The Criterion Collection

[EddieLarkin]

[Show spoiler]

Originally Posted by oildude

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.

You convinced me if no one else. Well, convinced me to move the film further up my "You've Had These Blu-rays for Ages Get 'Em Watched FFS" list. I loved Rapture, particularly Gozzi.

[Monty70]

Originally Posted by oildude

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.

Well said, I agree with this recommendation 100%. Two outstanding performances from Belmondo and Riva.

[Scooter1836]

How is "Ministry of Fear"?

I really liked "The Big Heat" which Fritz Lang also directed, but I have never seen "Ministry of Fear" so it would be a blind buy.

[joie]

Originally Posted by Scooter1836

How is "Ministry of Fear"?

I really liked "The Big Heat" which Fritz Lang also directed, but I have never seen "Ministry of Fear" so it would be a blind buy.

"Ministry of Fear" is actually considered to be film noir by Borde & Chaumeton (English translation, 2002, pp. 161). They classify "The Big Heat" as Gangster/Police-Procedural.

Add: So far, on Blu-ray, there are only these film noirs: "The Maltese Falcon," "Notorious," and, coming soon, "Ministry of Fear." Their list is actually fairly short (21 titles).

The book, originally published in French in the 1950s, is "A Panorama of American Film Noir, 1941-1953." The English translation has a very good intro by James Naremore. The book mentions a lot of 1940s and 50s movies in an attempt to distinguish film noir from other types such as criminal psychology, police procedural, etc.

[Tybo28]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

They've already teased Grey Gardens on blu if that answers your question.

edit:



from January 2012 newsletter

I had no idea. That's amazing. Thank you.

[pro-bassoonist]

The Man Who Knew Too Much Blu-ray REVIEW

[pro-bassoonist]

The film looks fantastic, James.

Criterion should have done their own resto on The 39 Steps. I have a feeling it would have looked as good as this one.

Pro-B

[runnersdialzero]

Originally Posted by joie

"Ministry of Fear" is actually considered to be film noir by Borde & Chaumeton (English translation, 2002, pp. 161). They classify "The Big Heat" as Gangster/Police-Procedural.

Add: So far, on Blu-ray, there are only these film noirs: "The Maltese Falcon," "Notorious," and, coming soon, "Ministry of Fear." Their list is actually fairly short (21 titles).

The book, originally published in French in the 1950s, is "A Panorama of American Film Noir, 1941-1953." The English translation has a very good intro by James Naremore. The book mentions a lot of 1940s and 50s movies in an attempt to distinguish film noir from other types such as criminal psychology, police procedural, etc.

The Postman Always Rings Twice would be noir right? That's on blu

[MacEachaidh]

As is Kasdan's Body Heat, though I understand why people limit the time period (and hence social climate) in which a film can actually be called a noir. What would you call Body Heat, then? (And Red Rock West, for that matter, though it hasn't come to Blu-ray yet?)

[fdm]

Originally Posted by octagon

Annoying, unlikeable twentysomethings with unrealistic baggage leading vaccuous lives in New York.

You know, a couple topical internet references and a few iphones and I'll bet that could be translated to modern times. I wonder if HBO would be interested.

A bit behind in my reading, but yeah, that was The Last Days of Disco for me... (watched it on dvd a few years back, pre-Criterion). Thanks for the laugh.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by fdm

A bit behind in my reading, but yeah, that was The Last Days of Disco for me... (watched it on dvd a few years back, pre-Criterion). Thanks for the laugh.

That makes me glad I've skipped out on it several times.

[joie]

Originally Posted by runnersdialzero

The Postman Always Rings Twice would be noir right? That's on blu

No, the frenchmen consider it to be "Criminal Psychology."

[MikeyHitchFan]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

The Man Who Knew Too Much Blu-ray REVIEW

Excellent news! Yes, The 39 Steps was a disappointment but The Lady Vanishes looked great. Let's hope for more Hitchcock Criterion releases soon!

[joie]

James Naremore's intro to "A Panorama of American Film Noir" mentions the difficulties of classification; it may even question whether it is a genre. In a 1979 postface, the authors of the book write:

Nineteen-fifty-five. An era draws to a close. Film noir has fulfilled its role, which was to create a particular sense of malaise and to transmit a social critique of the United States. Robert Aldrich gives this adventure a fascinating and somber conclusion, Kiss Me Deadly. This is the desperate flip side of the film that had opened the noir series fourteen years earlier, The Maltese Falcon. ...

