The Criterion Collection

[smoss469]

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.

I love a good, well made conspiracy theory style movie and this one delivered. Travolta did a great job and the fact that Lithgow had no background info, no real development really just added to the mystique of his character.

[Show spoiler]Since the tapes were erased (without being shown) you really didn't know what to expect. When he first meets the reporter, my first thought was, I wonder if this guy is in on it. I certainly didn't trust him at first!

My favorite De Palma film.. well let's just say it's a guilty pleasure movie that's probably not highly thought of

The conversation looks great as well, it's on my Wish List. If I don't snag it for Christmas, I'll definitely be picking it up after the Holidays. (I promise my wife each year that after Thanksgiving, I won't buy anything for myself, that way she has some gift ideas that I haven't already rendered moot points!)

[jetthead]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

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.

Is there anyone who is NOT awaiting a Blu release of Le Samourai?

[joie]

Originally Posted by jetthead

Is there anyone who is NOT awaiting a Blu release of Le Samourai?

I'm not.

[RandyK]

Found a copy of Breathless. Ironic because we were discussing that film in my film class. Also picked up

Eyes Without a Face
The Uninvited
Seconds

Going to go back in a couple weeks and get City Lights.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by jetthead

Is there anyone who is NOT awaiting a Blu release of Le Samourai?

no. i would prefer another kurosawa.

[bugsy_pal]

Originally Posted by Banned User

I can't praise this movie enough. Extremely funny, witty and smart. Has to be one of the best finely tuned scripts to ever have been written. All the jokes come around and everything just lines up perfectly. A much better film then Design for Living IMO. Ready for some more Lubitsch!

Then you owe it to yourself to see Shop Around the Corner - it might be the most perfect Lubitsch film of all. The original Warner DVD is quite expensive but it's available in a couple of cheap Warner 4-disc sets:
TCM Greatest Classic Films Collection: Holiday
TCM Greatest Classic Legends: James Stewart

And don't forget Heaven Can Wait on Criterion DVD - another gorgeous witty film, with some of the best colour set design you'll see in a 40s film.

[MifuneFan]

Breathless isn't OOP is it? Criterion, Amazon, nor BN.com seems to have it in stock, and amazon's marketplace prices are over $60, and even higher at B&N's marketplace

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

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.

I'm beginning to develop a fondness for Melville. Quite a bummer that his 3 Criterion films are OOP. I haven't seen Le Samourai yes, but if we're lucky enough to have it announced next week, I'll hold off on the library's DVD copy of it. It's at the top of my list of 'must see films' right now.

Regarding The Vanishing... I might have articulated more on what I liked about it, but I'd rather give NOTHING away regarding the plot. If anyone is interested in it, don't read the back of the box either. I didn't and was glad.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by hustlermane

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.

I like how a lot of the 1950s films indirectly addressed the difficulties that many men experienced post-WWII. Many of the film noir stories touch on the darker undercurrents of this decade when people were struggling to get a foothold in society, but other films, such as Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause and Bigger Than Life, discussed the struggles of fitting in with a more upfront approach. The politics of the era, with the arms race, the Red Scare, and such, also led to a myriad of cinematic greats.

I just love the combination of cynicism and earnestness in 1950s movies. The films are golden for all ages and mindsets.

The 1950s was also a great decade on other shores, as evidenced by the French gangster films, Kurosawa's samurai masterpieces, and such.

Many of these films also look spectacular in high definition restorations.

[gill08]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Breathless isn't OOP is it? Criterion, Amazon, nor BN.com seems to have it in stock, and amazon's marketplace prices are over $60, and even higher at B&N's marketplace

Considering that multiple places (even Criterion) are sold out I figured it is OOP. I just walked to the Barnes Noble next to my apartment and picked up a copy for $15 score. :-)

[Badas]

Ammy (Amazon),

If you are reading this. Hurry up and price match B&N's Criterion blu's. I am waiting to put in my $540 order.

[Danchez]

I'm thinking of picking up one or two of the following films tomorrow:

Eyes Without A Face
La Notte
The Uninvited

I'm thinking more along the lines of "collection essentials," rather than personal favorites. Any feedback would be awesome!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Breathless isn't OOP is it? Criterion, Amazon, nor BN.com seems to have it in stock, and amazon's marketplace prices are over $60, and even higher at B&N's marketplace

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=87678

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I like how a lot of the 1950s films indirectly addressed the difficulties that many men experienced post-WWII. Many of the film noir stories touch on the darker undercurrents of this decade when people were struggling to get a foothold in society, but other films, such as Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause and Bigger Than Life, discussed the struggles of fitting in with a more upfront approach. The politics of the era, with the arms race, the Red Scare, and such, also led to a myriad of cinematic greats.

I just love the combination of cynicism and earnestness in 1950s movies. The films are golden for all ages and mindsets.

The 1950s was also a great decade on other shores, as evidenced by the French gangster films, Kurosawa's samurai masterpieces, and such.

Many of these films also look spectacular in high definition restorations.

You guys are inspiring me to bulk up my 1950s collection. I have a pretty even distribution of films in my collection, although the last 15 years is over represented. That probably as much to do with how cheap I can get the movies as much as anything. I kind of wish I had my DVD collection on this site so I could check that as well.

[gill08]

Originally Posted by jayembee

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=87678

I did some looking and it looks like its a switch to plastic cases. Same deal with 400 blows.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by gill08

I did some looking and it looks like its a switch to plastic cases. Same deal with 400 blows.

400 Blows switched to a plastic case a long time ago. Where did you see this information about Breathless?

[Kevin Ridge]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I like how a lot of the 1950s films indirectly addressed the difficulties that many men experienced post-WWII. Many of the film noir stories touch on the darker undercurrents of this decade when people were struggling to get a foothold in society, but other films, such as Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause and Bigger Than Life, discussed the struggles of fitting in with a more upfront approach. The politics of the era, with the arms race, the Red Scare, and such, also led to a myriad of cinematic greats.

I just love the combination of cynicism and earnestness in 1950s movies. The films are golden for all ages and mindsets.

The 1950s was also a great decade on other shores, as evidenced by the French gangster films, Kurosawa's samurai masterpieces, and such.

Many of these films also look spectacular in high definition restorations.

I don't have a huge collection of 1950's movies but just browsing what I own, I have to say that for Criterion releases it is by far the best decade for movies I own. It's not even close actually.

[SilentDawn]

Well I just finished Paris, Texas for the second time and....

My top 25 list is going to need some updating. Paris, Texas is a simply astonishing film, one with human emotions and feelings that lead these wonderful characters to an emotionally shattering climax. Everything about this film is absolutely perfect and it is now my favorite film ever committed to celluloid.

I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone and everyone to see it!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

400 Blows switched to a plastic case a long time ago.

It did? I bought my copy in a B&N during the sale this past July, along with copies of The Last Metro and El Norte, and they were all still in digipacks.

The only ones of those original nine digipack releases that I've seen switched to plastic cases are Chungking Express (which was marked "Second Printing") and Bottle Rocket (which is still marked "First Printing").

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by jayembee

It did? I bought my copy in a B&N during the sale this past July, along with copies of The Last Metro and El Norte, and they were all still in digipacks.

The only ones of those original nine digipack releases that I've seen switched to plastic cases are Chungking Express (which was marked "Second Printing") and Bottle Rocket (which is still marked "First Printing").

It never switched to a plastic case, you were able to get a plastic case sent to you though.