The Criterion Collection

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I loved the Shirley Stoler story.

And I heartily second his recommendation for The Honeymoon Killers. One of my favorite Criterion discoveries.

[ShellOilJunior]

2019 Recap *Revised*

Releases by country and directors with 2 or more movies released (Yes, I did go through each box set).

[Show spoiler]

2 Sunburst charts for US/Foreign. Tried combining these into 1 chart but most monitors aren't big enough to display 79 data points.

Foreign releases

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US releases by decade

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[yoloswegmaster420]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

2019 Recap

Releases by country and directors with 2 or more movies released (Yes, I did go through each box set).

[Show spoiler]

2 Sunburst charts for US/Foreign. Tried combining these into 1 chart but most monitors aren't big enough to display 79 data points.

Foreign releases

[Show spoiler]

US releases by decade

[Show spoiler]

Very nice and informative list but I think you forgot to add the Koker trilogy.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by yoloswegmaster420

Very nice and informative list but I think you forgot to add the Koker trilogy.

That I did. Thanks for catching that one. Charts updated.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by regeyer

As you can see from my avatar I love Zatoichi. But I've only watched all 25 films in the set 3 times, I think. I've watched some of my favorites a few more times.

Ever caught the TV show? It's a shame the only english releases were a couple of DVD's with the 1st season of 4. There were 100 episodes of the show made. I personally really enjoyed them. They are amazingly well done with guest stars appearing in a lot of episodes and Katsu directing. Many of them of equal quality as some of the movies.

Also if you are a big fan you have to see The Blind Menace. Would love a Bluray of that. It is Zatoichi before Zatoichi except he's extremely evil.


On another note. In regards to the Haxan Bluray. Anyone here that can explain the difference in tints between the DVD release and the Bluray? Just curious. I'm not that familiar with the tinting process, but assume it was something done during the printing process. In which case this Bluray comes from a different source?

[jgogg]

Originally Posted by acroyear2

This site's review of L'humanité makes the movie sound dreadful and unappealing to watch. Has anyone who has seen it concur with this opinion? I was considering it for a blind-buy at one time.

It's super bleak but not without its quirks and it has an interesting, surreal atmosphere. I thought La vie de Jésus was the harder watch of the two Dumonts.

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

Originally Posted by Banned User

On another note. In regards to the Haxan Bluray. Anyone here that can explain the difference in tints between the DVD release and the Bluray? Just curious. I'm not that familiar with the tinting process, but assume it was something done during the printing process. In which case this Bluray comes from a different source?

Came here to ask this also; unless I missed it, the DVD Beaver review didn't seem clear on whether this blu came from a different source than the DVD or if Criterion just decided to apply the tinting differently.

Looking at the screens I'm not sure how I feel about the different tinting on the blu-ray...anyone have insight into which is more accurate?

[AaronJ]

John Waters is so funny. Every interview he does is memorable.

[Lope de Aguirre]

Criterion should release these on Blu-ray
"Gummo" (1997 by Harmony Korine with Chloe Sevigny)
"Mister Lonely" (2007 by Harmony Korine with Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Werner Herzog + Leos Carax)
"Don't Come Knocking" (2005 by Wim Wenders with Sam Shepars, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth)
"Werckmeister harmóniák" (Werckmeister Harmonies, 2000 by Bela Tarr)
"The Devils" (1971 by Ken Russell with Oliver Reed)
"Pisma myortvogo cheloveka" (Dead Man's Letters, 1986 by Konstantin Lopushanskiy)
"Na srebrnym globie" (On the Silver Globe, 1988 by Andrzej Zulawski)
"Diabel" (The Devil, 1991 by Anrzej Zulawski)
"Begotten" (1990 byE. Elias Merhige)
"Lebenszeichen" (Signs of Life, 1968 by Werner Herzog with Florian Fricke)
"Cerro Torre: Schrei aus Stein" (Scream of Stone, 1991 by Werner Herzog with Donald Sutherland, Brad Dourif, Volker Prechtel + Werner Herzog)
"The Wild Blue Yonder" (2005 by Werner Herzog with Brad Dourif)

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Lope de Aguirre

Criterion should release these on Blu-ray
"Gummo" (1997 by Harmony Korine with Chloe Sevigny)
"Mister Lonely" (2007 by Harmony Korine with Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Werner Herzog + Leos Carax)
"Don't Come Knocking" (2005 by Wim Wenders with Sam Shepars, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth)
"Werckmeister harmóniák" (Werckmeister Maronies, 2000 by Bela Tarr)
"The Devils" (1971 by Ken Russell with Oliver Reed)
"Pisma myortvogo cheloveka" (Dead Man's Letters, 1986 by Konstantin Lopushanskiy)
"Na srebrnym globie" (On the Silver Globe, 1988 by Andrzej Zulawski)
"Diabel" (The Devil, 1991 by Anrzej Zulawski)
"Begotten" (1990 byE. Elias Merhige)
"Viy" (1967 by Konstantin Ershov + Georgiy Kropachyov)
"Lebenszeichen" (Signs of Life, 1968 by Werner Herzog with Florian Fricke)
"Cerro Torre: Schrei aus Stein" (Scream of Stone, 1991 by Werner Herzog with Donald Sutherland, Brad Dourif, Volker Prechtel + Werner Herzog)
"The Wild Blue Yonder" (2005 by Werner Herzog with Brad Dourif)

