The Criterion Collection

[JasonMichael]

I knew Corman had done a few cameos, but was surprised to see he has 46 acting credits on IMDB!

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by JasonMichael

I knew Corman had done a few cameos, but was surprised to see he has 46 acting credits on IMDB!

Including such films as The Godfather II, Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Taylor3978

Uncle Roger also had a small role in Demme's Philadelphia.



Who are these unnamed "pretentious types"? Anybody with any appreciation of the history of American film-making knows he laid the foundations for much of the American New Wave, probably the greatest period in American film-making, not to mention his own work e.g. with Vincent Price. Only a fool would be dismissive of Corman's contributions.

There are plenty of fools in Hollywood and film schools. Trust me, plenty.

[Member-865437]

Should I go ahead and purchase Criterion's The Uninvited on blu-ray, or would you expect for there to be a 4K release, either from Criterion or some other outlet?

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by Emmett L Brown

Should I go ahead and purchase Criterion's The Uninvited on blu-ray, or would you expect for there to be a 4K release, either from Criterion or some other outlet?

Buy it. I highly doubt it would get a 4K. Great film though

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Emmett L Brown

Should I go ahead and purchase Criterion's The Uninvited on blu-ray, or would you expect for there to be a 4K release, either from Criterion or some other outlet?

I repeat the post just above this one: I don’t think it stands a chance of any 4K release ever, so get the CC Blu, which looks great and enjoy the movie now in a solid presentation.

[NeoNical]

Carlotta Films tweeted recently that they're going to do a 4K UHD of Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses next year. This is the first Oshima film to get a 4K UHD. Both this and Empire of Passion were restored back in 2016 and 2017 and Umbrella Entertainment did a single disc double bill of the two new restorations for their Sensual Sinema series a year ago (Which I bought a copy of). Having seen a few scenes from the Umbrella Blu-ray, I can say that it's a huge improvement over the Criterion Blu-ray, which is one of the most outdated looking titles I own in the collection.

I think it'll be great for Criterion to revisit this one, although this is easily one of their most controversial films and won't warrant as much dedicated fans as Branded to Kill did. Maybe we can get Empire of Passion, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, or an Oshima set in the near future. The only ones that aren't on the Criterion Channel and ones we don't know if Criterion owns are The Catch (1961), The Rebel (1962), Tales of the Ninja (1967), Dear Summer Sister (1972), Max mon Amour (1986), and Gohatto (1999), making up approximately 25% of his filmography (25 feature films total excluding TV works).

[Taylor3978]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

There are plenty of fools in Hollywood and film schools. Trust me, plenty.

TCM has a lovely testimonial by Burt Reynolds to Spencer Tracy. I always go WTF when he says, "It amazes me today when I meet young actors who never heard of Spencer Tracy."

Burt Reynolds on Spencer Tracy - YouTube

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Taylor3978

TCM has a lovely testimonial by Burt Reynolds to Spencer Tracy. I always go WTF when he says, "It troubles me that there are actors who never heard of Spencer Tracy."

Burt Reynolds on Spencer Tracy - YouTube

Thanks for posting this Colonel Taylor. Those TCM mini-homages are always really interesting. I especially love the one with George C. Scott praising Cagney and Ernest Borgnine's tribute to Robert Ryan. I don't think TCM does these anymore, but I wish they would start them up again.

As for industry people not knowing past luminaries of film, we tend to get spoiled listening to guys like Scorsese who are walking encyclopedias of film history or even Tarantino who has helped a lot of movie heritage be revived. But I would guess you'd get a lot of blank stares from many in the industry now if you asked them who, say, Warren William or maybe even Spencer Tracy was?

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by Taylor3978

Uncle Roger also had a small role in Demme's Philadelphia.



Who are these unnamed "pretentious types"? Anybody with any appreciation of the history of American film-making knows he laid the foundations for much of the American New Wave, probably the greatest period in American film-making, not to mention his own work e.g. with Vincent Price. Only a fool would be dismissive of Corman's contributions.

