The Criterion Collection

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

I get depressed when there is no Mae West on BluRay. A Criterion Mae West boxset is high on my list of films I want on BluRay.

I know how you feel; I get the same way thinking about Jean Harlow and Ginger Rogers, both of whom are virtually nonexistent on blu-Ray. Swing Time, hopefully, is the beginning of a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers run. And I keep pestering WAC and Criterion to release Libeled Lady. Harlow, Myrna Loy, William Powell and Spencer Tracy. The lineup sells itself.

Garbo needs more on blu-Ray, Joan Crawford, too. And Barbara Stanwyck...don’t get me started.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I don't know if you've ever seen it, but one of my favorite Spacek performances is Verna: USO Girl. It's a made-for-tv film I saw many years ago on PBS and she's wonderful in it.

I was 13 when the Kennedy assassination took place and that whole "I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing when I heard the news." adage is true.

No, I haven’t seen it. Thank you for the recommendation. I’ll have to see if it’s streaming anywhere.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I know how you feel; I get the same way thinking about Jean Harlow and Ginger Rogers, both of whom are virtually nonexistent on blu-Ray. Swing Time, hopefully, is the beginning of a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers run. And I keep pestering WAC and Criterion to release Libeled Lady. Harlow, Myrna Loy, William Powell and Spencer Tracy. The lineup sells itself.

Garbo needs more on blu-Ray, Joan Crawford, too. And Barbara Stanwyck...don’t get me started.

I love a BluRay set of this like the Dietrich-Von Sternberg set.



I think a lot depends on the elements available of many of the pre-Code films.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I started watching Harold and Maude on The Criterion Channel because it’s expiring at the end of the month. I was about 45 minutes into it when my internet went down. While I like the main characters, neither of them feel like real people – nobody does – and none of the situations feel realistic either. I get that it’s probably supposed to be a quirky black comedy but it isn’t working for me so far. Does the movie get any better?

(No spoilers, please. I probably won’t be able to finish it until tomorrow night. But situations like this are why physical media remains king!)

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Any better? Well, it's good from beginning to end as far as I'm concerned, but to address what you're asking... if you don't like it so far, you probably won't like the rest of it either.

I have a feeling I'm supposed to be "charmed" by these "unique" people, and, well...I'm not.

I'll finish it up tonight and see if my feelings improve.

[ShellOilJunior]

Debuted at Venice yesterday. It's an IFC film which means Criterion can have it if they so choose. Seems right up their alley. It's Kore-Eda!

[MifuneFan]

That poster feels oddly similar to the one for The Farewell.

[monorail91]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Debuted at Venice yesterday. It's an IFC film which means Criterion can have it if they so choose. Seems right up their alley. It's Kore-Eda!

Idk, does the CC really care much for Deneueve and Binoche?

When movies like this come out, they just seemed so jam packed with CC favorites, there’s no way they can’t become releases eventually!

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by monorail91

Idk, does the CC really care much for Deneueve and Binoche?

When movies like this come out, they just seemed so jam packed with CC favorites, there’s no way they can’t become releases eventually!

I don’t know but I’m still waiting for a CC release of A Slightly Pregnant Man

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

I love a BluRay set of this like the Dietrich-Von Sternberg set.



I think a lot depends on the elements available of many of the pre-Code films.

“When i’m good, i’m very, very good.

...but when i’m bad, i’m better.”

Sexiest line in film history imo.

Second place:

...”bring out the Gimp.”

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

“When i’m good, i’m very, very good.

...but when i’m bad, i’m better.”

Sexiest line in film history imo.

Second place:

...”bring out the Gimp.”

You obviously haven't seen Deliverance... "You sure got a purdy mouth"... how can that not get your juices flowing?

[Show spoiler]

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I started watching Harold and Maude on The Criterion Channel because it’s expiring at the end of the month. I was about 45 minutes into it when my internet went down. While I like the main characters, neither of them feel like real people – nobody does – and none of the situations feel realistic either. I get that it’s probably supposed to be a quirky black comedy but it isn’t working for me so far. Does the movie get any better?

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I have a feeling I'm supposed to be "charmed" by these "unique" people, and, well...I'm not.

I'll finish it up tonight and see if my feelings improve.

On the surface, it's a "quirky black comedy" about a young man and old woman falling in love, but the main theme of the film, in my opinion, is that you can find happiness in the most unlikely of people.

[thebalconyfool]

For those with the criterion channel, is there any way to clear a movie from your continue watching list?

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by thebalconyfool

For those with the criterion channel, is there any way to clear a movie from your continue watching list?

Other than going all the way to end of the movie, not that I know of.

[russellbrackins]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Other than going all the way to end of the movie, not that I know of.

I’ve tried this and in some cases it still doesn’t clear.

