The Criterion Collection

[CoolRanch]

Are there any other Canadians who ordered Criterions from the Barnes & Noble sale? I ordered my copy of Brazil on the 9th, and it has still not arrived. Does it usually take this long?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

Fantastic! I am happy to hear that.

The Red Shoes is wonderful too.

I'll buy The Red Shoes later. That's a film that I had no interest in until I watched these other two Powell/Pressburger titles. I love the look of The Archers films, and the photography is stunning even by the standards of the old Technicolor look.

I want that old Technicolor look back. I want matte paintings back. Down with computers and digital. Haha.

The use of matte paintings in Black Narcissus is breathtaking.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'll buy The Red Shoes later. That's a film that I had no interest in until I watched these other two Powell/Pressburger titles. I love the look of The Archers films, and the photography is stunning even by the standards of the old Technicolor look.

I want that old Technicolor look back. I want matte paintings back. Down with computers and digital. Haha.

Yes! All of their films are stunning to look at!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'll buy The Red Shoes later. That's a film that I had no interest in until I watched these other two Powell/Pressburger titles. I love the look of The Archers films, and the photography is stunning even by the standards of the old Technicolor look.

I want that old Technicolor look back. I want matte paintings back. Down with computers and digital. Haha.

The use of matte paintings in Black Narcissus is breathtaking.

Down with digital? Check out the look of stuff shot on the Arri Alexa. Absolutely beautiful stuff that camera is amazing (as is the Red)

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

Yes! All of their films are stunning to look at!

Deborah Kerr is wonderful in all three of her roles in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp.
She was only 20 or 21 at the time of the film's production... She was even younger than the actresses in Spring Breakers. It's incredible how much wisdom and poise that she shows during her scenes.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Down with digital? Check out the look of stuff shot on the Arri Alexa. Absolutely beautiful stuff that camera is amazing (as is the Red)

I was joking around in my above post about "Down with computers and digital."
I believe that the Arri Alexa use by Roger Deakins in Skyfall is downright spectacular.

I am serious, though, when I write that matte paintings and the old school film look should not become a lost art. Nothing ever used in the history of film should ever be lost.

[jw007]

Well, a whole day went by and I had to get caught up with about 7-8 pages that went by. Thanks to everyone who responded to some things I wrote. Specific responses (and a new one) are below.

Originally Posted by EricJ

I'm trying to be funny here, but it keeps turning serious:
Addiction, any addiction, becomes your religion. The drug is the god, the shooting up is the worship. It rewires your brain, so that your other priorities, which don't deliver the satisfaction, don't become prime priorities in your life or social circle anymore--You don't see why you should spend your money on anything else anymore.

Most addicted Criterion buyers literally have gone beyond the ability do distinguish between watching a Criterion title to learn about some new life/mind-altering foreign classic of film literature sight-unseen that they'd never heard of before, and buying a Criterion title to learn about some new life/mind-altering foreign classic of film literature sight-unseen that they'd never heard of before. To Watch is to Buy, and to Buy is to Watch. They will both teach you, it promises, and both actions are the devotion.
To conquer the addiction, any addiction, is, like the movie says, Trainspotting--Rewire your brain (or at least, in this case, the part of it that watches movies) back into the world again, step outside and bring the other priorities back into your experience again:
- Can you go cold turkey?--Can you NOT buy Criterions for a month? Or is it just a fun little hobby you do to be social, and you can quit any time you want?
- How do you feel when people suggest/tell you not to do it? Does it feel like they're "intruding" on your life, making personal judgments on your identity, or "telling you what to do" because they've got some stick up their hinder and "don't understand" how cool you've worked the hobby into your personal routine? Is it more comforting to stay social, snicker at the do-gooding detractors behind their backs, and have a sense of unity hanging out witht the cool underground/Internet social circle of the Folks Who Understand? If it was personal friends who tried to intervene, would you choose the hobby over the friends?
- Would discovering a classic on Kino, or Cohen Collection, be as "meaningful" as the discovery of a rare movie on Criterion? Is it the movie you discovered, or the feeling that your "dealer" delivered the goods again?
- Must they be Blu-ray, and proudly bought with your own money, from your One True loyal Amazon or Barnes & Noble source that makes them such a "personal" acquisition? If you wanted to see the movie, could you watch it on DVD? Is it about the movie, or the Blu-ray?
- Is it about the buying? Would you watch it for free, if your local library had a DVD copy, for a seven day rental? Would you watch it streaming, for an entire $7.99 month of HuluPlus?

