The Criterion Collection

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by Darkcritic

Just got The Music Room and Pierrot le Fou in the mail !! Can't wait to watch the former and it feels GREAT to have a copy of the later because the prices are starting to get sky high .

Congrats. Those are both terrific films. And, assuming you bought at a reasonable price, you really scored with the latter.

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by filmincarnate

I'm curious to how safe a bet this is considering that Moonrise Kingdom is a Focus Features (Universal) release. They've yet to let any of their films into the collection yet and with Fox taking Fantastic Mr. Fox under their own wing for home video, I'd be surprised if Universal don't do the same here.

Universal has licensed several titles to Criterion, so I wouldn't rule out a Criterion release of Moonrise Kingdom, even if it was released by Universal's Focus Features subsidiary. In fact, given Universal's track record with Criterion and the fact that most of Wes Anderson's films are available through Criterion, I wouldn't be surprised if a BD release of the film from Universal is followed by another BD release from Criterion.

[svecaj]

Originally Posted by CHEЯNOБLY!

If you never seen any, Tokyo Story is probably the most well known Ozu. Not on BD though, but I believe you can stream it on Netflix and Hulu.

Yeah, not on region A bd, but it has been released by BFI (quite nice release):

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by bluesilo

What are some titles that are similar to Ozu's Tokyo Story and Late Spring? I really love the depiction of family in those films. I know Ozu has another film in a semi-trilogy of films, so I could check that one out. I only mention this because When A Woman Ascends the Stairs sort of reminds me of that same idea.

In addition to the other films previous posts have mentioned, you should take a look at Yi Yi, another Japanese film from director Edward Yang (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Yi-Yi...903/#Overview; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244316/).

I also recommend these other terrific dramas, though they're not on Criterion:

—Tokyo Sonata by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, from Japan (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Tokyo...lu-ray/37634/; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0938341/)

—Poetry, by Lee Chang-dong, from South Korea (https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Poetr...921/#Overview; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1287878/)

These are all family dramas told in a low-key and very realistic way that manage to seem not only completely plausible but are also entertaining in their own way and rather moving.

[Darkcritic]

Originally Posted by BluPix

Congrats. Those are both terrific films. And, assuming you bought at a reasonable price, you really scored with the latter.

I got it for 30 bucks . Not exactly the best deal, but the cheapest one is already 17 bucks higher and they are now around 50-60 . It feels like I made it to the finish line just in time .

[DarkRyder]

Originally Posted by ACMutd

Here is a quick list for you
The next director you need to go into should be Akira Kurosawa!

Others:
Stanley Kubrick
Olivier Assayas
Ingmar Bergman
Claude Chabrol
Alfred Hitchcock
Abbas Kiarostami
Krzysztof Kieślowski
Louis Malle
Roman Polanski
Steven Soderbergh
Michelangelo Antonioni

Also:
David Lean
Sergio Leone
Werner Herzog

Edit:
Fassbender doesn't direct only act, but Rainer Werner Fassbinder was a damn good director.

Originally Posted by mikesncc1701

Pasolini
Renoir
Kurosawa
Clouzot
Eisenstein
Tarkovsky
Wajda
Dreyer
Truffaut

Originally Posted by retablo

Kieslowski
Bergman
Herzog
Rivette
Melville

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Wilder
Bergman
Melville
Fellini
Lumet
Preminger
Rafelson
Ray (Nicholas)
Ray (Satyajit)
Korda
Visconti
Gilliam
De Sica
Edwards
Jewison (his 60s output is decent IMHO)


Just some off the top of my head.

Originally Posted by thelittleprince

De Palma

Originally Posted by Roninblues

Kon Ichikawa
Shinya Tsukamoto
Nagisa Oshima
Shohei Imamura
Koji Wakamatsu
Kinji Fukasaku
Hideo Gosha
Masaki Kobayashi

Originally Posted by rkish

Ozu
Naruse

Originally Posted by oildude

These, plus:

Nagisa Oshima
Kenji Mizoguchi
Hirokazu Koreeda
Koreyoshi Kurahara
Kon Ichikawa
Akira Kurosawa
Samuel Fuller
Robert Aldrich (a diverse and underappreciated body of work)
John Ford
John Huston
Larisa Shepitko
Mikhail Kalatozov
Peter Weir
Fritz Lang

Originally Posted by Beta Man

All of them.... Watch as much as you can. I enjoy watching directors of all styles, directors who 'borrow' from others both successfully and otherwise, etc.

