The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

So I watched le samourai a few weeks back. What are essential Melville films that I should see next? Almost bought a few today but I leaned towards others as I am just not familiar enough with his titles.

Le Samouraï, Army of Shadows, and Le Cercle Rouge are all in my all-time top five. Three flawless and wonderful films across the board.

Léon Morin, Priest comes in fourth place. It's Melville's most thought-provoking work, and it's a splendid work that plays out so differently than one might expect from the premise.

Bob Le Flambeur is my fifth favorite, and most will probably tell you that it deserves higher. This is a fun and riveting French gangster film that demands Blu-ray upgrading at some point.

Le Doulos and Le Deuxieme Souffle are both incredible noir-esque flicks, and, like Bob Le Flambeur, I'm hoping that they are upgraded to Blu-ray at some point.

Un Flic is available only on DVD as well, and it's Melville's impressive final film. Brilliant work from Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, and Richard Crenna.

Le Silence de la Mer is an understated, but gorgeous film, and the Masters of Cinema region free Blu-ray has one of my highest recommendations.

Two Men in Manhattan is incredible film noir, though and through. Melville's tribute to film noir and to New York City has a near-perfect Blu-ray release from Cohen Media.

Les Enfants Terribles is my least favorite Melville, but it's still a worthy Criterion DVD title in every way, and I need to revisit it soon.

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Le Samouraï, Army of Shadows, and Le Cercle Rouge are all in my all-time top five. Three flawless and wonderful films across the board.

Léon Morin, Priest comes in fourth place. It's Melville's most thought-provoking work, and it's a splendid work that plays out so differently than one might expect from the premise.

Bob Le Flambeur is my fifth favorite, and most will probably tell you that it deserves higher. This is a fun and riveting French gangster film that demands Blu-ray upgrading at some point.

Le Doulos and Le Deuxieme Souffle are both incredible noir-esque flicks, and, like Bob Le Flambeur, I'm hoping that they are upgraded to Blu-ray at some point.

Un Flic is available only on DVD as well, and it's Melville's impressive final film. Brilliant work from Alain Delon, Catherine Deneuve, and Richard Crenna.

Le Silence de la Mer is an understated, but gorgeous film, and the Masters of Cinema region free Blu-ray has one of my highest recommendations.

Two Men in Manhattan is incredible film noir, though and through. Melville's tribute to film noir and to New York City has a near-perfect Blu-ray release from Cohen Media.

Les Enfants Terribles is my least favorite Melville, but it's still a worthy Criterion DVD title in every way, and I need to revisit it soon.

Thank you, much appreciated. Speaking of Jean Lucs are you a fan of Goddard?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

Thank you, much appreciated. Speaking of Jean Lucs are you a fan of Goddard?

I love Jean-Luc Godard's films from the early 1960s. Breathless, Vivre Sa Vie, Band of Outsiders, and Pierrot Le Fou are all great inclusions in my Blu-ray collection. I also like Contempt a lot.

I am not quite as taken with his post-1965 works, but I admittedly have not seen most of them. I should probably give Weekend another chance.

[hustlermane]

To chime, post 65 Godard definitely has some high water marks. I love Weekend, and another one worth seeing is La Chinoise - some might roll their eyes at one of his most overtly political (read as: Marxist) film, at least amongst his 60s films, but it's actually pretty humorous and playful, and definitely critical about some of his own views. There are also wonderful moments like a young revolutionary torn between his anti-US consumerist views, and his love of Ray's Johnny Guitar - a moment that is so uniquely Godardian in every way. Most impressively is how prescient it was of the time, basically predicting the student riots of '68 - it's one of the films that shows how in touch JLG was with the social and political climate of the time. It also looks great, and a blu-ray upgrade would look terrific, there's a great use of colour. But, Great Owl, the other ones you've listed are also great. I don't have any Godard on blu yet, I'm thinking I've missed the boat and might have to pay through the nose for Criterion's Pierrot and Breathless.

