The Criterion Collection

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Either one would be fine, but I think The Gold Rush is the better of the two.



All are good choices. I would, however, suggest that you try Tokyo Drifter before Branded to Kill. Branded to Kill is just completely insane (but in a good way). I mean, Tokyo Drifter is also insane, but BTK is like TD turned up to "11".

Personally, as much as I like his wacky yakuza films, my favorite films of his (out of the dozen or so that I've seen) are two of his "prostitute" films: Gate of Flesh and The Story of a Prostitute. While downbeat, they're both terrific. Both are available on Criterion DVD, but not, alas, on Blu-ray. Gate of Flesh is near the top of my Criterion Upgrade Wishlist.

Originally Posted by jayembee

Time for my quote again, from a friend posting on Usenet back in the 90s: "BRANDED TO KILL, on the other hand, is like TOKYO DRIFTER's drunk, crack-addict cousin who just happens to have taken some acid on the day you run into him."

Hahahahahahhahahaha , I think I will try them both, though most likely via iTunes.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Fans of Ingmar Bergman... I need your help.

I honestly find it hard to get excited about the mans work but for $15 I found a DVD set with the following films in it:

HOUR OF THE WOLF
SKAMMEN
THE PASSION OF ANNA
THE SERPENTS EGG

I realize most people would recommend a film outside this box set, but this is all I have. Where would you recommend I begin with what I have?

I still haven't watched The Serpents Egg from when I bought that set, but the other three are top tier Bergman films. All amongst my favorites of his, alongside Persona, Fanny and Alexander, and The Silence.

[atfree]

Originally Posted by iScottie

A Brief History Of Time
The Freshman
George Washington (Upgrade)
The Great Beauty
The Hidden Fortress (Upgrade)
Persona

I'm still so stoked over "IAMMMMW" in January and "Foreign Correspondent" in February, I'm going to move right past any abject disappointment the March releases hold for me.

Now, I'll start hoping for "The 49th Parallel" and a restored "Spartacus" for April (and monthly thereafter, I'm sure!).

[jw007]

I feel like I'm not the only one who has been inspired to buy Pale Flower after The Great Owl posted his raving review about this film. I was at B&N yesterday and picked up the title only to put it back down again and purchased Grey Gardens (blu-ray) and TSWCIFTC using the $8/40 coupon (rare for me) and paying an average of $14 per movie. The 40% sale is going to lure me back to B&N for sure now.

[Infernal King]

Tokyo Drifter and Branded to Kill were interesting, if only from a technical perspective. They're both decent but I'm not big on "New Wave" titles (be they from Japan, France, etc.) which is why I've held off on checking out Pale Flower. I'm also not a film noir aficionado.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Infernal King

Can someone explain to me why everyone is spazzing out at the Persona cover?

Originally Posted by Hawkguy

I don't get it either. It looks nice, but it's hardly a great cover to me.

I don't know if the two of you have seen it, but my guess is that the appeal probably lies in having already seen the film. I have not seen it yet and although I am super excited to check it out, I don't get it either. It looks like every other promotional image that I've known to be associated with the movie.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Not true. You still have to make a list so that you can note down which ones you've bought so that you don't accidentally buy them a second time.

I know that this post was half in jest, but if one can not remember whether or not they already bought a movie, then it might be time to slow down. Maybe I'm weird, but I can recall where I bought nearly every material item I own - whether it be clothes or movies.

For me, it is a joy to buy a new blu-ray, but it is even a greater joy to know that you got a great deal. Now all I need is the time to catch up on the things I actually own... and as you can see, I only have 50 blu-rays in my collection!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I know that this post was half in jest, but if one can not remember whether or not they already bought a movie, then it might be time to slow down. Maybe I'm weird, but I can recall where I bought nearly every material item I own - whether it be clothes or movies.

Yes, the post was half in jest. But with respect to the half that wasn't...

I've been collecting home video (Betamax, LD, DVD, BD) for 30 years now. And I've multi-dipped many, many times, as upgrades (whether medium, aspect ratio, extras, or whatever) get released. And yes, sometimes, I look at a Blu-ray in the store and I know I've seen the movie, and even know that I have the movie, but I might be unsure about whether I have it on BD or DVD.

I also collect (or have collected) a lot of other things: science fiction books, crime fiction books, comics, pulp magazines, vintage paperbacks, et alia. And short of having an eidetic memory, there's just too much, in toto, to rely solely on memory. If I collect something, I have a list for it. In a lot of instances (my wife would say "a scary number of instances") I can remember whether I have something or not, but I have the list as a back-up, because I have been known to buy something with an absolute conviction that I don't already own it, and when I get home, find out that I'm wrong.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Yes, the post was half in jest. But with respect to the half that wasn't...

I've been collecting home video (Betamax, LD, DVD, BD) for 30 years now. And I've multi-dipped many, many times, as upgrades (whether medium, aspect ratio, extras, or whatever) get released. And yes, sometimes, I look at a Blu-ray in the store and I know I've seen the movie, and even know that I have the movie, but I might be unsure about whether I have it on BD or DVD.

I also collect (or have collected) a lot of other things: science fiction books, crime fiction books, comics, pulp magazines, vintage paperbacks, et alia. And short of having an eidetic memory, there's just too much, in toto, to rely solely on memory. If I collect something, I have a list for it. In a lot of instances (my wife would say "a scary number of instances") I can remember whether I have something or not, but I have the list as a back-up, because I have been known to buy something with an absolute conviction that I don't already own it, and when I get home, find out that I'm wrong.

