The Criterion Collection

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by jayembee

The Maltese Falcon definitely counts. It's oft considered the greatest noir film ever made, though I disagree. And, yes, The Third Man is noir, too, though I don't often see it mentioned in noir film discussions.

But after viewing Kiss Me Deadly, Sweet Smell of Success, and (Japanese noir?) Pale Flower, I definitely want more films of this ilk. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be alot out there in blu-ray. It would be nice to see Criterion fill that void. It's not just "noir" that's MIA either, but it seems like the entire era of 1930's gangster films isn't represented at all on blu-ray either. I'd like to see at least a couple of key titles released by Criterion. If not Criterion, the studios need to get the ball rolling on these.

Back catalog is Blu-Ray's failing at the moment. There are some great ones out there, but they don't seem to be the studios' priority. This is no surprise, as even with DVD, the initial focus was on current or recent titles, with back catalog titles being released only because they essential ran out of recent titles and the demand for more product was there.

The other "problem" is what seems to me to be a common perception with Blu-Ray that the format is only worthwhile for big splashy widescreen action films with 7-channel audio. I've had people look at me curiously for wanting to buy BDs of movies like M and Metropolis and Casablanca. They say "It's just black-&-white and mono sound. Isn't DVD good enough for that?"

It's not just 30s-era gangster films that are under-represented on Blu-Ray, but 30s and 40s films in general. I'd kill to be able to get BDs of Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Captain Blood (and other Errol Flynn swashbucklers), the run of Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers RKO musicals, the run of Val Lewton horror films (also from RKO), etc.



The Warner Noir collections are aces. Especially the first one with The Asphalt Jungle (which is tied with The Killing as my favorite noir film), Murder, My Sweet, and Out of the Past. I'd also recommend the first WB Gangsters collection with White Heat, Public Enemy, Angels with Dirty Faces, Little Caesar, and The Petrified Forest.

Good news for you then, Citizen Kane was announced a good while ago(if you didn't know, maybe you did). Sadly they are throwing in Ambersons as a DVD bonus. Maybe that's actually good new for you, or maybe not. I guess some are happy that this is even getting DVD at all. Having never seen the film it's interesting that a major Orson Welles film that never got a DVD release, is finally making an appearance. It would just be nicer if it got a proper blu-ray mastering. Maybe it will after a year or two, I don't think I have plans to buy the set as usually "deluxe editions" are a little overpriced for me.

RE: 30's and 40's films, I sorted the list on this site by "dedade" and was shocked how little there is from the 30's and 40's. It's slowly building I guess if you just go by year, I have a few of the essentials, but there is definitely less emphasis on releasing them the further back you go in time. I was just specifically reading up on the 1930's gangster film era (going back from noir film and just expanding back), and searched blu-ray and there was literally NOTHING. Not even 1 or 2 essential examples to sample. I'm sure there's other genres with slim pickings on blu-ray, but I was disappointed that there was quite literally nothing. So that's why I started perusing DVD's, even though I've sworn off of DVD's for the last year or so.

[GilliamsBrazil]

Originally Posted by kazama

from this list, which 5 would you recommend me to get?

• Pale Flower
• Close-UP
• Walkabout
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars
• Repulsion
• Playtime
• Black Narcissus
• The Great Dictator
• Kagemusha
• The Thin Red Line
• For All Mankind
• Le Cercle Rouge
• Days of Heaven
• People on Sunday

i'll get all of them eventually, but now i'll be buying only 5 and i'm unable to choose, so any help and tips would be great guys.

Of those I personally would pick Repulsion, Playtime, The Great Dictator, Kagemusha and Days of Heaven.

hah I just noticed that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button isn't included in the sale on the B&N website. Has anyone gotten it half off in-store?

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by kazama

from this list, which 5 would you recommend me to get?

• Pale Flower
• Close-UP
• Walkabout
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars
• Repulsion
• Playtime
• Black Narcissus
• The Great Dictator
• Kagemusha
• The Thin Red Line
• For All Mankind
• Le Cercle Rouge
• Days of Heaven
• People on Sunday

i'll get all of them eventually, but now i'll be buying only 5 and i'm unable to choose, so any help and tips would be great guys.

Bolded..... just my opinion... (I know that's 6 )

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by kazama

from this list, which 5 would you recommend me to get?

• Pale Flower
• Close-UP
• Walkabout
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars
• Repulsion
• Playtime
• Black Narcissus
• The Great Dictator
• Kagemusha
• The Thin Red Line
• For All Mankind
• Le Cercle Rouge
• Days of Heaven
• People on Sunday

i'll get all of them eventually, but now i'll be buying only 5 and i'm unable to choose, so any help and tips would be great guys.

-Pale Flower = must see if you like noir style.
-Repulsion = must own psychological drama

Those are two "must gets" IMO.

