The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I love how The Birds has no music score. Just bird sounds. A lot of bird sounds.

I also like how Tippi Hedren's character is basically the carefree Paris Hilton of her day at the beginning of the movie, but she is forced to mature due to circumstances.

Yes, the scene with the birds at the school playground is priceless.

Good comparison. She seemed like somewhat of a ditz, but managed to turn herself around.

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by fdm

Wasn't aware of that. Which sets are like that?

I don't have a comprehensive list, and I don't know if there is a foolproof way of discovering (probably looking through reviews?), but read William Lewis' product review of Columbia Pictures Pre-Code Collection for starters.

[Joe Dalek]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

Ok, off the top of my head here are some of my favorites, either filmmakers, horror films, etc and at the same time well known pre-code films that can all be found on Amazon either on dvd or dvd-r:

William A. Wellman:

Safe in Hell (dvd-r from Warner Archives)
The Public Enemy (blu-ray coming out next month I believe. Great recommendation since you loved Scarface.)
The Hatchet Man (dvd-r set from Warner Archives)

Josef von Sternberg:

Dishonored (one of my favorite films, dvd-r from Amazon)
Shanghai Express (dvd-r from Amazon)

Both of these films can be found on pressed discs in a set together from TCM, don't know if they are still pressed or not.

A few of my favorite horror films:

Edgar G. Ulmer's The Black Cat (dvd-r from Amazon)
White Zombie (blu-ray from Kino)
The Mask of Fu Manchu (dvd in the Hollywood's Legends of Horror Collection.)
Freaks (dvd, hoping the rumored pre-code film from Criterion is this)

Another recommendation, Barbara Stanwyck in Baby Face, Jean Harlow in Red-Headed Woman, and Mae Clarke in Waterloo Bridge, which all are in a dvd set: TCM Archives: Forbidden Hollywood Collection - Volume One.

Basics, and there are tons more I can list, but Warner Archive's site is the place to go after these, as well as Universal putting out dvd-r releases on Amazon (Black Cat being one). Hope ya like them as much as I do.

Those are great selections.

I'd add Sternberg's Blonde Venus with Dietrich, Rouben Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Frederic March is great), and Mata Hari with Greta Garbo because it's one of her better pictures. Criterion's Island of Lost Souls and Design for Living are good, too. I would love to see them delve more into this era.

[Joe Dalek]

Originally Posted by billzfan

Anyone heard anything about Tarkovsky's Stalker coming to Blu-ray. I was going to break down and just buy the DVD but if there's any outlook for a Blu-ray, I'll wait.

No, but it would be Kino anyway.

[Joe Dalek]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

How could I forget King Kong as a pre-code title?! Plus Criterion has The Most Dangerous Game on DVD. It's basically a dry run for Kong with some of the same sets and cast. The Blu-ray is not Criterion but I think it's the same running time.

Fun movie. Forgot that one. It makes a great triple feature with King Kong and Island of Lost Souls. The Most Dangerous Game is my favorite of those three.

Originally Posted by Cinemach

That seems to be the popular consensus, esp since the Warner's barrier is broken.

There was a lot of speculation that it might be I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

Those are great selections.

I'd add Sternberg's Blonde Venus with Dietrich, Rouben Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Frederic March is great), and Mata Hari with Greta Garbo because it's one of her better pictures. Criterion's Island of Lost Souls and Design for Living are good, too. I would love to see them delve more into this era.

Agree with those suggestions as well. Would love for anyone to delve more into this era, even if it means on just dvds. I always feel sad when I order these dvd-r releases all the time.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

Agree with those suggestions as well. Would love for anyone to delve more into this era, even if it means on just dvds. I always feel sad when I order these dvd-r releases all the time.

It's my favorite era and a couple of good books on it are Sin in Soft Focus, covering the era and Complicated Women, covering the female stars.

[thismightbezach]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

No, but it would be Kino anyway.

They said a while back on Facebook that they only have the DVD rights to Stalker.

[morg999]

Originally Posted by billzfan

Anyone heard anything about Tarkovsky's Stalker coming to Blu-ray. I was going to break down and just buy the DVD but if there's any outlook for a Blu-ray, I'll wait.

