The Criterion Collection

[J.R. Lopez]

Hey guys! Guess what's coming next year!!

[Brian81]

year's wrong

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by J.R. Lopez

Hey guys! Guess what's coming next year!!

[Show spoiler]

[Show spoiler]

[mallomar]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

inb4 people cry and moan about wonky spines

It's easy to fix though. If you just pin the cover all the way back on itself in one direction and then the other, thoroughly cracking both edges of the spine (not the middle, obviously), it will lie flat. Every so often you have to repeat, when they start going wonky again.

[Rich Pure Doom]

Not Criterion related but...

I just watched Arrow's Blu-ray of The Long Goodbye and although I'd seen the film before, it's greatness (like most Altmans) continues to grow. Many would even say this rivals Chinatown as the greatest of the neo-noirs. The way it deconstructs, critiques, and at the same times uses traditional noir archetypes is brilliant. It also has some strong homages to The Big Heat and The Third Man. This is coming out in region A next month from Kino, and I recommend everyone to check it out!

[Scottie]

I rewatched The Great Beauty tonight in anticipation for La Dolce Vita tomorrow and I am convinced that this is the best film of the decade thus far.

While it is obviously a film, The Great Beauty serves a bigger role as an experience. Such themes as life, death, and the beauty of existence become intertwined to form a very reflexive piece of art.

I have already recommended it to death, but I cannot stress enough how great this film is.

[mallomar]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I rewatched The Great Beauty tonight in anticipation for La Dolce Vita tomorrow and I am convinced that this is the best film of the decade thus far.

So glad to hear it holds up on rewatching. I saw it in the theater and it was one of those rare transcendent movie experiences where you even dare to think, Hey, maybe that changed me a little. I've been afraid to rewatch it in case I don't like it as much the second time. I'm a big fellini fan, and i was impressed at how The Great Beauty seemed to be holding an extended conversation with 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita et al., without exactly being derivative. It was all very bold.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by mallomar

So glad to hear it holds up on rewatching. I saw it in the theater and it was one of those rare transcendent movie experiences where you even dare to think, Hey, maybe that changed me a little. I've been afraid to rewatch it in case I don't like it as much the second time. I'm a big fellini fan, and i was impressed at how The Great Beauty seemed to be holding an extended conversation with 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita et al., without exactly being derivative. It was all very bold.

The Great Beauty played at the most popular art house theater in my state last year for over a month, but I never went to see it. It was not until the Criterion Collection Blu-ray was released that I saw it and I was taken aback by how beautiful of a film it is.

I agree very much with your comment regarding the film being similar in tone to Federico Fellini's catalogue. It feels like a distant cousin to both Amarcord and La Dolce Vita for me personally.

The film truly holds up well so I recommend that you rewatch it whenever you desire. I really, really, really admire films that deal with the emptiness of life and the yearning to experience the beauty of the world.

[mallomar]

Originally Posted by iScottie

[B] I really, really, really admire films that deal with the emptiness of life and the yearning to experience the beauty of the world.

Nicely put, me too. And ultimately, maybe a life filled with longing wasn't empty after all. As T.S. Elliot puts it: "People to whom nothing has ever happened cannot understand the unimportance of events."

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

Not Criterion related but...

I just watched Arrow's Blu-ray of The Long Goodbye and although I'd seen the film before, it's greatness (like most Altmans) continues to grow. Many would even say this rivals Chinatown as the greatest of the neo-noirs. The way it deconstructs, critiques, and at the same times uses traditional noir archetypes is brilliant. It also has some strong homages to The Big Heat and The Third Man. This is coming out in region A next month from Kino, and I recommend everyone to check it out!

I'm there. I'm really looking forward to buying the Kino Lorber release of The Long Goodbye and adding it to my extensive film noir/neo-noir collection.

I was not huge on Robert Altman's Nashville, and it's my least favorite Criterion film in my own collection. The Long Goodbye is based on the Chandler novel, though, and I'm sure that the film will be right up my alley.

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm there. I'm really looking forward to buying the Kino Lorber release of The Long Goodbye and adding it to my extensive film noir/neo-noir collection.

I was not huge on Robert Altman's Nashville, and it's my least favorite Criterion film in my own collection. The Long Goodbye is based on the Chandler novel, though, and I'm sure that the film will be right up my alley.

Be warned though: While it is a noir, it is also most certainly an Altman film, and has all the trademarks that go along with that. If you were not keen on Nashville (PLEASE rewatch it for the sake of cinema!) than you might have reservations about this as well.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm there. I'm really looking forward to buying the Kino Lorber release of The Long Goodbye and adding it to my extensive film noir/neo-noir collection.

