The Criterion Collection

[Jr7936]

i am shocked how great a night of the hunter is all the way though,
I think all collections should have it in them

[Shout92]

Originally Posted by blackhawktraffic

Can anyone suggest any good action movies, maybe some with really good car chases? For the life of me I seem to pick mostly dramas and don't know many action ones...so any titles would be great

The Seven Ups. The movie as a whole is good. But the car chase alone is fantastic.

The Seven-Ups Car Chase (1973) - YouTube

[Dustin Putman]

This might be a bit random, but has anyone seen Theodoros Angelopoulos' Ulysses' Gaze (1995)? I only saw it once, about fifteen years ago, but it has stayed with me as one of the most ruminative and visually stirring films I have seen. It would be perfect for The Criterion Collection. Someone definitely needs to remaster the film for Blu-ray (it appears to be OOP on DVD).

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Dustin Putman

This might be a bit random, but has anyone seen Theodoros Angelopoulos' Ulysses' Gaze (1995)? I only saw it once, about fifteen years ago, but it has stayed with me as one of the most ruminative and visually stirring films I have seen. It would be perfect for The Criterion Collection. Someone definitely needs to remaster the film for Blu-ray (it appears to be OOP on DVD).

I would love to see that happen as well

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Shout92

The Seven Ups. The movie as a whole is good. But the car chase alone is fantastic.

Although if you're coming to the Criterion Temple to learn Film Literacy 101, and you're looking for "Action car chases", that requires making sure you've seen Fox's "The French Connection" first.

[UNCMT9]

May have to blind buy the Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Heard too many good things.

[Judex]

Originally Posted by UNCMT9

May have to blind buy the Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Heard too many good things.

It is a fantastic film. I blind bought it aswell and loved it. The film flew by for me.
The Scorsese introduction is excellent, but watch that after the film.

They should get Scorsese to do more introductions. I'm not a huge fan of his films but I love listening to him talk about film.

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

At the Wexler talk they discussed upgrading some of the movies from the Eclipse, but didn't say which titles. Some speculation is that one of the titles would be Jungle Book, and I think Daises.

i think there was also speculation about Raymond Bernard being upgraded.

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by blackhawktraffic

Can anyone suggest any good action movies, maybe some with really good car chases? For the life of me I seem to pick mostly dramas and don't know many action ones...so any titles would be great

Carlos is AWESOME - but I don't remember it having car chase scenes. It is oh so tense and cool, though.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by UNCMT9

May have to blind buy the Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Heard too many good things.

Do it!

[nefilim]

i know no one is interested, but still, just won from Finnish net auction :

breathless
walker
le cercle rouge
schizopolis
the Lost Honor of Katharina Blum

quite cheaply i must say - nice ...

[Abdrewes]

Found Pauline Kael's Shoah review. I think she stated her case against the film admirably. The one thing I fullheadredly agree with are the drawn out translations from Yiddish to French (then to English when you count the subs). That really pads to the film's runtime unneccessarily.

[rock, stone]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Found Pauline Kael's Shoah review. I think she stated her case against the film admirably. The one thing I fullheadredly agree with are the drawn out translations from Yiddish to French (then to English when you count the subs). That really pads to the film's runtime unneccessarily.

That first hour is particularly brutal in this regard. It seems a really odd choice to front load your epic documentary with so much material lacking in momentum, but luckily it picks up the pace.

Watching this, it really reads more like a document than a documentary, if that makes any sense.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by rock, stone

That first hour is particularly brutal in this regard. It seems a really odd choice to front load your epic documentary with so much material lacking in momentum, but luckily it picks up the pace.

Watching this, it really reads more like a document than a documentary, if that makes any sense.

Agreed. It really picks up by the last hour of the first quarter.

While reading Rosenbaum's take on Shoah, I stumbled across this:

Michelangelo Antonioni’s first feature in color (1964) remains a watermark for using colors creatively, expressionistically, and beautifully; to get the precise hues he wanted, Antonioni had entire fields painted. A newly struck and restored print of the film makes clear why audiences were so excited a quarter of a century ago by his innovations, which include not only expressive uses of color for moods and subtle thematic coding but striking uses of editing as well. This film comes at the tail end of his most fertile period, immediately after his remarkable trilogy consisting of L’avventura, La notte, and L’eclisse; Red Desert may not be quite as good as the first and last of these, but the ecological concerns of this film look a lot more prescient today than they did at the time. Monica Vitti plays an extreme neurotic married to industrialist Richard Harris, and Antonioni does eerie, memorable work with the industrial shapes and colors that surround her, which are shown alternately as threatening and beautiful; she walks through a science fiction lunar landscape spotted with structures that are both disorienting and full of possibilities. Like any self-respecting Antonioni heroine, she’s looking for love and meaning — more specifically, for ways of adjusting to new forms of life — and mainly finding sex. But the film’s most spellbinding sequence depicts a pantheistic, utopian fantasy of innocence, which she recounts to her ailing son. (Film Center, Art Institute, Columbus Drive at Jackson, Friday, October 5, 6:00; Saturday, October 6, 3:30; Sunday, October 7, 1:30; and Thursday, October 11, 6:00; 443-3737)

[zoodermin]

Just saw Sansho the Bailiff for the first time last night. What an emotionally devastating film. This was the first Mizoguchi film I've seen and it grabbed me from the very beginning. The brutality of the world the characters live in is difficult to watch, but Mizoguchi's images are so beautifully composited that is difficult to turn away. And, despite the ruthlesness of the world, you can see the director's firm believes in humanity through the characters actions (especially the brother-sister relationship). A tragic film and yet one that doesn't leave you dispirited or depressed. One of the best films I've seen so far in the collection and Criterion's BD is an absolute marvel. Now I can't wait for The Life of Oharu!

