The Criterion Collection

[hoytereden]

My 10 favorite Criterion Blu-rays (in no particular order)
1. My Life As a Dog
2. Summer With Monika
3. Badlands
4. Beauty and the Beast
5. Walkabout
6. Black Narcissus
7. Black Orpheus
8. Island of Lost Souls
9. The Thin Red Line
10. A Night to Remember

My collection is fairly small (approx. 40) but even then this was tough to pick just 10 without feeling guilty to some I didn't choose.

[ImStylinOnYaBro]

i have been curious about something. Why is "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" a criterion film released by paramount, and now warner bros in the normal blu ray ameray case? why not by Criterion themselves in their clear cases?

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

This is a very, very serious offense, Pat

It is one my all-time favorite films

Perhaps a duel in the future. You pick the weapons

Pro-B

Unless it's virtual weapons in some sort of PC game, you got me dead

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The 1994 version of Queen Margot stars Isabelle Adjani, and, as such, is beyond reproach.


I am going back to the gutter now where I belong. Resume your regular scheduled programming...

I found this film so long and boring. It felt to me like nothing and I mean nothing was happening, 20 minutes into the movie I wanted it to end. I stayed the course because I always do, always finish what I start but I could not believed I pay $5 (this was in 1994) to see it. I kept asking myself "what was I thinking when I said to myself let's go see this look's good?"

What can I say, one of those movies everyone love but I just can't. I gave it another chance months later on rental, just not for me at all.

[DasMarcos]

I haven't seen anyone post about the upcoming restorations of Satyajit Ray's films. Being that May 2nd was his birthday all this news seems appropriate! According to CriterionCast the restorations will follow in this order: Charulata, Mahanagar, Nayak, Joy Baba Felunath, Ashani Sanket, and the Apu Trilogy.

If we're to believe Sandip (son of Satyajit) Criterion has been in touch with him and have been looking for supplements for upcoming releases of this restored films. They've apparently been interviewing some veteran actors to speak about the films and Satyajit.

Of course this updated news should be taken with a grain of salt until it happens, but yesterday on twitter I received a tweet from Geoff Andrew who is head of film programme at BFI Southbank. He stated that the BFI is going to have an extended run of a restored Mahanagar, giving more credence to all the news and rumors of the restorations.

Here's hoping!

For more information check out the times of India article here:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/19851069.cms

[Abdrewes]

DasMarcos, thanks for the info. I too would love more Satajit Ray on BluRay

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

I found this film so long and boring. It felt to me like nothing and I mean nothing was happening, 20 minutes into the movie I wanted it to end. I stayed the course because I always do, always finish what I start but I could not believed I pay $5 (this was in 1994) to see it. I kept asking myself "what was I thinking when I said to myself let's go see this look's good?"

What can I say, one of those movies everyone love but I just can't. I gave it another chance months later on rental, just not for me at all.

I was mostly having a bit of fun, since I love Isabelle Adjani. I prefer her role in Werner Herzog's 1979 version of Nosferatu. I'll also be ordering The Driver from Twilight Time soon.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I was mostly having a bit of fun, since I love Isabelle Adjani. I prefer her role in Werner Herzog's 1979 version of Nosferatu. I'll also be ordering The Driver from Twilight Time soon.

I too really want The Driver. Are you considering buying Twilight Time's Body Double release?

But back on topic: I HATE it when people negatively deride a film because they feel "nothing happened." Something is always happening and it is up to the viewer to examine 1) What the artist's intentions are when their film has little plot, long takes, elliptical editing, etc. 2) and whether the work of art is successful in its methodology.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

My 10 favorite Criterion Blu-rays (in no particular order)

My Top 10 (in no particular order):

Seven Samurai
Le Trou
Children Of Paradise
Pandora's Box
Paris, Texas
Sweet Smell Of Success
Magnificent Obsession
Videodrome
Black Narcissus
Straw Dogs

My next 10 (at the moment):

The Thin Red Line
White Dog
The Last Picture Show
Spartacus
Rosemary's Baby
On The Waterfront
Seduced & Abandoned
The Royal Tenebaums
Belle De Jour
Short Cuts

And even with all those I still had to leave off other favorites: Salo, The Killing, Notorious, Blood For Dracula, Onibaba, Samurai Rebellion, Chungking Express, Kiss Me Deadly, Dazed & Confused, I Vitelloni among many others.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I too really want The Driver. Are you considering buying Twilight Time's Body Double release?

