The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

I'm going to get RojD and CriterionBlues confused because of their avatars.

[RojD]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm going to get RojD and CriterionBlues confused because of their avatars.

Good taste, Blues. We'll hafta avoid posting in sequence.

What's everyone's favorite Jean Gabin role? I could name five real fast. He was awful good in Pépé le Moko.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by RojD

What's everyone's favorite Jean Gabin role? I could name five real fast. He was awful good in Pépé le Moko.

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi for the win. I really really wish that Criterion could upgrade this one to Blu-ray.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by RojD

What's everyone's favorite Jean Gabin role? I could name five real fast. He was awful good in Pépé le Moko.

Port of Shadows. Gabin is great in it, and it's probably my favorite Carné film. I love the dark, foggy, seedy atmosphere of it.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

Port of Shadows. Gabin is great in it, and it's probably my favorite Carné film. I love the dark, foggy, seedy atmosphere of it.

I agree. It's a shame it went oop. It also featured one of my favorite Criterion covers.

[Mystic]

Would like to see Criterion issue a blu ray release of the Devil and Daniel Webster, as well as Carnival of Souls.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by Mystic

Would like to see Criterion issue a blu ray release of the Devil and Daniel Webster, as well as Carnival of Souls.

That's funny you mentioned Carnival of Souls. When I saw the 2015 New Years cartoon with the car speeding across the unfinished bridge, my first thought was, "Oh, wow! Carnival of Souls is getting an upgrade!" Then I realized the drawing didn't exactly fit ... but who knows?

In other news, I'm kind of excited. I bought my 150th Criterion blu-ray today, and it's something I consider pretty special ... a brand new copy of Pierrot Le Fou. Not only is it one I've been trying to find for a few months now at a decent price, it's also the last remaining OOP Criterion title I didn't have in my library. (Note to Criterion: No more discontinuations, people, unless I already own a copy! )

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by RojD

Good taste, Blues. We'll hafta avoid posting in sequence.

What's everyone's favorite Jean Gabin role? I could name five real fast. He was awful good in Pépé le Moko.

That was such a great movie. He was so good in his performance. I am a sucker for La Grande Illusion because of the great actors that he plays opposite.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by jmclick

That's funny you mentioned Carnival of Souls. When I saw the 2015 New Years cartoon with the car speeding across the unfinished bridge, my first thought was, "Oh, wow! Carnival of Souls is getting an upgrade!" Then I realized the drawing didn't exactly fit ... but who knows?

In other news, I'm kind of excited. I bought my 150th Criterion blu-ray today, and it's something I consider pretty special ... a brand new copy of Pierrot Le Fou. Not only is it one I've been trying to find for a few months now at a decent price, it's also the last remaining OOP Criterion title I didn't have in my library. (Note to Criterion: No more discontinuations, people, unless I already own a copy! )

Man, nothing would make me happier than Carnival of Souls. Phenomenal film.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

might drive into the city tonight to see Pather Panchali.

Being that I live in a part of Chicago that many who live in this city are not even familiar with, ideas to drive into the heart of where all the fun stuff happens are usually better in theory than in practice. Luckily, however, my wife and I were able to find a sitter and traffic cooperated, so I did see Pather Panchali on the big screen on Friday night.

The restoration looks amazing! You can see the pores in both Durga’s (Apu’s sister) and his mother’s face. Contrast levels are perfect – there are a fair number of scenes inside the family home and there doesn’t appear to be any crushing. A few vertical lines pop up in scenes for which the source material wasn’t the best, but even those scenes are clean of debris, tears, etc. In fact, the entire film is clean of these type of blemishes. Much of the film (90% I’d say) looks perfect and is comparable, IMO, to some of the really good b&w Criterion transfers I’ve seen. I’m not an expert at judging these type of things, but I’d rate it a perfect 5 of 5 considering the back history, the effort, and the end product. I feel certain that the film could not look better.

As for the film itself, it was the 2nd time that I have seen it. It is wonderful. There are so many great shots and the cinematography is excellent. As a story teller, Ray was capable of making magic out of the seemingly mundane. I can see how Terrence Malick’s early work might have been influenced by this film as emphasis is placed on nature and its beauty and power. I love it!

