The Criterion Collection

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by octagon

Double Indemnity and The Apartment are absolute locks. Not just favorite Wilder but favorite films.

Sunset Boulevard would probably get the third spot. I always thought it was good but it was another one that took me a while to fully embrace. I watched it again on TCM last summer and about halfway through I thought 'ah, yeah, okay...this is what everybody sees in it'. I could just as easily go with Stalag 17 or The Fortune Cookie depending on when you ask though.

Those two would probably be locks for me as well (The Apartment is easily one of my top 20 films and one of the first films I really fell in love with when I was younger).

Sunset Blvd grows on me too, each of the 3 or so times I've seen it (wasn't a big fan at first, but liked it this past time watching on blu-ray). I don't know about anyone else, but personally I really love Kiss Me, Stupid as well, so that might come in 3rd, but I've really liked every one I've seen.

[Rizor]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I love The Third Man from a historical perspective.

For me, The Third Man is sort of like the darker "evil twin" of Casablanca. While Casablanca had a distinct vibe of American optimism, The Third Man focuses on the closer-to-home havoc that WWII wreaked upon Europe in terms of both structural damage to buildings and emotional damage to the human psyche. The movie is basically a haunted house tour of war-torn Vienna, with bomb rubble amidst shadows, shady black market dealings, and dark corners. The shattered post-trauma lives of the characters are also at play, and there's a dark undercurrent to the questions of what Harry, Anna, and the others had to do in order to survive the war while others did not.

Wow. I didn't see your post until I posted mine, but I definitely agree in regards to your comparisons with Casablanca!

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A question for The Third Man peeps, since this thread got me thinking...

I own the most recent Criterion DVD edition of The Third Man. I would love to have the movie on Blu-ray for the best picture quality, but I do not want to shell out the money people are asking for the out-of-print Criterion Blu-ray.

How does the readily-available StudioCanal Blu-ray of The Third Man hold up? From what I've read, I probably will not be able to notice much of a difference between the two on my television, but I'm curious to know what others think of the StudioCanal release.

I prefer the Criterion release for its transfer, presentation, and extras. But I did rent the StudioCanal release and it's a solid edition of the movie. The transfer is good (though I prefer the grittier look of Criterion's). The extras are well done too. You get an impressive interactive tour of Vienna and a decent commentary with Guy Hamilton and Simon Callow. Here's DVDBeaver's comparison. http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews8/thirdman.htm

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by octagon

On a completely unrelated note, how's that coasting thing going?

So far, so good. It's been roughly 30 hours since I purchased a Blu-ray movie. I'm also going to a local Blu-ray Anonymous meeting at a nearby church in a few days.

In all seriousness, I'm about done streamlining my DVDs, since the ones remaining in my collection are mostly obscure favorites that are not yet available on Blu-ray. Since that has been the primary way of financing the buildup of my Blu-ray collection, my Blu-ray purchases will slow down by necessity. I'm taking a final big batch of DVDs to the used store tomorrow, and I'll grab some choice Blu-rays with that money, but I don't have any other DVDs that I want to part with after that until corresponding Blu-ray editions come available.

I have a big tax refund coming to me any time now, but none of that money is going to Blu-rays. I'm putting most of it aside to pay for ultramarathon races.

I've enjoyed watching new Blu-rays on an almost daily basis, but I'm still behind, and I have only watched two-thirds of my Blu-rays. (I mean, I've seen all of the movies before in some format or another, but I'm watching them in high definition for the first time with the Blu-rays.) As I near the 200-mark, I should slow down and catch up on the unwatched movies.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Rizor

I prefer the Criterion release for its transfer, presentation, and extras. But I did rent the StudioCanal release and it's a solid edition of the movie. The transfer is good (though I prefer the grittier look of Criterion's). The extras are well done too. You get an impressive interactive tour of Vienna and a decent commentary with Guy Hamilton and Simon Callow. Here's DVDBeaver's comparison. http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews8/thirdman.htm

I prefer the Criterion Blu-ray screen captures from your link, but the StudioCanal picture looks almost as good.

I think that I'll hold off for a while on this one. My Criterion DVD of The Third Man looks quite good with the upconvert, and I might browse around to see if I can find a reasonably-priced used copy of the Criterion Blu-ray for the thrill of the hunt.

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

Those two would probably be locks for me as well (The Apartment is easily one of my top 20 films and one of the first films I really fell in love with when I was younger).

