The Criterion Collection

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Are they definitely releasing The Big Chill and Tootsie?

Nothing definite, that's only after the announcements (and sometimes not then...Ran). Here's the 1st report on Blu-ray.com.

[joie]

A good way to know whether a Blu-ray is going to be released is to search for it by title in Bliu-ray movie database. If it isn't found or is found but doesn't have a release date listed, then it is either a rumor or wishful thinking.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

Nothing definite, that's only after the announcements (and sometimes not then...Ran). Here's the 1st report on Blu-ray.com.

Ah. Thanks for the clarification.

[JohnDoe NY]

Originally Posted by joie

A good way to know whether a Blu-ray is going to be released is to search for it by title in Bliu-ray movie database. If it isn't found or is found but doesn't have a release date listed, then it is either a rumor or wishful thinking.

[14728]

the day they announce Tootsie and/ or It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, I'll be waiting nervously for my birthday, christmas, or a B&N sale.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Are they definitely releasing The Big Chill and Tootsie?

They are definitely working on both of them.

[JohnDoe NY]

Originally Posted by retablo

They are definitely working on both of them.

And you know this, how? That's right, you don't!

[retablo]

Originally Posted by JohnDoe NY

And you know this, how? That's right, you don't!

From people I know who work at Criterion. So, yeah, I do.

I also know about lots of Twilight Time titles and other titles in the Criterion queue. Your point?

[jw007]

Hey folks, how you all doin' this weekend?

So JW here decided to watch Chronicle of a Summer a coupla' nights ago only to fall asleep halfway through (around the 45 min. mark) but quickly woke up and shut off the movie. The following night, he then went ahead and watched all the supplements (just under 2 hours worth) and realized he hadn't seen the whole film the night before. So now he has decided to re-watch the whole film again but only at a future date in time.

Has anyone enjoyed this interesting, anthropological French docu-film from 1961 by any chance? It's a peculiar release in the Criterion catalog.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by retablo

I'm looking forward to seeing what extras they dug up/created for Tootsie and The Big Chill. As well as It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, since the MGM disc already looks really good. I assume Criterion is releasing the longer roadshow version.

Originally Posted by iScottie

Are they definitely releasing The Big Chill and Tootsie?

Well, they released both of these films on laserdisc, which suggests that they'd be interested in reacquiring the rights. So far, though, there's been no official announcement.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by JohnDoe NY

My point? You're making this up, It gives you a sense of the importance. You're so busted buddy.

Wow.. I hope you're gone soon.

[Mansinthe]

watched Rashomon a few minutes ago for the second time, this time with the commentary track enabled. ! really interessting commentary track for a awesome movie

[The Great Owl]

I revisited The Rules of the Game last night, seeing it on Blu-ray for the first time, and then went through the extras and commentary earlier today.



Jean Renoir's 1939 masterpiece, The Rules of the Game, commanded my attention with its immediate charm when I first watched it several years ago, but I admittedly had to experience multiple viewings to grasp subtleties that initially flew over my head. The best way for me to describe this movie is to compare it to a theme park that is so extensive that one cannot experience all of the rides and exhibits in just one single day. Renoir composed most of his scenes with elaborate long shots where characters and events are portrayed in layers, so that one can easily miss the gestures of people in the background of a long corridor, for example, while observing an interaction between two actors in the foreground. Even a handful of intimate interactions between just two characters on the screen often exhibit multilayered approaches, and one such example occurs late in the film, where Lisette, a heartbreakingly beautiful chambermaid, lectures Renoir's Octave about his attachment to another woman while Octave is simultaneously having a revelation about himself as he looks into the mirror behind Lisette.

The multilayered approach utilized by the long camera shots in The Rules of the Game is echoed in the complex personalities of the characters. This film has a reputation as a scathing criticism of the French upper class on the eve of World War II, but I believe that Renoir's treatment of these characters is loving and vindictive in equal measures so that we always understand motivations of each person, however vile those motivations may appear at first glance. My favorite scenes in The Rules of the Game involve unexpectedly touching moments when characters whose rivalries literally brought them to blows ultimately relate to one another and begin to work together. Jean Renoir's 1937 film, La Grande Illusion, which dealt with discrepancies between wartime rules of interaction and gentlemanly socioeconomic rules of interaction when aristocrats related to one another even if they were fighting for countries on different sides, serves as an insightful precursor to The Rules of the Game, as both films present characters with a myriad of obligations and attachments.

