The Criterion Collection

[Jr7936]

just took a look at the criterion booklet and discs for pina to see how different it is from my german one. the discs are more ugly then the german one since the german one has actual artwork on it. the american booklet has some articles that the german one doesn't but the german book looks like it has some stuff in there which the american one doesn't even though i don't know what it says :P

[Scottie]

I hope Criterion releases Silver Linings Playbook.

If they can release The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button day 1, they can release this one.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ParticleDan

This may just be because I have a degree in sociology from a somewhat liberal university and the fact that I'm a staunch feminist, but from the first time I saw marienbad, it seemed so clear to me that the film was about the woman's rape by the male protagonist, and the subsequent psychological effect of her unsuccessful attempts to compartmentalize and sublimate the trauma. I think in one of extras this was mentioned as a more modern interpretation, but it hit me with force right away.

This movie is one of the best examples of how textual interpretation is a dynamic and subjective process involving the biases and expectations (known and unknown) of the interpreter.

That's another great interpretation, although I did not think of it while watching the film. You're so right about how Last Year at Marienbad plays heavily on the biases that the viewer brings into the film. Many of the better films play on the viewer in this way.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I hope Criterion releases Silver Linings Playbook.

If they can release The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button day 1, they can release this one.

There's no way in hell they would release Silver Linings Playbook. The thing is a huge box office success. It just won't happen.

EDIT: Nor would I want them to. I'm sure it'll get a perfectly fine release. More deserving titles need the Blu treatment. It's like those that want The Fountain to get the Criterion treatment. I just don't get it.

[The Great Owl]

A completely unrelated aside, but I thought of it today as I took a handful of old DVDs to Best Buy for the Upgrade & Save earlier today. It's funny how half of my Blu-ray collection consists of "classic or classically obscure cinema" by way of Criterion or otherwise (Ivan's Childhood, Casablanca, The Searchers, Seven Samurai, the Melville films, the Malick films, The Lives of Others, etc.), but the other half of my collection consists of throwaway 1980s films that I remember fondly from childhood (Flash Gordon, The Last Starfighter, Clash of the Titans, Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Dune, Predator, etc.).

I guess that these all go hand in hand for a serious cinema buff, but a first glance at my movie tastes is probably puzzling.

This also begs to question what "strange and forgotten cinema" will be adopted as Criterion titles in the future.
Maybe, in a few years, Some Kind of Wonderful will appear on the Criterion queue as "that weird and overlooked John Hughes production that he produced a few years after Ferris Bueller's Day Off."
Or, better yet, Dragonslayer and Krull being released as "important works of forgotten 1980s sci-fi."

Yeah, I know. Stranger things have happened, though.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Jr7936

so it turns out my copy of six moral tales from frys just shipped for 9.96. just a heads up
so can't believe it but so happy

Hm. Mine shipped too. Really wasn't expecting that.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

There's no way in hell they would release Silver Linings Playbook. The thing is a huge box office success. It just won't happen.

EDIT: Nor would I want them to. I'm sure it'll get a perfectly fine release. More deserving titles need the Blu treatment. It's like those that want The Fountain to get the Criterion treatment. I just don't get it.

Besides the Oscar hype, it's pretty underrated.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

If they can release The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button day 1, they can release this one.

A question for the masses...

Is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a good movie?

I've never seen it before, but I see used copies of the Criterion edition in every single used store. Just as I always see used copies of the Chasing Amy Criterion DVD in every used store. Now, I'm aware that Criterion probably unleashed more copies of these particular movies on the public due to their popularity at the time, but the ubiquitous sight of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on used racks is a red flag to me.

Even without the used-rack preconception, there's really nothing about this movie that quickens my pulse on first glance. It's worth asking about, though, just in case I'm missing out on a marvelous work of cinema.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Who would you guys say are some film makers comparable to Malick? I know David Gordon Green's first two features have that style, one could argue Beasts of the Southern Wild as well. There are probably a few more I can't think of right now that I've seen. Between rewatching all his films again recently and my unending anticipation for To The Wonder, I'm just craving more to tide me over.

Bumping this post to see if anyone can help me out.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A question for the masses...

Is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a good movie?

I've never seen it before, but I see used copies of the Criterion edition in every single used store. Just as I always see used copies of the Chasing Amy Criterion DVD in every used store. Now, I'm aware that Criterion probably unleashed more copies of these particular movies on the public due to their popularity at the time, but the ubiquitous sight of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on used racks is a red flag to me.

Even without the used-rack preconception, there's really nothing about this movie that quickens my pulse on first glance. It's worth asking about, though, just in case I'm missing out on a marvelous work of cinema.

It's a really great movie. The special effects and digital edits are fantastic. I actually went on YouTube after I watched it to see how it was made.

The story and the cast are great. It's something you have to truly see to appreciate. One of Fincher's bests, in my opinion.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A question for the masses...

Is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a good movie?

I've never seen it before, but I see used copies of the Criterion edition in every single used store. Just as I always see used copies of the Chasing Amy Criterion DVD in every used store. Now, I'm aware that Criterion probably unleashed more copies of these particular movies on the public due to their popularity at the time, but the ubiquitous sight of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on used racks is a red flag to me.

Even without the used-rack preconception, there's really nothing about this movie that quickens my pulse on first glance. It's worth asking about, though, just in case I'm missing out on a marvelous work of cinema.

