The Criterion Collection

[u2popmofo]

I'm crazy late to the party, but I finally watched Criterion's The 39 Steps disc. Fantastic movie and the disc has some great extras, but it has to be one of the worst transfers I've seen on Blu-ray, particularly from Criterion.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Last Wednesday I decided to take 1966's War and Peace out of my watch pile and view it. First time for me, and I've never seen any other iteration. All I knew was that it's a huge, complex piece of literature, and it still intimidates me. Dare I read the book someday?

At seven hours, with probably half of it devoted to ballrooms, political scenes, or talking in general, the film definitely feels like a chore at times. Most of the time though, I was stricken by the sheer quality and ambition of the film. Performances were great, the direction seemed quite precise, and there's a definite effort put into making all the scenes count, even when it seems dry and stuffy. Then, there were times when the film really knocked my socks off. Both the war scenes and the ballrooms scenes were massive. Holy crap, the sheer amount of people, costumes, props, and choreography makes these some of the most epic scenes I've ever seen. LOTR, Ben Hur, Spartacus, LoA--nah man, WaP blows it all out of the water with its sheer ambition and inventive camerawork. At times, the film even manages to go above and beyond the tropes and structure of a typical epic film and give a broader spiritual commentary.

All that being said, I still found it hard to follow (or care) about all the subplots and how they fit. Of course, I probably felt the same way when I saw Doctor Zhivago all those years ago, and it took a few viewings to fully absorb and understand all its nuances, characters, and subplots. Chances are good that my appreciation for War and Peace will go up on a rewatch as I get more comfortable with its story and characters. For now, I'd grade the movie a 3.5/5 (and that is the same score I give to Dr. Z and Gone with the Wind, for what it's worth)

I don't recall how much discussion there's been about the Blu-Ray quality. It's been restored and some parts (especially the last couple of films) will look darn near perfect. There are some odd parts that are soft, some parts with some haloing, and some parts with color fluctuations. Maybe not perfect, but it's still a fair quality that captures a heck of a lot of detail and often looks nice. Had no complaints about the sound.

But how likely do you think it is that you’ll want to revisit it, given the length and the sometimes tedious nature of the material?

This was the crux of the issue for me and the reason why I chose not to blind buy it.

...especially coming on the heels of my Berlin Alexanderplatz experience.

[Doc Moonlight]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

But how likely do you think it is that you’ll want to revisit it, given the length and the sometimes tedious nature of the material?

This was the crux of the issue for me and the reason why I chose not to blind buy it.

...especially coming on the heels of my Berlin Alexanderplatz experience.

I gotta say, this is one of the advantages of The Criterion Channel for me. I can preview films I'm interested in and then decide whether or not I want to buy them.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Doc Moonlight

I gotta say, this is one of the advantages of The Criterion Channel for me. I can preview films I'm interested in and then decide whether or not I want to buy them.

I agree 100%. My local public library is also a good source for access to free Criterion DVD's and BD's.

There are far too many movies, Criterion or otherwise, that I'll never watch more than once or twice. That doesn't mean the film was bad. I may have loved it. But it's just not something I'll want to watch again.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

But how likely do you think it is that you’ll want to revisit it, given the length and the sometimes tedious nature of the material?

This was the crux of the issue for me and the reason why I chose not to blind buy it.

...especially coming on the heels of my Berlin Alexanderplatz experience.

Well, that is a tricky thing to judge. Tedium is the big reason why I parted with the Battles Without Honor or Humanity box set that Arrow put out (a massive five-movie marathon, out of which I liked only the first two bits, but was largely put off by Fukasaku's style, which is very rough around the edges). War and Peace wins its spot in my collection thanks to its style (which has its wild parts, but is still largely elegant to the point were I find myself admiring many scenes), battle scenes, performances, and overall I find it more interesting. I can always reconcile the story/plot later as I read and watch more (I might even tackle the 1959 version next).

I do believe I will rewatch WaP at some point. It has managed to make a big enough impact to do so, just as much as I've been inspired to revisit Doctor Zhivago a few times (probably the next closest comparable film besides maybe Barry Lyndon). For that matter, I've had the strange effect with David Lean's epic films, whereby I found the first viewing tedious but loved them on rewatches. It will likely happen to me again if I through WaP again and make a bigger effort to follow and care for it. I haven't seen Berlin Alexanderplatz (do I want to? yeesh), but WaP is certainly more eventful than Andrei Rublev (which I do appreciate in its own way, but it's a very different experience).

In the end, it might just boil down to individual genre preferences. I do like the big epic pictures like this one. For you and everyone else, it might be best to rent WaP first, or catch it on the Criterion channel (assuming it's there).

[Rzzzz]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

For that matter, I've had the strange effect with David Lean's epic films, whereby I found the first viewing tedious but loved them on rewatches.

While it is definitely not an epic but one David Lean film (my favorite) that never gets tedious is Oliver Twist (1948). That film is like watching a nightmare you can't wake up from....

