The Criterion Collection

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by jw007

Well, I might as well list my favorite Kubrick films while I'm at it, so here they are in order to me:

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. A Clockwork Orange
3. The Shining
4. Eyes Wide Shut
5. Paths of Glory
6. Dr. Strangelove
7. Full Metal Jacket
8. Barry Lyndon
9. The Killing
10. Lolita
11. Killer's Kiss

And I know Kubrick made a bunch of other films in the 1950s, but I haven't seen them all, including Fear and Desire.

Mine are as follows
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Dr. Strangelove
3. A Clockwork Orange
4. Eyes Wide Shut
5. Lolita
6. Full Metal Jacket


I'm sure The Shinning would be on my list, but I don't watch scary or horror films. Give me bad dreams. Spartacus would be there as well, but for some reason I've never seen it, which I must remedy asap.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by jw007

I must say, many people claim that very few movies can top the books they're based on. The Shining is one of the few films that many people say is actually better than the book. I don't think 2001 can lose any bit of its glamour, because Solaris will never come close to matching that film's power.

I think Solaris is every bit the equal to 2001...Primarily because it explores the human condition-- our search for meaning and our binds with memory--with as much tact as 2001 explores the nature of time, technology, evolution, etc. They have two very different goals, and in my mind, they are both just as successful in what they achieve.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

I'd love to see a CC of Coffee and Cigarettes... and oh yeah a blu-ray release for Life Aquatic. LOL

Now we have a problem on our hands, you're hoping for not only Wes Anderson's worst, but Jim Jarmusch's worst (which means it's still kinda good) aswell. What next? Are Jack, North and Popeye , on your CC Wishlist too?

[The Narrator]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Now we have a problem on our hands, you're hoping for not only Wes Anderson's worst, but Jim Jarmusch's worst (which means it's still kinda good) aswell. What next? Are Jack, North and Popeye , on your CC Wishlist too?

Hey now, Life Aquatic is Anderson's most underrated work (next to Darjeeling Limited). It's one of his most melancholy works, and I really like it. However, I'd like to get some Lynch, Cronenberg, or even something really intriguing that I haven't heard of before Life Aquatic.

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

This is what I saw (from Janus's twitter), which seems like an absolute confirmation...

"It's all true! RT @Deadline Cannes Pic ‘La Grande Bellezza’ To Get Janus, Criterion Release http://ow.ly/oonpm"

Thanks for the info. Here's hoping...

---


Watched High and Low for the first time last night. Amazing from start to finish. Tightly paced and a true nail biter. Superb all around.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Now we have a problem on our hands, you're hoping for not only Wes Anderson's worst, but Jim Jarmusch's worst (which means it's still kinda good) aswell. What next? Are Jack, North and Popeye , on your CC Wishlist too?

Well, I figure if they did Armageddon . And yeah, Coffee and Cigarettes wasn't all I hoped it would be, but it have some good moments. I dug Bill and Tom Waits (not so much Iggy), but just hated The White Stripes segments. But I do think Criterion could do a nice release of it. And Aquatic? I like it, but love seeing others get all spun up. ;-) the evil in me i guess.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

Well, I figure if they did Armageddon . And yeah, Coffee and Cigarettes wasn't all I hoped it would be, but it have some good moments. I dug Bill and Tom Waits (not so much Iggy), but just hated The White Stripes segments. But I do think Criterion could do a nice release of it. And Aquatic? I like it, but love seeing others get all spun up. ;-) the evil in me i guess.

I loved the Cate Blanchett and Alfred Molina segments. The later made me laugh so hard I'll buy it too if only to revisit those.

Hell, I want Life Aquatic to hit blu too. Fans of the film deserve it in HD. It's a knockout on a visual level.

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Hell, I want Life Aquatic to hit blu too. Fans of the film deserve it in HD. It's a knockout on a visual level.

Agreed. Wes Anderson haters be damned! It would love marvelous on blu. It already looks very, very good but deserves that extra special treatment of video and audio.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I loved the Cate Blanchett and Alfred Molina segments. The later made me laugh so hard I'll buy it too if only to revisit those.

Hell, I want Life Aquatic to hit blu too. Fans of the film deserve it in HD. It's a knockout on a visual level.

Those were great segments too. At the time I first saw the film, I was just getting into Tom Waits and Jim Jarmusch. So the film is one of those that has fond memories for me.

Same for Aquatic, I had just seen Rushmore and Royal Tenenbaums[/b] back to back and rushed out to rent Aquatic. I loved the look and the dry humor that Bill Murray does so well.

Originally Posted by Tin Drum

Agreed. Wes Anderson haters be damned! It would love marvelous on blu. It already looks very, very good but deserves that extra special treatment of video and audio.

Yeah!! Rabble Rabble!!! Unite!!

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I'm going to write something more extensive tomorrow, but for now, here's what I posted in the 2013 movies thread on Wong Kar Wai's The Grandmaster.

I'm forgoing the North American release until I watch the original cut. I finally decided to suck up the $40 and import it from YesAsia.

[Mansinthe]

wowhd has sometimes a 15% off sale. you can get it for 30$ then. i ordered mine there.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

Have you seen the recent documentary on The Shining called Room 237? I saw this documentary in a local arthouse theater a few months ago and was rather blown away. There were many ideas I had never thought of while watching this movie. I am amazed at how many conspiracy theories there are surrounding this film.

The Shining may be in my top 3 favorite Kubrick films in terms of re-watchability. There is no question about that. It is so re-watchable! Heck, its probably in my top 20 films of all time in terms of re-watchability.

