The Criterion Collection

[mdonovan]

Originally Posted by jw007

Very good to see that you agree with me on the middle Malick films being his best. I think after having not made any films for almost 2 decades, the man came out with simply one of the greatest pieces of cinema in history (The Thin Red Line) and he used that newfound inspiration to continue his momentum with The New World. But then the megalomania got the best of him and The Tree of Life was an overambitious project that only led to a more subdued film (To the Wonder). Yes, life caught up to Mr. Malick indeed. But at least we were given 2 superbly moving movies after nearly 2 decades of directorial silence.

I live for unexpected presents.

I agree whole heartedly with this post ... However ...


... Can you explain the atrocious decision to use Travolta in TTRL ????

Seriously ... Nearly ruined the movie.

[jadasneez]

Could someone with the third man blu-ray maybe scan the disc and cover art for me? It would be greatly appreciated. I'd offer a little incentive...

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by jadasneez

Could someone with the third man blu-ray maybe scan the disc and cover art for me? It would be greatly appreciated. I'd offer a little incentive...

Are you trying to scam anyone? Or is it for personal use?

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by jw007

Very good to see that you agree with me on the middle Malick films being his best. I think after having not made any films for almost 2 decades, the man came out with simply one of the greatest pieces of cinema in history (The Thin Red Line) and he used that newfound inspiration to continue his momentum with The New World. But then the megalomania got the best of him and The Tree of Life was an overambitious project that only led to a more subdued film (To the Wonder). Yes, life caught up to Mr. Malick indeed. But at least we were given 2 superbly moving movies after nearly 2 decades of directorial silence.

I live for unexpected presents.

I agree that The Thin Red Line might very well be Malicks masterpiece. I am a big fan of The Tree of Life though. The other day I finally got a chance to see To The Wonder and I was extremely dissapointed(unfortunatey). Seemed to be such an odd follow up to TTOL, really lacked the sense of importance that his other recent films have(to me anyway).

[jadasneez]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Are you trying to scam anyone? Or is it for personal use?

Strictly for personal for use.

If not is there anywhere I can find one of those replacement cases they used to make?

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by jadasneez

Strictly for personal for use.

If not is there anywhere I can find one of those replacement cases they used to make?

It'll probably cost you a pretty penny. Good luck on your quest.

[Judex]

Originally Posted by jadasneez

Strictly for personal for use.

If not is there anywhere I can find one of those replacement cases they used to make?

You could always e-mail Criterion, see if they have any spares floating a round the office.

[Joe Dalek]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Any horror fans, or Isabelle Adjani fans, here? A review of this Zulawski film coming up shortly

Nice, even though I will probably hold out for the eventual domestic Mondo Vision release. I just got The Third Part of the Night DVD in the mail last week and need to watch it soon.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by Judex

You could always e-mail Criterion, see if they have any spares floating a round the office.

Apparently they can also scan copies themselves for $5 according to some previous posters who have asked them to do it for other OOP titles when needed.

[bewarethebeastman]

Just recently saw Possesion, love that movie. Kinda like a Rosemary's Baby vibe (but to me better)

[BluPix]

Originally Posted by ravenus

I love Heat and Dust, great script by RPJ based on her own novel and gorgeously shot with some VERY pleasant-looking actors.

Thanks for the tip, ravenus. It does look intriguing.

Anyone have any other recommendations of Merchant Ivory titles that are going OOP on DVD?

[brandon_260]

Just finished my copy of Lonesome. Although my familiarity with the silent era is sparse, I feel like I'll be hard pressed to find many films from that time period that impress me as much as this one. The awkwardly inserted sound scenes and the odd use of color are literally the only complaints I have in a film that I view as otherwise flawless. Even its Hollywood ending was endearing and effective. I'm looking forward to exploring the two additional films included, although they aren't as high priority as other stuff I'm looking to work through right now. I really with The Last Moment wasn't lost, because everything detailed about it in the two essays make it seem like a fascinating piece of work.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

Just finished my copy of Lonesome. Although my familiarity with the silent era is sparse, I feel like I'll be hard pressed to find many films from that time period that impress me as much as this one. The awkwardly inserted sound scenes and the odd use of color are literally the only complaints I have in a film that I view as otherwise flawless. Even its Hollywood ending was endearing and effective. I'm looking forward to exploring the two additional films included, although they aren't as high priority as other stuff I'm looking to work through right now. I really with The Last Moment wasn't lost, because everything detailed about it in the two essays make it seem like a fascinating piece of work.