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Rzzzz

While it is definitely not an epic but one David Lean film (my favorite) that never gets tedious is Oliver Twist (1948). That film is like watching a nightmare you can't wake up from....

Need to see that one still.

It's funny because his older works (like the stuff from the Noel Coward box) didn't really interest me at all, but Lawrence, Zhivago, River Kwai all captivate me for hours. But they all also bored me on the first viewing--I had to warm up to them. Some day, I need to revisit A Passage to India to see how it holds up.

The only "lean" Lean film I have and enjoyed is Great Expectations (British Blu-Ray).

EDIT:
For a moment I mistook Oliver Twist for Oliver! I find it odd that Carol Reed directed the musical one.

[Reddington]

I'm a huge Lean fan, including even Ryan's Daughter - which desperately needs an official release (although the Spanish bootleg that I unwittingly bought is actually not too bad).

However, Great Expectations will always be my favourite. Not only is it as close to perfect a literary adaptation as is possible, it is a brilliantly realized film in its own right. And it was my first-ever Criterion.

[ilenewoodsfan99]

I adore War and Peace, but even I had to separate watching it across several days, as it was a lot to take in. This is coming from someone who watched Gone with the Wind twice in a row.

[StarDestroyer52]

I see Pandora's Box is being released in Germany in November, hopefully that means it won't be much longer before we see it released by Criterion.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

I see Pandora's Box is being released in Germany in November, hopefully that means it won't be much longer before we see it released by Criterion.

Happy dance!

[ponytail]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Need to see that one still.

It's funny because his older works (like the stuff from the Noel Coward box) didn't really interest me at all, but Lawrence, Zhivago, River Kwai all captivate me for hours. But they all also bored me on the first viewing--I had to warm up to them. Some day, I need to revisit A Passage to India to see how it holds up.

The only "lean" Lean film I have and enjoyed is Great Expectations (British Blu-Ray).

EDIT:
For a moment I mistook Oliver Twist for Oliver! I find it odd that Carol Reed directed the musical one.

The Bridge on the River Kwai is his only epic I've loved since the first viewing.

[theater dreamer]

Two nights ago, a storm came through the area, and temporarily knocked the power out. Only, when it came back on, the box for our FIOS in the garage showed no power. And we’re being told that a repair guy can’t come out until Sunday. So the $70 a month I pay for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO and Showtime on demand, all these streaming services that “represent the future of home entertainment”- one quick power surge knocked out my internet, and all my streaming services fell down like a house of cards.

“What will I do if I don’t like anything being shown on tv right now?”

Oh, wait. I have 1,200 blu-rays, and they play just fine when the net is down.

Score one for physical media.

[bonehica]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Two nights ago, a storm came through the area, and temporarily knocked the power out. Only, when it came back on, the box for our FIOS in the garage showed no power. And we’re being told that a repair guy can’t come out until Sunday. So the $70 a month I pay for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO and Showtime on demand, all these streaming services that “represent the future of home entertainment”- one quick power surge knocked out my internet, and all my streaming services fell down like a house of cards.

“What will I do if I don’t like anything being shown on tv right now?”

Oh, wait. I have 1,200 blu-rays, and they play just fine when the net is down.

Score one for physical media.

I love it when the power goes down and my APC uninterruptible power supply for my theater system kicks in and I am still rocking my physical media while all my neighbors are stuck in the stone age. Well, at least for 60-90 mins

[u2popmofo]

Remember the old days when some players did require you to connect to the internet to watch a Blu-Ray?

[a priori]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Two nights ago, a storm came through the area, and temporarily knocked the power out. Only, when it came back on, the box for our FIOS in the garage showed no power. And we’re being told that a repair guy can’t come out until Sunday. So the $70 a month I pay for Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, HBO and Showtime on demand, all these streaming services that “represent the future of home entertainment”- one quick power surge knocked out my internet, and all my streaming services fell down like a house of cards.

“What will I do if I don’t like anything being shown on tv right now?”

Oh, wait. I have 1,200 blu-rays, and they play just fine when the net is down.

Score one for physical media.

I don't subscribe to any streaming or cable services, so every day is a 'power surge knocked out my internet' day as far as movie-watching goes. Thing is, I don't mind watching, say, The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (that I picked up today), for the 20th time, etc. (BTW, great 25 minute David Bordwell special feature video essay included in this Criterion release.)

[Reddington]

Green For Danger getting a BD release in the UK. Not sure if this bodes well for a Criterion upgrade - but good to see.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by u2popmofo

Remember the old days when some players did require you to connect to the internet to watch a Blu-Ray?

I remember when Amir from Microsoft told us that feature was the greatest thing since sliced bread and was another reason that HD-DVD would win the format war.....

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by lemonski

I remember when Amir from Microsoft told us that feature was the greatest thing since sliced bread and was another reason that HD-DVD would win the format war.....

I still have all of my HD DVDs. All 137 of them.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by regeyer

I still have all of my HD DVDs. All 137 of them.

I’m sorry to hear that