You should provide yourself with a good frame of reference to know "WHY" some directors are great, vs. just acquiring a taste for them because others have told you they are great.

Exhaust the Netflix/Hulu/Library/etc. resources, and determine what you want to "seek out" going forward.

Originally Posted by Darkcritic

- Luis Buñuel is probably my favorite filmmaker and one of the most complete and influential directors out there.

- Dusan Makavejev is an incredible director, rarely sound, but you definitely have to try some of his films.

Originally Posted by BluPix

Some of those (Scorsese, Welles, Bunuel, Lynch, the Coens and both Andersons) are among my favorites as well.

Others I would recommend include (titles that are underlined have a BD and/or DVD release from Criterion)...
—Vittorio De Sica (esp. Bicycle Theives and Umberto D.)
—Stanley Kubrick (esp. Paths of Glory; Spartacus; Dr Strangelove; 2001: A Space Odyssey; A Clockwork Orange; Barry Lyndon; The Shining; and Full Metal Jacket)
—Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (esp. The Red Shoes)
—David Cronenberg (esp. Videodrome; The Fly; Crash (1996); A History of Violence; and Eastern Promises)
—David Fincher (esp. Fight Club; Se7en; The Game; Zodiac; and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011))
—Peter Weir (esp. The Last Wave; The Truman Show; Master and Commander; and The Way Back)
—Nicholas Roeg (esp. Walkabout and The Man Who Fell to Earth)
—Akira Kurosawa (esp. Stray Dog; Ikiru; Seven Samurai; Rashomon; Kagemusha; Ran; and Dreams)
—Roman Polanski (esp. Knife in the Water; Repulsion; Rosemary's Baby; Chinatown; The Tenant; Tess; The Pianist; The Ghost Writer; and Carnage)
—Bernardo Bertolucci (esp. Before the Revolution; Last Tango in Paris; Luna; The Last Emperor; The Sheltering Sky; and The Dreamers)
—Sidney Lumet (esp. 12 Angry Men; The Pawnbroker; Fail-Safe; Serpico; Dog Day Afternoon; Network; Prince of the City; The Verdict; Daniel; Running on Empty; Family Business; Q & A; Night Falls on Manhattan; Find Me Guilty; and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead)
—Masaki Kobayashi (esp. The Human Condition trilogy and Harakiri)
—Nagisa Ôshima (esp. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence)
—Seijun Suzuki (esp. Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill)
—Jean Cocteau (esp. Beauty and the Beast (1946) and Orpheus (1950))
—John Ford (esp. Stagecoach; The Grapes of Wrath; How Green Was My Valley; The Searchers; and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance)
—Robert Altman (esp. McCabe & Mrs. Miller; Thieves Like Us; Nashville; 3 Women; The Player; Short Cuts and Gosford Park)
—Nicholas Ray (esp. Rebel without a Cause and Bigger than Life)
—Steven Soderbergh (esp. Sex, Lies and Videotape, Erin Brokovich; Ocean's Eleven (2001); Che; The Informant!; and Contagion)
—Hal Ashby (esp. The Landlord; Harold and Maude; Shampoo; Bound for Glory; Coming Home; and Being There)

...just for starters.

Enjoy.

Holy hell, I did not expect so many responses, but thanks to all of you who did respond! Looks like I have a lot of work to do

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

Holy hell, I did not expect so many responses, but thanks to all of you who did respond! Looks like I have a lot of work to do

With so many directors movies to watch you will be busy for a while

[ACMutd]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

Holy hell, I did not expect so many responses, but thanks to all of you who did respond! Looks like I have a lot of work to do

No problem. I would just do as Beta Man said, and just watch as many movies as you can possibly take!

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

All this Ozu talk has made me interested. Never seen any of his films. I added Late Spring to my wishlist. What are some others to start with? Or what are his essential films?

Both versions of Floating Weeds were what first introduced me to Ozu, in addition to P@t and Rkish. I need to catch up on some more, as I only just watched Late Spring last week, an still have a huge list of "stuff I must see" to go through. I still need to watch le cercle rouge and 400 Blows, since I just got them on Blu-ray. I've watched 400 Blows before though.

Originally Posted by rkish

That would be most welcome by me...not many anime fims that have driven me to tears. If they don't make La Planete Sauvage their first animated BD, then this would be a fine choice. And one of Ghibli's gems not directed by Miyazaki.

