The Criterion Collection

[FaceInTheLeaves]

Originally Posted by Debbie Downer

Lena Dunham is a talentless hipster who will fade into obscurity once Girls gets cancelled.

Lena Dunham's Criterion top 10 made me laugh like a witch. Her sense of humour is dry, ironic and self-depricating. All the comments I've seen people citing as evidence of evil doing were tongue-in-cheek. Internet posters spewing levels of vitriol once reserved for child murderers turns my stomach.

People can be so humourless, bitter and self-obsessed.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Speaking of Leonard Cohen: Pump up The Volume would be another dream Criterion spine.

I love Pump up The Volume. The two movies I watched the most growing up were probably Pump up The Volume and Heathers. I still revisit them regularly.

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I love Pump up The Volume. The two movies I watched the most growing up were probably Pump up The Volume and Heathers. I still revisit them regularly.

Christian Slater fan? My favorite of his is True Romance. Followed up by those two.

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Speaking of Leonard Cohen: Pump up The Volume would be another dream Criterion spine.

What a shame WB has it through New Line.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by octagon

I caught it on TCM a while back and didn't really care for it. And yeah, that was a little surprising because it sounded very much to my tastes.

The Great Dictator, Modern Times and Gold Rush didn't do a lot for me either. I collect AFI 100 titles so I'll grab City Lights at some point too and who knows, I might warm up to him at some point. It wouldn't be the first time I went back to something and just had it click the second or third time around.

Early Hitchcock is a really good example of that. I've really grown to appreciate The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps a lot more than I used to.

Oh wow. I'm still trying to get my head around this. Generally, it's the other way around: Chaplin hits you hard as a young cinephile, then you gradually grow averse to him (especially once you subject yourself to more Keaton & Lloyd). I thought 'Monsieur Verdoux' would have been money in the bank, but it's cool if it didn't work for you.

Owl, bkhrt, glad to see you guys have my back on this. Is the third act flawed? Very much so, but I'll be damned if the first two thirds isn't as powerful as any movie about adolescence out there. I think it's a film that will eventually be reappraised as a lost classic of sorts.

(Thanks for the clarification demonknight )

Re: least favorite Criterion title:
It's gonna be something American, so I might as well not say what it is. The movie has already been discussed ad nauseum.

[MitchA17]

Originally Posted by Gate

A question for you Criterion fanatics:

What do you think is the worst - or if you prefer, your least favorite - movie in the catalog that's available on Blu-ray?

I don't hate anything in the Collection, but Godard's Weekend left a bitter taste in my mouth (he he) after I watched it. Maybe I just need to rewatch it, but it was such a bizarre and flat-out unpleasant tonal shift in the film's last act that I felt cold after I finished it. Had it ended after they'd

[Show spoiler]killed the woman

, it would've been a near-perfect movie for me.

I realize criticizing Godard is blasphemy, and I usually love his work, but Weekend didn't end up doing much for me.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by Gate

A question for you Criterion fanatics:

What do you think is the worst - or if you prefer, your least favorite - movie in the catalog that's available on Blu-ray?

Queue lynch mob in 3, 2, 1...

Either Breathless or Seconds.

[Judex]

Originally Posted by Gate

A question for you Criterion fanatics:

What do you think is the worst - or if you prefer, your least favorite - movie in the catalog that's available on Blu-ray?

These are my least favourite, which I've sold on.
I'll probably get some heat for these.

Brazil - really hated it.
The Thin Red Line - Beautiful film to look at, but I found it incredibly boring. I didn't care for the story or characters. Tree of Life was my first Malick and it blew my mind a truly incredible film.
Stagecoach - I thought it was ok. I'm not a lover of Westerns. So the chances of me re-watching it were pretty slim. Hopefully it went to a better home that'll appreciate it more than I did.

[dannyfriar]

Originally Posted by Gate

A question for you Criterion fanatics:

What do you think is the worst - or if you prefer, your least favorite - movie in the catalog that's available on Blu-ray?

From the one's that I've seen: Ride With The Devil, Kiss Me Deadly, and KES

[Hintermann]

Originally Posted by Judex

Brazil - really hated it.

I can understand. It is a 'love it or hate it' type of movie. Personally, I like it - the film has grown on me over the years. I just upgraded my old DVD to a Criterion Blu-ray.

[The Bronx Bull]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Queue lynch mob in 3, 2, 1...

Either Breathless or Seconds.

Originally Posted by Judex

These are my least favourite, which I've sold on.
I'll probably get some heat for these.

