The Criterion Collection

[lastemp3ror]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

My wife and I HATED Tree of Life.

Not been brave enough to try anything else of his yet.

Funny thing is, I actually blind bought Tree of Life since it was on sale. However after Mallick going 0-2 with me, I am not going to even open it and just trade it.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by lastemp3ror

Funny thing is, I actually blind bought Tree of Life since it was on sale. However after Mallick going 0-2 with me, I am not going to even open it and just trade it.

What did you hate about both Badlands and Days of Heaven?

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by saprano

Are Naked Lunch and Badlands good blind buys?

What about Videodrome? I've never seen any of them but the previews and subject matters interest me.

Badlands is pretty much a guaranteed safe blind buy. The latter two, not so much. If you're familiar with and enjoy David Cronenberg in the slightest, both are amongst his best work.

[brandon_260]

Man, it's such a shame to see people write off what is one of the most important films of the last decade or two because of two works by the same director that are merely blips in comparison.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Man, it's such a shame to see people write off what is one of the most important films of the last decade or two because of two works by the same director that are merely blips in comparison.

Not to worry - I'm writing off the blips because of the 'important' film.

[lastemp3ror]

Originally Posted by iScottie

What did you hate about both Badlands and Days of Heaven?

I wouldn't say I hated it, but they weren't films that I normally enjoy. In both cases I didn't like the narration done by either girl. Especially the one in Days of Heaven. I feel like I couldn't even understand some of the words. Also the story lines just didn't have any effect on me.

The one thing I did like is the cinematography. Mallick does a very good job of capturing landscapes on film.

I will admit that although I have always enjoyed films, I am now starting to appreciate/notice the smaller things done by directors. This is where the extras/commentary sections in the Criterion films have been a blessing for me. I have learned a lot. Anyhow my point is that I am not the greatest judge of what makes a great movie great.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Badlands = yes
Naked Lunch = no
Videodrome = yes (if you're into culty sci-fi films)

Why not yes to Naked Lunch aswell considering they are both Cronrnberg films that touch on the same themes?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Why not yes to Naked Lunch aswell considering they are both Cronrnberg films that touch on the same themes?

Because Naked Lunch was scattered all over the place and didn't make much sense.

[Hawkguy]

Alright, to update on my meaningless posts about which films I should buy, I will update with another meaningless post saying which ones I ended up getting from this sale now that I'm done:

I got Medium Cool, Pierre Etaix, Naked Lunch, Chronicle of a Summer and A Man Escaped.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by saprano

Even if someone likes weird films like that?

Try it you may very well like it. I prefer Naked Lunch to Videodrome by a good bit. Absorbed the entire dvd a few years ago (even the commentary, which I seldom bother with), it held up quite well after not having seen it for 20 years. Looking forward to checking out the blu fairly soon (got it a few weeks back).

[morg999]

Originally Posted by Moe Szyslak

Blind bought Videodrome and Antichrist

Blind Bought Antichrist..??

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Because Naked Lunch was scattered all over the place and didn't make much sense.

One man's "scattered all over the place and didn't make much sense" is another's "formally daring and resonant."

I can't wait to revisit the film next week or so...

[Dennis Nedry]

I went through all of the Criterion titles in this website's database the other day and it's amazing to me how little of them I actually care about seeing.

Also, Terrence Mallick hasn't done much for me in the past and I certainly haven't had any inclination to try out the rest of his oeuvre.

*prepares to be disowned by Abdrewes*

[monorail91]

Originally Posted by Dennis Nedry

I went through all of the Criterion titles in this website's database the other day and it's amazing to me how little of them I actually care about seeing.

That's how I had felt about a lot of them, but once I started renting / viewing them much more actively, I was really amazed how many I ended up liking (easily 75% or more). By going through some of the Collection, I've been exposed to all kinds of movies I would never have seen otherwise, and I'm glad that I took the time to try em out.

Even the ones I didn't like, I can at least appreciate because they had some quality that made them noteworthy or exceptional in some way.

[returnofthemack]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Because Naked Lunch was scattered all over the place and didn't make much sense.

this could actually be taken as a compliment as the book was the most insane thing i ever read. didnt like the movie. in fact turned it off after a half hour.

now videodrome is a very good movie. this is a movie that i thought was just ok when i first saw it but i find myself drawn back to it often. my opinion of the film has grown and i consider it one of the better horror movies of its time and easily cronenbergs best work.

just watched badlands for the first time and while i didnt think it was great it was good and entertaining. more then i can say for days of heaven which was horrible (mostly because i hate Gere, i refuse to watch that douche or look at his stupid face for close to 2 hours). as good as sheen was in badlands i think that somthing about his performace misses the mark.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by CommanderShiro

Ended up ordering Seven Samurai, Godzilla, Rashomon, and The Seventh Seal. My first Criterions....

i did end up loving godzilla much more like i thought i would. its really an awesome movie if you think about the time the movie was made in with all this atomic bombs , the fallout, hiroshima , nagasaki and the whole cold war thing. and the bonus features + the booklet are awesome too.

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

My wife and I HATED Tree of Life.

Not been brave enough to try anything else of his yet.

for me it was one of the best movies ive seen in years. maliks best work so far.
but you should definitly check out his "new world" with christian bale and collin farrel.

only malik i did not like so far was his thin red line. after the beautiful opening scene i kinda didnt get the story^^

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

I have always wanted to check out Le Corbeau, but I have been waiting for a blu-ray release. Eventually... I own Wages of Fear and Les Diabolique, and I am a huge fan of both films.

Le Corbeau is fantastic. Of the three you mention, it might be my favorite. At the very least it is second after Les Diabolique.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by lastemp3ror

I wouldn't say I hated it, but they weren't films that I normally enjoy. In both cases I didn't like the narration done by either girl. Especially the one in Days of Heaven. I feel like I couldn't even understand some of the words. Also the story lines just didn't have any effect on me.

I sometimes watch films with subtitles for my first viewing at home, even if the films are in English. Later on, I'll watch the film again without subtitles. Subtitles do not adversely affect a movie unless the movie is particularly dialogue-heavy, and it helps me not to miss any words the first go-round.

[lastemp3ror]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I sometimes watch films with subtitles for my first viewing at home, even if the films are in English. Later on, I'll watch the film again without subtitles. Subtitles do not adversely affect a movie unless the movie is particularly dialogue-heavy, and it helps me not to miss any words the first go-round.

That's a good idea! Although I must admit I am kinda tired of reading subtitles. I have been watching a lot of criterion foreign films and I think I need to watch some that are just in english to give my eyes a rest

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Dennis Nedry

I went through all of the Criterion titles in this website's database the other day and it's amazing to me how little of them I actually care about seeing.

*prepares to be disowned by Abdrewes*

It's difficult to convince someone of the virtues of the label when they are already aware of what their mission statement is. When first diving into classic film, I didn't actively seek out Criterion (or Kino, MOC, etc.) actually I didn't even know of their existence. After a while I started wondering why so many exceptional films had the Janus logo before them. Thus, I put 2 and 2 together.

Its a daunting task to make sense of the entire collection, so don't. I suggest acquiring HULU+ and gradually going through their catalogue. At $7.99/month it's way cheaper than blind buying the whole collection.