The Criterion Collection

[oildude]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I don't think I will ever enjoy a Kazan film more than A Streetcar Named Desire. That movie floored me from the moment it began until it faded to black.

I'd have to say On The Waterfront is also another Kazan favorite of mine, followed by A Face In The Crowd and lastly East Of Eden (two other great films).

I have Splendor In The Grass on my DVR, as well as Gentleman's Agreement, Pinky, and Wild River set to record on my DVR. I often see The Last Tycoon, Man On A Tightrope, and Viva Zapata! airing periodically.

Wild River is a phenomenally good film. Maybe only slightly behind On the Waterfront and ASND on my list of favorite Kazan films. Like Billy Wilder, Kazan had a magic touch; all of his films I have seen are damned good. I hope Criterion is able to release more Kazan, but I think Warner holds the rights to the ones I want the most.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by oildude

Wild River is a phenomenally good film. Maybe only slightly behind On the Waterfront and ASND on my list of favorite Kazan films. Like Billy Wilder, Kazan had a magic touch; all of his films I have seen are damned good. I hope Criterion is able to release more Kazan, but I think Warner holds the rights to the ones I want the most.

It looks as if out of the 19 feature length films he made, we're only missing 8, which I feel is good considering.

We still need America America, The Arrangement, Baby Doll, A Face in the Crowd, The Last Tycoon, The Sea of Grass, Splendor in the Grass, and The Visitors.

[The Great Owl]

On the Waterfront is still my favorite Kazan film, although Panic in the Streets and Wild River are close.

I have A Face in the Crowd on DVD as part of the Controversial Classics Collection that I bought a couple months back, but I still have not watched it yet. Soon. The Volume 1 Blu-ray set is still in my unwatched stack as well, and I'm looking forward to checking out Boomerang and Gentleman's Agreement.

[mrjohnnyb]

Elia Kazan

What can I say? An incredible artist saddled with the serious decision to point out supposed communists during the McCarthy era resulting in the damaged the careers of eight of his old friends.

Watch this clip from the Academy Awards ceremony of 1999. It shows Elia Kazan presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. It is interesting to see the dynamic reactions of the known members of the industry who were in attendance:

(SPOILER ALERT: The presentation of the award begins with a visual tribute to Kazan's finest work. It shows what I would deem as some climactic moments, particularly On the Waterfront. If you have not seen the film, fast forward ahead to 5:15.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAETBwj0H5Q

And here is an article written for the promo of PBS American Masters:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmast...lia-kazan/642/

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

Purchased my first real Criterion movie today and I'm happy about it. Hausu.

I own Benjamin Button and yes its a Criterion movie but there is something about a classic Criterion film that just makes it official. I'm probably sounding crazy here. . I can't wait to see this crazy film on my projector.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by JeffTheMovieGuy

Purchased my first real Criterion movie today and I'm happy about it. Hausu.

I own Benjamin Button and yes its a Criterion movie but there is something about a classic Criterion film that just makes it official. I'm probably sounding crazy here. . I can't wait to see this crazy film on my projector.

You are crazy? Welcome to the crazy house, you will fit right in

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

You are crazy? Welcome to the crazy house, you will fit right in

Well this movie is Bananas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMsM-Hh4o80

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by JeffTheMovieGuy

Well this movie is Bananas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMsM-Hh4o80

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by JeffTheMovieGuy

Well this movie is Bananas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMsM-Hh4o80

God I LOVE this film lol

[shadedpain4]

For all the Kazan fans, make sure to snag this at the next FoxConnect flash sale.

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

God I LOVE this film lol

Such a gem and to think it spent years on the shelf never to be released.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qg-WT8Wg5kI

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I'll be honest, the first few minutes didn't connect with me but

[Show spoiler]the scene when Jep has the give and take with "the artist" who's talent consists of ramming her head into a wall hooked me from then on. I think the reality of aging and perceived self-importance are what the main character is reflecting on, not only in his friends and acquaintances but himself, as well.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A few more of my thoughts about The Great Beauty, since folks are discussing it here again...

[Show spoiler]I did not write about this in my User Review of the film a few weeks back, but it's worth sharing here in context to how the movie affected me.

Back in February, one of my best friends from my hometown committed suicide for unknown reasons. I had met Rob on the first day of first grade, when we both caught the same ride from the school to where our parents worked, and he was a great friend through elementary school, middle school, and high school. We attended the same college, but fell into different crowds and gradually lost touch. He was living out of state, but we reconnected on Facebook a couple years ago, and things seemed to be going pretty well for him. The news of his suicide caught everyone off guard, because (and I know that this is a cliché thing to say) he always seemed like the last person on Earth who would do such a thing.

I drove down to my hometown for Rob's funeral, and enjoyed visiting with a handful of childhood/high school friends, although I obviously wish that the circumstances had been different. We're all in our early 40s, and the experience of sharing memories about our friend and about the old days was bittersweet, because we are not getting any younger, and more sad "reunions" like this are inevitable in the coming years.

Because of this, the funeral scene in The Great Beauty absolutely destroyed me.

