The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by buffetfroid

No surprise there given that Body & Soul was written by Abraham Polonsky, who also co-wrote and directed Force of Evil. Both are great.

Nice catch!

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

It was not an attack. I encourage people to voice their opinions. In fact there have been a number of great pieces of criticism (both by critics and non-critics alike)that have made me want to reassess a film and eventually help me see it in a new light. I say I would be the first to read it because I know Snicket has the smarts to do so.

If someone doesn't choose to write said piece, it doesn't make their opinion any less valid.

This is the internet and this is a thread used by many bright, thoughtful people. Chances are that people will, if they choose to do so, post their opinions and critiques in the manner in which they see fit regardless of whether or not you choose to personally encourage them to do so. Don't you think?

[tomahawk]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Definitely. $20 for a Criterion outside of B&N's July and November sales is a definite steal.

Speaking of which, Amazon currently has the recently oop LEON MORIN, PRIEST Blu-ray in stock for 19.99 (DVD 12.99). Very fine film, and will probably be tough to find at anywhere near this price very shortly.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by Snicket

I didn't think I had to write up a defense of my opinion, and I'm inclined not to because I don't feel the need. It was mildly degrading to be compared with people described as "sad". We can talk about our reads on film all day long (as we do) but don't make it personal, that devalues not only your position but the discussion in general.

The comment was pretty funny. You're just taking it too personally.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

This is the internet and this is a thread used by many bright, thoughtful people. Chances are that people will, if they choose to do so, post their opinions and critiques in the manner in which they see fit regardless of whether or not you choose to personally encourage them to do so. Don't you think?

As a matter of fact Metaridley wanted to hear my take on Mann's Miami Vice (a film he disliked) a while back, I gladly obliged him and spend quite a few hours on my write-up. If it wasn't for him, who knows, maybe I never would have written it. Even for just my own personal reference, that review is very valuable to me, so in short, I'm very thankful he gave me the push.

[Scottie]

Stop being the Criterion bully, Abdrewes.

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

The comment was pretty funny. You're just taking it too personally.

Well I was moved on from the conversation...but, please don't tell me how to feel.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

This is the internet and this is a thread used by many bright, thoughtful people. Chances are that people will, if they choose to do so, post their opinions and critiques in the manner in which they see fit regardless of whether or not you choose to personally encourage them to do so. Don't you think?

I agree. In the end, there is no evil in differing opinions.

(quote)
'Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' - that is all
ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

John Keats
(End quote)

Simplicity in one's opinion can be very poetic and deep.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Stop being the Criterion bully, Abdrewes.

You forgot to add the "" emoticon, or else we will enter another set of arguments

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

You forgot to add the "" emoticon, or else we will enter another set of arguments

Mean ol' bully!

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by shortmartin

Great point. Steiger is genius. I loved Hands Over the City. In terms of American actors in Italian flicks - I'm not sure which I prefer more, Steiger in Hands or Lancaster in The Leopard. I'm going to say Leopard because I think it's the better movie, but, to the theme of grittiness and realism, there is something special about the way that Rosi, in Hands, captured urban corruption in postwar Italy.

Okay, so maybe I'll walk it back . . . Steiger's performance in Hands is outstanding, and so is Lancaster's in Leopard, they are equally remarkable and compelling, but the latter movie is head and shoulders above the former, imo.

Don't forget Anthony Quinn (and Richard Basehart) in La Strada. Love the film. Frankly, I'm surprised it's not been been upgraded by now.

[The Great Owl]

I just watched a François Truffaut film. Woo hoo!

Actually, I just watched Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in which François Truffaut has a starring role.

13 unwatched Blu-rays left to watch. Moving on to Anton Corbijn's Control. (Too bad this one was not released as a Criterion).

[*PREACHER*]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just watched a François Truffaut film. Woo hoo!

Actually, I just watched Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in which François Truffaut has a starring role.

13 unwatched Blu-rays left to watch. Moving on to Anton Corbijn's Control. (Too bad this one was not released as a Criterion).

Do let me know your thoughts on Control Great Owl...had my I eye on this, and may have to import...granted Pro-B did give it a lovely review already...and he's never led me astray so far...sometimes second opinions can't hurt.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just watched a François Truffaut film. Woo hoo!

Actually, I just watched Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, in which François Truffaut has a starring role.

Got me there. At first I thought you were going to be singing the praises of Shoot the Piano Player, but Close Encounters is good too

Which cut did you see?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by *PREACHER*

Do let me know your thoughts on Control Great Owl...had my I eye on this, and may have to import...granted Pro-B did give it a lovely review already...and he's never led me astray so far...sometimes second opinions can't hurt.

