The Criterion Collection

[Judex]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

The Life of Oharu Blu-ray

[Show spoiler]
I would also like to also encourage you to pick up the box set below, which has four excellent films from the Japanese master. Two of thew, Utamaro and His Five Women and Osaka Elegy, have connections to The Life of Oharu. If you could play Region-B discs, it is definitely worth owning. (At least I think it is, as Mizoguchi is my favorite director from the Big Three (the other two being Ozu and Kurosawa).

Have a great weekend everyone






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I can not wait to get my hands on this. It's a shame the commentary isn't full length, but you can't have everything. I'm really pleased that this is finally on blu.

Hopefully Criterion, MoC and Artificial Eye will put more Mizoguchi on blu.
The Lady of Musashino & The Crucified Lovers, 47 Ronin are next on my wish list.

[The Great Owl]

I had some cash from unloading a few unwanted CDs in my music collection, so here's today's haul from Barnes & Noble with their current sales...

Marketa Lazarová
Safety Last!
Charade

I initially planned to buy Island of Lost Souls as my free Criterion Blu-ray, but the disc was floating around inside the case at the store, so I went with another one on my want list, Charade.
I'm taking a big leap of faith that the Criterion Blu-ray of Charade will be superior to the upcoming Universal release. If it's not, though, then I won't lose a whole lot of sleep.

I could have saved a buck or two by waiting until July, but I wanted to see Marketa Lazarová this weekend.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

[/SPOILER]

Thanks for the review pro-B! I can't wait to add Oharu to my collection in the July B&N sale. I already bought Sansho the Bailiff from Amazon and I'm waiting for its arrival.

You are welcome, zoodermin. Sansho looks even better than Oharu.... There are obviously a couple of missing frames on the latter, but considering how rough many of Mizoguchi's films look I think that the final result is very nice.

Judex, any of his contemporary films would be great to have on Blu-ray.

Pro-B

[The Great Owl]

What does everyone think of A Safe Place, from the America Lost and Found: The BBS Story set?

When I owned the America Lost and Found box set on DVD, I only watched A Safe Place one time, as opposed to the other films, all of which I revisited on a frequent basis. Since I now have the Blu-ray set, I decided to give another go at A Safe Place to see if my views of the film improved upon a second viewing.

I watched the Blu-ray earlier this morning, and decided once and for all that A Safe Place is my least favorite Criterion title. Nobody can say that I did not give it a chance, though.

I will not say that A Safe Place is a terrible film, because it's not. At least it's not terrible in the sense that my least favorite films (Pay It Forward, Crash [2005], and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) are terrible. A Safe Place is just...it's just there.

There are a moments in A Safe Place that I actually like a lot. I love the conversation that Tuesday Weld has with her boyfriend about telephone prefixes, and I love the sequences where Weld is talking in the dark room with images superimposed on her face. The film has random vignettes that I find interesting, but it's also a repetitive film that turns me off in a few ways.

To the movie's credit, Tuesday Weld is the ultimate unhinged beauty. Her character reminds me of a few strange souls that I met for dinner years ago when I got the idea to try Match.com for a few months.

Years later, Tuesday Weld would have a surprisingly effective role in the disturbing Michael Douglas film, Falling Down, as the unhinged wife of Robert Duvall's police officer character.
When I watch A Safe Place, I often imagine that Tuesday Weld's Susan/Noah character in that film is simply a younger and more naive version of herself before she became the cop's wife in Falling Down and unfortunately had the worse of her naive blankness ravaged by age. I may be way off base, but the two films would make quite an interesting double feature in that sense.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

What does everyone think of A Safe Place, from the America Lost and Found: The BBS Story set?

When I owned the America Lost and Found box set on DVD, I only watched A Safe Place one time, as opposed to the other films, all of which I revisited on a frequent basis. Since I now have the Blu-ray set, I decided to give another go at A Safe Place to see if my views of the film improved upon a second viewing.

