The Criterion Collection

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Even when I watch a blu-ray or DVD at home, I almost always let the credits play through to the end.

So I am not the only one. My wife usually look at me with this amuse look when I do that. I mostly do it for the music.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by Jr7936

so it looks like none of the cheap 90 cent or 2.99 criterions are on the frys site any more
I wonder if they just sold out, or it was a price mistake

My 3 titles show as processing. I'm kind of kicking myself for not grabbing Wise Blood now. Hopefully it gets an upgrade soon.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

Now that I have experienced Kurosawa, Truffaut, Truffaut again, Kurosawa again x ... LOTS, Chaplin (can you believe I had never seen a Chaplin film EVER?), Ozu, Inagaki... How can I go back to most films? Even brilliant films now are sometimes a struggle to watch. So much is added to the mix, it takes what could be simple and concise as pads in so much garbage, or meanders around camera angles. I think my viewing of Kurosawa has expanded my appreciation for the technical film aspect more than anything. How anyone could watch, say, Yojimbo and not be mesmerized by how he used incredibly long focal lengths amidst multiple cameras with unique lighting.

You see for me it's rather easy. Granted I have been expose to foreign cinema since I was very young but I do enjoy going back to some "easier" movie like Star Wars or some Hollywood blockbuster. I see one style as an experience in senses where you must use all of them, including your brain to fully be in the movies. I see the others are something relaxing, I can just enjoy whatever ride the director is taking me on without using much grey matter I will grant however that I am a fairly "easy critic" compare to a lot of people I see on this forum. I seem to be able to forgive a lot of silly stuff that just seem to drive a lot of others insane.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

My 3 titles show as processing. I'm kind of kicking myself for not grabbing Wise Blood now. Hopefully it gets an upgrade soon.

I am kicking myself in general right now. I put them in my cart, but then got distracted and left to run errands. By the time I came back they were no longer available. Oh well.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

You see for me it's rather easy. Granted I have been expose to foreign cinema since I was very young but I do enjoy going back to some "easier" movie like Star Wars or some Hollywood blockbuster. I see one style as an experience in senses where you must use all of them, including your brain to fully be in the movies. I see the others are something relaxing, I can just enjoy whatever ride the director is taking me on without using much grey matter I will grant however that I am a fairly "easy critic" compare to a lot of people I see on this forum. I seem to be able to forgive a lot of silly stuff that just seem to drive a lot of others insane.

I am right there with you. I watch and enjoy a lot of what people consider to be total crap, and I am not ashamed at it. If you look at my collection you can probably see some of what I mean.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by ianvillaceran

My 2013 Criterion wishlist:

1. My Sassy Girl (Korean)

2. Little Buddha

3. A Separation (Iran)

4. Muro Ami

5. Malena - uncut (Italy)

Funny, I never tought of My Sassy Girl for Criterion, could work. I would think Windstruck might actually fit better but that just me

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

You know, reading a book in a cinema might sound like the dumbest thing ever, but there was a police report on the news recently in Australia that someone was reading a book whilst driving on the freeway at 100km/h (over 60m/h).
I'm all for reading, but what goes through the minds of these people?
And seriously, why do people go to the cinema if they don't want to be there?

You know what is scary about this world we live in? It's the fact that the news of someone reading while driving is not even shocking to me

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I am right there with you. I watch and enjoy a lot of what people consider to be total crap, and I am not ashamed at it. If you look at my collection you can probably see some of what I mean.

Went and look at your collection, similar to mine. Good mix of classics along with some stuff that make people go "are you serious"

I must be the only one who post here more or less regularly who as Masters of The Universe in his collection

I did not count but do you have the the Criterion releases on Blu-ray?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Whirlygig

I was fine with how it ended before credits, but it was a welcome surprise to see the final shot. If you wanted to you could argue that the final shot doesn't really prove who won, still room for ambiguity!

True that.

[Show spoiler]To me, it actually looks as through both of them are breathing their last dying breaths in that "You were a worthy opponent." sort of way. It still does not detract from the ambiguity, but it just does not add much to the movie as an entity for me.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

You know what is scary about this world we live in? It's the fact that the news of someone reading while driving is not even shocking to me

My first thought was 'what was he reading'.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

You see for me it's rather easy. Granted I have been expose to foreign cinema since I was very young but I do enjoy going back to some "easier" movie like Star Wars or some Hollywood blockbuster. I see one style as an experience in senses where you must use all of them, including your brain to fully be in the movies. I see the others are something relaxing, I can just enjoy whatever ride the director is taking me on without using much grey matter I will grant however that I am a fairly "easy critic" compare to a lot of people I see on this forum. I seem to be able to forgive a lot of silly stuff that just seem to drive a lot of others insane.

I am naturally empathetic, so I can become immersed into the "easy" films in the same way that I am drawn into cerebral films.

I am quick to fall in line with movies, and I instantly picture the actors as their characters. If I'm watching Top Gun, for instance, I do not think of it as watching Tom Cruise, and, instead, I think of it as watching Maverick. I also rarely, if ever, spot mistakes or goofs in films, because I'm always full-tilt into the story. One of my favorite films, The Omega Man, supposedly has Charlton Heston as a lone human in a large city, but there's an early scene where a car is clearly seen driving across a distant intersection in broad daylight. I had watched this movie for years, but did not realize the goof until it was pointed out to me.

