The Criterion Collection

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Rewatched The Player recently. Thankfully i didn't waste money on it in the last B+N sale. It seemed good to me in the 90s when I was less familiar with Altman's classic period, but I can't fathom the idea that it ranks with his best work unless you have amnesia or don't fully connect or understand his best films from the 70s. It almost resembles a TV film. No aesthetic ambition at all, and like most industry satires it is toothless, smug and overly self satisfied. It is a boring film and I'd place it somewhere near the bottom of Altman's filmography.

Yeah, everyone that likes the universally renowned The Player sure is a big dummy!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by dwk

I'd seen some chatter on twitter about this, and this confirms that Criterion will be releasing Desert Hearts

Love this movie. Yesssssss!

[dsman71]

Originally Posted by llj

I seem to recall hearing that original elements don't exist anymore. Only some 16 mm prints floating around. I think Gary Tooze from DVDBeaver owns one of the few 16 mm prints out there.

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare3/detour.htm

Detour is with Wade Williams, and he wants his remake to be included with the original. Wade of course has the rights to a lot of great classic Noir and SciFi classics such as DOA, Navy vs the Night Monsters, Phantom Planet, Impact, The Brain from Planet Arous, the Crawling Eye , The Hideous Sun Demon, Invaders from Mars and several Ed Wood Jr flicks. These may never get HD releases in our lifetime but there's always hope. Not necessarily via Criterion although Im sure they would do a couple of Wade Williams titles

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Some comments make it seem like Blow Up is a lesser Antonioni film, I really have no opinion on this since I haven't seen it but according to aggregate lists like Sight & Sound poll and TSPDT top 1000, it consistently ranks around the top 100 films 3rd or 4th Antonioni with only L'Avventura and L'Eclisse on top.

Maybe it is too different to those films? I personally think this could be a risky blind buy since those those two on top are not really my favorites, for me those would be La Notte and Red Desert.

I definitely don't think it's lesser. just so many As in his ouvre to list em all.

Bottom line is this is great, great news. One of the most visually fascinating films finally makes on bluray.

i just pray there's still a chance for more of his stuff to be released by CC.

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

A definitive version of Detour would be great, though I doubt Criterion will release it, if anyone. In my top-20 noirs though, just a great film and a good place to start for those wanting to dive into noir.

I think Freaks is a great fit for Criterion though, an endlessly-rewatchable film imo, and I'd love to see what they could dig up for extras. Would gladly upgrade my DVD.

In the Heat of the Night would also be welcome; probably the worst-looking blu-ray in my collection. It deserves better.

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Blow Up is a pretty good film,

1.) but it isn't his best,

2.) not by a long shot.

While I agree with your first point, I strongly disagree with your second point. I have to think Red Desert is his best film. I would say L'Avventura is next, but then it's "apples and oranges" between Blow-up, L'Eclisse, and La Notte, which would be lesser directors' masterpieces.

[Reddington]

Only Blow-Up for me this time around.

Never seen it, and have read a few comments over the years about "cut" and "uncut" versions. Anyone in the know able to comment on whether different versions exist, and what we're likely to get from Criterion?

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I think there's a certain tendency when discussing films to compare it against a given director's films. I think part of this goes back to reminding others that one has seen the other films from the director. I'm for appreciating a film on its own merits. Very much looking forward to this release!

Seeing as I was the only one to list other films in response to the original post, I can't help but take this as a dig against me.

My post was simply a brief attempt to illustrate he has a plethora of films that can satisfy a decent spectrum of film tastes. There's nothing in that post that suggests I was flaunting the fact I've seen other Antonioni films. I still haven't seen his segment in Eros, Beyond the Clouds, Mystery of Oberwald, and his Chinese documentary and I'm not embarrassed to admit this because it frankly doesn't matter to anyone but me.

But anyways, If the original poster found any of those descriptions helpful, I'm glad. I'm certainly always appreciative to others when their descriptions pique my interest in films I have not yet seen (like Sammy and the Hou Hsiao-Hsien recommendations he has posted over the years!).

[theater dreamer]

Agreed. Such an important film. It deserves a much better presentation than it's received.

Originally Posted by SuperFlyHighGuy

In the Heat of the Night would also be welcome; probably the worst-looking blu-ray in my collection. It deserves better.

[malakaheso]

^why bother justifying your position? Sure there is a bit of self promotion going on in these antics, but to reduce is to that simply reveals the insecurity of the person on the other end.

If one hasn't seen many Antonioni films or films of other celebrated directors, that is not my problem. It is also not my problem if I assume that perhaps a person's opinion about a particular film may, although not necessarily, be informed by a lack of knowledge and/or understanding. It is merely a judgement call and it's completely harmless and truth be told it is only really a sensitive subject on boards populated by Anglophones who tend to be more obsessed with calling out what they perceive to be 'elitism'. It also doesn't preclude the fact that I may have misunderstood the film or director in question.