I also own, and recommend:
-Thin Red Line - maybe a little too philosophical and "non believable characters" as far as war films go, but beautifully shot nonetheless
-Le Cercle Rouge - not essential, but it was a fun heist movie, and the sequences during the actual robbery were some of the best/most tense I've seen in this type of film. I'm not a foreign film buff by any means, but I enjoyed this at least as much as many American crime/heist movies, especially considering this is 50 years old. I'm not sure how to describe it, but to say it was "cool".
-Kagemusha - good solid "samurai" film, doesn't hold a candle to Seven Samurai and I'm sure many other Kurosawa regardless of genre, but it has the advantage of at least being widescreen and in color.

The only movie I've seen on that list that I would NOT recommend, STRONGLY not recommend, is Playtime.. This thing has no plot, has little nor no meaningful dialogue, basically it's all avante-garde humor that you have to watch out for within the scenes. Even if you catch most of it, I didn't find it particularly funny or meaningful. At times it was visually interesting, and it had a unique sense of style, which was interesting at times. That's about the best thing I could say about this one, "interesting at times". I can't tell you how bored I was by the end of the 2+ hours. I guess the fact that for the last 30+ minutes I just wanted it to be over, didn't help me find any of the hidden humor within the scenes.

I really want to get Great Dictator and Days of Heaven as well, but I haven't yet so obviously I can't offer an opinion one way or the other.

[GilliamsBrazil]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

The only movie I've seen on that list that I would NOT recommend, STRONGLY not recommend, is Playtime.. This thing has no plot, has little nor no meaningful dialogue, basically it's all avante-garde humor that you have to watch out for within the scenes. Even if you catch most of it, I didn't find it particularly funny or meaningful. At times it was visually interesting, and it had a unique sense of style, which was interesting at times. That's about the best thing I could say about this one, "interesting at times". I can't tell you how bored I was by the end of the 2+ hours. I guess the fact that for the last 30+ minutes I just wanted it to be over, didn't help me find any of the hidden humor within the scenes.

I can totally understand why people would be turned off by this film, but my experience was very different! It was the first Tati I saw and honestly I couldn't tell you why, but I LOVED it. Seemed to tickle my funny bone in just the right ways. I really like Tati's style and thought the character of Hulot was very endearing. Since Playtime seems to be a love it or hate it type of film, I guess it would be safest to rent first.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by kazama

from this list, which 5 would you recommend me to get?

Two of them don't need any persuasion from us:
--
* The Great Dictator:

[Show spoiler]

‪Three Reasons: The Great Dictator‬‏ - YouTube

* People on Sunday:

[Show spoiler]

‪Three Reasons: People on Sunday‬‏ - YouTube

--
and we're sitting here patiently waiting for Criterion to do a 3R for Kagemusha, since that's the one that's always hardest to explain to Kurosawa newcomers.
("#1: It's not Ran. #2: It's not Dave.")

Of the remaining list, "For All Mankind" is a good NASA sampler, even if it's frustratingly out of chronological order.
And as for "Playtime", Tati is a heavily acquired taste--like Mr. Bean with long forgetful passages--so might want to rent "M. Hulot's Holiday" first. The others were more social-satire message-y.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by GilliamsBrazil

I can totally understand why people would be turned off by this film, but my experience was very different! It was the first Tati I saw and honestly I couldn't tell you why, but I LOVED it. Seemed to tickle my funny bone in just the right ways. I really like Tati's style and thought the character of Hulot was very endearing. Since Playtime seems to be a love it or hate it type of film, I guess it would be safest to rent first.

I knew it was a risk when I got it, but I really thought it would fit my type of humor perfectly. I just watched a few clips and read the description to make sure. I thought it would be one of those "out there" films that I enjoy. Sadly it really didn't do anything for me, and I found myself bored most of the time as a result.

I said somewhere that if it were a series of short skits it might have worked watching a few at a time, but not the type of thing that can sustain a 2 hour long full length film.

[Crimson King]

What's the possibility of Criterion releasing blu's of "Two-Lane Blacktop", "Brazil", "Traffic", "The Bank Dick" and "The Last Temptaion Of Christ"?
(all are Univeral titles that Criterion has the rights to)

[Sukuri]

Originally Posted by kazama

from this list, which 5 would you recommend me to get?

• Pale Flower
• Close-UP
• Walkabout
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars
  
• Repulsion
  
• Playtime
• Black Narcissus
• The Great Dictator
• Kagemusha
• The Thin Red Line
  
• For All Mankind
• Le Cercle Rouge
  
• Days of Heaven
• People on Sunday

i'll get all of them eventually, but now i'll be buying only 5 and i'm unable to choose, so any help and tips would be great guys.

Or Robinson Crusoe.

[Monty70]

Originally Posted by Arkadin

wow, I just watched that one for the first time about a week ago myself.
absolutely awesome film.
film noir is my favorite film genre for sure, and I have about 75 or so titles in my collection now.
It's such a shame that most of them will probably never get released on blu-ray, but thankfully most of the dvds are very watchable.
Bogart is my favorite actor.

