The Criterion Collection

[P@t_Mtl]

I wonder if anyone might guess which one I am the most interested in?

[jw007]

Well, quite a good month of classic films with 3 upgrades in there! Sullivan's Travels is definitely one people have been wanting on Criterion blu-ray for some time now. Melville's Le Silence De La Mer I am totally unfamiliar with. The Renoir film The River looks good. More Ozu in an Eclipse set is intriguing. But for me, the 2 that stand out are Carol Reed's Odd Man Out and Peter Yates' The Friends of Eddie Coyle. I will most likely buy those 2 for sure!

[jw007]

Hey, Polaroid, finally nice to see you back here again by the way. Hope to see more of your infectious energy here soon... there was something missing while you were away. I like your covert art mockups too. Kudos for you putting effort into making those.

[Old Geezer]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I wonder if anyone might guess which one I am the most interested in?

And I wonder if anyone can guess which one I'm most interested in also?

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I wonder if anyone might guess which one I am the most interested in?

Pat, we know the only thing that would make the month perfect would have been some Chaplin. Patience will pay off...

[jw007]

Is anyone else fascinated by the similarities between the older DVD cover artwork and the new blu-ray cover artwork for The Friends of Eddie Coyle? The older DVD included the now current Criterion design, so I'm wondering why they didn't just use the same one? Anyone think this is interesting?

I kind of like the new blu-ray design more though.

Check below to see what I mean:

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by jcs913

Pat, we know the only thing that would make the month perfect would have been some Chaplin. Patience will pay off...

Chaplin is always a welcome pleasure of course

What a good month however, it's very difficult not to be happy with the selection they made.

They took me by surprise with the Ozu Eclipse set, that is the must have of the month for me. I really wasn't expecting more Ozu with maybe just upgrade of his later films. To have three more of his silent movies is quite a treat for me. I know it's only DVD release but for me that really don't matter at all, will take Ozu in any format, shape or form I can have them

[Feiereisel]

Originally Posted by jw007

Is anyone else fascinated by the similarities between the older DVD cover artwork and the new blu-ray cover artwork for The Friends of Eddie Coyle? The older DVD included the now current Criterion design, so I'm wondering why they didn't just use the same one? Anyone think this is interesting?

I kind of like the new blu-ray design more though.

Check below to see what I mean:

[Show spoiler]

I find it interesting as well. My first thought was that it was something to do with the difference in case height between DVD and blu-ray. It goes from a four tiered design to a three tiered design, which would maybe fit better with the shorter blu-ray case.

A second thought occurred to me, as well: The redesign makes Mitchum's face the only close-up, plainly visible face on the cover, while the DVD artwork has three faces in close-up on it. The DVD design isn't confusing, per se, but it also doesn't necessarily give Mitchum the top-billing he (perhaps contractually) deserves. By contrast, Mitchum dominates the new artwork.

It might be that simple.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Chaplin is always a welcome pleasure of course

What a good month however, it's very difficult not to be happy with the selection they made.

They took me by surprise with the Ozu Eclipse set, that is the must have of the month for me. I really wasn't expecting more Ozu with maybe just upgrade of his later films. To have three more of his silent movies is quite a treat for me. I know it's only DVD release but for me that really don't matter at all, will take Ozu in any format, shape or form I can have them

I am a little surprised about the Ozu, since there is a release upcoming already. They tend to spread them out. I do know that Rich will be happy with this release.

[NoirFan]

One of the strongest months in a while. A reasonable argument could be made for all five films as 'classics' (a much-overused term these days, especially when combined with 'cult').

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I wonder if anyone might guess which one I am the most interested in?

Okay, there's always one dim bulb on every theatre marquee, and this time it's me. Which one is it?

[The Bronx Bull]

Did anyone else notice they modified the cover art for Cries and Whispers? I just noticed this as I was browsing the new releases. Their original cover, I thought, was terrible. The new one, while nothing to write home about, is much better:

http://www.criterion.com/films/237-cries-and-whispers

As for these new releases, Odd Man Out is the one I'm most looking forward to. The Third Man is one of my favorite films, and after reading the synopsis of Odd Man Out, I'm all in. I've seen both Le Silence and Eddie Coyle, the latter of which I have on DVD. I'm not willing to splurge for a blu-ray upgrade on Eddie Coyle, but I will pick up Le Silence to round off my Melville collection. It's a very interesting film.

I'll also have to check out The River.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Okay, there's always one dim bulb on every theatre marquee, and this time it's me. Which one is it?

You are a bit new in your membership I see and I haven't posted much in recent time in this tread, I am known by the "old guard" of this tread as the Ozu nutcase

[GenPion]

I still don't see what was wrong with the first cover for Cries and Whispers. Not sure about the revision but I guess it will please some...

