The Criterion Collection

[Simon_LDT]

Originally Posted by Banned User

12 Angry men always amazes me how it keeps you fully engaged and is so riveting, yet they never leave that one room.

I've just watched it for the first time too, was completely engrossed in the whole thing from start to finish.

Is Anatomy of a Murder a similar type of film then?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Simon_LDT

I've just watched it for the first time too, was completely engrossed in the whole thing from start to finish.

Is Anatomy of a Murder a similar type of film then?

They're similar in that they're both courtroom dramas and they're both very good but as far as style and overall tone goes Anatomy of a Murder probably has more in common with something like Sweet Smell of Success than with 12 Angry Men.

[Simon_LDT]

Originally Posted by octagon

They're similar in that they're both courtroom dramas and they're both very good but as far as style and overall tone goes Anatomy of a Murder probably has more in common with something like Sweet Smell of Success than with 12 Angry Men.

Thanks. I've got Sweet Smell of Success (another blind-buy) which I'll be watching soon.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Banned User

12 Angry men always amazes me how it keeps you fully engaged and is so riveting, yet they never leave that one room.

Lumet did an interesting thing visually in 12 Angry Men. In the beginning, most (if not all) of the shots are from above, looking down on the men almost like a fly on the wall. As the movie progresses, the camera slowly gets lower and lower, and by the end, most of the shots are looking up at the characters with the ceiling visible. He did this to give the audience the sense that the room is getting smaller and the walls are closing in, which heightens the suspense and anticipation almost subliminally.

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by retablo

Lumet did an interesting thing visually in 12 Angry Men. In the beginning, most (if not all) of the shots are from above, looking down on the men almost like a fly on the wall. As the movie progresses, the camera slowly gets lower and lower, and by the end, most of the shots are looking up at the characters with the ceiling visible. He did this to give the audience the sense that the room is getting smaller and the walls are closing in, which heightens the suspense and anticipation almost subliminally.

the supplements on the Criterion BD are very cool...love this film

[Yami]

Originally Posted by Criterion on Facebook

Here's a hint: A film from 1950 will be getting a Blu-ray upgrade.

I think that makes Rashomon a very good bet

[octagon]

Originally Posted by retablo

Lumet did an interesting thing visually in 12 Angry Men. In the beginning, most (if not all) of the shots are from above, looking down on the men almost like a fly on the wall. As the movie progresses, the camera slowly gets lower and lower, and by the end, most of the shots are looking up at the characters with the ceiling visible. He did this to give the audience the sense that the room is getting smaller and the walls are closing in, which heightens the suspense and anticipation almost subliminally.

I love the shots during the opening credits too.

It opens on the grandeur of the looming columns outside the courthouse, then an equally impressive, imposing interior but gradually the shots get more and more mundane (people just going about their business) until you wind up at a plain old door (complete with peeling paint) outside the courtroom itself.

In the space of a minute or two he walks you from the noble ideals of justice to the everyday reality where the rubber really meets the road.

It's very cool.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by octagon

I love the shots during the opening credits too.

It opens on the grandeur of the looming columns outside the courthouse, then an equally impressive, imposing interior but gradually the shots get more and more mundane (people just going about their business) until you wind up at a plain old door (complete with peeling paint) outside the courtroom itself.

In the space of a minute or two he walks you from the noble ideals of justice to the everyday reality where the rubber really meets the road.

It's very cool.

Yep. Lumet was a master, but a subtle one. He never hit you over the head with crazy visuals or camera tricks, but if you study his body of work, they are there. Just a smart filmmaker using the tools of cinema in very smart ways.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by Yami

I think that makes Rashomon a very good bet

Seems like a sure thing now. Got my hopes up!!

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Yami

I think that makes Rashomon a very good bet

Looks like it. It'd be that or THE FURIES but RASHOMON is longer overdue.

[Yami]

It could also be The Flowers of St. Francis (or any other 1950 film) but I'd say it's almost certainly Rashomon due to the fact it had a theatrical outing not too long ago

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by Yami

I think that makes Rashomon a very good bet

Sounds right. The other titles from 1950 I could think of are Les Enfants Terribles and Night and the City. But I have to believe Melville's Le Samouraï and Dassin's Rififi would get upgraded before those titles. It has been a while since they had a Kurosawa upgrade and there has been promise of Rashomon for a while.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by retablo

Yep. Lumet was a master, but a subtle one. He never hit you over the head with crazy visuals or camera tricks, but if you study his body of work, they are there. Just a smart filmmaker using the tools of cinema in very smart ways.

Lumet let the actors become the visual. You remember the performances more than anything in his films. Network is a great example, Beatrice Straight got an Oscar for one scene, Ned Beatty nominated for one scene.

[Yojimbo]

Whatever happened with the clue awhile back of the drunk dog with a halo over its head? I remember we all assumed it was Stray Dog and Drunken Angel, or did that turn out to be something else entirely?

[Nailwraps]

I'm hopin' Brazil gets announced for November.

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by Nailwraps

I'm hopin' Brazil gets announced for November.

That would be awesome, I know some are curious if they will release just the film or the full BRAZIL box set to blu. I say it will be the full set when it is announced otherwise it is a harder sell to some who own the Universal blu already if all they get is a commentary track on the movie disc. I could be wrong but this has always been a banner title for Criterion so they will do it right I believe.

[Yami]

Originally Posted by Yojimbo

Whatever happened with the clue awhile back of the drunk dog with a halo over its head? I remember we all assumed it was Stray Dog and Drunken Angel, or did that turn out to be something else entirely?

Anatomy of a Murder, I think

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

Lumet let the actors become the visual. You remember the performances more than anything in his films. Network is a great example, Beatrice Straight got an Oscar for one scene, Ned Beatty nominated for one scene.

Well, yes... but he didn't simply "let" them become the visual — he crafted his films that way. But he also — along with Friedkin — helped bring a realism into so-called blockbusters with a documentary style approach that accentuated the performances, making them seem even more lifelike.

Prince of the City is still my favorite Lumet — 130 locations and 126 speaking parts. Just amazing.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by retablo

Well, yes... but he didn't simply "let" them become the visual — he crafted his films that way. But he also — along with Friedkin — helped bring a realism into so-called blockbusters with a documentary style approach that accentuated the performances, making them seem even more lifelike.

Prince of the City is still my favorite Lumet — 130 locations and 126 speaking parts. Just amazing.

I totally agree. Lumet is one of the key directors in the 1970's who got me interested in film.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

That would be awesome, I know some are curious if they will release just the film or the full BRAZIL box set to blu. I say it will be the full set when it is announced otherwise it is a harder sell to some who own the Universal blu already if all they get is a commentary track on the movie disc. I could be wrong but this has always been a banner title for Criterion so they will do it right I believe.

I'd hope it would be the full set. In fact, I personally think they need to go back and release the full set version of The Last Emperor to Blu-ray. With the exception of a couple of multi-film box sets, they now seem to be bringing the sets like this fully to blu. I just think TLE didn't happen that way since it was 1 of the first blus. I hope they will eventually rectify this.