The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

That would be a rather fascinating dinner.

Not sure if you caught it, but i was referring to this: http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2011/11/...-eating-shrimp

Apologies in advance...

[UNCMT9]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

[Show spoiler]When he received the money, I already had the "This will not end well." vibe going through my mind.

Yves Montand would go on to play Jansen in Melville's Le Cercle Rouge. Such a brilliant actor.

I still can't believe I've never seen Le Cercle.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Not sure if you caught it, but i was referring to this: http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2011/11/...-eating-shrimp

Apologies in advance...

I probably could have easily lived out every year of the rest of my entire life without ever having read the above news story.

Your previous post did go over my head, but I still somehow found it humorous without being aware of the connection. It really would be quite an interesting dinner!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by UNCMT9

I still can't believe I've never seen Le Cercle.

Oh...we need to remedy that. Keep your eyes on Amazon and on local Barnes & Noble stores. It'll turn up, because the prices shouldn't have climbed too much by now.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I probably could have easily lived out every year of the rest of my entire life without ever having read the above news story.

Your previous post did go over my head, but I still somehow found it humorous without being aware of the connection. It really would be quite an interesting dinner!

To close off my childish detour and open a new one back toward Criterion, Louis Malle's My Dinner with Andre would be a welcome BluRay upgrade

[Jett Rink]

Anyone else wish Closely Watched Trains would come to Blu-Ray? I love that movie.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Jett Blu

Anyone else with Closely Watched Trains would come to Blu-Ray? I love that movie.

Yes! Do check out Milos Forman's The Fireman's Ball aswell. They are kind of similar (although Fireman's Ball is more anarchic).

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Regarding Life is Sweet, is the female character in question over the top like Sally Hawkins in Happy go Lucky, like Sweetie in the Jane Campion film?

The mother, Wendy, volunteers to help a family friend at his restaurant. She works at a clothing store and is very annoying and over the top.

The daughter, Natalie, is more reserved and works as a plumber. I thought she was a boy for the longest time...

The other daughter, Nicola, has body issues. She thinks she's fat despite never eating. All she does is smoke and whine with the most annoying voice possible. There's a sex scene with her and some guy...and I almost threw up.

Call me a little judgmental, but I swear to God that Mike Leigh chose the most hideous looking people for this movie.

[FrankBlue]

I purchased Richard III early today thanks to the big sale by Amazon.com on many Criterion blu ray titles. I'm considering to purchase The 39 Steps, The Last Emperor, The Rules of the Game and Metropolitan before it returns to regular market price. Is there any opinion on them?

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by FrankBlue

I purchased Richard III early today thanks to the big sale by Amazon.com on many Criterion blu ray titles. I'm considering to purchase The 39 Steps, The Last Emperor, The Rules of the Game and Metropolitan before it returns to regular market price. Is there any opinion on them?

The 39 Steps is a fantastic early Hitchcock, and the print is (of course) incredible. If you are a fan of Hitchcock (especially the earlier ones), I recommend it.

The others I haven't seen, but all are on my to buy list...

[monorail91]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I guess that I should actually see Life is Sweet and Tiny Furniture before condemning them to the losers' table, but, then again, I might not bother.

Tiny Furniture is actually really good. I can't stand Girls and thought I could write off Lena Dunham for good, but I tried out TF since it was on Amazon Prime Instant Video. It's certainly not one of the best Criterions but it's one I enjoyed enough to buy!

[brake]

Originally Posted by brake

Can anyone suggest any other titles along the lines of:

Revanche
Hunger
La Promesse
Rosetta
The Kid with a Bike
Michael Haneke's films

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

If you liked The White Ribbon, then I highly recommend Clouzot's Le Corbeau. Sadly, Le Corbeau is only available on Criterion DVD at the moment, but it's worth checking out nonetheless.

What a coincidence. I will definitely check out Le Corbeau now.

Any other recommendation for movies similar to:

Revanche
Hunger
La Promesse
Rosetta
The Kid with a Bike
Michael Haneke's films

[CommanderShiro]

Ended up ordering Seven Samurai, Godzilla, Rashomon, and The Seventh Seal. My first Criterions....

[bugsy_pal]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I have zero inclination to buy Life is Sweet. From what I've heard, this movie is condemned to the losers' table in the Criterion lunch cafeteria. Along with the Wes Anderson movies, Tiny Furniture, and a few others.

I guess that I should actually see Life is Sweet and Tiny Furniture before condemning them to the losers' table, but, then again, I might not bother.

Ever so often, Wes Anderson's first two films are allowed to sit at the cheerleaders' table, but some popular football captain always eventually beats them up and reminds them how inferior they are.

Life is Sweet is a funny, perceptive movie - it's only a 'loser' that won't see it based on the hearsay of others . Honestly, I don't think you should be so quick to condemn this movie. It's worth the price just to see Timothy Spall's character on the night he opens his restaurant. Sure, it's pretty bleak and the characters are not instantly likeable, but there's a lot of humour and wit. Definitely worthy of it's Criterion spine (as are all of the Wes Anderson films...)

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Moving on through the America Lost and Found: The BBS Story...