I hear ya.. with an immense collection like that, it is definitely possible. I've even triple dipped once... 2 DVD versions of Hitchcock's Notorious and now a blu ray.

well.. you and many others have pretty awesome collections. that's for sure. I wouldn't have to go the library if I had your films in house!

[the sordid sentinel]

Originally Posted by atfree

Now, I'll start hoping for "The 49th Parallel" and a restored "Spartacus" for April (and monthly thereafter, I'm sure!).

I would be over the moon with a Spartacus upgrade. I hope Criterion still has the rights.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by jw007

I feel like I'm not the only one who has been inspired to buy Pale Flower after The Great Owl posted his raving review about this film. I was at B&N yesterday and picked up the title only to put it back down again and purchased Grey Gardens (blu-ray) and TSWCIFTC using the $8/40 coupon (rare for me) and paying an average of $14 per movie. The 40% sale is going to lure me back to B&N for sure now.

Yeah, Great Owl and his reviews have inspired me to buy many a blu-ray, Criterion and non-Criterion alike.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by jw007

TSWCIFTC

Ok, I can't figure out what this is...

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Ok, I can't figure out what this is...

The Spy Who Came In From The Cold

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Infernal King

Can someone explain to me why everyone is spazzing out at the Persona cover?

Exactly: Isn't Persona the one with Bergman's iconic "Overlapping full and profile" shot? Or is that Face to Face?
We're not exactly talking Great Dictator or Blow Out covers, here.

(And I can even live with Hidden Fortress's cover being a little too in-refsy/artsy for an "action" movie. Yes, we know who the stick-babe is, but what about the people who don't? Are they going to think it's In the Realm of the Senses? Would it have killed them to put the two C-3PO/R2D2 farmers on the cover?)

Originally Posted by EricJ

Now, if Criterion could only pry Dreams away from an uncaring Warner, THAT would spray our coffee a mile.

Originally Posted by Roninblues

What about Dersu Uzala? A wonderful story that I've only seen on the Kino DVD. It won a Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film!

Think Criterion already has DU, so that's no suspense.
And, more to the point, didn't lock it away in a MOD Archive because they hated DVD.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

Yeah, Great Owl and his reviews have inspired me to buy many a blu-ray, Criterion and non-Criterion alike.

Yes, its official, I blame it on the Owl for making me spend extra money that I wouldn't otherwise on Criterion blu-rays! It's my biggest guilty pleasure yet I don't feel guilty at the same time!

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Yes, the post was half in jest. But with respect to the half that wasn't...

I've been collecting home video (Betamax, LD, DVD, BD) for 30 years now. And I've multi-dipped many, many times, as upgrades (whether medium, aspect ratio, extras, or whatever) get released. And yes, sometimes, I look at a Blu-ray in the store and I know I've seen the movie, and even know that I have the movie, but I might be unsure about whether I have it on BD or DVD.

I also collect (or have collected) a lot of other things: science fiction books, crime fiction books, comics, pulp magazines, vintage paperbacks, et alia. And short of having an eidetic memory, there's just too much, in toto, to rely solely on memory. If I collect something, I have a list for it. In a lot of instances (my wife would say "a scary number of instances") I can remember whether I have something or not, but I have the list as a back-up, because I have been known to buy something with an absolute conviction that I don't already own it, and when I get home, find out that I'm wrong.

You sound like me. I guess my first collections of "home videos" would actually be films because I got these little 8mm snippets of films that ran 6-12 minutes from Castle Films. They were silent and the ones I collected were mostly Universal horror films. Talk about condensing a movie! After that I went to 8mm sound and finally the godsend.........VHS! and then pretty much the progression of formats you mention.

[The Great Owl]

I made a nice dent in the 40% Off Sale at Barnes & Noble this afternoon.

The Misfits
How the West Was Won (digibook)
All About Eve (digibook)
Bonnie and Clyde (digibook)

I flipped through the Criterion Blu-rays, but nothing caught my fancy. I will not go so far as to say that I'm all caught up with the existing Criterion movies that I would like to own, but there was nothing left that quickened my pulse enough not to wait for the next huge sale.

My region-free Australian Blu-ray of Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959) was in my mailbox when I arrived home. (Sorry, Twilight Time!) It's great to have this one in the collection, because it's a childhood favorite.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

Yeah, Great Owl and his reviews have inspired me to buy many a blu-ray, Criterion and non-Criterion alike.

Originally Posted by jw007

Yes, its official, I blame it on the Owl for making me spend extra money that I wouldn't otherwise on Criterion blu-rays! It's my biggest guilty pleasure yet I don't feel guilty at the same time!

Thanks, y'all! I have always enjoyed spreading the word about good flicks.

Over the past few days, I've been posting (spamming?) a few reviews of Olive Films titles in that thread.


Unrelated, but all of the people posting ideas for upcoming Kurosawa releases should remember Stray Dog. That's my favorite Kurosawa next to Seven Samurai.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Thanks, y'all! I have always enjoyed spreading the word about good flicks.

Over the past few days, I've been posting (spamming?) a few reviews of Olive Films titles in that thread.


Unrelated, but all of the people posting ideas for upcoming Kurosawa releases should remember Stray Dog. That's my favorite Kurosawa next to Seven Samurai.

Stray Dog is utterly fantastic!

[pro-bassoonist]

Review coming up later tonight

Dr. Destructo - Tangerine Dream - Thief Soundtrack - YouTube