Severin is releasing Viy in the US.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

This is why I'm a little worried about James Gray. Ad Astra is a big project for him, and I seriously doubt it will break even theatrically. Could bomb. If it bombs, it will have a negative impact on his career because he hasn't had any real hits.

Dominik is done in Hollywood. Last I heard he was trying to get a McCarthy project off the ground.

We Own the Night made more than twice its production budget at the global box office. As for Gray, most of his films have at least been well-reviewed, which probably offsets the meagre box office results when it comes to his getting funding for future projects. After all, 3 of PTA's last five films have technically been box-office flops.

I still think Brad-Pitt-in-a-space-suit will at least get a few butts in the theatre regardless of the film's ultimate commercial viability.

[RojD]

Finally watched Manila in the Claws of Light last night. Has anyone else seen it?

I was initally put off by the cliched elements for a popular audience, but wow! Grant it it's context, and it's impressive. It's part Neorealist, part American New Wave (you have to think of Friedkin while you're watching it) and part on-the-nose social criticism.

The more I process it, the more I like it.

[Lope de Aguirre]

Originally Posted by nitin

Severin is releasing Viy in the US.

Yeah I funnily just saw that.
Good news!

[jw007]

Originally Posted by mande2013

I still think Brad-Pitt-in-a-space-suit will at least get a few butts in the theatre regardless of the film's ultimate commercial viability.

Last night I went to see an IMAX presentation of Ad Astra, a science fiction film with a story set in the near future. The story is based around a bold astronaut named Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) who goes on a daring mission into deep interplanetary space to resolve a mysterious power surge and find his missing father (Clifford McBride played by Tommy Lee Jones), who 30 years prior led a secret project in the search for extraterrestrial life but has since "gone AWOL" around the rings of Neptune. I was excited to see this film and I really liked the fact that it was a cerebral, "thinking-person's sci-fi" film that focused on humanistic themes in the vein of Star Trek, but at the same time I wasn't emotionally moved like I was hoping to be (after reading some reviews). I think Brad Pitt's acting performance was terrific, but the writing is what I had issues with (it always comes back down to writing). I felt there should have been parallel storylines happening at the same time between Brad Pitt and his father (or maybe flashbacks so we could see more backstory on Tommy Lee Jones' character), but it ended up feeling like another dehumanized, sterile sci fi movie with one too many airlock hatches and a story that moved at the pace of a snail from one planetoid to another.

The film's score was absolutely beautiful and the visual effects were minimalist but elegant (especially around deep blue Neptune), the directing by James Gray was top notch and the casting was great (bringing back classic actors such as Donald Sutherland and Tommy Lee Jones). The writing as usual was the problem for me however. The film's story borrowed a lot from Apocalypse Now, 2001: A Space Odyssey, 2010: The Year We Make Contact, Sunshine, Interstellar, and Event Horizon. At the same time, the narration/voiceover by Brad Pitt reminded me of Martin Sheen's dialogue in Apocalypse Now that was also inspired a bit from Terrence Malick's films. The narration I think was its achilles heel, because it was explaining too much in light of the mystery the story was (we already knew Brad Pitt's character of Roy McBride was isolated and lonely). A Kubrick film such as 2001: A Space Odyssey had the opposite effect, as it left so much open to interpretation (which makes it a masterpiece and a film I could watch over many times and still come up with another interpretation Kubrick was trying to say - aside from the Arthur C. Clarke novel).

Ad Astra (latin for "To the Stars"), does however have some original action scenes and images I've never seen in another film, such as the miles-long space antenna jutting out of Planet Earth, the moon rover pirate chase, the angry space baboons (what the hell?!), the corporate presence on the huge moon base, and the majestic rings of Neptune. The action sequences that were interspersed with the ponderous journey of one man seemingly going through a midlife crisis into the outer reaches of the solar system to "discover" his father, were uneven though. What did this film want to be known for? The underlying existentialism for finding life far from Earth, the psychological restraint of a seasoned heroic astronaut who could kick anyone's ass, or the difficult bond between a father and a son by journeying into the heart of darkness and the "end of the line" (Joseph Conrad style). Maybe the story was taking on too many themes with not enough character development.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that "Life is a journey, not a destination", but in the case of this film, we needed something more transcendent than a son being reacquainted with an ungrateful father who lost his mind from too much time via interplanetary travel. In the case of this film, it could have benefitted from something surreal, something supernatural, or something that went beyond reality and into the paranormal realm (not quite horror to the extent of Event Horizon, but something that 2001: A Space Odyssey was able to achieve). I liked the mostly realistic action sequences in Ad Astra, but there was a lack of real human emotion, whether humor or a breakdown of character. Brad Pitt was too stoic, too "Neil Armstrong'esque" (such as Ryan Gosling's version in First Man), and when his eyes did well up a bit, it wasn't quite enough to make me relate to his personal journey with his dad. Roy McBride didn't have a big personality, as he was institutionalized to deliver the finest military persona this side of Planet Earth. This is a real "man's movie" and the few female characters were highly underrepresented in the film as well (a feminist would hate this film), but that's not even the point anyway.

