The Criterion Collection

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by FragnitoM

And Criterion can release only select titles as well. I’m not naive to think every title will be on UHD. But they have many titles in the past few years that have been missed opportunities. Not to mention upcoming titles like WKW which were restored and mastered in 4K which they’re just going to put on a Blu-ray

Sorry, I misunderstood, then. And yes, the WKW set being Blu-only is disappointing, though I wonder if his extensive reworking of the films made it a difficult sell since it's certainly seeming like even the Blu-ray release is losing some fans. Not to mention that it has an MSRP almost as much as the Varda box, which has twice as many discs and even fancier packaging.

[DaBargainHunta]

Expiring from The Criterion Channel: The Go-Between (1971)



A Joseph Losey period piece about a little boy/young teenager who acts as a go-between - hence the title - passing secret letters back-and-forth between an aristocratic woman and her working class farmer neighbor. The young actor, Dominic Guard, would show up five years later in Picnic at Hanging Rock (which is also on the Channel and recommended).

DaBargainHunta's Decree: Long and slow but has its charms. (Subtitles/Captions: I actually watched this on another streaming service, but I believe so.)

(Bonus: The 2015 BBC remake is on Prime streaming. It's shorter and probably much more tightly paced, but I'm not sure it's quite as good. For one thing, the main actor seems way too young for the role. Dominic Guard looked somewhat young for his age in the original, but the boy in the remake looks years younger than the character he's playing. In real life, the two actors were actually only a year or so apart in age in their respective versions of the movie.)

Expiring from the Criterion Channel: Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)



A three-hour movie that feels like half that, Sergio Leone's legendary Western breezes by. I was instantly hooked by the intriguing opening scene. From the train ticket intimidation sequence, to the bizarre fly on the face, and finally the first appearance of Charles Bronson's enigmatic character, I knew I was watching something very, very special. What an incredible film!

DaBargainHunta's Decree: This could end up being the best film I watch in 2021. (Subtitles/Captions: Yes!)

[Cremildo]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Fanny & Alexander debuted as a theatrically released film, plus it won a couple of Oscars and the Academy has very strict rules on eligibility when it comes to films airing on TV prior to theatrical release.

Indeed. Both Face to Face and Fanny & Alexander played theatrically before the full versions were aired on TV in Sweden. The same didn't happen to Scenes from a Marriage, though, which was deemed ineligible by the Academy.

[caiman]

Since someone mentioned the They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? 2021 update, I figured I'd plug my Letterboxd list, which I've updated for 2021. https://letterboxd.com/caiman/list/t...1000-greatest/

[Strangerbyday]

This is probably a weird and/or stupid question but I just got Clouds of Sils Maria as a birthday present & it’s not a typical case that Criterion’s come in, it’s more of a squared case. Like the top & bottom are flat as opposed to the usual slight curve (I am probably making little sense here).

Just wondering if anyone has gotten a Criterion in a case like this before? I’ve never seen one before.

[DaBargainHunta]

Expiring from The Criterion Channel: Local Hero (1983)



An absolutely lovely movie about a Texas oil company executive (Peter Riegert) sent by his eccentric stargazing boss (Burt Lancaster) to a small village in Scotland to purchase all of their land. Then he meets the locals and falls under their spell... This is slow-moving, but in the best way - like an idyllic vacation you never want to end. I expected the typical cliche of ugly 1980s American big money upending purer values and a simpler, better way of life, but Local Hero is never that predictable or obvious.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: What a hidden little treasure of a film! (Subtitles/Captions: Yes!)

Expiring from The Criterion Channel: King of the Hill (1993)



Steven Soderbergh's best film? Before Jesse Bradford was kind of an arrogant showoff in Flags of Our Fathers, he delivered one of the best and most natural child actor performances I've ever seen in King of the Hill. This is a sweet movie about an eighth-grader fending for himself in the midst of the Great Depression. A young Katherine Heigl and a young Adrien Brody (who is excellent) also show up here. Soderbergh's use of heat is maybe even more effective than Do the Right Thing - the main character is drenched in sweat for most of the film.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: This is probably not a realistic depiction of the Depression, but it is a lovely little slice of great cinema. (Subtitles/Captions: Yes!)

__

Tonight's movies? Hopefully some combination of Housekeeping, Masque of the Red Death, and maybe The Black Cat and/or The Seventh Victim (the latter two are only a little over an hour long).

[BluProofie]

If Criterion releases Inland Empire, would they do a new scan of the internegative? That could give it a layer of grain to reflect the look of its theatrical release.

[DaBargainHunta]

Expiring from The Criterion Channel: Housekeeping (1987) and The Masque of the Red Death (1964)



Housekeeping (1987): My second Bill Forsyth movie in two days, after Local Hero. Like that one, this is slow and sleepy - but never in a bad way. Christine Lahti, who is one of my favorite actresses, plays an eccentric woman caring for her two nieces in a small town called Fingerbone in the mid-1950s. These characters, and this town, have a very "lived in" quality.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: The movie's quiet power sneaks up on you. (Subtitles/Captions: Yes!)

