The Criterion Collection

[Chrysagon]

Below are my Criterion Blu-rays at this time. All but Beauty and the Beast and Rushmore were blind buys -- and I have no regrets for any. Maybe the most stunning is TDLOV, but all of them are powerful and spellbinding dramas.

The Double Life of Veronique
Three Colors Trilogy
Beauty and the Beast
Orpheus
Revanche
In the Realm of the Senses
Rushmore
The Thin Red Line

[lilboyblu]

If anyone's interested in Kiss Me Deadly for $18.52 at Amazon Warehouse Deals, there are currently three left in stock.

Picked one up earlier myself, but figured maybe a true Criterion fan could jump on one of these last few if they weren't aware of the good price.

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by cferreiro

This has probably been asked many times before but I was wondering what everyone's best surprises have been with blinding buying CC blu's so far?

I think my list would consist of:

Paris Texas
Close-Up
Crumb
High and Low

They're somewhat lesser films in the blu collection but each have blown me away in different ways that they're probably all in my top 10 or top 5 even.

Anyone else's make a blind buy that became an instant top 10?

My best blind buys are the 3 of 4 blind buys I have done with Criterion. I'm still trying to figure out why 'Life During Wartime' looks so much darker than the trailer I saw that made me think about buying it --

- Bottle Rocket (REALLY liked this film)
- Monsoon Wedding (Bought this brand new unopened for $8.80 shipped. Great surprise)
- Paris, Texas (I just read about this and I really like Harry Dean Stanton so I decided to give it a try..slow in spots but REALLY liked it)

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by lilboyblu

If anyone's interested in Kiss Me Deadly for $18.52 at Amazon Warehouse Deals, there are currently three left in stock.

Picked one up earlier myself, but figured maybe a true Criterion fan could jump on one of these last few if they weren't aware of the good price.

Thanks for the heads up, I picked it up a few weeks ago when I had credit on Amazon. Great Noir film

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by joie

Take a closer look at Army of Shadows ... for example, while the guy is sitting in the plane waiting to jump ... what do you see in the shadowed background? Still consider it a good transfer?

Okay, I just watched this whole scene in Army of Shadows and I didn't see anything untoward in the shadows.
Would you like to explain what the problem is and even provide a time-code?

[rkish]

Originally Posted by cferreiro

This has probably been asked many times before but I was wondering what everyone's best surprises have been with blinding buying CC blu's so far?

I think my list would consist of:

Paris Texas
Close-Up
Crumb
High and Low

They're somewhat lesser films in the blu collection but each have blown me away in different ways that they're probably all in my top 10 or top 5 even.

Anyone else's make a blind buy that became an instant top 10?

You won't get an argument from me on any of those titles. I would also have Paris, Texas at or near the top of my list. I saw Crumb for the first time in a small theater in Brooklyn, when it was first released. I was thrilled when I saw Criterion would release it on blu. High and Low was thanks to a rental...I really love and have a preference for Kurosawa's "non-samurai" films (his favorites for me are his Post War/early films). I rented Closeup and liked it, but one viewing of it was enough for me at the time. Who knows...I might add it at some time in the future.

A good list...IMHO.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by oildude

My Top 10 Favorite Criterion blind buys (on blu-ray):

Still Walking
The Secret of the Grain
Mystery Train
The Complete Jean Vigo
People on Sunday
Pale Flower
Letter Never Sent
Branded to Kill
Ride With the Devil
Repulsion

As far as a top 10 or so list overall, the first five always appear. But these are all favorites, especially Letter Never Sent, my most recent discovery (love Kalatozov - c'mon Criterion, let's get The Cranes Are Flying on blu-ray!)

I still have several other blind buys on my shelf I have not watched yet, but so far I cannot say I have found a blind buy from Criterion I regretted (okay, except for A Safe Place, but I had no choice with that one since it was part of a set).

7 out of 10...not a bad batting average Dude! (IMHO).

A nice list indeed!

[DetroitSquirreL]

Originally Posted by rkish

You won't get an argument from me on any of those titles. I would also have Paris, Texas at or near the top of my list. I saw Crumb for the first time in small theater in Brooklyn, when it was first released. I was thrilled when I saw Criterion would release it on blu. High and Low was thanks to a rental...I really love and have a preference for Kurosawa's "non-samurai" films (his favorites for me are his Post War/early films). I rented Closeup and liked it, but one viewing of it was enough for me at the time. Who knows...I might add it at some time in the future.

A good list...IMHO.

I saw 'Crumb' before it was released at the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts)...I'm a huge Robert Crumb fan

[rkish]

Originally Posted by easyblu

Mine would definitely be The Double Life of Veronique. I watched it again the day after watching it for the first time, and then again with commentary the day after that. I rarely rewatch a movie more than once a year. Such a great surprise for me!

