The Criterion Collection

[themoviefanatic]

I am hoping for Sullivan's Travels HD upgrade

[UncleBuckWild]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I like it, but then my favorite film era is the early '30s and more specifically pre-code films. The three stars are fun and Miriam Hopkins is sexy as hell! I've always enjoyed her films and she was one of those actresses who really shined in the pre-code era.

Great! I've became a fan of Ernst Lubitsch films, perfect comedic timing... To Be Or Not To Be is a fine example... hopefully this one's equally enjoyable.

Originally Posted by Slikkbradd

I am hoping for Sullivan's Travels HD upgrade

Arrow (UK) is releasing it in March... hopefully Criterion follows suit.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by UncleBuckWild

1. I loved Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be.
2. Miriam Hopkins looks smoking hot in all of the screenshots that I've seen for Design of Living.

This one will inevitably be a part of my collection. If I get any B&N gift certificates for Christmas, this may figure into the equation.

[The Great Owl]

Unrelated, except in a general film lover sense, but I have to give a big thumbs-down to the 48fps high frame rate after seeing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug this morning. The film is fine and, in fact, much better than its predecessor, but the high frame rate format simply does not convey any sense of cinema to my eyes. The "soap opera effect" does not work for me in general. I guess that the trade is that the computer effects of the movie looked downright authentic in the format. I could see this getting off the ground for effects-heavy films like this one, but I would prefer the standard frame rate in the future for the vast majority of movies.

I'm probably going to let my big Criterion haul from yesterday sit tight for a week or two while I watch some Olive Films selections and such. I've got two Christmas parties this weekend, so there's not much time to write extensive reviews of anything if I so desire (and I usually do, after watching Criterion flicks and going through the supplements). I know that the Kurosawa films are going to rock my world in high definition, though, because I loved them on DVD.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Miriam Hopkins looks smoking hot in all of the screenshots that I've seen for Design of Living.

Yep! Wish another film of her with March would show up-Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

[Scottie]

If you're a fan of The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon, go and see Nebraska!

One of my Top 5 films of the year.

[mdonovan]

Originally Posted by UncleBuckWild

If you're a B&N member, they usually send you discount coupons, by post or mostly to your email account.

If you're not a member, you can find non-member coupons @ DVDTalk forum.

There's the B1G1 Criterion thread currently active, check it out:
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=232990

Just got back from b&n ... Salesperson could give a rats ass about coupons ... Said sale was available to anyone and everyone.

Picked up ...





Gonna be a great popcorn night !

Love this forum ... :-)

[Clare2904]

I am trying to seek out new titles to watch and not just Criterion. I have spent the last week going back through this thread for ideas (I started at May 2013).

Not specific film questions but can anyone answer the following:

Hulu - Is there a way to view Criterion streaming outside of the US?

Amazon Traders - I hear people buying on Amazon all the time, who are the Traders to buy from / avoid?

Region Free - Another way to open your collection is region free. I currently have a Region 1 player and would look at changing to a RF but first would like feedback on Models / Price etc from those who have players already.

Thanks

[scorsetinogilliam]

Originally Posted by iScottie

If you're a fan of The Last Picture Show and Paper Moon, go and see Nebraska!

One of my Top 5 films of the year.

After you watch Nebraska, go re watch The Last Picture Show to remember how to end a film without superfluous, over-the-top redemption in the third act. Payne hasn't made a great film in so many years...

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by mdonovan

Crap. Another blind buy .... I hate you guys ...

Look, just let the hostility in your heart go, and find a happy compromise--
Even just renting it should help smooth over lingering issues.
Now, let's take a deep. long, cleansing breath and say, "I watch Hulu and I feel good about myself, darnit!"

[UncleBuckWild]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

1. I loved Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not to Be.
2. Miriam Hopkins looks smoking hot in all of the screenshots that I've seen for Design of Living.

This one will inevitably be a part of my collection. If I get any B&N gift certificates for Christmas, this may figure into the equation.

Do get it whenever possible, I look forward towards your review in future...
I tried to track down a copy of The Shop Around the Corner DVD, sadly it's OOP... now I'll need to order that TCM James Stewart Collection.

Originally Posted by mdonovan

[Show spoiler]Just got back from b&n ... Salesperson could give a rats ass about coupons ... Said sale was available to anyone and everyone.

Picked up ...





Gonna be a great popcorn night !

True, the sales are open to everyone / but you can save additional 25-35% on your purchase...
Nevertheless, these are great titles... I've been wanting to watch Kiss Me Deadly for a longtime. Enjoy!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by RojD

And that's something else that's odd about Altman's films. I don't understand how the guy who did something as completely original as Nashville could turn right around and make Buffalo Bill? And then follow Three Women shortly afterwards with Popeye? I haven't seen most of his comedies -- mostly because they're so bad -- but maybe he just couldn't sustain humor over the length of a feature. It's generally his more serious stuff that I like.

I quite like Buffalo Bill and the Indians, though in comparison to Nashville it was a bit of a come down.

But "maybe he just couldn't sustain humor over the length of a feature". Really? You're saying this about the guy who directed M*A*S*H?

[oildude]

Originally Posted by UncleBuckWild

Before the B1G1 ends, I'll be getting these two:



I've watched bits of Smiles of a Summer Night and found it hilarious... however i'll probably blind-buy Design for Living < any thoughts on this film.

