginning, but I'll be watching the rest this evening. I've had it since last year, but am just getting around to checking it out.

I last watched it about six months ago. I also have mp3 files I sourced from the old Sony DVD and a few days later listened to it while reading an alternate translation and noting the different choices Mamet made (though if I understand correctly, he adapted a translation for the film, but didn't do the translating himself). There are two other filmed versions of the play I plan on checking out someday.

As to Andrė, I love that film even more. I've listened to it while commuting too. I'd love to triple dip on Blu so I can count every loose thread on Wallace Shawn's jacket and inspect the peachfuzz on his head.

[Scottie]

Speaking of the Fuller films, I really want to see them.

I keep forgetting to pull them out, especially Shock Corridor.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

I last watched it about six months ago. I also have mp3 files I sourced from the old Sony DVD and a few days later listened to it while reading an alternate translation and noting the different choices Mamet made (though if I understand correctly, he adapted a translation for the film, but didn't do the translating himself). There are two other filmed versions of the play I plan on checking out someday.

As to Andrė, I love that film even more. I've listened to it while commuting too. I'd love to triple dip on Blu so I can inspect every loose thread on Wallace Shawn's jacket and count the peachfuzz on his head.

Malle deserves huge credit for successfully pulling off conceptually tricky material. Two Guys talking in a restaurant for 100 minutes? Impossible, but he did it. I feel like when I see it for a second time I'll take away different things.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Speaking of the Fuller films, I really want to see them.

I keep forgetting to pull them out, especially Shock Corridor.

The ones on blu-ray are great, but I easily like Pickup on South Street the most.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Speaking of the Fuller films, I really want to see them.

I keep forgetting to pull them out, especially Shock Corridor.

I think many find Naked Kiss to be way too campy, but I find each melodramatic, sick plot twist to be glorious and enthralling. The Special features with the actress Constance Towers are of note too.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Malle deserves huge credit for successfully pulling off conceptually tricky material. Two Guys talking in a restaurant for 100 minutes? Impossible, but he did it. I feel like when I see it for a second time I'll take away different things.

It really is something. Having listened to it a few times, I can say from experience how much the staging and the cuts really make the dialogue work. Without the visuals breaking up some of the rhythm it gets headier. That brings its own pluses, but only after having watched the film enough times to have already digested it some.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

The ones on blu-ray are great, but I easily like Pickup on South Street the most.

So much fun. If you want a great twisty B-noir, you can't do any better. I love that Fullers films lack any shred of lugubriousness or self seriousness. Deep down they have something serious to impart on it's audience, but they don't feel that way at all.

[Scottie]

We haven't got a new Fuller film in a while to the collection. Maybe next month they'll announce a Pickup upgrade.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

It really is something. Having listened to it a few times, I can say from experience how much the staging and the cuts really make the dialogue work. Without the visuals breaking up some of the rhythm it gets headier. That brings its own pluses, but only after having watched the film enough times to have already digested it some.

Oh yeah, the reaction shots are so fine tuned, you really do get a sense of how the years have worked on them and of the anxieties, insecurities and lack of fulfillment they harbor inside.

I've read interviews of Soderbergh talking about the fluidity that Digital filmmaking offers, the ability to cut and order reshoots the day of, but Malle didn't need any of that. There's a consistency and fluidity to the conversation that required careful thought on Malle's part and extremely fine acting from the leads.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Oh yeah, the reaction shots are so fine tuned, you really do get a sense of how the years have worked on them and of the anxieties, insecurities and lack of fulfillment they harbor inside.

I've read interviews of Soderbergh talking about the fluidity that Digital filmmaking offers, the ability to cut and order reshoots the day of, but Malle didn't need any of that. There's a consistency and fluidity to the conversation that required careful thought on Malle's part and extremely fine acting from the leads.

Indeed. It was also instrumental that Shawn and Gregory had experience working together in theater, not to mention how they had refined that script over a long period of time and were intimately connected to feelings underpinning what is often mistaken for a strictly intellectual discussion. I believe Malle was also instrumental in winnowing the screenplay down before shooting, but it's been ages since I cracked the essays or features for that disc. I've also never read about the film.