Sunset Blvd grows on me too, each of the 3 or so times I've seen it (wasn't a big fan at first, but liked it this past time watching on blu-ray). I don't know about anyone else, but personally I really love Kiss Me, Stupid as well, so that might come in 3rd, but I've really liked every one I've seen.

I have only seen Sunset Blvd once and that was years ago and just remember not enjoying the film at all. I do remember a scene when they were on the studio lot I really liked though but that was about it. I do know I will have to check it out again at some point though.

[Scottie]

Watching Dazed and Confused - I'm so pissed off that I can't watch The Walking Dead that I'm just watching one movie after the other. There's nothing else to do.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Watching Dazed and Confused - I'm so pissed off that I can't watch The Walking Dead that I'm just watching one movie after the other. There's nothing else to do.

I went looking through my Facebook photos, because some friends and I went running through a set of The Walking Dead early one morning when they were filming in my neighborhood. (I live within walking distance of where the Centers for Disease Control building exploded during the first season of the show, but they have filmed parts of subsequent seasons along that same street.)

Unfortunately, I did not find the pictures. They're somewhere in the fog of Facebook, I guess. If I find the set photos, I'll post them here.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I went looking through my Facebook photos, because some friends and I went running through a set of The Walking Dead early one morning when they were filming in my neighborhood. (I live within walking distance of where the Centers for Disease Control building exploded during the first season of the show, but they have filmed parts of subsequent seasons along that same street.)

Unfortunately, I did not find the pictures. They're somewhere in the fog of Facebook, I guess. If I find the set photos, I'll post them here.

That certainly would be cool! Thanks!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Watching Dazed and Confused

Also...

Dazed and Confused is such a brilliant film. A friend and I saw it at the theater on the day of release back in the day (I can't say that about many other Criterion titles...har har.) and I was blown away.

The movie does such a good job of showcasing both the joys and frustrations of the high school days, where teenagers dislike certain ritual behaviors, but continue to follow them simply because they are rituals. The gleeful spontaneity and reckless abandon of being a teenager is captured well, although there is an undercurrent of sadness. This would probably be a difficult film for a lot of folks to watch when it comes time for high school reunions.

Whenever I revisit Dazed and Confused, I think to myself...
Do I look back fondly on my teenage years? Of course!
Would I go back and do it again? No way!

I've posted this before, but my father was a head coach of a high school football team during my childhood. He used to wear those exact same coaching shorts and collared shirts, and he also used to joke with my brother and I that we needed "attitude adjustments." I crack up whenever I watch those scenes in the movie.

[mrjohnnyb]

My favorite Wilder films:

1. The Apartment
2. Double Indemnity
3. Some Like it Hot

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Fair enough. But we agree to disagree. I do believe that it is one of Wilder's best films, it is a great presentation by MOC, and no other MOC release has anything remotely similar to Billy, How Did You Do It?.

Pro-B

I think it's certainly pretty damn good, I saw some great elements (it's been a while so I'm rusty on the details) & I've always meant to rewatch it when it hit blu. So thanks for the strong endorsement for I'm always open to reconsidering a film, especially a Billy Wilder film. I'll snatch the US release as soon as it hits.

-regards

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by RiFiFi1955

I have only seen Sunset Blvd once and that was years ago and just remember not enjoying the film at all. I do remember a scene when they were on the studio lot I really liked though but that was about it. I do know I will have to check it out again at some point though.

I think we're so familiar with the type of story told by the film, that we're automatically a bit less interested when seeing it for the first time. At least for me, I wasn't too interested...until I re-watched it just recently and found much more to appreciate (the dialogue, definitely) than the basics of the plot.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Dazed and Confused is such a brilliant film. A friend and I saw it at the theater on the day of release back in the day (I can't say that about many other Criterion titles...har har.) and I was blown away.

The movie does such a good job of showcasing both the joys and frustrations of the high school days, where teenagers dislike certain ritual behaviors, but continue to follow them simply because they are rituals. The gleeful spontaneity and reckless abandon of being a teenager is captured well, although there is an undercurrent of sadness. This would probably be a difficult film for a lot of folks to watch when it comes time for high school reunions.

Whenever I revisit Dazed and Confused, I think to myself...
Do I look back fondly on my teenage years? Of course!
Would I go back and do it again? No way!

