The Criterion Collection

[billzfan]

Originally Posted by dr.mabuse

Same here! He shipped my order today... I'm really excited. Got Che, The Complete Jean Vigo, The Darjeeling Limited, Gojira and If... for just 42.-/shipped... that's definitely the best Criterion deal I've ever made.
Thanks so much for the heads-up billzfan!

You're all very welcome. Gotta help my fellow film buffs out.

[HyperRealist]

waiting for the Children of Paradise review...

[Melodious Thunk]

Originally Posted by billzfan

I'll start a conversation topic

What are your 3 favorite Criterions in your collection and why?

1. The Third Man
2. The Night of the Hunter
3. Brief Encounter

[Show spoiler]Close contenders: Play Time, 12 Angry Men, Black Narcissus

[AgentOrange]

My 3:

Samurai Trilogy - epic, nothing else need be said.
Four Feathers - love the old classics, had never seen this particular film before the blu-ray so I suppose that increased it's appeal greatly vs. rewatching something for the 10th time.
The Music Room - had never considered much Indian cinema, had never even heard of this film before I looked into the Criterion release, but it was shockingly good.

Honestly there's probably about 20+ Criterion releases that separate themselves for me, it's hard to just pick 2 or 3 that stand out in any particular order above this larger group. If I was posed this same question next week I could probably come up with 3 entirely different "favorites"

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by billzfan

I'll start a conversation topic

What are your 3 favorite Criterions in your collection and why?

I think I'll have to go with:

1.) "Seven Samurai" (on Blu-Ray ) Even though the sucker's four hours long, it's never dull. A great and influential epic. Good characters, good story, good everything.
2.) "The Bicycle Thieves" (on DVD ) A simple story, but well-told with awesome photography.
3.) "The Third Man" (on Blu-Ray ) The photography's gorgeous, and for a film-noir movie, I actually find it entertaining and good.

Close runner-ups are:

[Show spoiler]
"Antichrist"
"Battle of Algiers"
"Blow Out"
"Cronos"
"Harakiri"
"High and Low"
"Hunger"
"M"
"Salo" (yes...you read that right )
"The Seventh Seal"
"Wages of Fear"

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by billzfan

I'll start a conversation topic

What are your 3 favorite Criterions in your collection and why?

Red Desert: Antonioni is a genius and I instantly respond to his camera.
Last Year at Marienbad: Just a work of art, each frame reminds me what movies should look like.
The Thin Red Line: The first time seeing it (on DVD noless) I was astounded by what I was seeing. I find much immediacy in Malick's shameless emotion and wonder.

[EddieLarkin]

The Red Shoes - My favourite film of all time.
Beauty and the Beast - The sets and costuming are spellbinding. Cocteau was a genius.
Hausu - I don't need to explain this one, do I?

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by EddieLarkin

Hausu - I don't need to explain this one, do I?

The real question is can you? Can anyone?

[Daikichi Kawachi (河地大吉)]

1. The 400 Blows
2. The Great Dictator
3. Beauty and the Beast

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Banned User

The real question is can you? Can anyone?

It's in my collection purely as a novelty.

[dr.mabuse]

Very hard to just name three, but right now I'd choose:


12 Angry Men
Just an amazing film overall. All set in one room, but the suspense of the script just really never drops. Also Fonda is fantastic, they couldn't have cast a better guy for this part. I'm also just a really big fan of Lumet's films. So sad he passed away.

Seven Samurai
The ultimate Samurai-film in my opinion. An epic story beautifully captured on black and white film. Brillant actors and some really very well choreographed fight scenes. And also I never felt bored for one second, eventhough the film is like 3,5 hours long.

Army of Shadows
First of: I'm a really huge fan of Melville. I think nearly all of his film are just absolutely brillant and still hold up incredibly well today. This one is probably my favourite, although it's really hard to decide (Le Samouraï, Le Doulos and Le Silence de la Mer are amazing as well)
The film, shot in gorgous, gritty Eastman Color, is dominated by a very cold and depressing atmosphere. You just can really get a feeling for the enormous preassure those people must've been under. Melville's directing is just at it's very finest in this film, if you ask me. It's probably also the experiences he made in the Resistance, that make this film so believable.


