The Criterion Collection

[italy12]

Originally Posted by JediFonger

italy... what is your 'employee discount'?

Well, on most items we pay cost plus 5%. So, depending on what the item is, or what the manufacturer is, we can either get a great discount, or practically none at all. Laptops, we get maybe a few dollars, Apple products (iPods, iPads, and MacBooks) we get practically nothing.

Televisions are pretty decent. We can get a great TV for a couple hundred knocked off. Car audio is pretty sweet as well. Where we see our biggest discounts are on items made by Dynex or Insignia, two companies exclusive to Best Buy. HDMI cables are cheap as heck as well....I got a $15 aux cable for my iPod in the car for $3.

Blu rays are a different story. That is where I wish we had a bigger discount! It depends on the studio...Sony offers a decent discount (I could get Karate Kid for less than $15) but Paramount, or the Sapphire Series BDs specifically, like Saving Private Ryan, I can get for around $19 or $20.

I got some great deals on live BDs, like David Gilmour: Remember That Night, reg. $34.99...discount $17. Marilyn Manson BD, reg. $22, discount $16.

Criterion doesn't have a huge discount...I can get Ride With the Devil, reg $29.99, for $26.

Lesser known movie studios, lilke Vivendi I think...or whoever released The Collector, I was able to get for $15.

Catalogue titles are decent too...I got Minority Report and Collateral for $17 each.

It's not too bad...just have to know where to look....

Dave

[JediFonger]

nothing like Rashomon (diff. POV) was made before that movie. that's why i used it as a litmus test for you. regardless of your feelings about any of the other AK movies, that particular one is quite influential and drastically changed the face of cinema narrative. and yes you said AK films brought "nothing to the table". in fact, that film alone is worthy of AK's entry into whatever film "hall of fame" thing if there one.

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

Anymore I said. I'm not one for holding onto a film for so long, because I will prob see a better one later. It's funny when people say "so and so is the best film ever!". I don't do that, because you can't hold a film to another. You just can't. I went through my Kurosawa time, and it doesn't interest me anymore. For the people who find that "stupid", are the ones who dismiss my reasoning due to their safe nature of films. They never want to have their own views and jump on the bandwagon of top film lists.

italy, that's terrible "discounts" . KK1 was on amazon for like $10

[Joe Cain]

Originally Posted by JediFonger

and yes you said AK films brought "nothing to the table".

No, what he said was Kurosawa's films brought nothing to the table *for him anymore*. That's an important distinction.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by JediFonger

nothing like Rashomon (diff. POV) was made before that movie. that's why i used it as a litmus test for you. regardless of your feelings about any of the other AK movies, that particular one is quite influential and drastically changed the face of cinema narrative. and yes you said AK films brought "nothing to the table". in fact, that film alone is worthy of AK's entry into whatever film "hall of fame" thing if there one.

Once again, I said, "They bring nothing to the table for ME ANYMORE". No one is going to tell me what I like and don't. It's up to yourself if you want to watch the same films over and over again, or you want to be told what to like. I like what I want to like and what I feel I like at that moment. I don't want to be forced into a cult of circle jerkers telling me to like a certain film because they do, hence why everyone's "Top Lists' are the same and a joke. Are you really that cool to have the same films on a list that millions of others do too? No.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by Joe Cain

No, what he said was Kurosawa's films brought nothing to the table *for him anymore*. That's an important distinction.

Thank you sir. Some people grow from things, while others want to be liked for liking the same movies millions of others do.

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

It's funny I have never called anyone stupid on this board.

Well go on being safe about your film choices and have other people tell you what you should like kid. "Godfather, Seven Samurai, Citizen Kane, Breathless, Pulp Fiction, BEST MOVIES EVER!"

I can't even imagine what you're trying to say here. How is mentioning a great film "safe"? It's like you're obsessed with obscurity, to the point where you deride anyone with mainstream tastes (even "mainstream" within the niche of Criterion/foreign/independent films, which itself is faaar from mainstream). I get that you like people with strong opinions - but I feel you mistake "obscure opinion" for "strong opinion", and likewise mistake "mainstream opinion" for "weak/passive opinion." There is no direct link between those two sets of statements, and the majority of disagreements you get involved in stem from you imposing your opinion of that relationship on others.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by neo_reloaded

I can't even imagine what you're trying to say here. How is mentioning a great film "safe"? It's like you're obsessed with obscurity, to the point where you deride anyone with mainstream tastes (even "mainstream" within the niche of Criterion/foreign/independent films, which itself is faaar from mainstream). I get that you like people with strong opinions - but I feel you mistake "obscure opinion" for "strong opinion", and likewise mistake "mainstream opinion" for "weak/passive opinion." There is no direct link between those two sets of statements, and the majority of disagreements you get involved in stem from you imposing your opinion of that relationship on others.