Which is a bummer because it’s an amazing service. It just seems like it’s missing some very basic functionality.

[Doc Moonlight]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I don't know if you've ever seen it, but one of my favorite Spacek performances is Verna: USO Girl. It's a made-for-tv film I saw many years ago on PBS and she's wonderful in it.

I agree. It's one of her best performances.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by russellbrackins

I’ve tried this and in some cases it still doesn’t clear.

Which is a bummer because it’s an amazing service. It just seems like it’s missing some very basic functionality.

This just happened to me with Harold and Maude. Definitely a bug. Hopefully an update fixes it.

[thebalconyfool]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Other than going all the way to end of the movie, not that I know of.

Originally Posted by russellbrackins

I’ve tried this and in some cases it still doesn’t clear. Which is a bummer because it’s an amazing service. It just seems like it’s missing some very basic functionality.

Thank you for the replies. Guess it's a bug then, going to the end hasn't cleared mine. It would be nice if they would include a "remove from list" as they do for the "my list" section. My continue watching is really clogged up with shorts and supplements that I checked out but didn't finish, so when I do have a movie that I want to continue watching, it's always stuck way at the end of my now very long list.

I did email channel support today to mention it to them.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I started watching Harold and Maude on The Criterion Channel because it’s expiring at the end of the month. I was about 45 minutes into it when my internet went down. While I like the main characters, neither of them feel like real people – nobody does – and none of the situations feel realistic either. I get that it’s probably supposed to be a quirky black comedy but it isn’t working for me so far. Does the movie get any better?

(No spoilers, please. I probably won’t be able to finish it until tomorrow night. But situations like this are why physical media remains king!)

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Any better? Well, it's good from beginning to end as far as I'm concerned, but to address what you're asking... if you don't like it so far, you probably won't like the rest of it either.

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I have a feeling I'm supposed to be "charmed" by these "unique" people, and, well...I'm not.

I'll finish it up tonight and see if my feelings improve.

Originally Posted by Dailyan

On the surface, it's a "quirky black comedy" about a young man and old woman falling in love, but the main theme of the film, in my opinion, is that you can find happiness in the most unlikely of people.

I finished up Harold and Maude last night. I think having a 24-hour break (unintended) helped a bit. I went back into the movie with a clearer expectation of what to expect. I was subsequently able to adjust to the artifice more. For example, the scene with the bike cop was absurdly amusing.

It also helps that Harold dropped his guard and got real with Maude in her apartment, in what was a very touching and poignant exchange. There is also another quiet moment later in the movie where Maude's

[Show spoiler]Holocaust number tattoo is revealed.

I don't believe that was mentioned before or after. It wasn't even acknowledged as it was happening. No words were spoken. The moment was just allowed to breathe. Because of those two scenes, we understand these characters and their actions throughout the film. Otherwise, the movie would've just been a series of quirky events with odd people and no soul.

I think my initial issue with it is that I went in expecting something more like Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Well, Harold and Maude definitely isn't that.

Ultimately, I still can't say I loved the movie. But I appreciate it more now after watching all of it. I can smile at some of the absurdist moments and think back on what ended up being a quietly powerful relationship between two odd couple characters. This is definitely not a safe blind buy though, so it's worth watching on The Criterion Channel before it expires in a couple of days.

I was surprised to see that Roger Ebert gave the movie a shockingly negative review. While I can't say I really disagree with most of what he wrote, I probably came away with somewhat of a warmer feeling toward Harold and Maude than he did.

(BTW, how old was Bud Cort's character supposed to be? Sometimes he looked 15 and other times he looked 25. I went into the movie assuming he was still a school-aged child, so the scenes of him being set up with working career women was a bit jarring to me at first.)

[MassiveMovieBuff]

I watched my copy of Videodrome lastnight. It's always been one of my favorite Criterion blu rays but it's really disappointing that they didn't include the really cool 26 minutes of deleted scenes. Not only that but they were included with the region locked Arrow release a few years later. Oh well. Maybe it was some kind of rights issue. It would've been awesome if Cronenberg included an alternate cut with those scenes or just the old TV version that had those scenes as a bonus for the blu ray.

[critterdvd]

Originally Posted by thebalconyfool

Thank you for the replies. Guess it's a bug then, going to the end hasn't cleared mine. It would be nice if they would include a "remove from list" as they do for the "my list" section. My continue watching is really clogged up with shorts and supplements that I checked out but didn't finish, so when I do have a movie that I want to continue watching, it's always stuck way at the end of my now very long list.

I did email channel support today to mention it to them.

I sent them an email about this last week and they did respond thanking for my feedback and saying that they will be looking into it.

I get the impression that they are learning as they go, but they've been very open to feedback and suggestions. Such as the "Browse all" function they've added.