The Criterion Collection

[jw007]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Friend of mine that saw the movie was raving about the lead actress' performance. It's likely you will have an absorbing time with this one.

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Yes. It's absolutely devastating. I watched it on Netflix before I picked it up during the Summer sale. If you've seen (and like) Lee's other films, then you should like it. If you haven't seen Lee's other films, then watch Poetry.

Seriously, though. It's great if you can handle it. It's incredibly well made and has one of the greatest performances of the decade.

Originally Posted by bluesilo

Tried watching this once. I had this feeling during the first 25 minutes

[Show spoiler]that things were going to go to hell

. Needless to say I didn't finish it, but since I now know what happens I made the right choice. For those who can stomach it, I've heard nothing but praise.

Thanks for all your feedback! It's too bad that the only contemporary Korean film available on the Criterion Collection has to be such a devastating and depressing film about extremely intense subject material. I guess when you have North Korea armed with nukes pointed at your country for decades, things can't be all that happy these days. I honestly am curious as to why there is so much heartbreak and sadness with so many modern day Asian films (not just in South Korea but also other countries - maybe Japan and Thailand too).

I love the themes in Secret Sunshine (about organized religion) and I sense this is a cautionary tale also. I like morality plays and I think this could be a good one. I look forward to seeing this.

[jdw89]

I sure hope my purchases were good, LOL, I only really knew about The Game, but none of the others.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by jdw89

I sure hope my purchases were good, LOL, I only really knew about The Game, but none of the others.

One nice thing about Criterions is they hold their value well. If you decide you don't like one of them, you can probably sell it for almost as much as you paid for it. Hopefully you will like them all, though.

[jdw89]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

One nice thing about Criterions is they hold their value well. If you decide you don't like one of them, you can probably sell it for almost as much as you paid for it. Hopefully you will like them all, though.

That is good to know!

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by jdw89

I sure hope my purchases were good, LOL, I only really knew about The Game, but none of the others.

What did you decide on?

[jdw89]

Badlands
The Game
Repo Man
The 39 Steps
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Lady Vanishes
Videodrome
The Blob
Naked Lunch
Lord of the Flies
Rosemary's Baby
Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by jdw89

Badlands
The Game
Repo Man
The 39 Steps
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Lady Vanishes
Videodrome
The Blob
Naked Lunch
Lord of the Flies
Rosemary's Baby
Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas

Some good choices in there!

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by The Keeper

I just stumbled on this thread a few months ago and I've been enjoying reading, catching up, and getting to know all of you. I've finally joined and decided the Criterion Flash Sale was a good time to jump in!

I used a Criterion gift certificate received for my birthday last year and my $10 White credit. I've seen them all, but don't own them in any format:

Breathless. Saw once on TCM; enjoyed it, but wasn't sure I needed to buy it until the rumblings about it going out of print.
The Man Who Knew Too Much. Watched the dvd from one of those Hitchcock public domain sets at my in-laws' house. Transfer was worse than vhs, but the film was fun and I'm anxious to see the Criterion.
Wild Strawberries. Borrowed from the library. Just a beautiful, touching film.

I'm good at buying blu-rays. I need to get better at watching them.

Welcome aboard!

You purchased three outstanding films. You really can't go bad with any Godard, Hitchcock, or Bergman, but these films get a really sublime Criterion treatment.

[smoss469]

[Show spoiler]This was a very interesting movie. It was fundamentally different from so many other prison movies. In most movies in the genre, there seems to be a well defined antagonist. Whether it be another inmate, a cruel warden or a sadistic guard. This movie didn't have any of that, I think the fact that there wasn't any developed opposition really made it focus solely on Fontaine. It also didn't spend a lot of time focusing on prison life, dare I call it the "Phone Booth" of Prison movies; as the bulk of the film takes place in a 6x9 space. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie though and thought it did a great job of keeping that uncertainty in your face at important times. Is he going to get caught while making his supplies? Is he going to get executed before he escapes? Is his new cell mate, a rat? Even during the escape I found myself waiting to see if they'd be heard, if anyone would discover the sentry, would the rope hold? I'd easily rate this as my #2 Prison/Escape movie!

If you haven't checked it out yet, I'd highly recommend doing so.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by jdw89

Badlands
The Game
Repo Man
The 39 Steps
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Lady Vanishes
Videodrome
The Blob
Naked Lunch
Lord of the Flies
Rosemary's Baby
Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas

Talk about jumping in with both feet!

[jdw89]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Talk about jumping in with both feet!

The only way to do it! lol

[SammyJankis]

Criterion order shipped.

[Joe6286]

Ordered a few yesterday (hoping to get a shipping confirmation soon). I ordered Slacker, Badlands, The Ice Storm, and Anatomy of a Murder.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Criterion order shipped.

Dang, still no word on mine. When did you order?

I just got my confirmation as well.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by smoss469

[Show spoiler]This was a very interesting movie. It was fundamentally different from so many other prison movies. In most movies in the genre, there seems to be a well defined antagonist. Whether it be another inmate, a cruel warden or a sadistic guard. This movie didn't have any of that, I think the fact that there wasn't any developed opposition really made it focus solely on Fontaine. It also didn't spend a lot of time focusing on prison life, dare I call it the "Phone Booth" of Prison movies; as the bulk of the film takes place in a 6x9 space. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie though and thought it did a great job of keeping that uncertainty in your face at important times. Is he going to get caught while making his supplies? Is he going to get executed before he escapes? Is his new cell mate, a rat? Even during the escape I found myself waiting to see if they'd be heard, if anyone would discover the sentry, would the rope hold? I'd easily rate this as my #2 Prison/Escape movie!

If you haven't checked it out yet, I'd highly recommend doing so.

Thanks for sharing that review!

A Man Escaped is one of the top candidates in the "Best use of audio in cinema history" category. It's amazing how a little goes a long long way in that film.

I need to revisit this one.

[The Great Owl]

I just got the shipment notification for Ministry of Fear, Anatomy of a Murder, and The Rules of the Game. Woo hoo!

[UNCMT9]

Tuition payments came calling. No purchases for me.

[smoss469]

In keeping with the thread topic, I should've said 12 Angry Men instead of The Phone Booth.

[Infernal King]

I received my shipment notification today as well. Very impressive!

[dizzy4111]

I've been patiently waiting to splurge on the B&N November sale so I was pleasantly surprised to see the flash sale yesterday.

I picked up:

Slacker
Rashomon
Trilogy of Life
In the Mood For Love
The 400 Blows
Diabolique
Things to Come

This is my first time ordering from Criterion's website and I'm still waiting on my shipping confirmation. Is the order they get to them pretty random? Because I see some people that definitely ordered after I did getting their confirmations.