The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

I rented Bob Le Flambeur and enjoyed it. I would like an upgrade on the bad boy to bluray. Holla if you hear me guys!

Loud and clear! I'm holding tightly to my Criterion DVD of Bob Le Flambeur right now, but I'd love to have an upgrade. One of many great Melville flicks.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by PowellPressburger

And after all these years of lost rights it has only hurt Studio Canal IMO. I can only imagine what films Criterion would have upgraded to BLU by now and where are they just wasting away because we once thought SC were really gonna churn out some titles but ok the US... Well it is a shame. (And don't forgot no one can sell a title quite like Criterion) SC loss for sure.

I guess it depends how much money Lionsgate (that's who it was, right?) gave them for the rights to their catalog in the US. Not releasing many films is probably more of a loss for Lionsgate (and the fans of the films) than it is for Studio Canal.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

I rented Bob Le Flambeur and enjoyed it. I would like an upgrade on the bad boy to bluray. Holla if you hear me guys!

Bob Le Flambeur is my favorite Melville film and I consider it his best film (I have seen almost all his films) with L'armée des ombres a close second place.

Now imagine a year where Persona, La Dolce Vita, Pickpocket

And

Bob Le Flambeur or Le Samouraï are released.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

Scottie, I say this with love, but you should realize that all the titles that you really seem to love the most are among the higher brow arty films.

No judgement, but you have continually been disappointed (per your posts) with most of the more genre driven or mainstream films. Of course, this is not true 100% of the time, just a whole lot.

Anyway, I'm only mentioning this as an observation, not trying to troll or judge.

No, that's okay. I'm not denying it.

As I've gotten more and more into film over the year, I've been more drawn towards films that seem to impact me strongly in some way, shape, or form. Whether it be me having a ball with the film, me being awed to the point of tears, my mind being pushed past its limit, or the like, those are the films that seem to stick with me the most.

I'm not saying Broadcast News is a bad film of sorts, but it seems like something I've seen time and time again, though in a very different context. Many people that I talk to know that I am not the biggest fan of the 1980s and I cannot seem to get into the nostalgia that many films of the era give off to the average film-goer. I haven't seem many James L. Brooks films, so maybe my opinion on his catalogue will change, but I definitely enjoy As Good As It Gets. It's a really sweet and fun film!

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Bob Le Flambeur is my favorite Melville film and I consider it his best film (I have seen almost all his films) with L'armée des ombres a close second place.



Now imagine a year where Persona, La Dolce Vita, Pickpocket



And



Bob Le Flambeur or Le Samouraï are released.

Damn, what a year for films.

Bob Le Flambeur was definitely the prototype for Le Samourai but I still like Le Samourai so much. It's just a cool film.

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Loud and clear! I'm holding tightly to my Criterion DVD of Bob Le Flambeur right now, but I'd love to have an upgrade. One of many great Melville flicks.

I know it's awesome to get all these films on blu finally but the PQ of the Melville films I've seen on dvd are pretty good.

[spargs]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Loud and clear! I'm holding tightly to my Criterion DVD of Bob Le Flambeur right now, but I'd love to have an upgrade. One of many great Melville flicks.

Discovering Melville was my biggest joy in regards to movies in 2013. My wallet didn't enjoy it as much, due to so many of the titles being OOP... Would love to see those rights back with Criterion.

[myka22]

I liked Broadcast News because even though it was a fairly straightforward and mainstream type of film, it has some seriously dark and emotional things going on in it. However the ending was weak and didn't properly deal with a lot of the stuff that was going on in the film.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by RojD

Thanks for sharing your thoughts here. It's been at least a couple of years since I watched this set, and now I feel like I'm due a revisit. Haven't been able to get À propos de Nice out of my head since I first watched it, maybe because I watched it half a dozen times at that sitting. I like 20s/30s experimental film, and this one is just edgy enough without losing you. And it feels so smart and alive. And Zéro de conduite has a lot going for it. Not only the theme, but the way the mood and even genre shifts in that last section is what beauty in film feels like. And there's L'Atalante. It's amazing that a guy as young as Vigo could put the universality of these characters and their relationship into such a specific context. Almost Shakespearean. You know what everyone in the film is feeling despite the cinema conventions.

Sad that this was Vigo's entire output, but at least he did these. I think I might like 'em better than you, but it's good to see some appreciation.