I don't deride no one. I'm not the one calling people stupid, which I got called. I do think it's passive/weak to name a top 10 lists of the same I see on AFI, or critics lists. Do you not have an opinion? How come I can't put Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 on a top list? Is it because other people didn't and instead put Citizen Kane? That is what I am getting at. Don't try to force feed the idea that you like a Kurosawa film. Most of the people who "like him" are people who just says it to put on a front because other people do. I got tired of his films. What is wrong with that?

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

I do think it's passive/weak to name a top 10 lists of the same I see on AFI, or critics lists.

These movies are on the top of lists for a reason. Not that EVERYONE has to agree, certainly (and it would scare me if people did). But to make it to the top of so many lists certainly implies that the film has many positive qualities that stick with people. They didn't just randomly pick some film and say "hey, let's all collectively agree this film is the best." One person likes it, and tells another, and that person likes it, and it spreads. Should people JUST watch the films on the top 10 list and then stop there? NO OF COURSE NOT. But it's a starting point. If it weren't for discussion about great pieces of cinema, it would be very difficult to start out - there are so many films out there, it would be option paralysis without a few hints as to what to begin with. And for some people, a handful of those films may genuinely end up their favorites as well. There is no vast conspiracy of dishonesty like you seem to imply. Popular films are popular because, DUH, people like them!

Do you not have an opinion? How come I can't put Rob Zombie's Halloween 2 on a top list? Is it because other people didn't and instead put Citizen Kane? That is what I am getting at. Don't try to force feed the idea that you like Kurosawa but you like Kurosawa.

You can put whatever film you like on your list. I wouldn't insult you if you said Halloween 2 was your favorite and had some reasons behind that. Yet you jump on people for saying a Kurosawa is their favorite. It makes no sense to me.

If I disagreed with you about H2, I would disagree with you based on the merits of the film - not how many other people like it. When you discuss Kurosawa, you don't point out things in his films you dislike. You dismiss him entirely because "people just say they like him because thats what everyone says." That's not a discussion of film. That's a meta-discussion of film criticism and popularity itself, and beyond pointless in my opinion.

Most of the people who "like him" are people who just says it to put on a front because other people do.

This is what bothers me the most about your posts. This statement right here seems delusional. Most people who like him are just saying it? Really? What in the heck possibly gives you the knowledge or authority to say that? It's so pretentious I can't even wrap my brain around it. What separates someone who likes Kurosawa from someone like you, who likes Godard? It's not like Godard is significantly more obscure within the wide range of cinema. Would you be insulted if someone implied that you just liked Godard because others do and it was a popular thing to say?

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by neo_reloaded

This is what bothers me the most about your posts. This statement right here seems delusional. Most people who like him are just saying it? Really? What in the heck possibly gives you the knowledge or authority to say that? It's so pretentious I can't even wrap my brain around it. What separates someone who likes Kurosawa from someone like you, who likes Godard? It's not like Godard is significantly more obscure within the wide range of cinema. Would you be insulted if someone implied that you just liked Godard because others do and it was a popular thing to say?

You know why I say that? Hmmmm, let's see, well I am talking to a majority who got into Criterion just to collect them all. Oh and don't forget they have to be in HD.

Everyone needs to stop and think. This is a forum. I have opinions on films. This is not a cult of everyone has to like the same thing. If you don't like my opinions, you can walk outside and there is a whole world out there to live. I don't care what people think of Godard. Heck sometimes I don't even like his films, but I come back to them is why I like him. I like "popular" movies and "obscure" films. I just don't go around showing off a list of films millions of others have, because I know that list will change every week.

[neo_reloaded]

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

You know why I say that? Hmmmm, let's see, well I am talking to a majority who got into Criterion just to collect them all. Oh and don't forget they have to be in HD.

Everyone needs to stop and think. This is a forum. I have opinions on films. This is not a cult of everyone has to like the same thing. If you don't like my opinions, you can walk outside and there is a whole world out there to live. I don't care what people think of Godard. Heck sometimes I don't even like his films, but I come back to them is why I like him. I like "popular" movies and "obscure" films. I just don't go around showing off a list of films millions of others have, because I know that list will change every week.

Your "opinion" is that other people's opinions are based on dishonesty and passively accepting mainstream ideals. And you bring this up on a regular basis, and are the catalyst for thread derails every other day it seems. But when confronted, you pull out the "this is just MY opinion." You are an instigator, and you seem to love it. This is just MY opinion.

[horseflesh]

CG (and anyone else), just for the heck of it, what are a couple of your "mainstream" guilty pleasures?
I'll toss a couple off the top of my head; Face/Off, Tropic Thunder, X-Men 2 (I still think the White House sequence is the best conceived and executed action set-piece of its kind), Woody Allen's early funnier stuff , The Matrix, and I even had fun watching that recent Sherlock Holmes film

[SpiderBaby]

Well good that you have an opinion.