It helps to start asking these questions early, while you still CAN answer them without defending them.
Just because chocolate, or gambling, or mall-shopping, won't send you to the emergency room doesn't mean they don't start tinkering around upstairs once you start saying that it's, well, just part of my lifestyle, and just me!

These are all good questions you wrote here. I tend to think that if I really truly do not need the film, I will not buy the film, even though 99 out 100 people say it is a "must own" or an "essential addition to your collection". I have to go with my feelings before anyone elses. Fortunately I don't have an addictive personality, so I usually am able to restrain myself when it comes to possible shopping sprees. On all 5 visits during this sale, I consistently bought 4 titles each time. I was using a strategy, combined with the coupons I brought. Yes, there was a method to my madness. As far as the future is concerned, I am apparently becoming a serious film adventure seeker, as in I now get "a high" buying rare or out of print Blu-ray films. One recent example was Akira, the Japanese anime classic. I never watch anime nor do I have much of an interest in it, yet a friend recently suggested I check out the movie. Instead of just renting it on DVD at the library, I went out and bought the out of print Blu-ray for around $45 on Ebay. Apparently it is a classic anime film, so I figured it has some value. And since I never saw this classic anime film, I want my first impression to be the best with the greatest picture and audio quality possible! So yes, I'm looking beyond Criterion and into rare films in general now to add to my ever-growing film collection.

Originally Posted by 14728

That's a clever idea, but it wouldn't work for me because my library is being rebuilt. I still picked up a couple of criterions at the sale, including Safety Last, The 400 Blows, and Wild Strawberries.

Well, if you happen to ever find a good local library system, the library rentals are the way to go. You can also sign up to Worldcat.org (https://www.worldcat.org/) as any library around the world can ship a title to your local library.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The used store near me is where I've sold off my DVDs. I would admittedly get more money by selling a lot of them individually through eBay or something of the sort, but the used store is fair, and I generally get a comparable amount of money to the amount that I would get from selling back to Amazon through their sell program.
The significant difference is that I can simply take 25 or 50 DVDs to the store all at once instead off having to ship them individually to buyers and being hassled with emails about product quality, etc.
I mean, I'm pretty anal about keeping my movies in good condition, and each and every one of my old DVDs and my current Blu-rays are in the same condition that they were when I purchased them, but it's nonetheless pleasant not to deal with eBay customers and such.

I've financed most of the acquisition of my current Blu-ray collection (295 right now) by selling off my old collection of 600 or so DVDs. It's not just about money, although that's a big part of it. I do not like to hoard multiple copies of movies on DVD and Blu-ray, so I instantly get rid of any DVD that I've upgraded or plan to upgrade to Blu-ray. I don't like clutter.

Aside from my movie collection and my CD collection, I'm a minimalist. I live in a large one-bedroom apartment, and I could easily fit all of my personal possessions into one of the smaller U-Haul trucks. I run several marathon and ultramarathon races each year, so I do not let anything in my life distract me from running or from meeting friends to go to a race. I don't have any sort of cable television service, so I wouldn't even own a television if not for Blu-rays and online movies.