Also, your recommendation of Leon Morin made me think I should really grab the Criterion blu of it - it's OOP, but can still be had for reasonable prices ($40ish). I've only seen Le Samourai, Red Circle and Bob the Gambler, all terrific. I also bought but haven't watched Army of Shadows from Studio Canal. But is Leon Morin a solid blind buy, do you think?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by hustlermane

Also, your recommendation of Leon Morin made me think I should really grab the Criterion blu of it - it's OOP, but can still be had for reasonable prices ($40ish). I've only seen Le Samourai, Red Circle and Bob the Gambler, all terrific. I also bought but haven't watched Army of Shadows from Studio Canal. But is Leon Morin a solid blind buy, do you think?

Léon Morin, Priest is a tremendous film, and it's well worth a blind buy in my opinion, especially for the (comparably) decent prices for the out-of-print Blu-ray right now.

[jw007]

I bought 3 Criterion films today using a 20% coupon and the $5 off $50 or more coupon!

Here are the titles I bought:

Black Moon - $12.96 + tax (with 20% coupon + $5/50 coupon)
Insignificance - $16.20 + tax (with $5/50 coupon)
La Notte - $16.21 + tax (with $5/50 coupon)

I totally made an impulse/blind-buy purchase with Insignificance! Was this a wise blind-buy purchase? I read about the movie and what attracted me in the end was that Hans Zimmer worked on the score. He's one of my favorite film composers ever. I can't wait to watch this movie tonight.

Here's a picture!

[rcislb23fan]

Just watched weekend(2011) last night and wow what a great film.

So far during the sale I've picked up

John Cassavetes 5 films
Roberto Rosselini/Ingrid Bergman set
Weekend(2011)
The Battle of Algiers

Probably going to pick up The Devils Backbone tomorrow can someone give me some other suggestions for blu ray criterions to get

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I love Jean-Luc Godard's films from the early 1960s. Breathless, Vivre Sa Vie, Band of Outsiders, and Pierrot Le Fou are all great inclusions in my Blu-ray collection. I also like Contempt a lot.

I am not quite as taken with his post-1965 works, but I admittedly have not seen most of them. I should probably give Weekend another chance.

Band of outsiders is a favorite of mine as well. I really need to pick it up. I was just curious to view your thoughts on him.

[Hubunkey]

If Criterion does release some Sony titles I would love Welcome To The Dollhouse to make it in and on a personal favorite The Woodsman

[Abdrewes]

Wow. I'm not sure if I like the way it's used, but it seems like this song by Explosions in the Sky uses dialogue from The Thin Red Line:

Explosions in the Sky: "Have You Passed Through This Night?" - YouTube

[GentleGiant]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Earlier this afternoon/evening, I watched Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America for the first time in a couple of decades, and for the first time on Blu-ray. This is pure cinematic art, through and through, and the movie takes on a whole new significance now that I've watched it from an adult perspective, just as last night's viewing of Raging Bull was enhanced by seeing it as an adult after my previous viewing roughly 25 years ago. I love love love how the conclusion of this movie plays out. It puzzled me during my first viewing all those years ago, but I think that it's a perfect outcome now.

A dream Criterion title for me would be a restoration of Leone's original 269-minute version of this movie. I keep reading about a restoration process, but there is no definitive information at this point to the best of my knowledge.

As is, the 229-minute existing Blu-ray is a masterpiece, and I have a spot reserved for this one in the upcoming Top 20 of the 1980s poll in the Movies forum. Yessiree.

I concur. Epic film.

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Wow. I'm not sure if I like the way it's used, but it seems like this song by Explosions in the Sky uses dialogue from The Thin Red Line:

Explosions in the Sky: "Have You Passed Through This Night?" - YouTube

Good album. Good band. Never noticed it was from thin red but I haven't seen the film since Iwas a child

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

Good album. Good band. Never noticed it was from thin red but I haven't seen the film since Iwas a child

((I'm seeing them play live tomorrow))

I just got confirmation. The dialogue is from The Thin Red Line. Hmm. I am so torn on this. The music is incredible, but I'm not sure if it's congruous with Malick.

Consider getting the BluRay during the sale. The transfer will blow your mind! (As is usually the case with BluRay releases of Malick films)

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

((I'm seeing them play live tomorrow))

I just got confirmation. The dialogue is from The Thin Red Line. Hmm. I am so torn on this. The music is incredible, but I'm not sure if it's congruous with Malick.

