The Criterion Collection

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by ajabrams

I have a hard time having any appreciation for Ward Bond. The man was a horrible bigot. I know that shouldn't affect my appreciation for his acting but it does.

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Same here, but I try my best with situations like this to separate the person from the performances, as hard as it is do sometimes. From what I read he definitely had what I personally feel are very bad perspectives about people and the world, but then again you can't always believe what you read. Unless it's on the internet.

Oh, I know he was a miserable guy offscreen. I admire his acting. Same story with my favorite actor-Spencer Tracy.

[Lannister1098]

Third trip to Barnes and Noble during the sale. Ended up buying 12 Angry Men and The Worst Person in the World on Blu-ray. Can’t wait to watch them (especially revisiting 12 Angry Men)

[BorisKarloffice]

Originally Posted by Shane Rollins

From what I heard, the cut on the 2007 Blu-ray - with three differences - is exactly what Kubrick gave them before his death six days later. The three differences are the aspect ratio (he intended 1.37:1, they matted it to 1.78:1),.

It's an urban legend that Kubrick wanted his later films shown in Academy ratio.

He wanted the open matte versions to look good on the 4:3 TVs of the time but they were always meant to be widescreen in theaters. There's no reason to think he wouldn't have wanted them widescreen on widescreen TVs, had he lived long enough to see those become the norm.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by BorisKarloffice

It's an urban legend that Kubrick wanted his later films shown in Academy ratio.

He wanted the open matte versions to look good on the 4:3 TVs of the time but they were always meant to be widescreen in theaters. There's no reason to think he wouldn't have wanted them widescreen on widescreen TVs, had he lived long enough to see those become the norm.

No! don’t derail the thread with arguments about “Kubrick’s alleged aspect ratio preferences”, these discussions only end in bloodshed!

[bonehica]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

No! don’t derail the thread with arguments about “Kubrick’s alleged aspect ratio preferences”, these discussions only end in bloodshed!

[alexrinse]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Just rewatched Divorce Italian Style, which is one of my favorite Italian comedies. Did a little bit of research to see if a restoration exists and it seems like the American Film Institute (AFI) did a screening of a 4K restoration for this film. A really fun movie and a nice partner piece of Marriage Italian Style, which shares no connections besides Marcello Mastroianni starring in both films.

I'm fairly certain there are a lot of classic European comedies that were recently restored yet have no presence or interest in the home video markets. When I'm discussing about European comedies, I'm thinking of actors like Alberto Sordi, an actor that I have heard so much about and seems to be a icon of Italian cinema. One of my local theaters was showing a 4K restoration of Una vita difficile (A Difficult Life) with Sordi and Massari, which I unfortunately had to miss out on. Although it was lucky enough to get screenings in certain arthouse theaters in the US, I doubt a home video release is happening to be honest. Perhaps the biggest Sordi title I've heard so much about and waiting for is Il Boom, which was also distributed by Rialto Pictures. With Alberto Sordi's filmography, he has a legendary status in European cinema yet I haven't seen a single classic comedy from him (Excluding his Fellini collabs) because of the lack of availability in the US home video.

I went on a tour at Ritrovata in 2018 and briefly watched them finishing off the restoration of Divore Italian Style before a piazza screening the next day.

(And, no, I didn't see any piss-buckets!)

There's some 4k discs for Sordi up on Amazon.it but unfortunately only Fumo di Londra has eng-sub, as far as I can tell. Would love for Criterion to upgrade Mafioso to blu-ray.

[ihaveblink]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

No, not really. I think the term originated due to probably 95% of all movies ever produced having been made by men for a heterosexual audience. It's easier for shorthand to continue using it since it's a long-established term instead of saying something like "the gaze that makes women look sexy to people that are attracted to women."



I've definitely seen stuff from female directors described as using "the male gaze" - it's more of an academic concept than something that necessarily describes the sex of the director or person enjoying the scene. Like, sometimes they're described as subverting it by sort of including those sorts of genre tropes and then upending things later (ex Slumber Party Massacre), other times I've seen it described as the director just had seen a thousand movies that would just casually pan up a woman's body to make them look hot so they did it too, cause that's just how they've always seen it done (ex, Lost in Translation).

You could describe analyzing this as taking away the agency of female directors, but it's not really any more than talking about it with male directors can take away the agency of male directors! Not all of them were showing it cause they liked it, plenty were doing it cause that's "just what movies are like" or that's what was mandated by the producers or whatever.