Some other favourites of mine in the collection are:

[Show spoiler]
The Red Shoes The gorgeous Technicolor cinematography by Jack Cardiff alone makes this film an absolute must-watch.
The Seventh Seal Bergman... need I say more?
The 400 Blows Definitely my favourite by Truffaut. Wonderful story, directing and cinematography.
M Peter Lorre, Fritz Lang. That's all I'm going to say.
Solaris Had the chance to watch the restored Criterion version of this in theater last month. It totally blew me away. Absolutely phenomenal.
The Wages of Fear The suspense in this film is nearly ubearable - it's so good!
The Night of the Hunter Robert Mitchum and incredible directing and cinematography
8½ One of the best films about filmmaking directed by one of the best filmmakers ever. Fantastic!
The Third Man Great book, fantastic adaptation. The casting, the directing, the cinematography. Everything is top notch.
The Last Year at Marienbad A film you can watch a dozen times and still you'll probably completely rediscover it. Amazing.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas Crazy, weird and funny as hell. Love it.
Repulsion The gorgous Deneuve gone mad, directed by Polanski. Gotta love it.
Three Colors Trilogy So mystical, so beautiful, so brillant. Kieslowski.
Paths of Glory A brillant depiction on the madness of war by one of the best filmmakers ever. Stanley Kubrick.
Le Samouraï The cinema of minimalism and simplicity. Delon redefines coolness. Very inspiring.
Breathless Pure nouvelle vague. The film that broke all the rules. Belmondo. Definitely a must watch.
Diabolique Clouzot blew me away again. This film is just absolutely incredible. Scary, suspenseful and surprising.
Beauty and the Beast Cocteau's adaptation is just so creative and beautiful.
Yojimbo Kurosawa again. This time in cinemascope and Mifune still teaches you how to be a major badass.
Videodrome Cronenberg at his finest. Such a crazy flick.

[Leterface]

Sorry for a old question, but is Night of the Hunter available only in a cardboard box, or are there clear keep cases, even separates from Criterion for sale?

[ParticleDan]

Originally Posted by Leterface

Sorry for a old question, but is Night of the Hunter available only in a cardboard box, or are there clear keep cases, even separates from Criterion for sale?

It's only ever been packaged in the digipack. For what it's worth, I think the packaging is very classy. However, these types of boxes are prone to dent and creases etc. through shipping damage and general wear and tear.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by ParticleDan

It's only ever been packaged in the digipack. For what it's worth, I think the packaging is very classy. However, these types of boxes are prone to dent and creases etc. through shipping damage and general wear and tear.

Like the new avatar Dan!

BTW...to you and OilDude...finally got my copy of The Navigator from Import CDs today. Looking forward to watching it this weekend.

Dan...got Les Vampires at a B&N in NYC during their 40% sale with a 20% coup. Watched the first three chapters and am really enjoying it!

Agreed on the Night of the Hunter packaging...very classy...even though mine was slightly creased on the edge.

[Nauf]

So I popped in Pierrot le Fou this evening and the disc stopped playing at 1:01... right in the middle of the "ligne de chance" song. I've watched the disc about 3 or 4 times since buying it a while ago. There are no scratches, no finger prints. Tried it on two players (both Panasonics; going to try a third non-Panasonic player now). Haven't seen anyone mention a problem. Wondering what it might be. Any ideas? Am I SOL?

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by billzfan

I'll start a conversation topic

What are your 3 favorite Criterions in your collection and why?

Three Colors

Paris, Texas

12 Angry Men

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by Nauf

So I popped in Pierrot le Fou this evening and the disc stopped playing at 1:01... right in the middle of the "ligne de chance" song. I've watched the disc about 3 or 4 times since buying it a while ago. There are no scratches, no finger prints. Tried it on two players (both Panasonics; going to try a third non-Panasonic player now). Haven't seen anyone mention a problem. Wondering what it might be. Any ideas? Am I SOL?

contact Criterion. They may have replacement product to send you still. It may be worth a try.

[starman15317]

Originally Posted by billzfan

I'll start a conversation topic

What are your 3 favorite Criterions in your collection and why?

They're not in my collection (yet), but my three favorite Criterions are probably...

The Blob
Chasing Amy (I used to have the Criterion DVD but not anymore)
The Gold Rush

[Tin Drum]

I'll do three favorite Criterion blu-rays in my collection so that will leave out The Tin Drum (which is probably my favorite film of all time up there with Cool Hand Luke) and it has supplements that surpass even the largest expectations.

01. Walkabout - Amazing film. Excellent blu presentation. The video quality is stunning and the audio is out of this world. This is my favorite film available on blu in the collection.

02. Sweet Smell of Success - Again, top notch a/v quality. Biting screenplay and great performances from all involved. I discovered this film only because of Criterion - like hidden treasure. This has my favorite extra: "James Wong Howe: Cinematographer, a 1973 documentary about the Oscar-winning director of photography, featuring lighting tutorials with Howe"

03. The Samurai Trilogy - Sparse on extras but the glorious video and audio presentations on these films on blu more than makes up for it (and more than makes up for those messy presentations on the dvds). This is why Criterion is tops when it comes to presenting on Blu-ray. And the three films are extremely top notch. I have come back to them quite a bit since buying the set.

[ShellOilJunior]

Most Requested Criterion Blu-ray- Update

• Badlands
• A Man Escaped
• Brazil
• A Brighter Summer Day
• Touch of Evil
• Le Samourai
• La Dolce Vita
• The BRD Trilogy
• The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
• Le Petit Soldat