The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just finished watching Roeg's "Don't Look Now" and I am praying that the Criterion rumors end up being true. The film is fantastic!

It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest mystery / horror films since the days of Hitchcock. Creepy as hell!

Everything about Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now is incredible. I'm holding tightly to my DVD right now, but I've been wanting a Blu-ray upgrade of this movie since I first jumped to high definition.

Incidentally, there is a wonderful homage to Don't Look Now in the 2006 James Bond movie, Casino Royale. Think of Venice and Eva Green's red dress.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by jw007

So with Eraserhead out and Mulholland Drive next, do you think there may just be a third Lynch film that might come to Criterion? Which one would it be? My guess would be The Elephant Man. After that, I'd LOVE to see The Straight Story.

The Straight Story makes more sense to me because I can't see Disney doing it themselves and they have already licensed to other markets. The Elephant Man is with Studio Canal so sadly I don't see that happening. Lost Highway would be the film that sticks out but even if they managed to get him involved with it I can see it taking some time, to say the least. Eraserhead has been talked about by Criterion and their fans for over 10 years.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just finished watching Roeg's "Don't Look Now" and I am praying that the Criterion rumors end up being true. The film is fantastic!

It is, without a doubt, one of the greatest mystery / horror films since the days of Hitchcock. Creepy as hell!

I just watched The Wicker Man over the weekend and instead of simply enjoying it for what it was I couldn't stop thinking about all the (misplaced, as far as I could tell) 'I had nightmares for weeks' chatter that led me to it in the first place.

I've only watched Don't Look Now once and my reaction was a similar kind of disappointment. Maybe I'll have better luck the second time around when I won't be distracted by nagging 'really, this is what all that yapping was about?' thoughts.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by octagon

I just watched The Wicker Man over the weekend and instead of simply enjoying it for what it was I couldn't stop thinking about all the (misplaced, as far as I could tell) 'I had nightmares for weeks' chatter that led me to it in the first place.

I've only watched Don't Look Now once and my reaction was a similar kind of disappointment. Maybe I'll have better luck the second time around when I won't be distracted by nagging 'really, this is what all that yapping was about?' thoughts.

Maybe you'd better stop listening to people? The Wicker Man is fantastic!

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by octagon

I just watched The Wicker Man over the weekend and instead of simply enjoying it for what it was I couldn't stop thinking about all the (misplaced, as far as I could tell) 'I had nightmares for weeks' chatter that led me to it in the first place.

I've only watched Don't Look Now once and my reaction was a similar kind of disappointment. Maybe I'll have better luck the second time around when I won't be distracted by nagging 'really, this is what all that yapping was about?' thoughts.

Don't Look Now works better if you know nothing about it. Bad Timing as well. In my opinion, it is his style and editing that involve me in these films and that has a lot to do with being able to sink into them without any preconceived notion of where its going.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

Maybe you'd better stop listening to people?

Yeah, you might be right.

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

The Wicker Man is fantastic!

[Show spoiler]geez, I crack me up

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

Don't Look Now works better if you know nothing about it. Bad Timing as well. In my opinion, it is his style and editing that involve me in these films and that has a lot to do with being able to sink into them without any preconceived notion of where its going.

I definitely plan on watching it again and would even be interested in picking up a better release. It was very interesting visually even while watching the iffy Optimum release. I could easily see having a bit of a Charade reaction to a better transfer. I've always more or less kinda sorta liked Charade but never really loved it until I saw the Criterion release.

[charlieray1]

Originally Posted by dsman71

Just because you dont like it (Eraserhead) doesnt mean the entire world must watch it once. Different strokes for different folks is all I can say here. Im getting that and the Innocents

Oh, I didn't mean to imply that others don't like it -- I know it has a big following. -- or that my opinion of it is "right." Not at all -- just saying that I didn't get it. Other than being a very unique film it was really unappealing to me. Weird, unique, squishy, but not not real enjoyable.

However, as you say, different strokes . . .

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by octagon

I definitely plan on watching it again and would even be interested in picking up a better release. It was very interesting visually even while watching the iffy Optimum release. I could easily see having a bit of a Charade reaction to a better transfer. I've always more or less kinda sorta liked Charade but never really loved it until I saw the Criterion release.

So, because Criterion released it it made your view of the film different? Or because of their transfer? Seems ridiculous but I'm curious.

When I replied to you it was because I know Roeg films such as Don't Look Now have a certain method of storytelling (or style) that has people either loving or hating it and I can definitely see where knowing the basic plot or even further could lead to a big "meh" with the two I mentioned. They are great films that require your emotions as well as your attention.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by dtyner92

Tonight i'm planing on watching some of Lars von Trier's earlier films. I was wondering which film you guys preferred, The Element of Crime or Europa?

I love both of them, but Europa more.

[Yojimbo]

Originally Posted by bigbadwoppet

Criterion going back to separate BD and DVD releases doesn't mean they listened to the opinions, it means they listened to their wallet. Number of people who buy it for the dvd must have lowered as a result of the dual-format (higher price for a disc you don't need), while the number of those who buy it for the BD stayed constant (same price with more discs).
It was the wrong move at this point. Studios are moving away from that.