Lonesome is my favorite silent movie. Glad you enjoyed it.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by mdonovan

I agree whole heartedly with this post ... However ...


... Can you explain the atrocious decision to use Travolta in TTRL ????

Seriously ... Nearly ruined the movie.

Really? I honestly didn't mind Travolta in The Thin Red Line. It is surprising to see him in a movie like that though. Biggest surprise was seeing George Clooney in there at the end, and in such a small role.

Originally Posted by Judex

You could always e-mail Criterion, see if they have any spares floating a round the office.

I tried doing this myself actually and they said they had no spares lying around. That would be cool if you could ask them to scan the artwork for $5 and email it to you so you can print it out yourself.

What amazes me is that they still have The Man Who Fell to Earth blu-ray artwork available to purchase on their website. That film has been out of print for almost as long as The Third Man and yet that is available. Strange.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Lonesome is my favorite silent movie. Glad you enjoyed it.

Do check out King Vidor's The Crowd, it's a very similar silent film. You can thank me later

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by jw007

Really? I honestly didn't mind Travolta in The Thin Red Line. It is surprising to see him in a movie like that though. Biggest surprise was seeing George Clooney in there at the end, and in such a small role.

Clooney's role may not necessarily have been small in the shooting. Malick is known to discard a lot of the material he shoots, he has a very self-indulgent style of making films. A lot of the stars in Malick's films are there for the prestige factor of working in one, and their presence is a crucial factor for the funding of these films.

[Visco.]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Clooney's role may not necessarily have been small in the shooting. Malick is known to discard a lot of the material he shoots, he has a very self-indulgent style of making films. A lot of the stars in Malick's films are there for the prestige factor of working in one, and their presence is a crucial factor for the funding of these films.

Have you seen some of the actors that were cut from the film during the edit? Martin Sheen, Mickey Rourke, Billy Bob Thorton, etc. I wonder if that footage is out there somewhere.

[ravenus]

^Heh, some part of me wonders if this isn't a colossal waste of film stock. Of course, nobody measures how much paint Da Vinci used for the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and yes, this is a very apples to oranges statement, but in general I prefer a Kurosawa or a Val Lewton, who have a very concrete idea of what they are making and the resources it will entail (with Lewton it was an absolute necessity given the constraints he worked under), to the pampered free-hand style of Terence Malick.

Which, before the pitchforks are raised, is not to say that some of his movies are not great

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by ravenus

^Heh, some part of me wonders if this isn't a colossal waste of film stock. Of course, nobody measures how much paint Da Vinci used for the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and yes, this is a very apples to oranges statement, but in general I prefer a Kurosawa or a Val Lewton, who have a very concrete idea of what they are making and the resources it will entail (with Lewton it was an absolute necessity given the constraints he worked under), to the pampered free-hand style of Terence Malick.

Which, before the pitchforks are raised, is not to say that some of his movies are not great

It could also be a difference between what he is making and what the studios, etc. will accept. After all, his director's cut of Tree of Life is supposedly something like six hours long.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

It kind of irritates me that Malick uses so many great actors and shoots so much for his actual preferred versions that still haven't been released. Except The New World. I appreciate that he's probably trying to make up for lost time by churning out a bunch of films in a short amount of time but I am really suprised he hasn't bothered going back into the editing room and releasing epic directors cuts of his films. Im sure there's a ridiculous amount of great footage that even he loves and could be sharing. It sure would be great to see and I just worry that he's going to focus on making heaps of new movies really quickly and then (here comes the selfish part) die of old age before he ever gets around to it.

I don't mean to sound harsh by saying that but the guys not very young anymore and he works really hard just to release each movie. If he doesn't get into the editing room to do it, who is going to? Who could make sense of his vision? Unless he has it all on paper... Who knows. Anyway, the day he's gone will be awful but the thought of never seeing that potentially amazing footage would be a major shame.