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Now that we have more Sturges on Criterion, does that mean we're one step closer to "Unfaithfully Yours", or is Warner still keeping it prisoner in the Archive dungeon?

Originally Posted by jmclick

Unfaithfully Yours was a 20th Century-Fox production and they still own the rights. The film was originally supposed to reunite Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison, who had co-starred the year before in The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. But Tierney went on suspension for refusing to make The Walls of Jericho and Chicken Every Sunday, so Linda Darnell inherited her role. Ultimately, the film didn't do as well financially as Fox had hoped.

Sturges' next feature at Fox was supposed to be his years-in-the-planning production of The Matrix (he had first conceived it back in the early 1930's), and Gene Tierney was again supposed to star. But that one ran into problems during pre-production, and Sturges instead made The Beautiful Blonde From Bashful Bend with Betty Grable; when it tanked at the box office, Sturges' brief sojourn at Fox came to a screeching halt.

I'd love Criterion to upgrade Unfaithfully Yours to blu-ray, but first I want them to tackle The Lady Eve, my favorite of all the films that Sturges directed, and my favorite of Barbara Stanwyck's comedies. (His screenplay for Remember the Night is my favorite among those he wrote but did not direct.)

The only Sturges stuck in Warner's "Archive dungeon" would possibly be The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, which is one of those Paramount titles that have fallen under Warner's distribution control.

I have to say that my mind is doing some weird twisting at the thought of Preston Sturges doing "The Matrix" with Gene Tierney (presumably in the role of Trinity). There is no spoon.

[blu-bry]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

It just upset me that they targeted me over nothing, and made personal comments about my life they have no understanding of.

I love my life and now have a very fulfilling job helping others and the had to cheek to say I have nothing better to do with my life than post here...

Its just this is the second or third time this has happened and thought I would learn by not coming back.

Also it 15th :P

-

On a Criterion note, I treated myself to Criterion Designs and it is stunning, bit upset they missed some designs out but no biggie!

Also bagged Last Year at Marienbad Buray mint condition for £30

I had to stop lurking and actually post just to say "Welcome back!"

[jshaide]

A bit boring on the whole for me. I can't justify rebuying Sullivan or Eddie. I'll def. be buying Odd Man Out, and maaaaybe Le Silence. All in all, light for me.

Probably for the best, as there are quite a few Scream and Kino releases for me in April.

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by octagon

I need to look a little more closely at the respective supplements before making a decision but I'll definitely be getting Sullivan's Travels from somebody.

We were just wishing for this upgrade a few days ago...and here it is! Arrow and Criterion both have commentaries listed, but both are by different people. Both releases also include The Rise and Fall of an American Dreamer(a great documentary). Also, it looks like Pro-b wasn't too impressed with the Arrow blu video quality. So, hopefully the new 2K restoration by Criterion will be an improvement. I'm region locked currently anyways, so I will most likely end up with the Criterion release.

The only other title that I have seen from the April slate is The River, which is beautiful. I don't feel the need to own it though. Hopefully, I will catch the others on Hulu or TCM soon.

By the way, has anyone here watched Hanzo the Razor: The Sword of Justice yet? It is on Criterion's Hulu page, so I checked it out last night. Shintaro Katsu does a complete 180 nearly as a cop during the Edo era. I have no problem with change. However, Hanzo used sexual assault to interrogate the female characters, so I can't recommend this film to anyone. I was really looking forward to watching Katsu in something different after Zatoichi and the Hanzo films seem to be popular. I'm not sure why though. Since, it is basically soft core porn. Well, different strokes for different folks I guess. I would be interested in hearing someone else's opinion on Hanzo the Razor.

Also, welcome back Polaroid! I remember you posting about starting a new job before Christmas, so I figured you weren't posting because you were busy with the new job. However, I was still worried about you. I'm glad that you are back.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

You are a bit new in your membership I see and I haven't posted much in recent time in this tread, I am known by the "old guard" of this tread as the Ozu nutcase

Gotcha! I had taken note of your excellent taste in actresses (the elegant and uber-talented Audrey Hepburn), but couldn't for the life of me figure out how she tied in with any of today's announcements. I stand before you properly abashed, duly enlightened, and delighted that you'll soon be getting a fresh Ozu fix!

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by jayembee

The only Sturges stuck in Warner's "Archive dungeon" would possibly be The Miracle of Morgan's Creek, which is one of those Paramount titles that have fallen under Warner's distribution control.

Isn't Christmas in July also one of those Paramount titles under Warner's distribution control?