[ccfore]

I finally picked up Bergman's opus, Fanny and Alexander after passing it by for quite a few B&N sales and always wanting it. I put in the television version (320 min) yesterday and watched it straight through and was blown away! This was better than even I expected (I'm pretty open-minded and optimistic when it comes to most movies). I thought the story that flowed throughout kept me very attentive and entertained and had a great story to tell about an interesting group of family and friends, along with a few unexpected twists as well. I've enjoyed the other Bergman films that I've seen and this one certainly did not disappoint. If you are on the fence on this due to the length (the shorter 188 min theatrical version is also included) or some other reason I would highly recommend you pick it up especially at a great price during the B&N sale. I also picked up Wild Strawberries during this sale and will try to watch it today sometime and from what I've seen, should also be right up my alley.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

Just saw Sansho the Bailiff for the first time last night. What an emotionally devastating film. This was the first Mizoguchi film I've seen and it grabbed me from the very beginning. The brutality of the world the characters live in is difficult to watch, but Mizoguchi's images are so beautifully composited that is difficult to turn away. And, despite the ruthlesness of the world, you can see the director's firm believes in humanity through the characters actions (especially the brother-sister relationship). A tragic film and yet one that doesn't leave you dispirited or depressed. One of the best films I've seen so far in the collection and Criterion's BD is an absolute marvel. Now I can't wait for The Life of Oharu!

This is one I have been thinking of buying, but I will probably put off until the next sale so I can buy higher priority titles. You definitely make me even more tempted though. Thanks for posting.

[zoodermin]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

This is one I have been thinking of buying, but I will probably put off until the next sale so I can buy higher priority titles. You definitely make me even more tempted though. Thanks for posting.

Try to buy it in the Nov. sale. I assure you won't be disappointed. Fantastic film!

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by rock, stone

That first hour is particularly brutal in this regard. It seems a really odd choice to front load your epic documentary with so much material lacking in momentum, but luckily it picks up the pace.

Watching this, it really reads more like a document than a documentary, if that makes any sense.

That's the idea: "One Filmmaker's Journey", or so it says in the subtitle.

That said, if someone had told One Filmmaker about using subtitles for foreign interviews, you could shave two hours off the running time.
But he wouldn't do it, of course, because that's not what the movie's ABOUT.

(I want to see how many people learn a hard-won, real world lesson for life about Criterion Blind-Buying after this. No, seriously. I want to hear sworn testimonies, and see Bill W. anonymous groups erupt on the board a month later.)

[shortmartin]

Originally Posted by EricJ

That's the idea: "One Filmmaker's Journey", or so it says in the subtitle.

That said, if someone had told One Filmmaker about using subtitles for foreign interviews, you could shave two hours off the running time.
But he wouldn't do it, of course, because that's not what the movie's ABOUT.

(I want to see how many people learn a hard-won, real world lesson for life about Criterion Blind-Buying after this. No, seriously. I want to hear sworn testimonies, and see Bill W. anonymous groups erupt on the board a month later.)

omg, you are so wise, so astute, I forever swear against blind buying.

1. I actually like the translation segments in Shoah - it is part of how the movie is made, part of the film's materiality, the intonations and rhythms of the interviews, and the labor of the production process. I find both Night and Fog, in its brevity, and Shoah, in its demand for patience, equally impressive and compelling statements on the subject matter, asking different things of viewers and delivering different rewards and challenges in turn.

2. Criterion blind buying - any Criterion - is safer than condom use, guaranteed, because they are all great movies. Blind buy any Criterion and you will not be disappointed. That's my view, anyway.

That's not to say that I don't enjoy the banter on this thread about what one should buy, comparing particular movies, asking each other for advice about which movies to buy. I do like those conversations. It's fun to read what others think about the films and recommend. And of course we all have different tastes and so are going to be more interested in different movies.

But, truth be told, I recommend the whole lot of them. If you don't appreciate a particular movie - say, Shoah - it's not because there is something wrong with the movie, but rather a chance to more fully apprehend or appreciate its merit, value, or style. And appreciating or understanding a film is not the same as liking it. I don't like Salo among several other Criterion films - but I try to appreciate them and work to understand their relevance. All of the Criterions have some sort of artistic, historical, or intellectual merit, and for this reason I believe they are all worth seeing, even owning.

That's my two cents about blind buying, anyway.

I'm shortmartin and I'm a Criterion enthusiast