I saw Control at the theater, because I'm a massive fan of Joy Division/New Order and of Anton Corbijn, who directed several videos and created album art for U2, Depeche Mode, Echo and the Bunnymen, and several others (Corbijn directed the video for Joy Division's "Atmosphere", in fact.). I also owned it on DVD for ages before buying this Blu-ray a few weeks ago.

Control is a great film, especially if you are a fan of Ian Curtis and Joy Division, although that's not necessary. The movie is largely based on the book, Touching from a Distance: Ian Curtis and Joy Division, by Ian Curtis's widow, Deborah Curtis, but it takes a kinder viewpoint of certain things. The late great Tony Wilson, the owner of Factory Records, was a co-producer for the film, and Ian Curtis's bandmates, now in New Order, had a hand in the soundtrack.

I am glad that this Joy Division film was created by Corbijn, since he actually photographed the band back in the day, and the film has the exact look of what one might expect from a long Joy Division video of sorts. Sam Riley plays Ian Curtis quite well, and he has the stage mannerisms down perfectly. Samantha Morton, whom we all know and love from other movies, plays Deborah Curtis. The beautiful and talented Alexandra Maria Lara (Downfall) plays Belgian journalist Annik Honoré, with whom Ian Curtis had an affair.

I'm sure that all of my above favorable comments will be magnified tenfold after I watch the film on Blu-ray for the first time in a few.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Got me there. At first I thought you were going to be singing the praises of Shoot the Piano Player, but Close Encounters is good too

Which cut did you see?

I watched the Director's Cut. I've seen all three versions multiple times in different formats, but I decided on the Director's Cut for my first Blu-ray viewing.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind looks beautiful on Blu-ray, and it lives up to other mind-blowing transfers of Spielberg films (Jaws, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark) that have recently been released in the format. Close Encounters of the Third Kind has an intentional grain look to it that was translated perfectly to high definition.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I watched the Director's Cut. I've seen all three versions multiple times in different formats, but I decided on the Director's Cut for my first Blu-ray viewing.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind looks beautiful on Blu-ray, and it lives up to other mind-blowing transfers of Spielberg films (Jaws, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark) that have recently been released in the format. Close Encounters of the Third Kind has an intentional grain look to it that was translated perfectly to high definition.

I've only seen the Theatrical Cut myself. But yes, there's nothing more beautiful than a transfer that does a good job of keeping the grain intact....which is why Criterion needs to release RoboCop

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

.which is why Criterion needs to release RoboCop

I'd buy that for a dollar.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by shortmartin

Your advice to me to get Hulu . . . or in response to my recommendation to the poster that he buy Badlands?

But, yeah, I'd agree with you . . . he should just get Hulu and go from there.

There are a lot more "pre-80's films" () than Badlands, or any other Criterion cult-fanboy title, and even with Hulu, you could start literally just about anywhere--Kurosawa, Bergman, Fellini, Powell/Pressburger, Polanski, OR the giant space-chicken in "The X From Outer Space".

It's the problem of a "cult thread" that "C'mon, you have to buy six titles a month, or you're not in the club! I bought twelve this month, betcha can't!"
This isn't marbles, at least marbles didn't cost $30 each last time I checked. There's a lot of love for the act of supporting Criterion disks and learning about cool new classic movies from them, but is it the love for discovering movies, or the, ahem, love for the act? (If-ya know what I mean... )
Back when the Story Of Film was on Netflix, I was surprised to discover that 3/4 of the "curriculum", no matter how Eastern European or obscure, was on the Criterion/Janus catalog. Browsing Criterion films is a home-study course in film history, it's just up to you what you want to learn.
And don't let anyone (ahemfinchermalickfanboy) tell you different.

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'd buy that for a dollar.

It's one of my favorite movies, in my top twenty or thirty. I'd pay whatever they want to charge for it. Well, not really . . . as much as an Andrew Weil magazine, so around $29.99.

Robocop rocks so hard. I just love the total 80s sci-fi aesthetic and the ways that it's so action packed, and works at meta levels, commenting on the decade in ways that are (perhaps loosely) similar to Repo Man - I'm thinking of the sets involving urban decay, the role of vehicles, themes of rampant consumerism, technology-related paranoia, and a humorous but serious commentary on democracy and social conflict in American cities in the eighties.

I've got the Criterion DVD, and the BD - not the trilogy, not fond of the others. For me, Starship Troopers is the real sequel to Robocop. (And the Startship sequels are also dead to me.)