The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

If it is Malick's The New World, I wonder which cut we're getting?

Most likely all of them.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

There is a thread about the upcoming Kino release of Miracle Mile (great news!), and there was a mention of a Cherry 2000 release as well in the same thread.

Incidentally, as much as I love The Criterion Collection, I have to say that Kino Lorber was my Blu-ray hero of the past year.

Which releases earned Kino Lorber such an esteemed compliment in your eyes? I ask because our tastes are often very similar, and I don't want to miss any gems that I may have overlooked.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

If it is Malick's The New World, I wonder which cut we're getting?

Rumor is that it is a new cut of the film.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Which releases earned Kino Lorber such an esteemed compliment in your eyes? I ask because our tastes are often very similar, and I don't want to miss any gems that I may have overlooked.

I'm going to preface my list by saying that the Kino Lorber Blu-rays are generally inferior to Criterion Blu-rays in terms of restoration quality and supplementary features. In terms of movie content, the best Criterions from this year have no equal (L'Avventura, The Vanishing, Insomnia, Il Sorpasso, etc.). That's pretty much a given.

Kino Lorber, however, has excelled this year when it comes to releasing the type of fun "Saturday afternoon flicks" that I enjoy watching when I'm in a laid-back mood simply to enjoy car chases, fast-paced plots, and some good old guy-movie action. There are a handful of 1980s movies here that I never expected to see again, and it's great having them on Blu-ray.

Kino Lorber bolted out of the gates earlier this year with a handful of bona fide classics (Marty, Witness for the Prosecution, Separate Tables), and they still release such films on occasion (On the Beach, Elmer Gantry, etc.), but the "Saturday afternoon flicks" that they've released since are just as enjoyable.

The Kino Lorber Blu-rays in my collection are listed below.

Witness for the Prosecution
Marty
Separate Tables
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Children's Hour
The Unforgiven
Breakheart Pass
Mr. Majestyk
On the Beach
Across 110th Street
Juggernaut
The Great Train Robbery
Meteor
The Young Savages
Elmer Gantry
Run Silent, Run Deep
Topkapi
Married to the Mob
Desperately Seeking Susan
Gorky Park
Gator
White Lightning
The Long Goodbye
The Emerald Forest
Witness to Murder
The Quatermass Xperiment
Avenging Force
Running Scared

I've also got these on order...

River's Edge
Foxes
Hickney & Boggs
The Offence

There are several holes in my collection that other Kino Lorber fans might comment on, but I've throughly enjoyed supporting the label. These releases are generally available for decent prices (around $15-18) to boot.

It's tough to pick favorites, but a few that have really surprised me with their awesomeness are...

On the Beach
Across 110th Street
Separate Tables
Juggernaut
Breakheart Pass
Witness to Murder

Serious cinema enthusiasts may frown at the likes of Mr. Majestyk or Avenging Force, but I'd find it difficult to relate to anyone who doesn't enjoy these action flicks at least a little bit.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by dwk

Rumor is that it is a new cut of the film.

It just dawned on me that 2015 is the 10th anniversary of the film.
I guess that's why it is released now..

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm going to preface my list by saying that the Kino Lorber Blu-rays are generally inferior to Criterion Blu-rays in terms of restoration quality and supplementary features. In terms of movie content, the best Criterions from this year have no equal (L'Avventura, The Vanishing, Insomnia, Il Sorpasso, etc.). That's pretty much a given.

Kino Lorber, however, has excelled this year when it comes to releasing the type of fun "Saturday afternoon flicks" that I enjoy watching when I'm in a laid-back mood simply to enjoy car chases, fast-paced plots, and some good old guy-movie action. There are a handful of 1980s movies here that I never expected to see again, and it's great having them on Blu-ray.

Kino Lorber bolted out of the gates earlier this year with a handful of bona fide classics (Marty, Witness for the Prosecution, Separate Tables), and they still release such films on occasion (On the Beach, Elmer Gantry, etc.), but the "Saturday afternoon flicks" that they've released since are just as enjoyable.

The Kino Lorber Blu-rays in my collection are listed below.

Witness for the Prosecution
Marty
Separate Tables
The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
The Children's Hour
The Unforgiven
Breakheart Pass
Mr. Majestyk
On the Beach
Across 110th Street
Juggernaut
The Great Train Robbery
Meteor
The Young Savages
Elmer Gantry
Run Silent, Run Deep
Topkapi
Married to the Mob
Desperately Seeking Susan
Gorky Park
Gator
White Lightning
The Long Goodbye
The Emerald Forest
Witness to Murder
The Quatermass Xperiment
Avenging Force
Running Scared

I've also got these on order...

River's Edge
Foxes
Hickney & Boggs
The Offence

There are several holes in my collection that other Kino Lorber fans might comment on, but I've throughly enjoyed supporting the label. These releases are generally available for decent prices (around $15-18) to boot.

It's tough to pick favorites, but a few that have really surprised me with their awesomeness are...

On the Beach
Across 110th Street
Separate Tables
Juggernaut
Breakheart Pass
Witness to Murder

Serious cinema enthusiasts may frown at the likes of Mr. Majestyk or Avenging Force, but I'd find it difficult to relate to anyone who doesn't enjoy these action flicks at least a little bit.

