The Criterion Collection

[DaveyJoe]

Oh, it does appear that Chungking Express is out of print, I had no idea. What a bummer, great movie. I'm glad I picked it up when I did, I just wish I had purchased Army of Shadows when I had the chance.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by KilloWertz

They could have at the very least put them in 3-disc cases so they go with the majority of the rest of the collection and take up less shelf space.

+1

some of the digipacks do indeed look nice but i would have prefered 3-disc cases as well. i wonder if more DVD people did get annoyed by the dual format, (spending more on the bluray ) or by the extra wide digipack releases.

but i cant imagine that the price difference in a sale 15$ ->20$ makes so much of a difference for most people that buy criterions ...

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

+1

some of the digipacks do indeed look nice but i would have prefered 3-disc cases as well. i wonder if more DVD people did get annoyed by the dual format, (spending more on the bluray ) or by the extra wide digipack releases.

but i cant imagine that the price difference in a sale 15$ ->20$ makes so much of a difference for most people that buy criterions ...

I don't get item cause if they decide to upgrade to bluray player, they don't have to double dip? :/ Oh well.

I love digipaks as everyone knows, but I have a soft spot for the new 3 disc cases, I love the size, nice and thick in a non sexual way haha! I'd like to see Criterion offer limited digipaks and have option to buy plastic replacement case, then everyones happy in that sense :P I would happily pay extra for digipak as well.

I will miss dual format as I have bluray in lounge and dvd in bedroom (I'm in UK), so yeah I make most of both versions of the discs, its nice watching criterion in bed, and its difficult to move bluray due to large voyage thingy and its all wired in and stored so its difficult.

Need to buy second player...

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by DaveyJoe

It looks like they only offer a few replacement cases in the Criterion shop. I was interested in getting bluray cases for Bottle Rocket and Chungking Express but I only see the former on the website.

The difference there is that Chungking Express is OOP while Bottle Rocket is not.

From what I can tell, for their OOP titles that were in the original DigiPack packaging (Chungking Express, The Third Man, The Man Who Fell to Earth, and Last Year at Marienbad) they'd continued to sell replacement cases/inserts "while supplies last"; once they were gone, they were gone.

The five they still have left (Bottle Rocket, The 400 Blows, The Last Metro, The Last Emperor, and El Norte) are all for titles that are still in print.

Interestingly enough, at some point, Criterion switched Bottle Rocket from the DigiPack to the plastic case. The latter is the only packaging I've seen for that title in the local B&Ns in ages. All of the others are still in DigiPacks (except for The 400 Blows, which got reissued in the Dual Format).

I had also noticed that they'd switched Chungking Express to the plastic case sometime before it went OOP. The plastic-cased edition I saw said "Second Printing" in the indicia on the back (the plastic-cased Bottle Rocket still says "First Printing").

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by iScottie

It's a fantastic set. All the films are great!

Here's hoping I agree!

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Haha it was meant to be 'The' and I couldn't be bothered to edit it lol.

Sukiyaki Western Django or The Good, the Bad, the Weird are both excellent.

[ParticleDan]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

+1

some of the digipacks do indeed look nice but i would have prefered 3-disc cases as well. i wonder if more DVD people did get annoyed by the dual format, (spending more on the bluray ) or by the extra wide digipack releases.

but i cant imagine that the price difference in a sale 15$ ->20$ makes so much of a difference for most people that buy criterions ...

This assumes that Criterion had three disc plastic cases available and chose to go the digipak route instead, and I don't believe that's the case. I'm pretty sure their case supplier didn't have these wider 3 disc cases until recently - probably developed specifically for Criterion.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Alienation experience doesn't come in a specific sequence, so no worries there I doubt most thematic trilogies (as opposed to plot-based ones) have to be seen in any defined order.
If you haven't already, Red Desert may also be considered linked to these films for its theme of isolation in an industrial society, and again Monica Vitti has a difficult character to empathize with.

Originally Posted by Polaroid

How mysterious is it? Picnic level? or is it more subtle? I am intrigued lol

Polaroid: L'Eclisse is a pretty mysterious film! Especially the last few minutes. I'm still scratching my head wondering what that all meant exactly. It was non-traditional narrative to say the least. I could relate to this though...the characters are alienating and so is the filmmaking. I cannot compare this to Picnic at Hanging Rock yet, because I still have yet to see that film (which I REALLY cannot wait to watch! I might do so tonight though).

ravenus: I do own Red Desert on both Criterion DVD and BD but only saw the film once on DVD. I do intend to open my sealed Criterion BD copy of Red Desert and watch this again. I want to wait until Criterion releases L'Aventura so I can watch all three and then Red Desert after that. I also have Identification of a Woman which I liked. The Passenger would make for a great Antonioni Criterion release too.

[Polaroid]

I dunno if these are annoying but heres a question for everyone, I want to know what other great performances are in the Criterion Collection and worth owning:

Top 5 Tour De Force Performances in the Collection:

1. Charlotte Gainsborough / Antichrist

2. Emily Watson / Breaking The Waves

3. Liv Ullmann / Autumn Sonata (Ingrid Bergman could also be included here)

4. Moira Shearer / The Red Shoes

5. Michael Fassbender / Hunger

This list will probably change as I am selecting from my current collection and may have forgotten someone or missed someone from a film I haven't yet watched.

I am sure someone will remind me of some other incredible performances!

I actually found it very hard to pick a male actor though - I need to have another think but those are off top of my head .

