The Criterion Collection

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by FrankBlue

Have anyone watched Beauty and the Beast? So far, I seen it on the trailer. It looks interesting.

I have and it's amazing.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

La Haine started the banlieue genre

Other good films to explore are:

The Class



Pro-B

Such a fantastic film. One of my favorite Palme d'Or winners. Shame Laurent Cantet's latest is pretty poor.

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Such a fantastic film. One of my favorite Palme d'Or winners. Shame Laurent Cantet's latest is pretty poor.

I remember seeing the trailer for this and thinking, wow, that looks terrible. But I watched it anyway and I'm glad I did not rest on my thoughts on the trailer alone.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Dennis Nedry

Any word on when the next Criterion Flash Sale is?

And Best Buy has Chungking Express for $34.99 (no picture) and it says Criterion edition. Wondering if this is indeed accurate?

I don't think anybody but Criterion has released it in the US yet.

[Dennis Nedry]

Originally Posted by octagon

I don't think anybody but Criterion has released it in the US yet.

Maybe Best Buy still has some copies left in their warehouse(s) and wants to unload them but since it's OOP, not at sale price?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Dennis Nedry

Maybe Best Buy still has some copies left in their warehouse(s) and wants to unload them but since it's OOP, not at sale price?

That seems the most likely explanation. Copies of OOP titles can trickle in and out of stock at various retailers for months.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Criterion's Hulu page has tons of films the company hasn't given a physical release to. For example, I just watched Bergman's All These Women, which looked absolutely spectacular.

I watched All These Women today as well. Aside from the transfer, what did you think? I enjoyed it quite a bit--I think I got an extra kick out of it because the tone is so different from many of the better known Bergman films. I had to watch it in chunks because of my schedule, but look forward to revisiting it someday. I hope it gets a release of some sort.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I have only seen Harold Lloyd's The Kid Brother, how does Safety Last! compare?

I haven't seen The Kid Brother, but can vouch for the greatness of Safety Last! In addition to being hilarious, the film is so iconic that it is worth seeing so that you can pick up on all the references made to it in other movies. I hope to pick it up in July, if the budget is willing (I just made a wish list for the sale, and it has 24 titles on it so far).

[sugar_kane]

I'm actually quite surprised that the 1990 documentary Paris is Burning has not yet received the Criterion treatment.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by EricJ

So....now you're actually guilty about NOT blind-buying a Criterion, and whether it's "okay" to buy a movie you already know?

(Please take note, ladies and gentlemen: There are certain visible warning signs... )

Originally Posted by Page14

lol ... I wouldn't go that far. But I don't feel guilty about not buying a great movie I'm familiar with.

Okay, okay ... after giving it some thought, maybe I do feel a little bit guilty. (So is denial another warning sign? )

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

I'm having a hard time buying a movie that I know and love when there are so many undiscovered gems in the collection.

<snip>

Yeah, that's pretty much what I was trying to say.

Originally Posted by octagon

If a local arthouse was showing a film I loved and something I've never seen that could be tough call.

I don't think buying discs is all that different.

Do people youtube huge chunks of first run movies before deciding whether to see them in theaters or do they prefer to see them for the first time in what they feel is the best possible way?

I think I'm one of the latter. I made the mistake (for me) of watching Breathless and Vivre sa Vie for the first time on TCM. I ended up liking them enough that I wish I would have bought and watched the Criterions first ... along with the extra features. FWIW, I still haven't bought the blurays of those films because the viewings are still fresh enough in my head ... and I wanted to first check out other "undiscovered gems" as referred to above.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Darth Marcus

I just watched Paths of Glory for the very first time. Marvelous film. The cinematography is superb, especially during the war scenes and in the trenches. However, there was one scene in the film that left me puzzled: the conversation between the two generals at the start of the film. During this conversation they wander around the room together a ridiculous amount of the time. They wander away from the camera, around some tables, then towards the camera, and then away from the camera again. It was almost as if Kubrick couldn't come up with a way to make the conversation more stimulating from the table so he just said "just get up and walk around the room."

