The Criterion Collection

[starman15317]

I watched The Wages of Fear tonight. What an amazing film. It starts off a little slow but it quickly turns into an exciting nail-biter.

[Show spoiler]The ending is tragic too. When Mario was swerving the truck with excitement, I said to myself "Oh no, I know what's going to happen."

Fantastic film! I'll have to make room for it on my top 10 Criterions list.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I have not had any inclination to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. I may be imposing an unfair prejudgement on the film, but the previews that I've seen make it look like unbearable grief porn. I'm all cool with post-9/11 films that bring something to the table, but nothing about the previews for that film piqued my curiosity.

I actually rather liked it in the theatre, a bit heavy-handed perhaps but nevertheless touching. However I've had no desire to watch it again or any feeling I might want to revisit it in the foreseeable future.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by starman15317

I watched The Wages of Fear tonight. What an amazing film. It starts off a little slow but it quickly turns into an exciting nail-biter.

[Show spoiler]The ending is tragic too. When Mario was swerving the truck with excitement, I said to myself "Oh no, I know what's going to happen."

Fantastic film! I'll have to make room for it on my top 10 Criterions list.

I'm glad that you enjoyed The Wages of Fear. It's still one of the most tense movies ever made. When the trucks start rolling, the movie hits its stride and never misses a beat.

I'm looking forward to the eventual Blu-ray release of William Friedkin's Sorcerer, which I've heard is a good remake of the Clouzot film (or, at the very least, a good second adaptation of the Georges Arnaud from which the Clouzot film is also based).

[starman15317]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm glad that you enjoyed The Wages of Fear. It's still one of the most tense movies ever made. When the trucks start rolling, the movie hits its stride and never misses a beat.

I'm looking forward to the eventual Blu-ray release of William Friedkin's Sorcerer, which I've heard is a good remake of the Clouzot film (or, at the very least, a good second adaptation of the Georges Arnaud from which the Clouzot film is also based).

I'll have to see Sorcerer. I don't expect it to be as good, but it seems fun nonetheless.

[jw007]

Well, it was my 6th official haul for this sale!

This time I went to a different Barnes & Noble store to shake things up. This is the 3rd different store here and one that I rarely visit. I took my $8 coupon hoping to convince the CSR but he was hard pressed to even try. But he did try it on a $39.99 title, punched in the code manually but it didn't work.

Nevertheless, my $5/50 coupon came in handy yet again on 4 more titles!

Babette's Feast (BD) ($16.74 + tax / $5 Coupon + 10% Member discount)
The Ice Storm (BD) ($16.74 + tax / $5 Coupon + 10% Member discount)
Chronicle of a Summer (BD) ($16.74 + tax / $5 Coupon + 10% Member discount)
Sweet Smell of Success (BD) ($16.74 + tax / $5 Coupon + 10% Member discount)

I now have purchased 24 Criterion titles during this sale (23 of them are on Blu-ray).

Here is the full list, in order of purchase, including the new ones today (what do you think?):

Shoah
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Howards End
Life is Sweet
On the Waterfront
A Man Escaped
Ivan's Childhood
Medium Cool
Heaven's Gate
Monsieur Verdoux
Revanche
Identification of a Woman
The Night of the Hunter
Marketa Lazarova
Safety Last!
In the Mood for Love
Things to Come
Fish Tank
Crumb
My Dinner With Andre (DVD)
Sweet Smell of Success
Chronicle of a Summer
The Ice Storm
Babette's Feast

And of course my new pic of my 6th and latest haul!

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

Oof - The AV Club did not care for Babette's Feast...

"Anyone looking put themselves into a quick coma for some reason should consider sitting down and watching a lot of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winners from the ’80s and ’90s."

Welp. Pretty embarrassing article to skim through.

[dizzy4111]

Are you only able to use one $5 off coupon per trip?

[aewb]

Originally Posted by brandon_260

"Anyone looking put themselves into a quick coma for some reason should consider sitting down and watching a lot of the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar winners from the ’80s and ’90s."

Welp. Pretty embarrassing article to skim through.

If you look at the list of winners it is hard to disagree.

[The Bronx Bull]

For the OOP gurus, I saw that Army of Shadows is still on Amazon for $34.99 - sold by Newbury Comics and fulfilled by Amazon. Not a bad price for a title that, presumably, will reach Le Cercle Rouge prices.

On a side note, I watched The Ice Storm last night and absolutely loved it. I'm a huge fan of retro movies, and this one was simply done right. It's hard to believe this was Ang Lee's first english speaking film, as it oozes Americana as much as American Graffiti or Dazed and Confused.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Bronx Bull

For the OOP gurus, I saw that Army of Shadows is still on Amazon for $34.99 - sold by Newbury Comics and fulfilled by Amazon. Not a bad price for a title that, presumably, will reach Le Cercle Rouge prices.

On a side note, I watched The Ice Storm last night and absolutely loved it. I'm a huge fan of retro movies, and this one was simply done right. It's hard to believe this was Ang Lee's first english speaking film, as it oozes Americana as much as American Graffiti or Dazed and Confused.

