The Criterion Collection

[jt839]

Originally Posted by Watershipdownisgood

Yeah I agree my tastes Criterion wise are horror films, Japanese films, French and other countries’s movies that aren’t Japan, the UK, or America, African American films, David Lynch, Terry Gilliam, weird films, British movies, Westerns, classics like say Princess Bride, Paths of Glory, Walker, Repo Man, Barry Lyndon, gangster movies, and Martin Scorsese movies.

If I had to say my favorite Criterion films, mine would be (in no particular order) off the top of my head

Mean Streets
Something Wild (1986)
Silence of the Lambs
Le Samourai
Five Easy Pieces
Godzilla (1954)
Night of the Hunter
Notorious
The Game
Raging Bull
Thief
12 Angry Men

[javy]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

They were as part of the media circuit for the movie Fancy Dance.

Oh, well no Killers of the Flower Moon, then.

[Watershipdownisgood]

Originally Posted by jt839

If I had to say my favorite Criterion films, mine would be (in no particular order) off the top of my head

Mean Streets
Something Wild (1986)
Silence of the Lambs
Le Samourai
Five Easy Pieces
Godzilla (1954)
Night of the Hunter
Notorious
The Game
Raging Bull
Thief
12 Angry Men

I still need to watch Barry Lyndon and a number of others, but I have seen more than half of my Criterion Collection minus most of the recent acquisitions I picked up.

My faves
Deep Cover
Freaks
Shaft
Ikiru
Throne of Blood
Yojimbo
Lonestar
Time Bandits
After Hours
Blue Velvet
Rashomon
The Hidden Fortress
The Lodger
High and Low
Paths of Glory
Walker
Watership Down
Being John Malkovich
Hollywood Shuffle
Cooley High
Nothing But a Man
Breathless
The 400 Blows
La Bamba
The Unknown

Still need to watch and rewatch
Mean Streets
Do the Right Thing
Peeping Tom
The Mystic
The Lady Vanishes
Heavens Gate
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
The Princess Bride
Three Outlaw Samurai
Kwaidan
The Samurai Trilogy
Buck and the Preacher
Werckmeister Harmonies
Muholland Drive

[Flex_MythoMass]

The only box set I'm sad I didn't get is the Bergman set, but by the time I realized it was a thing I already owned 10+ of the individual releases. I didn't make the same mistake with Fellini at least.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by jt839

I like the idea of it but I don't understand why it seems to be Criterion's main focus nowadays to the point they made a boxset centered around it.

The 40th Anniversary set was going to happen anyway, using the closet picks was just a way to narrow down what to include (along with licensing concerns) and gives a broad overview of their releases. They very easily could have used the top then lists they do.

[milo bloom]

The idea of using the top 40 units from their closet videos for their 40th anniversary is actually pretty clever, it just keeps coming back to this idea that most Criterion collector's are going to have a good chunk of them.

It could make a good gift for those who could afford to spend that much, but not for casuals or even semi-hardcore collectors.

And of course, not for me. The past few years I've only been interested in a couple titles a year.

[jt839]

Originally Posted by jw007

CC40 can mean two things to me:

Criterion Collection 40

or

Criterion Closet 40



PS. Wait, how long has the closet been around for? Definitely not 40 years. But maybe 10?

It means Criterion Closet 40.

[DukeTogo84]

Originally Posted by javy

Oh, well no Killers of the Flower Moon, then.

Pieter who often breaks news on new releases mentioned that Killers of the Flower Moon should be getting a physical release, so it's still possible it's a Criterion release.

[ophone]

Originally Posted by javy

Oh, well no Killers of the Flower Moon, then.

Dang, the only physical version I'm aware of is an Italian release, with only Italian subtitles. Unfortunately my ear for English is not strong enough to closely follow most movies in English.
I would've bought a Criterion release on the spot.

[zackisthewalrus]

Originally Posted by DukeTogo84

Pieter who often breaks news on new releases mentioned that Killers of the Flower Moon should be getting a physical release, so it's still possible it's a Criterion release.

