The Criterion Collection

[Cat III]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Uh, I wouldn't dispute Return to Oz's place on the list next to Texas Chainsaw...

Well, I agree, but I know a lot of people consider Return to Oz particularly dark. Either way, it needs to be on Blu.

Originally Posted by EricJ

(Well, on an analytical pop-cultural historical level of our national psyche at the time, I would've said "WarGames", "Back to the Future I" or "Rocky IV", but that's just me. )

Well, I should be more specific. I think The Toxic Avenger epitomizes a certain aesthetic of the 80's. It had been a long time coming, but the social consciousness of the 60's was replaced with the dumb in-your-face 80's. From hippies to punks. Exploitation films have existed as long as film has, but it was in the Reagan/Bush era that gore hit the mainstream big time. Throw in all the gaudy clothing and pop music and Toxie's debut movie screams "Eighties!" To me, at least.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Cat III

Oh, that's too tempting a question. There's so many I'd love to see on Blu-ray regardless of whether CC got ahold of them. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, Re-Animator, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Combat Shock, Return of the Living Dead part 2, Return to Oz (not a horror movie, but still.) Plus others I can't recall right now.

Well technically it's a 1979 film, but I'm shocked Phantasm never did get released on Blu in the U.S. It's one of my favorite horror films and long overdue for release. I actually met Angus Scrimm (The Tall Man) just a few years ago. Great guy and great horror villain.

Return to Oz scared the crap out of me as a kid.

[toddly6666]

Coney Island clue:

Maybe Gene Kelly/ Sinatra's ON THE TOWN? The movie ends with cop cars/ motorbikes chasing main characters into Coney Island?

[Criterion Collector]

Great conversation here everyone.

I would be extremely happy to see ANY of the old films mentioned here become part of the collection.

Speaking of The Toxic Avenger, I just watched through all four of them earlier this week. I gave part one my full attention, but with the other three I just kind of had them playing (giving them "half" attention) while lurking on this very web site.

I do have to say that of the current four, that I actually find parts one and three to be the strongest Followed by part four, then two.

Anyway, back to Criterion's New Years hints, I am excited to see that Being John Malkovich, Harold & Maude, and Eating Raoul are all getting spines.

[octagon]

I wonder if they have a Harold and Maude go to White Castle cover ready for 4/1 yet?

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by octagon

I wonder if they have a Harold and Maude go to White Castle cover ready for 4/1 yet?

HAHAHHA!!! That's too funny!!!

Well, if they do, I hope they include all out takes, commentary tracks, the long lost pilot for the t.v. show that never happened, the Richard Donner cut, the un-rated Netherlands version, the theatrical editions before Lucas got his hands on them, original script written by David Mamet, all the original trailers, interviews done for the original DVD release, new interviews for this release, all with a new restoration scanned at 4k, and in 3-D with an 11.2 DolbyDTSHDMASTER audio mix. Oh, and the cover art needs to be the original lobby poster. All housed in a giant Harold and Maude motorcycle bong...and they better not forget the magnet and price it at $7.99, or it's no sale.

After a bit of thought...I would buy the crappy release. Then I would go on movie forums worldwide and complain about how my childhood has now been ruined and they really should have got someone competent to release this!!!

[dag]

The video store I frequent offers their customers a free rental after a dozen rentals. I was entitled to a free rental, so today I picked up the Nikkatsu Noir Eclipse set (the store actually considers an Eclipse set as a single rental, regardless of the number of films that are included). Five free Japanese noir movies for me to watch this week!

[capnnarcolepsy]

For everyone looking for some good cult/horror release, I highly suggest checking out Arrow Video. They put out loaded packages with booklets, multiple/interchangeable cover art, lots of extras and, even though they are UK based, all of their blu's (save for the non Limited Edition of Battle Royale) are region free. A lot of these films I've seen people mentioning over the past few posts would not make Criterion's cut, but I could easily see many of them making Arrow's.

Here's a link to a thread if anyone is interested.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/united-kin...llections.html

[greekak229]

Just watched Phantom Carriage for the first time, and wow, what an absolute masterpiece. I was totally engaged by the film from start to finish, and it really is one of the best silent films that I have had the pleasure of seeing so far in my young life. The music, the atmosphere, the shear emotion in the performances, especially by Sjostrom. I truly did love it. So happy I have this film in my collection.

