The Criterion Collection

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by Bluprint

For Shame,.

No, for Drive :P

hur hur hur.

But I agree. Drive should be in the Criterion Collection.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by tonylopez

It depends truly on your preference of film. But let me say first off, SEVEN SAMURAI. This movie grabbed me and never let go. This blu has it all. Great intro into the Criterion world. Some others I love and own are THE THIN RED LINE & PATHS OF GLORY as far as war movies. On the horror front, I like VIDEODROME, ROSEMARY'S BABY & ANTICHRIST, but be warned. They get a little extreme. BRAZIL, BLOW OUT, 12 ANGRY MEN are a few more I find myself returning to. Read up on reviews for all Criterion blurays and determine for yourself which films you would like to take home and enjoy. And most importantly, dont be afraid to blind buy and get lost into a film.

I agree with that. You can usually tell if you'll like a film and if you feel that way about a criterion collection film it's pretty safe to just blind buy it. Especially considering they hold their value really well even if it's a used copy.

[Wizard-of-Wars]

Finally watched my copy of ANATOMY OF A MURDER. I loved it!! What an amazing courtroom drama. Jimmie Stewart and George C Scott are at their best!!

Blu ray wise: the PQ felt like I could just reach out and touch the detailed cloths.

[KrugerIndustrial]

Originally Posted by spanky87

Just saw Contempt...uuugh.

Should I give up on Godard? I've only seen this and Breathless, and had emotionally empty experiences with both. I at least appreciated Breathless for it's innovative camera work and editing, but with Contempt there was nothing.

I love Bardot, but this has got to be the most annoying character she's ever played. That entire apartment sequence was painful to get through with some of the most bullshit meandering and repetitive dialogue I've heard in awhile. Actually the entire film was repetitive, "I love you, I despise you, I'll go to Capri if you want me to, no I don't want to go, why do you hate me" blah blah blah. Have to also mention the annoying and unsuitable 'grandiose' score that plays constantly, then it stops and starts again multiple times during the same scene.

I actually gave my television screen the finger when the "FIN" title card appeared. Vivre Sa Vie looks interesting, but I don't know now.

If there is such a thing as an acquired taste, Godard surely is one. However, and I don't mean to sound condescending, judging by your screen name, I believe you should give this film another chance when you're older. I know, it might not change anything and you still might end up hating it, but I personally feel the apartment scene is what really makes this film special. Very well done.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by KrugerIndustrial

If there is such a thing as an acquired taste, Godard surely is one. However, and I don't mean to sound condescending, judging by your screen name, I believe you should give this film another chance when you're older. I know, it might not change anything and you still might end up hating it, but I personally feel the apartment scene is what really makes this film special. Very well done.

I was born in 92' and I really appreciate Godard. I don't think the year they were born in is the problem, the problem is simply Godard. As you said, he's an aquired taste. There's plenty of people twice their age that's seen more Godard films to really try and give him a chance because he's you know, Godard, and after numerous attempts throughout their life, they just hate him and his work.

I'm only 20 and I've seen/own some of his stuff and I think he's terrific. Haven't seen Week End yet because I've heard there's a lot of political ramblings in it that totally kill the film and quite frankly politics bore me if they don't fit in with the rest of the film. If it's a political driven plot then I can settle into that and enjoy it to the end (provided it's a good movie, obviously) but I can't stand when people start randomly throwing politics into a movie it doesn't belong in.

From what I've seen, a lot of other people feel that Week End is pretty terrible anyway so I don't feel like I'm missing out on much. If anyone feels that I am missing out, I would be genuinly interested to hear why. Perhaps you could PM me, I don't know

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by spanky87

Just saw Contempt...uuugh.

Should I give up on Godard? I've only seen this and Breathless, and had emotionally empty experiences with both. I at least appreciated Breathless for it's innovative camera work and editing, but with Contempt there was nothing.

I love Bardot, but this has got to be the most annoying character she's ever played. That entire apartment sequence was painful to get through with some of the most bullshit meandering and repetitive dialogue I've heard in awhile. Actually the entire film was repetitive, "I love you, I despise you, I'll go to Capri if you want me to, no I don't want to go, why do you hate me" blah blah blah. Have to also mention the annoying and unsuitable 'grandiose' score that plays constantly, then it stops and starts again multiple times during the same scene.

I actually gave my television screen the finger when the "FIN" title card appeared. Vivre Sa Vie looks interesting, but I don't know now.

I agree with everything you said about Contempt, except that I love it
I would still recommend you give Vivre Sa Vie a try - I find it to be very emotionally engaging, which is very different to many other Godard films.
I recommend you try before you buy.

[KrugerIndustrial]

When you're older, you most likely have more experience in relationships(and live in general) and thus could get more out of the apartment scene. Not that it means you can't be 10 years old and a Godard fan.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

I was born in 92' and I really appreciate Godard. I don't think the year they were born in is the problem, the problem is simply Godard. As you said, he's an aquired taste. There's plenty of people twice their age that's seen more Godard films to really try and give him a chance because he's you know, Godard, and after numerous attempts throughout their life, they just hate him and his work.

