The Criterion Collection

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

If I recall, Crierion was all ready to go and release Ran, they had a new print done and everything (But I might be wrong) But then they lost the rights to the movie to Studio Canal who then release it but it wasn't a very good release. There as been a debate ever since on how Criterion could have had a better release or if what we got with Studio Canal was as good as it wil ever be for that movie. I did not know the Studio Canal was also OOP now

This was my belief too. I heard rumors and speculations of what could have occurred, but I could not find anything official about the situation. Plus it happened on a very popular title, many consider it Kurosawa's crowning achievement.

Many would consider Le Samourai Jean-Pierre Melville's crowning achievement. I just hope it sees the day of light by criterion's hands.
In conclusion, there is no sacred film that criterion has absolute, unlimited rights to, unfortunately.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by sc1957

My feeling about sky-high prices for OOP titles (or buying extra copies to hoard for later sale) is that these people never heard of Cabbage Patch Kids, Beanie Babies, and a myriad of other fads where the supposed scarcity of an item that was manufactured by the thousands, if not millions, was going to lead the hoarders to a pot of gold. Like rainbows, those dreams always vanish in the end.

So when you see sky-high prices for OOP titles you think the people who bought those titles with resale in mind made a mistake?

Interesting take.

Not that it really matters. I seriously doubt too many of the people scrambling after anything of these titles are doing so with retirement nest eggs in mind.

Originally Posted by shortmartin

Just curious, how does the Fly hold up for you now?

Two (possibly three) years ago I watched it for the first time in decades and it held up surprisingly well. Jeff Goldblum was as excellent as I remembered, Geena Davis was a lot better than I remembered and the story was still pretty creepy and very effectively told. Haircuts aside, the only thing that seemed really dated were some of the make-up effects and those still worked but now in a somewhat quaint Harryhausen sort of way.

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

David Cronenberg's horror movies of the 1970s and 1980s resonate more with me than his recent hard-edged character study films, although I love A History of Violence and Eastern Promises.

The early Cronenberg films, however, were quite horrific, because many of them had a bizarre undercurrent of sex and disease that hit years before the AIDS epidemic was acknowledged by the public in a ubiquitous way. The early Clive Barker books had a similar effect, because the horror touched nerves of the readers in a physical way that made most people uncomfortable.

Videodrome, in addition to predicting the ill effects of technology and communication in an eerie way, also touched on the most terrifying underlying theme that can pervade in a horror film, our fear of disfigurement. It seems to me that people can accept countless horror films about murder, torture, or the supernatural, because these are scares that we see ourselves facing and withstanding in a courageous way. The horror films that really unnerve the masses, though, are the films about being disfigured and turning into something that makes us feel that we are no longer human beings in the accepted sense. I have not seen the recent movie, The Human Centipede, but the premise of the film leads me to believe that it repels so many people (including me) for the same reason that the early Cronenberg films repel people. Torture? We can deal with that. Death? We can deal with that. Being disfigured? No way!

I used to teach a film appreciation unit for a high school drama program. (In fact, that's how I got started with Criterion, having purchased Bicycle Thieves, Pygmalion, and The Ruling Class for my students.) Each year, I sent out a parent letter listing about 100 "R" rated films that needed to be approved by a guardian. One year, I received an "all movies approved" response from each parent. I decided to show The Fly. The kids were able to handle the sex in a very, mature way, but they were really unnerved by the violence.

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The main menu screen of Criterion's edition of Videodrome shows

[Show spoiler]scrambled video transmissions involving torture and S&M, just like the Videodrome transmissions that James Woods picks up during the film. In the context of the movie, the main menu is clever, because it appears as though we're picking up the Videodrome programming when we put the Blu-ray into our player.

If you've already seen the movie, you'll get it.
For someone who has never seen Videodrome and who has purchased the Blu-ray as a blind buy, though, it might raise an eyebrow or two, to say the least!
I can imagine someone new to the film inserting the Blu-ray, seeing the main menu, and wondering what he has got himself into.

Ah I see. Yeah if you were unfamiliar with the film I can see how that might be a tad alarming. Thanks for the info, you saved me a purchase just to check out the menu(which I think would have been a first for me)

[vader4]

Having finished my Harmony Korine marathon from the past couple of weeks I have decided to begin watching Akira Kurosawa films. I watched Seven Samurai for the first time on Monday and it was fantastic, immediately entered my top 20. I watched Kagemusha yesterday and it was very reminiscent of Shakepeare. High and Low is the one I'll be watching today. If all of his movies are this good I'll be broke in July!

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I have not seen the recent movie, The Human Centipede, but the premise of the film leads me to believe that it repels so many people (including me) for the same reason that the early Cronenberg films repel people. Torture? We can deal with that. Death? We can deal with that. Being disfigured? No way!

None of that holds a candle to the opening seen from this movie....probably the most disgusting thing I have ever seen captured on film and at the same time it is a natural thing.