Today I took a long, extended walk throughout the city and stopped by a couple of used record stores. There, I perused the Blu-ray section looking for any Criterions. At the second store I was at, I asked for Criterion BDs and it just so happened to be that someone had recently came in and sold about 25-30 Criterion Blu-rays! They brought the stack over to me and I noticed the shop was selling each for anywhere between $20-25 apiece. I quickly remembered the 50% sale at Barnes & Noble and soon realized that is not a good deal (especially since they are used). Nevertheless, I asked them to look up a Blu-ray copy of The Man Who Fell To Earth and they reportedly found a used copy for $60! They are having it shipped to this store (from another store in their franchise) in the next few days.

I like your attitude regarding the minimalist approach when it comes to possessions in general, including BDs. I am like that myself as well. Though I don't run marathons, I am a runner and just happened to run 18 laps last evening in a torrential downpour around a local university track. I was the only person out there running and was beyond soaking wet. Call me crazy, but I kept thinking of Chariots of Fire the whole time. Ahhhh, I'm watching too many movies as usual.

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

Your results will vary with a store, but from personal experience you will get $10 or less per in-print title. Usually less. Sometimes a lot less.

With eBay you are much more likely to get a good price (I've consistently sold in-print Criterion BDs and DVDs on eBay for $20-$25 each), but it's more work.

Yes, one of the shops today told me that I can expect anywhere between $3-5 per Criterion DVD if I were to sell to them. That sure isn't a lot, but the way I see it, the DVDs will continue to gradually lose their value as more and more Criterion BDs come out. It's probably best to sell some of my duplicates now while I still can get something for them.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

This may rock a few boats here in this thread, but I'm of the belief that there will, in time, be future releases of The Third Man that are comparable to the quality of the Criterion Blu-ray in picture quality. There's just no way that we've seen the last of that movie in the Blu-ray format. If Criterion does not pick that movie up again sometime in the next decade, then someone else will likely release a near-perfect edition of the movie that holds up just as well. Until then, I'd probably be just as happy owning the StudioCanal edition for $15. For now, I'm holding on to my Criterion DVD of the movie, because it looks splendid on my TV.

I'm not above paying a few more bucks than normal for a desired out-of-print Criterion (I paid $60 for Pierrot Le Fou and have no regrets whatsoever.), but the current asking prices for the Criterion Blu-ray of The Third Man are beyond my scope of motivation.

I have to say that I've been watching The Third Man the last few days, and I am absolutely floored by how many supplements are on this (over 9 hours or so apparently)! Yes, I finally gave in and paid around $125 for this on Ebay but I think its well worth it now. With all the extras and supplements, I feel this expensive purchase may have not been as crazy as it was.

During my epic walk today around the city, I even stopped into a Goodwill store and couldn't find a single Blu-ray there. I was just wondering if possibly I'd see a BD of The Third Man sitting there, but there wasn't even a single BD of any movie sitting there! There sure were plenty of VHSs and DVDs though!

[octagon]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I was joking around in my above post about "Down with computers and digital."
I believe that the Arri Alexa use by Roger Deakins in Skyfall is downright spectacular.

I am serious, though, when I write that matte paintings and the old school film look should not become a lost art. Nothing ever used in the history of film should ever be lost.

It drove me a little nuts in the Hitchcock threads (and reviews, for that matter) when people would complain about the effects in The Birds or the rear projection shots in other films.

Some of that stuff looked freaking fantastic on the BDs.

[mallomar]

Originally Posted by octagon

I kind of already have

Ha ha! So you have. I've read a zillion of your posts without ever bothering to mentally parse that quotation. Very funny and apt description of a prevalent kind of snobbery, albeit one that is sometimes turned halfway on its head by modern-day hipsters. That is, new film students will sometimes cynically elevate only the "entertainments" of the past and present, and remain suspicious of the sincerity that is requisite to the "enlightenements."

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I was joking around in my above post about "Down with computers and digital."
I believe that the Arri Alexa use by Roger Deakins in Skyfall is downright spectacular.

We live in a tricky time for movies. Sure, everybody is going digital, yet few filmmakers fully utilize its potential. At its worst, you get flat looking films like Jack the Giant Slayer.