I watched the Blu-ray earlier this morning, and decided once and for all that A Safe Place is my least favorite Criterion title. Nobody can say that I did not give it a chance, though.

I will not say that A Safe Place is a terrible film, because it's not. At least it's not terrible in the sense that my least favorite films (Pay It Forward, Crash [2005], and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) are terrible. A Safe Place is just...it's just there.

There are a moments in A Safe Place that I actually like a lot. I love the conversation that Tuesday Weld has with her boyfriend about telephone prefixes, and I love the sequences where Weld is talking in the dark room with images superimposed on her face. The film has random vignettes that I find interesting, but it's also a repetitive film that turns me off in a few ways.

To the movie's credit, Tuesday Weld is the ultimate unhinged beauty. Her character reminds me of a few strange souls that I met for dinner years ago when I got the idea to try Match.com for a few months.

Years later, Tuesday Weld would have a surprisingly effective role in the disturbing Michael Douglas film, Falling Down, as the unhinged wife of Robert Duvall's police officer character.
When I watch A Safe Place, I often imagine that Tuesday Weld's Susan/Noah character in that film is simply a younger and more naive version of herself before she became the cop's wife in Falling Down and unfortunately had the worse of her naive blankness ravaged by age. I may be way off base, but the two films would make quite an interesting double feature in that sense.

Henry Jaglom, who directed A Safe Place, made a totally French new wave sort of movie. I personally am not a fan of this film whatsoever as the film is very ponderous and irritating to watch. I do like Drive, He Said, and find that to be the most unexpected surprise film in this box set. That is a far more entertaining film especially with Bruce Dern's usually intense acting.

[Hypnosifl]

Originally Posted by James78

Have all the releases from this image been named? There is a little boy holding a sword or a fishing rod (I think). Does anyone know what film that is, please?

The speculations in this post have turned out to be pretty accurate so far, but I don't think all the clues have been named yet. The window with the boy and the man holding a sword and birdcage was guessed to maybe be a combo of multiple films:

Originally Posted by jrsl76

child with man with samurai sword and birdcage = 4 clues - Charlie Chaplin's The Kid (First National shorts?), Man = Joel Coen's Barton Fink, Sword held with backwards hand = Kenji Misumi's Tale Of Zatoichi (maybe more Zatoichi's), Cage = Edouard Molinaro's La Cage Au Folles

[zoodermin]

I just saw my newly arrived BD of On the Waterfront. Wow, I was blown away by the film. This is exactly why I love blind buying Criterions because I can experience masterpieces like this one for the first time and with a first rate transfer no less. Marlon Brando and the rest of the cast was superb and the story hooked me from beginning to end so I'm gonna watch it again soon. A masterpiece.

[zoodermin]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

You are welcome, zoodermin. Sansho looks even better than Oharu.... There are obviously a couple of missing frames on the latter, but considering how rough many of Mizoguchi's films look I think that the final result is very nice.

Judex, any of his contemporary films would be great to have on Blu-ray.

Pro-B

Never seen anything from Mozoguchi but being reading lots of reviews praising Sansho, Oharu and Ugetsu and considering that I love Kurosawa and Ozu, I'm pretty sure I'll like Mizoguchi as well.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by sc1957

Safety Last

I sure hope we'll see more Harold Lloyd on Blu-ray from Criterion.

Don't worry, we will. In fact, it looks like the next Lloyd they are going to release is The Freshman, which if you haven't seen it, is absolutely hilarious.

http://criterioncast.com/news/the-fr...lloyd-release/

[The Great Owl]

My copies of Diabolique and Stagecoach just arrived in the mail. Woo hoo!

It's been a big Criterion week.

[The Great Owl]

...and I just finished watching...



