The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

I would really love more silent horror films!

If they made a silent zombie film with the right people, I think it would be a masterpiece.

The season 3 premiere episode of "The Walking Dead" has five straight minutes without dialogue and it's so powerful.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by iScottie

If they made a silent zombie film with the right people, I think it would be a masterpiece.

The season 3 premiere episode of "The Walking Dead" has five straight minutes without dialogue and it's so powerful.

I know, it was incredible. I haven't seen it in ages but isn't The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari considered, technically, to be the first zombie film? While it isn't an opinion often shared, I think White Zombie is great even if a little rough around the edges. Perhaps that's because I saw it on the big screen for the first time. Those obnoxiously loud bird squawks were so shrill, it scared the bejesus out of me! Haha. It was quite atmospheric and my DVD looks like crap. I'm hoping that the VCI blu is an improvement over Kino's.

I definitely agree though, its a pity nobody made a silent zombie film handled by a master of that era. I can only imagine how incredibly dark and atmospheric the cinematography could've been. Couple that with an experimental score similar to that of the one included on The Phantom Carriage. Yes, it could've been legendary!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

If they made a silent zombie film with the right people, I think it would be a masterpiece.

The season 3 premiere episode of "The Walking Dead" has five straight minutes without dialogue and it's so powerful.

(WD unseen)Exactly. Great horror depends on strong visual language. Merely cranking up the sound effects and screechy violins does not cut it. Maybe Von Sternberg would have killed it. I could only imagine zombies creeping around "the Docks of New York"

[Page14]

Originally Posted by iScottie

If they made a silent zombie film with the right people, I think it would be a masterpiece.

The season 3 premiere episode of "The Walking Dead" has five straight minutes without dialogue and it's so powerful.

When you mentioned powerful scenes without dialogue, I immediately thought of the first 40 minutes of Pixar's film, WALL-E. Sheer brilliance to me! I've always thought that movie went downhill the moment talking was introduced. The same goes for the scene in Pixar's Up, where we see the main character and his wife's life story via a sequence of old photos. Maybe not as long of a sequence as in WALL-E, but still very touching.

Getting back to what started those thoughts ... I'm looking forward to seeing Safety Last! ... for the film itself as well as for the many special features (including a 108 minute Harold Lloyd documentary).

[Abdrewes]

Has anybody else seen films by Mohsen Makhmalbaf? I recently saw Kandahar which was an engrossing and deeply moving account of a Canadian college student that travels to her mother country of Afghanistan to reunite with her sister after reading a troubling letter. It explores both her journey and how custom stifles the people in a simple but very absorbing way. I can't wait to check out The Silence and Gabbeh.

[The Bronx Bull]

Originally Posted by Page14

When you mentioned powerful scenes without dialogue, I immediately thought of the first 40 minutes of Pixar's film, WALL-E. Sheer brilliance to me! I've always thought that movie went downhill the moment talking was introduced. The same goes for the scene in Pixar's Up, where we see the main character and his wife's life story via a sequence of old photos. Maybe not as long of a sequence as in WALL-E, but still very touching.

Getting back to what started those thoughts ... I'm looking forward to seeing Safety Last! ... for the film itself as well as for the many special features (including a 108 minute Harold Lloyd documentary).

Some of my favorite film scenes are those that have little or no dialogue, including: the heist scenes from Rififi and Le Cercle Rouge; the first fifteen minutes of There Will Be Blood, where we see Plainview hard laboring in a mine; various scenes throughout Once Upon a Time in the West; the scenes in Revanche that consist of the main character sawing wood; and lastly, the scenes in Le Trou where the protagonists are simply hammering away at the hole.

I highly recommend Jean Pierre-Melville's work to those that enjoy that type of filmmaking.

[Abdrewes]

As far as masterful scenes without much dialogue: quite a few films by Michelangelo Antonioni qualify. There are way too many scenes to list. One could easily list over a dozen from Red Desertalone or even the flawed but spectacular Zabriskie Point

How about the ending of Intolerance too

[zoodermin]

I think the Amazon sale is ending because some of the titles I have in my cart are increasing the price from 19.99 to 25 and more so if you want to take advantage of the sale, act quickly. Some titles that have increased the price are:

Paris, Texas: 24.96
Wings of Desire: 23.49
Kuroneko: 28.03.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I think the Amazon sale is ending because some of the titles I have in my cart are increasing the price from 19.99 to 25 and more so if you want to take advantage of the sale, act quickly. Some titles that have increased the price are:

Paris, Texas: 24.96
Wings of Desire: 23.49
Kuroneko: 28.03.

