The Criterion Collection

[movieben1138]

Final day of the sale...but I was finally able to take a second stab at it. (This month has been rough, financially.) Today I added:

The Qatsi Trilogy (-$8 coupon)
Insomnia
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

Earlier in the month I bought:

Picnic at Hanging Rock
Red River (-$8 coupon)

So, it wasn't a huge haul for me...but I'm very happy with what I was able to acquire.

--Ben

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Makes sense. Still rather annoying. I just can't believe the case & artwork at $5 is already a little much, and then $6 for shipping on top of that is ridiculous.

You do know Criterion make a loss on replacement cases? Also to uk its $5 per item free shipping, $10 aint bad tbh its only like £5.80 - that pocket change lol

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

Yeah, it probably doesn't cost them anything to produce either. They won't lose any money at all giving them away.

As I stated they do make a loss on these replacement cases and artwork etc :P

[GentleGiant]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I don't know where to start when it comes to recommending Westerns. Stagecoach would probably be my first pick, because it's so entertaining, and because it's influenced so many subsequent flicks. 3:10 to Yuma and Jubal are both outstanding, and, in fact, Jubal does not get nearly enough credit for being the great flick that it is.

Red River is near perfect, but I prefer Rio Bravo as far as the Howard Hawks westerns go. (I recently bought El Dorado, though, so I need to check it out soon.) I agree with an above post that High Noon is a great movie. Funnily enough, though, John Wayne reportedly did not like that movie, because he hated the idea that the sheriff was asking the townspeople for help. Rio Bravo is an antidote of sorts to High Noon in that regard.

I wish that Lonely Are the Brave, starring Kirk Douglas, would be released by Criterion. That's an incredible contemporary western of sorts along the lines of The Misfits.

Gunfight at the O.K. Corral is underrated. Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas are both golden in this movie, and it look beautiful on Blu-ray.

Shane deserves all of the praise that it has received over the decades. It's another Western that is close to perfect.

The Sergio Leone Westerns? Check. I love 'em all. The recent remaster of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a revelation, so don't listen to all of the negativity in the dedicated thread for that movie.

How the West Was Won is one of the coolest-looking Blu-rays that you'll ever watch. Buy the edition that includes the "SmileBox" version.

River of No Return is a strong contender for my favorite Marilyn Monroe movie. Otto Preminger works wonders with this one, and there's something about Monroe steering through river rapids in a flannel shirt and jeans that works for me.

The Man from Laramie and Two Rode Together are both impressive Twilight Time Blu-rays that showcase another side of actor Jimmy Stewart.

The Searchers, of course, belongs in everyone's collection. It's one of the best character roles for John Wayne, and John Ford's visions of wide open spaces are really something else.

The Outlaw Josey Wales, Unforgiven, and the other Eastwood westerns are worth their weight in gold.

No Country for Old Men is a fascinating contemporary neo-noir spin on the western genre. One could also argue that Ridley Scott's The Counselor takes the Wild West in an unprecedented dark direction.

Night of the Grizzly is such a fun family-friendly western. I can't get enough of the Olive Films disc.

Last, but not least, I have to tip the hat to City Slickers, which is one of the best comedies that I own.

I have John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, by way of the region-free UK disc. It's still in my unwatched stack, though, along with several key Olive Films westerns.

Blu-ray.com says that westerns are "strongly over-represented" in my collection. Common sense is strongly under-represented with that particular observation, though.


I'll stop now. I just finished my Saturday morning training run, and I want to see some exploding Scanners heads.

Just thought I'd say thanks to you for your posts - they are very informative.

[jw007]

Just finished watching Picnic at Hanging Rock. Wow, my initial thoughts are...this is such a mysterious story. Peter Weir is one of my favorite directors and this movie is a classic. I am just starting to digest what I just witnessed. In some ways, I wanted to see more but I could only imagine different possibilities of why/how these women disappeared.

[Show spoiler]Some theories include that of the supernatural, a magnetic vortex/wormhole of some sort or maybe the people never had existed somehow and were written in a diary or they were angels or were "doomed" like it was said in the film. Or maybe they were transported back millions of years ago or sucked into a volcanic energy pattern

.

Regardless, this is a magnificent film full of astounding music and mystery and it all just blew me away.

[GentleGiant]

Sat down and watched Fritz Lang's M last weekend, and what a great film it is! I had expected it to be a bore and, frankly speaking, it was a bit dull in parts but overall I was very impressed, to say the least. What stood out to me the most was Peter Lorre's performance which is freakin' amazing and makes the film highly rewatchable in my book. In fact, I think it largely makes the film the masterpiece that it is.