I have seen the iconic images of the man climbing on the clock face high above city streets several times during my life, but I never knew that the man was Harold Lloyd or that the sequence is taken from Lloyd's 1923 silent masterpiece, Safety Last! I also never imagined that the entire movie is just as fast-paced, hilarious, and exciting as that clock sequence.

I saw Safety Last! in its entirety for the first time today, and I spent a lot of the time cracking up with real belly laughs as I watched "The Boy" (Harold Lloyd) in action. The movie does have its share of somberly reflective undercurrents about the pursuit of the American Dream, such as a memorable image of Lloyd's loved ones bidding him goodbye at a train station where the backdrop resembles a prison with a hangman's noose or a sequence where Lloyd sadly imagines food dishes disappearing on a plate as he counts out his money to pay for something else. The effectiveness to which these serious undercurrents fade seamlessly into the tour de force of physical comedy is but one reason why Safety Last! is a lightning-fast visual treat of a film even by today's standards.

An early scene of Harold Lloyd and his friend hiding in their coats gets one of the biggest laughs of the movie. Scenes of Lloyd improvising his survival in his demanding department store clerk job demand endless rewinds as not to miss any comedic elements. It goes without saying that the movie's front-and-center main attraction of Lloyd climbing up the department store building is endlessly amusing, but also tense and nail-biting.

Safety Last!, upon my first viewing, has shot up to the top of my list of favorite silent films. I am simply stunned at how well such a movie holds up in this day and age. Since I'm a 1980s kid, I thought several times of the Michael J. Fox film, The Secret of My Success, that borrows the concept from Safety Last! of a low-level employee improvising his way to the top of the corporate ladder. In the case of Safety Last!, though, Harold Lloyd literally does climb his way to the top.

Three earlier short films by Harold Lloyd that are included as supplements on this Criterion Blu-ray are just as rewatchable and hilarious as Safety Last! The generous documentaries and the commentary are just icing on the cake. Safety Last! looks incredible on this Blu-ray transfer, and the picture quality shines as one looks down on city streets during Lloyd's iconic climb.

I cannot recommend this movie enough.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

...and I just finished watching...



The movie does have its share of somberly reflective undercurrents about the pursuit of the American Dream, such as a memorable image of Lloyd's loved ones bidding him goodbye at a train station where the backdrop resembles a prison with a hangman's noose or a sequence where Lloyd sadly imagines food dishes disappearing on a plate as he counts out his money to pay for something else. The effectiveness to which these serious undercurrents fade seamlessly into the tour de force of physical comedy is but one reason why Safety Last! is a lightning-fast visual treat of a film even by today's standards.

Good point. For that reason, Safety Last! would make an interesting double feature with Modern Times, even though Chaplin's film comes 13 years later.

And I agree about the scene where they are hiding from the landlady, it is one of the funniest by far.

All these reviews are making me even more excited to pick up the blu (and, if possible, the poster for the theatrical rerelease, which is available through Criterion's website).

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

...and I just finished watching...

I haven't received the Blu-ray yet, but this is absolutely a gem a film. I certainly can't wait to watch it again and again.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I have seen the iconic images of the man climbing on the clock face high above city streets several times during my life,...

Yeah, that poster was the set dressing goto of the 60s/70s. It was like laptops in the 90s...I think the prop department just put one in every box.

And to date it's been my only exposure to Harold Lloyd too.

I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on this in a few weeks.

[blkhrt]

The review of The Ice Storm is up on the beaver....

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/reviews/ice_storm.htm

It looks great. Definitely better than my non-Criterion DVD. Can't wait to pick up this film. Both the book and the movie have long been personal favorites of mine.

[monorail91]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

Don't worry, we will. In fact, it looks like the next Lloyd they are going to release is The Freshman, which if you haven't seen it, is absolutely hilarious.

http://criterioncast.com/news/the-fr...lloyd-release/

Yaaaay! I loved the Freshman, maybe even more than Safety Last. Saw both when they aired on TCM recently.