I just DID buy KINO Stalker a month ago...it could really use an upgrade IMO.

[Lutz]

All the Sternberg/Dietrich movies are available cheap on pressed DVD from the UK (and the pq for The Scarlet Empress is better than the Criterion).

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by Lutz

All the Sternberg/Dietrich movies are available cheap on pressed DVD from the UK (and the pq for The Scarlet Empress is better than the Criterion).

They were/are all on pressed dvds here in the US as well. I have the original Dietrich double feature of Dishonored/Shanghai Express TCM released in Feb 2012 (I believe it was) and the original run was pressed (which I have). Now they sell them separate on Amazon only in dvd-r. Morocco, Blonde Venus, and The Devil is a Woman were/are in a Dietrich Glamour collection, pressed dvds for cheap btw. Universal is just making them available separate on Amazon in dvd-r releases.

[DarkRyder]

Originally Posted by SpiderBaby

Well if you want me to join in for the dislike for this month, I will be happy to include that I think this Fassbinder release is pointless, in the fact that you can get all these films plus 4 more for about $7 more on Amazon right now in a set. Also the fact that these were all released separately by Wellspring on dvd, that also included little things like trailers and short films. I doubt there were any new restorations done to these either, so there, now I'm joining in.

I remembered this post while I was watching Merchant and Bitter Tears and I decided to look up the Wellspring DVDs. It seems like the earlier Fassbinder films, the ones being released through Eclipse, never had extras, but these seem to. While I would have loved the Eclipse films to be on Blu-Ray, could this mean Criterion would most likely release blus of the post-Sirk films instead? Especially since those would be less decisive on audiences?

Just a thought is all. For all we know they really could just lump them in to another Eclipse.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

I don't have a comprehensive list, and I don't know if there is a foolproof way of discovering (probably looking through reviews?), but read William Lewis' product review of Columbia Pictures Pre-Code Collection for starters.

I guess I do recall mention of something like that somewhere after all. Have yet to get around to that particular set. Hope it's the exception, though there probably are some other titles out there with similar limitations.

[AverageAtBest]

I also think the pre-code movie is Freaks but if it ended up being King Kong it would be awesome if the packaging was similar to the Godzilla package just the pop up would face the different direction so King Kong and Godzilla could face off.

[FaceInTheLeaves]

The pre-code film could be Cleopatra? Criterion announced Repo Man, Island of Lost Souls and Two Lane Blacktop a few months after the Masters of Cinema editions were released.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

For more Pre-code titles, don't forget all the Busby Berkeley musicals from 1933-34 (Warner has a nice DVD box set),

Ohhh, yeah--Just do a back and forth comparison between Gold Diggers of 1933 (or 42nd Street/Footlight Parade) with the cutesy, fantasy-sanitized, squeaky-clean Post-code Gold Diggers of 1936, and part of you will hate the Code for taking away our Busby. (Hint: The series didn't call them "Gold Diggers" because they wore sparkly costumes...)
Ah, those innovatively filthy pre-Code Berkeley numbers.

[KrugerIndustrial]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I want to know how Castaway On The Moon is!

It's one of my favorite South Korean films. Funny but also showcases some of the real issues we have in today's society. Really fantastic stuff. Highly recommended.

[Scottie]

I ordered the John Cassavetes set from Germany a week ago and it was in my mailbox today. I used the standard shipping, which is the cheapest, too. Funny how quick it took. I never get items in that fast from overseas lol.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by EricJ

Ohhh, yeah--Just do a back and forth comparison between Gold Diggers of 1933 (or 42nd Street/Footlight Parade) with the cutesy, fantasy-sanitized, squeaky-clean Post-code Gold Diggers of 1936, and part of you will hate the Code for taking away our Busby. (Hint: The series didn't call them "Gold Diggers" because they wore sparkly costumes...)
Ah, those innovatively filthy pre-Code Berkeley numbers.

Definitely (although I haven't seen GD '36). Or just look at some pre-Code Mae West films. I'm no Angel and She Done him Wrong are full of double entendres.

[Moe Szyslak]

Edited...nevermind