The Criterion Collection

[Just4DVD]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

If we're talking Spike Lee and Criterion, I've wanted 25th Hour for ages.

The twofer disc with He Got Game has long been OOP, and I think it'd be a perfect CC inclusion.

Originally Posted by JoelGoodsen

25th Hour is also high on my wants list. Rewatched the DVD back end of last year. It was still as good as I remembered.

Disney Movie Club has had the twofer BD in stock for a while now.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by mja345

"25th Hour" is so damn good, and the immediate post 9-11 setting in New York setting is incredibly vivid. Norton, PSH, Rosario Dawson and Barry Pepper are all at near career-best levels IMO in this film (for PSH, that was every role, to be fair). Also, throw in Brian Cox to the mix in a typically great turn as Norton's father. Spike has a lot of bangers, but "25th Hour" is near the top.

Norton is probably a top-3 actor for me, and while his career tailspin is one of modern cinema's biggest cautionary tales, nothing can ever take away from that magical stretch where he seemed primed to take on the mantle of America's next great actor.

It's not unlike Mickey Rourke's self-inflicted demise, where despite how loudly the "what could have been" refrain booms, all of that exciting talent is still preserved in that prodigious 80s run. And perhaps even more so than Rourke in the earlier decade, Norton's work reflected the zeitgeist of the late 90s/early 2000s so perfectly. Rounders (which was my introduction to him) is the Bible for the poker craze that soon saw every high school and college kid thinking they were Chris Moneymaker. Fight Club stands tall among all the other white male suburban ennui movies (Falling Down, Office Space, American Beauty) that were so popular for a minute there.

25th Hour really marked the end of that fertile streak, and, as you noted, it's probably the definitive portrait of post-9/11 America. The cast is uniformly excellent, Terence Blanchard's soundtrack is so plaintively memorable, and Norton's rage-filled, self-loathing mirror monologue might be his high point as an actor. Easily my favorite Spike joint.

Sorry for the rambling, but I truly miss the days when Norton was the "it" kid in Hollywood.

[amputd]

Originally Posted by JoelGoodsen

25th Hour is also high on my wants list. Rewatched the DVD back end of last year. It was still as good as I remembered.

The 25th Hour is really a masterpiece. The soundtrack is superb, and the movie captured a special moment in time when the the site of the World Trade Center had those giant searchlights pointed upwards. If I remember correctly Lee uses them in the opening credits, and they act as a metaphor for the loss and grief the protagonist feels at his own life’s collapse and impending incarceration. Really poignant use of symbol.

[MifuneFan]

I wonder if NEON will license Anatomy of a Fall to Criterion? I finally got around to seeing it in theater a couple days ago, and it was really great. I figured we would have seen pre-order listings for it already from Decal, but so far nothing. Decal's releases are often lacking, and sometimes they only do MOD BD-R's, so Criterion would be the better option there, especially since 4K is more likely.

[MifuneFan]

Kenji Misumi's Sword Trilogy will be showing at MoMA from March 27th to April 2nd, courtesy of Janus, and Kadokawa Films. The films are sourced from new 4K restorations.

Kenji Misumi’s Sword Trilogy

Kenji Misumi’s so-called Sword Trilogy is a revelation. Made in rapid succession between 1962 and 1965—and recently restored in 4K by the Kadokawa Corportation—Kiru (1962), Ken (1964), and Kenki (1965) brought a thrilling vitality to a familiar Japanese genre, and helped launch the career of Raizo Ichikawa, Japan’s answer to James Dean, a tough, soulful actor who, like his American counterpart, died tragically young. Misumi, a prolific filmmaker who brought an idiosyncratic style to popular Japanese genres like the chanbara (sword fighting film) and jidai-geki (period piece), was a former Soviet prisoner of war in Siberia and an assistant to Teinosuke Kinugasa on Gate of Hell (1953) who later became internationally famous for his movie adaptations of the wildly violent and successful Lone Wolf and Cub manga.

In Kiru, the tale of a master samurai who discovers his parents’ violent past, we find Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo laced with a darkling Oedipal eroticism. The film is notable for a screenplay by Kaneto Shindo (Kuroneko, Onibaba) and claustrophobic cinematography by Shôzô Honda (who excelled at chanbara). Ken is an adaptation of Yukio Mishima’s sadomasochistic short story of the same name, shot in stunningly precise widescreen black and white. A contemporary drama infused with ancient samurai traditions of martial discipline and spiritual self-abnegation, the film is set in a kendo dojo (martial arts school) where Raizo Ichikawa and a fellow apprentice swordsman engage in a vicious contest of wills. And while Kenki, Misumi’s film about a “sword devil,” was a box office disappointment, it nonetheless furthers a tradition of strong but silent avengers that hearkens back to Gary Cooper and anticipates Clint Eastwood’s Man with No Name and Forest Whittaker’s Ghost Dog. Shot in almost unreal color, the film centers on Raizo Ichikawa as a shy, sensitive cultivator of flowers who restores peace in shockingly violent ways. All films are courtesy of Kadokawa Corporation and Janus Films.

