The Criterion Collection

[LexInHD]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I thought that those two Police Story films, like most HK productions of the time, didn't shoot with sync sound at all? So there'd be nothing of Chan's voice to "dub" over.

They didn't have it until Police Story 3, but the cut of 2 in the Criterion Collection - which is the one I screened - is a longer version of the film that was released in Japan before the HK release of Chan's final cut and the studio may have used a different actor because Chan hadn't completed his recording or he was unavailable to record the alternate cut because he was busy finishing his own cut or other obligations. Having watched both 1 and 2 in succession, it really stands out, as the actor voicing his character in the second film did not sound like him at all. Chan's cut of the film is included as an extra in the Criterion release, so we'll hear for ourselves what that version sounds like and if his voice is used.

[Reddington]

RIP Stanley Donen.

[Scottie]

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by Reddington

RIP Stanley Donen.

Damn.

We're losing so many of the great ones now. Charade is one of my all-time favorite movies, and I love On the Town, Singin' in the Rain and Funny Face (how can you not like anything with Audrey Hepburn or Fred Astaire?).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qgsst15iI2k

The dialogue when Cary and Audrey first meet in Charade is fantastic.

Peter (Grant) "Do we know each other?"
Regina (Hepburn) "Why, do you think we're going to?"
Peter "I don't know, how would I know?"
Regina "Because I already know an awful lot of people, until one of them dies, I couldn't possibly meet anyone else."
Peter "Mmm. Well, if anybody goes on the critical list, let me know."

Thank you for leaving such a wonderful legacy, Mr. Donen. We will continue to enjoy your films for a long time to come. RIP.

[Rzzzz]

I finally watched Eyes Without A Face which was a blind buy from the last Barnes & Noble sale.
What a sick, twisted, disturbing little film. I loved it......

[sfmarine]

I still need to watch that one. It’s currently on my DVR.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

I finally watched Eyes Without A Face which was a blind buy from the last Barnes & Noble sale.
What a sick, twisted, disturbing little film. I loved it......

Great film! Incredibly influential and spawned multiple rip-offs (check out Jess Franco's The Awful Dr. Orlof or Corruption with Peter Cushing).

If anyone ever goes to the Alamo Drafthouse, you can catch a very quick glimpse of a still of the titular character in their intro montage that plays before the previews.

[Ned Brainard]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

1. Myrna Loy. The earliest film she has on blu-ray is The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). That movie came out 20 years after her career began. The entire Thin Man collection needs to be released as a box set tout de suite. Bill Powell and Myrna Loy are arguably the most relatable and endearing on screen couple in motion picture history. All six movies are strong, and the first few are true classics. Plus, the series contains early appearances from a handful of future stars-Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, Dean Stockwell and Gloria Grahame. William and Myrna did fourteen films together, notably including Manhattan Melodrama with Clarke Gable, Libeled Lady with the aforementioned Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy (this is a personal favorite!), and The Great Ziegfeld about the life of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. Interestingly, three years before The Wizard of Oz, Myrna Loy portrayed Billie Burke, who played the part of Glinda the Good Witch in Oz; the film also included Frank Morgan (the wizard) and Ray Bolger (the Scarecrow). Hollywood was a small place during the studio system era.

I think that Topaze is actually Myrna's earliest film to have been released on blu. The Kino disc of this comedic pre-code is highly recommended. Anyway, the other Loy films you mentioned (The Thin Man films, The Great Ziegfeld, etc.) would all be day one purchases for me.

[Martin_31]

I was reading on Twitter that Stanley Donen was the last Golden Age Hollywood director. And as social media goes with exaggeration, people were saying that the new filmmakers, particularly the upcoming generation, won’t know who he is. I found this interesting because you have the “official” end of an era with the last director passing away but also the moment where people are like “oh s***, I only watch Spielberg to contemporary cinema. Everything else is too old.” I’m not bashing on either side but just wanted to hear people’s thoughts on it.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

I was reading on Twitter that Stanley Donen was the last Golden Age Hollywood director. And as social media goes with exaggeration, people were saying that the new filmmakers, particularly the upcoming generation, won’t know who he is. I found this interesting because you have the “official” end of an era with the last director passing away but also the moment where people are like “oh s***, I only watch Spielberg to contemporary cinema. Everything else is too old.” I’m not bashing on either side but just wanted to hear people’s thoughts on it.

