The Criterion Collection

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by italy12

On DVD, I only own Armageddon (don't ask) and The Vanishing.

I guess I was looking for pre-1970's films, foreign or American, just some favs from the bunch on here. It's a good time to try and expand on what I already know and like (mostly stuff from the CC).

Not all on the CC label, but I think you can never go wrong with Hitchcock..... get your hands on as much as you can.... it's not only technically brilliant, but very accessible as well.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Not all on the CC label, but I think you can never go wrong with Hitchcock..... get your hands on as much as you can.... it's not only technically brilliant, but very accessible as well.

Hitchcock was something I got into years ago. I already own both the WB box set (Strangers on a Train, North by Northwest, I Confess, etc.) and Universal's beautiful velvety box with Psycho, Topaz, Rope, etc.

I actually watched Topaz for the first time during Christmas break and thought it was great.

Amazon's reviews for the MGM set are the reason I don't currently own that, and even yesterday at $20, it was hard to pull the trigger with limited funds.

I even own Season 3 of Alfred Hitchcock Presents... on DVD. I used to teach Roald Dahl's story, "Lamb to the Slaughter" to my English classes and we'd watch the episode at the end of the lesson. The lesson also included a viewing of "Dial 'M' For Murder" with a comparison of the story "Lamb..." Kids who had never heard of Hitchcock loved it...and their reaction was always funny when I told them Dahl wrote "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." If you ever read "Lamb to the Slaughter", you know why they'd react this way!

Thanks for the rec. though!

[ccfixx]

For the Criterion DVD completists... according to Criterion's site, the DVDs of Time Bandits and The Long Good Friday are now OOP.

CC

[s00perd00per]

Originally Posted by italy12

On DVD, I only own Armageddon (don't ask) and The Vanishing.

I guess I was looking for pre-1970's films, foreign or American, just some favs from the bunch on here. It's a good time to try and expand on what I already know and like (mostly stuff from the CC).

If you liked The Vanishing, then you might like Diabolique. It's got that same hook that keeps you on edge until the end. It's rumored to be coming out on blu-ray so might as well watch it now and see if you'll like it. Not unless you're one of those who buys everything on blu-ray anyway.

[Arkadin]

certainly not a surprise since they no longer have the rights to the Handmade films catalog.
it was only a matter of time before the infamous phrase went live.
any other Handmade releases--like Mona Lisa--should technically be OOP also.

[Arkadin]

Originally Posted by italy12

Amazon's reviews for the MGM set are the reason I don't currently own that, and even yesterday at $20, it was hard to pull the trigger with limited funds.

but the releases individually like I did.
at least buy Rebecca and Notorious at the minimum or miss out on 2 of his top 8 imo.
Notorious is my favorite Hitchcock film hands down.
if for some reason you haven't seen it race to amazon now.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

but the releases individually like I did.
at least buy Rebecca and Notorious at the minimum or miss out on 2 of his top 8 imo.
Notorious is my favorite Hitchcock film hands down.
if for some reason you haven't seen it race to amazon now.

My wife owns some Chinese version of Rebecca. It is actually a good copy and I liked it a lot. She taught that novel to her English class one year back in NJ. Notorious is one I will definitely need to check out!

Originally Posted by s00perd00per

If you liked The Vanishing, then you might like Diabolique. It's got that same hook that keeps you on edge until the end. It's rumored to be coming out on blu-ray so might as well watch it now and see if you'll like it. Not unless you're one of those who buys everything on blu-ray anyway.

lol, I do like to buy CC Blus...

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

Some random suggestions:

La Jetee
The Warriors
Hidden Fortress
Metropolis Restored
The General (Buster Keaton)
This Sporting Life
The Rules of the Game
Becket

There are also a few titles on Watch Instantly that are getting Criterionized soon, like Kes and Pale Flower.

And for your Batman fix, Batman: Under The Red Hood.

The Warriors as in the gang movie? I do like that film. It's been a few years though. I've already seen Hidden Fortress and Becket. Becket was just this past year and I loved it. Metropolis (Kino) I already own. The others I will check out! Thanks for the recs...you seem to know my taste!

[capnnarcolepsy]

I got some early b'day money from my parents yesterday and got some great deals via the Amazon Marketplace. I got Close-Up, Revanche, Lola Montes, Howard's End, The Red Shoes, Black Narcissus, and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence all for a little over $100! A couple were used, but they were from folks with good ratings that said they had watched it once and didn't like it. Fingers crossed for decent condition and booklets.

