The Criterion Collection

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by octagon

Weird, I was just coming back to clarify something in my earlier post. I was thinking of Red Harvest when I made the no coherent story joke.

The Maltese Falcon is a great read, btw. It's practically a shooting script for the Huston film. Virtually all of the dialogue in the film is Hammett. It's pretty remarkable, really.

Which is why I'm surprised I haven't read it yet. I thought I did when I was on my Hammett kick last summer.

The Glass Key was made into a Veronica Lake/Alan Ladd film though, which wasn't too shabby. In fact, I used the film poster as the cover for my eBook, as I didn't like any of the actual covers. I swear I spend more time prettying up eBook covers and fixing metadata than I do reading them stilly things.

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by ZooTv

Looks killer, I'm hoping BB carries it in-store so I can cash in some RZ certificates and get it for a few bucks.

As does the "Badlands" package~ have absolutely no problem with Criterion pricing when they deliver like this.

Sorry ZooTv, thought you were referring to the Colonel Blimp in the post immediate before...

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Ze photo is not showing up on my PC, thus I cannot see which film you are referring to. Stuart was only a mouse, and my co-workers were nice enough to help me dispose of him, so my insanity at work is not the result of him. From my co-workers, perhaps, but not Stuart.

The photo was the movie poster art for Of Unknown Origin, a film starring Peter Weller (Robocop) as a homeowner plagued by a horribly bothersome (and intelligent) rat. It's really a much better movie than one would think.

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

The House on Haunted Hill - Shirley Jackson started this one at lunch
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers
The Lottery and Other Short Stories - Shirley Jackson
We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson

Great choices!

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The photo was the movie poster art for Of Unknown Origin, a film starring Peter Weller (Robocop) as a homeowner plagued by a horribly bothersome (and intelligent) rat. It's really a much better movie than one would think.

It would almost certainly have to be.



No animals were injured or otherwise harmed in the production of this post.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ZooTv

haha if only all of the Lynch films many of us have imported could yield similar results.

Yeah, I joke about it but I have a pretty safe record with importing. In fact, I'm pretty surprised that something like Picnic at Hanging Rock still hasn't shown up. That was one of my first pickups when I went region free and that was a little over a year ago already.

[CusackstheMan]

Not sure if this has already been posted by someone else but I was sent email saying my order will be shipped March 20 because On the Waterfront and Thin Red Line are on back order. But I still received discount prices so I assume that doesn't matter?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

It would almost certainly have to be.

What makes Of Unknown Origin a fun movie is the comparison between Peter Weller's rat infestation and his "rat race" career in New York City. It's also a fun slice of NYC cinema from decades ago. The final confrontation with the rat does not disappoint at all, but there are a great many amusing lead-ins to the payoff.

[Scottie]

All this talk of Revanche sparked my interests and I decided to delve into it immediately after watching The Great Dictator. Boy, oh boy. I am exceptionally impressed!

The film was a great example of a character study with minimal dialogue and emotions being conveyed through the characters' body language.

The countryside of Austria is very beautiful, as well, and I think it served as a good place for the film. All of the after effects of chaos and despair took place in such a serene environment.

It's probably one of the best Criterions that I've seen over the past few days and I would recommend it without a doubt.

Also, thanks for the pictures of Badlands and TLADOCB, Pro-B!

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Love Chaplin, but I'm more of a Buster Keaton kind of guy, sometimes the saccharine is too thick.

I just got the set in this weekend so I'm interested in digging into that soon.

Originally Posted by madmojo

Did you watch his short The Rink on the Modern Times blu-ray? I wish they'd put some more shorts on these films as extras. Also, I think there's another short of his on the blu of Au Revoir Les Enfants, which is an amazing movie in it's own right, as it's a short that's shown being watched in the movie.

I have not seen the shorts yet. I will give them a look in the near future, though

Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Originally Posted by Fellini912

That is great. You should also check out City Lights. That is my favorite Chaplin movie.

[Show spoiler]

I want to watch it as I think it's the most talked about. I just hope Criterion releases it and several others in the very near future.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by iScottie

All this talk of Revanche sparked my interests and I decided to delve into it immediately after watching The Great Dictator. Boy, oh boy. I am exceptionally impressed!

The film was a great example of a character study with minimal dialogue and emotions being conveyed through the characters' body language.

The countryside of Austria is very beautiful, as well, and I think it served as a good place for the film. All of the after effects of chaos and despair took place in such a serene environment.

It's probably one of the best Criterions that I've seen over the past few days and I would recommend it without a doubt.

The look of the film compliments everything so perfectly, it's very impressive indeed.

There really is so much displayed through the most minimal actions.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

The look of the film compliments everything so perfectly, it's very impressive indeed.

There really is so much displayed through the most minimal actions.

It was very cool visually and one thing in particular really jumped out at me - walking through the woods at night with a flashlight. I very distinctly remember realizing that had never really looked quite right to me until Revanche.

I'd never really thought about it until then and I couldn't tell you what was different about it or what about it rang more true but my reaction to that was very strong.

[serenityncc880]

Anybody have a beginner's guide/list for the criterion collection? I am fairly knew to exploring what they have to offer and its kind of overwhelming haha. I am open to anything and have no specific preferences.

[Monty70]

Originally Posted by serenityncc880

Anybody have a beginner's guide/list for the criterion collection? I am fairly knew to exploring what they have to offer and its kind of overwhelming haha. I am open to anything and have no specific preferences.

