The Criterion Collection

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by ArdathBey

Is there a sticky, or a quick once over on how to make the most of the Barnes and Noble November sale? I know it's 50% off, but have read about stacking of other offers and such.

How does one make the most of it?

Thanks!

B&N has what they call a "Reader's Advantage" club card. It gives an everyday discount (10%) on most things. You'll also get email notices about special sales and/or discounts, and every two or three weeks, an email will include a printable coupon, usually for "20% off any one item".

So, with the 50% off Criterion sale, if you are a club member and have one of those coupons, and get a $39.95 title, it'll be half of $39.95 ($19.98) minus 10% of that (bringing it down to $18.00) minus 20% of that (bringing it down to $14.40). As I said, the coupon is usually good for just one item, but you can use it for the most expensive item in your stack.

The club membership has an annual fee attached. I don't recall what it is, off-hand (our membership is in my wife's name), but we use it enough so that the fee is much more than paid for from the discounts.

[CriterionJunkie]

Yes!!!! Michael Mann's Thief from Criterion!!!! AND Throne of Blood finally on Blu too!! Dammit! Wish it would come out sooner though!!

[ArdathBey]

Originally Posted by jayembee

B&N has what they call a "Reader's Advantage" club card. It gives an everyday discount (10%) on most things. You'll also get email notices about special sales and/or discounts, and every two or three weeks, an email will include a printable coupon, usually for "20% off any one item".

So, with the 50% off Criterion sale, if you are a club member and have one of those coupons, and get a $39.95 title, it'll be half of $39.95 ($19.98) minus 10% of that (bringing it down to $18.00) minus 20% of that (bringing it down to $14.40). As I said, the coupon is usually good for just one item, but you can use it for the most expensive item in your stack.

The club membership has an annual fee attached. I don't recall what it is, off-hand (our membership is in my wife's name), but we use it enough so that the fee is much more than paid for from the discounts.

That is tremendously helpful. Thank you so much. I felt like a total tool for asking, but was dying to know. I'll look into joining. Thanks again!

[RogelioT]

Originally Posted by saprano

Adding DVD's just cheapens bluray imo. Especially from Criterion. Let. It. Go.

I think it's good for Bluray, there are still a lot of public libraries out there that only carry dvds. Many of those libraries tend to buy a lot of criterion titles. If they have to buy the two format version they will slowly end up building blu-ray collections and may eventually start carrying other companies blu-rays as well.

[alien2010]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

CriterionCast just posted some of the unused covers for Thief.







http://blog.criterioncast.com/post/6...covers-for-the

It sounds like Mann played a big role in the cover design.

Those covers are the business. Anyone of them would have been a sight for sore eyes. Although if it was up to me I would change the caption on the first cover from 'Directed by Michael Mann' to 'A Film By Michael Mann' or 'A Michael Mann Film'. Also did anyone notice that the second and third covers have 1969 on it instead of 1981?

[alien2010]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Criterion's page doesn't say anything on the matter. But it does give the running time as 124 minutes, and the IMDb says the runtime for the original is 122 minutes. IMDb also says that the Director's Cut has been the only version available in Region 1 since it was first released on laserdisc.

Damn, I didn't even know there was a Director's Cut of Thief. I hope Criterion release it, since the only version I've seen is the one on the terrible Region 2 MGM DVD release.

[alien2010]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

1. Miami Vice
2. Heat
3. The Insider
4. Thief
5. Public Enemies

My Top Five Michael Mann films are;

1. Heat
2. Collateral
3. Thief
4. The Insider
5. Miami Vice

[Hintermann]

Does anyone know if the just announced 5-Disc Criterion BluRay-DVD combo set coming out in January will be Region locked for Blu-Ray?

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

CriterionCast just posted some of the unused covers for Thief.

[Show spoiler]






http://blog.criterioncast.com/post/6...covers-for-the

It sounds like Mann played a big role in the cover design.

I must be the only one who likes cover #2. It just feels right. Looks great too.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I must be the only one who likes cover #2. It just feels right. Looks great too.

I liked and preferred any of the alt covers, however it's a nonfactor IMO. It's like getting a car for your 16th birthday and then complaining about the color. Hey, you just got a car, shut up and enjoy it!

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by smoss469

I liked and preferred any of the alt covers, however it's a nonfactor IMO. It's like getting a car for your 16th birthday and then complaining about the color. Hey, you just got a car, shut up and enjoy it!

Actually, it's more like saying, well we did all these other cool car color prototypes you can see here, but the only one we're putting out on the market is the one you care for the least. Buy that or sod off.

[Sinthetic]

Originally Posted by Hintermann

Does anyone know if the just announced 5-Disc Criterion BluRay-DVD combo set coming out in January will be Region locked for Blu-Ray?

Of course they will be.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Actually, it's more like saying, well we did all these other cool car color prototypes you can see here, but the only one we're putting out on the market is the one you care for the least. Buy that or sod off.