Honestly, people who say certain films are too old are absolute f**king morons. I was born in '87 and constantly watch films that were made before I was born. I absolutely can't stand people who say things are "too old".

[Rzzzz]

I have family members (all older) who won't watch black and white films or even movies made before they were born. Thank God I fell in love with Buster Keaton movies on TV as a child so I don't have that problem....

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by mja345

Honestly, people who say certain films are too old are absolute f**king morons. I was born in '87 and constantly watch films that were made before I was born. I absolutely can't stand people who say things are "too old".

I’m a few years younger and I agree!

[LordoftheRings]

My favorite films are black and white and Charlie Chaplin (silent).
I'm just few years older, born before 1987.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by Ned Brainard

I think that Topaze is actually Myrna's earliest film to have been released on blu. The Kino disc of this comedic pre-code is highly recommended. Anyway, the other Loy films you mentioned (The Thin Man films, The Great Ziegfeld, etc.) would all be day one purchases for me.

You're right. When I looked at her blu-ray page here, it looked like a standard poster art, not a blu-ray cover. That's one. Her career really needs better representation on blu. I'm with you on the day one purchases. Libeled Lady would be, as well.

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

Wow, when I think about it, Funny Face introduced me to Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire, Charade introduced me to Cary Grant, and Singin in the Rain introduced me to musicals. That's some legacy.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

I was reading on Twitter that Stanley Donen was the last Golden Age Hollywood director. And as social media goes with exaggeration, people were saying that the new filmmakers, particularly the upcoming generation, won’t know who he is. I found this interesting because you have the “official” end of an era with the last director passing away but also the moment where people are like “oh s***, I only watch Spielberg to contemporary cinema. Everything else is too old.” I’m not bashing on either side but just wanted to hear people’s thoughts on it.

That can't be right, can it? Off the top of my head, Norman Jewison is still alive. He started a little later than Donen (from memory his first film was early 1960? Donen's first movie was On The Town, 1948/49?). Jewison directed In the Heat of the Night. I still consider the 60s Golden Age of Hollywood, though that was the start of the transition to the directors independent of the studio system that marked the late 60s and 70s.

There has to be somebody else. Godard is still alive. He's French, but he's of the era.

[javy]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

I finally watched Eyes Without A Face which was a blind buy from the last Barnes & Noble sale.
What a sick, twisted, disturbing little film. I loved it......

Be sure to check out Judex too. It is a beautifully photographed caper film with very bizzare happenings that play out like little dream-like episodes that are a pure delight.

[WeeBey]

Anyone know what the deal is with Criterion's Shoah? They say the transfer is approved by Claude Lanzmann but everything is green.

Is the Eureka release the one to go with here or did Lanzmann want every scene to have a green tint?

[noirjunkie]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

That can't be right, can it? Off the top of my head, Norman Jewison is still alive. He started a little later than Donen (from memory his first film was early 1960? Donen's first movie was On The Town, 1948/49?). Jewison directed In the Heat of the Night. I still consider the 60s Golden Age of Hollywood, though that was the start of the transition to the directors independent of the studio system that marked the late 60s and 70s.

I think that when most people refer the Golden Age, they're thinking of the 30s and 40s, with the 50s representing the tail end (the so-called "Golden Year" was 1939). By the 60s, the studio system was on its last legs, and the studios were churning out plenty of forgettable fare, which led to the opening that the New Hollywood folks took advantage of.

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by mja345

Honestly, people who say certain films are too old are absolute f**king morons. I was born in '87 and constantly watch films that were made before I was born. I absolutely can't stand people who say things are "too old".

I can understand why young people think that, but not so much older people. A big part of maturity is learning to take the long view of time. In fact, I'd argue that this is probably the key sign of mental maturity.

When my 20 year old cousin complains about a film that's 30 years old being 'too old' I understand where he is coming from, but I don't really get it from a person around my own age. i.e late 30's/early 40's.

Of course most film buffs have preferences, but I guess I'm 'snobby' in the sense that I can't take seriously any 'cinephile' that has a 20-30 year view of film. Even 40 years isn't enough in my opinion, but I totally get why the average person who doesn't care that much about film would rather watch a new or relatively recent film over an 'old' one.