The Criterion Collection

[bwdowiak]

Hoop Dreams grabbed me pretty much from the get go. A rare 3 hour film during which I never looked at the clock. I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

I went to a high school that was in the same conference with St. Joseph. The guys in the movie are a few years older than me, though, so I would have missed them playing at my school. ("Him," I should say because the other guy went to Marshall.)

[mja345]

It definitely helps to be a basketball fan to enjoy "Hoop Dreams". I love the film, but grew up watching the NBA on NBC on Sunday mornings, watched "Inside Stuff", had all the Jordan tapes, etc. I would play the tape "Dazzling Dunks and Basketball Bloopers" all the time. Being a basketball fan isn't essential to enjoying it, but I can see someone who isn't a fan not being that enamored with the film.

[monorail91]

Just watched The Leopard and wasn't really feeling it. Its lavish production and "changing times" theme felt like Gone with the Wind placed in an Italian historical context, but I couldn't really connect with any of the characters and was ready for it to wrap up. I had a hard time keeping the names straight so that probably didn't help either.

But in more positive news, I got to see David Lynch: The Art Life last night and really enjoyed it. This was the premiere screening in Los Angeles, at the Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax. The show sold out, and I was the second person in line.

I'd be a-OK with this being its own spine, as it's a pretty unique documentary.

[Show spoiler]It's like one long interview, with Lynch sharing anecdotes about his childhood up through young adulthood, and starting production on Eraserhead. I admit I was a little disappointed, as I wanted to hear about more of his movies, but as the title suggests the focus is on Lynch as an artist (like painter) and diving into what fuels that.

[LordoftheRings]

I'm just curious; this thread...The Criterion Collection

- Replies - -. - - - - Views
- - ↓ - - - - . - - - - ↓
.163,509 - .- - 12,739,586

...Is that the most viewed thread here @ blu-ray.com with almost 13 million views?

[llj]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

The rocket launch scene in Wings of Honneamise is stunningly beautiful and worth the price of admission alone.

As someone who loves the works of both Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon (RIP) I'd love to see the Criterion Collection include some anime, but I also have to be brutally honest: Most anime is crap! Self-indulgent angst-fueled teenage fantasies of one sort or the other. However, when it's good it is spectacularly good and the best anime is at least as good as the best live-action movies of your preferred genre.

If sticking strictly to anime films, the 80s were the most interesting era when it came to anime filmmaking, both in risk taking and the quality of productions. During the heyday of Japan's bubble economy, they were greenlighting all sorts of crazy stuff that wouldn't get greenlit today. Some of them didn't make a lot of money (which is why they don't do this anymore), but they are still better remembered today than many more profitable "safe" productions.

I mean, look at this list of 80s films


Wings of Honneamise
Nausicaa
Laputa
Grave of the Fireflies
Totoro

And then there are respected "cult" films like:

The Professional Golgo 13
Venus Wars
Project A-ko
Dagger of Kamui
Wicked City

All of these would be right at home with most of what Arrow Films puts out on Blu Ray. They're not classy films but they are absolutely cinematic in a way many anime films in later eras aren't.

And then the big blockbusters that cost an arm and leg to make and it all shows onscreen:

Akira
Macross Do You Remember Love

And that's just off the top of my head.

And not to mention the hundreds of weird and innovative one-shot OVAs like Megazone 23 which count as movies as well.

Even some movies based on popular franchises, like GoShogun: Time Etranger and Kimagure Orange Road I Want to Return to that Day, were so good on a cinematic level that they actually held up as "real" movies in their own right and not just advertisements for their TV shows or manga.

Since the bubble economy burst, risk taking has become less and less prevalent in anime, and that's why you get, as you said, so many shows about angst ridden high school kids or super-cute high school girls bouncing up and down and acting cute with no deeper subtext to them whatsoever or 80 minute theatrical TV episodes of long running anime franchises like DBZ and One Piece. But they sell, and anime has become risk averse when it comes to taking on gambles. It's the eternal conflict between Art and Commerce. Outside of Ghibli you get the odd surprise like Your Name and The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, but all in all there just isn't as much ambition and risk taking today.

