The Criterion Collection

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by SilentxStatik24

It's a simply masterful film with emotions so deep and natural you would think it's a documentary. The characters are fully-realized, the cinematography is drop-dead gorgeous and the conclusion will movie you to tears! I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend the purchase!

well that is about everything I am hoping for and it sounds like something I'd LOVE! probably will try to get it later this month during the after Thanksgiving sales. I'm sure I'll post on it after I see it.

[SammyJankis]

It was also Elliot Smith's favorite film.

The more you know!

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

well that is about everything I am hoping for and it sounds like something I'd LOVE! probably will try to get it later this month during the after Thanksgiving sales. I'm sure I'll post on it after I see it.

I will be looking forward to your impressions!

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

It was also Elliot Smith's favorite film.

The more you know!

It must be popular with musical artists!

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by SilentxStatik24

I will be looking forward to your impressions!



It must be popular with musical artists!

ha! yes, the suicidal ones.

to complete the trilogy of suicidal artists and their love of film, Ian Curtis hung himself shortly after watching Werner Herzog's Stroszek. more useless information

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Looking forward to your thoughts about 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman. I really enjoyed Stromboli last night, and I will be starting Europe '51 tonight.

Hey hey, I watched Stromboli last night too...after now seeing the film I can safely say the English version is the official version...not only because Bergman's obviously speaking in English but the film would make no since if all the lines were delivered in Italian. The characters are constantly talking about how Ingrid Bergman's character speaks English and what not during the film. Most the film's premise is based around the language barrier between the couple. Also the English version isn't exactly all in English, still many lines spoken in Italian with English subs. Great film by the way...Bergman was just perfect in that final scene.

[thebard]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Maybe they wanted Steve McQueen in their collection, and it was the only title they could license.

On edit: It just occurred to me that their licensing of The Blob goes back to their laserdisc days, and they put out an LD of another, much, much, better McQueen film a couple of years later: The Great Escape.

They could license "12 Years a Slave"!

(Oh, wait... wrong Steve McQueen!)

[RiFiFi1955]

So where is this 20% off coupon I keep hearing about? Is it another coupon code?

[jetthead]

Originally Posted by RiFiFi1955

So where is this 20% off coupon I keep hearing about? Is it another coupon code?

I received a 20% coupon in my email and 2 20% coupons in the regular snail mail.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by jetthead

I received a 20% coupon in my email and 2 20% coupons in the regular snail mail.

Are the coupon codes personalized or are they general codes?

[The Great Owl]

I had a full mailbox waiting for me when I arrived home, including the two Criterions that Barnes & Noble rushed to my place after ordering two days ago...

La Notte
Blow Out
The Right Stuff
Raging Bull
Once Upon a Time in America

I have a three-day weekend this weekend with the Veterans Day holiday, so I'm planning to go through all of these during that time. I probably won't concern myself with writing User Reviews for all of them, and I'll just enjoy the flicks without analyzing them too much. Besides, I've already seen all of these except for La Notte.

[PopcornBandit]

Is there any chance that Criterion would replace an outer slipbox? I picked up Breathless today and I didn't notice the slash on the spine until I had already opened it. I emailed them about it but I figured I would ask here and maybe get an answer more quickly.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by PopcornBandit

Is there any chance that Criterion would replace an outer slipbox? I picked up Breathless today and I didn't notice the slash on the spine until I had already opened it. I emailed them about it but I figured I would ask here and maybe get an answer more quickly.

It would not hurt to email and ask them. Good luck!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

The Vanishing - just finished this one less than an hour ago... I'd say it is a must see for anyone who loves suspense. upon completing it, I had one word in mind - diabolical. Thanks, Owl (again) for recommending this one. one of the best psychological thrillers I've seen in a long while.

Glad that you enjoyed it!