This film got me into the world of Kieslowski...and it ended with watching the complete Dekalogue series. I hope this sees a release on blu by anyone in the near future.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by DetroitSquirreL

I saw 'Crumb' before it was released at the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts)...I'm a huge Robert Crumb fan

Very cool SquirreL! I'm a big fan as well. I had friends that collected Zap Komix, back when I was young and impressionable. This was a great documentary and a train wreck at the same time. No one but Zwigoff could have directed it.

[rkish]

P@t...I finished off the Ozu "Student Comedies" BFI DVD set this morning with the only supplement on this fine set. A 20 minute talk by Asian film expert and filmmaker Tony Rayns...probably my favorite commentator on any and all Japanese films. I learned a lot about Ozu, that I didn't know. I won't spoil the surprise for you...but this is yet another reason to buy this fine set of his earliest films (I wasn't aware that Days of Youth is his oldest surviving film).

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by joie

The problem is known as macroblocking. You may not be able to see it from where you're seated

If you can't see it from where you are seated watching the movie, How much of a problem can it be?

[Mooch360]

Originally Posted by cferreiro

This has probably been asked many times before but I was wondering what everyone's best surprises have been with blinding buying CC blu's so far?

All my CC blus were blind buys (12 so far). I haven't watched them all yet, but I've liked all the ones I've seen.

Originally Posted by joie

. You may not be able to see it from where you're seated, but take a close look at that background. You may need to stop and step through some frames while taking a close look at the transfer.

Any problem I can't see when I'm watching the movie isn't a problem for me!

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by rkish

P@t...I finished off the Ozu "Student Comedies" BFI DVD set this morning with the only supplement on this fine set. A 20 minute talk by Asian film expert and filmmaker Tony Rayns...probably my favorite commentator on any and all Japanese films. I learned a lot about Ozu, that I didn't know. I won't spoil the surprise for you...but this is yet another reason to buy this fine set of his earliest films (I wasn't aware that Days of Youth is his oldest surviving film).

This set is on my next order from amazon.uk since I am extremely scared it will become only available from sellers very soon and I will not be able to buy it then. I will probably get La Planete Sauvage release by MoC because I am tired of waiting for Criterion or some other North American release.

From what I am reading the supplements on this set alone make it worth the purchase. Plus yes many, too many of his early movies are lost or just a few minutes of them are left. Of the 21 movies he made before Tokyo Chorus (the earliest movie on the Silent Ozu set) 13 are lost and two others only have 15 or 20 minutes of film still available. But I suppose it's not a surprise, I think it's Martin Scorcese who mention that 80% of movies made in the silent era are lost to us now.

[Yami]

Might interest some people that I sat down to watch Artificial Eye's Mizoguchi set yesterday. It's really wonderful, I'm sure I don't have to comment on the films (though The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums is nothing short of a masterpiece) but the presentation is terrific. Of course, the condition of the elements limit how good they can look but I'm pretty convinced this can't be improved on. As far as I can tell, there's been no digital tweaking so the transfers are really film-like. The only negative is that there is no extras but 3/4 of them have been released on Eclipse, so they're probably never going to get any. It's a must-have set. Bring on a Vol. 2!

[oildude]

Originally Posted by rkish

7 out of 10...not a bad batting average Dude! (IMHO).

A nice list indeed!

Thanks, rkish. After looking over my unwatched Criterions sitting on the shelf, I realize I have more blind buys waiting to view than I originally thought. Among them are The Double Life of Veronique, White Material, Kuroneko, The Moment of Truth, Island of Lost Souls, Design for Living, Carlos, World on a Wire, and about seven others. I got hooked on the Eclipse Series and have neglected many of the Criterion blu-rays I've bought since last November.

I did watch Godzilla last weekend. All I had ever seen was the alternate US cut. The original Japanese cut was, therefore, a blind buy and I really liked it. Much more emotionally connected than I ever imagined, and very moving.

When the July B&N sale comes (hopefully), I will be blind buying Late Spring, my first Ozu on blu-ray. I bought the Silent Ozu Eclipse set (thanks for the recommendation ), but have not watched it yet. I have a pretty good backlog of films to work my way through due to too much buying and not enough time to watch them as soon as I would like. I have recently been catching up on my Kino and Twilight Time releases, among others, and I have also started the Mizoguchi Eclipse set Fallen Women, so I will get to the silent Ozu's eventually.

[HuggyBear73]

Does anyone know if Criterion still holds the rights to Carl Theodor Dreyer's VAMPYR? I'd like to sell off my Criterion dvd if I know Criterion still has the rights.

[octagon]

Favorite blind buys...hmmm...

Paths of Glory
Kes
People on Sunday
Revanche
Chungking Express

I've had very, very good luck blind buying Criterions but the **** in 'holy **** that was good' got a little extra pop with these.

[Yami]

Yi Yi was probably my best blind buy. It's in my top 10 favourite/best films of all time list now.

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by HuggyBear73

Does anyone know if Criterion still holds the rights to Carl Theodor Dreyer's VAMPYR? I'd like to sell off my Criterion dvd if I know Criterion still has the rights.

I'd imagine they do since it's not out of print.