Some people might say I'm biased because of nostalgia, but the bubble economy really was a big part of the rise and fall of anime filmmaking. They just don't have that kind of money to throw around on gambles anymore.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by llj

Grave of the Fireflies
Totoro

I still can't get over the fact that these two were shown back-to-back theatrically on a double-bill when released in 1988. One is one of the most heart-warming and magical children's adventures ever made (and the late Roger Ebert included it on his list of "Great Movies") and the other is a most heart-breaking and harrowing story of orphans in the aftermath of Japan's surrender at the end of WWII.

I don't really have a lot to add to the rest you wrote, except that I personally include Akira in the "angst-fueled teenage fantasies". It's a magnificent production but it leaves me cold and I think it's seriously overrated. Truly a case of YMMV.

[llj]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

I still can't get over the fact that these two were shown back-to-back theatrically on a double-bill when released in 1988. One is one of the most heart-warming and magical children's adventures ever made (and the late Roger Ebert included it on his list of "Great Movies") and the other is a most heart-breaking and harrowing story of orphans in the aftermath of Japan's surrender at the end of WWII.

I don't really have a lot to add to the rest you wrote, except that I personally include Akira in the "angst-fueled teenage fantasies". It's a magnificent production but it leaves me cold and I think it's seriously overrated. Truly a case of YMMV.

I don't "love" Akira but I see it like a monster movie being a metaphor for out of control male hormones. Teenagers = more destructive than Godzilla!

...is a great and funny way to view the movie. On a cinematic level, it absolutely kicks butt when it comes to its booming soundtrack, detailed photography, unique editing, etc,. It's both "overrated" in the sense that it can't possibly live up to its own stature on deeper analysis, but at the same time, many people actually DO share the same opinion as you on Akira, so I feel like some of its more clever aspects need more analysis so that, even if people don't like it, it can be better respected on a thematic level. Unfortunately, there is very little good criticism out there of anime beyond surface aspects. And anime fan critics generally aren't film buffs so they can have trouble using language that will appeal to those outside of the anime fandom.

Also to your point, Your Name and And The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya would count as movies about teens and their angst troubles as well, but elevate themselves to a better level than usual on the basis of their ambition and conviction while using those tired tropes. But as I said in the anime forum, I've noticed a distinct trend in modern anime towards reducing the level of darkness, sexuality and violence in their products. And while those elements can be used crassly, they can ALSO be used artfully too. Without sexuality and violence there is no Perfect Blue, for example. And that may be one of the downsides to the success of Ghibli, because now Japan thinks that anime "like Ghibli" is the only way they can turn a profit in theatres now. And they may not be wrong, unfortunately. I've got nothing against Ghibli--they deserve their acclaim--I just think it does the art form no good if everyone is trying to cash in on some nebulous "model" of success and variety and risk-taking is sacrificed for a "proven" formula.

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

I really wish Criterion would release Antonioni's The Passenger but IIRC Jack Nicholson owns the rights to it, it would be a great addition to the criterion collection along side of America Lost and Found: BBS Story.

[The Great Owl]

Every week for the past three years, I've used my Facebook Cover Photo to feature a different Movie of the Week, and I post a screenshot from the movie as the cover photo. It's a fun way to keep the cover photo feature interesting and to invite conversation from my Facebook friends.

Here is my Facebook Movie of the Week cover photo album. (For this album view, the photos are cropped to squares, but they're wide on my actual cover photos, and it was too labor intensive to post them all one by one.)

These Movie of the Week cover photos are shown below in reverse chronological order, with the top photos being the most recent.

Most of you should be able to guess which ones are Criterion releases. Criterion is represented quite well in the album!

[Show spoiler]

[sasdragon]

My humble little collection

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Every week for the past three years, I've used my Facebook Cover Photo to feature a different Movie of the Week, and I post a screenshot from the movie as the cover photo. It's a fun way to keep the cover photo feature interesting and to invite conversation from my Facebook friends.

Here is my Facebook Movie of the Week cover photo album. (For this album view, the photos are cropped to squares, but they're wide on my actual cover photos, and it was too labor intensive to post them all one by one.)