Here's what it's really like: your local dealership calls and tells you a car you've been drooling over for years is finally going to be available. You rush over there with a checkbook in one hand and a pen in the other and while he's getting all the paperwork ready you ooh and ahh over some concept art hanging in his office.

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by alien2010

My Top Five Michael Mann films are;

1. Heat
2. Collateral
3. Thief
4. The Insider
5. Miami Vice

01. The Insider (a modern masterpiece)
02. Heat
03. Manhunter
04. Thief
05. Collateral

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

[Show spoiler]

I watched Seconds last night for the very first time.

Absolutely brilliant film!

[Show spoiler]I now see John Frankenheimer in a new light. The man was brilliant.

This film touches on so many existential themes and topics. It's a cautionary tale about "second chances" and identity crises, bringing up so many questions including: "what if we were granted another chance but don't know what we want? or "what if we waste our second chance?" or "how could you behave when have the body of a young man with the mind of an old man?" as well as "do we even know who we are if we just change our appearance?".

There is a gripping sense of psychological claustrophobia inherent in Seconds. I love the first half of this film when our main character, Arthur Hamilton (played by John Randolph) is willingly taken to a mysterious building, after receiving telephone calls from a "friend" from his past. In this building, we don't know who these people are and what their true motives are. And then Rock Hudson emerges and we are taken along for one hell of a joyride, culminating in well, in a familiar place again. I cannot reveal more than this, even though I'd like to. That big surreal scene in the middle of the film really conjures up the counter-culture movement of the 1960s. It was like a clash between the 50s and 60s right there (with Rock Hudson's conventional character vs. the hippies that emerged during this decade). And we know it won't end pretty, that is certain. It's a true nightmare to say the least, but again, I will not reveal anything specific. I can see how many people can be shaken and disturbed by this film. I watched it with both my eyes open and enjoyed every "second" of it.

The editing (by Ferris Webster) and cinematography (by James Wong Howe) is both frenetic and surreal at times. There are scenes with looping (audio overdubs) and scenes with live sound. The looping scenes were only done because of the handheld Arriflex cameras used in the film (since the cameras were too noisy and the footage was ruined because of the noise). It's impressive to see a film that came out that used a lot of effective handheld shots before steadycams were invented. There are a plethora of fantastic wide-angle shots as well.

So many films/filmmakers were influenced by this movie. I can see how John Woo's Face/Off might have borrowed from this film. I can also see a bit of The Matrix in this one (by leaving your own reality and starting over - maybe in an alternate universe). I can see how The Game from David Fincher used a bit of the charade from this story. Finally, I saw a bit of Peter Weir's The Truman Show in here with the artificial and manufactured world for Rock Hudson's character, Antiochus Wilson. Also Westworld might have taken a bit from Seconds as well.

As a Criterion release, its nearly perfect overall, with just the right amount of supplements and interviews. The video and audio quality is near perfect and I thought the Alec Baldwin interview was the highlight for me at least. Director John Frankenheimer's audio commentary sheds some light on the technical aspects and production of the film (but I wish he could have talked more about the story and deeper meaning within the film). Overall, this is an impressive Blu-ray release.

Seconds, at the heart of it, is really about being able to live your life accepting your past (failures or triumphs both). When you get rid of your past, you don't exist any longer. You need your past memories, because this shapes us as adults and who we become. You just cannot "start over" and find any meaning that way.

A brilliant film, to which I wholeheartedly give my rating of...

86 out of 100

Outstanding! Looks like we had similar reactions to this film. Seconds is up there in competition for my favorite Criterion title of 2013. The film really knocked me flat, and it's great for multiple viewings.

Thanks for sharing that review.

[Member-222782]

The cover for THIEF looks like a still photo from the film - it doesn't look like a traditional cover. What does the original theatrical poster look like?

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

All those are top tier Mann for me as you know. Is the score a bit intrusive? Yes it is. So I fully understand where you are coming from.

Have you read some of the choice writing on Miami Vice out there? The Senses of Cinema piece may be too much to digest at times, but it is definitely worth a read: http://sensesofcinema.com/2007/featu...es/miami-vice/

Just bookmarked the link.

I've heard the film described as an art-house film disguised as a blockbuster. Need to pick it up from my library.

[joie]

Originally Posted by cine74

The cover for THIEF looks like a still photo from the film - it doesn't look like a traditional cover. What does the original theatrical poster look like?

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Outstanding! Looks like we had similar reactions to this film. Seconds is up there in competition for my favorite Criterion title of 2013. The film really knocked me flat, and it's great for multiple viewings.

Thanks for sharing that review.

Once I finish my large stack of movies I'll rewatch it. It almost felt like a core to finish the first time.

Hey I could always trade it!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Just bookmarked the link.

I've heard the film described as an art-house film disguised as a blockbuster. Need to pick it up from my library.

That's definitely my take on it. If Antonioni ever made a mainstream thriller, it would look like Miami Vice. The film consistently makes us consider where Cockett & Tubbs fit amongst their surroundings. All the images with negative space are not simply empty/stylistic flourishes: