The Criterion Collection

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Voting is now open for Best New Spine

You may also vote for "What were they thinking?" (Although it's not required. If you can't think of a release that shouldn't have entered the collection then abstain from voting on that question).


http://tinyurl.com/CriterionCollection2013

I voted for NASHVILLE, CITY LIGHTS and PIERRE ETAIX

[Brad1963]

My March guesses.


Y Tu Mamá También
The Great Beauty
The Freshman (Harold Lloyd)
Red River
The 400 Blows (Blu-ray/DVD combo re-issue)
Sullivan’s Travels (Blu-ray upgrade)

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

My March guesses.


Y Tu Mamá También
The Great Beauty
The Freshman (Harold Lloyd)
Red River
The 400 Blows (Blu-ray/DVD combo re-issue)
Sullivan’s Travels (Blu-ray upgrade)

Those look like good guesses to me. Although it seems that Y Tu Mama is never coming.

We recently had (or will have) Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Antonioni, and Satyatjit Ray, so those would seem to be out.

I'll say Bicycle Thieves , The 400 Blows combo, and beyond that... no guesses.

[jlk5844]

It's possible that Y Tu Mama Tambien could come out in March, what with Gravity being released in February.

[MKej]

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Let's make it happen

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by MKej

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Let's make it happen

100% not happening.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Those look like good guesses to me. Although it seems that Y Tu Mama is never coming.

We recently had (or will have) Kurosawa, Hitchcock, Antonioni, and Satyatjit Ray, so those would seem to be out.

I'll say Bicycle Thieves , The 400 Blows combo, and beyond that... no guesses.

I was going to say an upgrade of The Adventures of Antoine Doinel because it has been unavailable from Criterion for a few months. But now I see if is back in stock. I thought about Bicycle Thieves for March but went with Sullivan's Travels because it is coming to Blu ray in the UK and would be a good match to release with The Freshman.

I think Persona will be released in either April or May along with the new film from Janus Liv & Ingmar which chronicles the romance that began during the making of Persona.

[Carletty]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

100% not happening.

I hope it's happening so that they are done with Wes Anderson and can focus on more important movies.

[K1NG J0RDAN]

Really hoping The 400 Blows releases in March.

[Scottie]

Bicycle Thieves
Eraserhead
Like Someone In Love
Persona
Y Tu Mamá También

[Judex]

I doubt Bicycle Thieves will be coming in March.

They said during the Wexner discussion that they had a 4K master in NY but have yet to start work on it.


I hope they announce Persona though, with the Liv & Ingmar documentary as an extra or have L&I as a budget release.

[The Great Owl]

My hopefuls for March...

In a Lonely Place
The Lady from Shanghai
Ace in the Hole (Blu-ray upgrade)
Sullivan's Travels (Blu-ray upgrade)

[ShellOilJunior]

If you look at the collection by Spine # Criterion has made an effort to upgrade its lowest spine #'s.

Summertime is the lowest # that hasn't been upgraded.

[Scottie]

I wouldn't mind Picnic At Hanging Rock upgrade or the remaining Antonioni upgrades for March.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

If you look at the collection by Spine # Criterion has made an effort to upgrade its lowest spine #'s.

Summertime is the lowest # that hasn't been upgraded.

I was thinking that the other day. Hopefully in 2014.

[the sordid sentinel]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I had a chance to see Kurosawa's High and Low yesterday and while it generally met with my approval, it didn't quite work for me as I know it did (does) for some. I can not really put my finger on it, although there were about a dozen minor gripes/annoyances I felt with the film.

Detailed spoilers for High and Low below. If you haven't seen it, don't read it!

[Show spoiler]
1) I found the scenes where Gondo (Mifune) finds out about the kidnapping to be kind of hokey. When the two boys are playing sheriff and cowboy, there is a pretty silly line of dialogue that Gondo says to the chauffeur's boy. I don't recall it exactly, but it's something about switching roles.

2) About switching roles.. "the kidnapper thought that Gondo's son was the sheriff because Shinichi was wearing his costume!!" That revelation was a little contrived.

3) "National Shoes"..... need I say more? Ok. I will. Gondo is driven by the desire to make the perfect woman's shoe. That's a bit silly, no?

4) A lot of emphasis is put on the other high ranking members of National Shoes and the fact that the narrative goes from their detailed disagreement straight to the kidnapping kind of leads the viewer down (for lack of me having a better way to describe it) - a false path.

5) Because of #4, it was difficult for me to understand what exactly was the commentary on Japanese society. Late in the film I had no idea what the name "High and Low" (Heaven and Hell) had to do with what was going on on the screen. I didn't realize it until the final scene.

6) Kurosawa's shot composition is second to none. In Yojimbo, it is jaw-droppingly good. Here, he films most of the early scenes like a stage play - his wide screen lens capturing all 50 people in the frame at once. This forces every character in the scene to have somewhat of a reaction shot. I found the dejected looks and all of the 'I'm so distraught that all I can do is stare at the ground' looks to be tiring. The reaction shots of the police are so overplayed that (and this is my fault) I thought maybe they weren't police and they were, in fact, reacting as a result of some other motive.

7) I was a bit underwhelmed with Mifune in this role. He is definitely overshadowed by the few scenes in which the kidnapper appears. Mostly the final scene, where Gondo's appearance is almost an afterthought.

8) I'll say one good thing here for my final point. The actor playing the kidnapper was pretty awesome. The scenes at the end where the police are tailing him and the shot of where he peaks his head up from the flowers and you can see not only the foliage around him but the reflection of flowers in his sunglasses is just plain .

Just to repeat myself. I liked this film. If it seems like I'm tearing it apart, I am not. It's just fun to be analytical!

Be sure to check out the bonus materials, especially the commentary. It definitely makes some things clearer. High and Low is as much about the Americanization of Japan as it is about the kidnapping and search.

About Mifune, this may be my favorite performance of his. Love the jail scene with the kidnapper.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by the sordid sentinel

Be sure to check out the bonus materials, especially the commentary. It definitely makes some things clearer. High and Low is as much about the Americanization of Japan as it is about the kidnapping and search.

About Mifune, this may be my favorite performance of his. Love the jail scene with the kidnapper.

really?

[Show spoiler]the kidnapper steals the show in that last scene!! not that he needed to, but I was waiting to see if Mifune's character was going to say something profound and all we have is the over the shoulder shot while the kidnapper is shaking and basically, losing it. THAT part.. I loved!

I watched the recent interview with the actor who played the kidnapper. Loved it! ..and I watched half of the interview with Mifune in the early 80's. Enjoyed that, too. I didn't realize Mifune had such an active role in all sorts of international productions.

[ShellOilJunior]

There's a great Orson Welles quote on Mifune in Peter B's Welles book.

I'll try to post it later when I'm home.

[14728]

Last night I watched Bicycle Thieves. Since it got a Criterion DVD release (which is how I watched) I decided to post it here and on the theatrical Bicycle Thieves page. If you like it, go to the Bicycle Thieves page and like the review. Without further ado, here's my review of Bicycle Thieves:

Beautiful and simplistic, well crafted and independent, Bicycle Thieves may not be one of my Top 10 picks of greatest motions pictures, but it sure is a cinema great. It stars Lamberto Maggiorani as Antonio, a father in WWII-stricken Italy, who needs a bike to get a job. While on the job, his bike is stolen and it's up to him and his son Btruno (who usually just runs around, so I can't comment on his performance) to find it. The plot is very simple, but it demonstrates what great lengths people will go to get something, and what evidently will happen. It balances a look at human nature with a gripping plot and characters you show sympathy towards, even threw their mistakes and problems. The lead actor does a good job, making his character believable. It only helps towards the insight it gives at Italian life in post-WWII. But there are problems with it. For example, this boy is drowning in a lake, and Antonio thinks it's Bruno, since Antonia slapped him, and Bruno ran away. It turns out not him, and in fact he's just sitting on some stairs. Maybe it shows how much he cares about his son, even if he did something wrong, but then again any father would be genuinely horrified if he realized his son might be drowning. But maybe these scenes are here are there to show how Italy was back then. Maybe these scenes are a time capsule of sorts. But I don't know. Some of the acting isn't amazing (like the kid, with the little lines he has), but I can set that aside. Why? Because it was an independent film. And most of the film shows that. Most of the cast wasn't experienced, but they still do great. The shots are also great. They follow the characters, they get shots threw items, and other stuff like that. This film may be flawed, but I know I'll see it again and again.
But personally, I'd wait for a blu-ray upgrade. The Criterion transfer is only subpar, and sometimes it gets on my nerves. Also, don't watch the American dub. It makes it seem like Family Guy did the dubs. But overall, great study of human nature
8/9

Anyways, tonight I'm watching Metropolis. I saw about 45 minutes of it a couple months back, and I remember liking it. That review will come tomorrow

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Carletty

I hope it's happening so that they are done with Wes Anderson and can focus on more important movies.

^^this^^