The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by secretsquirrel

Because it is OOP and getting hard to find start with:

Army of Shadows

Then...

The Double Life of Veronique
The Thin Red Line
Bigger Than Life
Anatomy of a Murder

That'll give you some variety.

If you have seen and like Veronique, or buy it and really like it, I would HIGHLY reccommend The Three Colors trilogy.

Irene Jacob

As far as OOP goes, I would also consider Le Cercle Rouge essential.

[secretsquirrel]

Originally Posted by AverageAtBest

The Barnes & Noble closest to me still has last year at marienbad and I keep thinking I should just pick it up soon. I prob won't wait til July because I don't think it will last once the sale hits. But in the next month or so I plan on buying it.

I just got a copy at full price. Would've been nice to at least have a 20% off coupon or even 15%, something, but I couldn't find a valid coupon anywhere . My BN purchasing won't warrant a membership until at least July.

[secretsquirrel]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Irene Jacob

As far as OOP goes, I would also consider Le Cercle Rouge essential.

I just picked that up for almost full price (only had a 15% coupon) from BN. I agree with you. The reason I didn't recommend it is because OP said he had an Amazon GC and it's only available through 3rd party sellers and priced $$$ on Amazon. I'd recommend for the poster to scour BNs in his area for Le Cercle Rouge, like I did, and even areas where he has friends and family.

Well upon further inspection it looks like Army of Shadows is now OOS from Amazon direct. That happened in the last day, maybe two. It might go back in stock or it might be OOS for good. I recommended Army of Shadows from Amazon based on it being available from Amazon as the seller, for $31.99.

As far as Irene Jacob goes: very much yes!

Moreso I am a fan of Krzysztof Kieślowski, though. The Decalgue is my most wished for Criterion release.

[DasMarcos]

Tonight I watched Chunking Express with my wife and mother. It was my 2nd time watching the film, but my first on a BD. So many iconic shots and great implementation of the soundtrack/music. Disappointed with the sparse extras on the disc though, and was left wanting a bit more.

[bluesparrow]

Originally Posted by Tin Drum

I about passed out when I saw Seconds included.

I'm thrilled myself. Things to Come and the rumored Cronenberg boxset would have been enough to sate me, but Seconds! Wow! This is going to look fantastic on blu ray.

I hope everyone who is skeptical blind buys this disc. It's an extremely under-appreciated movie. Elevator pitch is, it's basically like an arthouse feature film version of a Twilight Zone episode. Some of the most stunning black and white cinematography ever(one of the last studio movies to be filmed in black & white for a number of years, IIRC).

[fdm]

Originally Posted by retablo

On the other hand, if they'd just release it then all those people can finally shut it. Happened with Badlands... and after, I guess, will be Thief.

At least Seconds is now off that list... (not a fan of it myself).

[secretsquirrel]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

The Third Man was the first to go OOP in late 2009-ish, followed by Man Who Fell shortly after. Pierrot Le Fou didn't go OOP until 2011, and Playtime, I think, late 2012. Chungking went OOP just a few months ago, if I remember correctly.

Someone can probably correct me or verify that..

For S&G I mined around for Playtime. Nothing in my area but crazily I just found a copy of Playtime at a BN near my grandmother. It's a little too far for her to drive to pick it up, though, so not sure what I'm going to do there. Of course it could just be an inventory inaccuracy issue and they not really have it. I should know by the morning.

Anyone ever tried to a get a BN store to ship them something? What about getting them to transfer a movie to another store in the general vicinity? That would be an easier option on their end but I'm not sure if that is something they do at all.

Originally Posted by brandon_260

So, I'm looking to start using my library as a resource for checking out Criterion releases again. Could anyone give me some recommendations? As a guide, here is my collection: http://www.criterion.com/my_criterio...dge/collection

and my top 10 (from my collection):

The Thin Red Line
Breathless
Rosemary's Baby
Still Walking
Che
Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence
Solaris
Chungking Express
Fanny and Alexander
Paris, Texas

The stuff in my collection aren't the only titles I've seen, I've actually seen about 100 of the films, but I'm open to any suggestions.