David Fincher is one of my favorite contemporary directors and I think this film is pretty poor. Only work of his I enjoy less is his contribution to the Alien series.

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A question for the masses...

Is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button a good movie?

I've never seen it before, but I see used copies of the Criterion edition in every single used store. Just as I always see used copies of the Chasing Amy Criterion DVD in every used store. Now, I'm aware that Criterion probably unleashed more copies of these particular movies on the public due to their popularity at the time, but the ubiquitous sight of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on used racks is a red flag to me.

Even without the used-rack preconception, there's really nothing about this movie that quickens my pulse on first glance. It's worth asking about, though, just in case I'm missing out on a marvelous work of cinema.

I think it's an excellent film. I also think its the best use of VFX in modern film to date, (that's right, I said it!) the special features are super interesting on top of it all. I had a member here make custom artwork for a full sized criterion case so it fits right in on my shelf.

[joie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

[...] This also begs to question what "strange and forgotten cinema" will be adopted as Criterion titles in the future. [...]

Not that they're strange, but may someday be forgotten: Some of what Sony has recently released? Incendies -- I've Loved You So Long -- In a Better World -- The Lives of Others -- Run Lola Run? ...

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by Jr7936

so it turns out my copy of six moral tales from frys just shipped for 9.96. just a heads up
so can't believe it but so happy

Originally Posted by jrsl76

Same here. Six Moral Tales, Heaven Can Wait & Twenty Four Eyes for $18.40.

My order has shipped as well. Love when a great deal just falls together.

[Jr7936]

at least everyone who ordered is getting it since its back up to 69.99 on the frys site

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

There's no way in hell they would release Silver Linings Playbook. The thing is a huge box office success. It just won't happen.

EDIT: Nor would I want them to. I'm sure it'll get a perfectly fine release. More deserving titles need the Blu treatment. It's like those that want The Fountain to get the Criterion treatment. I just don't get it.

While I completely see where you're coming from, I would like to see more CCOBB like releases from Criterion. They help sell the label and make people aware of the brand, not to mention they bring a nice chunk of change for Criterion. If you look at sales rankings CCOBB is more often than not number 1. So I would accept 1 mainstream new release a year if it meant Criterion getting a piece of the sales.

[The Great Owl]

Thanks for the feedback, y'all!

For me, David Fincher's history ranges from perfection (The Game, Fight Club) to satisfying rental material (Alien3, Se7en, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) to total stylistic missteps (Panic Room). I do not know where The Curious Case of Benjamin Button fell along that range, since I haven't seen it.

Funnily enough, I'm in the middle of Fight Club right now, since I bought it with the Best Buy Upgrade & Save when I turned in my DVD copy. I have a love/hate thing for this one sometimes. Fight Club made a big impression on me when I saw it at the theater so many years ago, and it made me take a step back to think about my own life, just as I'm sure it did for many others. These days, however, in the post-9/11 world, Fight Club sometimes strikes me as self-indulgent in a way, since the "oppression" of the characters in the film by modern-day America pales in comparison to truly brutal oppression in other parts of the world. This is one of those movies that I watch nowadays and wonder if this is why terrorists hate Americans. Even so, the subversive glee and the innovative cinematography cannot be denied, and the value of this movie still stands true.

Alien3 is a fun late-night mess of a movie, but not one that I have any desire to own. Ridley Scott's Alien is, for me, the only one that matters. I also own Aliens for the nostalgia and infinite quotability, but the rest of the movies are sort of pointless to me, and each subsequent one weakens the punch of the original film.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo... I prefer the Swedish versions of these movies, and the shrill Nine Inch Nails approach of the Fincher version did not impress me. Now, I will say that, having read the novels first, the cast of the Fincher movie looked more like the characters that I had envisioned in my head while reading. Everything else about the film fell flat, though.

Panic Room... The biggest plot twist of this movie was when I realized that Kristen Stewart's character was Jodie Foster's daughter and not Jodie Foster's son.

The Game is excellence, pure and simple. Michael Douglas has a great acting range that is put to good use throughout. It's my favorite David Fincher film by long shot, and it was highly deserving of a Criterion inclusion. I'm thinking that I might use one of the Upgrade & Save coupons that I have left to upgrade my DVD of this movie to the Criterion Blu-ray if I've got enough cash left by the end of the month.

[jrmac2000]

Originally Posted by Snicket

While I completely see where you're coming from, I would like to see more CCOBB like releases from Criterion. They help sell the label and make people aware of the brand, not to mention they bring a nice chunk of change for Criterion. If you look at sales rankings CCOBB is more often than not number 1. So I would accept 1 mainstream new release a year if it meant Criterion getting a piece of the sales.

I'm all for this strategy, but you have to admit, there is something sad about seeing ccobb floating around in Walmart dump bins.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[*PREACHER*]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Panic Room... The biggest plot twist of this movie was when I realized that Kristen Stewart's character was Jodie Foster's daughter and not Jodie Foster's son.

You too...that's hillarious!!!

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Besides the Oscar hype, it's pretty underrated.

Just out of curiosity, what makes you say it is underrated? It has a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, an 81 on Metacritic, and it was number three at the box office last weekend. It was also nominated for Best Picture and Best Director, and the director was nominated for Best Director for his last film too. If anything from David O'Russell makes it into the collection I would bet it would be something like Spanking the Monkey.