The Criterion Collection

[*DrStrangelove*]

Just saw my copy of Army of Shadows. What a masterpiece. Loved this film and the pq.was.excellent. I'm glad I picked it up. I'm gonna get Le Cercle Rouge next.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Just saw my copy of Army of Shadows. What a masterpiece. Loved this film and the pq.was.excellent. I'm glad I picked it up. I'm gonna get Le Cercle Rouge next.

Good idea!
Although, Le Cercle Rouge is a completely different type of film. It's very much a cool genre film. I'm not sure how to classify Army of Shadows, but I loved it.

[Monty70]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Nope.
From Wikipedia:
"Displeased with his middling success in melodramas and "blandly handsome features", Shishido underwent cheek augmentation surgery in 1957, increasing their size. Some have described his new look as "ruggedly handsome" and others equated it as being distinctly chipmunk-like. Afterwards, he began getting bigger parts predominantly as villains in action movies."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Shishido

Mrs DrBikeShorts refers to him as "Chubby Cheeks"

Did you notice his cheek in the interview from the supplement section? Shishido has a long scar. It almost looks like he had some kind of reverse plastic surgery to get rid of the implants.

May be the most entertaining interview supplement in the collection. Joe is a riot.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by Monty70

Did you notice his cheek in the interview from the supplement section? Shishido has a long scar. It almost looks like he had some kind of reverse plastic surgery to get rid of the implants.

May be the most entertaining interview supplement in the collection. Joe is a riot.

My copy hasn't been delivered yet, but I'm looking forward to some of the new supplements on the Suzuki discs.
By the look of his picture on Wikipedia, he probably did have the implants removed.

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

All of Fellini's films are unfocused and pretentious. I really don't like his style. I love films that are a mind-****, but I don't get anything out of his work. Amarcord is a mess. 8 1/2 is a mess as well. I can appreciate what he's trying to do with these. Amarcord is a nice coming of age tale, and 8 1/2 is a good take on the artistic/creative process. But they are just so sloppy. I don't get it.

It's interesting to see all of the different opinions regarding Fellini on here. I have not given up on him, as I do want to watch the other films of his I own. I was going to start running through them yesterday, but I didn't get around to it and today I was busy with my son most of the day. Tomorrow will be the same, family first, you know.

I am hoping I will find the time this week. If I do, I will post my thoughts on each film as I get through them. Perhaps by the time I get done with 8 1/2, my "understanding" of Fellini will cause me to relish in the joys of Amarcord as I thought I would upon the initial viewing.

From my understanding, his earlier films were structured in a more conventional way, while his later films had less structure, and less of a narrative. I am assuming that is probably the case, as I found Nights of Cabiria to be highly enjoyable, and it was structured as well as any film I have seen.

[ShellOilJunior]

This isn't Criterion-related (that never stops the Kino, MOC tangents).

Lawrence of Arabia Blu-ray set for June 4 release in UK (US around that time).

Couple this with the Lean set in March and the first half of the year is exceptionally strong.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by oildude

I finally had some time to watch a few movies last night and today.

People on Sunday - I really liked this. I think it may be one of the best silents I have ever seen. It feels intimate, modern, and real. As a time trip back to Weimar-era Berlin, it is a feast for the eyes. There is so much detail and life to the city, it is as much a character as the people appearing in the film. I loved the way Berliners are shown enjoying their weekend, with the five main actors blending into the whole setting.

For all of its modern feel, People on Sunday is also a window looking into a lost world. I have read several books about the Battle of Berlin in 1945, and have watched film footage of the US and Britiish bombings, the Soviet advance into the city, the house to house fighting, anti-tank guns firing down city streets, the bombed out tenements, shops, factories, public buildings. As I watched the movie, I could not help comparing in my mind those images of a dead and skeletal Berlin with what I was seeing in front of me. The movie is a celebration of life, but it is a sad and surreal viewing experience knowing what fate lay in the near future of all of those people shown on screen. Watching the playing children was especially touching.

Does anyone know what became of the main actors? I have not viewed the supplements yet, so I do not know if they address this.

I also liked the modern music score best. It seemed to give the film a more immediate and contemprary feel to match the dynamic of the city and its people. This is a silent film that just demands to be seen and recognized as a marvel of time and place. I recommend it highly.