Consider getting the BluRay during the sale. The transfer will blow your mind! (As is usually the case with BluRay releases of Malick films)

Ooooo enjoy! They're a good time. Do you enjoy twdy as well? I will pick it up eventually. I remember it moving me as a kid.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

Ooooo enjoy! They're a good time. Do you enjoy twdy as well? I will pick it up eventually. I remember it moving me as a kid.

((Thanks for the heads up on twdy. Noted.))

Man, you had good taste even as a child.

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

((Thanks for the heads up on twdy. Noted.))

Man, you had good taste even as a child.

Their st is my favorite record of all time. Its a grower, enjoy. Thanks for the kind words! Always get good choices to check out from your posts.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Léon Morin, Priest is a tremendous film, and it's well worth a blind buy in my opinion, especially for the (comparably) decent prices for the out-of-print Blu-ray right now.

I'll second this. LEON MORIN, PRIEST is probably my favorite Melville, followed probably by LE SILENCE DE LA MER and ARMY OF SHADOWS. I also enjoyed TWO MEN IN MANHATTAN quite a bit (which I finally just saw the other night), but it's definitely a bit below the others. All are movies I want to revisit.

[RiFiFi1955]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I'm wrestling with a decision: To go ahead and get the DVDs of the three Mark Hellinger produced films in the Collection- The Naked City, Brute Force, and The Killers, or wait for upgrades that may or maybe won't ever happen. I haven't bought any DVDs since Le doulos and Mafioso went OOP and I seem to have formed some sort of mental block about buying DVDs. What to do? What to do???

Originally Posted by jayembee

Go for the DVDs. It'll increase the chances that they get upgraded. It's called taking one for the team.

But seriously. The Killers set is definitely worth getting: two feature versions, plus an Andrei Tarkovsky short version -- what more can anyone ask?

And Brute Force is a terrific film as well.

The only one of the three I was underwhelmed by is The Naked City. I watched it on Netflix a few months ago, for the first time in decades, and was surprised that I wasn't all that happy with it. Mostly, I had problems with the second-person narration, which felt really clunky.

I agree with all of this. Yeah The Naked City just didn't do it for me either. The other two great Criterion DVD's along these lines are Thieves Highway and Night and the City...these definitely should not be over-looked...DVD or not! I still buy DVD's...if I want the film in my collection and the only format it is currently on is DVD well then so be it, sometimes a blu of a title you just bought will get announced but so then you just double dip a little But most of the time I find you will have ample time to enjoy the film on DVD before a blu-ray gets announced, and like the poster pondering over whether to go for the DVD's or not said some may never make the upgrade and if they do it may be a ways off.

[drawohua]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Earlier this afternoon/evening, I watched Sergio Leone's Once Upon a Time in America for the first time in a couple of decades, and for the first time on Blu-ray. This is pure cinematic art, through and through, and the movie takes on a whole new significance now that I've watched it from an adult perspective, just as last night's viewing of Raging Bull was enhanced by seeing it as an adult after my previous viewing roughly 25 years ago. I love love love how the conclusion of this movie plays out. It puzzled me during my first viewing all those years ago, but I think that it's a perfect outcome now.

A dream Criterion title for me would be a restoration of Leone's original 269-minute version of this movie. I keep reading about a restoration process, but there is no definitive information at this point to the best of my knowledge.

As is, the 229-minute existing Blu-ray is a masterpiece, and I have a spot reserved for this one in the upcoming Top 20 of the 1980s poll in the Movies forum. Yessiree.

Italy released a 259 min (Director's Cut Extended Edition) version last year in blu-ray. you might need to re-watch again
but i agree the 229-miniute one is really good. it is one of my top 5 favourite films!

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by jw007

I totally made an impulse/blind-buy purchase with Insignificance! Was this a wise blind-buy purchase? I read about the movie and what attracted me in the end was that Hans Zimmer worked on the score. He's one of my favorite film composers ever. I can't wait to watch this movie tonight.

No, but it's an amazing film and was a blind buy for me a few years ago. But I just love avant-garde, arty films. And, yes, the score is breathtaking. The final five minutes are aces.