Man, though, I still want my My Dinner with André action figures and diorama (as seen in Waiting for Guffman)

[joie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

So much fun. If you want a great twisty B-noir, you can't do any better. I love that Fullers films lack any shred of lugubriousness or self seriousness. Deep down they have something serious to impart on it's audience, but they don't feel that way at all.

I've actually sold two of Sam Fuller's Criterion Blu-rays, because I thought he was trying too hard to make a point. I mean to say that he didn't seem subtle to me, not that there's anything wrong with trying to make a point.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by joie

I've actually sold two of Sam Fuller's Criterion Blu-rays, because I thought he was trying too hard to make a point. I mean to say that he didn't seem subtle to me, not that there's anything wrong with trying to make a point.

I feel he's always winking at you. You're either in on the joke or you're not. They're certainly not subtle but their boldness adds a bit of humor, I could see Fuller smiling behind the camera.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

Indeed. It was also instrumental that Shawn and Gregory had experience working together in theater, not to mention how they had refined that script over a long period of time and were intimately connected to feelings underpinning what is often mistaken for a strictly intellectual discussion. I believe Malle was also instrumental in winnowing the screenplay down before shooting, but it's been ages since I cracked the essays or features for that disc. I've also never read about the film.

Man, though, I still want my My Dinner with André action figures and diorama (as seen in Waiting for Guffman)

Yeah, I'm sure those would go fast. I could see them next to everybody's Sucker Punch bikini dolls and never opened Iron Men.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by joie

I've actually sold two of Sam Fuller's Criterion Blu-rays, because I thought he was trying too hard to make a point. I mean to say that he didn't seem subtle to me, not that there's anything wrong with trying to make a point.

I've never seen a Fuller film. I've read about them and been tempted because I find the ideas interesting, but the execution hasn't appealed to me, very much because the points lack subtlety.

The way I've pointed this out it to students when leading a workshop is to kindly alert them that their "subtext is showing;" that they're not being effective because they're "telling the truth" but forgetting, as Dickinson writes, "to tell it slant." It's not uncommon, but some genres and forms lend themselves to it better. Vanya, for instance, is much more "tell" than "show" even when staged fully, not skeletally like in the Malle film.

Above I believe it was Abdrewes who mentioned how wonderful it is when a director and his team can illuminate an idea or theme through the production itself without having the actors telegraph it through hackneyed dialogue or, worse, monologues. That's perhaps why I'm so drawn to Kieslowski (Bleu is ripe with images that do the work normally forced upon dialogue; or for those who've seen Dekalog, the fly on the glass in the first episode does much the same).

If any of this makes sense.

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Yeah, I'm sure those would go fast. I could see them next to everybody's Sucker Punch bikini dolls and never opened Iron Men.

F*ck that! Mine would be on the shelf with my Soaceballs figures.

Man, my brain is finally shorting out.

[spanky87]

Originally Posted by broganreynik

I just finished watching "Wild Strawberries", and I've come to a stunning realization. I may not be able to call myself much of a film fan. That's due to the fact, not only is Bergman not my cup of tea, but I've already decided the same for Godard and Fellini. What the heck is wrong with me?

I don't like Godard either. The only Bergman film I've seen so far is Persona and I loved it. But I don't think anything is wrong with you, or that you are any less a film buff. As long as you have a knowledge of film history and give these films a try even if you end up disliking them, I think its good enough.

I get annoyed when people say "if you dont like (insert film), than you are not a true film buff". As long as you gave it an honest shot and have valid reasons for not liking it, that's ok.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

I've never seen a Fuller film. I've read about them and been tempted because I find the ideas interesting, but the execution hasn't appealed to me, very much because the points lack subtlety.

This isn't a gotcha, I'm honestly curious: how do you know the execution doesn't appeal to you if you've never seen one?