I'm only 20 and I've seen/own some of his stuff and I think he's terrific. Haven't seen Week End yet because I've heard there's a lot of political ramblings in it that totally kill the film and quite frankly politics bore me if they don't fit in with the rest of the film. If it's a political driven plot then I can settle into that and enjoy it to the end (provided it's a good movie, obviously) but I can't stand when people start randomly throwing politics into a movie it doesn't belong in.

From what I've seen, a lot of other people feel that Week End is pretty terrible anyway so I don't feel like I'm missing out on much. If anyone feels that I am missing out, I would be genuinly interested to hear why. Perhaps you could PM me, I don't know

I was born in '92 too and appreciate his films as well. Well, not too sure now.. When I was 13-ish his earlier films were my introduction to French New Wave, and I instantly loved them. As time passes, for some reason I find them less and less appealing to me. I still really like Vivre Sa Vie and Breathless, but the films get knocked down for me the more other films I see. I noticed this recently when watching Week End. I wanted to like it, to read about it and find aspects to appreciate..but the more I watched, the more I honestly really disliked it and found nothing appealing...

...kinda off-topic, yeah, just typing up thoughts there..

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by Bluprint

If this was true, what would you do?

[Show spoiler]

I get that teenage boys and young men think Drive is cool, but I hated it.
Honestly, Nicolas Winding Refn is someone with nothing to say. I got through both Valhalla Rising and then Bronson intrigued by their style and very solid acting from Mads Mikkelsen and a knockout performance by Tom Hardy. But the endings of both films proved that Winding Refn has nothing to say with either story.
Drive was more of the same, but the direction was completely listless and Gosling's minimalist performance seems to be the result of the sad fact that there's just nothing to his character. Not even Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman as Jewish, pizza-making criminals and a far-too-short appearance by Christina Hendricks could save this drivel.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by Bluprint

Shame would be amazing.

Here's my thoughts on Shame.
Plot spoiler: it could have been a lot better

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Here's my thoughts on Shame.
Plot spoiler: it could have been a lot better

I love Shame for many wrong reasons and some right ones, but I admit to finding it very superficial. It could have been much more emotionally affecting by portraying desperation much further than it did.

[andsoitgoes]

Originally Posted by henry00x

as someone who has never purchased a single dvd or blu ray from this set, which five would you guys recommend to a newcomer as must have first purchases?

400 Blows
Yojimbo
the Seventh Seal
Seven Samurai
The Third man (get the studio canal version, it's still in print and cheap)

Those were basically my start into this line of cinema. I think those are the most easily accessible of all the films in this collection. I can't stress The Third Man enough. Watch it twice. I finished watching it about 4 years ago, initially shrugged it off but then couldn't get it out of my head for... Hell, 4 years. I still can see the start of the movie, my first "Janus" film. The end scene, Welles, what little he had in the film, was amazing.

seventh Seal is just amazing. As is 400 blows. There's not a second that goes by where the film stops to let you take a breath. The boy should be unlikeable but he is so damn charismatic he makes up for his failings, which are somewhat understandable.

Yojimbo and Seven Samurai are the quintessential samurai films of the early days of film. I found Yojimbo to be more lighthearted and an easier introduction to the epic heft of Seven Samurai. Yojimbo is tight, darkly funny and so incredibly full of heart. I'd have to say that Yojimbo is probably one of my favorite movies of all time.

Now if you are a real classic film buff, there are more options for you I'm sure, maybe you don't want accessible. But if you do, coming from someone who used to be an outsider, I think those are good starting points.

Ones I haven't seen that might be great as well are classics such Anatomy of a Murder and 12 Angry Men.

But you could always buck tradition and give Salo a go as your first criterion.

Just make sure to book a therapist appointment for afterwards. While it really isn't as horrific now as it was then, when you compare it to some of the ultra realistic super violence we watch, the depths of depravity make it terrifically horrid. I don't care if he was tryin to give a visceral portrayal of the evils in the 40's politics, I guarantee you more people didn't get it than did. If there was one movie that I believe way freaking overshot its necessary target, tried to drive home it's point in the most obtuse and completely mental way possible, it's Salo. No one will ever convince me Pasolini was a genius, and not someone who had some very, very, very deep seeded problems.

That said, I did watch it, I think primarily to see the fuss and actually be able to say "hey, I sat through it and survived!" A part of me wonders if they shouldn't have made tshirts to give to people after they left the theater, because back in '75, this WAS in a league of its own in relation to other violent/gore filled outings.

Ugh. I just don't get it. I mean, I GET it. I understand the representations of the various leaders and the madames, as well as the soldiers and the victims. That doesn't mean I feel that displaying it in the way it was done did anything to get a coherent point across outside of just being able to say "look what I could do!!"

Huh. I went on longer about one movie I am urging against. Well, you can't say it wasn't memorable, right?

