The Criterion Collection

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by greekak229

Indeed.

[Yojimbo]

I sharpened the desk photo from the Criterion Facebook page and was able to see a few of the 2012 titles on the right paper of the three middle pages. I'm almost 100% sure this is what a few of them are:

Fifth from the top of the list: Fellini Satyricon
Just under that: Decameron and Canterbury Tales, both of which Pier Paolo Pasolini directed.
Third from bottom: Ministry of Fear by Fritz Lang
Second from bottom: Spartacus (not 100% on this one, but let's hope so...looks like there might be a question mark in parentheses next to it)

I'll try and sharpen some more later.

[SpiderBaby]

Gorin's name from that Criterion photo is all I need to be happy for 2012's releases. Hopefully along with an Eclipse set, we can also see a set of his films with Godard and the Dziga Vertov Group.

[colinrgeorge]

I feel like I may be walking into the lion's den with this one, but I just watched Mike Leigh's Naked and abhorred it. I found it unabashedly pretentious, and could practically see Leigh chuckling to himself over how deep and insightful his pseudo-philosophical jargon is.

The kicker is I tend to love films with dislikable protagonists, but I expect them to compensate by being interesting. I couldn't care less about Johnny or anybody else in the film who put up with that tosser for more than a minute. 1.5/5


So that I don't come off too antagonistic in my first post in this thread, I also want to talk briefly about Clouzot's Wages of Fear. In the past week I watched both it and Diabolique. I found the latter enjoyable, but Wages of Fear brilliant. On the surface level, the film is gorgeous, but the characters are also expertly realized and the political message is unexpectedly searing (the supplementary feature about the censorship the film endured during its initial US release is fascinating).

Hoity-toityness aside, Wages of Fear also happens to be an enormously entertaining and suspenseful thriller. So rarely is a film so smart also so visceral. Can't say enough good things about it. 5/5

[Tom Hiddleston]

Originally Posted by SHMACKDOJO

I feel like I may be walking into the lion's den with this one, but I just watched Mike Leigh's Naked and abhorred it. I found it unabashedly pretentious, and could practically see Leigh chuckling to himself over how deep and insightful his pseudo-philosphopical jargon is.

The kicker is I tend to love films with dislikable protagonists, but I expect them to compensate by being interesting. I couldn't care less about Johnny or anybody else in the film who put up with that tosser for more than a minute. 1.5/5


So that I don't come off too antagonistic in my first post in this thread, I also want to talk briefly about Clouzot's Wages of Fear. In the past week I watched both it and Diabolique. I found the latter enjoyable, but Wages of Fear brilliant. On the surface level, the film is gorgeous, but the characters are also expertly realized and the political message is unexpectedly searing (the supplementary feature about the censorship the film endured during its initial US release is fascinating).

Hoity-toityness aside, Wages of Fear also happens to be an enormously entertaining and suspenseful thriller. So rarely is a film so smart also so visceral. Can't say enough good things about it. 5/5

I got that impression after watching the commentary. I wanted to say 'Shut up and let David Thewlis and Katrin Cartlidge speak.' I still love the film though.

[heyandrew]

Are they ever going to release this on Blu Ray?

[Rizor]

Since a couple people rated the Criterion films on Blu on the last page, I thought it'd be fun to do the same. These are the ones I've seen:

3 Women (2/5)
The 400 Blows (5/5)
8 1/2 (4/5)
Amarcord (3/5)
Army of Shadows (4/5)
The Battle of Algiers (4/5)
Beauty and the Beast (3/5)
Bigger Than Life (3/5)
Black Narcissus (5/5)
Blow Out (4/5)
Bottle Rocket (4/5)
Breathless (3.5/5)
Broadcast News (4/5)
Le Cercle Rouge (4/5)
Charade (3/5)
Chungking Express (3.5/5)
Cronos (3/5)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (3/5)
The Darjeeling Limited (3/5)
Days of Heaven (5/5)
Dazed and Confused (4/5)
Diabolique (4/5)
The Double Life of Veronique (5/5)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (3.5/5)
Gimme Shelter (3/5)
The Great Dictator (3/5)
High and Low (4/5)
Howards End (3/5)
Kagemusha (2.5/5)
The Killing (3/5)
Kiss Me Deadly (4/5)
The Last Emperor (3/5)
Last Year at Marienbad (4/5)
The Leopard (3.5/5)
M (4/5)
The Magician (3.5/5)
Modern Times (3.5/5)
My Life as a Dog (3.5/5)
Naked (4/5)
The Night of the Hunter (4/5)
Paris, Texas (3/5)
Paths of Glory (4/5)
The Red Shoes (5/5)
Repulsion (4/5)
Robinson Crusoe on Mars (3/5)
Sanjuro (3/5)
Senso (4/5)
Seven Samurai (5/5)
The Seventh Seal (5/5)
Solaris (3/5)
Stagecoach (4/5)
Sweet Smell of Success (5/5)
The Thin Red Line (4/5)
The Third Man (5/5)
Topsy Turvy (4/5)
The Wages of Fear (4/5)
Walkabout (3.5/5)
White Material (3.5/5)
Wings of Desire (3.5/5)
Yojimbo (4/5)