It is a fantastic idea, however, I don't think I can ever watch the film again because it upset me so much. Personally, I preferred this Takahata film he made with Studio Ghibli - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_Ye...281991_film%29 which admittedly would be a good choice as well, as it's essential what most would call a "traditional" Criterion type film, only animated.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by oildude

Another family drama film I really like is The Secret of the Grain. SOTG does an effective job of portraying the lives of first and second generation immigrant North African families in French society. I really appreciate its textures. On the surface, it is about an older man who has to find a new purpose for his life late in the game. Harnessing the support and love of those around him, he is resolved to turn what could have been a personal tragedy into the pursuit of a dream.

But beneath the surface are multiple story threads. To me, the main underlying theme concerns the decay and loss of traditional community values of second and third generation immigrant youth, as seen through the family dynamic of the older man. It is the love of his girlfriend's daughter that gives the film its hope and promise of redemption. The last half hour is mesmerizing and suspenseful in a way that I did not expect.

I have rewatched it several times. Along with a touching story and terrific acting, I think it is one of the most strikingly colorful and beautifully shot movies in the Criterion Collection. This film was made to be seen on blu-ray.

+1 terrific film. It gets better with each viewing.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by CHEЯNOБLY!

If you never seen any, Tokyo Story is probably the most well known Ozu. Not on BD though, but I believe you can stream it on Netflix and Hulu.

You were able to stream it on NetFlix at one point in the past...but not now. That is how I first saw Tokyo Story and Late Spring...

[rkish]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

It is a fantastic idea, however, I don't think I can ever watch the film again because it upset me so much. Personally, I preferred this Takahata film he made with Studio Ghibli - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Only_Ye...281991_film%29 which admittedly would be a good choice as well, as it's essential what most would call a "traditional" Criterion type film, only animated.

Geez...I don't know if I've ever seen "Only Yesterday"...do you know if it was ever released on DVD in North America?

[Lutz]

That's an exceptionally dry list of directors.

To mix things up a bit you might also like to try:

Woody Allen
Pedro Almodovar
Peter Greenaway
John Huston
Derek Jarman
Wong Kar Wai
Joseph Losey
Paul Morrissey
Max Ophuls
Douglas Sirk
Paul Verhoeven

And if you're feeling adventurous:

Armando Bo
Alejandro Jodorowsky
George Kuchar

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by rkish

Geez...I don't know if I've ever seen "Only Yesterday"...do you know if it was ever released on DVD in North America?

Never, but TCM had it on back in 2006. You can import an Optimum aka Studio Canal DVD from the UK though. I watched it online with subs. It's the only one that hadn't been released over here, with no plans to release it either apparently. I highly recommend seeking it out.

[ParticleDan]

Originally Posted by rkish

Geez...I don't know if I've ever seen "Only Yesterday"...do you know if it was ever released on DVD in North America?

Nope. Disney didn't pick it up along with the other Ghiblis, possibly because of references to menstruation and the enlightened philosophy of organic farming.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by Lutz

That's an exceptionally dry list of directors.

To mix things up a bit you might also like to try:

Woody Allen
Pedro Almodovar
Peter Greenaway
John Huston
Derek Jarman
Wong Kar Wai
Joseph Losey
Paul Morrissey
Max Ophuls
Douglas Sirk
Paul Verhoeven

And if you're feeling adventurous:

Armando Bo
Alejandro Jodorowsky
George Kuchar

I don't see how that major list is dry at all, and some of the directors you listed are on that list.

[Freeza]

Originally Posted by rkish

Geez...I don't know if I've ever seen "Only Yesterday"...do you know if it was ever released on DVD in North America?

It was not.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by ParticleDan

Nope. Disney didn't pick it up along with the other Ghiblis, possibly because of references to menstruation and the enlightened philosophy of organic farming.

Disney does hold the rights though for distribution, from what I read, they're just sitting on it like several other titles. And it is because of the mensturation thing, and GhIbli, rightfully so, won't let them edit it. You'd think they'd let touchstone or someone release it.

[Lutz]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I don't see how that major list is dry at all, and some of the directors you listed are on that list.

Yeah I love all the directors and was trying not to double up but obvs failed with John Huston there.

From the previous lists I'd like to add I have a huge preference for De Palma and Fassbinder. Even De Palma's train wreck movies are fascinating to watch compared to a lot of other movies that get made.

[bdmartin134]

Any thoughts on Che? I couldn't pass on the price at $22 shipped brand new ($11/film), but I haven't seen it yet. Reading reviews on imdb and amazon, seems that people are split citing that it's long and boring, like watching paint dry. Just curious on other's take on the set.. Thanks