The Criterion Collection

[Al_The_Strange]

Just watched Sweet Movie...

[Show spoiler]

I seriously don't know what to make of it right now. Even after reading the plot details, none of it really made sense to me.

And yet, I am sure there is some kind of political message hidden in there. The film sure is artsy and weird, but it's hard to reconcile among so many senseless scenes with people urinating, puking, wallowing in sugar, defecating on plates, everything else.

I'm going to have to sleep on it. Maybe my appreciation will grow on repeat viewings, but I gotta see if the weirdness level or perceived metaphors will compel me to revisit it.

Thank God this is a rental.

[malakaheso]

Overall a pretty weak month for me.

I love Antonioni, but Le Amiche is one of those films that is good to watch if you are interested to see how he developed as a film maker, but even then I would still recommend Il Grido over it, at least as far as his pre-'classic' era goes.

I hope Criterion release The Passenger.

[mikesncc1701]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Just watched Sweet Movie...

[Show spoiler]

I seriously don't know what to make of it right now. Even after reading the plot details, none of it really made sense to me.

And yet, I am sure there is some kind of political message hidden in there. The film sure is artsy and weird, but it's hard to reconcile among so many senseless scenes with people urinating, puking, wallowing in sugar, defecating on plates, everything else.

I'm going to have to sleep on it. Maybe my appreciation will grow on repeat viewings, but I gotta see if the weirdness level or perceived metaphors will compel me to revisit it.

Thank God this is a rental.

Haha. I love Sweet Movie. It's so bizarre and strange yet captivating in the oddest way imaginable. The dinner scene though, even I have to turn away a moment or two. Fantastic soundtrack though. I have W.R. Mysteries Of The Organism on my HULU queue but haven't gotten around to it.

And a MAJOR YES on Fantastic Planet! I've waited on this for years so I'll definitely be picking it up since the B&N sale is right around the corner from its release!

And I'm all for Kubrick in the collection, but Strangelove's release isn't exactly needed outside of bringing it back in print. That's one I can definitely hold off on unless there's some surprise in store for us once it's released.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Funny enough I watched the new one too.

I absolutely love Michael Fassbender and I think he killed it as Macbeth, but there was something genuinely lacking about the film. I think it has a lot to do with style over substance. I also thought that the deviations from the play were quite evident, as well.

I just finished it and have to say I'm disappointed. While stunning visually/aurally, I can't ignore how all the greatest lines and moments of the play were either blown over or underwhelming. For a nearly word-for-word adaptation, it's surprising how much meaning was lost from the page to the screen. I don't understand how it could be so wooden and poorly executed given the clearly passionate production design on display. The most beautiful part of Macbeth (or any Shakespeare) is the dialogue, and this version unfortunately just further proves it remains better suited for the stage.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Just watched Sweet Movie...

[Show spoiler]

I seriously don't know what to make of it right now. Even after reading the plot details, none of it really made sense to me.

And yet, I am sure there is some kind of political message hidden in there. The film sure is artsy and weird, but it's hard to reconcile among so many senseless scenes with people urinating, puking, wallowing in sugar, defecating on plates, everything else.

I'm going to have to sleep on it. Maybe my appreciation will grow on repeat viewings, but I gotta see if the weirdness level or perceived metaphors will compel me to revisit it.

Thank God this is a rental.

[mja345]

I have to think Criterion is going to announce a few heavy hitter DVD upgrades later in the year. "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" is one that comes immediately to mind. And maybe something like "Le Samourai", "Andrei Rublev", "Spirit of the Beehive", or one of the Dassin films yet to be upgraded.

[mikesncc1701]

Originally Posted by mja345

I have to think Criterion is going to announce a few heavy hitter DVD upgrades later in the year. "Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters" is one that comes immediately to mind. And maybe something like "Le Samourai", "Andrei Rublev", "Spirit of the Beehive", or one of the Dassin films yet to be upgraded.

Sigh...I've been waiting 8 years for this ever since I adopted blu-ray. I know there are various editions available but I'm still holding out on a Criterion edition.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by mikesncc1701

Sigh...I've been waiting 8 years for this ever since I adopted blu-ray. I know there are various editions available but I'm still holding out on a Criterion edition.