I was not huge on Robert Altman's Nashville, and it's my least favorite Criterion film in my own collection. The Long Goodbye is based on the Chandler novel, though, and I'm sure that the film will be right up my alley.

I agree with Rich that you should probably curb your enthusiasm and realize you're going into a Robert Altman film, if that's what he meant. Still, I can't see a big fan of noir not liking this film. I wouldn't have thought to classify it as noir or even neo-noir but the more I think about it, that might be accurate. I just don't know if someone who dislikes Altman could like this.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm there. I'm really looking forward to buying the Kino Lorber release of The Long Goodbye and adding it to my extensive film noir/neo-noir collection.

I was not huge on Robert Altman's Nashville, and it's my least favorite Criterion film in my own collection. The Long Goodbye is based on the Chandler novel, though, and I'm sure that the film will be right up my alley.

Be warned, The Long Goodbye is loosely based on the Chandler novel. Like McCabe & Mrs. Miller, it is both an homage to and deconstruction of a classic genre. It's one of my favorite Altmans, but Elliott Gould is a long way from Humphrey Bogart or Dick Powell. I can't, for example, picture Bogie pushing a shopping cart through an all-night supermarket looking for cat food. The film is quirky, but it works. And, oh yeah: Sterling Hayden.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Be warned, The Long Goodbye is loosely based on the Chandler novel. Like McCabe & Mrs. Miller, it is both an homage to and deconstruction of a classic genre. It's one of my favorite Altmans, but Elliott Gould is a long way from Humphrey Bogart or Dick Powell. I can't, for example, picture Bogie pushing a shopping cart through an all-night supermarket looking for cat food. The film is quirky, but it works. And, oh yeah: Sterling Hayden.

Elliott Gould was a shockingly good Marlowe.

And loosely is the only possible way to adapt The Long Goodbye (or pretty much any Chandler)

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

Not Criterion related but...

I just watched Arrow's Blu-ray of The Long Goodbye and although I'd seen the film before, it's greatness (like most Altmans) continues to grow. Few would even say this rivals Chinatown as the greatest of the neo-noirs. The way it deconstructs, critiques, and at the same times uses traditional noir archetypes is brilliant. It also has some strong homages to The Big Heat and The Third Man. This is coming out in region A next month from Kino, and I recommend everyone to check it out!

Corrected

Although I am an Altman fan, I would prefer to re-read Chandler's novel than re watch the film. McCabe and Mrs. Miller is a whole different story.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by J.R. Lopez

Hey guys! Guess what's coming next year!!

I, for one, would look forward to it. Then people will stop using Armageddon as an example of "What the hell was Criterion thinking?"

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

Not Criterion related but...

I just watched Arrow's Blu-ray of The Long Goodbye and although I'd seen the film before, it's greatness (like most Altmans) continues to grow. Many would even say this rivals Chinatown as the greatest of the neo-noirs. The way it deconstructs, critiques, and at the same times uses traditional noir archetypes is brilliant. It also has some strong homages to The Big Heat and The Third Man. This is coming out in region A next month from Kino, and I recommend everyone to check it out!

And they would be dead wrong.

I liked it quite a bit, and I'm a big Altman fan, but, Jake, it's not Chinatown.

[StLouisRibs]

Ack, just watched Red Shoes.

We sure as heck better be getting Life and Death soon! I'm already trying to schedule out my watching the three Powell/Pressburger films available in HD from Criterion's iTunes, but that's the one I am utterly yearning to see. Will cross my fingers for February. I'd probably not even wait for the February sale; I just want it as soon as possible.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I rewatched The Great Beauty tonight in anticipation for La Dolce Vita tomorrow and I am convinced that this is the best film of the decade thus far.

While it is obviously a film, The Great Beauty serves a bigger role as an experience. Such themes as life, death, and the beauty of existence become intertwined to form a very reflexive piece of art.

I have already recommended it to death, but I cannot stress enough how great this film is.

I bought as blind buy however I had wanted to see ever since I saw the trailers - just didn't show anywhere near me, the film is incredible - and everything works together, the music, the visuals etc etc

Great film !

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I, for one, would look forward to it. Then people will stop using Armageddon as an example of "What the hell was Criterion thinking?"

Obviously those people have not seen A Safe Place, because as much as I dislike Michael Bay and Armageddon, Henry Jaglom is much, much, MUCH worse. I'm stuck owning the damn film (and will be forcing myself to watch it again because of the whole "let's watch every Criterion we own in Spine # as much as possible") because I don't mind Drive, He Said too much.