Oh, and I also love the how movie ends on the word Slut. I got a real good chuckle out of that.

[Criterion Collector]

Originally Posted by capnnarcolepsy

For everyone looking for some good cult/horror release, I highly suggest checking out Arrow Video. They put out loaded packages with booklets, multiple/interchangeable cover art, lots of extras and, even though they are UK based, all of their blu's (save for the non Limited Edition of Battle Royale) are region free. A lot of these films I've seen people mentioning over the past few posts would not make Criterion's cut, but I could easily see many of them making Arrow's.

Here's a link to a thread if anyone is interested.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/united-kin...llections.html

I checked these guys out and I have to say that I am impressed. Their prices seem reasonable, and they have the now OOP Bird With The Crystal Plumage. Nice.

I also noticed a couple of Criterion titles that get mentioned in this thread from time to time (The Tin Drum, Rififi, Bicycle Thieves).
I was always under the impression that Masters of Cinema was their answer to Criterion + Kino. I did a tiny bit of looking around at some UK releases, and it seems like Artificial Eye has a lot of great stuff as well.

There appears to be some excellent companies over there. I assure you, if I were from England, I think I would be filling my shelves with releases from Arrow, Masters of Cinema, and Artificial Eye...some really, really good stuff there.

[moody41]

Originally Posted by Criterion Collector

I checked these guys out and I have to say that I am impressed. Their prices seem reasonable, and they have the now OOP Bird With The Crystal Plumage. Nice.

I also noticed a couple of Criterion titles that get mentioned in this thread from time to time (The Tin Drum, Rififi, Bicycle Thieves).
I was always under the impression that Masters of Cinema was their answer to Criterion + Kino. I did a tiny bit of looking around at some UK releases, and it seems like Artificial Eye has a lot of great stuff as well.

There appears to be some excellent companies over there. I assure you, if I were from England, I think I would be filling my shelves with releases from Arrow, Masters of Cinema, and Artificial Eye...some really, really good stuff there.

Arrow have had some issues with certain releases so I'd do your research before buying first. And I'm afraid the Bird With the Crystal Plumage is one of them since it's in the incorrect aspect ratio thanks to that man Vittorio Stotaro!

[capnnarcolepsy]

Originally Posted by Criterion Collector

I checked these guys out and I have to say that I am impressed. Their prices seem reasonable, and they have the now OOP Bird With The Crystal Plumage. Nice.

I also noticed a couple of Criterion titles that get mentioned in this thread from time to time (The Tin Drum, Rififi, Bicycle Thieves).
I was always under the impression that Masters of Cinema was their answer to Criterion + Kino. I did a tiny bit of looking around at some UK releases, and it seems like Artificial Eye has a lot of great stuff as well.

There appears to be some excellent companies over there. I assure you, if I were from England, I think I would be filling my shelves with releases from Arrow, Masters of Cinema, and Artificial Eye...some really, really good stuff there.

Right now AmazonUK has a bunch of the Arrow Blu's for 8.99 GBP (around $14 USD) which is a pretty excellent deal. Being Region Free, you can enjoy them even without living in England.

You mentioned a few, but another Arrow release, Spirits of the Dead, may also be up come Criterion fans alley. It's an Edgar Allen Poe Anthology with parts directed by Fellini and Malle and stars Delon, Bardot and Jane Fonda. TCM played it recently and I found it to be rather enjoyable myself.

[Roy Batty]

Any news on the fixed audio replacement for THREE COLORS: WHITE and CARLOS? And what about the framing issues on THREE COLORS: BLUE?

I e-mailed Criterion twice about it to no avail, no reply whatsoever.

Thank you in advance for any information.

[Hawkguy]

I watched 'Tiny Furniture' on netflix. Who else here has seen it already?

