The Criterion Collection

[Rizor]

Cool review of The Killing/Killer's Kiss.

I received my copy of America Lost and Found: The BBS Story today and was thinking about delving into the set tomorrow. Does "Head" require any knowledge of the Monkees to appreciate it?

[oildude]

Originally Posted by HuggyBear73

My two Criterions shipped today from BN.com. Does Barnes & Nobles usually ship in a bubble envelopes or boxes?

I have mostly had boxes for single and multi-disc orders, although sometimes I get a corrugated thin cardboard envelope.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by Zen_Amako

Seems like anything from Nicolas Roeg is at least worth a look. I just saw Don't Look Now last night (UK Blu-ray) and I thought that was great. I also really like The Man Who Fell to Earth and Walkabout. I watched Performance on DVD; that was a strange one. I'd check it out again if it were released on BD, especially since the DVD had an issue with the audio.

What's your verdict on the Don't Look Now blu-ray? The blu-ray.com review is very harsh on the video, whereas the blubeaver review gives it high praise.
(How big is your display?)

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

What's your verdict on the Don't Look Now blu-ray? The blu-ray.com review is very harsh on the video, whereas the blubeaver review gives it high praise.
(How big is your display?)

This was my first viewing of Don't Look Now, so I was paying more attention to the story. I thought it looked pretty good on my 50" Panny plasma. If it were projected on a larger screen, it might not hold up as well. There were a few shots that looked a little weird (such as an early close-up of Sutherland). In a nutshell, it's too bad they didn't knock this one out of the park since it's such a great film, but it's by no means bad.

[keldons]

Nice to see my favorite Kubrick get a great release. Can't wait.

[Darkcritic]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

This isn't the case - the high-definition transfer is an obvious step up in quality. You don't see much of a difference because the screencaptures offered there are misleading.

Really? Now those are some great news ! I know the screenshots can be misleading but looking at the difference between The Killing's BD and DVD you can't really blame it .

In another note, I just saw Repulsion for the first time and all I have to say is that films like this one should be created more often. What an excellent character-driven piece of filmmaking. I really wasn't expecting much from it (By this I mean I didn't expected such a mature direction from what at the time was a novice filmmaker), but I came out of it loving each second. Sure, the film establishes it's own slow pace but I wouldn't have liked it any other way. A tour de force for Catherine Deneuve as Carol and a great supporting character in Furneaux. What probably left me the best impression is the way Polanski used such a reduced space for best results. Every object was meticulously placed to fill up most of the screen. The narrow corridors and claustrophobic rooms make up most of the tension. Overall, I really loved this film and will watch it again with the commentary in the next days. Does anyone else like/love/hate the film? I would really like to hear different opinions .

[HuggyBear73]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

They're two pieces of thin corrugated cardboard, each with adhesive on one side, and the two adhesive sides stick together and enclose the plastic-wrapped product. Kinda like a cardboard ravioli. They protect from scratches but are susceptible to crushing.

B&N should take into account that while these packages are fine for books, they don't work so well for mostly-hollow DVD/BD cases.

Gotcha! Bestbuy.com and moviesunlimited sometimes uses those.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by Darkcritic

Really? Now those are some great news ! I know the screenshots can be misleading but looking at the difference between The Killing's BD and DVD you can't really blame it .

In another note, I just saw Repulsion for the first time and all I have to say is that films like this one should be created more often. What an excellent character-driven piece of filmmaking. I really wasn't expecting much from it (By this I mean I didn't expected such a mature direction from what at the time was a novice filmmaker), but I came out of it loving each second. Sure, the film establishes it's own slow pace but I wouldn't have liked it any other way. A tour de force for Catherine Deneuve as Carol and a great supporting character in Furneaux. What probably left me the best impression is the way Polanski used such a reduced space for best results. Every object was meticulously placed to fill up most of the screen. The narrow corridors and claustrophobic rooms make up most of the tension. Overall, I really loved this film and will watch it again with the commentary in the next days. Does anyone else like/love/hate the film? I would really like to hear different opinions .

Have you seen Knife in the Water?

Anyways, I love the film. I like how Polanski messes around with the dimensions of the apartment over the course of the film, like with the hallway at the end that erupts into molestation. It also has one of the most haunting final images in film; an image that we've seen earlier on, but takes a whole new meaning when it's shown once again.

As much as I love it, it's not my favorite from the Apartment trilogy. That title goes to Rosemary's Baby.

[Yojimbo]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

Neither. They come in corrugated cardboard envelopes.

They don't seem to offer the best protection, but I've gotten about 4 or 5 separate orders with no problem. A few people complained about cracked cases, but IIRC that was because they had larger orders that were squeezed into envelopes rather than boxes. With a two disc order you should be fine.

