The Criterion Collection

[fkbrun]

Am I alone in thinking they've been a bit slow in releasing their Truffauts? Just aching to have some more of his films on blu-ray, specially the ones that aren't yet in the collection: Pocket Money, The Bride Wore Black (a personal fav) and Day For Night (although I suspect Warner won't let go of this one).

And, COME ON! Why are all the distributors not releasing any Billy Wilder (ok, Some Like it Hot was the only exception so far). Criterion could very well release Ace in the Hole (exceptional movie) and maybe get hold of The Apartment, as a part of their deal with MGM. Who knows?

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by fkbrun

Am I alone in thinking they've been a bit slow in releasing their Truffauts?

The Soft Skin is coming soon.

[Rizor]

Whoops. Forgot to cancel my The Killing order from Amazon (went with Deep Discount and got it last week instead). Now I have 2 copies!

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by fkbrun

Am I alone in thinking they've been a bit slow in releasing their Truffauts? Just aching to have some more of his films on blu-ray, specially the ones that aren't yet in the collection: Pocket Money, The Bride Wore Black (a personal fav) and Day For Night (although I suspect Warner won't let go of this one).

And, COME ON! Why are all the distributors not releasing any Billy Wilder (ok, Some Like it Hot was the only exception so far). Criterion could very well release Ace in the Hole (exceptional movie) and maybe get hold of The Apartment, as a part of their deal with MGM. Who knows?

This! Criterion needs more Wilider! To be honest, Billy Wilder is a much, much better director than Nolan or Anderson:

Some Like it Hot
Sunset Boulevard
Ace in the Hole
Stalag 17
Sabrina
The Seven Year Itch
Witness for the Prosecution
Irma La Douce
The Apartment
Kiss Me, Stupid
The Fortune Cookie
One, Two, Three
Avanti!
Love in the Afternoon
Double Indemnity
Five Graves to Cairo

I love them all. Lost Weekend was a bit meh, and there's still some I haven't watched yet.

[fkbrun]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

TBilly Wilder is a much, much better director than Nolan or Anderson:

Some Like it Hot
Sunset Boulevard
Ace in the Hole
Stalag 17
Sabrina
The Seven Year Itch
Witness for the Prosecution
Irma La Douce
The Apartment
Kiss Me, Stupid
The Fortune Cookie
One, Two, Three
Avanti!
Love in the Afternoon
Double Indemnity
Five Graves to Cairo

Well, IMHO Billy Wilder is a better director than most directors. Ever. Especially Nolan, who is WAAAAY overrated, but I actually enjoy his films in an uncompromised level. Can't say anything about Anderson, since I haven't yet seen any of his films.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Harmonoff

Ugh, as much as I'm excited by the news of Fanny and Alexander, I had just bought the DVD set a little over two months ago for around $30 and now, of course, the used prices have plummeted due to all the people trying to dump their copies. They're all hovering around the $20 mark. Lesson learned: don't buy anymore Criterion DVDs no matter how improbable an upgrade appears to me.

But isn't it obvious? Buying the DVDs should guarantee a Blu-ray release?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by rkish

I'm not as big on his "Samurai" films (but I own and love Seven Samurai) and have been getting into his "other" films. Druken Angel is a fav, along with High and Low and Redbeard (my personal favorite). I'm a huge Ozu and Naruse fan, so this was new territory for me.

I do like his samurai films, but I agree about Drunken Angel...it's my favorite of his films, too. Behind that are Ikiru, Rashomon, and High and Low.

[balboasanti]

I'd love to see some Billy Wilder Noir; Ace in the Hole, Sunset Blvd., Double Indemnity. Those are some of the best out there. I would think that Ace in the Hole would be the only likely release for Criterion though. Couldn't see the main studios giving up classics like Sunset Blvd. and Double Indemnity. But here's hoping.

[Arkadin]

The Apartment would be a great choice for Criterion.
the dvd looks AWFUL.

[deltasun]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Whoops. Forgot to cancel my The Killing order from Amazon (went with Deep Discount and got it last week instead). Now I have 2 copies!

If that's a problem, I can take it from your hands.

[dwane5]

i have 2 Pierrot le fou's. i ordered it from BN and it was damaged i never got around to sending the original back so i called them and asked them how much it would cost if i kept both copies. they put me on hold and told me i could keep the damaged copy and they would issue a 10% refund on the replacement.

i must say the damaged one isnt all that damaged. minor creasing on the cover.

i wanted a perfect copy and got it, im happy.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

• Bitter Rice
• Y tu mama tambien
• Wild Strawberries

Would not be surprised to see some of these not released in December. Wild Strawberries looks like it was bumped to 2012.

I would guess Belle de Jour is a safe bet for December. Other than that I would guess it will be only about one or two titles all together. December is usually not a big month of releases for Criterion. Maybe we will have a Chaplin in December.