Generally when I see it referred to with modern female directors it's used in articles that are highlighting the very different ways that male/female directors will approach similar subject material. And usually with mainstream movies, unfortunately, just cause that's what get clicks. Ex the aforementioned Wonder Woman portrayals with men vs women directing. Or another good example is Birds of Prey (female director) and Suicide Squad (the first, awful one - male director) and the radically different way that Margot Robbie, playing the same character, is treated even when wearing similarly revealing clothing.

I think it's all just sort of an academic exercise. It's interesting to think about sometimes, occasionally something will stick out as particularly disgusting (ex Transformers 3 leering over the body of a character described as being sub-18) and it's occasionally helpful to recognize this, but you don't need to police yourself or anything. I mean, I watch hundreds of trashy exploitation movies and have plenty of fun with them. I don't personally find it to be a problem unless there's something really grossly misogynistic about that director's approach (ex, Michael Winner in some of the 80s movies I've seen of his). Probably 3/4 of the stuff I watch it never crosses my mind.

Yeah I was thinking about "the male gaze" specifically when I was watching Strange Days. It's a pretty rough movie that I could see that being criticized then and maybe today if it were directed by a man for its excessive sexual violence towards women. I think Kathryn Bigelow is a fantastic director in her own right and deserves a few entries in the collection, but I digress. Is it necessary to tell the story? Not really. But does it replicate the excitement one feels when using the technology showcased in the film? Absolutely. So in my perspective, it does help the film convey what it's going for.

At the end of the day maybe it's an outdated term that should be at least be re-examined or at the very least re-named.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Lannister1098

Third trip to Barnes and Noble during the sale. Ended up buying 12 Angry Men and The Worst Person in the World

Were there no nice people on sale? Jeez.

[ihaveblink]

Originally Posted by Gunsnroses092789

Well, you forget that often actors (who aren't A-list) fear losing work or saying no to producers/directors/higher-ups. Or they only get the role if they agree to certain perimeters... You're assuming LD just thought, "hey! Sure I'll show my chest to everyone for the sake of it!" It's myopic to assume everyone who agrees to do something truly on the inside wants to do it. It's not unlike your boss asking you to work late and you saying sure, despite having reservations about it and wanting to go home.

I guess I would like to hear how the nudity in Lynch's or Hopper's film improves the storytelling and how it would be an inferior work without it.

Well first of all, I didn't assume anything. But I do doubt LD would say she only did a minor nude scene because she knew it would put asses in the seats and that's it. I think in the case of someone like Laura Dern or David Lynch, it's really again myopic to just assume it was done for the sake of titillation and only that. I would love to be proven wrong in that instance of their intention.

I think also to assume only men get off on that is assbackwards. I guess I get the concept of what is being discussed, but why it refers to only the "male" gaze is off-putting and frankly wrong in my opinion.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Were there no nice people on sale? Jeez.

Damn, how did I miss making that comment first?

Our respective senses of humor are getting to be more alike everyday. I'm not sure if that's cause for celebration or morbid fear. Either way, it's great!

[RevolverOcelScott]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

I've only picked up After Hours 4K and Petite Maman from B&N but they're still sitting on the order. Should've purchased from Amazon instead.

I ordered After Hours with 4 other titles. All say early-mid august for shipment, so Amazon is just as backed up lol

[HipsterTrash]

https://www.criterionchannel.com/method-acting

I know the Channel isn't an indicator for films appearing on the label. But come on. This is torture to see both Mean Streets and Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore listed at the bottom. Hope Criterion really do end up releasing them.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by RevolverOcelScott

I ordered After Hours with 4 other titles. All say early-mid august for shipment, so Amazon is just as backed up lol

Turns out the Barnes & Noble tracking just never updated. Got both today

[Sommerswerd]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sTDUur1III

[BorisKarloffice]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

No! don’t derail the thread with arguments about “Kubrick’s alleged aspect ratio preferences”, these discussions only end in bloodshed!

My Holy War never ends.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by bonehica

I remember seeing The Shining opening day and thought

[Show spoiler]this scene was wtf hilarious! Scatman gets his vision; goes through hell on earth to get to Danny, and then loudly announces his presence and promptly gets whacked! It played like a Mantan Moreland scene in a Charlie Chan film of the ‘40s.

[Rayjg]

I hope everyone has already seen The Shining here

[dvining]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

I hope everyone has already seen The Shining here

Can you tell me if it's appropriate to show to my mother?

[Rayjg]

Originally Posted by dvining

Can you tell me if it's appropriate to show to my mother?

The Shining...or the axe

[dvining]

Originally Posted by Rayjg

The Shining...or the axe

Well, that settles it.

She had a good run.