[P@t_Mtl]

Talk about going from the high to the lowest, just finish watch the remake of The Three Stooges and help me I actually laugh It's funny as I am not a fan at all of them but I don't know this movie just made me laugh. I think I need help

[mrjohnnyb]

I just saw Heaven's Gate today for the first time and I found it to be absolutely great film-making. I can recall all of the critical flack it took when released theatrically, and I have no idea why. I found the story to be compelling, the art direction to be stunning, and the cinematography to be breathtaking. It reminded me of Days of Heaven in terms of scope, texture, and scenic beauty, not to mention that both films have a social injustice theme. And what an incredible cast! I need to find another three-hour time slot to watch it again, but it is already one of my favorite westerns.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Talk about going from the high to the lowest, just finish watch the remake of The Three Stooges and help me I actually laugh It's funny as I am not a fan at all of them but I don't know this movie just made me laugh. I think I need help

I can relate in a big way. I can already tell after only a few months that Better Off Dead will be one of the most worthwhile Blu-rays in my collection as far as multiple viewings are concerned.

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I can relate in a big way. I can already tell after only a few months that Better Off Dead will be one of the most worthwhile Blu-rays in my collection as far as multiple viewings are concerned.

I haven't seen that one in ages, it's with John Cusack when he was really young if I recall?

So tonight I promise my wife we would watch the new DVD we got, one of the latest movie from Sarah Geronimo and then it's Monsieur Verdoux

[octagon]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

I just saw Heaven's Gate today for the first time and I found it to be absolutely great film-making. I can recall all of the critical flack it took when released theatrically, and I have no idea why. I found the story to be compelling, the art direction to be stunning, and the cinematography to be breathtaking. It reminded me of Days of Heaven in terms of scope, texture, and scenic beauty, not to mention that both films have a social injustice theme. And what an incredible cast! I need to find another three-hour time slot to watch it again, but it is already one of my favorite westerns.

I DVRed that last month and watched the first hour or so and was definitely intrigued. I neglected to lock the recording and it was automatically deleted to free up space before I could finish it but I'm kind of sort of almost somewhat leaning toward thinking about grabbing it in July.

To be honest, the opening several minutes filled me with something very similar to dread but once things moved west those reservations quickly dissipated. I won't say the film moved quickly but it didn't drag either and I wouldn't say the story drew me in exactly but when I turned it off I did want to know where things went from there. I wouldn't really say it was interesting yet but it held out the promise of becoming interesting.

And yeah, it looked awfully good.

It probably won't make the July cut but it's definitely in the mix.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Jon Rosenbaum's too!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I haven't seen that one in ages, it's with John Cusack when he was really young if I recall?

So tonight I promise my wife we would watch the new DVD we got, one of the latest movie from Sarah Geronimo and then it's Monsieur Verdoux

That's it. Better Off Dead is one of the great 1980s films starring John Cusack. I never seen to get tired of the movie, even after 25 years or so.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

That's it. Better Off Dead is one of the great 1980s films starring John Cusack. I never seen to get tired of the movie, even after 25 years or so.

Is that the one where he was the lovelorn sadsack?

That one was awesome

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I have bigger fish to catch from the Blu-ray ocean first, so I'm going to pass up on Playtime for now.

If the upcoming restoration is well-received, then I'm sure that the film will receive a Blu-ray release on these shores in some form or fashion in years to come.

You'll regret it, it's the most visually sophisticated comedy youll ever see.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

Talk about going from the high to the lowest, just finish watch the remake of The Three Stooges and help me I actually laugh It's funny as I am not a fan at all of them but I don't know this movie just made me laugh. I think I need help

I think we'll all need help if Hollywood ever decides to impersonate the Marx Brothers.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

What did I do? He has called L'Ecclisse Antonioni's greatest film

[metaridley]

Mmmmmmm I think I'll just wait for a US/Region A release of Chungking Express to come back into print again. Thanks anyway, guys!

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

What did I do? He has called L'Ecclisse Antonioni's greatest film

Maybe I read into it too much

I thought you were saying me, Haneke, and the critic who wrote the L'Eclisse Criterion essay were the only ones.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by sc1957

Aside from the few people who post here to crow that they laid out $70 or more for a title like The Third Man, how large do you think the pool of potential buyers is?

Remember, this is also the forum where people insist that they won't buy X until it's under $10.

The pool of buyers and the pool of sellers are probably both quite small.

What does that have to do with anything? As long as the pool of buyers is larger than the pool of sellers prices will tend to rise. It doesn't matter how big those pools are in absolute terms, does it?

The secondary market for OOP Criterions is obviously pretty solid. Prices range from pretty high to - your words - sky-high. People who buy Army of Shadows or Marienbad with the intent of flipping them later aren't going to get rich but they're not going to get stuck with worthless trinkets either.