If you like Westerns try Stagecoach. It may not be the best movie in the Criterion Collection but it deserves more love than it gets. I would wet myself if Criterion ever released Red River. I know I named two John Wayne movies, but I just think they are great movies. I'm not a fan of anything featuring John Wayne by any means. Red River is just an incredible movie IMO.

If you liked Veronique then go for Three Colors. I'm pimping Three Colors hard! I have been a very slow adopter of Criterions and I tend to stick with the "safer" or "more accessible" titles. For that reason I have only seen a fraction of the Crterion blus, but I am a big fan of Krzysztof Kieslowski and he casts amazing female leads who also tend to be very beautiful

Other people who have seen more of the collection can make better recommendations than I can.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Maybe it's just because I'm a few minutes away from embarking on my long journey through all five seasons of The Twilight Zone on Blu-ray, but I keep thinking that the premise and the camera angles of John Frankenheimer's Seconds make it seem like an extended episode of The Twilight Zone.

If this is even remotely an accurate assumption, then I will certainly be purchasing Seconds.

Actually that was my impression in a nutshell. I was disappointed that's all there was to it. Since then I've seen a few more of Frankenheimer's films, will give Seconds another chance at some point.

Looking forward to diving into the TZ sets one of these days as well.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by jw007

Who else agrees with me that we need to see Fishing with John on blu? I love Jim Jarmusch Criterion editions (lots of supplements on all) and I'll bet Fishing with John will be a great addition.

What do you think the chances are Criterion upgrades this within the next 12 months?

I finally bought this 1 or 2 BN sales back because I didn't think it would get upgraded, but it should. I still haven't watched my copy, but I remember it being quite hilarious.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by jw007

Just a correction, it is called Stranger Than Paradise.

Thanks man. My brain is fried: ive been up for close to 24 hrs.& ive taken 2 Final Exams today.... Need an easy watch. Robinson Crusoe on Mars maybe?

[spanky87]

Got a copy of La Promesse for $17.99 at local used video store (which is great for Canada prices). It's a blind buy, the only Dardenne bros film I've seen is Rosetta and I thought it was great.

Thinking about buying Forgiveness of Blood. Anyone have thoughts on that film?

[fdm]

Originally Posted by jw007

Who else agrees with me that we need to see Fishing with John on blu? I love Jim Jarmusch Criterion editions (lots of supplements on all) and I'll bet Fishing with John will be a great addition.

What do you think the chances are Criterion upgrades this within the next 12 months?

...

I mean, how can you say no to Tom Waits! Dennis Hopper! Willem Dafoe! John Lurie!

I love upgrades!

Doesn't this typically get mentioned along with Hoop Dreams as something that wouldn't benefit from upgrade as they were taped rather than filmed? (Otherwise, share your enthusiasm, quite a fun set.)

[fitprod]

Originally Posted by fdm

Doesn't this typically get mentioned along with Hoop Dreams as something that wouldn't benefit from upgrade as they were taped rather than filmed? (Otherwise, share your enthusiasm, quite a fun set.)

If they'd actually go back and source Hoop Dreams from the video source, it could improve. I hate the look of the film converted SD video.

fitprod

[nametag]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Having seen 9 out of 15 titles from the Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection, I can rank them in the following order:

1. Rear Window
2. Vertigo
3. The Trouble With Harry
4. Psycho
5. North By Northwest
6. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
7. Shadow Of A Doubt
8. Saboteur
9. Rope

Excited to watch The Birds within the next day or so. The other 5 don't really interest me, but I'll still watch them.

Give Marnie a go, it's one of my favourites and really underrated IMO. (I actually prefer it to Psycho and The Birds, but don't tell anyone). It has a similarly obsessive, messed up relationship at it's centre to Vertigo, only... less bizarre. And Hedren is great.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by nametag

Give Marnie a go, it's one of my favourites and really underrated IMO. (I actually prefer it to Psycho and The Birds, but don't tell anyone). It has a similarly obsessive, messed up relationship at it's centre to Vertigo, only... less bizarre. And Hedren is great.

