The Criterion Collection

[Normans Rare Guitars]

Does anyone know if Rebecca, Spellbound and Notorious will get Criterion blu ray releases? I see The Man Who Knew Too Much is scheduled and 39 Steps and Lady Vanishes are already out. I guess my question is whether or not Criterion will get the rights back from Fox-MGM, who released them earlier this year on Blu. Anyone know? Thanks much.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Normans Rare Guitars

Does anyone know if Rebecca, Spellbound and Notorious will get Criterion blu ray releases? I see The Man Who Knew Too Much is scheduled and 39 Steps and Lady Vanishes are already out. I guess my question is whether or not Criterion will get the rights back from Fox-MGM, who released them earlier this year on Blu. Anyone know? Thanks much.

Never say never but I can't see either Criterion or MGM being too terribly interested. There really wouldn't be much in it for us either - the MGM releases are pretty nice. There will always be some room for improvement with any release but there's that whole 'diminishing marginal returns' thing too.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

You may think otherwise once you see Happy Together. The main problem i had with In the mood for love (which is spellbinding nonetheless) is that I felt I had seen much of it prior in Happy Together. The superlative visual style/ narrative fuzziness intrigued the hell out of me when I saw Happy Together and kept me thinking for days. So, much of the effect In the Mood could have had was dulled by already having seen Happy Together.

The in the mood Blu ray is still a must have. I didn't think it was as mediocre a technical presentation as the review found.

It definitely wasn't as mediocre as the main reviewer found it. It was so disheartening seeing that review of the picture quality that it put me off buying it. Then the B&N 50% off sale happened and suddenly what I want was suddenly second priority to what I need in my collection :P
But after watching it, I have to agree. The review was way off. Maybe they're not overly familiar with WKW's visual style or they don't like it very much? Seems weird that Chungking Express would get 4.5/5 and then In the Mood for Love would get 3.5/5 and they're both just as clear and wonderful looking as each other. I thought in the mood looked fantastic.
dvdtalk gave it a perfect score of 5/5 so obviously they agree with us.

[TheHighRoller]

I finally got around to watching Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas yesterday. Don't really know what to think of it, rather than it made me feel like I was Raoul Duke.

Then today, I ended up getting Brazil and Gomorrah for $3.71 each. I used a cert made up of cs points, and I only paid $7.80 total including tax. I didn't know that Terry Gilliam directed Brazil as well! I hear it's quite good, so I can't wait to watch it.


And then I plan on getting the following during the upcoming B&N 40% off sale:

Purple Noon
Paris, Texas
The Last Days of Disco
Weekend (2011).

[Scottie]

How did you already get Brazil?

[DarkRyder]

He either got the DVD or just pre-ordered it.

[TheHighRoller]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

He either got the DVD or just pre-ordered it.

I pre-ordered the Criterion Blu-ray. It will be shipped on or the day before 12/4 along with Gomorrah.

I would never get a DVD if something is already available on Blu-ray. In fact, I refuse to buy DVDs period (unless some new release doesn't get released on Blu-ray, which hasn't happened yet).

The last DVD I bought was a used Panic Room about 5 months ago. That's only because it's the only David Fincher title that still needs to be released on Blu-ray and the only title that I needed to have his complete filmography.

[zoodermin]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Great choices. Am I the only one that prefers Chungking Express, Happy Together and Fallen Angels to In the Mood for Love (by a tad).

I, on the other hand absolutely love In the Mood for Love. One of my favorite films and it is a wonderful experience every time I watch it. I also like Chungking Express and Happy Together (haven't seen Fallen Angels) very much but In the Mood for Love is my favorite from Wong Kar-Wai (between those three at least, haven't his other films).

[zoodermin]

So I've received my BD of Chungking Express from B&N and I'm happy to report that it came in a clear case and not in the paper one. I'm happy I got It before it went out of stock. Now, the only case I need to replace is the one for The 400 blows but it's temporarily out of stock at Criterion.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

Thanks, yes I love Revanche - I think its the one of the few films I literally watched twice back-to-back after my first viewing. You know a film connects with you well when you do that

What were your top 3?

1. La règle du jeu (Rules of the Game)
2. La belle et la bête (Beauty and the Beast)
3. Solaris and Night of the Hunter (dead tie but if that's not allowed give the edge to the former)

My other top choices would amount to way too many 'Sophie's Choices' surfdude12...including your own 3 picks.

One of the reasons I avoid such lists is it's just too hard to compare such diverse approaches to cinema, much less rank them. Generally I just weasle out, but thanks for asking anyway.

[jayputter]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

So I've received my BD of Chungking Express from B&N and I'm happy to report that it came in a clear case and not in the paper one. I'm happy I got It before it went out of stock. Now, the only case I need to replace is the one for The 400 blows but it's temporarily out of stock at Criterion.

