The Criterion Collection

[Feiereisel]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Paid a final visit to a local B&N this morning, and was pleasantly surprised to see it had actually received a small restock. I was able to pick up The Great Escape and The War of the Worlds - which had eluded me thus far, and I thought would more likely now be Flash Sale purchases.

FYI - I asked about the likelihood of the sale being extended beyond August 2nd, but was told they had no info.

About five minutes ago I received a Criterion Collection newsletter mentioning the sale ending on August 2, so I would bet it’s going to follow the planned schedule.

EDIT:

[Reddington]

RIP Sir Alan Parker.

Great director. Although unlikely, I would love to see him represented in the Criterion Collection. A BD release of The Wall would be fantastic.

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by Feiereisel

About five minutes ago I received a Criterion Collection newsletter mentioning the sale ending on August 2

On a related note, the Canadian equivalent 40% off sale at UnobstructedView.com (Criterion's distributor in Canada) ends in just under 11 hours.

[FulciLives1016]

Was thinking of taking advantage of the target bogo. Would love some opinions please. The Player and Short Cuts? I only have 1 Altman film The Long Goodbye and loved it. Or was thinking Fail Safe and Haynes Safe.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by FulciLives1016

Was thinking of taking advantage of the target bogo. Would love some opinions please. The Player and Short Cuts? I only have 1 Altman film The Long Goodbye and loved it. Or was thinking Fail Safe and Haynes Safe.

I loved the Player haven't seen Short Cuts but I think The Player is the definite choice as it's one of the best films I've seen. Fail Safe is also probably the better choice but that's just my opinion

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Hey, yo! Two films about outsiders expiring from The Criterion Channel...

[Show spoiler]

My Own Private Idaho (1991)

River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves play gay hustlers in a film by Gus Van Sant. I was expecting a much grittier movie. The artifice of the dialogue didn't quite work for me most of the time. I realize it's meant to be Shakespearean, poetic, lyrical, but it's inconsistently applied and creates a disconnect. It's probably no accident that the best scene in the movie - the campfire scene, which sounds completely natural - wasn't even written by Van Sant. Phoenix wrote and helped direct it, according to IMDb. It's also not surprising to find out that this was originally three scripts combined into one. That accounts for its meandering dream-like quality, which is both a pro and a con. This is a flawed movie, but I think those flaws somehow work and actually accentuate the material, creating something wholly original and memorable. (Subtitles: Yes!)

The Boy With Green Hair (1948)

An anti-war parable starring Dean Stockwell as the titular boy, who is a war orphan. It's easy to see why Stockwell had such a long and successful career. Even at 11-12 (but looking and presumably playing much younger), he was a very good actor. His relationship in the movie with his "gramp" (Pat O'Brien) is lovely. While this is definitely a crowd-pleasing kids' movie and doesn't overstay its welcome at a brief but effective running time of 1 hour and 21 minutes, its message is surprisingly, quietly, effective and profound. (Subtitles: Yes!)

Already got My Own Private Idaho listed as my afternoon watchlist and Pierrot Le Fou listed under my midnight watchlist. Can't wait to watch Private Idaho but a bit disappointed it only lasted a while in the Channel before getting removed

[The Sovereign]

Originally Posted by Reddington

RIP Sir Alan Parker.

Great director. Although unlikely, I would love to see him represented in the Criterion Collection. A BD release of The Wall would be fantastic.

Yeah, I think The Wall is on a lot of short wish lists - certainly on mine. Parker did a great job with it and I'd be ecstatic for a Criterion edition.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Reddington

RIP Sir Alan Parker.

Great director. Although unlikely, I would love to see him represented in the Criterion Collection. A BD release of The Wall would be fantastic.

Well, there was this.

[Hellspawn28]

I watched Kafka (1991) for the first time and I really loved it. I really want Criterion to pick it up and give this movie justice. This movie has faded into obscurity over the years because it never had any proper home video release on the R1 market.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Well, there was this.

I never knew.

The things that get pulled out of the old LD hat...

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by Hellspawn28

I watched Kafka (1991) for the first time and I really loved it. I really want Criterion to pick it up and give this movie justice. This movie has faded into obscurity over the years because it never had any proper home video release on the R1 market.

Last anyone heard. Soderbergh was working on a different cut of it. That was a few years ago.