What we need is less sensitivity and more open discussion.

[Abdrewes]

Point taken. Moving on.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Rewatched The Player recently. Thankfully i didn't waste money on it in the last B+N sale. It seemed good to me in the 90s when I was less familiar with Altman's classic period, but I can't fathom the idea that it ranks with his best work unless you have amnesia or don't fully connect or understand his best films from the 70s. It almost resembles a TV film. No aesthetic ambition at all, and like most industry satires it is toothless, smug and overly self satisfied. It is a boring film and I'd place it somewhere near the bottom of Altman's filmography.

Sorry it's just that everything you describe sounds so objective like if everyone else who likes it is simply wrong, I couldn't resist

[malakaheso]

Of course it is my opinion. Who else does it belong to?

[Member-167298]

I am planning on getting at least three of the March Criterion titles on release day. Where is the cheapest place to buy online? I know Family Video usually has Criterions for 23.99.

Thanks in advance!

[theater dreamer]

From the WTF files: Ordinary People remains unreleased in high definition.

And while we're on the subject of films deserving a proper release, I'd love to see Ordinary People get added to the Criterion Collection. I'm befuddled that this great film has never received any kind of blu-ray release, foreign or domestic. It's an absolutely incredible family drama that never careens off into melodrama, though the subject matter in lesser hands could have definitely fallen into that trap.

Ordinary People has one of my very favorite ensemble casts: Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Timothy Hutton, Judd Hirsch, M. Emmet Walsh, and Elizabeth McGovern. It is absurd to me that Donald Sutherland not only did not receive an Academy Award nomination for his performance in this film; he's never received a single one. Hutton won for Best Supporting Actor, Tyler Moore and Hirsch both received nominations, but Sutherland gives the best performance in the film, in my opinion. The man is an absolute titan of the silver screen. He makes every single film he's in better, and vastly more interesting, even if he's only on screen for 10-15 minutes total (see his turns as the secretive X in JFK, the demented pyromaniac Ronald Bartel in Backdraft, or the the brilliant alcoholic Lucien Wilbanks in A Time to Kill). I've just recently started really exploring his earlier work, and I'll be buying everything he's done. He was so good in the iconic role of Hawkeye in MASH, brilliant in Don't Look Now, and I just got The Disappearance in today from Twilight Time. Why is it when the great dramatic actors are discussed, Donald Sutherland is continually overlooked? I've been guilty of this, myself, but as I watch more and more of his work, I'm starting to see just how phenomenal his range is. /rant off

Ordinary People is the only modern film to win Best Picture that has never been released on blu-ray. And to think that this was Robert Redford's directorial debut. Redford has long been one of my favorite actors. Imagine my surprise when I saw just how good a director he was, too. I keep waiting for some announcement to come, as I am four films short of having every Best Picture winner that has been released on blu-ray. I don't know what kind of relationship Criterion has with Paramount, but for the love of God, make it happen, already.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

I am planning on getting at least three of the March Criterion titles on release day. Where is the cheapest place to buy online? I know Family Video usually has Criterions for 23.99.

Thanks in advance!

That's the cheapest for release day. But just keep in mind that there's usually a Criterion.com 50% off Flash sale around that month.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Seeing as I was the only one to list other films in response to the original post, I can't help but take this as a dig against me.

It was not a response to your post.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

And while we're on the subject of films deserving a proper release, I'd love to see Ordinary People get added to the Criterion Collection. I'm befuddled that this great film has never received any kind of blu-ray release, foreign or domestic...
Ordinary People is the only modern film to win Best Picture that has never been released on blu-ray. And to think that this was Robert Redford's directorial debut. Redford has long been one of my favorite actors. Imagine my surprise when I saw just how good a director he was, too. I keep waiting for some announcement to come, as I am four films short of having every Best Picture winner that has been released on blu-ray. I don't know what kind of relationship Criterion has with Paramount, but for the love of God, make it happen, already.

Haven't seen the film but there was some backlash against it for having "snatched" the best picture and director awards from Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. Maybe Marty is a sore loser and has strings to pull at Paramount

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

Has anyone seen both blu-ray releases of The New World? Is the Criterion release a dramatic improvement over the original New Line release?

It's been a long time since I've seen the other transfer, so I can't say for sure how good it is or isn't.

All I can say for sure is that the Criterion extended cut is magical.

...I wept the first time I saw it.

[Ray Jackson]

Who is Riff Magnum?

...and how can I meet this legend?