Yup, just checked Best Buy and the prices have shot up there too.

[The Great Owl]

It's probably not the best idea to attempt a review of Marketa Lazarová minutes after watching the film for the first time, but here goes...



Most of us have seen the cartoon of Gary Larson's The Far Side with the kid raising his hand to ask, "May I be excused, Professor? My brain is full." Like many other moviegoers on these shores who are just now experiencing the previously-unavailable 1967 Czechoslovakian film, Marketa Lazarová, I am not quite sure what to make of what I finished watching a few minutes ago, but I am sure that I have seen an oddly brilliant work of cinema unlike anything that I have ever seen before.

A broad summary of Marketa Lazarová may describe the film as a tale of 13th century tribal clans who feud with one another while drawing the animosity of the equally brutal German Christian rulers. After a son of clan ruler Kozlik is beaten by the Lazar clan, the Kozliks kidnap Lazar's virgin daughter, Marketa, who provides a loose framework for the film as her innocence gives way to haunting desolation after a series of uncanny life choices.

Marketa Lazarová, however, is a medieval period story that defies conventions at every step. The episodic structure of the movie provides minimal narrative cohesion, since these episodes are broken down into sequences from multiple viewpoints that abruptly shift backward and forward in a non-linear fashion. It took me a good 40 minutes or so to grasp any semblance of character recognition or storytelling. My advice to the prospective viewer is to roll with the punches just as I did, and let the narrative tornado place you down in whichever random spot of the story that it decides. Marketa Lazarová shows us many first-person viewpoints through the eyes of characters moving through the snowy wilderness, and we are compelled to evaluate these characters from the same intimate, yet detached, viewpoint as a predator who views his victims while lurking in the trees off to the side of a path, much like the brutal Kozlik brothers who lie in wait before kidnapping a German noble during an early scene.

Marketa Lazarová contains many ghastly scenes of medieval squalor and features a few abruptly unflinching moments of violence, but it is also one of the most beautiful films that I have seen in recent memory. The choir music of the score lends an elevated majesty to the proceedings, as if to depict the spiritual tug-of-war taking place in the psyches of the title character and those who accompany her on her life path of unimaginable grief and unexpected strength. Remarkable sequences of wolves rushing through the snow or standing in wait with unsettling calm seem to act as the eyes of a universe that is not outright cruel, but merely indifferent. Nature's indifference is often worse than cruelty, because cruelty at least reassures us that we are acknowledged in the grand scheme of things. Throughout the film, the voices of characters often seem disassociated with the images of these characters onscreen, and this particular technique of director Frantisek Vlacil somehow draws us closer into the chaotic majesty of the film instead of taking our minds out of the film as they might have done in the hands of a lesser filmmaker.

A handful of images from this film will haunt me for days and weeks to come. These images involve wolves watching with a still chill in the air, a horse apparently dying while stuck in a marsh quagmire, a remarkable shot of an arrow to an eye, an odd crucifixion scene, and a religious character's attachment to a lamb.

This Criterion Blu-ray presentation of Marketa Lazarová is wondrous. The crystal-clear picture quality puts us in the middle of falling snow and wind-blown grassy marshes, while the audio quality lets the classical choir score ascend into the stratosphere. I would love to have a commentary track for this particular film, but the generous extras and documentaries are more than sufficient to shed some light on this strange and eerie masterpiece.

Ever so often, The Criterion Collection releases an unfamiliar film that captures my intrigue, and, after seeing it, I wonder how the film ever escaped the attention and acclaim of the masses. The 2012 Criterion Blu-ray, Letter Never Sent, was one such film. Marketa Lazarová is the unsung hero of Criterion's 2013 queue so far. I had never heard of Marketa Lazarová prior to the announcement of its release a few months back, but I now have a cinematic oddity in my possession that I will treasure watching over and over again to further immerse myself in its haunting charm.