"Mishima" is one I'm fairly certain of being upgraded relatively soon. "Andrei Rublev" and "Le Samourai" not being upgraded at this point defies logic.

Now that Criterion has managed to get their hands on an ultra high-profile Kubrick titles, I hope they can pry "Barry Lyndon" and "Lolita" away from Warner. Warner has never shown much interest in doing supplemental content for either film. Those two and "Eyes Wide Shut" are the three Kubrick films that I'd love to see get Criterion releases.

[Scottie]

Speaking of Andrei Rublev, I recently recorded it on TCM. How does the film compare to Tarkovsky's other films?

Solaris is an all-time favorite of mine. I'm rather neutral towards Ivan's Childhood, Nostalghia, and The Sacrifice. And, sadly, I've gone all these years without seeing The Mirror or Stalker.

[BTSMGL]

Honestly, when it comes to DVD>BD upgrades all I want is "Blast of Silence" and "The Naked City". Would be overjoyed to have those in HD!

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Speaking of Andrei Rublev, I recently recorded it on TCM. How does the film compare to Tarkovsky's other films?

Solaris is an all-time favorite of mine. I'm rather neutral towards Ivan's Childhood, Nostalghia, and The Sacrifice. And, sadly, I've gone all these years without seeing The Mirror or Stalker.

Watching Andrei Rublev was probably the longest 3+ hours of my entire life.

Either that or the night I spent in county lockup for public intoxication.

...with only a heavily-tattooed man named Chico for companionship.

[biglou114]

For upgrades I want the damn Antoine Doinel set already, I keep holding off the 400 Blows because of it.

[mikesncc1701]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Speaking of Andrei Rublev, I recently recorded it on TCM. How does the film compare to Tarkovsky's other films?

Solaris is an all-time favorite of mine. I'm rather neutral towards Ivan's Childhood, Nostalghia, and The Sacrifice. And, sadly, I've gone all these years without seeing The Mirror or Stalker.

STALKER is a must! Rublev is great, the performances are one for the record books but if you're neutral on the others outside of Solaris, I have a feeling you may feel this way towards Rublev. I hope I'm wrong and you love it though.

Story time:

I remember when I became addicted to Tarkovsky back in 2003. I was 15 at the time and when my Pops would visit his girlfriend on the weekend, I would walk to the Hollywood Video around the corner and rent stuff. I rented Solaris first after reading about it on Criterion.com and being a sci-fi fan, knew it was a must. The next day, after looking up his filmography, took Solaris back and rented Rublev and STALKER and watched them both that day. Mind you, these were on double VHS sets but at least Solaris and Rublev were widescreen. I've been in love since.

I love all of his films and Nostalghia is the only one I haven't seen yet (I own the blu though). He's an artist for a particular taste but even if one finds his films subjects' boring, no one can deny how absolutely beautiful they are to look at. Even being in love with Kubrick at the time as well, Tarkovsky really made me notice tracking shots and how mesmerizing they can be. Almost hypnotic.

Ok, enough fanboy love, go watch Rublev and track down a copy of STALKER.

And for the record, Anatoly Solonitsyn was a gift from the acting gods.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by mikesncc1701

STALKER is a must! Rublev is great, the performances are one for the record books but if you're neutral on the others outside of Solaris, I have a feeling you may feel this way towards Rublev. I hope I'm wrong and you love it though.

Story time:

I remember when I became addicted to Tarkovsky back in 2003. I was 15 at the time and when my Pops would visit his girlfriend on the weekend, I would walk to the Hollywood Video around the corner and rent stuff. I rented Solaris first after reading about it on Criterion.com and being a sci-fi fan, knew it was a must. The next day, after looking up his filmography, took Solaris back and rented Rublev and STALKER and watched them both that day. Mind you, these were on double VHS sets but at least Solaris and Rublev were widescreen. I've been in love since.

I love all of his films and Nostalghia is the only one I haven't seen yet (I own the blu though). He's an artist for a particular taste but even if one finds his films subjects' boring, no one can deny how absolutely beautiful they are to look at. Even being in love with Kubrick at the time as well, Tarkovsky really made me notice tracking shots and how mesmerizing they can be. Almost hypnotic.

