The Criterion Collection

[Cardboard_killer]

Dude, Where's My Car?

[dkelly26666]

I'll keep begging for the rest of the Scorsese's; some more Bertolucci; a whole parade of Japanese filmmakers (Imamura, Oshima, Shinoda), Kurosawa, Lars von Trier, that Jean Eustache set, that Antoine/Truffaut set....

I could go on and on....

[KMOX4]

Hopefully we can get some Tom Clancy's Films soon, Or A Special Animation Box-Set of Mitchells Vs Machines, Or Dreamworks, Im legit wishful thinking atm.

[DukeTogo84]

There are a ton of films I still want from Criterion. My most wanted are the Hideo Gosha films with number one being Hunter in the Dark followed by Heat Wave, Bandits Vs Samurai Squadron, Sword of the Beast, and it just goes on and on. All the remaining Kurosawa, Kobayashi, Imamura, Honda, and the list basically goes on for about a mile.

[SpiderBaby]

Besides the obvious hope that they haven't stopped putting out the Fassbinder films they stockpiled (looking at you, 13 Moons), I would love to see them release some 4Ks for the films of Philippe Grandrieux.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by ravenus

I saw High Sierra today on the Criterion blu. I suppose it could be because I have seen several cooler Bogart movies before, like Big Sleep, Maltese Falcon, In a Lonely Place etc but this one struck me as a rather routine programmer, a stodgy melodrama which relies on Bogie to sell a not particularly well-written character.

[Show spoiler]
At the beginning, Bogie has just had an early release from prison, when he is propositioned by an old colleague for another job, involving robbing a hotel deposit safe after the place is filled with wealthy tourists. There are 2 other accomplices in the job, and when Bogie meets up with them, he finds to his contempt, them fighting over a woman they brought along (Ida Lupino). He wants to send the dame away, but she convinces him to let her stay. In the meanwhile Bogie also comes across a traveling family with a young girl he develops feelings for. Of course, Ida has the hots for Bogie but he keeps her at a distance. Things go wrong in the job, and suddenly Bogie and Ida Lupino are on the run. There is a showdown in the titular mountains.

All of the above on paper sounds good, but the film stumbles on the tone. A lot of it is a not particularly artful melodrama. The manner in which Bogie falls for the young girl is not convincing, which makes the denouement of that thread a stodgy and painful process to sit through. There's a stereotype comic relief black character with protruding eye-balls and a slow manner. There's also a cute dog character that would really have been more at home in a screwball comedy than a film like this. In John Huston's script there is little of The Maltese Falcon's acid wit or The Big Sleep's bitter poetry. Individual moments shine and that climax shot on location in the mountains is a doozy, but the bulk of High Sierra is rather dull flatland.

The A/V on the Criterion blu-ray is generally quite good, save for some source inherited issues. Extras include an hour-long archival docu on Bogart, a feature-length piece on director Raoul Walsh, an old retrospective on the film's production, and some new featurettes on the director and on the problematic legacy of black actors of that era like Willie Best.

And oh, there's a whole other feature, a Walsh directed Western called Colorado Territory, which is apparently inspired by the same plot as High Sierra. Given that the best part of this movie for me was the very Western like showdown at the end, perhaps that one will work better for me as a movie.

And Colorado Territory did work better for me as a film. Interestingly enough, although it's based on the same source material (transposed to a different setting), there's no credit for the novelist this time. Humphrey Bogart's ex-gangster is replaced by Joel McCrea's outlaw and Ida Lupino's survivor by Virginia Mayo. Most events in the story are analogous, but I felt there was a stronger story of betrayal in how McCrea's romance plays out. The climax in the Bogart film was better, but this one was no slouch either.
While it's not restored in terms of removing damage marks, the base scan for CT is quite strong with good density and grain resolution. I wish Criterion had taken the trouble to restore it, because this is IMO a strong double bill rather than a bonus supporting feature.

[HenryHill]

Originally Posted by Stewynewy

I still don't believe the After Hours release is real, it doesn't feel right. What are people going to keep asking for now?

[Cremildo]

Well, we can strike Farewell My Concubine off that list because it'll be getting a Film Movement release.

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

There are a ton of films I still want from Criterion. My most wanted are the Hideo Gosha films with number one being Hunter in the Dark followed by Heat Wave, Bandits Vs Samurai Squadron, Sword of the Beast, and it just goes on and on. All the remaining Kurosawa, Kobayashi, Imamura, Honda, and the list basically goes on for about a mile.

I’ve been waiting for them to upgrade Sword of the Beast for at least 10 years by this point…. Getting a 60’s swordplay box (Sword, Samurai Spy, Samurai Rebellion, and Kill!) on blu would be an immediate buy for the next 50% off sale.

[NeoNical]

Wonder who owns Raise the Red Lantern and the other Zhang Yimou films. It's surprising that these films haven't gotten a Blu-ray release in the US

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by Vinyl

I’ve been waiting for them to upgrade Sword of the Beast for at least 10 years by this point…. Getting a 60’s swordplay box (Sword, Samurai Spy, Samurai Rebellion, and Kill!) on blu would be an immediate buy for the next 50% off sale.

Yeah, I would love to see that box upgraded. Every film in that set is a classic and wish Criterion would give us some Samurai love.

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by HenryHill

This. I’ve been waiting to see this one for years since it’s reputation is so notorious and I really love Ken Russell films.

Of course, I’m not sure if Criterion would release it or not though it sounds up their alley. I’d take a release from any boutique label.

[GenPion]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Wonder who owns Raise the Red Lantern and the other Zhang Yimou films. It's surprising that these films haven't gotten a Blu-ray release in the US

Just import the Australian box set. So many great films in it.

Though it deserves a stateside release.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by GenPion

Just import the Australian box set. So many great films in it.

Though it deserves a stateside release.

Tried to but last time I checked, it's already OOP (Imprint released it so they tend to have a very limited release)

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by GenPion

This. I’ve been waiting to see this one for years since it’s reputation is so notorious and I really love Ken Russell films.

Of course, I’m not sure if Criterion would release it or not though it sounds up their alley. I’d take a release from any boutique label.

Supposedly they threw ton of money at WB but were told nein.

[HenryHill]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

Supposedly they threw ton of money at WB but were told nein.

Maybe the new entity Max will be less sanctimonious about The Devils.

[The Sovereign]

I didn't get too beat up at B&N's Criterion sale in November. But this July might leave marks.

[mclellandj]

Originally Posted by The Sovereign

I didn't get too beat up at B&N's Criterion sale in November. But this July might leave marks.

The Small Axe, Pasolini, Westerns all coming in a 3 month span is pretty brutal. Technically nice of them to make sure they all hit the sale but still... that's a lot of cash.

[NeoNical]

I bet After Hours is gonna be sold out within the first few hours of the sale and will probably stay sold out for a while. That one is certainly the most exciting announcement for many fans in a long, long time.

[MifuneFan]

I try my best not to read too much into Janus' random tweets, but it is interesting that of all the images of a movie theater, they show one featuring Spellbound, a title that is now long-awaited to be coming from them. Apparently the elements are in bad shape, so that's why we haven't gotten it yet, but perhaps this is a cryptic tease that they have something planned. Or..it's just a random image of a theater : P..It's a great image either way.