[Abdrewes]

Nice write up!

I can't wait to see the film. The best Czech films of that period (Daisies, Closely Watched Trains, The Fireman's Ball)were really out there.

[Jett Rink]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Nice write up!

I can't wait to see the film. The best Czech films of that period (Daisies, Closely Watched Trains , The Fireman's Ball)were really out there.

I just watched Weekend - 2011 again, it didn't have the same appeal as the first viewing.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Jett Blu

I just watched Weekend - 2011 again, it didn't have the same appeal as the first viewing.

How so?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Nice write up!

I can't wait to see the film. The best Czech films of that period (Daisies, Closely Watched Trains, The Fireman's Ball)were really out there.

Thanks! I'm not sure if my review made a lot of sense, but I wanted to write something down immediately.

Marketa Lazarová rattled me, but in a awesome sort of way that only memorable cinema can do.

I will say that watching Marketa Lazarová right after watching Safety Last! is really something else. I'm hard-pressed to think of two Criterion offerings that are further apart in terms of technique and tone. Safety Last! had me laughing with full belly laughs and left me with an ear-to-ear grin. Marketa Lazarová had me sitting with my jaw on the floor in a state of bewildered WTF-ness. That's a compliment of the highest order when it comes to my appreciation of movies, though.

If you took Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal and put it on a broken rollercoaster track in the freezing cold, you might end up with something almost like Marketa Lazarová.

[Jett Rink]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

How so?

This is going to make me sound like a dork, but I forgot they smoked so much pot, that is not the main factor though. It just seemed like they were going through the motions so to speak.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Jett Blu

This is going to make me sound like a dork, but I forgot they smoked so much pot, that is not the main factor though. It just seemed like they were going through the motions so to speak.

I hated that the first time too

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Jett Blu

This is going to make me sound like a dork, but I forgot they smoked so much pot, that is not the main factor though. It just seemed like they were going through the motions so to speak.

Yeah, I thought they had great chemistry the first go around, but I'm scared I won't feel the same emotion the second time around. Character dramas are the films that either gain the most or lose the most upon repeat viewings.

[afvet89]

Everyone keeps talking about waiting until the Barnes and noble sale in July. Am I missing something because the current amazon and best buy sale is still a better value. If I buy three criterion's at half off for 20 a piece that is 60 dollars for 3 criterion's. Apparently the Barnes and noble sale will have buy 2 and get the third free. Retail value for many are 40 a piece so if I buy 2 and get the 3rd one free , that means I just paid 80 for 3 instead of the current deal of 60 for 3. Am I missing something here?

[Jett Rink]

Originally Posted by afvet89

Everyone keeps talking about waiting until the Barnes and noble sale in July. Am I missing something because the current amazon and best buy sale is still a better value. If I buy three criterion's at half off for 20 a piece that is 60 dollars for 3 criterion's. Apparently the Barnes and noble sale will have buy 2 and get the third free. Retail value for many are 40 a piece so if I buy 2 and get the 3rd one free , that means I just paid 80 for 3 instead of the current deal of 60 for 3. Am I missing something here?

They are having a new sale starting July 9, 50% off.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by afvet89

Everyone keeps talking about waiting until the Barnes and noble sale in July. Am I missing something because the current amazon and best buy sale is still a better value. If I buy three criterion's at half off for 20 a piece that is 60 dollars for 3 criterion's. Apparently the Barnes and noble sale will have buy 2 and get the third free. Retail value for many are 40 a piece so if I buy 2 and get the 3rd one free , that means I just paid 80 for 3 instead of the current deal of 60 for 3. Am I missing something here?

The current Barnes & Noble Buy-Two-Get-One-Free gives you three Criterions for almost $80, assuming that you buy three $40 titles. In July, you'll be able to buy three Criterions for $60.

I've taken advantage of the Buy-Two-Get-One-Free deal a couple of times this month, but I had other coupons and such to lessen the cost so that it is comparable with the upcoming July sale.

The Amazon sale this month is just as beneficial as the Barnes & Noble July sale, though, and, in fact, the recent sale prices have been even better. I think that the Amazon titles are creeping back up right now, but it's worth a look.