You said it yourself: fools. It’s ironic because the same fools who would probably say that The Little Shop Of Horrors was a waste of film and contributed absolutely nothing to the art form as a whole, would also be the first ones to call Jack Nicholson one of the greatest actors ever and the man who discovered him a genius. The same hypocrisies could likely be found in the reactions to every single film Corman directed.

Some have a tendency to praise the house but not give any thought to the foundation it’s built on.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Carlotta Films tweeted recently that they're going to do a 4K UHD of Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses next year. This is the first Oshima film to get a 4K UHD. Both this and Empire of Passion were restored back in 2016 and 2017 and Umbrella Entertainment did a single disc double bill of the two new restorations for their Sensual Sinema series a year ago (Which I bought a copy of). Having seen a few scenes from the Umbrella Blu-ray, I can say that it's a huge improvement over the Criterion Blu-ray, which is one of the most outdated looking titles I own in the collection.

I think it'll be great for Criterion to revisit this one, although this is easily one of their most controversial films and won't warrant as much dedicated fans as Branded to Kill did. Maybe we can get Empire of Passion, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, or an Oshima set in the near future. The only ones that aren't on the Criterion Channel and ones we don't know if Criterion owns are The Catch (1961), The Rebel (1962), Tales of the Ninja (1967), Dear Summer Sister (1972), Max mon Amour (1986), and Gohatto (1999), making up approximately 25% of his filmography (25 feature films total excluding TV works).

Is In The Realm Of The Senses uncut? That would make or break the purchase for me.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Shane Rollins

Is In The Realm Of The Senses uncut? That would make or break the purchase for me.

Depends on what you mean by uncut. All existing blu-rays are the uncensored "Producer's cut".

There are some deleted scenes which are included separately - these were deleted by the producer for pacing reasons, with Oshima's approval. According to DVDCompare, the French BD from Arte Video offers the option of watching an Integral version of the film, with the deleted scenes reinserted.

Quoting from IMDB:

The original version ran 108 minutes. Producer Anatole Dauman received Oshima's permission to recut the film, resulting in a shorter 102-minute edit. This version has been distributed theatrically in some countries (such as France) and is available on video in Australia, the UK, the United States, and France. The French DVD includes both versions (via seamless branching), while the U.S. Criterion DVD features the cut footage as an extra. The PAL releases run 97 minutes. This shorter version makes the following changes:

• An early scene in which Sada has sex with Ishida while playing a shamisen has been cut by about a minute and a half. In the original version, Sada seemingly goes unconscious and Ishida checks for her heartbeat.
• A brief shot (12 seconds) of Ishida and Sada on a bridge has been added to the scene in which the couple goes out walking at night.
• A later scene (in which the geishas assault one of their own with a dildo) is cut by 14 seconds to remove a shot of Ishida and Sada's faces in mid-copulation.
• An entire two-minute scene is deleted about an hour into the film. This scene features Sada and Ishida having sex behind a thin screen, while Ishida speaks of the "darkness" he feels inside Sada.
• The scene in which Sada first strangles Ishida is cut by just over one minute. In the short version, the scene ends when Ishida starts coughing and Sada releases his throat. In the original version, Ishida asks her to resume, which she does (only to stop when he begins coughing again).
• The scene in which Ishida becomes drowsy while having sex with Sada is edited differently. The original version has slightly different dialogue and has an additional minute of footage where Ishida actually does fall asleep for a short time.
• The scene in which Sada wakes up after her final night with Ishida is cut by one minute. The original version shows Sada lying on the floor and apparently panicking, walking around the room and opening doors for no obvious reason. The short version cuts straight from Sada waking up to the shot of her standing over Ishida's body.

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by ravenus

The French DVD includes both versions via seamless branching.

I assume you mean the French DVD includes the 102-minute cut and the 108-minute cut?

I’m familiar with the 102-minute cut, which if that’s in there I’ll be good. Bonus points if it includes the 108-minute cut, but not absolutely horrible without it. (I’ve never even seen the 108-minute cut or the six minutes of scenes exclusive to it. Worst case scenario I’ll have to get the French DVD.)

