The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

[Show spoiler]Funnily enough, I scroll up and read this just after posting my Army of Shadows Blu-ray review. Of course, that is my favorite on your above list.

I own Fanny and Alexander and Leon Morin, Priest on Criterion DVD, since I bought both of them quite some time ago before I recently upgraded to Blu-ray.

Fanny and Alexander is an outstanding movie in so many ways, and one has to see the full televised version. It's not a Christmas movie by any stretch, but it does have one of the greatest Christmas scenes of any movie, a family Christmas as seen through a child's eyes. So incredible.
This one is one of the big future candidates for upgrading from the DVD to the Blu-ray in my collection, although I probably won't get around to this until mid-2013 or so.

Leon Morin, Priest is a beautiful film in a completely different way, because the emphasis is on conversations between characters about the nature of spirituality. This movie makes me think about spirituality more than any film in my collection. You know, one of those movies that makes you want to pace back and forth pondering it for a while. I would wait and get this one on Blu-ray after Army of Shadows and Fanny and Alexander.

I have not seen Certified Copy, but I pick it up every time I'm in the Criterion section of a store. (Does that count? Haha.) I am intrigued, simply because I adore Juliette Binoche. It does seem to be a fine film, though, and another potential blind buy for me in the future.

Thanks for your reply! I ordered Army Of Shadows and Certified Copy from Barnes 'N Noble and I ordered Fanny And Alexander from Amazon. I'm not in a rush for Leon Morin, Priest, so I think I'll just pick it up during the next Barnes 'N Noble sale.

[zoodermin]

Three Reasons for Brazil:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYzUishMeck

[RojD]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just watched Army of Shadows on Blu-ray for the first time. I'm in heaven.

Army of Shadows quickly skyrocketed into my All Time Top Ten Movies list when I first saw it years ago and grabbed the Criterion DVD, but seeing it on Blu-ray today was such a great new experience altogether.

Army of Shadows is not particularly known as an eye-candy film for high definition, I wouldn't think, but the Blu-ray on a good television really does shed new emphasis on the France architecture of the era...the cobbled streets, the stonewall buildings, the unyielding granite surfaces that likely symbolize the plight of characters that keep plowing forward in dark times.

It's always a happy day when one of my Top Ten Movies just became ten times better to my eyes.

This was exactly my experience with Army of Shadows, and it has been with a lot of my favorite movies. Darndest thing......almost like watching a whole different movie, but it's the same one. It's amazing how much more vivid a film is in blu if it's had a proper transfer, and Army of Shadows definitely got a good transfer. I'm enjoying re-experiencing on blu so many films I already liked.

[BigRich45]

Any chance Robocop get the upgrade to CC Blu? its been so long since the dvd release and the current region A Blu-ray is just awful.

[The Great Owl]

I continued my leisurely Saturday and watched Purple Noon for the very first time.

Criterion knocked one out of the ball park once again, and I'm glad that I was introduced to this rather excellent film. It's insidiously amusing that I found myself cheering for a sociopath character for two hours, but therein lies the movie's charm.

This was also my first experience with watching a Blu-ray of a movie that I had never seen before in any format. For the first time since I bought my Blu-ray player, I was concentrating on the storyline of a film without constantly thinking to myself how amazing the high-definition image was compared to previous viewings in standard definition. That's a good thing. Still, this Blu-ray brings out the best of the Mediterranean scenery. There's also a stunning close-up of a female character's face toward the end of the movie that had me thinking, "Now, this is what watching Blu-ray is all about!"

[oildude]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I'm not in a rush for Leon Morin, Priest, so I think I'll just pick it up during the next Barnes 'N Noble sale.

Allow me to change your mind:

Compared with Melville's other films in the Criterion Collection, Leon Morin, Priest is much more dialogue driven. The story takes place in a Vichy village during the Nazi occupation of France, and focuses on the relationship between a widow, who is a committed communist and atheist, and a young priest who becomes her spiritual guide along a road she did not know she wanted to travel.

The conflicts in the film are internally focused as opposed to external as in Melville's other films. They revolve around what it means to have faith and to seek that which is the best in ourselves. This includes a smoldering sexuality, as the woman finds herself becoming attracted to the priest. The way this relationship is handled in the film is one of its highlights, restrained and realistic, with no weepy melodrama. The viewer is drawn into understanding the longings and the denials of both characters, and what it means to be truly committed to something larger than ourselves, with the sacrifice that entails. The film is also filled with rich details and interactions between minor characters that frequently upend preconceptions, giving us a very rewarding recreation of what it was like to be French and living in Vichy during the occupation.

In my opinion, Leon Morin, Priest is one of the best films in the Collection. Jean-Paul Belmondo as the priest does a fantastic job (a career best performance in my opinion) as does Emmanuelle Riva as the widowed communist. And in a supporting role as the woman's young daughter, the movie also features Patricia Gozzi, about four years before she starred in one of my favorite films Rapture. I had no idea Gozzi was in Leon Morin, Priest until I saw her name in the opening credits.

EDIT: And with that, I will also put in a plug for Rapture, available from Twilight Time. Rapture would be right at home in the Criterion Collection, a great 1965 lost-in-the-vault title resurrected on blu-ray, and my best blind buy in years.

[brandon_260]

After watching it, I really want an upgrade for George Washington. One of the best films I've watched in some time.

I would love some Leos Carax added to Criterion as well. Les Amants du Pont-Neuf seems fitting.

[Ndume]

Originally Posted by ravenus

So what do you enjoy actually, the feel of the shrinkwrap?

It feels lovely.

Originally Posted by brandon_260

After watching it, I really want an upgrade for George Washington. One of the best films I've watched in some time.