[jw007]

Hey (Great) Owl (or anyone else for that matter!):

I was just wondering if Red River would have been even greater had it been shot in technicolor and in anamorphic 2:35 aspect ratio?

It kind of bums me out that some of these classic westerns (Red River, Stagecoach, High Noon, Rio Grande, My Darling Clementine) are black and white. I cannot think of any genre of film moreso than Westerns that NEED to be shot in color! I feel that the Western film was meant to be shown in color because of its huge emphasis on scenery and location! At least if Red River wasn't in 1:37 ratio, it would be better, just so the viewer can see the wide vistas and landscape of the country and locations.

Would you agree?

[zoodermin]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I dunno if these are annoying but heres a question for everyone, I want to know what other great performances are in the Criterion Collection and worth owning:

Top 5 Tour De Force Performances in the Collection:

1. Charlotte Gainsborough / Antichrist

2. Emily Watson / Breaking The Waves

3. Liv Ullmann / Autumn Sonata (Ingrid Bergman could also be included here)

4. Moira Shearer / The Red Shoes

5. Michael Fassbender / Hunger

This list will probably change as I am selecting from my current collection and may have forgotten someone or missed someone from a film I haven't yet watched.

I am sure someone will remind me of some other incredible performances!

I actually found it very hard to pick a male actor though - I need to have another think but those are off top of my head .

I would also include Juliette Binoche in Blue, Irene Jacob in The Double Life of Veronique, Toshiro Mifune in Seven Samurai, Deborah Kerr in Black Narcissus and Emma Thompson in Howards End.

[octagon]

Lot of great male leads...just off the top of my head...

David Thewlis - Naked
Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis - Sweet Smell of Success
Toshiro Mifune - Everything He's In
The Kid in Kes - Kes

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I would also include Juliette Binoche in Blue, Irene Jacob in The Double Life of Veronique, Toshiro Mifune in Seven Samurai, Deborah Kerr in Black Narcissus and Emma Thompson in Howards End.

AH yes - superb performances in Double Life, and Three Colors.

Ive not seen Three Colors for a while now and in need of an upgrade! I wanted to put Irène Jacob in that list but chose to put Michael Fassbender as I felt I had chosen too many females haha

Originally Posted by octagon

Lot of great male leads...just off the top of my head...

David Thewlis - Naked
Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis - Sweet Smell of Success
Toshiro Mifune - Everything He's In
The Kid in Kes - Kes

Not seen these! I have Naked though and have yet to watch >.<

[jw007]

Originally Posted by octagon

Lot of great male leads...just off the top of my head...

David Thewlis - Naked
Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis - Sweet Smell of Success
Toshiro Mifune - Everything He's In
The Kid in Kes - Kes

Don't forget Willem Dafoe in The Last Temptation of Christ. Amazing male lead!

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by jw007

Don't forget Willem Dafoe in The Last Temptation of Christ. Amazing male lead!

Oooh I need to upgrade this one as well! No idea why I started buying DVD's, I should have just got Blurays from start! grr lol

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

AH yes - superb performances in Double Life, and Three Colors.

Ive not seen Three Colors for a while now and in need of an upgrade! I wanted to put Irène Jacob in that list but chose to put Michael Fassbender as I felt I had chosen too many females haha



Not seen these! I have Naked though and have yet to watch >.<

Dude, that is one of my favorite all-time films! You must watch that ASAP. David Thewlis is searing in that film. One of my favorite characters ever. My favorite scene is when he's talking to that security guard at night about the mark of the beast and the apocalypse. Amazing acting.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by jw007

Don't forget Willem Dafoe in The Last Temptation of Christ. Amazing male lead!

the male and female actor in La Notte , the old man in wild strawberries.
mifune in everything he is in. the main actor in Investigation of a Citizen Above


the last one must have been a really though job to pull.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by jw007

Dude, that is one of my favorite all-time films! You must watch that ASAP. David Thewlis is searing in that film. One of my favorite characters ever. My favorite scene is when he's talking to that security guard at night about the mark of the beast and the apocalypse. Amazing acting.

I only bought Naked by accident as I got it mixed up with Crumb haha (only cause of the one word name) - I know pretty stupid haha!

It does look good though

[soarinsteven]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I dunno if these are annoying but heres a question for everyone, I want to know what other great performances are in the Criterion Collection and worth owning:

[Show spoiler]
Top 5 Tour De Force Performances in the Collection:

1. Charlotte Gainsborough / Antichrist

2. Emily Watson / Breaking The Waves

3. Liv Ullmann / Autumn Sonata (Ingrid Bergman could also be included here)

4. Moira Shearer / The Red Shoes

5. Michael Fassbender / Hunger

This list will probably change as I am selecting from my current collection and may have forgotten someone or missed someone from a film I haven't yet watched.

I am sure someone will remind me of some other incredible performances!

I actually found it very hard to pick a male actor though - I need to have another think but those are off top of my head .

Here's FIVE favorite of mine:

Peter Lorre - M

Burt Lancaster - The Leopard

Jean-Pierre Léaud - The 400 Blows

Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence

Danielle Darrieux - The Earrings of Madame de...

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by soarinsteven

[/SPOILER]

Here's FIVE favorite of mine:

Peter Lorre - M

Burt Lancaster - The Leopard

Jean-Pierre Léaud - The 400 Blows

Gena Rowlands - A Woman Under the Influence

Danielle Darrieux - The Earrings of Madame de...

Ah yes he was great in this film need to see others, I think 400 Blows has been on my wishlist for ages, only been put off as it was OOP and a tad pricey - need the new version!