The Masque of the Red Death (1964): The perfect pandemic movie? The always fantastic Vincent Price is at his scenery-chewing best here, playing the role of a Satan-worshiping prince throwing a masquerade ball, where he promises all of his guests will be safe from the ominous Red Death. Despite Corman's reputation as a budget director who makes quickie pictures, there are scenes that have a subtle dizzy disorienting effect and the intense use of color is masterful - though that may be more down to Nicolas Roeg's cinematography.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: This is an absolute nutty affair, with Price at his over-the-top best. (Subtitles/Captions: Yes!)

Note: You can also watch The Masque of the Red Death on The Roku Channel for free with ads.

[bergman864]

Originally Posted by Dankk

I know it's already been mentioned, but that Target Circle 20% off deal is pretty juicy. With most of their Criterion selection already being discounted, + 20% off coupon + additional Redcard 5% off + free shipping, you can pick up titles for notably less than the B&N sales or the flash sales.

Picked up the following for $58 shipped:

• The Cranes are Flying
• Straw Dogs
• Paris, Texas

To see what their selection is, I just searched for "Criterion" on target.com, filtered by blu-ray, and then sorted by lowest price.

I picked up four (Othello, Andrei Rublev, Desert Hearts, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp). I also preordered Memories of Murder. With the 20% coupon and 5% Red Card savings, the price was less than the Barnes & Noble sale.

Two disc Othello and Andrei Rublev were $23.57 shipped. They'd be $24.99 at the B&N sale before tax.

[BluProofie]

Flash sale when???

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Flash sale when???

Maybe the 9th around Parallax View.

[dvining]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

Flash sale when???

Most of the February flash sales happen on the last Tuesday of the month.

But a couple of years ago it was the first Tuesday of March and another year it was the second Tuesday of February.

So, probably 2/23, but maybe not. It's like guessing when they announce new releases when the 15th is on a Sunday and a box set is gonna get announced.

[kuro_sawa]

I hope it is the 23rd or later so I can pick up Man Push Cart (anyone who loves "New York movies" should check this out it's great) and while I;ve never seen Smooth Talk I'm blind buying the shit out of that one.

[dvining]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

I hope it is the 23rd or later so I can pick up Man Push Cart (anyone who loves "New York movies" should check this out it's great) and while I;ve never seen Smooth Talk I'm blind buying the shit out of that one.

I'll be getting Tess, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Mulholland Drive, The 39 Steps, and The Double Life of Veronique. I want it in February as well to fit the February household budget, especially since I canceled the auto-pay for MLB.tv which would have re-upped this month.

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

I'll be grabbing Double Life of Veronique also. After going through his Three Colors Trilogy recently, I need even more Kieslowski (watched Dekalog a few years ago).

[BluProofie]

If you order something during the flash sale that puts you over 500 points, do they give you the gift card right away?

[zackisthewalrus]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

If you order something during the flash sale that puts you over 500 points, do they give you the gift card right away?

I got mine within about an hour of hitting 500 points.

[nitin]

I recently saw Irma Vep, which is coming soon to Criterion blu ray

It's a very 90's flavoured meta deconstructional film from Oliver Assayas about the state of the french film industry at the time presented in the form of a fictional behind the scenes look of a fictional modern remake starring Maggie Cheung of the silent french film serial Les Vampires.

Assayas' film is amusing, quirky and has a great soundtrack and although its themes probably apply more universally rather than just as a time capsule view of the state of french cinema in the 90s, it all does fell a little too slight at the same time. But I am probably also not giving enough credit to how loosey goosey and easy going this appears to be, particularly a couple of the performances and the skilful cinematography, when by all reports it was consciously scripted and controlled.

I saw it off the Arrow blu, which is from the same 2k restoration that will also form the basis of Criterion's upcoming blu, and it's a lovely looking restoration, keeping the grittiness of the 16mm photography intact. The grain does get really heavy at times though and in about 5-10% of the film, the encode on the Arrow disc noticeably struggles to handle it (the encoding was done by Premier, an outfit Arrow occasionally use to very mixed results). Criterion's reputation with compression is not the greatest but it will be interesting to see if their disc can improve on the appearance of these parts of the film.

[mmarczi]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

If you order something during the flash sale that puts you over 500 points, do they give you the gift card right away?

It's not always instantaneous (it can be, and has been most recently for me, though I've also had it take several hours), but I've never had it take so long that I wasn't able to use it for the same sale. I've used a gift certificate after 'earning' it during the same sale on five different occasions.

[blujazz]

Would really love a solo release of THE HOUSEMAID. The only solo release I can see is the one from France, and it's not English-friendly