Ok, enough fanboy love, go watch Rublev and track down a copy of STALKER.

And for the record, Anatoly Solonitsyn was a gift from the acting gods.

I'm out of thanks for the day, but this would get one. Thanks a lot, buddy

I actually think I have The Mirror and Stalker on my Amazon Video watchlist. I guess it's time to get with the times, huh?

[mja345]

"Andrei Rublev" is glacially sloooooooowwwwww. But I do think it's, overall, Tarkovsky's most complete film and a stunning accomplishment. But it does make "Solaris" look like "Goodfellas" in terms of pace and traditional entertainment value. I never picked up the DVD of it because I thought to myself, "How often will you really feel like sitting down and watching Andrei F**king Rublev?" But I do believe it really needs to be upgraded to BD because of its importance to world cinema.

I have to be in such a specific mood to watch a Tarkovsky film. He and Godard are by far the two most mood-specific directors for me. Godard because sometimes his films just annoy me to no end. And Tarkovsky because sometimes his films bore me to no end. But, honestly, I think Godard at times wanted to annoy the audience and I think Tarkovsky at times wanted to bore the audience. But I recognize the genius of both and I think it's good to have those kind of love/hate relationships with certain filmmakers.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Speaking of Andrei Rublev, I recently recorded it on TCM. How does the film compare to Tarkovsky's other films?

Solaris is an all-time favorite of mine. I'm rather neutral towards Ivan's Childhood, Nostalghia, and The Sacrifice. And, sadly, I've gone all these years without seeing The Mirror or Stalker.

The only one I am missing is Nostalghia, also a big fan of Solaris but I think that is a big departure from his usual style now that I have seen more, Andrei Rublev is still quite good overall, it is just not a movie that really grabbed me like Solaris until maybe the last hour, actually now that I think about it, I would probably buy the blu-ray just to see

[Show spoiler]that awesome bell making sequence

.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by mikesncc1701

STALKER is a must! Rublev is great, the performances are one for the record books but if you're neutral on the others outside of Solaris, I have a feeling you may feel this way towards Rublev. I hope I'm wrong and you love it though.

Story time:

I remember when I became addicted to Tarkovsky back in 2003. I was 15 at the time and when my Pops would visit his girlfriend on the weekend, I would walk to the Hollywood Video around the corner and rent stuff. I rented Solaris first after reading about it on Criterion.com and being a sci-fi fan, knew it was a must. The next day, after looking up his filmography, took Solaris back and rented Rublev and STALKER and watched them both that day. Mind you, these were on double VHS sets but at least Solaris and Rublev were widescreen. I've been in love since.

I love all of his films and Nostalghia is the only one I haven't seen yet (I own the blu though). He's an artist for a particular taste but even if one finds his films subjects' boring, no one can deny how absolutely beautiful they are to look at. Even being in love with Kubrick at the time as well, Tarkovsky really made me notice tracking shots and how mesmerizing they can be. Almost hypnotic.

Ok, enough fanboy love, go watch Rublev and track down a copy of STALKER.

And for the record, Anatoly Solonitsyn was a gift from the acting gods.

If you're a big Tarkovsky fan as well as a fan of "Sweet Movie", you should check out Aleksei German's "Hard to be a God" if you haven't already. It reminded me of a Tarkovsky film on acid.

[zakzak]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Forget about Criterion, go to the Japanese for that Melville's classic



http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B01CSIBQRM/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AN1VRQENF RJN5

[mikesncc1701]

Originally Posted by mja345

If you're a big Tarkovsky fan as well as a fan of "Sweet Movie", you should check out Aleksei German's "Hard to be a God" if you haven't already. It reminded me of a Tarkovsky film on acid.

Just watched a trailer, added to my list. Looks nuts! Thanks!

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Just look at those La Chienne extras. A restored film, a conversation with Renoir and Simon moderated by Rivette, Christopher Faulkner interview, and Vincendeau essay.

I will take any Renoir on blu, especially if it has Michel Simon. He made L'Atalante for me, and was as good as Gabin in Port of Shadows. That'll probably be my lone pickup for June, since I already have the Sony Strangelove digibook.