As far as Criterion goes, supposedly "Colossal Youth" is an excellent film that was shot on digital. I've been meaning to see it for a while.

[shamus]

Thanks for all the great advice everyone!

[A Sith Lord?]

Not sure what to watch tonight. Wild Strawberries, or one of the French films I bought but haven't watched yet (Purple Noon, La Promesse, Vivra Sa Vie, La Haine, Summer Hours).

[Swift1246]

Pi (The Criterion Collection)

I think it will be released next year. March (3) of 20(14). Also the first Tuesday falls on the fourth. I foresee this coming. Would anyone else like to take a gamble?

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by jw007

One recent example was Akira, the Japanese anime classic. I never watch anime nor do I have much of an interest in it, yet a friend recently suggested I check out the movie. Instead of just renting it on DVD at the library, I went out and bought the out of print Blu-ray for around $45 on Ebay. Apparently it is a classic anime film, so I figured it has some value.
Nevertheless, I asked them to look up a Blu-ray copy of The Man Who Fell To Earth and they reportedly found a used copy for $60! They are having it shipped to this store (from another store in their franchise) in the next few days.

You make me feel like a cheapskate for having absolutely kickass sub-10GBP UK versions of these movies In the case of Akira, I think the discs are virtually identical. With TMWFTE, it's more up to personal preference, I actually like the tints of the UK edition better and while the supplements are different on this version they're pretty awesome too

[A Sith Lord?]

Originally Posted by Swift1246

Pi (The Criterion Collection)

I think it will be released next year. March (3) of 20(14). Also the first Tuesday falls on the fourth. I foresee this coming. Would anyone else like to take a gamble?

About as safe of a bet as The Devil's Backbone being the #666 spine.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by MasturB

Not sure what to watch tonight. Wild Strawberries, or one of the French films I bought but haven't watched yet (Purple Noon, La Promesse, Vivra Sa Vie, La Haine, Summer Hours).

Maybe too late by now but of those I'd go with WILD STRAWBERRIES or SUMMER HOURS first, then possibly VIVRE SA VIE (though I have not seen LA HAINE).

[legolars]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Can I get any thoughts on the upcoming "A Woman under the Influence?"

As some of you may know I love interesting portrayals of women in film, so naturally this peaks my interest, but I fear the subject matter may hit close to home and be a devastating watch. I'm not asking you how I should feel, but for those who have seen it how did you react to it? (Naturally no spoilers...)

-Thanks

I own the BFI release which I watched recently. It's the only John Cassavates film I 've seen thusfar. I thought it was a great film, even though it's pretty dark, disturbing and emotionally draining to watch. I was completely mesmerized by Geena Rowlands. Her performance is stellar. Peter Falk is great too. I've only seen him in Columbo so his performance was a revalation.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by ravenus

You make me feel like a cheapskate for having absolutely kickass sub-10GBP UK versions of these movies In the case of Akira, I think the discs are virtually identical. With TMWFTE, it's more up to personal preference, I actually like the tints of the UK edition better and while the supplements are different on this version they're pretty awesome too

I would have gone for the British Blu-ray if it wasn't Region B-locked. Since I'm in Region A, it wouldn't run on my system. I guess I can always get a new BD player that can play any region's films (or region-free).

[ravenus]

^Yea, am sure any amount of money you spend on it will be made up for (and more) by avoiding price premiums on OOP items. Also, anyone seriously interested in World cinema cannot afford to be region-locked. Down with this tyranny!

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'll buy The Red Shoes later. That's a film that I had no interest in until I watched these other two Powell/Pressburger titles. I love the look of The Archers films, and the photography is stunning even by the standards of the old Technicolor look.

I want that old Technicolor look back. I want matte paintings back. Down with computers and digital. Haha.

The use of matte paintings in Black Narcissus is breathtaking.

It's not technicolor or Blu-ray (yet) but The 49th Parallel is another excellent P/P Criterion.

Thank goodness stop-motion animation is still being used today.