I've noticed a lot of the replacement cases go out of stock for a short while right after the B&N sale. I remember waiting a bit for The Last Emperor after the last sale.

[lim.davidd]

Originally Posted by ROclockCK

1. La règle du jeu (Rules of the Game)
2. La belle et la bête (Beauty and the Beast)
3. Solaris and Night of the Hunter (dead tie but if that's not allowed give the edge to the former)

My other top choices would amount to way too many 'Sophie's Choices' surfdude12...including your own 3 picks.

One of the reasons I avoid such lists is it's just too hard to compare such diverse approaches to cinema, much less rank them. Generally I just weasle out, but thanks for asking anyway.

Solaris is the only movie in that group which I don't have

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by TheHighRoller

I finally got around to watching Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas yesterday. Don't really know what to think of it, rather than it made me feel like I was Raoul Duke.

Then today, I ended up getting Brazil and Gomorrah for $3.71 each. I used a cert made up of cs points, and I only paid $7.80 total including tax. I didn't know that Terry Gilliam directed Brazil as well! I hear it's quite good, so I can't wait to watch it.


And then I plan on getting the following during the upcoming B&N 40% off sale:

Purple Noon
Paris, Texas
The Last Days of Disco
Weekend (2011).

You can't go wrong with Brazil. It feels like a visualization of what I imagined the world of Orwell's 1984 to be like.

Many people were put off by Gommorahs hyperlink plot, but if you have no problem following 5simple narratives you should be OK. It might just be the best crime/ gangster film of the last ten years.

Last Days of Disco is a bit divisive too so just be warned.

[octagon]

Instead of torturing myself I'm just going to judge favorite by what gets played the most...

Rosemary's Baby (I've loved this since I was a kid)
The Third Man
Sweet Smell of Success

[NoirFan]

Does anyone know when the Criterion sale ends at Best Buy/Amazon? I was hoping the Qatsi trilogy would also be 58% off.

[ROclockCK]

Originally Posted by lim.davidd

Solaris is the only movie in that group which I don't have

When Solyaris first came to North America back in the early 70s, I approached its Ontario Science Centre screening with much trepidation ("What do you mean...a nearly 3 hour Russian art film without a single known creative talent other than the Bondarchuk name?"). But I breezed through that screening in a hypnotic daze, and I have loved the film ever since...watching it at least 10 times in roughly 3-5 year cycles. And it's still magnificent. Mesmerizing, and moving in ways too few science fiction filmmakers have ever dared, much less understood how to achieve. It's just great, 'evergreen' filmmaking, and was single-handedly responsible for me seeking out other works by Tarkovsky*.

* Fingers crossed for an Andrei Rublev upgrade in '13.

[Rizor]

My top 3 (I'll cheat):

The Third Man
The Three Colors Trilogy/The Double Life of Veronique
Rushmore/The Royal Tenenbaums

[MTRodaba2468]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

For those of you looking for Hard Eight, I posted a few months back that Criterion was in talks to release it. Or, at the very least they were considering releasing it.

I would not be opposed to this. It's not Anderson's best, but I really liked it.

Originally Posted by jw007

Indeed. And there's another label, Masters of Cinema, which competes with Kino and Criterion. I wish more of their releases were Region-free however, since some of their BD's and DVD's don't play in North America. What is the logic behind making some titles Region-B and some Region-free anyway?

It depends on the film and it's licensing rights. They don't have to worry about restrictions on some films, but with, say, the Universal titles they licensed, they are only able to get the rights to the Region B areas, meaning they have to lock it.

Originally Posted by ROclockCK

Love them all for much the same reasons surfdude12. But I'm always surprised by how few discussions or buy lists here include Revanche. Nice to see some well-deserved appreciation for one of the more undervalued titles in the collection.

I also found Revanche to be incredibly underrated.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by wcrouse

They are very different. The first time I watched In the Mood for Love, I did so without realizing the title was ironic, not literal. The film is more about the price paid over infidelity (and for that matter, fidelity, now that I think of it), rather than romance and love. There's little of the whimsy found in 'Express', or the beat of pop culture in 'Angels'. Haven't see Happy Together yet, but In the Mood for Love is by far the most somber and thoughtful of Wong Kar-Wai's films I've watched. I have to say the more I see by this director the higher he rises in my estimation. Whatever the theme, he seems in complete control.

You should make Happy Together a priority then.
It's my second favourite after In The Mood For Love.
Oh, and title is definitely ironic

[drbikeshorts]

3 Favourites:
La règle du jeu
The Thin Red Line
Yojimbo

I'm also going to cheat by including two more, which I don't have as Criterion blu-rays:
In The Mood For Love - I currently have a region 4 DVD and my Criterion blu-ray hasn't been delivered yet.
The Leopard - I have the BFI blu-ray.