Some of the supposedly "easy" movies can reverberate in different ways with me. Most people think of King Kong (1933) as just a monster movie, but I think of it as the greatest depiction of unrequited love in the history of cinema.

This is why I can watch Andrey Tarkovskiy's Solaris, for example, and then watch the Dwayne Johnson version of Walking Tall on the same night.

Which sort of leads me to a response to a post that I missed the first go-'round...

Originally Posted by CusackstheMan

Maybe it's just the mood I was in when I watched it, but I did not get "The Grey" at all. To me it was just another CGI monster movie just like Piranha, for example. And I didn't buy into the story and characters and the viewing was completely devoid of emotion for me. And I'd heard so many good things about it. At least all it cost me was a $1.50 Redbox rental.

I saw The Grey at just the right time, and I projected realism into the storyline from what I brought into the film. I saw the wolves as a metaphor for death, hence their physical appearances, but I also felt the plight of the plane crash survivors in a big way. I figured that the survivors all had internal wounds of some sort or another from the actual plane crash, and were somehow miraculously walking and talking out of sheer will to varying extents. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I still am each subsequent time that I watch the film.

Piranha had something that The Grey didn't, however, and that was an underwater ballet scene.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

When I saw this cover art for Throne of Blood, I had to have the movie. It was just that simple. I had never watched an Akira Kurosawa film before, but I wondered how a movie with that DVD cover art could not be amazing. People had told me that Rashomon was a great starting point, so I bought Rashomon and Throne of Blood at the same time.

Throne of Blood just happens to be a good starting point for Kurosawa, as you at least have the familiar Shakespeare background to hang the style and samurai culture on.
You got LUCKY. Results may not be the same for all cases.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Throne of Blood just happens to be a good starting point for Kurosawa, as you at least have the familiar Shakespeare background to hang the style and samurai culture on.
You got LUCKY. Results may not be the same for all cases.

True! The only other one I could see that would also fit well is The Hidden Fortress

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I am naturally empathetic, so I can become immersed into the "easy" films in the same way that I am drawn into cerebral films.

I am quick to fall in line with movies, and I instantly picture the actors as their characters. If I'm watching Top Gun, for instance, I do not think of it as watching Tom Cruise, and, instead, I think of it as watching Maverick. I also rarely, if ever, spot mistakes or goofs in films, because I'm always full-tilt into the story. One of my favorite films, The Omega Man, supposedly has Charlton Heston as a lone human in a large city, but there's an early scene where a car is clearly seen driving across a distant intersection in broad daylight. I had watched this movie for years, but did not realize the goof until it was pointed out to me.

Some of the supposedly "easy" movies can reverberate in different ways with me. Most people think of King Kong (1933) as just a monster movie, but I think of it as the greatest depiction of unrequited love in the history of cinema.

This is why I can watch Andrey Tarkovskiy's Solaris, for example, and then watch the Dwayne Johnson version of Walking Tall on the same night.

Which sort of leads me to a response to a post that I missed the first go-'round...


I saw The Grey at just the right time, and I projected realism into the storyline from what I brought into the film. I saw the wolves as a metaphor for death, hence their physical appearances, but I also felt the plight of the plane crash survivors in a big way. I figured that the survivors all had internal wounds of some sort or another from the actual plane crash, and were somehow miraculously walking and talking out of sheer will to varying extents. I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, and I still am each subsequent time that I watch the film.

Piranha had something that The Grey didn't, however, and that was an underwater ballet scene.

Pretty sure Zombi 2 tops both of them with the zombie shark fight.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Pretty sure Zombi 2 tops both of them with the zombie shark fight.

I saw this several years back, and I still have panic attacks whenever I see splintered wood from a broken door.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Throne of Blood just happens to be a good starting point for Kurosawa, as you at least have the familiar Shakespeare background to hang the style and samurai culture on.
You got LUCKY. Results may not be the same for all cases.

I personally think that The Hidden Fortress is perhaps the best choice for a Kurosawa starter.

I can't quite remember myself if my first was Yojimbo or Seven Samurai, but I think it was Yojimbo. Either way, I think both are great first films to view. The only negative with Seven Samurai is the length. In my opinion, you don't feel the length when you watch it, but anyone who hasn't seen it and sees how long it is might be discouraged against viewing, sadly.

[billzfan]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

I personally think that The Hidden Fortress is perhaps the best choice for a Kurosawa starter.

I can't quite remember myself if my first was Yojimbo or Seven Samurai, but I think it was Yojimbo. Either way, I think both are great first films to view. The only negative with Seven Samurai is the length. In my opinion, you don't feel the length when you watch it, but anyone who hasn't seen it and sees how long it is might be discouraged against viewing, sadly.

You can't lose either way. Those are 2 of the best films I've ever seen in my life

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I saw this several years back, and I still have panic attacks whenever I see splintered wood from a broken door.

I watched it about a year ago or more in Italian with subtitles. My friends and I found it hilarious as they were the slowest moving zombies ever. It was unrealistic, and the subs just made it even more amusing.

[Scottie]

Just watched Days of Heaven and I really enjoyed it!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Just watched Days of Heaven and I really enjoyed it!

It's amazing. I watched my new copy last week, and thoroughly enjoyed the upgrade.