The Criterion Collection

[jacobsever]

Just out of curiosity, how many people in this thread have studied film at a collegiate level? Majored?

And what did you go on to do with the degree?

[blujazz]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Just out of curiosity, how many people in this thread have studied film at a collegiate level? Majored?

And what did you go on to do with the degree?

Enrolled in university to get a Film Theory degree, but found the writing for film papers a bit stilted. Shifted to English instead and now doing Masters. If the writing for Film Theory was better, I would have stayed. Nevertheless, Critical Theory in my English degree help me watch movies from a different angle, though... which is really nice.

[madmojo]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Just out of curiosity, how many people in this thread have studied film at a collegiate level? Majored?

And what did you go on to do with the degree?

I majored in Film Studies. Attempting to write screenplays now. Besides doing that, I'm about to go back to school to become a teacher, though not of film. Hopefully I can start some sort of film club for a school or something.

[jacobsever]

I was wanting to try and get a job teaching film to high school seniors. Though most high schools don't have a wide variety of elective classes. I might try to get a job teaching high school English, and weasel my way into a film class years down the road.

Anyone know if it's possible to minor in film studies?

[*DrStrangelove*]

What do you guys think of Army of Shadows? Is it Melville's best film? I've only seen Le Doulos and thought it was great. I need some Melville in my collection so might get it.

[Beta Man]

go to college...... ????

Oh, no I did, but I spent most of my time occupying various administration buildings... smoking a lot of thai stick... breaking into the ROTC... and bowling. To tell you the truth Brandt, I don't remember most of it.

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Anyone know if it's possible to minor in film studies?

I'm guessing that is "University dependent"

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

What do you guys think of Army of Shadows? Is it Melville's best film? I've only seen Le Doulos and thought it was great. I need some Melville in my collection so might get it.

I'm in the minority, but I believe most people here would say it's great.

[madmojo]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

I was wanting to try and get a job teaching film to high school seniors. Though most high schools don't have a wide variety of elective classes. I might try to get a job teaching high school English, and weasel my way into a film class years down the road.

Anyone know if it's possible to minor in film studies?

Ones that don't have a major sometimes start with a minor. In fact, that's what my school had until just a few years before I went there.

[monque]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Who owns Imitation of Life? I love, love, love that movie and would love to see it added to the collection.

I do. What a great addition to Criterion collection that would be.

[SlickDamian]

Just watched Still Walking for the first time. Awesome film. Very impressed. One of my favorites in the whole collection and maybe the best of 2011 so far that I've seen.

[blujazz]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

Just watched Still Walking for the first time. Awesome film. Very impressed. One of my favorites in the whole collection and maybe the best of 2011 so far that I've seen.

That's it. Ordered.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Just out of curiosity, how many people in this thread have studied film at a collegiate level? Majored?

And what did you go on to do with the degree?

I graduated with a BA in Cinema and English. I currently write scripts, just sold another one, now I'm developing a comedy for Steve Carrell's company and pitching projects to Kathryn Bigelow.

[oildude]

Really glad to see here lately Still Walking getting the positive recognition it deserves. Sometimes I feel like a preacher spreading the Word when it comes to this film - I plug it every chance I get.

Now all you sinnahs need to get yourselves some Secret of the Grain.

[blujazz]

^ Yeah, that's another goodie.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by oildude

Really glad to see here lately Still Walking getting the positive recognition it deserves. Sometimes I feel like a preacher spreading the Word when it comes to this film - I plug it every chance I get.

Now all you sinnahs need to get yourselves some Secret of the Grain.

Agreed. Both are musts.

[ikms]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

Blu-rays are still more expensive to manufacture than DVDs

Tell that to the $5 BD's that seem to never go away on Amazon. Recordable 25GB BD-Rs in 50 stacks come out to 30yen a pop in Japan - pressing them is much cheaper. We are talking a difference of pennies here.

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

Anyway, I think it's a moot point. Eclipse is about affordable, tidy, accessible editions of otherwise hard-to-find films, and in that regard they are perfect as-is. It's sad that there are "format snobs" () that overlook a lot of these films because they aren't "restored" or loaded with extras or available on Blu-ray. Many are better looking than some Criterion mainline titles and offer a great value (economically and artistically) compared to a typical Hollywood studio DVD.

What is sad is that all the Eclipse DVDs (outside a few glaring exceptions) are coming from recent masters. Any 35mm film professionally transferred in the last 10 years was done at at least 2k... so not releasing the set as Blu is arbitrarily limiting the potential. Doubling up the releases (BD and DVD) would add cost, so maybe Criterion feels the bulk of Eclipse buyers have still not upgraded their hardware yet?

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

It's there to get these films out without Criterion having to take a gamble on losing money restoring them. They are 100 times better than no release at all.

