The Criterion Collection

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I am just excited that we are likely getting The Kid this year. And, after rewatching the Circus last week, I am hoping that the tight rope new years clue was for that.

Two theaters in my area -- The Charles in Baltimore and the AFI just outside of DC -- are good about screening restorations and lots of Chaplin has been coming to The Charles. From my observations, such screenings frequently enough precede upgrades and new Criterion releases.

[mrjohnnyb]

I saw Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters for free on Hulu last night.

Wow! What a film!

Is there any chance of it coming out on blu-ray?

[KrugerIndustrial]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I was not aware of that, but it's unfortunate.

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi is one of the best "tough guy" films in my collection. It was quite brilliant to cast Jean Gabin and Lino Ventura in the same movie. It also goes without saying, of course, that Jeanne Moreau is too beautiful for words in the film.

I really want this film on Blu-ray somehow. I would even be tempted to jump the fence to a region free Blu-ray player if circumstances demanded it.

Touchez Pas Au Grisbi is wonderful, as is Bob. Unfortunately I wasn't aware of these films while they were still in print and now the prices have gone sky-high. Hopefully they'll get the rights back at some point.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

If you aren't too turned off by Von Trier's Antichrist, you should check it out too. The movie features several direct references to Tarkovsky in it.

I've actually seen Antichrist already and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I've been meaning to watch it again in the past couple weeks, so after I watch Solaris seems as good a time as any.

[Thebunk]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

I know we just got The Kid with a Bike, but I would love to see Criterion eventually just release the rest of the Dardenne brothers' catalog, most especially Le Fils.

Yes! Really hoping for Le Fils. I just broke down and purchased the New Yorker DvD of it on eBay.

[exolstice]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

If you aren't too turned off by Von Trier's Antichrist, you should check it out too. The movie features several direct references to Tarkovsky in it.

Really?

[ccg1978]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I know that these would never all be announced together, but here's my Criterion "dream month"...

Le Samourai
Bob Le Flambeur
Touchez Pas Au Grisbi
Elevator to the Gallows
The Vanishing
Sullivan's Travels
The Naked Prey
Rififi

It's a moral imperative to have Elevator to the Gallows on Blu-ray at some point, so that the Miles Davis improvisational score can be heard in high definition.

Sullivan's Travels!

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by exolstice

Really?

Several of the scenes in Antichrist feature compositions taken from Solaris and Tarkovsky. For example, the scenes of He standing in the fields as compared to the scenes of Kelvin standing among the flowers in Solaris. There are quite a few of them. Antichrist is also dedicated to Tarkovsky, who Von Trier has described as "a god"

[ckocher]

Crossing my fingers for "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou". But it's doubtful.

[The Great Owl]

I watched my Criterion Blu-ray of The Battle of Algiers last night.



This is one of the bravest Criterion releases that I've seen, and I always feel as though I'm getting away with something when I watch it, given the film's past bannings and such. I have seen the movie several times, since I first bought the DVD edition in 2004, but this was my first experience seeing it on the superb Blu-ray transfer, where the city lights and stone corridor streets of Algiers are shown in excellent detail, as well as a handful of unfortunate interrogation scenes that reminded me that some unpleasant things are even less pleasant in high definition. The majestically tragic Ennio Morricone score sours into the stratosphere in high definition as it conveys genuine sympathy for victims of both sides of the conflict.

Despite the documentary style of The Battle of Algiers, the film moves along at lightning pace and does not have a "homeworky" feel at all. The movie kicks off with a tense scene involving members of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in hiding, then jumps back several years to tell the story of the FLN's increase in influence as conflicts with the French occupation become more brutal. The Battle of Algiers also straddles a rather uncomfortable line as it simultaneously entertains the viewer while providing a powerful reminder that cinema can be wielded as a force of good or as a force of destruction to exact change on a global scale. I had a wary apprehension about "enjoying" this movie so soon after the 9/11 events when I bought the DVD in 2004, but the cinema enthusiast in me regarded the movie as an underrated treasure. On its own terms, The Battle of Algiers is a marvel in technical filmmaking, and I am still astounded that the fervor depicted in the demonstration riots of the final scenes was not actual news footage.

