The Criterion Collection

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

regarding late spring..

i already own ozus floating weeds & tokyo story. still have to watch them.
but if i like them i will get his other movies from the UK

(early summer, late spring, an autumn afternoon , late autumn, Equinox Flower )

in the mood for love - i liked wong kar wai's 2046, chunking express was OK.. and fallen angels i still have to watch (already have the BD)


The Last Emperor i have never seen

Also, calling The Last Emperor Asian cinema wouldn't be accurate. Everyone speaks English with bad accents and the movie was made by an Italian.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

Also, calling The Last Emperor Asian cinema wouldn't be accurate. Everyone speaks English with bad accents and the movie was made by an Italian.

So what do you guys go off of usually? Where the film was financially supported, where the filmmaker is from, or the language? Some can cross all three of those.

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

So what do you guys go off of usually? Where the film was financially supported, where the filmmaker is from, or the language? Some can cross all three of those.

I've got the Godfather Trilogy and Goodfellas shelved in my Italian section.

[SimBelm]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

of the ones im missing which movie did you like the most and why?
thanks :

in the mood for love
Gozilla
tokyo drifters
ballad of narayama 1953 ( i already own the 80s release)
last emperoer
house
secret sunshine
late spring (will get the UK release)
Kuroneko (will get the uK release)
yiyi
mikioka sisters

Out of those my favourites are Tokyo Drifter, Ballad of Narayama, House, and Yi Yi which is a phenomenal film that should be mentioned in this thread more often.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by SimBelm

Out of those my favourites are Tokyo Drifter, Ballad of Narayama, House, and Yi Yi which is a phenomenal film that should be mentioned in this thread more often.

Yi Yi is high on my watchlist, as far as Criterion films are concerned. Number 1 on my wishlist for the next B&N sale, now that I traded for a copy of Carlos. One of those rare Criterion titles that my local library doesn't carry.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

I have one in mind. But I have to check (I am presently at work), before I can quote the essay.

In general, most essays from criterion are very informative and great to read, especially the ones that come are from the booklet of the blu ray/DVD. It is when one tries to analyze the film makers ideas and intentions where they usually falter. Recently, they have been placing interviews of the director (if possible) in the booklet, so it kind of circumvents the problem of inaccurate critical analysis.

Personally I've never been a big fan of the essay's. There are a few that are very informative, but I can't stand it when people over analyze films. Most films are subjective and people may read different things into them or find different opposing motivations for the characters and meanings. That's fine and I don't mind that, but some people go way too far in their analysis. Nothings funnier then when a critic or 'film historian' over analyzes a film and attributes intent to the director then that director comes back later and goes "What?"

Just my opinion and I know its not a commonly shared one.

[Abdrewes]

Just Picked up Badlands for 21.99 and The Man Who Knew Too Mucj for 19.99 after U&S

[shortmartin]

A quick question . . . a couple of days ago someone asked what the all-time best month for Criterion releases has been. I'm wondering whether anyone has a document (e.g., a Word document) that you can share, listing the breakdown of releases by month/year. This would be very helpful. Or is there some other way of quickly accessing this information?

On the topic of Repo Man

[Show spoiler]one of my favorite aspects of the movie is the generic labels for all of the products . . . cereal boxes, "food," "drink," "beer," and so on. It makes for an interesting commentary on consumerism, especially when juxtaposed with the choice use of particular labels or brands in other parts of the movie, as when the package store advertises a product called "Commando," or when Emilio's character is in one scene reading a magazine called "Outlaws." The commentary on consumerism runs together with a commentary on violence, and especially the iconic figure of the mercenary or soldier of fortune, as twin, defining aspects of 1980s American culture and society. This also means that Repo Man makes for a nice double-bill with such movies as Rambo or Commando.

Anyways, just a couple of cents from me. Happy weekend.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by shortmartin

A quick question . . . a couple of days ago someone asked what the all-time best month for Criterion releases has been. I'm wondering whether anyone has a document (e.g., a Word document) that you can share, listing the breakdown of releases by month/year. This would be very helpful. Or is there some other way of quickly accessing this information?