Bogart is the epitome of cool. (does anyone handle a cigarette better?)

Yes, I was impressed with the A/V quality of the dvd (single layered DVD that is going on ten years old) It seems to me that some of big studios like Columbia really put a lot of effort into their early DVD releases. (another really good Columbia single layered disk I own is Lady from Shanghai)

I do not plan on giving up on SD media anytime soon, as I still enjoy so many films that are not available in HD. (and may not be available for a long time, if ever)

[CaptYamato]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Mine either. I love their sale, but their times from purchase to shipping are horrible. Then again as long as they keep having these sales they could ship my Criterions taped to the back of a turtle and I'd still be happy.

I cancelled it. Decided that I will just pick it up tomorrow in store.

Originally Posted by kazama

from this list, which 5 would you recommend me to get?

• Pale Flower
• Close-UP
• Walkabout
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars
• Repulsion
• Playtime
• Black Narcissus
• The Great Dictator
• Kagemusha
• The Thin Red Line
• For All Mankind
• Le Cercle Rouge
• Days of Heaven
• People on Sunday

i'll get all of them eventually, but now i'll be buying only 5 and i'm unable to choose, so any help and tips would be great guys.

Those are the five I would buy.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by BillyJack

What's the possibility of Criterion releasing blu's of "Two-Lane Blacktop", "Brazil", "Traffic", "The Bank Dick" and "The Last Temptation Of Christ"?
(all are Universal titles that Criterion has the rights to)

Criterion no longer owns the rights to The Bank Dick; it's been OOP for a while now. One quick trip over to Criterion's site would've told you that.

As for the others, I'd say Two-Lane Blacktop and Brazil are definite contenders within a year or two. The other two may could come, as well, but I see them further down the road. Traffic is licensed from USA Films. Then again, what do I know when it comes to what Criterion upgrades to blu-ray?

[Tom Hiddleston]

Originally Posted by kazama

from this list, which 5 would you recommend me to get?

• Pale Flower
• Close-UP
• Walkabout
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars
• Repulsion
• Playtime
• Black Narcissus
• The Great Dictator
• Kagemusha
• The Thin Red Line
• For All Mankind
• Le Cercle Rouge
• Days of Heaven
• People on Sunday

i'll get all of them eventually, but now i'll be buying only 5 and i'm unable to choose, so any help and tips would be great guys.

Imo.

[brake]

Originally Posted by brake

Hey guys, do you guys know if Criterion Blu-rays are included in Amazon's black friday sales?

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Are there any current online coupon codes available for the Barnes & Noble sale?
I've decided to pick up another four Eclipse sets, since I've already finished the awesome Nikkatsu Noir films.

BUMP for these 2 questions, they seemed to have slipped through the cracks?

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

... but it seems like the entire era of 1930's gangster films isn't represented at all on blu-ray either.

WHV put out a lot of gangster films on DVD more than five years ago, such as The Public Enemy, Little Caesar, The Roaring Twenties, and White Heat. I assume they still have the rights and hopefully will upgrade them.
I'd also like to see a blu-ray of Hawks' Scarface.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by brake

BUMP for these 2 questions, they seemed to have slipped through the cracks?

I did a google search for B&N coupon codes and found one that gave me 15% off the highest priced item.
I ordered four of the DVD box-sets of Japanese films.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by kazama

from this list, which 5 would you recommend me to get?

• Pale Flower
• Close-UP
• Walkabout
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars
• Repulsion
• Playtime
• Black Narcissus
• The Great Dictator
• Kagemusha
• The Thin Red Line
• For All Mankind
• Le Cercle Rouge
• Days of Heaven
• People on Sunday

i'll get all of them eventually, but now i'll be buying only 5 and i'm unable to choose, so any help and tips would be great guys.

I haven't seen all of them and not all films are for all tastes.
I personally liked Playtime a lot, but agree it probably isn't best to blind-buy it.

[ranitasus]

Picked these up today

[Beta Man]

I don't know what "Supernatural" is..... but based on the cover-art, I feel the need to mock you....... is that wrong of me????


EDIT:

Hey ccfixx..... Why can't I order "The Bank Dick" on Criterion's site??? a glitch???

[Show spoiler]

EDIT AGAIN....

Billy... you can't proclaim "no siggie" then pimp out some site for yourself in your signature..... you're not that complex.... we see right through that!

[Lordy]

Originally Posted by kazama

from this list, which 5 would you recommend me to get?

• Pale Flower
• Close-UP
• Walkabout
• Robinson Crusoe on Mars
• Repulsion
• Playtime
• Black Narcissus
• The Great Dictator
• Kagemusha
• The Thin Red Line
• For All Mankind
• Le Cercle Rouge
• Days of Heaven
• People on Sunday

i'll get all of them eventually, but now i'll be buying only 5 and i'm unable to choose, so any help and tips would be great guys.

These would be my recommendations for starters.