[andsoitgoes]

weird. Am I the only one getting strange out of sequence email notifications? I just got one today about Chungking and how they were highly anticipating Ran's arrival (still a huge disappointment for me, even if it wasn't my favorite kurosawa movie. Kurosawa movies NEED Prince's commentary!)

[metaridley]

Doesn't anyone have an answer for me re: Kurosawa?
(My post is on the previous page.)

[andsoitgoes]

Originally Posted by metaridley

Doesn't anyone have an answer for me re: Kurosawa?
(My post is on the previous page.)

My advice, try Yojimbo and Sanjuro first if you can. They're moreainstream/accessible.

Rashomon is a weird duck for a newcomer, it has a different beat and is a bit more artsy.

There's a reason Yojimbo and Seven Samurai are so highly regarded, but I think Yojimbo will be less likely to outstay its welcome until you can get more into earlier Japanese cinema.

Does that help?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by metaridley

Doesn't anyone have an answer for me re: Kurosawa?
(My post is on the previous page.)

You should definitely give Seven Samurai a chance. If you're not put off by the three hours (and it's really no exaggeration to say it flies by) there's absolutely no reason to avoid it. It's a very straight-forward, linear story with easily reconginzable characters and conflicts. I'm not a big Rashomon fan either (at least not yet, anyway) but I love Seven Samurai.

[joie]

Yojimbo is better than Seven Samurai. It even made Kurosawa more money than all his other films combined. It inspired Sergio Leone's Fistful of Dollars and The Magnificent Seven.

I don't know why Criterion says something like, "Sanjuro is a sly companion piece to Yojimbo." To put the two in a set and sell an extra movie? They may be available separately.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

I get that teenage boys and young men think Drive is cool, but I hated it.
Honestly, Nicolas Winding Refn is someone with nothing to say. I got through both Valhalla Rising and then Bronson intrigued by their style and very solid acting from Mads Mikkelsen and a knockout performance by Tom Hardy. But the endings of both films proved that Winding Refn has nothing to say with either story.
Drive was more of the same, but the direction was completely listless and Gosling's minimalist performance seems to be the result of the sad fact that there's just nothing to his character. Not even Albert Brooks and Ron Perlman as Jewish, pizza-making criminals and a far-too-short appearance by Christina Hendricks could save this drivel.

I disagree. The main complaint the movie gets is that it's too slow and a glorified arthouse movie. When you say "teenage boys and young men" you make it sound like Drive only appeals to audiences who love fast and the furious and other dumb driving movies which clearly isn't the case. That type of audience were bored out of their mind and didn't get the point of it at all.

I don't recall him saying he had something to say in Drive and quite frankly I think it's fair to say that the story in Drive isn't really that important. It's an intentional cliche of all those other gangster, crime, heist movies etc and he shamelessly uses that to put his own personal touch on something that's been done to dust BUT Drive, according to Nicolas Winding Refn, is a modern fairy tale of sorts and The Driver is like a mysterious cowboy who strolls into town on his horse and even though nobody knows anything about him other than he does some shady things, they know he's a good person. Said cowboy makes it his mission to protect a beautiful woman with a child and he doesn't expect sex, money or anything in return, infact the most they ever share is the touch of hands and a kiss on the lips.

Drive doesn't have much to say, sure, but that was never the intention. What it does have is atmosphere, fantastic music, cinematography and a fascinating leading man who is played perfectly by Gosling. The fact that he hardly speaks bothers a lot of people but I loved that. He only speaks when it's necessary, other than that he just gives them that piercing stare that tells them to back off and that he prefers to be left alone unless he says so or actually comes with you.

My only complaint is not enough Christina Hendricks so I definitely agree with you there. It's cruel haha :P

Anyway, to each their own. I know a lot of people hate Drive and I know a lot of people love drive, myself included. I can definitely understand why anyone would despise it so I'll never hold that against someone but it's not without a point. It's a very enjoyable experience and that's how I feel about Drive is that it's less of a traditional movie and more of an experience. My god that sounds pretentious. You'd think I'm talking about 2001: A Space Odyssey hahaha! but that's how I feel about Drive.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Oh also, on the topic of Drive as a criterion, yes that would be great but let's not forget that Nicolas Winding Refn mentioned that he wants to put together a "Queen Edition" which will supposedly be packed full of special features and stuff. He must feel strongly about the possibility of doing this if he told people not to bother buying the first release because he'll be putting that together in a year or so. Obviously it's been more than a year now but I'm sure he'll do it eventually.

[fassbenderfan]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Oh also, on the topic of Drive as a criterion, yes that would be great but let's not forget that Nicolas Winding Refn mentioned that he wants to put together a "Queen Edition" which will supposedly be packed full of special features and stuff. He must feel strongly about the possibility of doing this if he told people not to bother buying the first release because he'll be putting that together in a year or so. Obviously it's been more than a year now but I'm sure he'll do it eventually.

I don't know if it will be a Criterion release though. I think it will be a re-release by Sony like with The Town.