In a nutshell, Ad Astra's Roy McBride is a Joseph Campbell character in a Joseph Conrad story. I think the writers (James Gray, Ethan Gross) took themselves too seriously when they wrote the screenplay, trying to piece in "The Hero with a Thousand Faces" for Brad Pitt's character, and I think there is a bit of an attitude of self-righteousness that I took away from Ad Astra. There was also the feeling of melancholy, of "growing old", and of regret as well. I did not feel uplifted, but rather downtrodden as I stumbled out of my seat after the credits ended. I wanted so much to love this movie, but I'm not sure I did, because I left the theater feeling unfulfilled and a tad frustrated. I hope to see it again soon because I really did appreciate this cerebral humanistic film that focused on the human condition regardless of the uneven flaws with its disjointed action scenes. Despite the flawed masterpiece this is, we need more films like this. 3 1/4 stars (out of 4).

[mande2013]

I have next to no doubt James Gray is a great “mise-en-scenarist”. He’s convinced me of that much. But on the textual front he needs to get over Joseph Campbell. He always seems to force a ‘hero’s journey’ arc that’s at odds with the otherwise grim atmosphere of his films. Mark Wahlberg gets redeemed at the end of The Yards. Phoenix at the end of We Own the Night and Two Lovers, Brad Pitt at the end of Ad Astra and so on. I suppose Marion Cotillard is the ‘hero’ undergoing a ‘journey’ in The Immigrant as Joaquin’s character is more or less irredeemable in that film. But Gray’s films have a way of promising more than they ultimately deliver.

[DreadStare]

Originally Posted by Lope de Aguirre

Criterion should release these on Blu-ray
"Gummo" (1997 by Harmony Korine with Chloe Sevigny)
"Mister Lonely" (2007 by Harmony Korine with Diego Luna, Samantha Morton, Werner Herzog + Leos Carax)
"Don't Come Knocking" (2005 by Wim Wenders with Sam Shepars, Jessica Lange, Tim Roth)
"Werckmeister harmóniák" (Werckmeister Harmonies, 2000 by Bela Tarr)
"The Devils" (1971 by Ken Russell with Oliver Reed)
"Pisma myortvogo cheloveka" (Dead Man's Letters, 1986 by Konstantin Lopushanskiy)
"Na srebrnym globie" (On the Silver Globe, 1988 by Andrzej Zulawski)
"Diabel" (The Devil, 1991 by Anrzej Zulawski)
"Begotten" (1990 byE. Elias Merhige)
"Lebenszeichen" (Signs of Life, 1968 by Werner Herzog with Florian Fricke)
"Cerro Torre: Schrei aus Stein" (Scream of Stone, 1991 by Werner Herzog with Donald Sutherland, Brad Dourif, Volker Prechtel + Werner Herzog)
"The Wild Blue Yonder" (2005 by Werner Herzog with Brad Dourif)

Great list! So many interesting looking movies I haven't seen. I don't understand how they still haven't released Memories of Murder considering they're familiar with the director and how many people have been requesting it.

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by mande2013

I have next to no doubt James Gray is a great “mise-en-scenarist”. He’s convinced me of that much. But on the textual front he needs to get over Joseph Campbell. He always seems to force a ‘hero’s journey’ arc that’s at odds with the otherwise grim atmosphere of his films. Mark Wahlberg gets redeemed at the end of The Yards. Phoenix at the end of We Own the Night and Two Lovers, Brad Pitt at the end of Ad Astra and so on. I suppose Marion Cotillard is the ‘hero’ undergoing a ‘journey’ in The Immigrant as Joaquin’s character is more or less irredeemable in that film. But Gray’s films have a way of promising more than they ultimately deliver.

Although you didn't include Lost City of Z in this, it sure does fit the mold.

James Gray is missing the gestalt, no matter how fantastic the parts are, it never rises above the sum of those parts...

[nitin]

Haven’t seen Lost City or Ad Astra yet but the only James Gray movie I have liked (quite a fair bit) is The Immigrant.

[Trekkie313]

Watched Paul Bartel's Eating Raoul and Private Parts on TCM the other night.

Criterion needs more "cult" movies.

[lim.davidd]

Just bought a bluray copy of A Man Escaped