The Criterion Collection

[14728]

Is it possible that Bicycle Thieves will get an upgrade?

[anthonyg]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I am REALLY tempted to order these five Eclipse sets (along with Nosferatu and Russian Ark).

#01: Early Bergman
#18: Dusan Makavejev
#19: Chantal Akerman
#32: Czech New Wave
#39: Fassbinder

Fassbinder and Akerman sets are soooo worth it.

I'm trying to decide if I want to order either The Actuality Dramas of Allan King
or Three Popular Films by Jean-Pierre Gorin.

[anthonyg]

Originally Posted by 14728

Is it possible that Bicycle Thieves will get an upgrade?

I'd say it is 100% that it will be upgraded; it is just when.

[Wizard-of-Wars]

Would anyone recommend "Antichrist" for a purchase??

Got "City Lights" today!!!! I love you Chaplin!!!!

So the City Lights come with a blu ray and DVD copy?

[Beta Man]

Question:

When I click the "New Releases" on Criterion.com "Battle of Algiers" shows up (without a release date under it) I've had this for so long, I've forgotten what month it was released.... did they do a re-release of it, or is it just a glitch?

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Link's don't work.

Well, they worked for me. Probably one of Beaver's anti-hotlinking measures.

It's easy enough to go to the site and find the relevant screenshots for comparison.

[anthonyg]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Question:

When I click the "New Releases" on Criterion.com "Battle of Algiers" shows up (without a release date under it) I've had this for so long, I've forgotten what month it was released.... did they do a re-release of it, or is it just a glitch?

I think like Breathless and Night of the Hunter they are just reissuing it with new packaging.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Wizard-of-Wars

Would anyone recommend "Antichrist" for a purchase??

I watched it on Netflix. A well-made film that I'm glad to have seen but don't feel the need to own.

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Question:

When I click the "New Releases" on Criterion.com "Battle of Algiers" shows up (without a release date under it) I've had this for so long, I've forgotten what month it was released.... did they do a re-release of it, or is it just a glitch?

Wow, have not see you here in a very long time, Beta.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I watched it on Netflix. A well-made film that I'm glad to have seen but don't feel the need to own.

I'll go a little bit farther (further?)...it is well-made, I'm glad I've seen and I'm even glad to own it because I'm sure I'm going to want to go back to it at some point.

But yeah, it's not a must have and it's a fairly risky blind buy on top it.

[mdonovan]

Just wanted to share ... I just finished watching Seconds and The Sweet Smell of Success. Both were complete delights and successful blind buys!

The ending to Seconds while expected, was phenomenal.

Sweet Smell of Success just felt like a guilty pleasure full of excellent quotable lines.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by jw007

Last night I watched Black Moon that I just purchased a few days ago. Amazing what a second viewing can do with this film.

If there is one film out there that should NEVER be a blind-buy purchase, it would have to be Black Moon, because it is so bizarre.

When I blind-bought this last year, I didn't even open it up. Instead I first borrowed it from the library and then immediately returned the sealed blu-ray to B&N. At the time, I thought the movie was ridiculous and so "out there".

Then not too long ago I started getting into Louis Malle's films. I remembered Black Moon and realized it deserves a second chance. Louis Malle is now my favorite French director of all time (no, its not Godard or Truffaut). So I re-bought this film again at B&N and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it again last night. The film is brilliant in many ways I can't describe, because it is not just about a post-apocalyptic future but also delves into telepathy and Paganistic spirituality that you don't see in "sci fi" films. Animals, birds, flowers and nature are just as important as humans in this film (if not more!) and are treated as such. What a rarity! There is also a dream-like quality to this movie and much of the film is almost like a realistic dream which makes this even more amazing (as dreamy as David Lynch films are, he could never make a movie like Louis Malle made).

Does anyone else see Black Moon as a brilliant film?

I have posted several times in the past about my admiration and enjoyment of Black Moon. To me, it is Louis Malle’s homage to Lewis Carroll in an inerpretation that is uniquely Malle. Think Alice in Wonderland re-imagined for the sexual revolution and the 1970s, set against a dystopian backdrop of an ultimate future war between the sexes, where a young teenage girl trying to escape the conflict falls down the rabbit hole. The film is filled with metaphors for a girl's sexual awakening. Lily navigates a tortuous path toward her own understanding of impending womanhood, in a Wonderland filled with Carroll-like nonsensical characters rich with satire and symbolism and sometimes nothing at all.

I really like Black Moon. It is both ahead of its time and dated by the passage of time. I won't go so far to call it brilliant, but it is damn close. One of my favorite Criterions, although I hesitate to recommend it as a blind buy.

