The Criterion Collection

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

The Rock we don't need, but Armageddon, though it is on BluRay is another story. I would love to get a release because of those sweet DVD extras. It would be great to finally get my hands on that Michael Bay commentary track!

RoboCop would also be great because the current BluRay is a disaster!

I agree, The Rock already has a decent blu-ray release but the other two movies certainly do not. Can anyone think of 5 great action/adventure films that have been released in the last 15 years that are good candidates for an edition in the Criterion Collection?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

Can anyone think of 5 great action/adventure films that have been released in the last 15 years that are good candidates for an edition in the Criterion Collection?

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would make a fine Criterion title.

I could see Into the Wild being picked up by the Collection as well.

As much as I would love for The American and The Grey to belong in the Collection, there is nothing wanting about the superb existing Blu-rays for these movies.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by jw007

I agree, The Rock already has a decent blu-ray release but the other two movies certainly do not. Can anyone think of 5 great action/adventure films that have been released in the last 15 years that are good candidates for an edition in the Criterion Collection?

I can definitely think of five...

[Judex]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon would make a fine Criterion title.

I could see Into the Wild being picked up by the Collection as well.

As much as I would love for The American and The Grey to belong in the Collection, there is nothing wanting about the superb existing Blu-rays for these movies.

I've never been a fan of that for some reason. I'm more a House of Flying Daggers guy. The battle between Liu & Jin when it changes from Autumn to Winter is absolutely gorgeous, and heart breaking.

[EPlay]

As far as modern action/adventure films, I would love to see Johnnie To in the Criterion collection. "The Mission" would be a wonderful place to start. I don't believe there has even been a quality DVD release of this anywhere. (I own the very poor Tai Seng release.)

With films like "Election", "Election 2", "Drug War" and "Running Out of Time", To is at the forefront of modern gritty Hong Kong action films.

I also would love to see Tsui Hark's "Time and Tide" as a Criterion, or any Blu release for that matter. While he usually does period films, this is one of the finest modern action films of the 2000's.

I think Asian samurai and period pieces get a lot more critical attention, but there's more to Asia than swords and wire-fu. Sure, "Hard Boiled" had a Criterion release, but there's since been a dry spell for that genre.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by EPlay

As far as modern action/adventure films, I would love to see Johnnie To in the Criterion collection. "The Mission" would be a wonderful place to start. I don't believe there has even been a quality DVD release of this anywhere. (I own the very poor Tai Seng release.)

With films like "Election", "Election 2", "Drug War" and "Running Out of Time", To is at the forefront of modern gritty Hong Kong action films.

I also would love to see Tsui Hark's "Time and Tide" as a Criterion, or any Blu release for that matter. While he usually does period films, this is one of the finest modern action films of the 2000's.

I think Asian samurai and period pieces get a lot more critical attention, but there's more to Asia than swords and wire-fu. Sure, "Hard Boiled" had a Criterion release, but there's since been a dry spell for that genre.

Asian Cinema on Criterion seems to be 1 of 2 categories:

1) Samurai Style movies
2) Family Introspective Dramas

There are others out there, odd ball movies, film noir's and horror flicks but they're in the minority at least in the BD market.

[Abdrewes]

Let's not forget the Nikkatsu Noir/Seijun Susuki films

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Let's not forget the Nikkatsu Noir/Seijun Susuki films

Yeah, that's why I mentioned the BD market, those (Nikkatsu Noir) are DVD only

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by spanky87

Show off time.

I was able to meet the lovely Nastassja Kinski this weekend so I got some criterion related items signed.

Paris Texas blu ray and screenplay

And an expected future criterion release Tess. The original poster.

[images snipped]

OK, I am now officially green with envy. If I were able to make extra-high resolution caps of film frames -- high enough to make a decent print that I could hang on my wall -- one of the shots on my short list would be of Nastassia as the angel Raphaela cradling the dying man in Wim Wenders' Faraway, So Close!.

Which brings me to...

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

RIP Lou Reed.

I'm listening to The Velvet Underground - "Venus in Furs" now.

(I do not know whether this is Criterion-related news or not, but it probably is somewhere along the line.)

Lou Reed appeared in Wim Wenders' Faraway, So Close!, which is a sequel to Wings of Desire, which is a Criterion release.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Judex

I've never been a fan of that for some reason. I'm more a House of Flying Daggers guy. The battle between Liu & Jin when it changes from Autumn to Winter is absolutely gorgeous, and heart breaking.

I've got your back on this, and I also prefer House of Flying Daggers. I figure that Criterion will release another Ang Lee movie first, though, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon paved the way for a lot of foreign movie success on our shores.

How does the existing Blu-ray of House of Flying Daggers look? I've read complaints in the main forum, but I'm curious, because it's a beautiful film.

[smoss469]

How are the Master's of Cinema releases? Earlier someone mentioned getting some films from Region B so I started looking into Region Free players. (Would be a nice Christmas gift) and there are 4-5 that I'd love to have that aren't released in BD stateside. They seem like the Criterion of the UK.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by smoss469

How are the Master's of Cinema releases? Earlier someone mentioned getting some films from Region B so I started looking into Region Free players. (Would be a nice Christmas gift) and there are 4-5 that I'd love to have that aren't released in BD stateside. They seem like the Criterion of the UK.

I have the Region Free Masters of Cinema Blu-ray of Melville's Le Silence De La Mer, and I love it. The essay is incredibly thorough, almost to the standards of a dissertation, and the overall presentation is a thing of beauty.