On a side note, I saw this film last night called "Bad Boy Bubby". It's about this 35 year old guy, Bubby, that has never been outside, trapped inside this awful two room flat by his mother, where she puts him through every kind of abuse (verbal, mental, physical, VERY physical). He finally gets out and the rest of the film is following his bumbling around in a world he's never known. The beginning throws all sorts of weird at you, but then it becomes a nice mix of dark comedy with some genuine sadness and even some hope. Blue Underground put it out over here, but i believe i saw it come up in CC's link to MOC/Eureka releases a day or two ago, so that might be a better option. The Blue Underground transfer was good, it didn't have much in the way of special features, though.

Some technical aspects that i discovered and made me love it even more were that the director used 32 different directors of photography so that each time Bubby went to a new place, it would have an entirely new/different look and feel. None of the DOP's were allowed to look at each others work, either. The other thing is all of the sound in the film was recorded by these two tiny mics sewn into the actor's wig so that any sound you hear is to mimic how Bubby would have heard it. The director also wanted to do the entire movie on outdated film stock and various other camera tricks, but they either didn't work or he felt it made the movie unwatchable. I figured I'd pass it along in case anyone wanted to check it out, I highly recommend it.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by capnnarcolepsy

On a side note, I saw this film last night called "Bad Boy Bubby". It's about this 35 year old guy, Bubby, that has never been outside, trapped inside this awful two room flat by his mother, where she puts him through every kind of abuse (verbal, mental, physical, VERY physical). He finally gets out and the rest of the film is following his bumbling around in a world he's never known. The beginning throws all sorts of weird at you, but then it becomes a nice mix of dark comedy with some genuine sadness and even some hope. Blue Underground put it out over here, but i believe i saw it come up in CC's link to MOC/Eureka releases a day or two ago, so that might be a better option. The Blue Underground transfer was good, it didn't have much in the way of special features, though.

I actually own both the Blue Underground and Eureka releases of Bad Boy Bubby. I bought the BU version, and I was fortunate enough to receive a free copy of the MOC release. I can't recall off the top of my head the differences in the releases, but DVDBeaver's site does a good job comparing the two versions.

CC

[myka22]

I just sold my Criterion Ran on Amazon for $45. Bad idea?

[McCrutchy]

Mine, in sent order:

"Death of a Cyclist" (Death of a Cyclist)

A serious entry: "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" (Antichrist)

"Why Journalists Should Do Drugs More Often" (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)

I can't even see them in the #lessambitiouscriterion post...

[greekak229]

No effort to make a Twitter account and do this.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by myka22

I just sold my Criterion Ran on Amazon for $45. Bad idea?

If it was worth more than $45 to you....then "Yes" bad idea....

[KubrickFan]

Originally Posted by connelly13

This caused me to look up the soundtrack. Does anyone have any thoughts on Carter Burwell? I know I'm a bit mid-brow for this thread, but he is on the soundtrack of my favorite movie in each of the last three years (No Country/2007, In Bruges/2008, Where The Wild Things Are/2009). I should listen to more of his music.

Not much response in this thread, huh? .
I'm a big fan of film music in general, and of Carter Burwell's music. I'd recommend the scores (and/or the movies) of: Gods and Monsters, Fargo, Being John Malkovich, Miller's Crossing, Rob Roy, and Burn After Reading. Or just all of the Coen bros. movies, and work your way from there .

[SpiderBaby]

Edit: Are they wanting fake titles?

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

Edit: Are they wanting fake titles?

Yep. Their term "less ambitious," though, signifies to me that they're looking for titles that aren't as good as the original. However, their example of "Dillinger is Dead" (Dillinger is Fine) is just kind of an opposite-sounding title.

CC

[kndy]

For the Flicker Alley fans (which I know many Criterion Collection fans follow), those expensive titles are now on sale at Deep Discount. Chaplin at Keystone, Chicago, etc.

Cheapest I have seen them but it's Deep Discount. Hehe...

[McCrutchy]

More:

"Jesus Christ's Lust for Glory" (Life of Brian)

"And You Thought Andy Warhol's 'Empire' Was Long" (Berlin Alexanderplatz)

"Mathematics for Home Defense" (Straw Dogs)

"A Shade of Monochrome for Danger" (Green for Danger)

"What Watching Porn REALLY Does to You" (Videodrome)

And the one that will disqualify me:

"All of These Movies Have Something in Common, But I Don't Know What It Is" (BR, Rushmore, TRTs, TLAw/SZ, and TDL)

[Grand Bob]

Originally Posted by BasicGreatGuy

The last time I saw "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" was on t.v. many, many years ago. In my opinion, it is a B-movie. It is sci-fi cheese. It is not a priority movie for me.

I first saw the movie in the 60's and I enjoyed it. I am glad that Criterion is releasing it and I will be picking up this title.

[KubrickFan]

Oh, by the way, I finally received my copy of The Thin Red Line, which I ordered from Barnes & Noble early November. I had already assumed it was lost (customer service also didn't really help), and there it was. Only two months too late . Oh well, at least I know the movie will be great.