The Criterion Collection

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by AreaUnderTheCurve

I blind bought House, Rashoman, and Rosemary's Baby. So far I have only seen the first and iI don't know what to fully think. It's batshit crazy and I love that about it. But I can't really say I'd recommend it to anyone. I

I'm heading out to buy something else, and I'm leaning towards Tokyo Drifter, Chungking Express, or Pale Moon. What would you all recommend of those three?

*Pale Flower. :lol:

Tokyo Drifter is a Seijun Suzuki film and his films also tend towards being a bit batshit crazy. I'm saying that as a fan
I have and love Tokyo Drifter, Chungking Express, and Pale Moon, and they're all so completely different it would be impossible to recommend one over the other...

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by oildude

True, but the opportunity may come along only once in a lifetime.

So if you find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
driving to a B&N Criterion sale,
just be careful not to let the days go by,
because if you spend too much,
you may ask yourself My God, what have I done!
Into the blue again, after the money's gone.
you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack

Wow, after all these years, I suddenly understand what that song is about....thanks, Beta!!

[Show spoiler]You're a top shelf guy, Beta. Anyone who speaks David Byrne is a pretty good bloke

So good

[RojD]

Originally Posted by AreaUnderTheCurve

I blind bought House, Rashoman, and Rosemary's Baby. So far I have only seen the first and iI don't know what to fully think. It's batshit crazy and I love that about it. But I can't really say I'd recommend it to anyone. I

I'm heading out to buy something else, and I'm leaning towards Tokyo Drifter, Chungking Express, or Pale Moon. What would you all recommend of those three?

*Pale Flower. :lol:

I had the same reaction to House--liked it, thought it was one of the most original movies I'd ever seen, never knew what to expect and would be hesitant to recommend it a lot of people.

Tokyo Drifter is a half-notch down in energy (but remember what you're comparing it to) and a story you can often follow, Express has a pretty tight love story with a degree of intensity, and Pale Flower has a more traditional narrative. Of the three, the last one was the biggest and best surprise to me, beautiful and philosophical without much flash. I push Pale Flower on all my friends. If Antonioni had been Japanese, this is a film I think he'd have made.

But it's not going out of print as far as I know.

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

It NEVER goes on sale (at least it didn't during the 9 months I was back-and-forth over upgrading my DVD)

I finally pulled the trigger a year + ago, and have watched that BD more times than I care to admit! Highly recommended.




I actually confused it with another post, so I did indeed miss the relevant parts..... My foot is too deeply lodged in my mouth to come out ahead, so I keep digging further

I bought it on it's release day...but I don't remember what I paid for it. Likely at least $24.99 and possibly more. I went to see them for this particular tour at Forest Hills tennis stadium in NY. The sound quality on this BD is really good, so it was the icing on the cake.

[Lutz]

Originally Posted by RojD

I had the same reaction to House--liked it, thought it was one of the most original movies I'd ever seen, never knew what to expect and would be hesitant to recommend it a lot of people.

Thirded on House. I would lob it in with something like The Nightmare Before Christmas. It has some interesting set dressing but it's ultimately just a tween movie that won't hold much interest for someone over twenty.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by alien2010

I really do hope that's true? Sorcerer is a film that is crying out for a remaster. Even though Friedkin's blu ray efforts are patchy (The French Connection remaster does leave a lot to be desired) the DVD that was issued in 1998 is diabolical. A maltreated Pan & Scan nightmare of a widescreen beauty that will benefit an HD makeover, even if the results will divide opinion.

Sorcerer is still tied up in litigation, so I doubt any plans have been made.

Friedkin tweeted this 3 days ago: "To all the fans of Sorcerer: talks are ongoing between Paramount, Universal and me."
Then, later that day: "Thank you guys, all of you who tweeted on behalf of Sorcerer. I hope I can resolve it favorably."

So I would like to hope a release is forthcoming, but I don't see it being by Criterion at this moment.

[diw]

So if I were picking a movie to demo my home theater, I might choose LOA or ben-Hur rather than the lightest CGI epic. So I am wondering what Criterion Blu-Rays might best fit that bill, i.e., stunning from the visual perspective.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by diw

So if I were picking a movie to demo my home theater, I might choose LOA or ben-Hur rather than the lightest CGI epic. So I am wondering what Criterion Blu-Rays might best fit that bill, i.e., stunning from the visual perspective.

