The Criterion Collection

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

It may help to understand that the style of narration for that opening "newsreel" sequence was actually Orson Welles' wicked parody of the typical newsreels of the era, both in its verbal phrasing and vocal inflections. A mockumentary before they became fashionable. Moreover, the placement of it near the beginning of the film (right after the death of Kane) is another playful move by Welles to mess with the minds of audience members who came in late (like he'd done with his radio production of "War of the Worlds"). At that time a typical movie theatre would run a few shorts before the main feature, including a newsreel. People coming in late would think that the newsreel was still running so it would be more of a shock when the film cuts to the screening room.

And yeah, Welles' range of acting is really amazing in that film.

Thanks for the insight. I'm yet to watch any of the special features and that didn't really click. Very clever.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by 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.

1) Hulu Plus is not available in my country.

2) I don't care to watch movies on my computer + Our country also doesn't have the same kind of broadband yours does yet, mostly makes watching an entire movie streaming very frustrating.

3) Most of the movies aren't available here on Blu-Ray or often even DVD to be found through our library system.

So, short of downloading the movies illegally, it is difficult to impossible to watch the movies first for me, so almost all of them are blind buys, hence I like to check reviews and opinions on them before I order.

Meanwhile, I don't understand why people have such a problem with people asking each other what they think of the movies because they are interested in them themselves.

What a fantastic resource this forum is.

[White Dang]

Well there's such thing as a proxy server. A friend who doesn't have a good connection uses an unblocker called Hola to watch Hulu and Netflix in Africa where they are blocked. It also can be used to speed a connection. You should see if it can work for you.

There's nothing wrong with blind buying movies if that's what you like to do. IMO it's a waste unless you have 100% satisfaction with every purchase.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

1) Hulu Plus is not available in my country.
2) I don't care to watch movies on my computer + Our country also doesn't have the same kind of broadband yours does yet, mostly makes watching an entire movie streaming very frustrating.

(Oh, darn, forgot. Got so used to streaming Hulu on my PS3.)

Meanwhile, I don't understand why people have such a problem with people asking each other what they think of the movies because they are interested in them themselves.
What a fantastic resource this forum is.

We assume--naively, in the best scenario--that people are asking for the best movies to rent out of curiosity.
Only then, does it become a case of crisis-aversion management when someone posts "I want to buy one of (X) number of Criterions and don't know any of them...Should I buy Seven Samurai first, or should I get this Salo that everyone keeps talking about?"
Here, for example, is where "If you'd seen it, you wouldn't ask. " is good advice in a real, tangible format.

It's buying a studio's work instead of a director's, which almost seems to devalue the director. Criterion's selling you these things because you SHOULD know them already, and if you don't, they'll be happy to creatively edit Three Reasons on their YouTube channel why you should.

[ChoosingSilas]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

That's my plan!

MHMM!!
I can't wait for "The Devil's Backbone" release in July. Guillermo del Toro is one of my favorite directors.

[Tony208]

what criterion movies would you choose to ease someone in to criterion

basically less niche and more accessible, like criterion armageddon or benjamin button

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Tony208

what criterion movies would you choose to ease someone in to criterion
basically less niche and more accessible, like criterion armageddon or benjamin button

If it says "Kurosawa" or "Chaplin" on it and it's in B/W, enjoy.
(I can guarantee they're not Michael Bay or David Fincher.)

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by EricJ

We assume--naively, in the best scenario--that people are asking for the best movies to rent out of curiosity.
Only then, does it become a case of crisis-aversion management when someone posts "I want to buy one of (X) number of Criterions and don't know any of them...Should I buy Seven Samurai first, or should I get this Salo that everyone keeps talking about?"
Here, for example, is where "If you'd seen it, you wouldn't ask. " is good advice in a real, tangible format.

It's buying a studio's work instead of a director's, which almost seems to devalue the director. Criterion's selling you these things because you SHOULD know them already, and if you don't, they'll be happy to creatively edit Three Reasons on their YouTube channel why you should.

That would be a weird assumption to make - Not sure what you're basing it on. If you were going to rent something, why would you care what other people's opinions on it were?

And that wouldn't be good advice at all, that would be being purposefully jerky, and I can't even fathom why. If you were on a travel forum and asked people's opinions between going to certain places and they just said, 'if you went, you wouldn't be asking,' would you call that good advice?

Or between authors? Or computers?

I still don't see why you care. There's clearly people here who appreciate the advice and there's people here who like to help folks out and give it. It's a very friendly thing to do. It's people having conversations and being neighbourly.

I can't imagine why it is vexing you, and why, if you don't like it, you can't just not participate - You feel the need to try and make others feel bad for doing it? I like when someone asks and I can read someone else's opinions.

Finally, Criterion isn't a studio - This isn't the equivalent of buying ever movie that Warner Bros or Sony put out - They have deliberately selected a sample of the most important/interesting/greatest movies ever made.

I doubt the entire collection is loved by any one person, but surely you can see that if you are interested in the kind of films they put out, then it's likely that a significant portion of the collection is potentially interesting to you?

[pro-bassoonist]

Safety Last! Blu-ray REVIEW

[DarkRyder]

Sorry if this sounds naive, but why is the transfer in 1080i?

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Safety Last! Blu-ray REVIEW

Awesome! What an amazing collection of special features. Will be grabbing during the next 50% off sale. This reminds me, I would love to see a silent film catagory.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

This reminds me, I would love to see a silent film catagory.

Now that you mention it, that's a pretty good great idea.

If the genre list has room for coming-of-age and heist they could probably squeeze in silent.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by octagon

Now that you mention it, that's a pretty good idea.

If the genre list has room for coming-of-age and heist they could probably squeeze in silent.

Glad you agree. It would be great to see.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

Sorry if this sounds naive, but why is the transfer in 1080i?

Because of varying frame rates.

[KENTA]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

Sorry if this sounds naive, but why is the transfer in 1080i?

Because it has a framerate that's not supported by the Blu-ray format progressively.
Eureka has found a way that can keep the 22 frames per second while remaining a 1080p resolution, but Criterion sadly doesn't do this.

[Tns49]

Originally Posted by DarkRyder

Sorry if this sounds naive, but why is the transfer in 1080i?

Not sure which movie you are referring to, but some are in 1080i because their original fps rate is not 24 frames per second. True of many silent which where often at anything from 16 to 26 FPS.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

They're referring to Safety Last!. It's in 1080i but don't let that scare you off. Check out dvdbeaver's comparison pics. It's a night and day difference. It looks STUNNING!

I'm really loving the treatment a lot of these silent films are getting. They look sharper and clearer than so many modern films.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Safety Last! Blu-ray REVIEW

I'm not too keen on Leonard Maltin, but I'll give the commentary a shot once I pick this up.

Thanks Pro-B!

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by jayj15

At 40 bucks a film, I have to know.

Anyone is foolish if they pay MSRP for any title that is not OOP.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by EricJ

<snip>

And if you want to sell ME on the idea of spending huge amounts of my money to track down a dreary copy of Marienbad to "enlighten" myself, rather than simply renting it, librarying it or Hulu'ing it when I have a spare weekend, fine, I'll take it under advisement, just don't do it when I'm at the airports.

You know, there are many different reasons why people buy what they buy. Just to throw out one example of many ... in my case, I don't know of any resources near where I live, where I could easily rent or "library" a film. I live in a very small town with a very small library. I'd have to check, but I'd be surprised if they even carry blurays. (Hulu would be a whole "nuther" story). But ... I'm just trying to point out that people might have unseen reasons for what they do/buy.