Now, considering this is a film noted for its content, and it has been censored for said content repeatedly, if this is a censored version of the film then I would definitely have to bail out.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by Shane Rollins

Is In The Realm Of The Senses uncut? That would make or break the purchase for me.

Most likely so. France is not heavy on censorship as Japan or other countries are. The kind of films that get the 16+ rating in France are very, very extreme. Blue is the Warmest Color had a 12+ rating while it received an NC-17 rating in the US so maybe that'll give you an example on how their censorship approaches are like.

I do know that both the UK and US have allowed the uncensored version, although the UK has censored a few scenes a few decades ago before finally deciding on allowing the uncut version. If Criterion does release this in the US, it will certainly be uncut.

EDIT: I just read what ravenus has been talking about and those additional 6-minutes are featured in the Criterion edition. After seeing it, I will say that there isn't a huge difference between those two "uncut" versions besides having an extended few seconds worth of the sex scenes. The most notable difference is the dialogue about shadows but even then, that's like a minute or two on its own. Personally, the 102 minute cut is already great as it is and I wouldn't be all too bothered by the omission of the 108-minute cut, which I argue is not as drastic of a change as one might think.

The previous French Blu-ray and DVD also has included the 102 and 108 minute cuts intact and the Blu-ray allows you to make the option of playing the extended version. Carlotta should most certainly have that cut or else it would be rather embarrassing for them to omit something that has been previously available and easy to access before.

The Australian Double Bill Blu-ray that features the 4K restoration is the 102 minute cut but also includes the deleted scenes.

[ErickRPG]

So I've created my B&N account in anticipation of their november sale and I have the 3 blu rays in my cart. This is my first time so I want to make sure to order ASAP because I don't know how much of a rush there is and how quickly popular items sell out.

I'm gonna be ordering Jackie Chan ascendence of a star, Bruce Lee his hits, and Freaks. Jackie Chan is a pre-order, and that's one of the reasons I went with B&N instead of Criterion's sale. Plus having to be a sniper waiting for just a single day sale is stressful, especially if there is an easier alternative at the same price!

Happy shelf stocking everyone!

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Does anyone else have a Criterion disc that looks like this? My copy of I Married a Witch (which had bad flickering issues when I watched it a few days ago) looks like this. My Arsenic and Old Lace disc had a perfect circle in the middle and no playback issues. I contacted Criterion about it and they made it sound like the circle in the middle looking weird is normal, so I thought I'd ask about it here.

[fdm]

[Show spoiler]

Originally Posted by ponderingtheuniverse

Does anyone else have a Criterion disc that looks like this? My copy of I Married a Witch (which had bad flickering issues when I watched it a few days ago) looks like this. My Arsenic and Old Lace disc had a perfect circle in the middle and no playback issues. I contacted Criterion about it and they made it sound like the circle in the middle looking weird is normal, so I thought I'd ask about it here.

Couldn't say which disc(s), but yes I've seen that often enough. It shouldn't make any difference.

[NeilZ]

Originally Posted by ponderingtheuniverse

Does anyone else have a Criterion disc that looks like this? My copy of I Married a Witch (which had bad flickering issues when I watched it a few days ago) looks like this. My Arsenic and Old Lace disc had a perfect circle in the middle and no playback issues. I contacted Criterion about it and they made it sound like the circle in the middle looking weird is normal, so I thought I'd ask about it here.

That should have no effect. I've seen it on video games in the past. It's just some visual anomaly.

[ponderingtheuniverse]

Originally Posted by NeilZ

That should have no effect. I've seen it on video games in the past. It's just some visual anomaly.

Huh. I didn't know it was normal or at least common on discs. I'm still learning things when it comes to this hobby

[Shane Rollins]

Originally Posted by ponderingtheuniverse

Does anyone else have a Criterion disc that looks like this? My copy of I Married a Witch (which had bad flickering issues when I watched it a few days ago) looks like this. My Arsenic and Old Lace disc had a perfect circle in the middle and no playback issues. I contacted Criterion about it and they made it sound like the circle in the middle looking weird is normal, so I thought I'd ask about it here.

[Show spoiler]

I’ll also throw my hat in the ring and say everything will be fine here.