The Criterion Collection

[PowellPressburger]

Originally Posted by ZeTi

After watching "L'avventura" i've now completely given up on Antonioni. While i liked "Red Desert" in parts, absolutely hated "Blow Up", i see no point in giving "La Notte" even a try.

Does even a single main-protagonist in one of his movies act remotely comprehensible, everyone around them seem to !? Or am i just that big of a moron and do not get it ?

That is too bad L'eclisse is my favorite. Monica Vitti looks amazing in it. I rank it my favorite of that of his period of films. I love Blow Up and The Passenger. Red Desert is a harder watch for some.

[Dustin Putman]

I received the Zatoichi set today and was a bit surprised/taken aback by the packaging. The cover art with the title and the back cover text were printed on top of the plastic like stickers. I was able to pull them off from the plastic wrapping and decided to try as best as I could to place them straight and centered on the box. I didn't like the idea of throwing those away and they are sticky on one side so you wouldn't be able to just slip them inside the case. Seems like this might be a point of controversy once others start receiving it.

[drawohua]

Originally Posted by RandyK

Bernardo Bertolucci got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Now would be the perfect time for a Criterion release of The Dreamers.

Yes that would be great. I also watched his latest one Me and You "Io e te" in a film festival, loved it. Hope criterion will consider that as well.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by ZeTi

After watching "L'avventura" i've now completely given up on Antonioni. While i liked "Red Desert" in parts, absolutely hated "Blow Up", i see no point in giving "La Notte" even a try.

Does even a single main-protagonist in one of his movies act remotely comprehensible, everyone around them seem to !? Or am i just that big of a moron and do not get it ?

Too bad you dislike them. Antonioni is one of my favorite directors.

I personally think you're viewing them the wrong way. The characters in almost all of his films experience some sort of isolation or discontent with life. That could be why you see them as "lacking comprehension".

[mrjohnnyb]

Back in September, I purchased an imported David Lynch Box from Germany for what exchanged out at 22 dollars and change. I just watched Mulholland Dr. for the first time in my life, tonight. Wow! I am completely blown away! It is a true work of art as it lends itself out to have multiple interpretations. I plan on watching Inland Empire next.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

Back in September, I purchased an imported David Lynch Box from Germany for what exchanged out at 22 dollars and change. I just watched Mulholland Dr. for the first time in my life, tonight. Wow! I am completely blown away! It is a true work of art as it lends itself out to have multiple interpretations. I plan on watching Inland Empire next.

Glad you enjoyed it! It's definitely one of the best things ever made.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jayxrico

Can never go wrong with the "25 Films of Akira Kurosawa" set! I didn't and this set is my prized jewel!

I don't know if I'm ready to go there yet as I've only seen Rashomon and now, Ikiru . I'm not sure how I'm going to like the samurai movies... Will be finding out within the next few days, though.. I have got Yojimbo out from the library along with Truffaut's Jules and Jim.

I checked out what Kurosawa is available on blu and otherwise on Amazon and I saw the set you mention. Pretty nice set they put together for hardcore fans. Who knows? Maybe I'll become one? We'll see.

[39-steps]

Originally Posted by Dustin Putman

I received the Zatoichi set today and was a bit surprised/taken aback by the packaging. The cover art with the title and the back cover text were printed on top of the plastic like stickers. I was able to pull them off from the plastic wrapping and decided to try as best as I could to place them straight and centered on the box. I didn't like the idea of throwing those away and they are sticky on one side so you wouldn't be able to just slip them inside the case. Seems like this might be a point of controversy once others start receiving it.

I got mine in the mail today as well. (Thanks Barnes and Noble 50% off!). It is a beautiful box and it'd be a shame to place the sticker's on it. So what I've done is to just carefully take the shrink wrap off the box with the stickers still on it and then cut the excess wrap off. Voila! Then the stickers with a no-longer sticky back can be safely placed inside the box.

Bows.

