The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Hendershot737

Wow...well done. Many members here are envious.

Thank you haha. Now comes the difficult process of watching through all of them.

I've only seen the following:

[Show spoiler]

• 3 Women
• 12 Angry Men
• 39 Steps
• Antichrist
• Being John Malkovich
• Belle De Jour
• Blow Out
• Brazil
• Charade
• Curious Case Of Benjamin Button
• Days Of Heaven
• Dazed And Confused
• Double Life Of Veronique
• Down By Law
• Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas
• Following
• Game
• Killing
• Kiss Me Deadly
• La Haine
• Lady Vanishes
• Last Days Of Disco
• Last Year At Marienbad
• Man Who Knew Too Much
• Modern Times
• Night Of The Hunter
• On The Waterfront
• Paris, Texas
• Paths Of Glory
• Repulsion
• Rosemary's Baby
• Royal Tenenbaums
• Seventh Seal
• Something Wild
• Sweet Smell Of Success
• Thin Red Line
• Third Man
• Traffic
• Videodrome
• Vivre Sa Vie

[Scottie]

In case anybody cares, I posted a more in-depth review on "On The Waterfront"

Many may say that the defining moment of Marlon Brando's career is "The Godfather" when it is in fact "On The Waterfront".

On The Waterfront follows Terry Malloy (portrayed by Marlon Brando), an ex-prize fighter turned longshoreman. Terry has a pretty complicated life. When he is not tending to his pigeons or fighting for a piece of the work at the docks, Terry is running miscellaneous errands for union crime boss, Johnny Friendly (portrayed by Lee J. Cobb). After witnessing the murder of Joey Doyle (portrayed by Ben Wagner) by Johnny Friendly's men, Terry must decide what is right and where his loyalties lie. All of this is complicated further with the introduction of the lovely Edie Doyle (portrayed by Eva Marie Saint) into his life.

One of the best things that stuck with me throughout this entire film was Terry Malloy's relationship with his pigeons. The only family that Terry Malloy had was his brother, Charley (portrayed by Rod Steiger). The pigeons that he tended to on a daily basis, as a result, became his family. Just like his pigeons, Terry was essentially "caged up". He could not be who he wanted to be and live out the dreams that he so longed for. It is not until the end that we see Terry break free and become his own unique personality.

On The Waterfront has some of the best acting that I have seen to date. Each actor did a phenomenal job at portraying the character that they were assigned - so much so that I forgot that I was actually watching a movie.

The Criterion Collection gives this landmark of a film three unique aspect ratios with additional audio tracks included. The film is also packed with a number of extras that make this film all the better.

On The Waterfront changed the way that films were made and highlighted some of the best actors of the mid-20th century's careers. The film is well-worth every penny, especially after all of the work that The Criterion Collection put into remastering this film to the best that it could be.

After watching this film, I can truly say that it deserved all of the Oscar wins that it received and more.

[gurtagel]

hey so is the criterion Chungking Express still OOP... I was wondering and couldnt find any recent info... its still listed as so on their site, but is this just for a change in packaging or no...
thx in advance

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by gurtagel

hey so is the criterion Chungking Express still OOP... I was wondering and couldnt find any recent info... its still listed as so on their site, but is this just for a change in packaging or no...
thx in advance

Once a film is announced as out of print via Criterion, there is zero chance of it coming back. The good thing is they give plenty of time to tell the public that it is out of print so plenty of copies are still available to purchase.

No change in packaging, I think they just didn't renew the rights or something (not 100% sure, though).

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Once a film is announced as out of print via Criterion, there is zero chance of it coming back. The good thing is they give plenty of time to tell the public that it is out of print so plenty of copies are still available to purchase.

No change in packaging, I think they just didn't renew the rights or something (not 100% sure, though).

Not totally true. It's up to the whims of executives and lawyers, really.

I mean they COULD regain rights for anything, and I'm pretty sure they have previously had some things that went OOP that eventually came back in print on DVD (in some cases YEARS later, but it happens). I know a few blu-ray releases had long been OOP on DVD.

The output from StudioCanal has been so painfully slow, that it almost seems inevitable they will give up their grand plans, it would be quite logical for a number of these titles to come back to Criterion. They just need to negotiate a new deal. (No idea if it's Lions-gate or StudioCanal holding the cards, or what the deal is). But one has to wonder if they just keep sitting on these titles without releasing them, that it would be more fruitful to just sign a new deal with Criterion.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Once a film is announced as out of print via Criterion, there is zero chance of it coming back. The good thing is they give plenty of time to tell the public that it is out of print so plenty of copies are still available to purchase.

No change in packaging, I think they just didn't renew the rights or something (not 100% sure, though).