I've always wanted to see Room 237, but not enough to go way out of my way. I'm sure that it would be quite fun to check out all the conspiracy theories, though.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ravenus

The movie that haunted me completely as a kid was Picnic at Hanging Rock. I was probably about 8-9 when I saw it and did not understand a lot of the subtext the film had (about Victorian repression and the incongruity of such a settlement in an weathered harsh environment), but I could feel the sadness and wistfulness of the film (of course, the beautiful Miranda was the anchor that held my interest). My interpretation of the film then (and to an extent even now) is a Pied Piper like calling to the girls who I imagined went through some enchanted portal to another dimension.

The film that freaked me out as an adult were The Innocents and Peeping Tom.

I cannot wait until Picnic at Hanging Rock comes to Blu-ray. That is one haunting cinematic masterpiece. Great double feature night with The Last Wave.

[The Great Owl]

I still need to see The Killing, because it does look up my alley as far as film noir and such are concerned. I have not been particularly compelled so far, because I have mixed reactions to Kubrick's stuff, but the genre value of that film is winning me over toward purchasing it.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've always wanted to see Room 237, but not enough to go way out of my way. I'm sure that it would be quite fun to check out all the conspiracy theories, though.

It comes out on September 24. It's $9 something on Amazon.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I still need to see The Killing, because it does look up my alley as far as film noir and such are concerned. I have not been particularly compelled so far, because I have mixed reactions to Kubrick's stuff, but the genre value of that film is winning me over toward purchasing it.

It's one of the best in the Collection. Don't hesitate!

[SammyJankis]

Ugh. I want to see The Grandmaster, but Weinstein's touch has me wary. Still, Wong Kar Wai's cinema is something that should be experienced on the big screen. Ahh.. maybe I'll just import the intended cut.

Might just see Ain't them Bodies Saints instead.

[Mansinthe]

the us cut is missing 22 min. the internatiol cut 7 min. better get the hk cut.
weinstein thinks us people are to stupid to understand complex long movies.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jw007

I totally forgot to include Spartacus! I've only seen the film in its entirety once. I guess I don't consider that film a true Kubrick movie because he only directed it. Dalton Trumbo wrote the screenplay. So I think that is the only film Kubrick ever directed where he wasn't really involved much with the story or vision. In fact, I think the studio brought him in to replace another director who couldn't take on that project. In any case, that film is lower on my list... maybe just above Lolita.

Saying "he only directed it" is a bit weird, but his contribution was, pretty much, work for hire. A lot of people tend not to think of it as a "real" Kubrick film. I'm not sure that Kubrick did.

Why am I not the only person who doesn't like Lolita so much? I do think that Peter Sellers in that film was brilliant though (but Dr. Strangeglove was his magnum opus).

You're not the only one. It's dead last in my list, and it's the only film of Kubrick's that I don't hesitate to say that I dislike. The primary reason is that I think Kubrick made a lot of poor choices in adapting the novel (the novel is a brilliant piece of literature). One of those choices, in disagreement to one of your remarks, is the casting of Peter Sellers as Quilty. In the novel, Quilty was a disturbing, shadowy figure; Sellers made him comical. (And for the record, I'm not really a fan of Sellers. I wasn't even especially taken with his performance(s) in Strangelove.

The only choice in adaptation that I thought was brilliance on Kubrick's part was having Humbert's planned seduction of Lolita take place at a motel hosting a state policeman's convention (it was a different sort of convention in the novel, and I forget what). The irony of that seemed spot on.

Then again, Nabokov liked the movie, so what do I know?

What I consider poor choices in adaptation from the novel is why I don't rate The Shining higher, as well

[bigbadwoppet]

Originally Posted by ravenus

The movie that haunted me completely as a kid was Picnic at Hanging Rock. I was probably about 8-9 when I saw it and did not understand a lot of the subtext the film had (about Victorian repression and the incongruity of such a settlement in an weathered harsh environment), but I could feel the sadness and wistfulness of the film (of course, the beautiful Miranda was the anchor that held my interest). My interpretation of the film then (and to an extent even now) is a Pied Piper like calling to the girls who I imagined went through some enchanted portal to another dimension.

The film that freaked me out as an adult were The Innocents and Peeping Tom.

I've given up on waiting for Criterion to release PICNIC. It's one of the finest titles in their collection (a reason why it was one of their first releases ever on dvd), it's screaming for a 16x9 transfer, not to mention the inclusion of the original version and THEY STILL HAVEN'T LOST THE RIGHTS TO IT. I guess they're waiting until the rights are about to expire to release it and having it become OOP immediately. They've given priority to a lot of films that I find don't merit a Criterion (let's face it, Criterion fans will find ANYTHING outstanding just because it's got the Criterion logo on the cover).

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jw007

Great choices. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a transcendent and spiritual experience each and every time for me. It is the closest to true science fiction that I will ever immerse myself in. It is a meditative experience all the same. In space, we move slow, and the movement that occurs in the film feels so real.

As much as I love 2001, it's not my favorite SF film; but A Clockwork Orange is. At least, I think it's the best SF film in terms of being the best film that's science fiction, not the film that's the best science fiction. 2001 is better as science fiction, but I still think Metropolis, Blade Runner, and Death Watch are better SF.

Barry Lyndon is a classic story of rags to riches and then back to rags. It is a morality tale about the dangers and consequences of blind power and success. Though it is not one of my favorite Kubrick films, it is the lighting and camera work that sets this film apart from any other in terms of technical achievement.

Interesting thing about Barry Lyndon. Back when it first came out, I had a co-worker who didn't think that any movie was ever worth watching more than once. But he confessed that he'd gone to see Barry Lyndon four times.