I didn't like the film when I saw it for the first time last year, and I think a huge reason for that is because I don't have those same connections that you and many others do. I can't exactly relate to much of it, especially not the time period, so it's one of those films where I get the appeal, but don't personally find it appealing.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

[Show spoiler]Also...

Dazed and Confused is such a brilliant film. A friend and I saw it at the theater on the day of release back in the day (I can't say that about many other Criterion titles...har har.) and I was blown away.

The movie does such a good job of showcasing both the joys and frustrations of the high school days, where teenagers dislike certain ritual behaviors, but continue to follow them simply because they are rituals. The gleeful spontaneity and reckless abandon of being a teenager is captured well, although there is an undercurrent of sadness. This would probably be a difficult film for a lot of folks to watch when it comes time for high school reunions.

Whenever I revisit Dazed and Confused, I think to myself...
Do I look back fondly on my teenage years? Of course!
Would I go back and do it again? No way!

I've posted this before, but my father was a head coach of a high school football team during my childhood. He used to wear those exact same coaching shorts and collared shirts, and he also used to joke with my brother and I that we needed "attitude adjustments." I crack up whenever I watch those scenes in the movie.

Great take on the movie! I just finished it and I found it quite enjoyable. It's probably one of my favorite decade films. The cast was great and it was neat to see so many actors in one of their first roles. Milla Jovovich looked great, too.

I know where you're coming from with the film. The characters in the film were part of a decade of rituals, tearing up the town, maturing, transitioning, and so forth. It was a bit of a hectic time, but it was still a time where you could go outside and hang out and not worry about the little things or the safety of your life, like nowadays. Everyone was part of a cliche and hung out together and you could tell who was who based off the people they were always with.

The sad part of the movie was the grim realization that all these days of fun and partying have to eventually come to an end. People grow up and mature and it's time for future generations to take that place.

The thing that stuck with me the most was how the characters resembled the grades they were supposed to be in. I graduated from high school in 2010 and even our class looked young beyond our age. The height of each person was a significant decrease from prior years. The incoming freshman class that year had an average height, I think, of about 5'3" or 5'4" - it was crazy.

Overall, I found it very humorous and enjoyable with a good message. The soundtrack was killer and it really brought back memories. I practically grew up listening to those bands.

[Scottie]

Time for Fear and Loathing

[Fellini912]

I have enjoyed all of Billy Wilder movies that I have seen so far.

Besides the movies already mentioned, there are great ones that somehow are under appreciated:

1)Ace in the Hole (criterion did an excellent job on DVD)

2)Lost Weekend

3)Stalag 17 (the best WW II comedy ever made, sorry Roberto Benigni)

[Scottie]

With the exception of Alice In Wonderland, I'm not a fan of psychedelic films by any means. However, I think that Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas was good because of the execution and the tremendous acting by Depp and Del Toro.

The film definitely went places that no film has gone before or in as great of details. With that being said, the film wasn't really for me, but I can totally see how it's a cult film and why it is appreciated. Terry Gilliam definitely did a good job with the directing, but 12 Monkeys is still my favorite film by him.

I saw Brazil and while I thought it was a neat film and very different, especially for it's time, it also wasn't for me. I wasn't very won over by it either.

Overall, I'd say Fear And Loathing is worth at least once watch. There's a lot of famous actors and actresses in this movie - even if their role is minor. I personally don't see the desire to do drugs, but the things they did were beyond belief. They did drugs in high dose and frequency in almost every other scene. Crazy, but in some ways, I'm sure that it does happen with a small amount of individuals, in real life. Whether they OD or not is another subject.

[Lutz]

^I don't think drug references qualify a film to be classified as psychedelic? When I think of psychedelic films I think of Vamyros Lesbos and Lickerish Quartet??

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Lutz

^I don't think drug references qualify a film to be classified as psychedelic? When I think of psychedelic films I think of Vamyros Lesbos and Lickerish Quartet??

I was thinking the same thing...but I've never seen that film so I didn't really know if my assumption was right or not.

Although, I totally see his point at the end---because I also tend to be uninterested in the subject matter he's describing.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Lutz

^I don't think drug references qualify a film to be classified as psychedelic? When I think of psychedelic films I think of Vamyros Lesbos and Lickerish Quartet??

Correct. The cinematography and music are determining factors a.k.a the mood

Films like these:



Pro-B

[metaridley]

Originally Posted by iScottie

With the exception of Alice In Wonderland, I'm not a fan of psychedelic films by any means.