Days of Heaven
The Leopard
The Thin Red Line
Senso

[diw]

Originally Posted by NoirFan

Days of Heaven
The Leopard
The Thin Red Line
Senso

Thanks. I have The Leopard and Days of Heaven. I guess The Thin Red Line is the next choice. I saw Senso a long time ago.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by Lutz

Thirded on House. I would lob it in with something like The Nightmare Before Christmas. It has some interesting set dressing but it's ultimately just a tween movie that won't hold much interest for someone over twenty.

After having read so many crazy things about House / Hausu over the years, I did a blind-buy when Criterion originally released it. I have to say I was blown away by the bizarre and surreal filmmaking. The colors, the animation...it is truly unlike anything I have ever seen before. It totally makes sense that the director got a lot of the ideas from his young daughter. I have since sold off my copy because I couldn't really see myself watching the whole film again. If I ever need to get another taste of the insanity, a lot of the best scenes are on YouTube.

As far as recommending the film, it is so campy and crazy that I don't think a lot of people would know what to make of it. If you are curious, I would suggest that you just rent it through NetFlix. They have the Blu Ray available and the image quality is excellent.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by diw

So if I were picking a movie to demo my home theater, I might choose LOA or ben-Hur rather than the lightest CGI epic. So I am wondering what Criterion Blu-Rays might best fit that bill, i.e., stunning from the visual perspective.

Don't disregard the audio aspect of a Home-Theater.

Originally Posted by diw

Thanks. I have The Leopard and Days of Heaven. I guess The Thin Red Line is the next choice. I saw Senso a long time ago.

This would fit the bill for both quite nicely.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by diw

So if I were picking a movie to demo my home theater, I might choose LOA or ben-Hur rather than the lightest CGI epic. So I am wondering what Criterion Blu-Rays might best fit that bill, i.e., stunning from the visual perspective.

Tokyo Drifter
Last Year at Marienbad (B&W)
...
Not on Criterion(as yet) but Tree of Life would serve as good an HT demo as any IMO.

[KRW1]

Originally Posted by diw

So if I were picking a movie to demo my home theater, I might choose LOA or ben-Hur rather than the lightest CGI epic. So I am wondering what Criterion Blu-Rays might best fit that bill, i.e., stunning from the visual perspective.

I was hugely impressed by Quadraphenia, it looks like celluloid, and the soundtrack is astoundingly good - the 5.1 remixing of the songs just works sublimely with the visuals. My favourite release of the year, so far.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by diw

So if I were picking a movie to demo my home theater, I might choose LOA or ben-Hur rather than the lightest CGI epic. So I am wondering what Criterion Blu-Rays might best fit that bill, i.e., stunning from the visual perspective.

I would second the Thin Red Line recommendation. After it came out, Criterion posted about how when they went to one of the electronics trade shows several companies were using it to demo their TVs.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by diw

So if I were picking a movie to demo my home theater, I might choose LOA or ben-Hur rather than the lightest CGI epic. So I am wondering what Criterion Blu-Rays might best fit that bill, i.e., stunning from the visual perspective.

I am not a huge Jarmusch fan, but Down by Law has one of the best transfers I have ever seen from Criterion on blu-ray. Granted it is a modern film, but it looks stunning. The audio is great if you have a nice setup too.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by jcs913

I am not a huge Jarmusch fan, but Down by Law has one of the best transfers I have ever seen from Criterion on blu-ray. Granted it is a modern film, but it looks stunning. The audio is great if you have a nice setup too.

I second this.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I second this.

What is your avatar of? It looks so familiar!

[AreaUnderTheCurve]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I would second the Thin Red Line recommendation. After it came out, Criterion posted about how when they went to one of the electronics trade shows several companies were using it to demo their TVs.

Do you think you can find that post? I'd like to read it.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by AreaUnderTheCurve

Do you think you can find that post? I'd like to read it.

I believe it was this video post that I was remembering:

http://www.criterion.com/current/pos...n-in-las-vegas

After skimming the video, maybe "several" wasn't the right word to use in my original post, but the point is still true.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

What is your avatar of? It looks so familiar!

It is Laura Palmer in the black lodge from Twin Peaks.