The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by UNCMT9

Where are you getting this? I see nothing on Facebook or their site. Unless you're joking about it.

He's just joking.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

I hope not.

I actually hope so because then everybody will stop talking about it.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I'm mostly interested in it for Leos Carax, but I'm open to anything.

His was the main reason I purchased the DVD, and while it's still very good, Bong Joon-ho's just floored me.

[UNCMT9]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

He's just joking.

Just checking. Hahaha!

[The Great Owl]

I watched Sweet Smell of Success for the first time last night, so here are a few thoughts...



Burt Lancaster's J.J. Hunsecker walks through Manhattan's club district and states, "I love this dirty town." As I watched the Criterion Blu-ray of Alexander Mackendrick's Sweet Smell of Success last night, I also could not help falling in love with the bustling visage of the seedy 1950s Manhattan club district, with all its bright lights shining through a gauzy haze of vehicle exhaust and cigarette smoke. The beauty of Blu-ray lies in the fact that old movies no longer look like "old movies" when they are lovingly restored for the high definition presentation, and this 1957 masterpiece of dialogue-driven film noir excels in the format so that these flashy streets and shadowy dive bar interiors pop out of the screen.

Sweet Smell of Success moves at an electrifying pace that belies its age, and it quickly drags the bewildered viewer through its realm, just as one might be led through a densely crowded corner bar by an intoxicated acquaintance. A lesser film would have presented us with a slower exposition explaining how the shady high-powered newspaper columnist, J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster), has tasked a bottom-feeding press agent, Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis), with breaking up a relationship between Hunsecker's sister, Susan, and her jazz musician boyfriend by pulling strings within the gossip column inner circles, but Sweet Smell of Success simply pulls us off the streets and thrusts us into the fray of busy interactions and multi-layered jargon without any preliminary setup. The movie wastes no time placing us into the rat race firsthand so that we, like the beleaguered Sidney Falco, are constantly grasping for footholds to elevate us above the crowd.

The interesting thing about the rat race is that even the ones who win are still rats. With its story of desperate characters driven to corruption, prostitution, and desolate loneliness in the "manufactured necessity" world of media gossip culture, Sweet Smell of Success places us in the front row to watch the fall of the American dream up close. Like The Great Gatsby before it, and like Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross after it, Sweet Smell of Success relishes in the darker side of wealth and consumerism where hyenas seek fresh carcasses at any cost after the lions make the kills. Despite its bleak plot framework, however, Sweet Smell of Success still somehow proves to be an irresistibly rewarding cinematic venture. Traces of hope are still salvaged even in the smoky corners of crowded clubs and high rise apartments while the frenzied tempos of the jazz soundtrack keep us excited in the light and shadows.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I actually hope so because then everybody will stop talking about it.

True. As much as I like Badlands, I was more relieved because I would no longer hear people whine about the lack of Badlands each month.

But even if it does get announced, some other title that really doesn't deserve priority treatment will be the new Life Aquatic.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

True. As much as I like Badlands, I was more relieved because I would no longer hear people whine about the lack of Badlands each month.

But even if it does get announced, some other title that really doesn't deserve priority treatment will be the new Life Aquatic.

You're right. I felt the same way with The Blob.

It's funny because it seems like all of the titles most requested get released. Maybe we should spam Criterion with our own requests.

[Jughead]

Originally Posted by MasturB

Is today the day we finally get the Life Aquatic? lol

Seconded.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by iScottie

You're right. I felt the same way with The Blob.

It's funny because it seems like all of the titles most requested get released. Maybe we should spam Criterion with our own requests.

Oh god, I forgot about the crowd for The Blob. They were a persistent bunch.

I'll spam their wall with Hiroshima, Mon Amour posts.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

I'll spam their wall with Hiroshima, Mon Amour posts.

Get behind you, us Throne of Blood blokes must have satisfaction first!

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Get behind you, us Throne of Blood blokes must have satisfaction first!

I'm not complaining.

[shadedpain4]

I would like Tokyo Story. I have the BFI blu, but would like the Criterion special features.

[Lino11]

The Third Man is the most digestible of all the OOP titles. It's the easiest one to pick up and watch and having Orson Welles doesn't hurt.

[JHas]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I actually hope so because then everybody will stop talking about it.

But then they would just start whining about getting Moonrise Kingdom and Mr. Fox out on Criterion!

[JHas]

Maybe Criterion can get the rights to Stalker and Mirror as it appears that Kino has no intention of ever upgrading these films.

[ccg1978]

Originally Posted by JHas

But then they would just start whining about getting Moonrise Kingdom and Mr. Fox out on Criterion!

I'll take Moonrise over Life Aquatic any day. Life Aquatic was torture to watch.

[MKej]

I want this today:

[dsman71]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Oh god, I forgot about the crowd for The Blob. They were a persistent bunch.

I'll spam their wall with Hiroshima, Mon Amour posts.

So whats wrong with that ? Fans have passions about films - if Criterion would deliver then the fans of the films wouldnt keep requesting it.
That being said I hope they do release Life Acquatic and Le Samurai so that crowd gets what theyve been wanting
Then there is the Eraserhead crowd, the Scanners crowd, the Brood Crowd ( I bet these are October releases)
Ill take Foreign Correspondent, thank you

[The Great Owl]

Expanding a bit on my Sweet Smell of Success review, this is one of the best, if not the best, high definition transfers of a 1950s black-and-white movie that I have seen to date, even rivaling the transfer of The Night of the Hunter.

This also makes me wish that Criterion would release The Defiant Ones, a favorite film of mine that also starred Tony Curtis.

I watched Sweet Smell of Success last night, then chased it down by staying up late and watching Sixteen Candles. I had forgotten how funny that John Hughes movie is.

I've watched all of the Blu-rays in my collection now, except for the big package that arrived in the mail yesterday afternoon. For the next couple of months, the late great Rod Serling and company will be rocking my world.

[Scottie]

Hitchcock Box Set plz