Oh, I like Marnie far better than The Birds, personally.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

I think Slacker needs to be upgraded even more than Life Aquatic. Mainly because Slacker is such a unique film, I find a need to discriminate against having every single Anderson film on BD. What makes Wes Anderson so special that his films must ALL be on Criterion BD? Maybe its ok to leave a couple of films out.

Slacker is a film that I could re-watch many, many times over again compared to many films out there.

This film must be upgraded because its such a cultural tour-de-force and ever more timely in today's society.

So yes, while we're at it, I look forward to a BD edition of Slacker!

I would happily upgrade my old Criterion DVD of Slacker if that film ever hits Blu-ray. I did not revisit that movie often when I owned the DVD, but it's a great piece of early 1990s college days nostalgia for me, and I get a hankering to see it again ever so often.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by R o d

That's the way I felt when I bought the Criterion DVD in 2008. They decided not to release it in Blu-ray even though they had been releasing films in Blu for quite a while.

At that time Criterion was in effect telling us that there would be no Blu-ray for this title. The message was clear: you should buy the DVD because that’s the only format we are going to release. So that's what I did. And now I feel a little burned.

It would be different if this was a complete restoration or if they offered new supplements, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. So the honest thing to do is for Criterion to offer their customers the option of an upgrade for the cost difference between the two formats. That would be fair.

They are setting a precedent with this release. It will be interesting to see how they respond.

Wow. Criterion wasn't "telling" us that they were not going to release this film on blu-ray any more than they were "telling" us that they were not yet completely sold on the concept of blu-ray being a profitable format for them. You shouldn't blame Criterion for your own assumptions.

I would be happy that I got to enjoy a movie I liked for the past 5 years rather than waiting until 2013 to own it.

Also, there is no cost difference between the 2 formats, so would you just be looking for a free blu-ray?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by fdm

Actually that was my impression in a nutshell. I was disappointed that's all there was to it. Since then I've seen a few more of Frankenheimer's films, will give Seconds another chance at some point.

Looking forward to diving into the TZ sets one of these days as well.

I watched the first five episodes of the first season of The Twilight Zone last night, and am stunned at how much better these episodes look on Blu-ray than I've ever seen them in any other format. I grew up watching the show, I owned a few VHS tapes of various episodes, and I had the Definitive Collection on DVD, but this high definition set blows them all away. There is an alternate pilot version of the first episode that features a different introduction, and, since this particular pilot version is in standard definition, I was able to make direct comparisons to the high definition version. Amazing difference.

I have not even scratched the surface of this box set, but I am already considering it to be the best Blu-ray purchase that I've ever made.

[The Great Owl]

With respect to the month of August, remember that Terrence Malick's To the Wonder will be released on Blu-ray that month as well. It looks to be a Magnolia Pictures Blu-ray release, but my guess is that it will be a top-notch presentation along with the other non-Criterion Malick releases.

To the Wonder is my favorite 2013 film so far. I've only seen two 2013 films, but still...

[Mr. Thomsen]

Originally Posted by Sherlock_Jr

First great month in a while, IMO. 2 Ray gems, Lubitsch, Seconds is a masterpiece, and more Ophuls.

Edit: Seconds is listed as 1.75:1... wonder if that's a mispint, since the film was always 1.85.1 (and 1.75 isn't a "real" aspect ratio - 16x9 is 1.78)

Sorry, but that's not true. 1.75:1 is indeed a "real" aspect ratio. In the US it was used for a period by MGM and Disney, and also the major part of British non-anamorphic (="flat") widescreen movies were shot for 1.75:1 (and not 1.66:1 as is often presumed).

http://www.widescreenmuseum.com/wide.../evolution.htm

In fact, if you want to nitpick, one could argue that it's 1.78:1 that's not a "real aspect ratio" - at least when it comes to movies, because the 16:9/ 1.78:1 aspect ratio was invented solely for television as an ideal compromise between 4:3/ 1.33:1 and 2.35:1. I do believe, though, that some movies shot digital in the later years have indeed been framed for that ratio.