[buffetfroid]

Originally Posted by jmclick

In other news, I'm kind of excited. I bought my 150th Criterion blu-ray today, and it's something I consider pretty special ... a brand new copy of Pierrot Le Fou. Not only is it one I've been trying to find for a few months now at a decent price, it's also the last remaining OOP Criterion title I didn't have in my library. (Note to Criterion: No more discontinuations, people, unless I already own a copy! )

Hey! I'm the seller for this! Going to the post office after work today. Thanks!!

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by buffetfroid

Hey! I'm the seller for this! Going to the post office after work today. Thanks!!

Oh, how funny! And thank you for offering it for sale. I didn't think I would win it ... I had to bid early because I wanted to go over and mow a few acres of land along the river while it was dry. When I got home and saw that it was really and truly mine, I was ecstatic. Nice doing business with you!

[pro-bassoonist]

The Bridge Blu-ray REVIEW



A must-own release

Pro-B

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

The Bridge Blu-ray REVIEW



A must-own release

Pro-B

Thanks for the review.

Amazon Instant Video just listed it for rental, so I will be checking it out before committing to a purchase this month (same goes for The Fisher King and A Master Builder).

[buffetfroid]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Oh, how funny! And thank you for offering it for sale. I didn't think I would win it ... I had to bid early because I wanted to go over and mow a few acres of land along the river while it was dry. When I got home and saw that it was really and truly mine, I was ecstatic. Nice doing business with you!

There were 3 watchers but, as you know, you were the only bid. I actually came here this morning because I'd seen your email and thought it looked familiar and thought it was here I'd seen that name--and then you had posted about it! Glad it's going to someone from the board/thread!

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by RojD

Good taste, Blues. We'll hafta avoid posting in sequence.

Cheers!

What's everyone's favorite Jean Gabin role? I could name five real fast. He was awful good in Pépé le Moko.

I'll go with La Bête Humaine.

We actually had this as a poll question at a Facebook film about foreign classics. My vote was the same, but Grand Illusion ran away with it, although most likely because it was the most widely seen.

My vote for second would be Port of Shadows. 1938 was a good year for Mr. Gabin.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Carnival of Souls is an incredible b&w horror flick - very creepy/unerrving. There was an acute sense of despair/sadness permeating the entire film. The melancholy organ music added a lot to this atmosphere as well.

Kudos to the Criterion Collection for releasing this on DVD back in the 200X's?! If not for this, I would probably never have heard of the film.

[Show spoiler]Obviously Mary Henry (the main character) drowned in the beginning, and the person we saw walk out of the lake three hours later was her ghost. What threw me off when first watching this was that she, as a ghost, was still able to drive, interact/talk with others, etc. As the movie progressed, we did notice that less & less people were able to see her at all. I'm guessing she was supposed to be in some sort of purgatory, and then as she started seeing more of the dead people, she became more detached/distant (literally & figuratively) from the living.

[Show spoiler]The conversation she had in the doctor's office was interesting, in that it implied that she had been distant with people when she was alive; so it's almost as if she was in a self-imposed isolation anyway, prior to her drowning at the lake. We just saw a continuation of this when her ghost was being distant with people as well. The conversation(s) she had with the ministers at the church seemed to confirm this, i.e. when she said that her job as a church organist was just a job, and that she felt no emotion in regards to it (or presumably anything else for that matter).

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by jmclick

In other news, I'm kind of excited. I bought my 150th Criterion blu-ray today, and it's something I consider pretty special ... a brand new copy of Pierrot Le Fou. Not only is it one I've been trying to find for a few months now at a decent price, it's also the last remaining OOP Criterion title I didn't have in my library. (Note to Criterion: No more discontinuations, people, unless I already own a copy! )

That is a nice collection, jm! I just realized I am at somewhat of a landmark number with my collection overall (250), and though by accident, I made a pretty nice pickup for mine: a used copy of Revanche. It was almost Blue Velvet, but USPS hasn't dropped it off yet!

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

That is a nice collection, jm! I just realized I am at somewhat of a landmark number with my collection overall (250), and though by accident, I made a pretty nice pickup for mine: a used copy of Revanche. It was almost Blue Velvet, but USPS hasn't dropped it off yet!

Congratulations! I just recently added a used copy of Revanche to my collection as well, and although I haven't watched it yet, everything I've read about it seems to indicate that it's a fascinating piece of work. Enjoy it!

[jw007]

I was at Costco on Sunday and picked up the Criterion of Hoop Dreams for only $19.99! I'm looking forward to watching this film soon.