The Criterion Collection

[The Sovereign]

Originally Posted by javy

If Criterion is going to release another Paul Thomas Anderson film I hope it's going to be Hard Eight. I love There Will Be Blood but, come on. Know what I'm sayin'?

I'd love to see the whole PTA catalog on Criterion. But Hard Eight is a great one. Also makes me wish that Criterion would upgrade Secret Honor, with the great Philip Baker Hall.

[CMNPlanet]

Originally Posted by Disturbed Blu 1

Anyone know if I can save gift certificates on my Criterion.com account? Or do I have to use them in a time frame? I'd like to buy myself one each paycheck so I have some saved for the Sep/Oct flash sale.

They don't expire.

However I believe if you don't spend/use the $50 GC you earn after gaining 500 loyalty points, they won't issue your next loyalty GC until that first one is spent.

[Namuhana]

I've another gift certificate question. So, I got a $50 gift certificate from loyalty points. Is there a way to add that gift certificate to my account, or do I just have to hold on to it and use it on my next purchase?

[Gacivory]

The human Condition Trilogy, Secret Honor, Missing, and Z are on my upgrade wishlist!

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by mja345

"Secret Honor" needs an upgrade badly. I watched it again recently and the DVD looks absolutely terrible.

Since PTA is such a fan of Altman and "Secret Honor", he should do a sequel of sorts depicting our current president in a Nixonian state of paranoia and frenzy. That would be hilarious.

Isn't there a story about how PTA was a Production Assistant and befriended Phillip Baker Hall and later approached him with Stanley/Hard Eight?

[mja345]

Originally Posted by BenOswald

Isn't there a story about how PTA was a Production Assistant and befriended Phillip Baker Hall and later approached him with Stanley/Hard Eight?

Yeah, I think Baker Hall mentioned that in an interview on AV Club a while back.

[theater dreamer]

There Will Be Blood lists as in stock by Amazon on January 9th.

Originally Posted by Movie*Maniac

I’ve noticed that Lost in Translation and There Will Be Blood have been out of stock on Amazon for nearly 2 months now. Does this mean Criterion versions are in the works?? God I hope so!!!!

[Doctor Jack]

Just watched Jules and Jim for the second time. First time was maybe 10 years ago. Same reaction as last time...loved the first half and sort of hated the second half. I became a bit annoyed with the characters in the second half. It’s a shame because I really, truly love the first half. Maybe I’m missing something.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

Just watched Jules and Jim for the second time. First time was maybe 10 years ago. Same reaction as last time...loved the first half and sort of hated the second half. I became a bit annoyed with the characters in the second half. It’s a shame because I really, truly love the first half. Maybe I’m missing something.

Nah, I agree. It's a film that's considered a masterpiece that I don't love. I still have never bought it. The characters do become grating. Of about 10 that I've seen, it's my least favorite Truffaut film.

[RavenCodex]

New to the Criterion Collection thanks to the newest Breakfast Club release. Noticed there's at least 3-4 other movies I'm really interested in. Before I pulled the trigger though, wanted to make sure I'm getting the best deal available (of course.) So other than buying used (rather not whenever possible - especially with these) is $20-25 about the best I can hope for? Or do y'all have any advice/know of any discounts to get em a bit cheaper? Thanks in advance & happy collection.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

Just watched Jules and Jim for the second time. First time was maybe 10 years ago. Same reaction as last time...loved the first half and sort of hated the second half. I became a bit annoyed with the characters in the second half. It’s a shame because I really, truly love the first half. Maybe I’m missing something.

Originally Posted by mja345

Nah, I agree. It's a film that's considered a masterpiece that I don't love. I still have never bought it. The characters do become grating. Of about 10 that I've seen, it's my least favorite Truffaut film.

My same reaction, as well.

I don't understand all the love it receives.

[LPMA]

Originally Posted by CMNPlanet

They don't expire.

However I believe if you don't spend/use the $50 GC you earn after gaining 500 loyalty points, they won't issue your next loyalty GC until that first one is spent.

That's not the case, I believe I have 4 that were each issued separately.

[Abdrewes]

Doris Day was still cranking out romance films when Jules et Jim was released. Just sayin'

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

Just watched Jules and Jim for the second time. First time was maybe 10 years ago. Same reaction as last time...loved the first half and sort of hated the second half. I became a bit annoyed with the characters in the second half. It’s a shame because I really, truly love the first half. Maybe I’m missing something.