I won't be ordering Body Double right away. Brian De Palma's stuff is a mixed bag for me. I might grab it a month or two after the fact if it's not sold out. I'll be ordering The Driver right away, though.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Boarding Gate very much looks like an Assayas film, but in many ways it reminded me of Soderbergh, specifically his playfulness with genre. If that turns you off, I promise you this though, even if the narrative doesn't entirely grab you, Asia Argento's performance will. She's outstanding in the film.

A comparison to Soderbergh will never turn me off of a film. Quite the opposite in fact.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I won't be ordering Body Double right away. Brian De Palma's stuff is a mixed bag for me. I might grab it a month or two after the fact if it's not sold out. I'll be ordering The Driver right away, though.

I hope your just talking about Casualties of War and Raising Caine. Other than those, he has an awesome filmography.

[Abdrewes]

I just started reading this, it looks promising:

In Dreams and Imagination: Surrealist Values in Mulholland Dr. and Inland Empire: http://sensesofcinema.com/2013/featu...inland-empire/

[P@t_Mtl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

But back on topic: I HATE it when people negatively deride a film because they feel "nothing happened." Something is always happening and it is up to the viewer to examine 1) What the artist's intentions are when their film has little plot, long takes, elliptical editing, etc. 2) and whether the work of art is successful in its methodology.

If nothing is happening for me, nothing is happening for me. I am not going to search what the director was hoping to tell me, he just failed to reach me period. I can still call it one of the worst movie ever made, does not change anything, it still won the Jury Prize at Cannes as well as five Ceasars.

[ShellOilJunior]

Anyone have any thoughts on Pistol Opera?

I see it's free to view on Amazon for Prime subscribers.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Anyone have any thoughts on Pistol Opera?

I see it's free to view on Amazon for Prime subscribers.

It's a very fun, colorful movie that's well worth watching especially if you like Suzuki's specific brand of craziness found in Branded to Kill (which it is a semi-sequel to).

You should check out J. Rosenbaum's enthusiastic review:
http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago...ent?oid=912984

[The Great Owl]

There's a pleasant review of the UK release of David Cronenberg's Scanners on the main page today. This bodes well for any upcoming Criterion release.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by P@t_Mtl

If nothing is happening for me, nothing is happening for me. I am not going to search what the director was hoping to tell me, he just failed to reach me period. I can still call it one of the worst movie ever made, does not change anything, it still won the Jury Prize at Cannes as well as five Ceasars.

You are a post-structuralist.

Sometimes art's goal is not the artist's original intent, but spectator's response or interpretation of the artwork. Which one has more weight? That has always been a philosophical dilemma.

It is always good to be critical of any artwork, that means you were engaged and attentive. To always agree with the artist/author is another way of being passive. What is interesting with film is that there are many angles you can approach it.

The best question to ask yourself is: Why did this scene or movie worked/did not work for me? Trying to elaborate is probably the best response.

Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev is spectacular. I really enjoyed how the film was divided in acts/chapters. The comparison of the religious ascetic life with the artist ascetic life was great. It showed a lot of similarities. The film editing was far more superior than Solaris. The DVD transfer was probably good in it's day, now it is pretty bad.

I will probably pick up the Russian blu ray release, Mosfilm has restored the film and made a blu ray from it.

[Abdrewes]

Fellini, I agree with what your first statement, but as far as Solaris is concerned, I don't feel the film was poorly edited. Other than the driving scene (which I've levied a defense for) which scenes do you feel were poorly edited?

And Yes, Andrei Rublev is also great.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Sometimes art's goal is not the artist's original intent, but spectator's response or interpretation of the artwork. Which one has more weight? That has always been a philosophical dilemma.

It's interesting what different moviegoers consider to be "boring" films. I am mesmerized by films like Red Desert, To the Wonder, Solaris, or The American, but I could not stay awake during Rob Zombie's Halloween, and watching that film was worse than following a girlfriend through a mall clothing store. That Rob Zombie film had a massive body count, and it was filled with intense action sequences, but I still felt as though "nothing was happening."

I gravitate toward films with fascinating images that could be considered art if separated into still frames, because creativity with images helps me to care about the characters. Other movies, like 12 Angry Men, for instance, draw me in through the sheer force of dialogue. By contrast, I am often bored while watching films with poorly-edited action sequences or bland CGI.

Sophia Coppola's Lost in Translation featured a great many scenes of characters simply sitting in hotel rooms and thinking, but I was drawn into the story and captivated by the plight of these characters. The 2010 Anton Corbijn film, The American, featured several long sequences of George Clooney's character simply thinking things through, and this bored many viewers. I loved these sequences, though, because too few films today show characters thinking things through.