I'm a couple of days behind so I don't know if this has already been answered, but according to the supplements, the actors used in this film were everyday people. I believe they were the workers for those respective jobs which they had in the movie...I'm 99.9% positive.

[rkish]

Anyone hear back from Jon Mulvaney/Criterion about Carlos/Three Colors White audio issue/replacement disc program? I sent them an email a week ago and haven't heard anything yet. I know they wanted to do something this month, but well expect it to happen after New Year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!

[rkish]

Originally Posted by oildude

I finally had some time to watch a few movies last night and today.

People on Sunday - I really liked this. I think it may be one of the best silents I have ever seen. It feels intimate, modern, and real. As a time trip back to Weimar-era Berlin, it is a feast for the eyes. There is so much detail and life to the city, it is as much a character as the people appearing in the film. I loved the way Berliners are shown enjoying their weekend, with the five main actors blending into the whole setting.

For all of its modern feel, People on Sunday is also a window looking into a lost world. I have read several books about the Battle of Berlin in 1945, and have watched film footage of the US and Britiish bombings, the Soviet advance into the city, the house to house fighting, anti-tank guns firing down city streets, the bombed out tenements, shops, factories, public buildings. As I watched the movie, I could not help comparing in my mind those images of a dead and skeletal Berlin with what I was seeing in front of me. The movie is a celebration of life, but it is a sad and surreal viewing experience knowing what fate lay in the near future of all of those people shown on screen. Watching the playing children was especially touching.

Does anyone know what became of the main actors? I have not viewed the supplements yet, so I do not know if they address this.

I also liked the modern music score best. It seemed to give the film a more immediate and contemprary feel to match the dynamic of the city and its people. This is a silent film that just demands to be seen and recognized as a marvel of time and place. I recommend it highly.

The only person from the "People on Sunday" crew that pursued acting was the chubby gentleman (whose girlfriend stayed home, while he was out hitting on that other girl ). He appeared in a film or two for one of the contributing directors (don't know if it was Wilder), but he had marginal success.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by italy12

I'm a couple of days behind so I don't know if this has already been answered, but according to the supplements, the actors used in this film were everyday people. I believe they were the workers for those respective jobs which they had in the movie...I'm 99.9% positive.

Thanks for responding. I realize they were not professional actors, but they did act in the film even thought they maintained their real-life professions.

In the context of my post (which was me watching this gorgeous life-play of a day in Berlin and thinking about the destruction of the city 15 years later), I was wondering what became of the five main characters. One - I think it was the blond girl - lived to a ripe old age and died recently, according to a quick web search and a member post from a few days ago.

But what about the others? Did they all survive the war? Did the wine salesman, a former officer according to the prologue, end up back in the Wehrmacht? At the very least he would have been drafted into the landwehr (home guard) formed as the allies closed in on Germany. What about the other two women? While the women had a better chance of survival, any woman who remained in Berlin when the Soviets stormed their way into the city street-by-street risked a cruel fate.

I would think a journalist or filmmaker in Germany (or elsewhere) might have done a followup on the main players in the decades since. Hopefully they all survived and went on to live decent and prosperous lives. Looking at this film as a window into a lost world just before the coming to power of the Nazis, watching those images of the old folks, the playing children, the smiling young adults, to me is what makes People on Sunday such a wonderfully powerful and frighteningly sad testament of life.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by oildude

Tonight I was standing in line to check out at B&N with a copy of The Lady Vanishes and my "Mystery" 20% coupon in hand. There was a guy in front of me asking the cashier how much his mystery coupon was worth, she told him she could not tell him unless she scanned an item first. He grabs a candy bar and she scans it and the coupon.......he had a 50% coupon!

She gets excited and tells him he got lucky and to go and find something he might like, reminding him all blu-rays are 40% off so the coupon will stack. This guys says no, just ring up the candy bar.

She sort of looked at him a second, then rang it up. He even asked her to put it in a bag.

Freakin' candy bar wasn't even a good one. The living dead do walk among us.

That was freaking hilarious!!!