... Kiss Me Deadly is in every respect, then, a point of no return. Film noir is to be reborn around 1965, but it will be very different from the kind of oneiric violation that was the thriller of the 1940s. Many things have changed, audiences most of all. ...

Body Heat? neo-noir?

[The Great Owl]

The amusing conversation here about The Last Days of Disco has me thinking.

Are there any Criterion Collection offerings that you are not inclined to purchase?

I guess that I'll get the ball rolling here...

Bottle Rocket
Rushmore
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Life Aquatic
(I don't "get" Wes Anderson movies. I laughed a few times during Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, but I just did not feel immersed or even welcomed in any way. For me, watching a Wes Anderson movie is like being at a party where nobody knows me, but they all know one another intimately and they're all sharing inside jokes with one another while I'm standing around. Maybe that's the point, but it's the same end result.)

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Antichrist
(I'm too much of a chicken to watch these. Well, I'm admittedly intrigued in that slow-down-to-look-at-a-car-accident sort of way, but I just don't see these being the types of films that I will want to watch more than once, hence the non-purchase.)

Life During Wartime
Kicking and Screaming
(Same sort of reason that I gave for the Wes Anderson films. I've picked these up in the store a time or two, but they just don't quicken my pulse.)

I won't say "never", because many of the Criterion flicks end up spurring a belated interest with me if I hear enough about the film, but the above ones just do not interest me at this point enough for a purchase.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Are there any Criterion Collection offerings that you are not inclined to purchase?

I purchase them all, more for the "This is a sample-set of films this particular company feels are 'important' for one reason or another, and I find myself agreeing a large percentage of the time, and while I enjoy them all, I find redeeming qualities in all of them" sort of way

Some I actually couldn't see myself watching again, but are now my personal favorites. Fat Girl is one of my favorites, which I thought was overly predictable (other than the 'punch' ) and I felt like it was "taking an easy shock-moment" basically taking the easy way out..... I now, as I said, find it to be one of my favorites.

[Snicket]

InB4theTinyFurnitureHate

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Snicket

InB4theTinyFurnitureHate

I didn't have a problem with it....

What other "Youtubedirectorswherearetheynow" films are there gonna be?

[zoodermin]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The amusing conversation here about The Last Days of Disco has me thinking.

Are there any Criterion Collection offerings that you are not inclined to purchase?

I guess that I'll get the ball rolling here...

Bottle Rocket
Rushmore
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Life Aquatic
(I don't "get" Wes Anderson movies. I laughed a few times during Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, but I just did not feel immersed or even welcomed in any way. For me, watching a Wes Anderson movie is like being at a party where nobody knows me, but they all know one another intimately and they're all sharing inside jokes with one another while I'm standing around. Maybe that's the point, but it's the same end result.)

Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom
Antichrist
(I'm too much of a chicken to watch these. Well, I'm admittedly intrigued in that slow-down-to-look-at-a-car-accident sort of way, but I just don't see these being the types of films that I will want to watch more than once, hence the non-purchase.)

Life During Wartime
Kicking and Screaming
(Same sort of reason that I gave for the Wes Anderson films. I've picked these up in the store a time or two, but they just don't quicken my pulse.)

I won't say "never", because many of the Criterion flicks end up spurring a belated interest with me if I hear enough about the film, but the above ones just do not interest me at this point enough for a purchase.

I on the other hand love the Wes Anderson films but I agree with you with Salo. Just saw the trailer and is a movie is very unlikely I'm ever gonna see it. Very intrigued by Antichrist though. I'm gonna add The Four Feathers and Tiny Furniture to the list. They really don't spark my interest in any way.

[jayj15]

Originally Posted by Scooter1836

How is "Ministry of Fear"?

I really liked "The Big Heat" which Fritz Lang also directed, but I have never seen "Ministry of Fear" so it would be a blind buy.

I personally didn't find it to be anything amazing. Apparently Lang hated the script. It's a fun movie, but definitely not on par with "M", or "The Big Heat"