In one of the most emotionally devastating scenes that I have witnessed in a film, Gillo Pontecorvo intercuts brutal interrogation scenes with close-ups of tears falling down a captive's face. This is one of the many examples of how the film intimately conveys the tragedy of armed conflict and saddens us with the reality of what one person is capable of doing to another person.

This is a great Criterion title, but I advise prospective viewers to proceed at their own risk, since the subject matter is depicted in a way that is challenging to casual viewers even by today's standards.

[Scottie]

Owl, you give some of the best reviews I've seen

You should post them in the review section of the Blu-ray in the database.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Owl, you give some of the best reviews I've seen

You should post them in the review section of the Blu-ray in the database.

Done! I'm still working my way around this website and had not yet delved into the user reviews, but I like that feature. Thanks for the kind words.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I watched my Criterion Blu-ray of The Battle of Algiers last night.



This is one of the bravest Criterion releases that I've seen, and I always feel as though I'm getting away with something when I watch it, given the film's past bannings and such. I have seen the movie several times, since I first bought the DVD edition in 2004, but this was my first experience seeing it on the superb Blu-ray transfer, where the city lights and stone corridor streets of Algiers are shown in excellent detail, as well as a handful of unfortunate interrogation scenes that reminded me that some unpleasant things are even less pleasant in high definition. The majestically tragic Ennio Morricone score sours into the stratosphere in high definition as it conveys genuine sympathy for victims of both sides of the conflict.

Despite the documentary style of The Battle of Algiers, the film moves along at lightning pace and does not have a "homeworky" feel at all. The movie kicks off with a tense scene involving members of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in hiding, then jumps back several years to tell the story of the FLN's increase in influence as conflicts with the French occupation become more brutal. The Battle of Algiers also straddles a rather uncomfortable line as it simultaneously entertains the viewer while providing a powerful reminder that cinema can be wielded as a force of good or as a force of destruction to exact change on a global scale. I had a wary apprehension about "enjoying" this movie so soon after the 9/11 events when I bought the DVD in 2004, but the cinema enthusiast in me regarded the movie as an underrated treasure. On its own terms, The Battle of Algiers is a marvel in technical filmmaking, and I am still astounded that the fervor depicted in the demonstration riots of the final scenes was not actual news footage.

In one of the most emotionally devastating scenes that I have witnessed in a film, Gillo Pontecorvo intercuts brutal interrogation scenes with close-ups of tears falling down a captive's face. This is one of the many examples of how the film intimately conveys the tragedy of armed conflict and saddens us with the reality of what one person is capable of doing to another person.

This is a great Criterion title, but I advise prospective viewers to proceed at their own risk, since the subject matter is depicted in a way that is challenging to casual viewers even by today's standards.

Nice write up.
I consider The Battle of Algiers to be one of the greatest and most important Criterions. Top three. Couldn't recommend it enough.
It is very full on, but I wouldn't have considered it too challenging.
It is very powerful and moving.
Owl, I know you're a fan of Army of Shadows; I had a couple of friends over for an Epic Criterion day last year and we watched both films back-to-back. Interesting comparison, where Army of Shadows is about the French Resistance in World War II, but The Battle of Algiers is about the resistance to French occupation of Algiers.
Obviously, both great films.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

Owl, I know you're a fan of Army of Shadows; I had a couple of friends over for an Epic Criterion day last year and we watched both films back-to-back. Interesting comparison, where Army of Shadows is about the French Resistance in World War II, but The Battle of Algiers is about the resistance to French occupation of Algiers.
Obviously, both great films.

The Battle of Algiers and Army of Shadows make for a great double feature night!

I thought about this last night during a scene in The Battle of Algiers when Colonel Mathieu is reminding the news reporters that he and many of his men served in the Resistance.

[ZooTv]

Is today's announcement expected to come at noon?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ZooTv

Is today's announcement expected to come at noon?

