The Criterion Collection

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by UNCMT9

What is happening on June 1 at B&N? Did someone say there's a buy 2 get one free or something?

Correct.

[UNCMT9]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Correct.

I assume the prices will be back to normal . Some folks were lucky enough at the B&N 50% off sale to buy 2 and get 1 free last year or in years past.

[shortmartin]

In the opening credits, Studs Terkel the sociologist is listed as "Our Man in Chicago." Does anyone have any knowledge or insights into the role he played in the film?

What does the phrase 'medium cool' refer to? I'm clueless.

In the main character's apartment, there is a large poster of Belmondo - is this a screen shot from a movie?

Anyways, any insights are much appreciated. Just watched it, great movie, the music rocks, Mothers of Invention, Paul Butterfield, this is really great stuff. Though perhaps not quite top shelf for me . . . I like the cinematography and the style much more than the story or the set-up . . . love me some Wexler. Who's Afraid is one of my top five movies.

[Indyjones]

Originally Posted by jw007

About 3 weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to email Customer Service and they said they could ship me just the artwork for the blu-ray title for $5. So I sent the money through Paypal to Criterion and a week later I received a perfect sleeve of Last Year at Marienbad artwork in my mailbox. Since I already own the blu-ray clear cases, I just put the artwork in the blank case and now it looks great.

I just heard back from Criterion and they can do the same for me. So where would I go to get a case for this? All Criterion has in their store is a 5-pack.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by shortmartin

What does the phrase 'medium cool' refer to? I'm clueless.

According to Wiki (not reliable, but in this case it's accurate), the title comes from Marshall McLuhan's work in which he described TV as a "cool" medium. The "cooler" the medium, "the more someone has to uncover and engage in the media" in order to "fill in the blanks." The movie questions the role and responsibilities of television and its newscasts.

Originally Posted by Indyjones

I just heard back from Criterion and they can do the same for me. So where would I go to get a case for this? All Criterion has in their store is a 5-pack.

http://stores.casetopia.com/-strse-1...ray/Detail.bok

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by iScottie

According to Wiki (not reliable, but in this case it's accurate), the title comes from Marshall McLuhan's work in which he described TV as a "cool" medium. The "cooler" the medium, "the more someone has to uncover and engage in the media" in order to "fill in the blanks." The movie questions the role and responsibilities of television and its newscasts.

cool beans. yeah that makes sense. many thanks.

[Scottie]

Praying that Criterion releases "Ain't Them Bodies Saints"

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Praying that Criterion releases "Ain't Them Bodies Saints"

Criterion usually does not release a high profile indie. I would love it though if whoever releases the blu can include the Directors shorts and first feature since they are apparently not available to watch anywhere.

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Praying that Criterion releases "Ain't Them Bodies Saints"

the trailer looks great. so does the trailer for Pacific Rim. Should be a fun summer.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Criterion usually does not release a high profile indie. I would love it though if whoever releases the blu can include the Directors shorts and first feature since they are apparently not available to watch anywhere.

I didn't know they weren't available anywhere.

Is there a release schedule up for the film? Since reading about the film earlier this year, I have been very curious about it.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by shortmartin

In the opening credits, Studs Terkel the sociologist is listed as "Our Man in Chicago." Does anyone have any knowledge or insights into the role he played in the film?

What does the phrase 'medium cool' refer to? I'm clueless.

In the main character's apartment, there is a large poster of Belmondo - is this a screen shot from a movie?

• This is from my write-up of Medium Cool in User Reviews:
  [ "The medium is the message.", according to communication philosopher Marshall McLuhan, and the title of Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool is taken from McLuhan's thesis that television is a "cool" medium in that it needs only minimal interaction from the viewer. ]

• Breathless is the Jean-Paul Belmondo movie.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Is there a release schedule up for the film? Since reading about the film earlier this year, I have been very curious about it.

I doubt any of my theaters would get it

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Breathless is the Jean-Paul Belmondo movie.

figured breathless. many thanks.

it's such a great scene in medium cool, them running around the apartment buck naked. Wexler structures the extended take and the verite style perfectly. it's my second favorite scene from a recent CC release, the first being the gorgeous, complex, extended fiddle/roller skating rink scene in Heaven's Gate.

now that I think of it, funny that each of these movies - Medium Cool and Heaven's Gate - have roller skating scenes, the former featuring a roller derby brawl.