Some of these I haven't seen in a long time (like Beauty and the Beast, Charade, the Chaplins, Topsy Turvy) and I barely remember them. So they're rated on how I remember liking them. If your taste lines up with mine, you can even use these as a recommendation.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by heyandrew

Are they ever going to release this on Blu Ray?

Life and Death of Col. Blimp (being restored) is presumably higher on the agenda...

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i didn't know anything about the story lol i knew it was slow and long, which is fine with me, but the story of a man reconnecting with his wife and son just made my eyes glaze over. i hate stories like that, mainly because i'm a cold and heartless bastard and don't connect with such things.

so, it was very much my fault i didn't look into it more before purchasing, but that's how i like blind buy (or, LIKED blind buying) - by REALLY blind buying. lol last few times have really bitten me in the ass though.

sadly, i still have to watch Che which is a blind buy, but i really enjoy things like history and documentaries so i should be good on that one

Sounds like you're just getting the wrong movies for your personal tastes. There's alot of criterions I'm totally staying away from. Paris, Texas is one I keep glossing over personally, it's not on my "no-freiking way" list, but it's not one I'm compelled to get either. I have also been hesitant to get Che because it's incredibly long, more expensive, and the #1 criticism of it seems to be "boring". I do like historical films, so I'm not counting it out, but I am a bit hesitant with so many others still to get (with a limited budget). Hopefully this one works out - you don't sound so optimistic going into it!

If you haven't gotten them yet, why not go with "safer" purchase like Seven Samurai, Pale Flower, Kiss me Deadly, or Repulsion? Each of those were blind buys for me and now I'd probably count them among my favorite blu-rays (the later 3 I first saw within the last few weeks, Seven Samurai the 1st time I ever saw was the 1st edition Criterion DVD). I've been disappointed in a few Criterions, but I always try to mix in something I'm highly likely to enjoy. If your a "cold hearted bastard" you might like something more along those lines since they aren't overly emotional or "artsy".

edit: I just noticed you rated all your Criterions and you've already seen a bunch of them. But you rate Seven Samurai a 2.5/5? So much for my recommendation LOL. Just goes to show people have different tastes.

[Cocophone]

I've edited your list down to one's I've seen.

Originally Posted by Rizor

Charade (3/5)
Dazed and Confused (4/5)
The Double Life of Veronique (5/5)
Paris, Texas (3/5)
The Red Shoes (5/5)
Repulsion (4/5)
The Seventh Seal (5/5)
Solaris (3/5)
Sweet Smell of Success (5/5)
The Thin Red Line (4/5)
The Third Man (5/5)

I would say:

Charade (3/5)
Dazed and Confused (4/5)
The Double Life of Veronique (5/5)
Paris, Texas (3/5)
The Red Shoes (3.5/5)
The Seventh Seal (4/5)
Solaris (3/5)
Sweet Smell of Success (5/5)
The Thin Red Line (4/5)
The Third Man (4/5)

I would also add:
Summer Hours (3.5/5)


I have not seen White Material, but I'm thinking about buying it.

