The Criterion Collection

[Youre My Boy Blu!]

Originally Posted by regeyer

....
Lastly, I know things change. And maybe what I don't like today will be something I will like tomorrow.

This is perhaps the biggest challenge in assessing one's own appreciation and risk/reward ratio for any of these movies that we collect.
I'm at a point now, where maybe as much as 25% of the movies in my collection may not be for me anymore.

I don't know if that's because I've outgrown them or I just haven't revisited them at the right time, some simply may not have the rewatch value that my nostalgia convinced they once did. But I also know there are now movies I never once considered watching or couldn't tolerate more than 10 minutes of that are now totally captivating.

This may not affect everyone out there, at least not on a level that they're conscientious of, but it's very real and should be considered by collectors when they begin to recognize that they never had or no longer have any kind of connection to the movies in their collection.

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Just watched Rififi and loved it. I'm pretty late to the game to a lot of the noir films from the era, but so much of it is golden including Rififi. A solid film in nearly every regard and a great release by Criterion. I owe this experience to MifuneFan who suggested it.

The heist scene gets tons of very worthy praise, but the

[Show spoiler]bleak sardonic ending is so solid, right up there with Asphalt Jungle in my opinion. I mean, the kid riding in the car being crazy while he's totally dying. Truly amazing.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Dubliner1

Sometimes you have to realize these movies were made 60+ years ago and try to understand how groundbreaking they were then and ahead of their time.
Not for everyone tho.

This is very true. And I am very much a fan of older movies. My personal pick for best movie ever made is Seven Samurai (1954) while my personal favorite film is Shane (1953). Many of my other favorites are pre 1950s. So being an older film is not a problem for me. Either I need to more fully understand these films, or they're just not for me.

[NeoNical]

Received my flash sale order but unfortunately, THE NAKED ISLAND Blu-ray case was damaged during the shipping process it seems. However, I opened my case and therefore removed the outer shrink wrap from it.

Question is: Can I still return it even without the shrink wrap? And also, do I need to return the other movie that I ordered or can I just return the one damaged Blu-ray?

Thanks in advance!

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Received my flash sale order but unfortunately, THE NAKED ISLAND Blu-ray case was damaged during the shipping process it seems. However, I opened my case and therefore removed the outer shrink wrap from it.

Question is: Can I still return it even without the shrink wrap? And also, do I need to return the other movie that I ordered or can I just return the one damaged Blu-ray?

Thanks in advance!

Contact Criterion at orders@criterion.com and tell them of the damage. They should be able to send you a new case (and/or art work, booklet if damaged) -- though it sounds like there might be a delay

Criterion should be able to exchange it for new copy if you'd like -- not sure if they'd refund you for an open item, but probably would.

returning the Whole order shouldn't be necessary

[NeoNical]

Wonder if this is just my own personal copy of MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE but some weird, shaky motion whenever the camera pans. Noticed in the chapter "Go Back!" of the Blu-ray when

[Show spoiler]Yonoi looks back at the injured POWs before walking away and eventually calling Hicksley to step forward and be executed

.

That one long pan seemed to have some weird motion thing going on that I can't determine if it's my TV, Blu-ray copy, or a source-related issue. Anyone else seen this issue on their copies?

[regeyer]

Tonight I'm going to give La Dolce Vita a go. I'll post my thoughts later. Wish me luck.

[Dankk]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Wonder if this is just my own personal copy of MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE but some weird, shaky motion whenever the camera pans. Noticed in the chapter "Go Back!" of the Blu-ray when

[Show spoiler]Yonoi looks back at the injured POWs before walking away and eventually calling Hicksley to step forward and be executed

.

That one long pan seemed to have some weird motion thing going on that I can't determine if it's my TV, Blu-ray copy, or a source-related issue. Anyone else seen this issue on their copies?

I haven't seen this film, and I haven't read your spoiler so I'm not sure completely what you're talking about; however, my guess is that it's not a problem with your TV or with your blu-ray. Rather, what you're experiencing is simply "judder" which is a regular result of watching a 24fps film on a consumer grade equipment. It becomes most obvious when the camera man is doing a smooth, slow pan across a scene.

From RTings: https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/motion/24p

Films have been shot in 24 frames per second (24p) for many years. Since modern TVs either have a refresh rate of 60Hz or 120Hz, this creates a problem. The TV's refresh rate and the movie's frame rate don't match, causing some movement to look stuttered; you can notice it most during panning shots. This is called judder. Fortunately, most modern 4k TVs have a way to eliminate this effect.

[gbm82]

Fellini was a hack

[Show spoiler]*runs away cackling

[kvnbhovis]

Fellini's early films up to La Dolce Vita are easier for traditional movie lovers to enjoy. From La Dolce Vita on, you have to have an appreciation for surrealism and art films in general...and it also helps to have a bit of patience.

[Dubliner1]

Originally Posted by regeyer

This is very true. And I am very much a fan of older movies. My personal pick for best movie ever made is Seven Samurai (1954) while my personal favorite film is Shane (1953). Many of my other favorites are pre 1950s. So being an older film is not a problem for me. Either I need to more fully understand these films, or they're just not for me.

I totally understand. I've never been a fan or enjoyed Citizen Kane- sometimes you just click with a film or a certain director or actor, and sometimes you don't.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by Dubliner1

I totally understand. I've never been a fan or enjoyed Citizen Kane- sometimes you just click with a film or a certain director or actor, and sometimes you don't.

100% agree on Citizen Cane. I saw it once and that was more than enough for me. With that said, I have nothing against the film. It's just not for me.

[regeyer]

Originally Posted by regeyer

Tonight I'm going to give La Dolce Vita a go. I'll post my thoughts later. Wish me luck.