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by rkish

Anyone hear back from Jon Mulvaney/Criterion about Carlos/Three Colors White audio issue/replacement disc program? I sent them an email a week ago and haven't heard anything yet. I know they wanted to do something this month, but well expect it to happen after New Year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!

You should get a quicker reply. I mean, "Jon Mulvaney" = about a 12 Criterion staffers -

[rkish]

I normally try not posting about purchases...but I've learned how to be grateful for when things go your way and when to accept those things that don't...gracefully.

I took advantage of a $50 B & N giftcard and the 40% off BD sale to purchase "Branded to Kill" and "Rushmore". I attempted to use the $8 off coupon and the gentleman at the register (whom I dealt with during the last 50% off sale) got the beep at the register again, as he did during the sale and attmpted to "override", but was alerted about the discounted price, etc. I wound up using a legit 20% off coup for each purchase...I was a bit heartbroken...but I rememebered how this gentleman and all those others that I dealt with during the last sale, allowed me to use that $8 coup and didn't bat an eye. Whether he had a change of heart and/or just couldn't do an override makes no difference. I appreciated what I was allowed to do at that time and I figure that the scales even out at some point. I wasn't going to question or complain.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by rkish

I normally try not posting about purchases...but I've learned how to be grateful for when things go your way and when to accept those things that don't...gracefully.

I took advantage of a $50 B & N giftcard and the 40% off BD sale to purchase "Branded to Kill" and "Rushmore". I attempted to use the $8 off coupon and the gentleman at the register (whom I dealt with during the last 50% off sale) got the beep at the register again, as he did during the sale and attmpted to "override", but was alerted about the discounted price, etc. I wound up using a legit 20% off coup for each purchase...I was a bit heartbroken...but I rememebered how this gentleman and all those others that I dealt with during the last sale, allowed me to use that $8 coup and didn't bat an eye. Whether he had a change of heart and/or just couldn't do an override makes no difference. I appreciated what I was allowed to do at that time and I figure that the scales even out at some point. I wasn't going to question or complain.

Rich, you still got it for under $20 which is a steal anyway. It's this type of 'respect' for the retailer that keeps them bringing back sales, and frankly, staying open... I see there will be no 'bah humbug' in your house this holiday season... Thanks for sharing that, maybe it will become infective...

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by Monty70

Did you notice his cheek in the interview from the supplement section? Shishido has a long scar. It almost looks like he had some kind of reverse plastic surgery to get rid of the implants.

May be the most entertaining interview supplement in the collection. Joe is a riot.

Joe Shishido is still going pretty strong. He got to bed the considerably younger Aya Sugimoto in Takashi Ishii's second Flower & Snake film just a few years ago.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by rkish

Anyone hear back from Jon Mulvaney/Criterion about Carlos/Three Colors White audio issue/replacement disc program? I sent them an email a week ago and haven't heard anything yet. I know they wanted to do something this month, but well expect it to happen after New Year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!

I got a reply from him last month saying they were aware of the problems and that they would reach out to us in December with instructions on obtaining replacement discs.
I specifically asked about international replacements, since I'm in Australia, but he never addressed that in his response.
I was actually expecting an email, or note on their last newsletter or something on their website, but so far nothing.

[DetroitSquirreL]

When I was watching 'Two Lane BlackTop' I couldn't get this out of my head the whole time

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOIo4...ature=youtu.be

Can anyone explain to me why this got the Criterion treatment? And don't point at the actors, thats not a good enough reason in my opinion

[fdm]

Originally Posted by rkish

Anyone hear back from Jon Mulvaney/Criterion about Carlos/Three Colors White audio issue/replacement disc program? I sent them an email a week ago and haven't heard anything yet. I know they wanted to do something this month, but well expect it to happen after New Year.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL!

Not personally, but a recent response to a similar query to Criterion indicated that they're now expected to be available in January.

[*DrStrangelove*]

I'm planning to pick up Le Cercle Rouge and one more criterion but can't decide. I wanna get a Japanese film but can't decide between Pale Flower or Branded to Kill. Which do you guys think is the better overall film? I know Branded to Kill is said to be strange but I'm open to that.

[octagon]

I haven't seen Branded to Kill yet but I really, really liked Pale Flower.