This isn't completely true. There are some examples of titles that have come back (Salo, the Tatis (the 1st time they went out of print on DVD) and that are supposed to come back (BRD).

That said, iScottie is right about how it plays out most of the time.

[gurtagel]

id better pick up my copy then hahah....
thx guys

[gurtagel]

Oh ya one more thing... do you guys think itll go up in price like the third man did if I dont buy soon.... or even to like say fifty dollars... im contemplating whether or not I should buy it yet

[nagysaudio]

Either Criterion hurries up and announces Scanners, or Second Sight will get my money.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by gurtagel

Oh ya one more thing... do you guys think itll go up in price like the third man did if I dont buy soon.... or even to like say fifty dollars... im contemplating whether or not I should buy it yet

I think it will almost certainly go above fifty. It might not get to The Third Man levels but that's what I thought about The Man Who Fell to Earth and that's been going for well over fifty for quite a while now.

If you want Chungking Express now is the time.

[KrugerIndustrial]

I believe Tati's Play Time is now out of print as well. I could imagine it going up in price sooner than Chunking Express. Luckily I got a copy for free from a friend.

[arcadeforest]

Last night I watched The Vanishing and must say that film was incredible, disturbing, but incredible. I'm still thinking about it this morning like I just turned the TV off so I guess that says something about it. I love how the director broke the film out and you got to see several layers to the story from different points of view. The ending - just wow, makes me shake my head just thinking about it.

[Show spoiler]I know its been done before, not sure if this is the first time though and other films have copied

If you have not seen this film I highly recommend it. I streamed it on Hulu+, don't believe there is a bluray version (Criterion anyway, maybe there is a European release - I have not looked)

http://www.criterion.com/films/677-the-vanishing

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

For what it's worth, I loved seeing Tree of Life in the cinema: a beautiful experience that had me feeling emotional and inarticulate for the whole film.

Just got back from seeing Tree of Life tonight at the Astor. Captivating, enchanting, mesmerizing.......nothing like seeing it on the big screen

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by lemonski

Just got back from seeing Tree of Life tonight at the Astor. Captivating, enchanting, mesmerizing.......nothing like seeing it on the big screen

I usually don't see a film twice in theaters but for Tree of Life I made sure to see it 2 times.

The most I've seen a film in theaters in its initial run is probably Vicky Cristina Barcelona (3x).

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by arcadeforest

Last night I watched The Vanishing and must say that film was incredible, disturbing, but incredible. I'm still thinking about it this morning like I just turned the TV off so I guess that says something about it. I love how the director broke the film out and you got to see several layers to the story from different points of view. The ending - just wow, makes me shake my head just thinking about it.

[Show spoiler]I know its been done before, not sure if this is the first time though and other films have copied

If you have not seen this film I highly recommend it. I streamed it on Hulu+, don't believe there is a bluray version (Criterion anyway, maybe there is a European release - I have not looked)

http://www.criterion.com/films/677-the-vanishing

The Vanishing is one of my favorite Criterions, and it was one of the first Criterion titles that I purchased. This was one of my first-ever foreign film experiences, because I saw it during the early 1990s on some late night cable channel and was blown away.

[The Great Owl]

I stayed up late last night to watch my Blu-ray of The Night of the Hunter.



The Night of the Hunter is one of my all-time favorite films. I owned a non-Criterion DVD edition of the film several years ago, and even tracked down the Davis Grubb novel from which the movie was based. After watching the Criterion Blu-ray last night, I am pleased to say that one of my favorites is now better than I imagined possible.

With this Blu-ray transfer, the movie really pops out at the viewer, even with my modest 32'' HDTV, and looks as through it were filmed on a sound stage just a few feet away. This high definition transfer accentuates the lighting and movie props during key moments (Robert Mitchum's Harry Powell driving through the countryside on a staged automobile, artificial jetstreams in the water when the children take off on their boat, film lighting angles, and such), but these moments simply serve to strengthen The Night of the Hunter as a work of fantasy by way of old-fashioned storytelling. Unlike many current movies that allow realism to subvert the story with unfavorable consequences, The Night of the Hunter is a movie that never lets the viewer forget that he or she is watching a movie. This twisted slice of Americana contains several fearful images, but we always feel comfortable in the same way that children feel safe when listening to a bedtime story.

The Night of the Hunter is one of the least subtle films ever made, and virtually every still frame drives home a certain theme like the hammering a railroad spike. The angles of light around Willa (Shelley Winters) while she is lying in bed give her a pure spiritual illumination. Basement boards in the shape of a crucifix are accentuated when Harry Powell opens a basement door to search for the children. Harry Powell's deep voice (in the style of Johnny Cash) reverberates with force across Southern Gothic river town landscapes. Rachel Cooper (Lillian Gish) is portrayed in technical terms as a light in the darkness in her role as the ultimate den mother and one ray of sunshine in a cruel Great Depression world. "It's a hard world for little things", yes, but survival and hope are possible even in the darkest times.