The prices never raised or lowered when they went dual-format. DVDs were still listed at $39.95 for the most part just like the blu-rays. Criterion even said the prices would remain the same because it brought the costs on packaging down. The costs of producing two separate packages were more expensive than combining both DVD and blu-ray into one.

[Dick Laurent 97]

I'm pretty disappointed by the extras for Eraserhead. I'd be less disappointed if they managed to get everyone of Lynch's shorts and put them on a separate disc.

[Oscar Rothman]

I'm in for Eraserhead, The Innocents and maybe Macbeth. Light month otherwise.

[Dick Laurent 97]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

Lost Highway would be the film that sticks out but even if they managed to get him involved with it I can see it taking some time, to say the least.

I'd buy that for a dollar!

[jayembee]

As for the announcements...

The Innocents is probably my #1 choice of the bunch. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul is a close second. It might even have been #1, but I have it on DVD, and don't have The Innocents, so I'm a bit more interested in the latter.

Macbeth would be #3 for me. Sundays and Cybele I haven't seen before, but it looks like something I'd like, so #4.

Eraserhead I'm the least enthused about. I do consider myself a fan of David Lynch, but this film is my least favorite of his (aside from Dune). And the short films don't excite me that much (I have them in a DVD collection, and I can't say I thought much of them).

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Everything about Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now is incredible. I'm holding tightly to my DVD right now, but I've been wanting a Blu-ray upgrade of this movie since I first jumped to high definition.

Incidentally, there is a wonderful homage to Don't Look Now in the 2006 James Bond movie, Casino Royale. Think of Venice and Eva Green's red dress.

I never thought about it like that, but I guess you're right!

I watched a really crappy standard definition version of it on the television and it definitely took away from the experience. Still, I was floored.

Originally Posted by octagon

I just watched The Wicker Man over the weekend and instead of simply enjoying it for what it was I couldn't stop thinking about all the (misplaced, as far as I could tell) 'I had nightmares for weeks' chatter that led me to it in the first place.

I've only watched Don't Look Now once and my reaction was a similar kind of disappointment. Maybe I'll have better luck the second time around when I won't be distracted by nagging 'really, this is what all that yapping was about?' thoughts.

I had no idea about the film (critic-wise or information-wise) while going into the film, so I was pleasantly surprised.

RE: The Wicker Man - I heard a lot of positive things about it and ended up watching it (post seeing the terrible remake) and I thought it was pretty good. Obviously I didn't see all of the positive things in the film, but I still thought it was good for a watch.

Don't Look Now is a film right up my alley, so after seeing it and reading a bit about it, I wasn't surprised that I liked it.

[smoss469]

Owl, don't take this the wrong way but you seem to be high on basically everything. Makes it hard to take the reviews seriously if everything blows you away or is one of your favorite releases

[dtyner92]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I love both of them, but Europa more.

Thanks jayembee! I'll start out with Europa tonight.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

So, because Criterion released it it made your view of the film different?

No. I had a very similar experience with Paramount's release of To Catch a Thief.

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

Or because of their transfer?

People casually throw around phrases like 'it was like watching it for the first time all over again' when describing BD releases but sometimes that's true.

Seeing a better presentation of a film will often increase my appreciation of it to some degree or another. That's not really that unusual (nor, I would think, all that hard to understand). But occasionally that uptick in appreciation is marked. I just see the film in a different light.

That was the case with Charade.

[starman15317]

Mulholland Drive is #1 on my Criterion wish list but how do we know they are actually releasing it? Doesn't Studio Canal own it?

[Joe Dalek]

Originally Posted by octagon

I just watched The Wicker Man over the weekend and instead of simply enjoying it for what it was I couldn't stop thinking about all the (misplaced, as far as I could tell) 'I had nightmares for weeks' chatter that led me to it in the first place.

I think it's really mis-marketed in that sense: "Citizen Kane of horror". You'd really have to identify strongly with Woodward's character to be completely horrified by it, and since I identify more with Lee's character I find the whole thing darkly comic. The ending is quite horrific when you consider it, but Woodward's character

[Show spoiler]is so self-righteous that he becomes the villain of the story in a roundabout way, which is part of what makes the film so original

. I love it because it's dark and there isn't anything else quite like it.

Originally Posted by Yojimbo

The prices never raised or lowered when they went dual-format. DVDs were still listed at $39.95 for the most part just like the blu-rays. Criterion even said the prices would remain the same because it brought the costs on packaging down. The costs of producing two separate packages were more expensive than combining both DVD and blu-ray into one.

Prices were "raised" in the sense that DVD consumers had to pay more for extra discs they didn't want.

I'm happy to see them abandon dual format if that's what they're doing. We're well past early-adopter phase for Blu-ray. When they started putting out DVD-only and dual format releases after a few months of dual format only, the writing was on the wall. DVD consumers don't want to bother with Blu-ray. Blu-ray consumers by and large could care less for extra DVDs. If you can't please both audiences with one format, it doesn't make sense to continue it, even if it makes logical sense to streamline your product. Consumers are funny. Criterion waited about four years too long to wade into dual format.