On the topic of Repo Man

[Show spoiler]one of my favorite aspects of the movie is the generic labels for all of the products . . . cereal boxes, "food," "drink," "beer," and so on. It makes for an interesting commentary on consumerism, especially when juxtaposed with the choice use of particular labels or brands in other parts of the movie, as when the package store advertises a product called "Commando," or when Emilio's character is in one scene reading a magazine called "Outlaws." The commentary on consumerism runs together with a commentary on violence, and especially the iconic figure of the mercenary or soldier of fortune, as twin, defining aspects of 1980s American culture and society. This also means that Repo Man makes for a nice double-bill with such movies as Rambo or Commando.

Anyways, just a couple of cents from me. Happy weekend.

They're listed in release order on the first page...

I also loved that about Repo Man, to the point where I wanted that theme to surface more prominently while watching it.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by shortmartin

On the topic of Repo Man

[Show spoiler]one of my favorite aspects of the movie is the generic labels for all of the products . . . cereal boxes, "food," "drink," "beer," and so on. It makes for an interesting commentary on consumerism, especially when juxtaposed with the choice use of particular labels or brands in other parts of the movie, as when the package store advertises a product called "Commando," or when Emilio's character is in one scene reading a magazine called "Outlaws." The commentary on consumerism runs together with a commentary on violence, and especially the iconic figure of the mercenary or soldier of fortune, as twin, defining aspects of 1980s American culture and society. This also means that Repo Man makes for a nice double-bill with such movies as Rambo or Commando.

I like this observation! One of my favorite Repo Man scenes involves Otto eating the generic food at his parents' house. I always laugh out loud when I'm watching that scene. The violence in the movie, paired with the consumerism comedy, was such a fun commentary on the 1980s culture.

Those of you who liked Repo Man should read the book, Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 by Michael Azerrad. The early chapters covering the emergence of Black Flag, The Minutemen, and others are fun to read while thinking about the socioeconomic allegory undercurrents of Repo Man and the fanzine culture which led to the cover art of this Criterion release. A few years back, I posted one of my trademark long-winded reviews of Our Band Could Be Your Life on an R.E.M. website that I used to frequent. Michael Azerrad himself complimented me on the review.

[Canada]

Just picked up my firs Criterion Blu-ray David Fincher's The Game.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Canada

Just picked up my firs Criterion Blu-ray David Fincher's The Game.

Great purchase! Let us know what you think. That's my favorite David Fincher film.

Your avatar is ace, by the way.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Great purchase! Let us know what you think. That's my favorite David Fincher film.

Your avatar is ace, by the way.

Which do you think is his best executed film? Zodiac?

[MidwestCrucible]

Just got my package from ebay. "Rosemary's Baby" and "High and Low". Scored them for a combined 38$ including shipping. I haven't seen either of them. Can't wait to dig in tonight!

[vader4]

Originally Posted by Canada

Just picked up my firs Criterion Blu-ray David Fincher's The Game.

That's a great first purchase, an addiction is sure to come! My first was Videodrome.

My favorite of Fincher's films is Fight Club, but his best directed is either Zodiac or Social Network.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Which do you think is his best executed film? Zodiac?

I liked Zodiac, but I did not love it. Robert Downey Jr. was superb, and there were a couple of genuinely chilling moments, but I had no real desire to see the film multiple times.

It's one of those films about which I cannot find fault, but I just did not warm up to it at the time. I'll give it another chance some day.

[The Great Owl]

I'm going to take a short break from Criterion movies this weekend. Tonight, I'm going to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes. This weekend, I'm going to watch my box set of the five original Planet of the Apes films. I've seen all of these a million times, but never on Blu-ray. I'm a huge fanboy of this franchise (except for the Tim Burton film), so this is exciting.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I liked Zodiac, but I did not love it. Robert Downey Jr. was superb, and there were a couple of genuinely chilling moments, but I had no real desire to see the film multiple times.

It's one of those films about which I cannot find fault, but I just did not warm up to it at the time. I'll give it another chance some day.

I liked it a lot more on the second viewing. Worth a revisit.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Just Picked up Badlands for 21.99 and The Man Who Knew Too Mucj for 19.99 after U&S

I also picked up The Man Who Knew Too Much for $19.99 but from Costco. Already have the other three Criterion titles they had. I don't go to Costco often (too far away) but this is only the second time I've been there that they've had Criterions.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I also picked up The Man Who Knew Too Much for $19.99 but from Costco. Already have the other three Criterion titles they had. I don't go to Costco often (too far away) but this is only the second time I've been there that they've had Criterions.

Other than Blackmail and a handful of others, I haven't seen too many of his pre-39 Steps output, so this should be a treat