What happened to David Gordon Green? After bursting onto the scene with the remarkable George Washington (which remains his best film, IMO), All the Real Girls, Snow Angels, and Undertow, he seemed poised to become one of the next great American directors. Then, he made the not-bad stoner film, Pineapple Express, before selling out completely and helming two of the most insipid movies of recent years, The Sitter and Your Highness. Here's hoping he gets his act together and escapes from the realm of abject mediocrity.

Originally Posted by brandon_260

I would love some Leos Carax added to Criterion as well. Les Amants du Pont-Neuf seems fitting.

That would be a good choice. I would like to see Pola X, however. The even wonkier Holy Motors, featuring an extraordinary performance by Carax regular Denis Lavant, deserves the Criterion treatment.

[GoldMotel]

Bought Fanny and Alexander as a blind buy at B&N's 50% off all blu-ray christmas sale.

Any thoughts on the film?

I like Ingmar Bergman as a director, so I have high hopes.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I'm really interested in:

Army Of Shadows
Certified Copy
Fanny And Alexander
Leon Morin, Priest

Can anyone shed some light on these?

Answer to implied question: all of them

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Ndume

Question: do you guys think I should open The Man Who Fell to Earth, or keep it sealed? I already have the DVD edition that comes with the novel by Walter Tevis.

If you're not going to flip it, then might as well open it. I didn't care for the film but I own a copy... contemplating unloading it while it's still relatively valuable, before a re-release comes out.

[Norbie]

Of the nine BD I got from the B&N sale only one arrived before Christmas eve here in Oz.




be nice

[Ndume]

Originally Posted by GoldMotel

Bought Fanny and Alexander as a blind buy at B&N's 50% off all blu-ray christmas sale.

Any thoughts on the film?

I like Ingmar Bergman as a director, so I have high hopes.

It's actually one of Bergman's most entertaining and accessible films. The five-hour version is even more impressive than its theatrically-released 188-minute counterpart. An autumnal masterpiece by one of cinema's true geniuses.

Originally Posted by retablo

If you're not going to flip it, then might as well open it. I didn't care for the film but I own a copy... contemplating unloading it while it's still relatively valuable, before a re-release comes out.

It's not my favorite film, either, but as a completist I needed to have it.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by Ndume

It feels lovely.



What happened to David Gordon Green? After bursting onto the scene with the remarkable George Washington (which remains his best film, IMO), All the Real Girls, Snow Angels, and Undertow, he seemed poised to become one of the next great American directors. Then, he made the not-bad stoner film, Pineapple Express, before selling out completely and helming two of the most insipid movies of recent years, The Sitter and Your Highness. Here's hoping he gets his act together and escapes from the realm of abject mediocrity.



That would be a good choice. I would like to see Pola X, however. The even wonkier Holy Motors, featuring an extraordinary performance by Carax regular Denis Lavant, deserves the Criterion treatment.

Can't say I know what happened to Green. His two latest are absolute drivel. I'm looking forward to watching more of his earlier stuff though.

I would love Holy Motors to get the Criterion treatment, but with a release date already set for standard blu-ray, I don't see that for a while. Such a wonderful film though.

[Ndume]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Can't say I know what happened to Green. His two latest are absolute drivel. I'm looking forward to watching more of his earlier stuff though.

It's astonishing (not in a good way) that in less than 15 years, Green managed to go from the majestic vision of George Washington to giving us a Minotaur with an erection in a shameless attempt to elicit cheap laughs (Your Highness).

Originally Posted by brandon_260

I would love Holy Motors to get the Criterion treatment, but with a release date already set for standard blu-ray, I don't see that for a while. Such a wonderful film though.

Holy Motors was a stand out in a year in which great films were in short supply. Lavant deserves a Best Actor Oscar nomination (he won't get it; maybe Eva Mendes will vote for him, lol).

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Ndume

What happened to David Gordon Green? After bursting onto the scene with the remarkable George Washington (which remains his best film, IMO), All the Real Girls, Snow Angels, and Undertow, he seemed poised to become one of the next great American directors. Then, he made the not-bad stoner film, Pineapple Express, before selling out completely and helming two of the most insipid movies of recent years, The Sitter and Your Highness. Here's hoping he gets his act together and escapes from the realm of abject mediocrity.

Id love an upgrade on George Washington too. Maybe as he Works with CC on the supplements and such, David Gordon Green will have a Scrooge/Ikiru moment and change his ways.

[runnersdialzero]

I would love a upgrade of The Naked City. Great noir film. One of the first movies to actually be shot in New York and not on a soundstage.

[funny1]

Can't wait to get The BLob (1958) on CC and The Blob (1988) on TT. Love cheesy classic horror.

[MacEachaidh]

I had a wild fantasy of the CC release of the 1958 Blob coming with Larry Hagman's (intentionally) cheesefest sequel, Beware! The Blob! That would make a wonderful set.

I wish TT wasn't so pricey, though, because I do enjoy Chuck Russell's remake Blob more than the original.

[Rizor]

Originally Posted by Ndume

What happened to David Gordon Green? After bursting onto the scene with the remarkable George Washington (which remains his best film, IMO), All the Real Girls, Snow Angels, and Undertow, he seemed poised to become one of the next great American directors. Then, he made the not-bad stoner film, Pineapple Express, before selling out completely and helming two of the most insipid movies of recent years, The Sitter and Your Highness. Here's hoping he gets his act together and escapes from the realm of abject mediocrity.

I get the feeling he made those earlier films because he felt he was supposed to, and now he's doing what he wants - stupid comedies. If you look at his background, he's been friends with Danny McBride, Jody Hill, and Ben Best since they all went to film school together.