Criterion has a great selection of film noir on blu-ray. Titles such as The Killing, Kiss Me Deadly, Sweet Smell of Success, and The Third Man (OOP at present unfortunately) are all classics of that genre.

I would also add films such as On the Waterfront, Anatomy of a Murder, and 12 Angry Men to a "safe" list of titles to get your feet wet.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by serenityncc880

Anybody have a beginner's guide/list for the criterion collection? I am fairly knew to exploring what they have to offer and its kind of overwhelming haha. I am open to anything and have no specific preferences.

My first advice would be: They're just films. They're not a special elite bunch of releases, or trading cards to collect (although many of us do collect everything ), they're just films...all types, all genres, all decades..given some pretty good attention and bonus material.

Everyone has their own favorites. My favorite release is Paris, Texas...because I love the film.

So, it's not so overwhelming. You can watch whatever that appeals to you

If you have a particular genre/country that you'd like to watch, that would narrow it down..

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by serenityncc880

Anybody have a beginner's guide/list for the criterion collection? I am fairly knew to exploring what they have to offer and its kind of overwhelming haha. I am open to anything and have no specific preferences.

Others will have specific suggestions, I'm sure (I'm certainly tempted). My own advice is to look at your favorite films. Find out who wrote and/or directed them. Find out THEIR influences and explore. Depending on your own taste, some of those will possibly be part of Criterion, but there are other excellent companies, too.

Another beginner's method may be to Google "Ebert's Great Movies" and read some of his essays. These are not reviews (I'm not a fan of his reviews) but are essays that offer insights. Many of the titles are part of Criterion's stable of releases.

You can also just go to their official site and use the filters (country, language, director, star, etc.) or even look at covers to see what grabs you. Click on the title and read an essay from the site. Again, explore.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by serenityncc880

Anybody have a beginner's guide/list for the criterion collection? I am fairly knew to exploring what they have to offer and its kind of overwhelming haha. I am open to anything and have no specific preferences.

My go-to/must watch Criterion recommendations would be:

The Thin Red Line
Breathless (or any Godard, but it's probably the best place to start)
Rosemary's Baby
La promesse or The Kid with a Bike
Chungking Express
Days of Heaven

[rkish]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I finally watched On the Waterfront yesterday, and it was stunning. I'll be watching Sansho tonight after I santize the place, as Stuart came back this morning, and left in a Wal-Mart coffin. I can now sleep easy, and sit out in my living room, without jumping at every little noise. Still slighly paranoid that he had friends and family though.

Cannot wait for The Blob next week either.

Haven't gotten to OTW yet, but watched Sansho on Saturday. Looks simply great! You won't be disappointed...I hope to get to OTW by next weekend. Want to save the Sansho commentary for another time.

For those with Hulu...I watched another great Kinoshita film this weekend. "Wedding Ring" with one of the few pairings of Kinuyo Tanaka and Toshiro Mifune ( I know...The Life of Oharu is another film they share).

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Thanks for the info on the region free player. I got busy during the weekend. I plan to save some money for an Oppo blu ray player.

The US is having a hard time keeping up with the great UK releases. For the meanwhile, I am happy that MoC and BFI have some region free blu rays (Alice by Svankmajer, Sunrise and L'Age D'Or with Un Chien Andalou are jewels of my film collection.

You're quite welcome! I wish I could justify/afford a hardware modded player, much less an Oppo. Good luck and I'm very jealous!

Trust me...you'll spend more on UK blus and DVDs, than you'll spend on the player.

ENJOY!

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by rkish

Trust me...you'll spend more on UK blus and DVDs, than you'll spend on the player.

Precisely the fear that prevents me from going region-free!

[rkish]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Love Chaplin, but I'm more of a Buster Keaton kind of guy, sometimes the saccharine is too thick.

Chaplin was my first love (bought all of his MK2 DVDs, plus his Mutual and Essany shorts), but have really gotten in Keaton in recent years.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

Others will have specific suggestions, I'm sure (I'm certainly tempted). My own advice is to look at your favorite films. Find out who wrote and/or directed them. Find out THEIR influences and explore. Depending on your own taste, some of those will possibly be part of Criterion, but there are other excellent companies, too.

Another beginner's method may be to Google "Ebert's Great Movies" and read some of his essays. These are not reviews (I'm not a fan of his reviews) but are essays that offer insights. Many of the titles are part of Criterion's stable of releases.

You can also just go to their official site and use the filters (country, language, director, star, etc.) or even look at covers to see what grabs you. Click on the title and read an essay from the site. Again, explore.

+1. His Great Movie series outshines his weekly reviews.


Although I'm a Criterion/Kino/Olive/Eureka fanboy, if you want to cultivate taste, renting is the best option. There's not a big financial requirement, so you don't have to feel pressured to "get your money's worth."

Tune into TCM and various other streaming options: Hulu, Netflix, & I'm not sure how great it is but Mubi.com has a 30 films available for streaming per month for 4.99 plan, which sounds enticing. Also, pick a few good best of lists Time's top 100, Ebert's Great Films, Rosenbaum's alternate 100, 1001 Movies to see..., and although quite populist and safe: AFI's top 100.

I really suggest reading proper film criticism/essays. I've been reading quite a bit of J Rosenbaum, J Hoberman, AO Scott, Manohla Dargis, David Bordwell and their writing has been invaluable.