The Criterion Collection

[madmojo]

Watching The Ballad of Narayama (I have it on pause right now). It's great except for the singing where the narrator changes keys about 4 times a syllable. My dad even commented on it and asked me to turn it off, as it was grating on his nerves. Must admit, it was on mine at first too.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

It is better but not stellar. I pretty much concur with the site's review.

The Miller's Crossing blu-ray is probably based on an old master.
Not much chance there will be a better version any time soon.
Meanwhile, would love to see a good blu-ray of Barton Fink...

[BruceWayneMartin]

Finally getting around to watching The Great Dictator, hope it's good!

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by MasturB

Watched On The Waterfront for the first time ever...

Wow!

The last 20-25 minutes especially were amazing.

It's quite the treat! Glad you enjoyed it.

[The Great Owl]

I finally got around to watching my Criterion Blu-ray of 12 Angry Men. Outstanding!

I previously owned the film on DVD, but the high definition experience makes 12 Angry Men so much more tense by way of the details of facial expression nuances and beads of sweat on the faces. I read the teleplay in high school and I've seen the movie quite a few times, but I'm still somehow on the edge of my seat with each subsequent viewing.

Why did I decide to watch 12 Angry Men tonight, you ask?

Well, after watching The Man with No Name Trilogy yesterday, I continued my Sergio Leone marathon by watching my Blu-ray of Once Upon a Time in the West earlier this evening. (OUATITW is a remarkable Blu-ray transfer of an older film, incidentally... I was astounded.) After enjoying Henry Fonda's rather terrifying villain role in that movie, I decided to revisit 12 Angry Men to watch the other side of the coin with regard to Henry Fonda's acting range. So incredible... Especially since he was a decade older when he played in the Sergio Leone film.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I finally got around to watching my Criterion Blu-ray of 12 Angry Men. Outstanding!

I previously owned the film on DVD, but the high definition experience makes 12 Angry Men so much more tense by way of the details of facial expression nuances and beads of sweat on the faces. I read the teleplay in high school and I've seen the movie quite a few times, but I'm still somehow on the edge of my seat with each subsequent viewing.

Why did I decide to watch 12 Angry Men tonight, you ask?

Well, after watching The Man with No Name Trilogy yesterday, I continued my Sergio Leone marathon by watching my Blu-ray of Once Upon a Time in the West earlier this evening. (OUATITW is a remarkable Blu-ray transfer of an older film, incidentally... I was astounded.) After enjoying Henry Fonda's rather terrifying villain role in that movie, I decided to revisit 12 Angry Men to watch the other side of the coin with regard to Henry Fonda's acting range. So incredible... Especially since he was a decade older when he played in the Sergio Leone film.

Call me crazy, but maybe I prefer him in the villain role. He's excelles in John Ford's Fort Apache playing a vain and unwavering general.

Unrelated side note #1. I can't wait for Lady Eve.
Unrelated side note #2. I wish someone would release The Heiress on blu ray.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I concluded my day of films with another great movie - Au Revoir Les Enfants.

[Show spoiler]This is a very powerful film that centers around a boarding school in France during World War II. The Germans occupied France at this time and they did whatever they could to rid France of Jewish people.

It's a very great film because it shows a different side to World War II - the innocent children whose lives and dignity were stripped at such a young age because their religious affiliations were different than what was "the ideal".

Au Revoir Les Enfants has some really great acting for such young children. It was not predictable by any means and I am pretty shocked about what transpired. The fact that it was inspired by director Louis Malle's own childhood makes it all that much powerful, in my opinion.

I think one of the best parts of the film was when they all watched the Charles Chaplin short film "The Immigrant".

[Show spoiler]It was the only time in the entire movie where everybody was united in such a fun occasion. For people who have seen the film, you will notice that there was frequent fighting and name calling among all the students. However, in this one instance, they were all brought together and actually happy.

Great film. I really recommend seeing it.

I love this movie. It's tough to pick a Malle favorite, but I would rank this one right below Elevator to the Gallows and The Fire Within.