[blkhrt]

Today is my birthday, and my wife surprised me with Shoah, Monsieur Verdoux, The Lady Vanishes, and Purple Noon. I'm pretty excited. The Chaplin and Hitchcock titles are upgrades of DVDs, which is one of the reasons I hadn't bought them before. All in all, I am pretty psyched. It's nice have a wife that supports my Criterion and blu-ray addictions

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

Today is my birthday, and my wife surprised me with Shoah, Monsieur Verdoux, The Lady Vanishes, and Purple Noon. I'm pretty excited. The Chaplin and Hitchcock titles are upgrades of DVDs, which is one of the reasons I hadn't bought them before. All in all, I am pretty psyched. It's nice have a wife that supports my Criterion and blu-ray addictions

I know what you mean, my wife got me 4 Criterion blu-rays for my birthday in August, and I think there are going to be a few under the ol' tree this year... thanks to the BN sale!

But yes, congrats, she's a keeper!!

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

I know what you mean, my wife got me 4 Criterion blu-rays for my birthday in August, and I think there are going to be a few under the ol' tree this year... thanks to the BN sale!

But yes, congrats, she's a keeper!!

I agree! She also got my The World's End, which will probably be the first one that I watch

[Aceguy]

Don't know if this has been asked yet, but are there any plans for a release of Spartacus? I've been holding out for it. Also, I'm really looking forward to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World; one of my favorite comedies!

[The Great Owl]

I have been aware of Lewis Allen's 1944 film, The Uninvited, for a long while now, having read occasional recommendations on horror movie lists and such, but I had always dismissed the movie as a comedic take on haunted house stories. My curiosity overcame my hesitation shortly after the release of this Criterion Blu-ray, thanks in large part to the inclusion of The Uninvited on Martin Scorsese's recent list of the 11 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time and to my increased appreciation for the acting of Ray Milland, whose roles I have enjoyed watching in films like Dial M for Murder, X: The Man with X-Ray Eyes, the criminally underrated Panic in Year Zero!, and, of course, Ministry of Fear, which is also available in a beautifully-presented Criterion Blu-ray edition.

After seeing The Uninvited for the first time this evening, my verdict is that this is one of the finest Criterion Collection titles of 2013, and one of the best high definition transfers of a black-and-white 1940s film that I own. Charles Lang's cinematography is quite spectacular and it captures the sunny coastal landscapes and shadowy room interiors with equal vigor. The plot elements of The Uninvited makes me think of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca, which would work wonderfully in conjunction with this film for a double feature night, but the visual approach reminds me of Fritz Lang's dark noir aesthetic in Ministry of Fear. The ultimate result is a "Gothic Noir" of sorts that filters the conventions of beautiful women in distress and shady characters through an earnestly powerful horror framework that delivers on its promise of supernatural occurrences and ghostly apparitions. This film makes masterful use of sound effects, and, although I have been desensitized by decades of horror movie viewings, I felt an honest-to-goodness chill during an early scene where the sounds of an unknown woman's sobs are heard in the middle of the night by the new owners of the large seaside mansion. Levity does have its prominent place in this film, of course, but it only serves to remind us of how early cinema succeeded so well at maintaining a balance of comedy and nail-biting tension.

Although The Uninvited is marketed as a low-price Criterion Blu-ray without an abundance of extras, I heartily recommend the visual essay supplement, Giving Up the Ghost, which packs a lot of information into its less-than-half-hour length, including specifics about the film itself, the directorial canon of Lewis Allen, the impressive career of Ray Milland, and the devastatingly tragic life story of Gail Russell, whose beautiful Stella character is the heart of this feature. Two radio adaptations round out the package in what has turned out to be one of the best Blu-ray surprises of my year.

[smoss469]

Owl, you seem to love everything you review, even the stuff that is a blind buy. Is there a release anywhere that you didn't like?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Patrick M.