I will be ordering the Region Free MoC release of Murnau's Sunrise in a month or two.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jw007

I agree, their catalog is kickin', but still, the contemporary action/adventure genre is poorly represented. We'll just need a few more titles if they can get their hands on some "blockbusters" (but usually the big money blockbusters aren't very good films anyway, right?).

I think we've had this argument before, but I think there are plenty of big money blockbusters that are good (or even very good) films. The problem, though, vis-à-vis Criterion, is that blockbuster action films that Criterion could afford are ones that they are unlikely to get licensed from the studios that own them.

They've done a fantastic job at including almost every major director, I can say that. As for genres, I can't say they've create an equal or even representation of all genres. Although I think The Coen Bros. should belong in the Criterion Collection (even though famous directors like Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Lynch and Coppola don't have their films included in the collection...yet?).

Depends on how far back you want to go. If you're willing to go back to the days of laserdisc, they've had one Scott (Blade Runner) and one Spielberg (Close Encounters of the Third Kind).

And speaking of going back to the days of laserdisc...I feel I should say that when they were questioned about their inclusion of The Rock and Armageddon, they specifically said (though I'm sure it's more spin than anything else) that their intent was to include them as examples of exactly what you're looking for: big, blockbuster action movies. And 15 years later, they're still getting shît about it.

Anyway, if you want more examples of Criterion doing action/adventure films more recent than the late 60s, I would answer with (even though the DVDs are now OOP) Robocop, The Killer, and Hard-Boiled. And if you'll allow examples from the mid-to-late 60s, I'd add Branded to Kill, Tokyo Drifter and Z. Granted, the two Suzuki films are the only ones that Criterion has issued on Blu-ray, but at least in the case of the first three I listed, they are perfect examples of the aforementioned licensing issues. I have no doubt that if they still had the rights to those three, we'd be seeing them on Criterion Blus.

[spanky87]

Originally Posted by smoss469

How are the Master's of Cinema releases? Earlier someone mentioned getting some films from Region B so I started looking into Region Free players. (Would be a nice Christmas gift) and there are 4-5 that I'd love to have that aren't released in BD stateside. They seem like the Criterion of the UK.

They are excellent. I have Touch of Evil and it includes all cuts of the film as well as different ratios, so it's a pretty definitive set. Also have the Double Indemnity blu ray and while it is very good, Criterion might be able to improve the video quality a bit if they release it.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching the 1931 film, Little Caesar, starring the great Edward G. Robinson. The experience of watching this early work was like finding a tiny mountain spring from which huge rivers originated, because the film's rough framework is still being duplicated by gangster movies today. Young and brash gangster gets into the business with his best friend, climbs his way to the top, has a falling out with his best friend, etc., etc. I'm about to watch the commentary, and I'll move on to The Public Enemy tomorrow night.

Part of the end setup for Little Caesar bears an uncanny resemblance to the street shooting scene in Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much, a Criterion film, although these were filmed on different sets on different shores. I wonder if Hitchcock drew inspiration from this flick.

I'd love for Criterion to pick up the Howard Hawks film,Scarface, so that I could place it with Little Caesar and The Public Enemy. Wishes, wishes...

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jw007

I agree, The Rock already has a decent blu-ray release but the other two movies certainly do not. Can anyone think of 5 great action/adventure films that have been released in the last 15 years that are good candidates for an edition in the Criterion Collection?

Depends on what you consider "great". That's the problem. I could easily name 5 such that I think are great, and would be good candidates for Criterion, but you might not agree that they are great (we've already argued about the worth of Abrams' Star Trek, for example). Not to mention the question of whether they've already gotten really good releases from their respective studios.

First two on my list would be Zhang Yimou's Hero and House of Flying Daggers. Others would be The Bourne Supremacy (my favorite of an altogether excellent action film franchise), Avatar (yes, I really do think it's a terrific film), and The Mummy (just the first one, though). And that's not even considering any superhero films.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Judex

I've never been a fan of [Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon] for some reason. I'm more a House of Flying Daggers guy. The battle between Liu & Jin when it changes from Autumn to Winter is absolutely gorgeous, and heart breaking.

I really liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but while I have a great deal of respect for Ang Lee's skills as a filmmaker, he's no Zhang Yimou. Personally, though, I prefer Hero to House of Flying Daggers.

[Zen_Amako]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I really liked Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but while I have a great deal of respect for Ang Lee's skills as a filmmaker, he's no Zhang Yimou. Personally, though, I prefer Hero to House of Flying Daggers.

If Criterion were to release a Zhang Yimou film, I think it should be Raise the Red Lantern. It's available overseas on BD, but not with English subtitles. The DVD that was released years ago in North America was shameful. It's such a great film, and it was shot in three-strip Technicolor.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by smoss469

How are the Master's of Cinema releases? Earlier someone mentioned getting some films from Region B so I started looking into Region Free players. (Would be a nice Christmas gift) and there are 4-5 that I'd love to have that aren't released in BD stateside. They seem like the Criterion of the UK.

Typically, they are fantastic. Not always as supplement heavy as Criterion releases, but they've put together some great stuff that isn't available in North America yet. Their Van Gogh release is particularly wonderful.

[spanky87]

Originally Posted by Zen_Amako

If Criterion were to release a Zhang Yimou film, I think it should be Raise the Red Lantern. It's available overseas on BD, but not with English subtitles. The DVD that was released years ago in North America was shameful. It's such a great film, and it was shot in three-strip Technicolor.

What's so bad about the DVD? I have it on hold at the library.