There are a great many elaborately visceral special effects in modern-day horror movies, but none will ever live up to the simple shadow of a hat in the background of a children's bedroom in The Night of the Hunter.

This movie is an American treasure.

[rkish]

For those concerned about the availability of the Mizoguchi Eclipse set. I just emailed Jon Mulvaney to clarify, but I feel it's either a stocking issue and more sets are being pressed and/or it's going through a second printing and they are phasing out the current edition. This would be further evidenced by the posting on their website, when trying to order it there:


Eclipse Series 13:
Kenji Mizoguchi’s Fallen Women
Eclipse DVD Box Set

Remove

Temporarily out of stock

Estimated ship date 14 Mar 2013

[joie]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Yes, I agree that the 8 1/2 is about director's block. I hate to answer a question with a question, but what is a writer's or director's block?

To me a writer's block, in a general sense, is when you can not come up with an idea for your next story. But now if you are half way through your story and can not finish it, I believe that is due to the lack of structure or commitment.

Maybe there are artists here that approach their artwork differently. Before I start writing, drawing or composing music, I find a subject. Then I continue with an outline. Finally, I flesh out the story or drawing. Now if you start a project without the first two steps, I think you looking for a disaster. I think this basic structure can almost guarantee you at least a finished piece. Well there are exceptions to the rule, for example Jack Kerouac's On The Road scroll. Stream of conscious is a literary device and not a substitute for proper structure.

Directing is a whole different game. I think Guido is also the script writer. He has his producer prying him to get on with the project which he does not have a script, but has a general idea. Funding is very important element in movie making, there are deadlines, etc.

In conclusion, 8 1/2 is about a mixture of director's block, a lack of structure and commitment in one's artwork and cultural ideals. Guido in the end appears to be an empty promise.

Wikipedia's Writer's Block entry looks like a decent introduction to the problem. The entry's introduction quotes the definition of one person: " [...] an inability to begin or continue writing for reasons other than lack of basic skill or commitment." But, of course, if something like deadline anxiety is causing writer's block, as another study mentioned in the entry states, then someone might say, "Anxiety management should be part of any writer's basic skills," invalidating the definition quoted, above.

Your thoughts about the importance of finding (even discovering) an idea, then fleshing it out before starting are spot on. It could be an iterative process, expanding on the first outline, the second, and so on until the "story" is completely fleshed-out.

I think that "Guido" has a lot of ideas, but cannot put them together (write a script). My ideas about the "story" of 8 1/2 gelled after seeing Nine, which is somewhat of a remake. Both seem to me to be films about making a film.

[bdmartin134]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Tara Cinemas on Cheshire Bridge Road.

I know, because that's where I saw The Tree of Life, and I don't remember it showing anywhere else in town. I saw the movie at Tara after work on the afternoon of its release, and I was mesmerized and captivated. I returned home, wrote a glowing review of the movie on my Facebook wall, and announced it as my favorite film of that year. Later on, several friends saw the film on my recommendation, and they all disliked it.

I did notice some bewildered reactions while I was at the theater, but most of the audience seemed to enjoy it. Of course, the theater was not crowded during this particular afternoon showing.

It would be funny if you and I had been watching the movie at Tara Cinemas at the same time. Small world, at any rate.

The most recent film I saw at Tara was Killer Joe. Most of the audience seemed freaked out by the film, and I can't say that I blame them. Haha.

Haha, yea it was at Tara on Cheshire. Such a great theater over there. I caught Tree of Life the first evening, ended up at the later showing. Unfortunately I no longer live in ATL, moved to Florida, and of course in my area there are no such theaters like Tara anywhere.

[ZooTv]

Originally Posted by arcadeforest

Last night I watched The Vanishing and must say that film was incredible, disturbing, but incredible. I'm still thinking about it this morning like I just turned the TV off so I guess that says something about it. I love how the director broke the film out and you got to see several layers to the story from different points of view. The ending - just wow, makes me shake my head just thinking about it.

[Show spoiler]I know its been done before, not sure if this is the first time though and other films have copied

If you have not seen this film I highly recommend it. I streamed it on Hulu+, don't believe there is a bluray version (Criterion anyway, maybe there is a European release - I have not looked)

http://www.criterion.com/films/677-the-vanishing

It is a special film, that is for sure. Insomnia (1997) is an equally fantastic psychological thriller that is filmed with the same intense precision which makes The Vanishing so captivating. Both films are long overdue for an upgrade given their shoddy (even by Criterion standards) DVD presentations.