Actually, these two make an excellent pair. If you like Smiles of a Summer Night, you will most likely find Design for Living enjoyable as well. DFL has a lot of pre-code risque innuendo and is a suprising amount of fun to watch. It is a sexual farce in the best Lubitsch style. The acting and dialogue are excellent all around. Gorgeous transfer also.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by greekak229

Agreed. People are really missing out if they don't have the player to access such great titles from those other companies.

Can't argue, but it's just as well that I'm not in the position to be tempted by non-Region A discs. I can barely afford to buy the small number of (Region A) discs that I get now.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by octagon

Criterion has been a doing a fine job of whitting away at my Amazon UK lists so here's a few titles they'd be more than welcome to announce Monday.

The Remains of the Day

Probably not going to happen. I don't think Janus has ironed out its differences with Merchant Ivory yet.

I suppose I could add Lifeboat and Cleopatra but both steels are really affordable right now so I can't see them not making it into an order (order: that thing one places when one gets off his virtual ass and actually makes a decision to buy the stuff instead of just looking at it on a list every few days)

I don't think Criterion has a licensing deal in place with Fox, so neither of those are likely. Besides, Cleopatra got a nice 50th Anniversary DigiBook from Fox just last Spring.

Unless you're referring to the DeMille version, which is a Paramount title currently owned by Universal.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by UncleBuckWild

I've watched bits of Smiles of a Summer Night and found it hilarious... however i'll probably blind-buy Design for Living < any thoughts on this film.

It's Lubitsch.

That's all you need to know.

[Al_The_Strange]

Been going through some of the movies I've picked up from the B&N sale.

The Organizer kept my interest in the beginning and ending, but not so much in the middle. Still a pretty decent film.

A Man Escaped is a decent prison-break movie. A bit slow, but very methodical and tense.

More importantly, I started on the Zatoichi collection. The Tale of Zatoichi has its moments, but I don't think the movie had much momentum to it, and I felt the plot was pretty flat. I was more fond of The Tale of Zatoichi Continues, because it has tighter pacing, a more exciting story, and it stood out more to be overall. Still interested to see how all the other sequels play out.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Unrelated, except in a general film lover sense, but I have to give a big thumbs-down to the 48fps high frame rate after seeing The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug this morning. The film is fine and, in fact, much better than its predecessor, but the high frame rate format simply does not convey any sense of cinema to my eyes. The "soap opera effect" does not work for me in general. I guess that the trade is that the computer effects of the movie looked downright authentic in the format. I could see this getting off the ground for effects-heavy films like this one, but I would prefer the standard frame rate in the future for the vast majority of movies.

My wife and I saw the first Hobbit film in the HFR format, and agreed that its effectiveness was mixed. There's almost a "hyper-reality" to it that reminds me a lot of some older British TV shows where they shoot on video for the indoor scenes, and on film for outdoor scenes, and there's a notable contrast between the two, with the video footage having a starker look.

I had read a comment on the previous film about the problem with the higher frame rate that seems spot on to me. And that's that when things are in motion, there's no (or a minimal amount of) "camera blur", so the motion doesn't look quite right. The times in the previous film I noticed it the most were (a) Radagast's sleigh, and (b) the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom-style chase through the goblin caves.

It doesn't seem to bother my wife as much as it does me, but since I'm much more of a cinema aficionado, I'm more used to the way things are "supposed to" look on a movie screen. I suggested that we not see it in the HFR format this time, but I'm not sure that we'll be able to see it on an IMAX screen otherwise. We probably won't see the movie until after Christmas, so we've got time to decide.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Unless you're referring to the DeMille version, which is a Paramount title currently owned by Universal.

Yeah, this one from Eureka



I'm really not even a huge steelbook fan but I really, really liked their The Testament of Dr Mabuse release and Lifeboat and Cleopatra are kinda cheap right now.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jayembee

My wife and I saw the first Hobbit film in the HFR format, and agreed that its effectiveness was mixed. There's almost a "hyper-reality" to it that reminds me a lot of some older British TV shows where they shoot on video for the indoor scenes, and on film for outdoor scenes, and there's a notable contrast between the two, with the video footage having a starker look.

I had read a comment on the previous film about the problem with the higher frame rate that seems spot on to me. And that's that when things are in motion, there's no (or a minimal amount of) "camera blur", so the motion doesn't look quite right. The times in the previous film I noticed it the most were (a) Radagast's sleigh, and (b) the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom-style chase through the goblin caves.

It doesn't seem to bother my wife as much as it does me, but since I'm much more of a cinema aficionado, I'm more used to the way things are "supposed to" look on a movie screen. I suggested that we not see it in the HFR format this time, but I'm not sure that we'll be able to see it on an IMAX screen otherwise. We probably won't see the movie until after Christmas, so we've got time to decide.

Well said.

The high frame rate made each and every setting look like a sound stage, and that ultra-realism took my mind out of this new Hobbit movie several times.

The trade was that the digital effects looked quite real in the new high frame rate format. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, when viewed in this high frame rate, looks like a daytime soap opera or an old BBC episode that just happened to have a bunch of talented real-life orcs, dragons, and giant wolves.