There's a lot to love with Jules and Jim, despite the unlikable quirks of the characters.

Here's my review that I wrote shortly after the Blu-ray was released...


In pre-World War I Paris, an Austrian writer, Jules, befriends another aspiring writer, Jim, and the two enjoy sharing philosophies and company before their lives are forever altered when they cross paths with the buoyantly unpredictable Catherine.

Even now, over 50 years after its release, François Truffaut's 1962 movie, Jules and Jim, is a bewildering head-scratcher of a cinematic oddity that utilizes fluidly engaging cinematography and clever editing to find an uncanny grace in the dynamics of these three often-unlikable characters who are entwined in a love triangle over a span of decades.

When I first saw Jules and Jim years ago, my Southern “good old boy” self wanted to talk some sense into the two title characters and steer them away from Catherine's center-of-attention neediness. I wanted Jules and Jim to keep walking after Catherine jumped into the Seine, and spend the rest of the day playing a round of golf. I wanted Jules to forget about Catherine and go back to the pretty steam engine girl. I wanted Jim to forget about Catherine and devote his full attention to the loyal potential love interest, Gilberte. In the end, though, even I was drawn into the web of Catherine because of the undeniable talents of Jeanne Moreau, who is one of the most wonderfully expressive actresses in cinema history. I'm hard-pressed to imagine any other actress who could have made the character of Catherine even remotely tolerable to audiences, and Moreau's seemingly effortless ability to appeal to my sympathies floors me with each subsequent viewing, even if I still find myself having facepalm reactions when watching how Jules and Jim both respond to her fickle, and sometimes cruel, impulses.

In Truffaut's visual and aural world, life with Catherine is a irresistible merry-go-round that whisks us away with fast-paced opening narration, a footrace across a bridge, sweeping overhead shots of rural countryside splendor, a bicycle ride on a country road, and 360-degree camera turns.

[jbieste]

Originally Posted by RavenCodex

New to the Criterion Collection thanks to the newest Breakfast Club release. Noticed there's at least 3-4 other movies I'm really interested in. Before I pulled the trigger though, wanted to make sure I'm getting the best deal available (of course.) So other than buying used (rather not whenever possible - especially with these) is $20-25 about the best I can hope for? Or do y'all have any advice/know of any discounts to get em a bit cheaper? Thanks in advance & happy collection.

Criterion has a flash sale a couple times a year at 50% of suggested retail, I believe they normally have one late February. $50 orders have free ship, you earn purchase points towards a $50 credit.
Barnes & Noble have a 50% SRP a couple times a year (July probably next one) plus they have have a few other sales where you can purchase Criterion titles, membership discounts also..

Amazon, Deep Discount, ect have sales in the $20 - $25 range.

[Doctor Jack]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Doris Day was still cranking out romance films when Jules et Jim was released. Just sayin'

What’s wrong with a little Doris Day?

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

What’s wrong with a little Doris Day?

I like Doris Day movies! I just mention them in contrast. Jules et Jim is much thornier and abrasive than the bulk of romantic films being released at the time.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

Just watched Jules and Jim for the second time. First time was maybe 10 years ago. Same reaction as last time...loved the first half and sort of hated the second half. I became a bit annoyed with the characters in the second half. It’s a shame because I really, truly love the first half. Maybe I’m missing something.

That's how I felt when I watched it. It's easily the least favorite Truffaut film I've watched.

[bwdowiak]

Jules and Jim is everything - Not only the best Truffaut film, but the best film of the French New Wave, and IMO, one of the best films in The CC. I'd be hard pressed to name a film with a better original score than the one created by Georges Delerue for J&J. Then of course you've got one of the best actresses who ever lived in her best role. That's not to mention the love story between the two friends and all of Truffaut's creativity on display.

[Doctor Jack]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I like Doris Day movies! I just mention them in contrast. Jules et Jim is much thornier and abrasive than the bulk of romantic films being released at the time.

I know. I was sort of teasing. I don’t deny the impact or what romance films would be without Jules and Jim, I just wished I liked the second half as much as the first. Maybe when I watch it again someday, my opinion will change.