My Blu-ray collection will never feel complete until The Vanishing is upgrade to the format, along with a decent high definition transfer of Le Samouraï.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Gate

It held my attention but I think the one part of the movie I really liked was how they make you think - not once but twice - that the little dog has been absorbed by the blob but it turns out

[Show spoiler]he's okay each time and eventually runs the hell away,

which makes him probably the smartest character.

I needed the little kid absorbed. Quite possibly the worse child actor I've ever seen.

[smoss469]

Watched Blow Out for the first time, loved it! Great suspenseful ending. Really enjoyed seeing all the scenes dictating editing/sound manipulation etc. Was nice to see how they used to do it before everything went digital.

[Show spoiler]A downer ending, but any other ending wouldn't have worked (IMO).

Highly recommended!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Watched Blow Out for the first time, loved it! Great suspenseful ending. Really enjoyed seeing all the scenes dictating editing/sound manipulation etc. Was nice to see how they used to do it before everything went digital.

[Show spoiler]A downer ending, but any other ending wouldn't have worked (IMO).

Highly recommended!

I am looking forward to revisiting Blow Out this weekend. There's certainly an element of nihilism in the final result, but it suits the tone of the movie quite brilliantly. This is my favorite Brian De Palma film by a considerable margin.

I owned the Criterion DVD before I bought my Blu-ray player, but I dragged my feet for a long time before bothering to upgrade it. When I watched the Francis Ford Coppola film, The Conversation, a couple weeks ago, I got to thinking about Blow Out again, and decided that it was about time to make the format jump.

[hustlermane]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Speaking of decades, I checked my collection statistics, and found out that I now own more films from the 1950s than I own for any other decade. I am not sure what this says about my cinematic leanings, but I do think that the 1950s was a brilliant era for movies, and I'm especially enjoying the film noir material from those years. The Ingrid Bergman box set probably kicked the decade over the edge with my Blu-rays, and it'll go up more as soon as a few more Olive Films titles arrive in the mail.

Over the last 6 months or so I've been discovering the same, I would have watched more from the 50s than any other era. There's this misconception in that because everyone thinks of the Golden Age of Hollywood was 30s/40s and then new wave from 1967-1980, that in between there was some cultural nadir or low point for films. Yes, film attendance was down and the main attractions for the cinema in that time, like sword and sandal epics and fluffy stuff like Pillow Talk don't really hold up, but there was an absolute wealth of great films in that time and dare I say it, for me the most impressive range of directors working at once. Sirk, Tashlin, Preminger, Ray, Fuller are all some of my favourite directors of all time (Sirk probably my #1), to say nothing of the canonical names like Hitchcock, Kazan, Wilder, Hawks and Ford, and they all released multiple masterpieces. Personally, I'd take the 50s Technicolor 'Scope era over 40s classics and Scorsese-Spielberg-Coppola etc of the 70s. Overall 60s may still win out just on the strength of the European and Japanese filmmakers, but I don't think 50s is sufficiently represented on Top Films lists and general cinephile consensus outside of some key titles, IMO.

[SilentDawn]

Well I am getting my replacement copy of Hoop Dreams in about a week or so. That will give me some time to work through some films and supplements that I haven't watched yet.

Saturday is devoted to Heaven's Gate though, I can't wait!

[joie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I am looking forward to revisiting Blow Out this weekend. There's certainly an element of nihilism in the final result, but it suits the tone of the movie quite brilliantly. This is my favorite Brian De Palma film by a considerable margin.

I owned the Criterion DVD before I bought my Blu-ray player, but I dragged my feet for a long time before bothering to upgrade it. When I watched the Francis Ford Coppola film, The Conversation, a couple weeks ago, I got to thinking about Blow Out again, and decided that it was about time to make the format jump.

Nihilism? The sound man succeeded: he got the perfect scream.

[mimurph1]

Originally Posted by Mongo Montoya

Picked up The Uninvited today. May grab a few more titles before the sale is done. Zatoichi set is really tempting too.

do it