Oh, cool, thank you so much for your response. Let's see, I've purchased Witness for the Prosecution, Marty, and Witness to Murder from your list, plus The Death Kiss; am already price-tracking all the Burt Lancaster films plus On the Beach and the new restoration of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which is supposed to be amazing; but was completely unaware of Topkapi and The Emerald Forest. Thank you so much for the heads up!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Oh, cool, thank you so much for your response. Let's see, I've purchased Witness for the Prosecution, Marty, and Witness to Murder from your list, plus The Death Kiss; am already price-tracking all the Burt Lancaster films plus On the Beach and The new restoration of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which is supposed to be amazing; but was completely unaware of On the Beach and The Emerald Forest. Thank you so much for the heads up!

I make a distinction between Kino (The Death Kiss, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) and Kino Lorber Studios (On the Beach, Witness for the Prosecution, Marty, etc. ). I'm a huge fan of both, though.

The Kino Lorber titles can be spotted by the uniform black-and-white spines.

[Alex DeLarge]

Didn't the Criterion cartoon of 2014 hint of Oshima's BOY? I'm still waiting to upgrade my bootleg dvd. I'd at least take another Oshima Eclipse set!

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Alex DeLarge

Didn't the Criterion cartoon of 2014 hint of Oshima's BOY? I'm still waiting to upgrade my bootleg dvd. I'd at least take another Oshima Eclipse set!

It was 2013's new year's drawing, but yeah no signs of that

[WonderWeasel]

Thanks for the info, The Great Owl. I had no idea Kino released 'The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes' on blu. I'll be picking that one up soon.

[Cat III]

Lady Snowblood would disappoint me because I already own Arrow's wonderful steelbook. If Criterion is going to dip its toes into the Pinky Violence subgenre it should go with the trashiest, most violent and glorious of them all, Bohachi Bushido. I'd also accept Sex & Fury. But, hey, The New World is good too.

Originally Posted by dumb_dutchman

All these guesses are nice, but you are missing the obvious one that is comprised of multiple clues...the people with knives (Slaughter), the building in the background (House), and the hands of the clock at one and four (Five). Slaughterhouse Five. Don't care if it is WB.

I love that book, but haven't seen the movie. Considering it's the only Vonnegut that's been successfully translated to film (as far as I know) it seems a worthy addition for Criterion.

Originally Posted by jayembee

Jane Fonda, if you're one of those folks (not me) would still have her on their shït list for her "Hanoi Jane" days. Talk about holding a grudge.

Yeah, people are way too hung up on borderline treasonous behavior. Makes you wonder why Ezra Pound had trouble rehabilitating his public image.

I own Barbarella, by the way.

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I would think Lynch fans would already have it on blu?

Yeah, I got the French edition of Lost Highway so that's probably the reason I'm not ecstatic at the prospect of a Criterion edition. Would still be pretty cool though. Isn't Lynch pretty restrictive about what special features are included or more accurately not included. Eraserhead was pretty bare-bones.

[MifuneFan]

Could the rose be for Broken Flowers?. This year marks the film's 10th anniversary, and it seems like the kind of film Criterion would pick up. I noticed little specks next to the rose, which got me thinking of a rose withering, which led me to broken flowers. Perhaps a stretch

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Cat III

I love that book, but haven't seen the movie. Considering it's the only Vonnegut that's been successfully translated to film (as far as I know) it seems a worthy addition for Criterion.

Mother Night and Breakfast of Champions (although i don't know how you define successful).

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Mother Night and Breakfast of Champions (although i don't know how you define successful).

And if you want to count made-for-TV movies, there's Showtime's Harrison Bergeron, which followed a short-run series (also on Showtime) called Kurt Vonnegut's Monkey House, adapting some of his short stories. Vonnegut himself was the host of the series. It's results were mixed.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Mother Night and Breakfast of Champions (although i don't know how you define successful).

Capturing the spirit of the book while still presenting an entertaining cinematic experience. The latter two failed on both counts, especially BoC. BoC had great potential but the film-makers made two big mistakes. The first was casting Bruce Willis as the lead and the second was making his character the focus of the movie.

Slaughterhouse Five, on the other hand, was successful on both counts. Even Vonnegut approved. Would make an excellent Criterion.

[bingtau]

Does anyone know if the new year images in year's past are 100%? Meaning did all the titles come out with images that were represented on past lists?

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by bingtau

Does anyone know if the new year images in year's past are 100%? Meaning did all the titles come out with images that were represented on past lists?

Within the year, no, not 100%.

[bingtau]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

Within the year, no, not 100%.

Thanks, I noticed someone else's thread said they did some movies 2 years in a row so definitely no guarantees. Wish they could release RAN which was supposed to be their first blu ray.

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by dwk

Rumor is that it is a new cut of the film.

Even if there is another new cut, there will likely be both the theatrical and extended cuts as well. Criterion usually includes all of the available cuts.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching the Criterion Blu-ray of Ernst Lubitsch's Design for Living.

Design for Living did not give me full-blown belly laughs in the same way that Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be did, but it did keep a smile on my face because it's amusing in a different and more sophisticated sort of way. Gary Cooper and Fredric March make a great comedic pair, and their interactions lend an innocently fun spirit to a story that treads some risqué waters. Miriam Hopkins owns this movie, though, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her.

It's interesting to imagine such a film being made in this day and age. Although society is more tolerant of diversity in overall terms these days, I'm inclined to believe that the story might not fly with many contemporary audiences.

Lubitsch's comedic timing is impeccable. My favorite sequence is Gilda's visit to the apartment right after George and Tom clean it.

I bought Design for Living a year or so ago, but it sat overlooked on my shelf for a while. In recent days, I've been trying to make somewhat random selections of my still-unwatched discs, because it's fun to be taken off guard by surprises. Yesterday's viewing of my Olive Films Blu-ray of Escape from Zahrain was also a pleasant surprise.