And as one more interesting bit, I think I remember that Vigo was tight with Painlevé. There's definitely a similar feel in Vigo and the early Painlevé in Science is Fiction, and they both had some interest in underwater filming.

I glad you guys are posting your perspectives on this great collection. At one point in time, these films were forgotten. If it weren't for New French Wave movement, these films might have never seen the light of day again.

My favorite films in the collection (there are only four) is À propos de Nice and L'Atalante.

I like the two films for different reasons. The film editing in À propos de Nice is superb. It makes the city of Nice into a living thing. It's tourist, citizens, it's richness and poverty. He definitely plays with thematic contrasts.

Vigo was in a wheelchair dying of tuberculosis when he was filming L'Atalante. Maybe due this "at edge of death" perspective, he gives us this great story filled with universal theme that still resonate today. Marriage counselors should show this film to young couples. It is a beautiful film, I am glad a company like criterion release it.

[The Great Owl]

I ought to move The Complete Jean Vigo to the top of my unwatched stack. I bought it during a December sale, but have still made my way to checking it out. I might watch it tomorrow night.

[Al_The_Strange]

Just watched 1997's Insomnia for the first time ever. It was pretty decent. I can definitely appreciate the tone, style, color scheme, performances, and the fact that it's trimmer than the 2002 version. It's always been a pretty interesting plot, but the characters are decent, and I loved Stellan Skarsgard's performance. Yep, I'm pretty happy to own it now, especially to complement the remake; it looks especially sharp and clear on the Criterion Blu-Ray.

When I find time, I'd like to check out the short films in the extra features.

Also got Scanners in the mail; can't wait to revisit that one soon.

[ultlife2013]

My bought Criterion sale list and also my recommendations for the last week or so of the sale:

Bottle Rocket
Kiss Me Deadly
The Night Of The Hunter
Charade
Anatomy Of A Murder
Band Of Outsiders

Any film on that list gets my professional stamp of approval. Buy with confidence!

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

My bought Criterion sale list and also my recommendations for the last week or so of the sale:

Bottle Rocket
Kiss Me Deadly
The Night Of The Hunter
Charade
Anatomy Of A Murder
Band Of Outsiders

Any film on that list gets my professional stamp of approval. Buy with confidence!

Good to know with Bottle Rocket. That one seems to get very middle of the road to negative reactions on here.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by myka22

I liked Broadcast News because even though it was a fairly straightforward and mainstream type of film, it has some seriously dark and emotional things going on in it. However the ending was weak and didn't properly deal with a lot of the stuff that was going on in the film.

Agreed. The ending was kind of a letdown.

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Good to know with Bottle Rocket. That one seems to get very middle of the road to negative reactions on here.

It's very different from Wes Anderon's later films but I like it's earnest charm. I really like the performances from the Wilson brothers. It's not too quirky as well, compared to his later work. That film is my most polarizing choice but I stand behind my list, to the death!

[starman15317]

I remember liking Bottle Rocket when I saw it but I feel like I need to rewatch it as I don't remember too much. I do remember though that it was different from other films.

[jmclick]

My local Barnes & Noble has to be the best store in the chain. I went in today to pick up my last Criterion titles for this month, and the Store Manager told me that the employees in the DVD Department had chipped in and paid my Barnes & Noble Membership fee for the upcoming year. It was such a kind and completely unexpected gesture, I got a little choked up. Okay, actually I got a lot choked up. Anyway, here's my haul for July:

Ace in the Hole
All That Heaven Allows
Blue is the Warmest Color
Diabolique (on order through the store)
Fish Tank
Foreign Correspondent
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Lonesome
Lord of the Flies
Ministry of Fear
Paths of Glory
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Red River
Stagecoach
Thief
Wages of Fear

That should be enough to keep me occupied until the next sale in November!

[pro-bassoonist]

Abbas Kiarostami at Indiana University-Bloomington

Abbas Kiarostami at Indiana University - YouTube

Also out now on Blu-ray via Cohen Media:

The Wind Will Carry Us Blu-ray



Pro-B

[WalterNeff]

Originally Posted by jmclick

That should be enough to keep me occupied until the next sale in November!

You know, that raises a question I was going to ask earlier. I feel idiotic asking this(I am new to collecting), but what other sales on criterions are there throughout the year?

[zafisher94]

Thought I was finished last week, but ended up blind buying Nashville and Foreign Correspondent.