[Show spoiler]

Bob Rafelson's 1970 film, Five Easy Pieces, must have made quite an impression upon its release, with its refusal to give audiences a conventional Hollywood closure regarding the identify crisis of Bobby Dupea. Dupea, played by Jack Nicholson in perhaps the best role of his career, seems capable of achieving far more than what he gives himself credit to achieve, but he nonetheless drifts through life along a path of least resistance, and simply escapes from one setting to another each time he is called upon to commit to responsibilities and examine his priorities. Jack Nicholson climbed to the peak of well-deserved superstar status here by shining in a role that makes the best of his exuberant tendencies without running them into the ground.

Five Easy Pieces is unflinching in its depiction of a forlorn individual settling for a life that is less than what he should have accepted, and, as such, it is an uncomfortable viewing for many of us who feel that we are not living up to our potential. Three decades later, director Terry Zwigoff would draw influence from the blueprint of Five Easy Pieces for his 2001 film, Ghost World, and I cannot think of two films that are better suited for a double feature movie night, although the prospect of watching these two character-driven microscope evaluations of lost souls is a rather uneasy one. If you are looking for honest portrayals of characters who are not necessarily likeable, but nonetheless endearing, then you cannot go wrong.

Five Easy Pieces is my favorite film in the America Lost and Found Criterion set, because it focuses on character idiosyncrasies with an openness that is rarely shown in cinema. The rants of a female passenger on a road trip, the neck brace misadventures of one Dupea relative, the spacey vapidity of a girlfriend, and Bobby Dupea's own deliberate switches of mannerisms come together in a riveting combination that plays out in unexpected ways. The film manages to be hilarious and heartbreaking at the same time, and, in many instances, in the same specific scenes. In lesser hands, this movie would have ended with a nicely-wrapped bow to bring happiness to these characters in a comedic or heartwarming style. Five Easy Pieces, by contrast, leaves us uncertain and bewildered by way of another escape that is really not an escape at all.

[Show spoiler]

Another nice write-up Owl. Another of the BBS films I saw when released. It was amazing how fast Jack Nicholson's star had climbed since Easy Rider and also how quickly his on-screen persona had already formed. I fully expected Jack to have at least 1 melt-down scene in a film by this time and he didn't disappoint since the Diner scene is a true classic. For many, it's a tough film to like since Nicholson's character just isn't likable and was a far cry from his character from Easy Rider whom audiences fully embraced. I personally enjoy the film a great deal but a friend who saw it with me hated it because "It didn't have an ending." I thought the ending or, if you will, non-ending fit the character perfectly.
The last film in the set that I saw theatrically was The Last Picture Show and to this day it's the one I enjoyed the most. Interested to hear your thoughts on it.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bugsy_pal

Life is Sweet is a funny, perceptive movie - it's only a 'loser' that won't see it based on the hearsay of others . Honestly, I don't think you should be so quick to condemn this movie. It's worth the price just to see Timothy Spall's character on the night he opens his restaurant. Sure, it's pretty bleak and the characters are not instantly likeable, but there's a lot of humour and wit. Definitely worthy of it's Criterion spine (as are all of the Wes Anderson films...)

I should probably be more open-minded to new things. Nothing that I've read about Tiny Furniture quickens my pulse, though, and I've read several reviews for or against the film. I have to have more incentive before buying a Criterion title.

If I do see this movie somewhere and realize that I was mistaken, I'll humbly post here as such.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

[/SPOILER]
Another nice write-up Owl. Another of the BBS films I saw when released. It was amazing how fast Jack Nicholson's star had climbed since Easy Rider and also how quickly his on-screen persona had already formed. I fully expected Jack to have at least 1 melt-down scene in a film by this time and he didn't disappoint since the Diner scene is a true classic. For many, it's a tough film to like since Nicholson's character just isn't likable and was a far cry from his character from Easy Rider whom audiences fully embraced. I personally enjoy the film a great deal but a friend who saw it with me hated it because "It didn't have an ending." I thought the ending or, if you will, non-ending fit the character perfectly.
The last film in the set that I saw theatrically was The Last Picture Show and to this day it's the one I enjoyed the most. Interested to hear your thoughts on it.

The ending to Five Easy Pieces was really the only dignified way to end the film, and I love it as such. It's not often that a movie proceeds according to the needs of the characters as opposed to the needs of the plot, and I applaud the film for that.

I've seen everything in the America Lost and Found box set before on DVD, but am watching them with a clear mind for my first Blu-ray experience. I'll be revisiting Drive, He Said and A Safe Place, then I'll revisit The Last Picture Show. It's been quite a while since I last watched it, but I love the cast, and it's an amazing work.

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I saw The White Ribbon at the theater when it was released here in Atlanta. I did not warm up to it quite as much as I loved Caché (Hidden), but I still thought that it was a beautiful and enigmatic work of cinema art.

If you liked The White Ribbon, then I highly recommend Clouzot's Le Corbeau. Sadly, Le Corbeau is only available on Criterion DVD at the moment, but it's worth checking out nonetheless.

I have always wanted to check out Le Corbeau, but I have been waiting for a blu-ray release. Eventually... I own Wages of Fear and Les Diabolique, and I am a huge fan of both films.

[MitchA17]

Originally Posted by monorail91

Tiny Furniture is actually really good.

Hello there! I thought I was all alone on this island!

[UNCMT9]

Debating whether or not I should go for round two of the sale. Do we know if B&N will even have their 50% of sale? Some were speculating otherwise.