I'm not sure how I feel exactly. I have to agree with everyone that says it's an out-of-place choice for Criterion. It's just nothing special. There's an endless supply of films dealing with the same topic. Still, there's an undeniable (well, at least I think so) charm that comes with the film. There's a respectability for how true-to-life the portrayal of the "now what?" phase (before deciding what to 'do' with your life) is, due to the absence of an excessive pretension this type of independent comedy is often blamed for. I enjoyed it, will welcome the upcoming edition into my collection, and re-watch it once I do....but I still don't see it as 'important' enough to enter the collection in the first place (of course, had Criterion not decided to release it, it possibly would never have come to Blu-ray)

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Roy Batty

Any news on the fixed audio replacement for THREE COLORS: WHITE and CARLOS? And what about the framing issues on THREE COLORS: BLUE?

I e-mailed Criterion twice about it to no avail, no reply whatsoever.

Thank you in advance for any information.

Someone in this thread said the replacement will begin in January.

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by Roy Batty

Any news on the fixed audio replacement for THREE COLORS: WHITE and CARLOS? And what about the framing issues on THREE COLORS: BLUE?

I e-mailed Criterion twice about it to no avail, no reply whatsoever.

Thank you in advance for any information.

I JUST received 'Carlos' a few days ago but haven't watched it yet....whats the problem?

[Cat III]

Originally Posted by Criterion Collector

Great conversation here everyone.

I would be extremely happy to see ANY of the old films mentioned here become part of the collection.

Speaking of The Toxic Avenger, I just watched through all four of them earlier this week. I gave part one my full attention, but with the other three I just kind of had them playing (giving them "half" attention) while lurking on this very web site.

I do have to say that of the current four, that I actually find parts one and three to be the strongest Followed by part four, then two.

The first Toxic Avenger is my favorite with the fourth one a close second. I find there's a grittiness that makes the first one disturbing in addition to being bonkers. The other three lack that. Personally, I hated the third one, though I tend to not like the third movie in a series. That includes Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Alien, Class of Nuke 'Em High, among others I can't recall right now.

Originally Posted by capnnarcolepsy

For everyone looking for some good cult/horror release, I highly suggest checking out Arrow Video. They put out loaded packages with booklets, multiple/interchangeable cover art, lots of extras and, even though they are UK based, all of their blu's (save for the non Limited Edition of Battle Royale) are region free. A lot of these films I've seen people mentioning over the past few posts would not make Criterion's cut, but I could easily see many of them making Arrow's.

Arrow is a good company, though like someone else said in this thread they have issues. I find a lot of people complain about the PQ of their releases. Maybe it's fair, I'm not sure. I have Phenomena, though, and it could look better. At least they have a good selection of cult titles and great supplements. The upcoming Demons releases look great, I think the black border will have wider appeal then the white ones.

[BohemianGraham]

TCM's showing a lot of Criterions in the next few days. the Four Feathers is on again this Friday, They're doing a chaplin tribute Saturday, My Life as a Dog comes on Monday morning, and a week from Thursday, going into Friday morning, they're doing a Powell-Pressburger tribute.

Once I finish my New Year's cleaning (purging of my storage closet, and putting stuff away), I'm going to begin watching all of my Criterions in the order of their spine number. It will only be the Criterion editions, as in, I won't watch Spinal Tap because it's the MGM/Fox BD release. It's been a bit since I watched some of them.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

I JUST received 'Carlos' a few days ago but haven't watched it yet....whats the problem?

There is an audio issue confirmed with the left surround track. It plays at a much lower volume than the others.

[italy12]

Having about 2 weeks off for Christmas break was refreshing. I got to catch up on some Criterion films that had remained unwatched. One of my faves from last week was watching Tokyo Drifter.

I skimmed through some conversations of the last few weeks and saw a big discussion about him and his works. I must say that I was a little confused at first as to what was going on in the bginning of the film, however, it clicked once I got all the characters and motives straight.

Loved it! Loved the repetition of the theme song, loved the action sequences, loved the locations, the use of colors, etc...

Excited to see Branded to Kill soon!

I also enjoyed Le beau Serge...went into that one without really knowing what to expect, but I loved the story.

Rewatched Red Desert...didn't care for it the first time but it is starting to grow on me after just two viewings. I love the scene in the little shack on the water when they start ripping the walls down.

Saw a bunch more, but...