[Sherlock_Jr]

If anyone is on the fence about Seconds, here's a cool little article:

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture...ovie-criterion

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I didn't know they weren't available anywhere.

Is there a release schedule up for the film? Since reading about the film earlier this year, I have been very curious about it.

August 16th is the listed release date, but that's probs just NY and LA. The good news is that this is this years indie darling ala Beasts of the Southern Wild, so a Oscar push is not out of the question. Bad news is that Criterion is not going to be able to touch it.


UPDATE: I tweeted at David Lowery asking where I could watch Pioneer and St. Nick an asked if Criterion could help us out. He responded by saying he "liked the Criterion idea!"...I may be reading too much into it but perhaps Criterion has already made plans, he is about to break out in a big way and Criterion did the same thing with Dunham, who also had a film with IFC. The peices are there.

He also gave me a link where I could watch Pioneer, PM me if you are interested.

[monorail91]

There's a great indie from a couple years ago, Youth in Revolt starring Michael Cera, with a lot of fun references to Criterion films, like La Strada, Breathless, Tokyo Story...

The book is wonderful too!

[the sordid sentinel]

Originally Posted by Sherlock_Jr

If anyone is on the fence about Seconds, here's a cool little article:

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture...ovie-criterion

I am definitely buying this in November. The more I read the more I know I'll absolutely love it. Same cinematographer as Sweet Smell of Success. I hope it looks as great as that title does.

[The Great Owl]

I went into my new Blu-ray box set of America Lost and Found: The BBS Story last night. I previously owned this set on DVD, but needed to upgrade to appreciate the awesomeness and scope of these movies in the best format.

I probably won't be writing full-blown reviews of every flick in the box set, but a few words for each will be fun as I revisit each one in turn.



Head, the 1968 feature film that starred The Monkees after the cancellation of their television show, follows the four band members in a stream-of-consciousness narrative style as they make a series of futile attempts to break out of their scripted character molds. The movie makes serious observations about the constraints of the entertainment industry on its artists and about the strange parallels between entertainment and war, but the storyline plays out with such gleeful offbeat randomness that one cannot help but laugh and smile through the proceedings. The band members are constantly on display for our amusement, whether they like it or not.

When Davy Jones passed away last year, I posted a video on my Facebook wall of my favorite scene from Head, where Jones performs "Daddy's Song" in a marvelously edited sequence where contrasting clothing shades and background colors are seamlessly blended, as a remembrance. It's a gloriously hypnotic moment in a psychedelic masterpiece with many such moments.

When I was a college student during the early 1990s, I used to enjoy a techno song, "Your Mind Belongs To The State" by Meat Beat Manifesto, that featured samples of random dialogue about politics and drug-induced musings. When I first saw Head, via my old Criterion DVD set, I was amused to realize that the samples in the movie about government and laughing at people were used in the song. It's just one example of how this movie is now ubiquitous in our society in ways that we usually fail to notice.

When I owned the DVDs, I did not revisit Head as often as I revisited my favorite BBS films (Five Easy Pieces, Easy Rider, The Last Picture Show), but I did find myself coming back to Head ever so often to immerse myself in the colorful cacophony. On Blu-ray, the movie looks perfect, and I am reminded of the natural cinematic beauty of the late 1960s film styles. Appropriately, I revisited Head last night just one week after I saw another late-1960s Criterion title, Medium Cool, for the first time.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Indyjones

I just heard back from Criterion and they can do the same for me. So where would I go to get a case for this? All Criterion has in their store is a 5-pack.

That is what I ended up doing the first time. I bought the 5 pack from their site.

However, I found another website that sells Criterion clear cases in wholesale quantity with better prices.

You can buy single cases or double cases here: http://stores.casetopia.com/-strse-B...Categories.bok

[Sherlock_Jr]

Originally Posted by the sordid sentinel

I am definitely buying this in November. The more I read the more I know I'll absolutely love it. Same cinematographer as Sweet Smell of Success. I hope it looks as great as that title does.

It's been a favorite movie of mine for years now. Back when I taught a filmmaking class in Austin years ago, I used several scenes form Seconds as a reference.