The Rules of the Game has long been regarded as one of the best films ever made, but its inclusion on several Top Ten Films of All Time lists may raise eyebrows with present-day viewers, because it does not present itself as a great film in the obvious ways that make the other films on those lists instantly recognizable as classics. One may immediately observe the social class commentary of the film, and one may observe the unfair advantage of the aristocrats during a brutal hunting sequence that eerily anticipates the deafening slaughters of the war that would soon follow, but additional pleasures and revulsions may not come to light until later revisits to the movie.

A complex film like The Rules of the Game requires a good audio/video presentation, and I found this Criterion Blu-ray to be vastly superior to the 2004 DVD that served for my first several viewings. The elaborate chateau hallways and the wilderness of the French countryside look wonderful in high definition. This Criterion edition sports one of the best essay booklets in the entire Collection, with its mix of Renoir's explanations for the film and accolades from other directors or critics. The Peter Bogdanovich commentary track provides an entertaining way to experience a second viewing right off the bat with additional light shed on the character interactions, while several supplements discuss the fascinating history of this film, from the hostile initial reaction of premiere audiences to the changing reception after film cuts and subsequent restorations.

[Ausjdm]

Just saw Gravity. Wow what an amazing visual feast! Some of the best sfx I've seen in a movie. You feel like they're in space. The lead actors were solid also. One of the best of the year everyone should see it. Hope it's a future CC title just for the behind the scenes.

Now if we could combine the ethos of 2001 and the ghost stories of Solaris and the sfx of Gravity it would be the ultimate space drama lol...

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Just saw Gravity. Wow what an amazing visual feast! Some of the best sfx I've seen in a movie. You feel like they're in space. The lead actors were solid also. One of the best of the year everyone should see it. Hope it's a future CC title just for the behind the scenes.

Now if we could combine the ethos of 2001 and the ghost stories of Solaris and the sfx of Gravity it would be the ultimate space drama lol...

Yessss!!! My brief write up could not do the film justice. What a grand achievement!

I will be content with a release of Y tu Mama Tambien one day.

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just finished The Battle of Algiers, and while it was a lot different than I expected, there's no denying that it's one of the most engrossing in the entire collection.

I watched it for the first time a month or two ago and, yes, engrossing is definitely the correct word. A dazzling film, IMO.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just finished The Battle of Algiers, and while it was a lot different than I expected, there's no denying that it's one of the most engrossing in the entire collection.

The Battle of Algiers was the first Blu-ray User Review that I wrote on this site.

Ahhh...memories.

I had the chance to see The Battle of Algiers in a big theater screen several years ago, but missed out. I still kick myself in the tail on a daily basis for missing that.

[antmumford]

Originally Posted by JohnDoe NY

Rude? Lol. Oh you child. You can't accept the truth. That's your problem.

"But hey, half the fun of the Internet are the trolls"

That's why I laugh at you.

What's worse than a troll is a troll who doesn't even know he's behaving like a troll. Sounds like you're the one who needs to grow up JohnDoeNY. There is no need for your vindictive comments on this very respectable forum.

[Abdrewes]

Wow! Pauline Kael's essay on La Dolce Vita/La Notte/Last Year at Marienbad is absolutely scathing. Yes, it is consistently entertaining, but damn did she ever go off on a tangent.

That West Side Story review is a doozy as well. Some points had me howling with laughter.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Wow! Pauline Kael's essay on La Dolce Vita/La Notte/Last Year at Marienbad is absolutely scathing. Yes, it is consistently entertaining, but damn did she ever go off on a tangent.

I kept thinking about Last Year at Marienbad while I was revisiting The Rules of the Game this weekend. The films are both labyrinthine, but in different ways. The chateau setting itself inspires comparisons, of course. I should not have waited so long to upgrade The Rules of the Game from DVD to Blu-ray, but better late than never.

To come to think of it, I wonder to what degree all three of the above films (La Dolce Vita, La Notte, Last Year at Marienbad) were influenced by The Rules of the Game.

It's funny that, when I first saw The Rules of the Game several years ago, it made me think of the 1999 movie, Cruel Intentions. Upon subsequent viewings, I decided that I was somewhat off base.