[jcez28]

Originally Posted by Casey

thanks. i hadnt considered desert or lola before. they sound interesting.
i used to have mystery train but traded it away.

You can buy a barnes and nobles gift card or amazon

[deepbreathsanddeath]

I really hope to see more silent films come. While I love cinema from all era's, acting was better during the silent era than from the 40's-60's. There are exceptions of course but it seems as though when the talkie era came about, acting quality and effort took a noticeable dip for decades because audiences were wow'd by actually getting to listen toe people talk on screen. Then people just got used to that and due to there being no home media, werent able to look back and realise how much more effort people put into their acting during the silent era.

Don't get me wrong, there's heaps of movies from all decades that I love, but I actually find myself having to make less of an effort to believe actors in silent films than what would follow for the next 3 or 4 decades. The style of acting was really genuine, believable and surprisingly more entertaining then.

This is coming from someone in their early 20's.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

I really hope to see more silent films come. While I love cinema from all era's, acting was better during the silent era than from the 40's-60's. There are exceptions of course but it seems as though when the talkie era came about, acting quality and effort took a noticeable dip for decades because audiences were wow'd by actually getting to listen toe people talk on screen. Then people just got used to that and due to there being no home media, werent able to look back and realise how much more effort people put into their acting during the silent era.

Don't get me wrong, there's heaps of movies from all decades that I love, but I actually find myself having to make less of an effort to believe actors in silent films than what would follow for the next 3 or 4 decades. The style of acting was really genuine, believable and surprisingly more entertaining then.

This is coming from someone in their early 20's.

I absolutely love silent cinema, but I don't think acting was any better, just different. Actually, more of a difference of perspective. Silent actors were more expressive, and the plots of silent films were more simple, due to the use of intertitles for dialog and explanation. I think the advent of sound added one more layer of complexity. If you took a silent acting performance, put sound and dialog with it, and transported it to later decades, most people would think they were looking at "overacting". But I understand how you feel. I only have to look at a performance by Lon Chaney to realize how astonishingly great he was, no matter the decade he made his films or the fact that they were silent.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by oildude

I absolutely love silent cinema, but I don't think acting was any better, just different. Actually, more of a difference of perspective. Silent actors were more expressive, and the plots of silent films were more simple, due to the use of intertitles for dialog and explanation. I think the advent of sound added one more layer of complexity. If you took a silent acting performance, put sound and dialog with it, and transported it to later decades, most people would think they were looking at "overacting". But I understand how you feel.

I understand where you're coming from but I just think by comparison, actors were usually not expressive enough or were over dramatic in their style where as in silent cinema acting was surprisingly nuanced and emotionally involving. Comedy from the silent era (think Buster Keaton and Charles Chaplin for example) has aged a lot better than most comedies from the decades to follow.

Sure, if you plopped a silent performance in a sound picture, they might look like they're over acting but if you plopped a sound actor in a silent picture, most of them would kinda look like they're standing there, doing nothing but movig their lips and occasionally raising an arm. I dont know about you, but i would rather take the occasional over acting over dull and boring. It goes both ways so there's little point in comparing them that way.

Of course I'm generalising here. There are indeed exceptions but that's just something I have been noticing more and more lately with the more classic films I watch. It's harder for talkie actors I guess since those films are more complex. You're quite right about that. They've got to remember lines and execute them well so I suppose the argument is pointless.

Not that its even an argument, just something I've been thinking about lately. "Who are the better actors/performers are better? Those from the silent era or those from the next few decades to come?" In my opinion acting became more complex and believable in the 70's where there was more proper range that I rarely saw since the silent era.

I only recently watched it, but when I saw Citizen Kane, I was amazed. Orson Welles delivered a performance in 1941 that was exceptional even by today's standards. What suprised me more is that few actors for the next few decades were able to/bothered to show the kind of range of emotions he showed.

Anyway, I just hope we see more silent cinema come out in the near future. I would really love more silent horror films!