Au Revoir Les Enfants (Goodbye, Children) lives up to its title so well in its portrayal of a tragic end to childhood innocence. Without giving too much away, try to imagine living the rest of your life in guilt over a split-second incident like the one that determined the course of events in the film. Wow...

I'm thankful that my own childhood did not have such a horrible turning point.
(I do, however, wish that my piano teacher had looked like Irene Jacob.)

[metaridley]

Every single person who posts in this thread is such an incredible nerd. Myself included.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Unrelated side note #1. I can't wait for Lady Eve.

I really want to see Sullivan's Travels released on Blu-ray.

[The Great Owl]

I really do feel as though I'm attending a film class of sorts as I've been watching my "essential favorites" that I upgraded from DVD to Blu-ray so quickly. The past few days, with the Universal Monsters films followed by Bergman's Fanny and Alexander followed by the Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns followed by 12 Angry Men, have been rather wonderful.

It's been this way for me over the past three months, because I'm rediscovering favorite movies by seeing them on Blu-ray for the first time, and, in the process, I am realizing what makes these movies work so well.

There's no real rhyme or reason to the order that I'm watching these Blu-rays. I simply look at the shrinking list of the ones that I have not watched yet on Blu-ray, and I pick what strikes my fancy from that list on any given day. Not sure what I'll watch tomorrow night.

Maybe I'll save the best for last by watching my box set of the five Resident Evil movies after everything else.
Just kidding. I am looking forward to seeing those in high def, though.
On truth, I'll probably watch the Bond films in chronological order last. I've got about 60 Blu-rays left to watch, and those are the bulk, although I've already taken time to watch a few. I've seen them all a million times, but they've never looked this good.

[TheManWhoLaughs]

Originally Posted by MasturB

Watched On The Waterfront for the first time ever...

Wow!

The last 20-25 minutes especially were amazing.

Yeah, I picked up my copy today; it's simply outstanding. Criterion is continually outdoing themselves with their releases that don't come from "the list." This is my new favorite release, next to The Night of the Hunter. I'm hoping Criterion is able to release more of the seminal American noirs (the original '41-'58 cycle) and major American dramas from the '50s in the same vein as Hunter and Waterfront; the packaging, the production, the transfers, the features--they're impeccable.

EDIT: I might add that Criterion should do a reprint of The Third Man given its overall popularity, collectibility, and scarcity. They're losing a lot of sales to original, unopened copies selling on eBay for upwards of $250.

[A Sith Lord?]

Originally Posted by iScottie

It's quite the treat! Glad you enjoyed it.

Just the camera work alone for the final scene with Terry stumbling and the camera wobbling and blurring from the 1st Person POV was amazing for a 1954 movie. Not to mention the fact that it looks so much more awesome because of the Criterion restoration... Not ashamed to say I paid $34 for this masterpiece at all.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Unrelated side note #1. I can't wait for Lady Eve.

Admit it, who hasn't date-sportscasted in a restaurant?

[Show spoiler]

The Lady Eve (1/10) Movie CLIP - She Knows His Type (1941) HD - YouTube

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I really want to see Sullivan's Travels released on Blu-ray.

Also (moving off of Fonda and onto Sturges), does Criterion still have Unfaithfully Yours?
Saw Fox was releasing a list of "unwanted" MOD titles, and one of the two versions was on the list--A typo had it as the '48 version, but could've been referring to the VERY unwanted OOP Dudley Moore '84 version.

[Hypnosifl]

Originally Posted by TheManWhoLaughs

EDIT: I might add that Criterion should do a reprint of The Third Man given its overall popularity, collectibility, and scarcity. They're losing a lot of sales to original, unopened copies selling on eBay for upwards of $250.

Unfortunately, this article says that Studio Canal now owns the rights:

Criterion has had a number of titles go out of print throughout their run on DVD. This had everything to do with who owned a particular title as Criterion often will license something, and if those rights change hands, or the owners think they can do a better job or make more money than you get a collector’s item. One of the most viscous blows (or best news ever for people who like selling out of print material) was when Studio Canal took back the rights to about fifty titles, including two titles that had made it to Blu-ray: The Third Man and The Man Who Fell to Earth.