[blujazz]

Likelihood of Two Days, One Night on Criterion?

Just saw it and I've never felt so humiliated for a fictional character in a long while. Good ending, actually.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by jw007

Just finished watching Picnic at Hanging Rock. Wow, my initial thoughts are...this is such a mysterious story. Peter Weir is one of my favorite directors and this movie is a classic. I am just starting to digest what I just witnessed. In some ways, I wanted to see more but I could only imagine different possibilities of why/how these women disappeared.

[Show spoiler]Some theories include that of the supernatural, a magnetic vortex/wormhole of some sort or maybe the people never had existed somehow and were written in a diary or they were angels or were "doomed" like it was said in the film. Or maybe they were transported back millions of years ago or sucked into a volcanic energy pattern

.

Regardless, this is a magnificent film full of astounding music and mystery and it all just blew me away.

Glad to enjoyed it. I first saw it back in the early 80's, I was just a teen then. I was so struck by the mystery of the story and the way to movie was structure. Some of the fun of it is just not really knowing what it's all about.

Some people even believed it was base on a real event when the movie came out, just because of how it was made.

[filmmusic]

2 days ago as I had said previously i watched THE THIN RED LINE, and yesterday continuing the Mallick films, i watched DAYS OF HEAVEN (for the 2nd time).
Well, it's certainly no Thin Red line, I couldn't connect much to the characters but nonetheless the photography/cinematography and generally the period atmosphere are exquisite and the music is quite good too.
I'm glad that I bought it.

The one thing that bugged me a bit though and thought didn't fit much, was the narration, and I think that was because of the girl's voice. I didn't like it much. I would prefer a more delicate girly voice.

IF i were to rate the Mallick films I would put them in this order (haven't seen his last yet):

1) The Thin Red Line
2) The Tree of Life
3) Badlands/Days of Heaven (can't decide what i like best. Maybe Days of Heaven because i like period films)
4) New World

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

I just saw 8 1/2 for the first time.

What a masterpiece.

Now go watch the spinoff... Rob Marshall's Nine.

[filmmusic]

I haven't watched any Fellini!
Looking at the trailers they look like bizarre films, and I'm not that much into the bizarre..

[blu-bry]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-E.../72983/#Review

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Child.../48077/#Review

These movies themselves are 5/5, but you are correct if you are only looking at the video quality, or the overall rating.
Personally, I bought "The Earrings of Madame de..." anyway. I will overlook the subpar video quality since the movie is just so great! I didn't want to wait years for a better transfer.
I already own "Children of Paradise" on Criterion DVD and I will have to be content to stay with that, since the Blu-ray would not be much of an improvement.
I can't stress enough though, that these 2 movies themselves are great!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

I haven't watched any Fellini!
Looking at the trailers they look like bizarre films, and I'm not that much into the bizarre..

Just stick to everything he made up to 81/2. Everything after that gets pretty bizarre.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Just stick to everything he made up to 81/2. Everything after that gets pretty bizarre.

Whoa, now. Amarcord is pretty normal when placed in the context of his filmography. I haven't seen that much of his post-8 1/2 work, though.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Whoa, now. Amarcord is pretty normal when placed in the context of his filmography. I haven't seen that much of his post-8 1/2 work, though.

Watch Satyricon. It makes Amarcord look like a Ken Loach film.

[ijustblumyself]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

I haven't watched any Fellini!
Looking at the trailers they look like bizarre films, and I'm not that much into the bizarre..

Like other posters have said, give his earlier films a try.. He's probably my favourite director.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Watch Satyricon. It makes Amarcord look like a Ken Loach film.

Well now I need to see it.

Just realized what your avatar is from. Love that film.

[Sinthetic]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

I haven't watched any Fellini!
Looking at the trailers they look like bizarre films, and I'm not that much into the bizarre..

You can remedy that by picking up La Dolce Vita in October.

[Helikaon]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Just stick to everything he made up to 81/2. Everything after that gets pretty bizarre.

I would have to disagree. I think a better word to describe his later films is whimsical, with 8-1/2 being perhaps one of the most whimsical, fleeting between memories, dreams and reality. However, films like La Dolce Vita are pretty straightforward, and Amarcord is just a big nostalgic memory.

8-1/2 is one of my all time favourites. Everytime I watch it I peal back layers and discover new things. A great movie, but perhaps best watched after Nights of Cabiria, La Strada and La Dolce Vita.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Well now I need to see it.

Just realized what your avatar is from. Love that film.

If there's a movie that gets love sickness, it's Two Lovers.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Mon Oncle d'Amerique and La Ceremonie.

La Ceremonie is a good watch. I'll second that. Not without a few faults, IMO, but worth a look.