Thanks for all the feedback! I know next to nothing about Robert Crumb, but I haven't heard a bad thing about this documentary and I don't get offended that easily. And since I'm interested in it for a while now, I'm just gonna blind buy it during the sale.

Will also blind buy The Sweet Smell of Success. I guess I can't go wrong with that one.

You're going to love Crumb then. The Sweet Smell of Success is also a solid pick. Great choices.

[jw007]

Okay, what is the verdict on To Be or Not To Be? I recently read an article on a website where Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek quoted this film... Is this recommended as a blind-buy?

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Owl, you seem to love everything you review, even the stuff that is a blind buy. Is there a release anywhere that you didn't like?

Although Owl is a wonderful writer, I would like to know the same thing. What're some less than impressive titles you've seen?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Although Owl is a wonderful writer, I would like to know the same thing. What're some less than impressive titles you've seen?

I just read a review on Owl's take on To Be or Not To Be. It has just about convinced me to blind-buy this film now.

I'm curious to know also if Mr. Owl dislikes any films in the Criterion Collection.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Owl, you seem to love everything you review, even the stuff that is a blind buy. Is there a release anywhere that you didn't like?

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Although Owl is a wonderful writer, I would like to know the same thing. What're some less than impressive titles you've seen?

I've seen a lot of truly monumental films this year as I've been building up my Blu-ray collection with well-loved favorites and carefully-chosen blind buys of films that have intrigued me enough to purchase them. The majority of the Blu-rays in my collection are films that I previously owned on DVD and loved enough to upgrade.

I have not had any disappointing blind buys since I started collecting Blu-rays, because I'm attuned to what types of films cater to my tastes after learning many lessons during my days of collecting DVDs. These days, I stay away from the New Release racks at Best Buy or Target and, instead, scope out mostly older films that are now being given the respectful home video treatment that they might not have received on DVD. If I stumble across Blu-ray announcements of films that have earned stellar reputations, such as The Best Years of Our Lives, The Apartment, or Sunset Boulevard, I'm generally inclined to take a closer look to find out why the film is so universally well-regarded. In most cases, the masses are right.

There are some films that I may not revisit as often as others, but I like to evaluate each one not only in terms of entertainment value, but also in terms of how the presentation (supplements, etc.) make a case for the film's legacy. I will not revisit Medium Cool as often, for example, but it's a fascinating movie that is presented beautifully by Criterion.

Here are a couple of releases in my collection that I did not like, though.

A Safe Place
This was part of the America Lost and Found box set that I purchased because it includes a handful of great flicks.

The French Pathe Blu-ray of Le Samouraï
This is my all-time favorite movie, but the high definition transfer is unacceptable for this edition.

There are several Criterion titles that I have seen, but did not like enough to add to my collection in the first place, namely Rushmore, The Ice Storm, Brazil, The Devil's Backbone, and Being John Malkovich.
I'm not a Criterion completist by any stretch.

To illustrate my logic, here is my ranking of new 2013 films that I have seen so far this year (from another thread in the forum).

[Show spoiler]1. All Is Lost
2. 12 Years a Slave ½
3. To the Wonder ½
4. Gravity ½
5. Blue is the Warmest Color
6. The Counselor
7. Oblivion
8. Mud ½
9. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ½
10. Carrie ½
11. Pacific Rim ½
12. World War Z
13. Spring Breakers
14. Iron Man 3 ½
15. V/H/S/2
16. Killing Season

Of these 2013 films that I have rented or seen in the theater, I will probably only end up purchasing four or five of them on Blu-ray. I do not own any films that suck, in my opinion, and that's why I do not have many negative User Reviews of my purchases.

EDIT: I own Hitman on Blu-ray and love it, although the general consensus is that it is a horrible movie, so my definition of films that suck may differ from someone else's definition.

[Gusto-Guus]

Picked up 3:10 to Yuma and the 39 Steps. Looking forward to watching these during my second helping of Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night before the Steelers/Ravens game.