This page has a list of movies that have been or will be released by StudioCanal, and not all of them were ever released by Criterion (though I suppose I should pick up some I'm interested in before they go out of print, like Breathless/Marienbad/Belle de Jour):

To date, it appears that the StudioCanal Collection consists of 13 titles:
3 Days of the Condor (Region A & B)
Belle de Jour (Region B only)
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (Region A & B)
The Deer Hunter (Region A & B)
L’Année dernière à Marienbad (Region A & B)
Le Mépris (Region A & B)
Ran (Region A & B)
The Elephant Man (Region A & B)
Breathless (Region A & B)
Pierrot Le Fou (Region A & B)
The Ladykillers (Region A & B)
The Go-Between (Region B only)
Senso (Region B only)

And upcoming titles include:
Peeping Tom
Mulholland Drive
That Obscure Object of Desire
Grand Illusion
The Third Man

This doesn't include The Man Who Fell to Earth, but this page says it'll probably be released by Lions Gate which does the US distribution of Studio Canal titles. Not sure if the first article was right when it said "Studio Canal took back the rights to about fifty titles" though.

[TheManWhoLaughs]

Originally Posted by Hypnosifl

To date, it appears that the StudioCanal Collection consists of 13 titles:
3 Days of the Condor (Region A & B)
Belle de Jour (Region B only)
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (Region A & B)
The Deer Hunter (Region A & B)
L’Année dernière à Marienbad (Region A & B)
Le Mépris (Region A & B)
Ran (Region A & B)
The Elephant Man (Region A & B)
Breathless (Region A & B)
Pierrot Le Fou (Region A & B)
The Ladykillers (Region A & B)
The Go-Between (Region B only)
Senso (Region B only)

And upcoming titles include:
Peeping Tom
Mulholland Drive
That Obscure Object of Desire
Grand Illusion
The Third Man

And to think that these (bold) titles won't get Criterion treatment ... what a shame. At least Le Grande Illusion is included in the Janus collection, though it's going for $849.99 on Criterion.

[TheManWhoLaughs]

Originally Posted by Hypnosifl

Unfortunately, blah, blah, blah...

By the way, Sifl n' Olly FTW!!!

Although I will say that Chester is by far the most "crescent fresh" of the group.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by TheManWhoLaughs

And to think that these (bold) titles won't get Criterion treatment ... what a shame. At least Le Grande Illusion is included in the Janus collection, though it's going for $849.99 on Criterion.

At least the Lionsgate Blu-ray of LE GRANDE ILLUSION has a truly excellent transfer and some very good bonus features. Most of the other Lionsgate Studio Canal titles seem to be pretty hit or miss for picture quality, like their horrendous Blu-ray of CONTEMPT with its terrible color and ever-changing sharpness, and their sort of adequate and at least colorful but distractingly soft Blu-ray of RAN.

[Hypnosifl]

Originally Posted by TheManWhoLaughs

By the way, Sifl n' Olly FTW!!!

Although I will say that Chester is by far the most "crescent fresh" of the group.

Oh, I agree, but a long time ago I settled on that name/avatar combo for another forum. If you haven't seen it, check out S&O's new series of fake video game reviews: http://www.nerdist.com/2012/09/inter...ocks-it-to-us/

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by MasturB

Just the camera work alone for the final scene with Terry stumbling and the camera wobbling and blurring from the 1st Person POV was amazing for a 1954 movie. Not to mention the fact that it looks so much more awesome because of the Criterion restoration... Not ashamed to say I paid $34 for this masterpiece at all.

And the music during that scene is also amazing!

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by IronWaffle

With so many versions of this film having been made, I've long put off reading the book to complete the comparison.

Which reminds me, after seeing the HBO take on Cain's Mildred Pierce, I planned on checking out the novel and re-watching the original film.

Don't just stop there. Read The Postman Always Rings twice and Double Indemnity too. and watch their film counterparts.

Cain is excellent.