Brazil - really hated it.
The Thin Red Line - Beautiful film to look at, but I found it incredibly boring. I didn't care for the story or characters. Tree of Life was my first Malick and it blew my mind a truly incredible film.
Stagecoach - I thought it was ok. I'm not a lover of Westerns. So the chances of me re-watching it were pretty slim. Hopefully it went to a better home that'll appreciate it more than I did.

Damn! If we were talking "Best in the collection," these titles might do it for me!

Seconds - watched a few weeks ago and was blown away.
Breathless - not my absolute favorite, but there's no denying it's a great film.
Brazil - one of the best releases in the collection - an excellent commentary on our modern society, too.
The Thin Red Line - having watched this around 2000 as a 12-ish year old, I thought it was boring; recently re-discovered Malick, and this film, as well as Tree of Life, are easily my two favorites of his. I think The Thin Red Line is his masterpiece.
Stagecoach - I own the blu, but have not yet watched it. Looking forward to it!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Gate

What do you think is the worst - or if you prefer, your least favorite - movie in the catalog that's available on Blu-ray?

I'm going to go with The Royal Tenenbaums, out of the ones that I've actually seen in the Collection. The worst Criterion that I currently own is A Safe Place, because it is included in the America Lost and Found box set, but even that movie has some interesting aspects that make it a worthy inclusion to the set.

As Octagon said above, though, the worst is fine.

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Owl, bkhrt, glad to see you guys have my back on this. Is the third act flawed? Very much so, but I'll be damned if the first two thirds isn't as powerful as any movie about adolescence out there. I think it's a film that will eventually be reappraised as a lost classic of sorts.

The third act could have been a little more subtle, but the overall end result still works wonders for a teen film. Pump Up the Volume is great from a historical perspective, because it came out a year before the release of Nirvana's Nevermind, and everything about the film conveys the idea of revolution and unrest about to boil over the edge. When Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and company made it cool to be uncool, in a sense, years later, this whole aesthetic overstayed its welcome, but the film is a beautiful examination of how life at the turn of the 1980s/1990s was for the kids who did not quite fit in.

[retask]

Can someone tell me why Scanners and The Brood has their own page here with Criterion as distributors? Got artwork and all.

[Infernal King]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Re: least favorite Criterion title:
It's gonna be something American, so I might as well not say what it is. The movie has already been discussed ad nauseum.

Say it.

[joie]

Originally Posted by Debbie Downer

Lena Dunham is a talentless hipster who will fade into obscurity once Girls gets cancelled.

Is there any reason to believe she's even a hipster?

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The third act could have been a little more subtle, but the overall end result still works wonders for a teen film. Pump Up the Volume is great from a historical perspective, because it came out a year before the release of Nirvana's Nevermind, and everything about the film conveys the idea of revolution and unrest about to boil over the edge. When Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and company made it cool to be uncool, in a sense, years later, this whole aesthetic overstayed its welcome, but the film is a beautiful examination of how life at the turn of the 1980s/1990s was for the kids who did not quite fit in.

Nicely put! I nominate you, Great Owl, to write the Criterion essay.

Gate, my least favorite (on BluRay) may be Darjeeling Unlimited. Which isn't abysmal, mind you, it's just so artificial and infuriatingly indulgent. (I'll save the rant because I've already expressed my thoughts about it on this forum)

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The worst Criterion that I currently own is A Safe Place

Ding ding ding. We have a winner. That movie is just plain awful.

[Tin Drum]

My least favorites:

Medium Cool (probably the least favorite of the ones I've seen)
Island of Lost Souls
The Naked Kiss

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by jw007

I borrowed House from the library yesterday and was going to pop the movie into my BD player tonight!

I have a feeling I'll either love or hate this film.
Looking forward to seeing this movie finally.

Those who hate it DON'T have three words running in their heads before viewing: "Japanese TV commercial".
Anyone with at least the most rudimentary Simpsons grounding will know what these words mean, and be duly warned (can you do any less?).
Anyone else will just be at sea for the rest of the movie Hence the frequency for it to show up on "This Criterion sucks!" threads.

Unless you mean the 1986 US movie with William Katt and George Wendt, which also makes good Halloween viewing.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by retask

Can someone tell me why Scanners and The Brood has their own page here with Criterion as distributors? Got artwork and all.

Because they will be coming at some point. The artwork on those pages is the artwork from Itunes, if I remember correctly, so it won't be the same on the actual releases.