But instigator? This is what started off the day:

Beta made a funny joke about me, which I don't mind, he is cool and I know it's a joke.

I responded with:

I won't get peeved. I seen my share and own my share of Kurosawa films. It's not that I hate him. It's that I don't feel like his films bring anything to the table for me anymore. People will hate my comments because they don't feel the same yet, or that they are just stuck on him, which is fine, everyone has favs.

Now since someone didn't understand that there was NO BASHING I repeat NO BASHING of a poster, someone had to call me STUPID and another responded to me and he didn't even read the whole thing or he would of got when I said "doesn't bring anything to the table (MY TABLE) FOR ME ANYMORE".

So I can turn around and say you are bashing me for my views are you not? Lay off.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by horseflesh

CG (and anyone else), just for the heck of it, what are a couple of your "mainstream" guilty pleasures?
I'll toss a couple off the top of my head; Face/Off, Tropic Thunder, X-Men 2 (I still think the White House sequence is the best conceived and executed action set-piece of its kind), Woody Allen's early funnier stuff , The Matrix, and I even had fun watching that recent Sherlock Holmes film

Tropic Thunder was good. I'll do some from the past couple years. Step Brothers. Observe & Report. Halloween 2. Zodiac. Just doing some off the top of my head. I could later come back to this question with more and older stuff as well.

[captveg]

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

Anymore I said. I'm not one for holding onto a film for so long, because I will prob see a better one later. It's funny when people say "so and so is the best film ever!". I don't do that, because you can't hold a film to another. You just can't. I went through my Kurosawa time, and it doesn't interest me anymore. For the people who find that "stupid", are the ones who dismiss my reasoning due to their safe nature of films. They never want to have their own views and jump on the bandwagon of top film lists.

OK, I can understand someone moving to different films, developing different tastes, etc. That to me is normal.

I also find trying to establish the "best film ever made" as useless hyperbole. Once something is considered great and in that rarer eschelon that's enough for me as for as comparisons of great films go.

What I have an issue with here is the posturing that those who continue to enjoy Kurosawa "never want to have their own views". That's complete BS. These are not mutually exclusive experiences. I can continue to enjoy Kurosawa in the same way I always have, and yet also have new discoveries that may or may not be as enjoyable / compelling to me. Melville, Ozu, Laurel & Hardy, Harold Lloyd, Demy, etc. - all filmmakers I've become familiar with after my exposure to Kurosawa, all with some films I appreciate more than many of Kurosawa's films, but why does that mean I have to like Kurosawa any less? I have yet to see a Fassbinder film, but let's say I get around to really checking him out in the near future - if I love his work, that just gets added to my canvas of great film works I've experienced. It's not like learning to love other films that are relatively more obscure replaces my love for Kurosawa, as though love of cinema is capped at some arbitrary point.

To me, it has nothing to do with being safe, or with trying to limit "their own views" by jumping off any particular bandwagon. It's about continually enjoying all that cinema has to offer. Why throw out Kurosawa just because more people have historically enjoyed his work? That to me makes no sense.

[ShellOilJunior]

Why make film tastes political?

There's so many cinematic treasures available for all to enjoy. For example, a few years ago fans pitted There Will Be Blood against No Country for Old men and attacked each other. Meanwhile, I'm thinking this is absurd, both films are excellent--- why not enjoy them?

Same goes for filmmakers.

[keldons]

Why don't cinema lovers, you know, embrace all types of cinema and waste less time bickering over who insulted who on internet forums?

Sounds good to me!

[SpiderBaby]

Fair enough then. No More posting "CG will be ticked off about this" type of stuff so we can have all traces to never appear again.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by horseflesh

CG (and anyone else), just for the heck of it, what are a couple of your "mainstream" guilty pleasures?
I'll toss a couple off the top of my head; Face/Off, Tropic Thunder, X-Men 2 (I still think the White House sequence is the best conceived and executed action set-piece of its kind), Woody Allen's early funnier stuff , The Matrix, and I even had fun watching that recent Sherlock Holmes film

Some of my favorite types of non-Criterion films:

Zombie films (especially Romero works) - by far my favorite horror sub-genre
Quentin Tarantino films - namely Pulp Fiction and Bill Bill
Cheesy, low budget samurai films
WWE wrestling on DVD/Blu - namely from the 80's to early 00's when wrestling was good
Disney animated classics and Pixar films

[ChadFL]

Hooray my copy of M came in the mail today thanks to Barnes & Noble's sweet $18 price!

[McCrutchy]

Okay everyone, because of all this nastiness, it's time to name the film that you're most ashamed of enjoying.

Mine is: Kingpin (the R-rated cut on DVD) or the opening credits of Barb Wire (I can honestly do without the rest of that movie).