I had three shipments come from BN. Two actually came in regular cardboard boxes, and the third came in your "cardboard ravioli".

[Shout92]

Originally Posted by keldons

Nice to see my favorite Kubrick get a great release. Can't wait.

Same here. But its a shame its coming out AFTER the BN sale. No matter how worth it it may be, I don't wanna spend $40. I'll wait till November and the next sale and just go crazy on Criterion.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by Shout92

Same here. But its a shame its coming out AFTER the BN sale. No matter how worth it it may be, I don't wanna spend $40. I'll wait till November and the next sale and just go crazy on Criterion.

It's $24.99 on Amazon.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Shout92

Same here. But its a shame its coming out AFTER the BN sale. No matter how worth it it may be, I don't wanna spend $40. I'll wait till November and the next sale and just go crazy on Criterion.

My Makioka Sisters case is broken..... but not bad enough to care really..... I'll replace it later.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

It's $24.99 on Amazon.

That might still turn out to be too much.

No, I'm not too spoiled.

(oh, and it was in my gold box when I preordered it so it's like a buck less than that)

[Matt24734]

It'll be interested too see for myself the PQ for High and Low. Blu-Ray gives it 3.5 stars, but DVDBeaver seemed pretty happy with that and the guy who reviews for Home Theatre Forum gave it 5 stars. Seems like the reviews are all over the place for this one.

[BHolst]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

My Makioka Sisters case is broken..... but not bad enough to care really..... I'll replace it later.

My People On Sunday arrived with a broken case (that I can live with) but the cover itself had also been damaged and that is not OK. Have contacted B&N about this and is currently waiting (without too much hope of a good resolution to this) to hear from them.

BTW, in regards to replacement cases for Criterion. Do you need to buy them from Criterion or are they available from "normal" case retailers (have seen a thread here in the forums somewhere)? I'm just asking because I was thinking about getting the replacement cases for the initial 9 BR Criterion releases and I could only select US or Canada as recipient country...

[cferreiro]

Originally Posted by BHolst

My People On Sunday arrived with a broken case (that I can live with) but the cover itself had also been damaged and that is not OK. Have contacted B&N about this and is currently waiting (without too much hope of a good resolution to this) to hear from them.

BTW, in regards to replacement cases for Criterion. Do you need to buy them from Criterion or are they available from "normal" case retailers (have seen a thread here in the forums somewhere)? I'm just asking because I was thinking about getting the replacement cases for the initial 9 BR Criterion releases and I could only select US or Canada as recipient country...

Barnes and Noble are rubbish at replacing cases, or packaging their discs properly for that matter. My Night of the Hunter case arrived torn at the back and I spent atleast 2 months trying to get a replacement....did i mention that their customer service via email is also rubbish? They wanted me to call them from Australia.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Cool review of The Killing/Killer's Kiss.

I received my copy of America Lost and Found: The BBS Story today and was thinking about delving into the set tomorrow. Does "Head" require any knowledge of the Monkees to appreciate it?

Just this dumbed down, oversimplified explaination:

The Monkees were initially created as a pre-fabricated group, to capitalise on the success of the Beatles in North America. Many groups at the time employed session musicians and had others write songs for them, but didn't admit to it. The Monkees were open about this, which made people dismiss them artistically, even though they were guilty of the same practice. the Monkees decided that they wanted to play their own instruments and write their own songs, because all the group members had come from musical backgrounds, and were more than capable musicians. The fought, and won, the right to play their own instruments, produce their own work, and write their own songs. However, personality clashes between the band members, and the inability to escape the stigma placed on them from their earlier session musician records, the band broke up. Head was created as a means to try to destroy the "false" image people had of the Monkees, but was a bomb, because no one could disassociate the "manfactured image, with no philosophies," of the group, and the teenybopper fans couldn't understand what the hell the film was about.

Head is my favourite movie, and not just out of the set. You always pick up something new each time you watch it. If you've watched Pierrot Le Fou, it's disjointed, random, sporadic, surreal, and fun, with some deeper meanings. Head is in many ways similar to Pierrot Le Fou.

The Monkees seem to be held in higher regard today than they were back in the 1960s.

I hope I didn't ramble too much. You really have to watch the film for yourself, and if you find it confusing, post here and start a discussion.

[kazama]

just got High and Low, hell yeah!

[Rizor]

Thanks, BohemianGraham!

[rezpekt]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

The Killing / Killer's Kiss Blu-ray Review

Wow, those screenshots look fantastic. A bit disappointed that Killer's Kiss only has lossy audio but then again Criterion only advertises it as a special feature. They could have easily charged extra ten dollars or even more but they kept it at their regular price level.

Anyway, this release is high on my wishlist.