[DaBargainHunta]

Walk on the Wild Side (1962)



BARBARA STANWYCK AND JANE FONDA WERE IN THE SAME MOVIE? Why, yes they were! Expiring from The Criterion Channel, I wasn't even originally planning to watch Walk on the Wild Side - also starring Laurence Harvey and Capucine (who was also in Red Sun - which I watched last month before it expired) - but the casting so intrigued me that I couldn't resist. It is always incredible when two cinematic icons from different eras share the same screen, especially when you had no idea that could ever possibly be the case. What a delightful discovery. (For any wrestling fans reading this, it reminds me of a clip I saw the other day of Gordon Solie interviewing the future Triple H in WCW. Who knew they were around at the same time?)

The basic premise: Laurence Harvey meets Jane Fonda on the streets but really pines for his old flame, played by Capucine, who is now a sex worker at a New Orleans brothel run by Barbara Stanwyck. If that sentence alone isn't enough to sell you on the movie, nothing will.

Stanwyck and Fonda share only one or two scenes at most, but it's still a thrill seeing them together. Capucine is always lovely, and Laurence Harvey's easy charm is definitely something I will be seeking more of in the future (I knew of him mainly from the odd Tony Scott movie about his daughter, Domino, and the only thing I remember about that is the weird Beverly Hills 90210 reunion in it).

DaBargainHunta's Decree: Probably not the best movie any of them have ever done, but it's still a fun time. Bonus point for the weird decision to have Stanwyck's husband (played by Karl Swenson) without legs for absolutely no reason whatsoever. (Subtitles: Yes!)

[castor]

Originally Posted by FulciLives1016

Was thinking of taking advantage of the target bogo. Would love some opinions please. The Player and Short Cuts? I only have 1 Altman film The Long Goodbye and loved it. Or was thinking Fail Safe and Haynes Safe.

I highly recommend The Player and Short Cuts. Both of them are outstanding movies.

[jrsl76]

Finally put in my order for the sale. I was going to go down to my local BN, but half the things I looked up weren’t in stock. I couldn’t even order Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, Come And See or several older releases I was considering.

I ended up ordering:

Bruce Lee
War Of The Worlds
The Cremator
The Cameraman
Cranes Are Flying
Paris Is Burning
Marriage Story
Taste Of Cherry
An Unmarried Woman
The Lady Eve
Tokyo Olympiad
Show Boat
The Prince Of Tides

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by FulciLives1016

Was thinking of taking advantage of the target bogo. Would love some opinions please. The Player and Short Cuts? I only have 1 Altman film The Long Goodbye and loved it. Or was thinking Fail Safe and Haynes Safe.

Of the two, definitely Short Cuts. But before that, McCabe & Mrs Miller, Nashville, and 3 Women are all better.

[happydood]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

Of the two, definitely Short Cuts. But before that, McCabe & Mrs Miller, Nashville, and 3 Women are all better.

I love 3 Women and think it's a masterpiece but I think maybe McCabe, Nashville, The Player & Short Cuts are a little more accessible. But all of these are top-shelf Altman. Short Cuts is worth it for Tom Waits' performance alone.

[Brandon K]

So I placed one more order before the Canadian sale over at UnobstructedView.com completed. This sale is a significant addition to my small Criterion collection!

My second sale order:

[Show spoiler]

My first sale order:

[Show spoiler]

Sitting at my US mailbox while the border is closed

[Show spoiler]

My Criterion collection before the sale:

[Show spoiler]

[drownsoda]

Got paid early and made three last additions from B&N today (like many of you noted, there is slim pickings in stock right now, so I had to be selective, but I got a few more gems). I ordered online and thankfully they had all three in-stock at my store as the website said.



I am especially excited about the Dietrich & von Sternberg set, which I've wanted for some time now.

[HaroldnMaude]

Just curious if anyone knows when and why The Confession by Costa-Gavras went OOP? Wikipedia has Paramount listed as having distribution in North America. Are other Paramount titles at risk of going OOP as well?

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by HaroldnMaude

Just curious if anyone knows when and why The Confession by Costa-Gavras went OOP? Wikipedia has Paramount listed as having distribution in North America. Are other Paramount titles at risk of going OOP as well?

My first thought was to check Archive.org, their March 3rd, 2019 copy of the page shows it is OOP:
https://web.archive.org/web/20190303...the-confession

My second thought was to try Google, and I found this, from Jul 20, 2018, apparently Criterion lost the rights:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...stcount=178776