In fact, without revealing spoilers, the general tone of the movie pretty much destroyed me. The side story about the death of a significant person in Jep Gambardella's past, the funeral sequence, and the closing credits all reverberated with me for so many reasons.

I guess that I had a real life reminder this winter that we are all "tourists" who are just passing through. Seeing The Great Beauty after that was pretty amazing, to say the least.

I will have to give it another chance, but on blu-ray and w/o my wife. She was bored with the intellectual talks on Jep's patio early in the film and quite honestly, I was too. Been seeing a lot of Godard's films recently and I've just about had enough of political talk. It might not even have been political chat in TGB, but that goes to show how engaged I was in whatever it was they were going on about.

Pretty sure that I will have a positive opinion about it. It just has to be seen at the right time, in the right format, and in the mancave where the 5.1 HT is set up.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by oildude

Wild River is a phenomenally good film. Maybe only slightly behind On the Waterfront and ASND on my list of favorite Kazan films. Like Billy Wilder, Kazan had a magic touch; all of his films I have seen are damned good. I hope Criterion is able to release more Kazan, but I think Warner holds the rights to the ones I want the most.

Absolutely loved Wild River. It has been one of my great surprises since collecting and watching blu-rays. Can not wait to see A Face In The Crowd given all of the positive chatter. Elia Kazan really was something! I upgraded my copy of East of Eden and can't wait to see the hi-def transfer. Should be arriving within the next few days.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by iScottie

It's a great release. Picture quality and audio quality are top-notch.

That being said, Billy Wilder is one of those directors where I either immediately fall in love with his films (The Lost Weekend, The Seven Year Itch, Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard [one of my all time favorite films], Witness For The Prosecution) or I don't (Ace In The Hole, The Apartment, Death Mills [oh, come on, who immediately warms up to this?], Double Indemnity, Sabrina, Stalag 17). I still think they're all excellent, though!

interesting choice in favs as they are wildly different than my reactions.

The Lost Weekend - was pretty indifferent about it.. was ages ago, however, and I think I was expecting it to be similar to other Wilder films I had already seen.
The Seven Year Itch - pleasant but uber light-weight.
Some Like It Hot - pretty underwhelmed considering its reputation.
Sunset Boulevard - needs to be seen again (blu ray waiting on shelf. :-)) liked it, but not as much as I thought I would
The Apartment - one of the greatest comedy films of all time, IMO
Double Indemnity - one of the greatest films of all time, IMO
Witness For the Prosecution - my 85 y.o. grandma goes on and on about the merits of this film and she is right. I had a lot of fun seeing it and can't wait for the blu.

[Polaroid]

feels like ages until Picnic upgrades comes out, same for Scanners - only thing I hate when theres films your not interested lol, feels nothing is being released lol

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Another early Japanese Sci-Fi film I saw in the theater was The Mysterians which I fondly remember for the giant robot that was in it. Good memories.

While I'm not particularly a fan of the kaiju genre, I do like the SF movies from that period. The Mysterians has some silliness to it, but overall, it still gets me pumped to watch it. Another good one is Battle in Outer Space.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jayembee

While I'm not particularly a fan of the kaiju genre, I do like the SF movies from that period. The Mysterians has some silliness to it, but overall, it still gets me pumped to watch it. Another good one is Battle in Outer Space.

Yes, that one is just about all action start to finish. That Toho Collection dvd set is nice-Mothra, The H-Man, and Battle in Outer Space.

[The Great Owl]

I only had a half-day at work today, due to a meeting being cancelled in my area, so I decided to break out my Blu-ray of Gone with the Wind. This afternoon's viewing was the first time that I've watched the film since seeing it a couple of times on VHS many years ago, so I was blown away by the picture quality. I was reminded several times of the transfers of the Powell/Pressburger films in the Criterion Collection (The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes).

I'm keeping my fingers crossed more than ever that Criterion will upgrade That Hamilton Woman, because we need more Vivien Leigh on Blu-ray. This also increases the pressure on me to grab the Cohen Media set, The Vivien Leigh Anniversary Collection.

While they're at it, Criterion should release some Olivia de Havilland films.

I'm planning to watch Ace in the Hole later this evening after I hit the gym. This will be a double feature day for the ages.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm keeping my fingers crossed more than ever that Criterion will upgrade That Hamilton Woman, because we need more Vivien Leigh on Blu-ray. This also increases the pressure on me to grab the Cohen Media set, The Vivien Leigh Anniversary Collection.

My wife and I have watched two of the four films in the set so far, and they have just been OK. At this point, unless the second two films are pretty amazing, I may resell the set.

[skylog]

OCD alert. just wanted to warn everyone.

i know this is a personal thing, but i just wanted to know what everyone thinks. so, i ordered godzilla from amazon a couple of days ago. it arrived today, in some kind of compressed cardboard package. needless to say, with the one side kind of crushed upon delivery, there is some minor "crushing" going on both sides/spines. it is worse on the pull out portion of the spine and it is not "bad," but it is noticeable. i went to amazon, and they just told me to keep it and refunded my money. all i wanted was a perfect copy and asked how another would be shipped. should i just keep it and be happy since it was free and all, or order another one, roll the dice and sell the original copy?

what would all of you do?