The Criterion Collection

[SlickDamian]

Recently watched All That Heaven Allows for the first time. The movie wasn't quite what I was expecting, in a good way. Amazing transfer. A fantastic Rock Hudson performance, and perhaps an even better performance from Jane Wyman.

[Marlow27]

All That Heaven Allows took me by surprise too. Great film, with a gorgeous use of colour in particular (the great Criterion transfer really emphasises this).

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I watched Kagemusha this afternoon. It was a solid enough film, but it does not come anywhere close to his films of the 1950s and 1960s, especially with Toshiro Mifune.

Originally Posted by cakefactory

It's the only one of his films I've seen that I didn't enjoy. I absolutely love Ran, and I do appreciate Dreams, so it's not that I needed it to be a more lively flick in the vein of his 50s/60s movies. It just seemed stylistically like Ran without any of the emotional impact and with much less interesting cinematography. The climax in particular bugged me, with the endless repetitive shots

[Show spoiler]of horsemen getting shot down.

I think I understand what he was going for but it just didn't work for me at all. I was not at impressed with the execution of it either, especially when compared to something like the battle scene from Ran.

It may be something I appreciate more on second viewing but I haven't felt any desire to do so in the couple of years I've owned it.

Originally Posted by iScottie

Yeah, I was thinking to myself, "how many more times is he going to repeat this?"

I really like the concept of the film, the use of color is awesome, and I think the nightmare sequence is cool, but as it went on it dragged on and became less emotional and less of a character portrait and more of a war film.

Thank you both. This film was my introduction to Kurosawa and I was assured by several people whose opinions I usually trust that "Kagemusha is his best film ever!!!!" When I ended up not particularly enjoying the film, I decided to hold off on sampling any of his other work. Now, I'm thinking that I need to delve more deeply into his filmography, and go with some of the earlier works on which his reputation was built.

[joie]

http://www.wellesnet.com/criterion-t...hello-in-2015/

Link is to a claim that Criterion will release Welles' "Othello," 1992 restoration, in the fall of this year. An additional claim is that the release will also include the 1955 American release. Criterion once offered the 1955 release on laserdisc, but was forced to withdraw it.

I am watching the French Carlotta release. It is very nice looking. I would like to see the original 1952 release in addition to the 1955 release.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Thank you both. This film was my introduction to Kurosawa and I was assured by several people whose opinions I usually trust that "Kagemusha is his best film ever!!!!" When I ended up not particularly enjoying the film, I decided to hold off on sampling any of his other work. Now, I'm thinking that I need to delve more deeply into his filmography, and go with some of the earlier works on which his reputation was built.

He's a great filmmaker. Don't let one bad apple spoil it for you.

My ranking:
-Seven Samurai
-The Hidden Fortress
-Sanjuro
-Rashomon
-High and Low
-Yojimbo
-Throne of Blood
-Kagemusha

[jayj15]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

It's the only one of his films I've seen that I didn't enjoy.

I didn't like "Dodes'ka-den" Don't even think I finished the TCM recording of it.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Thank you both. This film was my introduction to Kurosawa and I was assured by several people whose opinions I usually trust that "Kagemusha is his best film ever!!!!" When I ended up not particularly enjoying the film, I decided to hold off on sampling any of his other work. Now, I'm thinking that I need to delve more deeply into his filmography, and go with some of the earlier works on which his reputation was built.

How odd, I can't imagine anyone thinking it was his best.

[filmmusic]

I thought this would be interesting and relevant to this thread, since we're expecting The New World.

James Horner (film composer, worked on The New World) on Mallick:

"Terrence Malick is an enigmatic filmmaker. He's a brilliant photographer. He's a brilliant cinematographer. In a way, though, he doesn't know how to coalesce a story from beginning to end," he said. "When I first saw this movie it was an early edit. There was no reason this movie couldn't have been as successful as 'Titanic.' It was cut that way. It was a story of this Native American girl meeting this guy and it was really romantic. In editing, Terry, as he does in his filmmaking, made much more of a dreamworld and he disassociated the scenes. There was no through-line any more. He lost the love story. He wasn't interested in that. He started telling a story about images and it didn't hold together. The movie didn't hold together for me, or for an audience."
"I think that Terry's brilliant but he is an abstract painter," Horner continued. "You have to know going in that what you initially see — which is a real story — ends up looking more like a Picasso or an abstract painting and it's broken up and musically that doesn't work. You can't tell a linear story any more and he ends up cutting stuff and for an audience, emotionally, I just don't think that holds together. Visually, it's stunning but the storytelling — it's a book that can't be read."

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayli...o-end-20150504

Well, I agree that the abstract thing didn't work on The New World, but it did work in The Thin Red line in my opinion, and maybe in Tree of Life too.

[maely]

Good morning,
I see that 'Five Easy Pieces' will be released next month as a standalone release; has there been any indication if the other films in the BBS set (e.g., The Last Picture Show) will receive similar treatment? Thanks,

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

I thought this would be interesting and relevant to this thread, since we're expecting The New World.

James Horner (film composer, worked on The New World) on Mallick:


http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayli...o-end-20150504

Well, I agree that the abstract thing didn't work on The New World, but it did work in The Thin Red line in my opinion, and maybe in Tree of Life too.

It worked for me in The New World :-)

[myka22]

I love Kurosawa but he does have a few weaker films. The Idiot might be the worst.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

How odd, I can't imagine anyone thinking it was his best.

Kagemusha is probably in my Kurosawa Top 5. I'm surprised at all the luke warm to negative comments around here (although I certainly respect them). I always thought it was more universally liked. I supposed it's not just me though, it did snag a Palme d'Or after all.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by myka22

I love Kurosawa but he does have a few weaker films. The Idiot might be the worst.

The Idiot is hard to judge since the only version we can see is not Kurosawa's finished version of the film.

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by maely

Good morning,
I see that 'Five Easy Pieces' will be released next month as a standalone release; has there been any indication if the other films in the BBS set (e.g., The Last Picture Show) will receive similar treatment? Thanks,

No. Then again, Five Easy Pieces standalone was a bit of a surprise.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

No. Then again, Five Easy Pieces standalone was a bit of a surprise.

I would guess The Last Picture Show will get a stand alone release. Not sure if any of the others would.

[Martin_31]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

The Idiot is hard to judge since the only version we can see is not Kurosawa's finished version of the film.

Why? Will a finished version ever be released?

[Yami]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

Why? Will a finished version ever be released?

Nope, it's lost.

[pro-bassoonist]

PACKAGING PHOTOS

More in the published reviews.










Pro-B

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by maely

Good morning,
I see that 'Five Easy Pieces' will be released next month as a standalone release; has there been any indication if the other films in the BBS set (e.g., The Last Picture Show) will receive similar treatment? Thanks,

I do not know if this has been brought up before in the thread, but i wonder if there are rights expiring for one or more of the films in the BBS set that Criterion knows they will not be able to renew? If that were the case it would mean the box set would be going out of print and they would need an alternate way to release the films in the set that they would continue to hold the rights for (i.e the stand alone releases).

Anyone else think this is possible?

[Vinyl]

Pro-B, those look like nice packages, thanks for the photos.