Well, I watched it. What did I think? I'm seriously wishing I never bought this box set.

To begin with, and this is more an issue I have with Criterion than the film itself, is that the subtitles are for Italian only. Any English spoken words have no subtitles. For most people that's not a problem. But for people who are deaf or hearing impaired, like me, that's a major problem. I had no idea what was being said when English was spoken. I've seen this before with Criterion releases, but it's usually only a word or two in a film. Here, there was quite a bit spoken in English and I was lost. Why Criterion does this I have no idea. Criterion is the only one, to my knowledge, who does this. It's bad enough that Criterion provides no subtitles for the English spoken extras, but to not provide the subtitles for the movie is ridiculous.

Besides the subtitle issue, I actually started to get into the film a little and then the last third hit. Did I mention that this thing is almost 3 hours long, which is probably 2 hours longer than it had to be. But the last third is really, really bad. I mean really bad.

So, thus far I'm not crazy about this set. But I'm not willing to give up. At least not yet. Plus, like I said before, the set looks cool in the Man Cave.

[Mister_Kidd]

[jkoffman]

Originally Posted by regeyer

To begin with, and this is more an issue I have with Criterion than the film itself, is that the subtitles are for Italian only. Any English spoken words have no subtitles.

Oftentimes you'll find that releases have SDH, but probably not often enough.

Subtitles for the Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing (SDH) is a form of subtitles originating in America. SDH combines the benefits of both Subtitles and Closed Captions. SDH are intended for viewers who are both Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and do not understand the language spoken in the video.

[HenryHill]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I say just dive straight in to the deep end.



Color Fellini is another animal.

Satyricon is one of my all-time favorite movies, but it is definitely not for the casual movie fan.

For anyone new to Fellini's work, I'd recommend Amarcord, Fellini's semi-autobiographical film about growing up in Italy during Mussolini's Fascist regime. It's a beautiful, slightly unfocused, account of a year in the life of a small Italian town in the 1930s, and IMO one of the greatest films ever made. If you don't like his sense of humor or how he handles sexuality, then Fellini might not be your cup of espresso.

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by regeyer

Well, I watched it. What did I think? I'm seriously wishing I never bought this box set.

To begin with, and this is more an issue I have with Criterion than the film itself, is that the subtitles are for Italian only. Any English spoken words have no subtitles. For most people that's not a problem. But for people who are deaf or hearing impaired, like me, that's a major problem. I had no idea what was being said when English was spoken. I've seen this before with Criterion releases, but it's usually only a word or two in a film. Here, there was quite a bit spoken in English and I was lost. Why Criterion does this I have no idea. Criterion is the only one, to my knowledge, who does this. It's bad enough that Criterion provides no subtitles for the English spoken extras, but to not provide the subtitles for the movie is ridiculous.

Besides the subtitle issue, I actually started to get into the film a little and then the last third hit. Did I mention that this thing is almost 3 hours long, which is probably 2 hours longer than it had to be. But the last third is really, really bad. I mean really bad.

So, thus far I'm not crazy about this set. But I'm not willing to give up. At least not yet. Plus, like I said before, the set looks cool in the Man Cave.

I'm not a Fellini superfan, but there quite a few I do like. I notice you weren't crazy about 8 1/2, and someone recommended La Dolce Vita, which I think is the wrong direction, because I feel the two are very similar.

I would highly recommend La Strada, I Vitelloni and Il Bidone, not only because they're my 3 favorites of his, but because they're extremely different than Dolce & 8 1/2.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by HenryHill

Satyricon is one of my all-time favorite movies, but it is definitely not for the casual movie fan.

For anyone new to Fellini's work, I'd recommend Amarcord, Fellini's semi-autobiographical film about growing up in Italy during Mussolini's Fascist regime. It's a beautiful, slightly unfocused, account of a year in the life of a small Italian town in the 1930s, and IMO one of the greatest films ever made. If you don't like his sense of humor or how he handles sexuality, then Fellini might not be your cup of espresso.

I loved Amarcord. Watched it for the first time earlier this year (or late last year, I can't remember). I had seen Woody Allen's Radio Days before that, so I couldn't help be reminded of that one (Fellini was a big influence on Allen).

[dvining]

Originally Posted by HenryHill

Satyricon is one of my all-time favorite movies, but it is definitely not for the casual movie fan.

For anyone new to Fellini's work, I'd recommend Amarcord, Fellini's semi-autobiographical film about growing up in Italy during Mussolini's Fascist regime. It's a beautiful, slightly unfocused, account of a year in the life of a small Italian town in the 1930s, and IMO one of the greatest films ever made. If you don't like his sense of humor or how he handles sexuality, then Fellini might not be your cup of espresso.

Satyricon is pretty much the textbook example of Felliniesque. It's pure carnival show.

As a lover of Fellini's work, I find it hard to take. I've seen it twice, and I simply don't engage with it on any real level, just watching the successive images pass me by.

Nights of Cabiria is my favorite, but I'd suggest people start with something like La Strada, Il Bidone, or The White Sheik, the more grounded stuff.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by regeyer

I agree that we'll never see 8K discs. But we'll likely have 8K HDTVs eventually. Physical media, and I hate to say this, is dying. I love physical media, and I refused to stream for a long time. But the writing is on the wall. I'm not happy about it either.

So, yes, this is likely the definitive physical release for Citizen Cane. I just happen to be one of those people who don't care for it. But I'll likely get The Red Shoes, which is a favorite of mine, despite the fact that I already have it on Blu-Ray.

Originally Posted by regeyer

100% agree on Citizen Cane. I saw it once and that was more than enough for me. With that said, I have nothing against the film. It's just not for me.

Criterion puts out a cover with giant-ass K, and people still spelling it wrong, SMH