[dex14]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I wonder if NEON will license Anatomy of a Fall to Criterion? I finally got around to seeing it in theater a couple days ago, and it was really great. I figured we would have seen pre-order listings for it already from Decal, but so far nothing. Decal's releases are often lacking, and sometimes they only do MOD BD-R's, so Criterion would be the better option there, especially since 4K is more likely.

Seems like a no brainer to me.

I wouldn't be surprised if Origin got one too. Ferrari would be nice, but they probably want to make back as much as they can on that one.

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I wonder if NEON will license Anatomy of a Fall to Criterion? I finally got around to seeing it in theater a couple days ago, and it was really great. I figured we would have seen pre-order listings for it already from Decal, but so far nothing. Decal's releases are often lacking, and sometimes they only do MOD BD-R's, so Criterion would be the better option there, especially since 4K is more likely.

I think the director just did a Criterion Closet Pick video, so that would like up.

[amputd]

So I’ve been on this site for awhile but have never figured out how people acquire epithets under their username, like “Blu Ray Guru” or “Blu Ray Samurai”. If anyone could shed some light on this I would be grateful. Cheers.

[javy]

Originally Posted by amputd

So I’ve been on this site for awhile but have never figured out how people acquire epithets under their username, like “Blu Ray Guru” or “Blu Ray Samurai”. If anyone could shed some light on this I would be grateful. Cheers.

You have to post a lot. Like, when something is posted that excites you, say "yes" or "awesome"! The more you post the higher it goes. 😝

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by amputd

So I’ve been on this site for awhile but have never figured out how people acquire epithets under their username, like “Blu Ray Guru” or “Blu Ray Samurai”. If anyone could shed some light on this I would be grateful. Cheers.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...70&postcount=1

Member Status/ Ranks & Number of Posts Made
New Member = 0-5
Junior Member = 6-19
Member = 20-99
Active Member = 100-399
Senior Member = 400-699
Expert Member = 700-999
Special Member = 1000-1499
Power Member = 1500-1999
Blu-ray Guru = 2000-2999
Blu-ray Samurai = 3000-4999
Blu-ray Ninja = 5000-7499
Blu-ray Knight = 7500-9999
Blu-ray Champion = 10,000-12,499
Blu-ray Baron = 12,500-14,999
Blu-ray Count = 15,000-17,499
Blu-ray Duke = 17,500-19,999
Blu-ray Prince = 20,000-24,999
Blu-ray Arch Duke = 25,000-34,999
Blu-ray Grand Duke = 35,000-49,999
Blu-ray King = 50,000
Blu-ray Emperor = 75,000
Blu-ray Jedi = 100,000

[mja345]

Originally Posted by javy

You have to post a lot. Like, when something is posted that excites you, say "yes" or "awesome"! The more you post the higher it goes. 😝

Or anytime one has even the slightest concern about shipping, by all means, let it fly.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by javy

You have to post a lot. Like, when something is posted that excites you, say "yes" or "awesome"! The more you post the higher it goes. 😝

awesome!

[CinemaBlu]

RIP Sandra Milo

[nicwood]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I wonder if NEON will license Anatomy of a Fall to Criterion? I finally got around to seeing it in theater a couple days ago, and it was really great. I figured we would have seen pre-order listings for it already from Decal, but so far nothing. Decal's releases are often lacking, and sometimes they only do MOD BD-R's, so Criterion would be the better option there, especially since 4K is more likely.

I think you’re right with Criterion having the film. The only question is whether the film really gets a UHD. IMDB says it has a 4K DI, but that could be wrong. I assume 2K is more likely as there are no other UHDs or digital 4K versions streaming - Neon has it up in HD and Germany, a market VERY keen on slapping subpar masters (plus fake HDR etc.) on UHDs, is HD only as well. I hope we’re getting a nice surprise after all, the film definitely deserves its own disc compared to a stacked BD.

[eightslicesofpie]

I figure people in the Criterion thread would be most in-the-know: have there been any recent rumblings about any boutique label putting out Bob Fosse's Star 80?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by eightslicesofpie

I figure people in the Criterion thread would be most in-the-know: have there been any recent rumblings about any boutique label putting out Bob Fosse's Star 80?

I haven't heard anything. Criterion, or direct from Warner Archive are likely the only two options for its release. It couldn't hurt to send a request email to Criterion for it: suggestions@criterion.com

[The Sovereign]

Originally Posted by eightslicesofpie

I figure people in the Criterion thread would be most in-the-know: have there been any recent rumblings about any boutique label putting out Bob Fosse's Star 80?

It's especially hard to say since WAC are slow to put out anything post 1960, and Criterion are slow to put out anything.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by mja345

Or anytime one has even the slightest concern about shipping, by all means, let it fly.

With updates about your tracking info.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I haven't heard anything. Criterion, or direct from Warner Archive are likely the only two options for its release. It couldn't hurt to send a request email to Criterion for it: suggestions@criterion.com

I wrote them once to request Raoul Walsh's THE STRAWBERRY BLONDE and they wrote me back a very nice, encouraging note about my request. Not long after WAC released it! Could my request have been the tipping point? Probably not, but why let that stand in the way of sending a request to Criterion anyway? You never know!

[amputd]

Originally Posted by javy

You have to post a lot. Like, when something is posted that excites you, say "yes" or "awesome"! The more you post the higher it goes. 😝

Ahhhh, yes…. Awesome!