[keldons]

Originally Posted by Yojimbo

I sharpened the desk photo from the Criterion Facebook page and was able to see a few of the 2012 titles on the right paper of the three middle pages. I'm almost 100% sure this is what a few of them are:

Fifth from the top of the list: Fellini Satyricon
Just under that: Decameron and Canterbury Tales, both of which Pier Paolo Pasolini directed.
Third from bottom: Ministry of Fear by Fritz Lang
Second from bottom: Spartacus (not 100% on this one, but let's hope so...looks like there might be a question mark in parentheses next to it)

I'll try and sharpen some more later.

http://www.theblurayblog.com/2011/06...and-many-more/

[andyman1970]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i didn't know anything about the story lol i knew it was slow and long, which is fine with me, but the story of a man reconnecting with his wife and son just made my eyes glaze over. i hate stories like that, mainly because i'm a cold and heartless bastard and don't connect with such things.

so, it was very much my fault i didn't look into it more before purchasing, but that's how i like blind buy (or, LIKED blind buying) - by REALLY blind buying. lol last few times have really bitten me in the ass though.

sadly, i still have to watch Che which is a blind buy, but i really enjoy things like history and documentaries so i should be good on that one

That is exactly why I passed on Paris, Texas. And although I found Antichrist to be relatively slow and boring the first hour I found the end to be a delight since I'm a bit of a misogynist.

[victor.vc]

Originally Posted by Rizor

The films on the Three Colors Trilogy are only thematically related. Some of the characters make cameos in the other movies, and Red seems like a conclusion in some ways but it doesn't necessarily demand to be watched last. It doesn't really spoil anything. In fact, I believe I saw it first.

Why not wait and watch them in order?

I really do believe that Red should be watched last. Without spoiling anything, there are two crucial scenes in Red that are more powerful if the movies are watched in sequence.

1) The trash can scene gives more depth to the character of Irene Jacobs.

2) The last scene "suggests" a coda to the main characters from Blue and White.

Even Blue should be watched before White. Thematically, the three movies can be compared to a three-part musical composition with White, the middle section being the (darkly) comical one, while the first and third are the weighty ones.

[Vriess]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

i didn't know anything about the story lol i knew it was slow and long, which is fine with me, but the story of a man reconnecting with his wife and son just made my eyes glaze over. i hate stories like that, mainly because i'm a cold and heartless bastard and don't connect with such things.

sadly, i still have to watch Che which is a blind buy, but i really enjoy things like history and documentaries so i should be good on that one

One of my main problems with Paris was simply believing those two were ever a couple, made no sense at all to me

[kazama]

My list looks like this, but I still have lots to watch:

The 400 Blows (5/5)
Bottle Rocket (4.5/5)
Breathless (4/5)
Darjeeling Limited (4.5/5)
Diabolique (5/5)
The Double Life of Veronique (4/5)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (5/5)
Fish Tank (4.5/5)
Hunger (4.5/5)
Kes (5/5)
M (5/5)
The Night of The Hunter (5/5)
Paris Texas (5/5)
The Seventh Seal (5/5)
Seven Samurai (5/5)
Still Walking (5/5)
Summer Hours (4.5/5)
The Wages of Fear (5/5)
Videodrome (4/5)
Wings of Desire (5/5)

As you can see I like every Criterion I've seen so far, which makes me really happy I have yet to be disappointed.

[HuggyBear73]

Forgive me if this was asked before, but when does the B & N sale end? And the free shipping that they offer, is that media or economy mail?

[Yojimbo]

Originally Posted by keldons

http://www.theblurayblog.com/2011/06...and-many-more/

Ahhh...hadn't seen that. Least it confirms what I thought. Thanks!

[Wildcat47]

Originally Posted by iam1bearcat

watched Paris, Texas earlier today. eesh, another reason to never blind buy Criterions are very much not compatible with me. i found Paris, Texas to be completely uninteresting and disconnected from me. someone could have walked into any room with these characters and violently killed them all and i wouldn't have blinked twice or cared for a moment.

2.5/5

it was a blind buy for me about a year ago and I absolutely loved it. Its one of the 4-5 criterions I usually reccomend to ppl when they ask what they should get/watch. To each their own though, if we all liked the same things, this world would be boring. Unless everyone only liked the things I like...

[myka22]

Well if we're talking about criterion's we don't like, out of their Blu-rays, I didn't like Black Narcissus, Cronos, Paris,Texas, Mystery Train, Ride with the Devil, Che, and The Man who fell to Earth. Everything else is awesome.

[colinrgeorge]

Originally Posted by huggybear73

forgive me if this was asked before, but when does the b & n sale end? And the free shipping that they offer, is that media or economy mail?

8/1