These Movie of the Week cover photos are shown below in reverse chronological order, with the top photos being the most recent.

Most of you should be able to guess which ones are Criterion releases. Criterion is represented quite well in the album!

[Show spoiler]

Some very, very fine titles. I see more than a couple of my all time top tens in there. Let's hope maybe at least one of those gets the CC treatment (Some Kind of Wonderful).

[spargs]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Every week for the past three years, I've used my Facebook Cover Photo to feature a different Movie of the Week, and I post a screenshot from the movie as the cover photo. It's a fun way to keep the cover photo feature interesting and to invite conversation from my Facebook friends.

Here is my Facebook Movie of the Week cover photo album. (For this album view, the photos are cropped to squares, but they're wide on my actual cover photos, and it was too labor intensive to post them all one by one.)

These Movie of the Week cover photos are shown below in reverse chronological order, with the top photos being the most recent.

Most of you should be able to guess which ones are Criterion releases. Criterion is represented quite well in the album!

Thanks for sharing this, Owl. Lots of wonderful films represented there!

[Yami]

This year is actually the official centenary of anime and the National Film Centre, Tokyo has uploaded a selection of early anime in their collection to celebrate - many with English subtitles (where necessary). The oldest being a 2K restoration of Jun'ichi Kōuchi's The Dull Sword.

I'd love to see Criterion and Arrow give some attention to anime - undoubtedly an important part of the history of Japanese cinema and wider culture both domestically and internationally. Mamoru Oshii's Angel's Egg desperately needs to reach a wider audience.

[starman15317]

Originally Posted by bsend

The real problem is when he gets distracted during negoations.



Criterion: "Tommy, how much do you want for a 3 year license?"



Tommy: "I think I would like........oh Hi Mark!"

"Don't wurry bout it, you can't afford it HUH?!"

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by starman15317

"Don't wurry bout it, you can't afford it HUH?!"

"Ah ha ah ha...OH HI DENNY."

[tisdivine]

Originally Posted by monorail91

Just watched The Leopard and wasn't really feeling it. Its lavish production and "changing times" theme felt like Gone with the Wind placed in an Italian historical context, but I couldn't really connect with any of the characters and was ready for it to wrap up. I had a hard time keeping the names straight so that probably didn't help either.

I feel exactly like that with almost all Visconti I've seen so far (The Leopard & Senso). I had the Arrow edition of Ludwig on preorder but chickened out and cancelled bc Visconti always always gets rave reviews but it's just not my type of film but as you also mentioned Im not a fan of Gone With The Wind either. So I guess different strokes right lol

[tisdivine]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Every week for the past three years, I've used my Facebook Cover Photo to feature a different Movie of the Week, and I post a screenshot from the movie as the cover photo. It's a fun way to keep the cover photo feature interesting and to invite conversation from my Facebook friends.

Here is my Facebook Movie of the Week cover photo album. (For this album view, the photos are cropped to squares, but they're wide on my actual cover photos, and it was too labor intensive to post them all one by one.)

These Movie of the Week cover photos are shown below in reverse chronological order, with the top photos being the most recent.

Most of you should be able to guess which ones are Criterion releases. Criterion is represented quite well in the album!

[Show spoiler]

That is such a cool idea Owl! We need to be facebook friends lol none of my friends ever react to movie posts. The few that do discuss films are usually comic book/superhero films.

[deepseababy]

Originally Posted by sasdragon

My humble little collection

Quality over quantity.

Although you could argue every title released by Criterion has its merits.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by tisdivine

I feel exactly like that with almost all Visconti I've seen so far (The Leopard & Senso). I had the Arrow edition of Ludwig on preorder but chickened out and cancelled bc Visconti always always gets rave reviews but it's just not my type of film but as you also mentioned Im not a fan of Gone With The Wind either. So I guess different strokes right lol

His later films do have a similar style but you may want to try some of his earlier more neo-realist work like La Terra Trema and Bellissima.

[ShellOilJunior]

July Predictions 2017

The Circus
Dragon Inn
Red Beard
The Tales of Hoffmann
The Tree of Life