Nobody is asking for restoration. AVC on a BD-25 at 1080p (as their masters surely are hi-def) is not a stretch when they are releasing them on DVD-9 with modern mpeg-2. Anyone here could create their own competent BD masters on a modern PC given a couple hours with the source master. No menus, no frills!

Originally Posted by monque

I do. What a great addition to Criterion collection that would be.

"Director as Smuggler"
Anything Sirkian (complete with biting social commentary) would be appreciated in HD. That was one I caught studying film at university, and I made sure to seek the rest out on DVD.

[TylerDurden]

I had the pleasure of viewing my copy of The Rules of the Game tonight. It's a very clever film, perhaps the cleverest ever made. One can see how the irony was lost on a 1939 Parisian audience. Never has a film so boldly displayed a group in society with pure satirical irony. It's unfortunate that the 35mm negatives were destroyed during a bombing in WWII. It's amazing what they have restored with what was left of the production. The picture is amazing in most of the scenes. The problems start to occur when black levels appear or night time shots. Lots of grain and film scratches, not sure if I'm describing that right, but I believe it is the best CC has to offer. I'm thinking Gojira will have a similar look, as this film was also taken from a fine grain master. This picture comes highly recommended.

[arcadeforest]

Originally Posted by jacobsever

Just out of curiosity, how many people in this thread have studied film at a collegiate level? Majored?

And what did you go on to do with the degree?

I did not study film as a major in college but a few of my politcal theory classes we went into great detail on a few films including Brazil, Triumph of the Will, Birth of a Nation, etc.

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by GilliamsBrazil

We need one more!

Which Criterion that was released DVD-only in the Blu era most needs an upgrade?

[Show spoiler]2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
Bergman Island
Danton
Dillinger Is Dead
Dodes'ka-den
Downhill Racer
Empire of Passion
Europa
Fanfan la Tulipe
Hobson's Choice
Homicide
Il Generale Della Rovere
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
L'Enfance Nue
Letters From Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa
Louie Bluie
Made In USA
Magnificent Obsession
Make Way for Tomorrow
My Dinner with André
Night Train to Munich
Pigs, Pimps & Prostitutes: 3 Films by Shohei Imamura
Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy
Science is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé
Simon of the Desert
That Hamilton Woman
The Exterminating Angel
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
The Fugitive Kind
The Golden Age of Television
The Hit
The Human Condition
The Last Days of Disco
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Taking of Power by Louis XIV
Three Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg
Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu
White Dog
Wise Blood
Z

Looking forward to seeing the results of the other polls!

For this question I would definitely answer The Human Condition trilogy. It's one of the more epic film series in the Criterion Collection and would look absolutely stunning in a remastered/restored hi-def presentation. It also deserves far more supplements than it currently has on DVD.

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by GilliamsBrazil

We need one more!

Which Criterion that was released DVD-only in the Blu era most needs an upgrade?

[Show spoiler]2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
Bergman Island
Danton
Dillinger Is Dead
Dodes'ka-den
Downhill Racer
Empire of Passion
Europa
Fanfan la Tulipe
Hobson's Choice
Homicide
Il Generale Della Rovere
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
L'Enfance Nue
Letters From Fontainhas: Three Films by Pedro Costa
Louie Bluie
Made In USA
Magnificent Obsession
Make Way for Tomorrow
My Dinner with André
Night Train to Munich
Pigs, Pimps & Prostitutes: 3 Films by Shohei Imamura
Roberto Rossellini's War Trilogy
Science is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé
Simon of the Desert
That Hamilton Woman
The Exterminating Angel
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
The Fugitive Kind
The Golden Age of Television
The Hit
The Human Condition
The Last Days of Disco
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
The Taking of Power by Louis XIV
Three Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg
Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu
White Dog
Wise Blood
Z

Looking forward to seeing the results of the other polls!

Oh, I nearly forgot that I would like to see some of the Eclipse Series boxes on Blu: #25: Basil Dearden's London Underground -- especially Victim -- and #28: The Warped World of Koreyoshi Kurahara -- especially Black Sun -- with, of course, some nice supplements for each. The recent Eclipse box of films starring Sabu, with their brilliant, old-school-style (i.e., three-strip) Technicolor, would look terrific on Blu, too.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by ikms

Tell that to the $5 BD's that seem to never go away on Amazon. Recordable 25GB BD-Rs in 50 stacks come out to 30yen a pop in Japan - pressing them is much cheaper. We are talking a difference of pennies here.

Unfortunately, that's not the same as large manufacturing plants that press blu-rays in bulk. There are still way more resources for mass producing DVDs, thus it's cheaper. The price of blank blu-rays at best Buy has nothing to do with commerce.