Early 2012 I think we will see Y tu Mama tambien, World on a Wire, Wild Strawberries probably.

[octagon]

I normally think high profile releases can be left to studios but given Universal's inconsistent approach to catalog titles I wouldn't mind at all if Criterion managed to wrangle Double Indemnity out of them.

MGM can probably be trusted to treat The Apartment pretty well (I'm actually pretty happy with the DVD) so if they're going to farm anything out I'd prefer it be something they wouldn't release on their own (The Fortune Cookie would be a good fit, for instance).

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

This! Criterion needs more Wilider! To be honest, Billy Wilder is a much, much better director than Nolan or Anderson:

Some Like it Hot
Sunset Boulevard
Ace in the Hole
Stalag 17
Sabrina
The Seven Year Itch
Witness for the Prosecution
Irma La Douce
The Apartment
Kiss Me, Stupid
The Fortune Cookie
One, Two, Three
Avanti!
Love in the Afternoon
Double Indemnity
Five Graves to Cairo

I love them all. Lost Weekend was a bit meh, and there's still some I haven't watched yet.

Good god yes. I even agree about Lost Weekend.

Billy Wilder is one of my favorite writer/directors full stop. Also great is the Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, which, while not a home run is a solid triple.

I know we are still early days when it comes to catalogs on blu, but I actually get agitated only having the one Wilder released to date.

Also, years ago a girlfriend spilled juice on my case of The Apartment and then fell asleep halfway through. Surely that warrants an HD upgrade.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by octagon

I normally think high profile releases can be left to studios but given Universal's inconsistent approach to catalog titles I wouldn't mind at all if Criterion managed to wrangle Double Indemnity out of them.

MGM can probably be trusted to treat The Apartment pretty well (I'm actually pretty happy with the DVD) so if they're going to farm anything out I'd prefer it be something they wouldn't release on their own (The Fortune Cookie would be a good fit, for instance).

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. I would love to see it get the Criterion treatment!

[BluPops]

Just gimme the box set of...

Some Like it Hot
The Lost Weekend
Sunset Boulevard
Ace in the Hole
Stalag 17
Sabrina
The Seven Year Itch
Witness for the Prosecution
Irma La Douce
The Apartment
Kiss Me, Stupid
The Fortune Cookie
One, Two, Three
Avanti!
Love in the Afternoon
Double Indemnity
Five Graves to Cairo
Major and the Minor

I'll take the non bold titles in Box Set #2.

Had to reset my DirecTV DVR.... lost my recording of Avanti. Which I've never seen...

[enzolt]

So I just started collecting Criterions recently. Do you guys have any must-own recommendations? I don't think I can afford every single Criterion movie out there. The ones I currently have are the ones that I enjoyed watching. Still keeping a lookout for some other movies like anything from Wong Kar-wai, Jacques Tati, Wes Anderson (Life Aquatic mostly) and some other films.

Also, who here buys the movies and keeps the plastic intact? I've been buying Criterions but I never open them. I usually just try to look for a legitimate copy online from either Hulu, Netflix, Amazon etc.

[g.schweet]

I've seen HD transfers of Irma La Douce, The Apartment, and Avanti! on either MGM HD or HDnet Movies (have The Fortune Cookie DVRed too), so it isn't like they aren't ready for blu yet.

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by BluPops

Had to reset my DirecTV DVR.... lost my recording of Avanti. Which I've never seen...

Avanti is interesting. Wilder always has sex playing a big part, but Avanti is the most overtly sexual of his films that I can think of. It would make a good fit for a CC release, I would think.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by enzolt

So I just started collecting Criterions recently. Do you guys have any must-own recommendations? I don't think I can afford every single Criterion movie out there. The ones I currently have are the ones that I enjoyed watching. Still keeping a lookout for some other movies like anything from Wong Kar-wai, Jacques Tati, Wes Anderson (Life Aquatic mostly) and some other films.

Also, who here buys the movies and keeps the plastic intact? I've been buying Criterions but I never open them. I usually just try to look for a legitimate copy online from either Hulu, Netflix, Amazon etc.

I would recommend Pale Flower.

Although you might have different tastes than me since I viewed Playtime (Tati), and absolutely couldn't stand it. However I really feel that Pale Flower was an amazing "blind buy" for me.

I would say my top favorite Criterion blu-rays (was going to do a top 5, but noticed you already have my top 2, so I will go to 7).

Seven Samurai
Yojombo/Sanjuro
Pale Flower
Paths of Glory
Seventh Seal
The Sweet Smell of Success.
Repulsion
High and Low

As far as what I do with them, of course I open them and watch them all. It makes no sense to buy the blu-ray, and then actually watch the film in some other format leaving the blu-ray unopened.

EDIT: and i just noted all my recommendations are B&W films. that was purely unconscious, but I wonder if there's something to it?