Yeah, I'm still guessing Killers of the Flower Moon as a November release

[FirstDayBuyBrandon]

Originally Posted by zackisthewalrus

Yeah, I'm still guessing Killers of the Flower Moon as a November release

That would be a definite first day buy!

[watchtoemote]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Maybe they wanted to get rid of some old stock, and thought, "Let's put this stuff in a fancy new box, and hey presto."

Except these discs have a special logo on them, so they are clearly going to be new pressings.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

You know what would have been amazing, and genius? If they pulled a Willy Wonka, and put a "Golden Ticket" inside a random set where you win a free trip to NYC and get to visit the Criterion Closet and pick out any titles you want in a certain time period.

I love this idea, but I think Criterion would feel embarrassed if the winner turned out to be a middle age, heterosexual caucasian alpha male.

[Gunsnroses092789]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

I love this idea, but I think Criterion would feel embarrassed if the winner turned out to be a middle age, heterosexual caucasian alpha male.

Sucking up to some of the top dogs on this site much?

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I have reviewed Le Samouraï, my favorite Criterion title of all time and one of my all-time top five movies in general, a few times in this thread over the years, so I will not subject any of you to that boring self-indulgence again.

This time around, I will just say that the new 4K UHD Blu-ray is a thing of beauty with regard to presentation and quite wonderfully befitting of such a perfect movie.

I was fortunate to have caught this movie on the big screen at Plaza Theatre a few weeks back, and am grateful that the new Criterion presentation matches that restoration step for step on my living room screen.

This film should be one of those no questions asked upgrades, you just automatically buy it if you can afford it.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Gunsnroses092789

Sucking up to some of the top dogs on this site much?

No, just trying to impress the NY Times.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by Flex_MythoMass

The only box set I'm sad I didn't get is the Bergman set, but by the time I realized it was a thing I already owned 10+ of the individual releases. I didn't make the same mistake with Fellini at least.

A mistake I am patiently trying to avoid while waiting for a KUROSAWA set to be announced!

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by jt839

If I had to say my favorite Criterion films, mine would be (in no particular order) off the top of my head

Mean Streets
Something Wild (1986)
Silence of the Lambs
Le Samourai
Five Easy Pieces
Godzilla (1954)
Night of the Hunter
Notorious
The Game
Raging Bull
Thief
12 Angry Men

There are way too many Criterion titles in my collection that are favorites to try and compile a list like this. But I would say, off the top of my head, the best time I ever had watching a Criterion release would probably be THE BLOB. And THE BREAKING POINT and THE BAD SLEEP WELL running a close second.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by steel_breeze

So what would be your "Favorite 40" from Criterion?

I think I'd go with these, but I could probably pick 40 more easily:

Ace in the Hole
Bicycle Thieves
Branded to Kill
Brazil
Breaking the Waves
Come and See
Days of Heaven
Diabolique
The Elephant Man
Eraserhead
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Harakiri
Haxan
House
Ikiru
Ivan's Childhood
The Kid
Koyaanisqatsi
Le Samourai
Lost Highway
M
Memories of Murder
Mulholland Drive
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Perfect Days
The Princess Bride
Rashomon
Repo Man
The Rose
Seven Samurai
The Seventh Seal
Silence of the Lambs
Solaris
Stalker
The Third Man
The Tree of Life
The Trial
Videodrome
The Wages of Fear
Yojimbo

[Watershipdownisgood]

Originally Posted by Flex_MythoMass

The only box set I'm sad I didn't get is the Bergman set, but by the time I realized it was a thing I already owned 10+ of the individual releases. I didn't make the same mistake with Fellini at least.

So far I haven't bought a single Criterion Collection box set at all. However, if a Kurosawa one gets announced which will most likely include upgrades of Stray Dog, The Bad Sleep Well, and Drunken Angel it'll be a day one purchase for me. Their box sets are just too pricy and way too bulky for my shelves so that's why I haven't bought a single one so far.