I can't specifically picture that now but given Kubrick's reputation smart money says every step of that scene was plotted months in advance.

I'm going to have to pop it in soon though, you've got me curious.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by EricJ

The Kid Brother is one of his sound pics, right?
Haven't seen too much sound Lloyd, but from what I've seen of sound Keaton, the silent greats were better silent. I'd even argue that hanging off a building is funnier silent than with sound.

(In fact, just caught Criterion's Safety Last on the bigscreen last Wednesday, and first-time audiences still laughed themselves silly.
A bit of grain in the opening railroad-station twist, but otherwise looked good from there. Most people had never even seen Lloyd before, so his "Clark Kent on the obstacle course" character was a new discovery.)

Thanks for the input Eric J, blkhrt

Actually The Kid Brother is a silent film (it even predates The Jazz Singer). I saw it shortly after getting into Buster Keaton and felt Lloyd, though serviceable, didn't have the same level of gravitas.

I wonder why the 1001 Movies to See Before you Die book didn't include Safety Last (which indeed has more iconic images) over The Kid Brother...Maybe it was in the hopes to shed some additional light on the latter?

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by Tin Drum

I remember seeing the trailer for this and thinking, wow, that looks terrible. But I watched it anyway and I'm glad I did not rest on my thoughts on the trailer alone.

I think it's such a fine example of that hyper realistic film making that's growing increasingly popular.

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I watched All These Women today as well. Aside from the transfer, what did you think? I enjoyed it quite a bit--I think I got an extra kick out of it because the tone is so different from many of the better known Bergman films. I had to watch it in chunks because of my schedule, but look forward to revisiting it someday. I hope it gets a release of some sort.

I liked it a fair bit. Almost certainly the weakest Bergman I've seen, and some of the humor likely went over my head because I've still yet to see 8 1/2, but there are absolutely worse ways to spend 80 minutes. Definitely different than the Bergman I'm used to, but if Criterion ever gives it a physical release, I'll be picking it up.

[thebard]

Originally Posted by octagon

I can't specifically picture that now but given Kubrick's reputation smart money says every step of that scene was plotted months in advance.

I'm going to have to pop it in soon though, you've got me curious.

I've a feeling you're right. Knowing Kubrick's love of chess, it could all be one big "game" analogy... with the from-above establishing shot, and these two men moving about the tiled floor, talking about positioning their pieces (soldiers).

Moe likely though, Kubrick was probably just trying to expose us to as much of the set as possible in order to underscore the opulance of this "war room". Look at all the space they have to roam! and the creature comforts! And for the next shot we cut to... the ant hill, a desolate, ruined mound of debris, viewed from a cramped, claustrophobic trench.

[Abdrewes]

Time to see The Kid with a Bike

[White Dang]

A lot of you guys crack me up. Why don't you watch the movie...then buy what you like??

I've seen over half the collection and 90% of the ones on Blu-ray. Then I don't have to come here asking for advice when a sale come around. But to each his own lol.

[JohnWayne]

Originally Posted by White Dang

A lot of you guys crack me up. Why don't you watch the movie...then buy what you like??

I've seen over half the collection and 90% of the ones on Blu-ray. Then I don't have to come here asking for advice when a sale come around. But to each his own lol.

Where do you watch them at?

[White Dang]

Hulu Plus is a big one. But I just watched Jubal and Charulata on Youtube. A good amount of the "older" films can be found there. Of course there's also Netflix and my local library.

[rockstarnati]

Originally Posted by RiFiFi1955

Which is when I wonder???

Watched La Haine last night and was impressed. I don't hear to much about this title but I think it was one of the better films of this genre, I liked it more than City of God which I always hear brought up.

La Haine is such a great film. One of my all-time favorites. I'm contemplating buying the blu-ray (again). Can't decide between that or a blind buy.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Time to see The Kid with a Bike

Seen it before? You're in for such a treat. While Le fils is their masterpiece, the Dardennes truly honed in on their talent with this one.