Its a fantastic film indeed. But be careful, there are other users who found the film's portrayal of the family not very empathetic and "dismissively smug".

[bdmartin134]

Which Powell/Pressburger is your favorite?

I just watched The Red Shoes last night, and really wasn't impressed (besides Cardiff). I heard such praise for it, and I can understand it's merits, but I just didn't connect with it as much as I wanted to and by the end I was bored. I thought the character of Lermontov was interesting, but the story just dragged, then completely went another direction resulting in even more melodrama.
I had a much better experience with The Black Narcissus when I watched it a few months ago. There were some elements that I thought didn't really work, but definitely could be overlooked overall.
Next up I have The Life and Death of Col Blimp. Going to check my expectations before jumping into this one.

[Tin Drum]

Funny, I watched half of Black Narcissus last night (lovely presentation). Very good so far.

I also watched Medium Cool before that and it's another that I am going to have to view again. I may not have been in the mood and my mind may have been a little to closed to watch that type of faux-reality movie as I was getting antsy towards the end.

[Abdrewes]

Favorite Powell/Pressburger?

Tie between A Matter of Life and Death and Black Narcissus.

(I still need to see Black Narcissus on blu. The last time I saw it was on TCM HD)

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Tin Drum

Funny, I watched half of Black Narcissus last night (lovely presentation). Very good so far.

I also watched Medium Cool before that and it's another that I am going to have to view again. I may not have been in the mood and my mind may have been a little to closed to watch that type of faux-reality movie as I was getting antsy towards the end.

Me too. The first five minutes were pretty dynamic, but the rest of the film felt too loose.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Its a fantastic film indeed. But be careful, there are other users who found the film's portrayal of the family not very empathetic and "dismissively smug".

I mentioned this a while back, but I absolutely love The Ice Storm (both the book and the film). I think it examines the characters so well without forcing judgment on them in a way that other films might. No one is perfect in the movie, but you wouldn't expect them to be. In my opinion it is a great portrayal of a family trying to handle the cultural, political, and social changes going on around them.

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by bdmartin134

Which Powell/Pressburger is your favorite?

I just watched The Red Shoes last night, and really wasn't impressed (besides Cardiff). I heard such praise for it, and I can understand it's merits, but I just didn't connect with it as much as I wanted to and by the end I was bored. I thought the character of Lermontov was interesting, but the story just dragged, then completely went another direction resulting in even more melodrama.

That's an understandable reaction from the "praise" angle, as I do believe that the well-publicized notion that this might be Martin Scorsese's favorite film does elevate it in the public's estimation somewhat. Though I perhaps 'like' it a little more than you seem to, I do enjoy most every other Powell/Pressburger film I've seen more and agree that the melodrama becomes rather trite after the much-celebrated performance sequence.

Cardiff's photography is immaculate though. Some of the best lighting you'll ever see in a film, and really quite worth the price of admission for the film on its own.

Colonel Blimp and Black Narcissus are my favorites from The Archers; they have so much going on under the surface, and really aren't slouches in the photography dept, either (Narcissus might even eclipse Red Shoes in this regard). I really haven't gotten into their B&W films, and even though they're on DVD I Know Where I'm Going! and A Canterbury Tale are on-deck in the Criterion procurement queue.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

The ending is perfect:

[Show spoiler]its purposefully ambiguous as that aptly describes her mentality. It's more about the paranoia than the actual threat. Whether it is real or not, the important thing to note is that she is always looking behind her shoulder. "We don't know because she doesn't know"

The ending hit me like a ton of bricks in the theater. Just a great ending to a great movie.

Great analysis.

I saw the trailer to it on some DVD I had owned and I instantly knew that I needed to see it. I blind bought it, watched, and thought that it was GREAT! I loved it - so good.

Elizabeth Olsen is one of my favorite current actresses. I look forward to anything she is in.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I mentioned this a while back, but I absolutely love The Ice Storm (both the book and the film). I think it examines the characters so well without forcing judgment on them in a way that other films might. No one is perfect in the movie, but you wouldn't expect them to be. In my opinion it is a great portrayal of a family trying to handle the cultural, political, and social changes going on around them.

Right On!!!

If there was one shortcoming, I felt it tried too hard to equate the fractured nature of the family with the fractured, dishonest nature of the Nixon administration.

Other than that, it really is a stellar film. Right alongside Crouching Tiger and Brokeback Mountain as my favorite Ang Lee film. (The Wedding Banquet is in the running too).

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Great analysis.

I really wish i would have published my thoughts back in 2011. The film was all i could think about for quite some time. My BluRay just arrived last week. I hope to revisit it again one of these days.

[R o d]

Another great Powell and Pressburger film in the Criterion Collection (although only on DVD at present) is I Know Where I'm Going! A beautiful film about unlikely love in the Scottish Islands, this one is well worth checking out. Maybe one day we'll see an upgrade to Blu.