The announcements usually seem to hit around mid-to-late afternoon, or at least that's when I usually catch wind of them on Facebook and such.

Meaning that I will either be commuting home from work, getting my haircut, or working out in the gym this afternoon when the word comes down from the mountain.

[Thebunk]

My hopes/Predictions:

Le Fils
Any other Dardennes films
Le Samurai
The Dekalog

That is all I really want. To be fully transparent, I have not seen a lot of the great films in the collection currently (yet) so if would be wrong of me to wish for a ton of films I have yet to see (though I have never seen The Dekalog, it is a day 1 blind buy based on my love for Veronique and Three Colors.

[JHas]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I watched my Criterion Blu-ray of The Battle of Algiers last night.



This is one of the bravest Criterion releases that I've seen

[Show spoiler], and I always feel as though I'm getting away with something when I watch it, given the film's past bannings and such. I have seen the movie several times, since I first bought the DVD edition in 2004, but this was my first experience seeing it on the superb Blu-ray transfer, where the city lights and stone corridor streets of Algiers are shown in excellent detail, as well as a handful of unfortunate interrogation scenes that reminded me that some unpleasant things are even less pleasant in high definition. The majestically tragic Ennio Morricone score sours into the stratosphere in high definition as it conveys genuine sympathy for victims of both sides of the conflict.

Despite the documentary style of The Battle of Algiers, the film moves along at lightning pace and does not have a "homeworky" feel at all. The movie kicks off with a tense scene involving members of the National Liberation Front (FLN) in hiding, then jumps back several years to tell the story of the FLN's increase in influence as conflicts with the French occupation become more brutal. The Battle of Algiers also straddles a rather uncomfortable line as it simultaneously entertains the viewer while providing a powerful reminder that cinema can be wielded as a force of good or as a force of destruction to exact change on a global scale. I had a wary apprehension about "enjoying" this movie so soon after the 9/11 events when I bought the DVD in 2004, but the cinema enthusiast in me regarded the movie as an underrated treasure. On its own terms, The Battle of Algiers is a marvel in technical filmmaking, and I am still astounded that the fervor depicted in the demonstration riots of the final scenes was not actual news footage.

In one of the most emotionally devastating scenes that I have witnessed in a film, Gillo Pontecorvo intercuts brutal interrogation scenes with close-ups of tears falling down a captive's face. This is one of the many examples of how the film intimately conveys the tragedy of armed conflict and saddens us with the reality of what one person is capable of doing to another person.

This is a great Criterion title, but I advise prospective viewers to proceed at their own risk, since the subject matter is depicted in a way that is challenging to casual viewers even by today's standards

.

Looking at my avatar I'm sure you can tell I am a fan of Pontecorvo. I have the Algiers blu, but haven't cracked it open as I've watched the DVD copy many times over the years. Just such a powerful film with relevance that continues to this day. Was essential viewing for the military brass along with Alistair Horne's "Savage War of Peace," to deal with the Iraq invasion. May have to crack open the blu this weekend, it's gonna be cold out!

Pontecorvo's Kapo is streaming on hulu, I've got hulu plus already, but may be a good one to check out for fans of his work who are taking advantage of the Valentine's gift from Criterion.

Here's to hoping that Criterion can get the rights to Wide Blue Road as the Ferraniacolor should look stunning on blu (with a proper restoration).

[ZooTv]

I'll be a happy camper if any of these 5 are announced.

Eraserhead
L'Eclisse
Le Samourai
Rififi
The Vanishing

[bdmartin134]

Where is going to be the best price to get On the Waterfront on release day? BestBuy.com says $44.99 and I don't even know if they'll have them in-store. Amazon says $41.99, and definitely not trusting B&N as that could be right at $50. Criterion has it listed on their site at $35.96, but usually charge $5 for shipping which is right at Amazon's price.
I'm really excited for this release, but I think that each offer is pretty high. I think a biting price for me is no more than $30. I really don't want to wait til a 40% off sale or anything like that.