[the sordid sentinel]

Originally Posted by mdonovan

Just wanted to share ... I just finished watching Seconds and The Sweet Smell of Success. Both were complete delights and successful blind buys!

The ending to Seconds while expected, was phenomenal.

Sweet Smell of Success just felt like a guilty pleasure full of excellent quotable lines.

Seconds was a blind buy for me as well. Watched it yesterday, and like you, really enjoyed it. The ending was incredibly visceral. Rock Hudson is so good in that role. A big selling point to me beforehand was James Wong Howe's camerawork. It definitely doesn't disappoint. I don't think I have ever seen movie that felt so claustrophobic in the close ups, yet the wide shots look like something you could hang on your wall. Alec Baldwin's Will Geer impersonation in the bonus materials had me seriously laughing out loud. I will be checking out Frankenheimer's commentary some day soon.

Eyes Without a Face was my other blind buy and I checked it out tonight. Another winner. Something about the daughter and that ghostly mask was quite eerie. Really shocked me how intense and graphic parts of it were, but it never felt like exploitation. Loved the ending..sort of operatic in a way. Watched the Blood of the Beasts documentary. Was thinking somewhere Morrissey's head is exploding. I felt the director's comments about that doc were very interesting.

Thanks to all here who recommended these 2 great movies. I will be revisiting them often for sure.

[noob_saibot]

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

They did a LOT of manual clean-up. They spent over a year working on it (on top of the year they'd already spent working on the 2006 DVD). But we're talking about nearly 300,000 individual frames of film. Aside from the question of man-hours, Criterion is a smaller distributor, and cannot afford to spend "Lawrence Of Arabia" amounts on their restorations. If you're at all familiar with the film's history, you should know that the image quality you see on the Criterion BD is a minor miracle.

The Japanese BD from Toho is slathered in DNR. As a result, you can't see as much damage...and also, the image is a waxy mess.


TOHO: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRe...lu-ray1brd.jpg
CRITERION: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-r..._blu-ray_2.jpg

TOHO: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDRe...i_blu-ray2.jpg
CRITERION: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film3/blu-r..._blu-ray_3.jpg


I'd say the fact that Criterion has spent so much time and money of their own to restore and preserve this masterpiece for future generations, while the original studio has simply buried the damage under ugly digital processing, means that yes, the Criterion BD does deserve all the praise it's received.

Thanks, but I wasn't asking about the Japanese DVD. I meant the Japanese blu-ray:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B...pf_rd_i=489986

There are scenes that look great on the Criterion release. But I don't understand why there's so much damage left after all that effort. It's especially anticlimactic during battle scenes. Sometimes the shot is so distorted, you can hardly see what's going on. (No, not because it's raining).

I know it looks a lot better than it's DVD counterparts. But a video quality rating of 4.5 / 5 led me to expect something different.

[JoeBuck]

Just got the Barnes and Noble in downtown Seattle to put copies of the Cassavetes set and City Lights on hold for me.
I can't wait to go pick them up, it feels like Christmas has come early!

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by noob_saibot

Thanks, but I wasn't asking about the Japanese DVD. I meant the Japanese blu-ray

Just speculating...

I seem to recall hearing that Toho doesn't provide access to the interpositive (which Toho has for Seven, not sure about Fortress etc) and Criterion had to use what they were given access to...I'm not sure if the Japanese distributor got favorable treatment regarding access to superior elements, but that seems like a possibility at least.

[GxyExpress999]

[hustlermane]

Good to see Eclipse series getting some love! To the guys talking about the Fassbinder set, I thought it over as well, but there's a far superior UK set (in fact, two volumes) - the first set has all 5 of the eclipse films plus four others, has a load of special features and retails for about 20 pounds plus postage. So even in the 50% off sale it works out to be much the same for a vastly better package. Unless you're not into importing (being from neither country, either way I have to import) or are extremely brand loyal I'd recommend checking it out. Mind you, can't vouch for it personally (I'll be picking it up later from Amazon UK when my wallet has recovered from the Criterion sale beatdown it got).

I think next sale I'll bite the bullet on the Kobayashi and late Ozu sets.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by GxyExpress999

This is the first time I've seen the packaging for Madame De... and it is beautiful. I've got the disc with me up here in the Arctic, but the case is down home with my parents. I'm eager to get my hands on the proper thing next month.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by retablo

I own it, and what I've watched is great... but I doubt I'll ever sit through the 6 hour documentary about India.

Originally Posted by anthonyg

I find it to be amazing, Phantom India I believe it is called is breathtaking and was a huge influence on Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited.

I'm kind of interested in those other documentaries more than the Phantom India one such as "God's Country" and "...And the "Pursuit of Happiness". This looks like a good set to go for though. I might have to use my other 20% coupon (that I received in the mail) on this one.