The Criterion Collection

[GentleGiant]

On an unrelated note, I watched Jean Renoir's French Cancan on blu yesterday and was amazed by the visuals. Simply gorgeous. The "opening night" sequence at the end is breathtaking - so much energy! Great, great stuff.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by Hintermann

Akira Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress is coming to Criterion DF in March. That is a film I have wanted to see for a while.

i preordered a copy at amazon for ~27 USD. same for throne of blood

kurosawa

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I thought Infernal Affairs was pretty dull

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

+1

after seeing infernal affairs there is no reason to ever rewatch deperated for me.

[bwdowiak]

I have a technical question that I have been curious about... why is it that some films have more grain than others? I have come to understand that the 'grainy' look is natural. I have read some articles that included screen shot comparisons and I know all about the DNR process... (well, not all about it, but enough to know the effect it produces and that it really isn't desirable) Nevertheless, I am wondering why it is so? 12 Angry Men has a very grainy look to it, while the film Laura, does not. A link to each of their imdb pages detailing their technical specs is below.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037008/...ef_=tt_dt_spec

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050083/...ef_=tt_dt_spec

they appear to be the same to me outside of their aspect ratios which, would seem to me, should not to have any bearing on grain.

anybody else wonder about this? any ideas as to why it is so?

[ravenus]

^Depends a lot on shooting conditions, film stock used, preservation and usage of the negative/print, film-maker's intent even (perhaps 12 Angry Men is to have a more documentary look while Laura is more glamorous?)

[fahrenheit290]

I think Seventh Seal is another Criterion BD with noticeable grain. My family thought it wasn't as pristine a B&W image as A Night To Remember...but the reputation for the Seventh Seal transfer is pretty high, I think.

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

i preordered a copy at amazon for ~27 USD. same for throne of blood

kurosawa

I have Seven Samurai and Rashomon. Would you recommend Kagemusha/the Criterion presentation? Some of the images I've seen were absolutely stunning, so carefully constructed and lit, so real. I think one shot in particular, the soldiers moving leftward across the screen, the color, "inspired" Spielberg for War Horse. I saw the Coppola-Lucas documentary on the film (I think it's featured on the Criterion disc) and it was fascinating to see the elaborately painted storyboards Kurosawa completed for Kagemusha. And it won Cannes at a critical moment in his career. Just seems in the canon of his works, it gets somewhat slighted (or maybe it just doesn't live up to the samurai works you mentioned).

[Mansinthe]

kagemusha is a great kurosawa movie. the story and each person is done so well. acutally i thought about rewatching it yesterday
but i think you cant go wrong with a kurosawa movie at all.
the making of and audio commentary for kagemusha is pretty good as well.
but you should defintly get the criterion release here since (as far as i know) the EU releases we got over here have only the short international cut.


my first kurosawa was Ran , and even with the underhelming studio canal bluray that movie is one of my favorite color movies of him.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Meek12345

I have seen all Scorsese/DiCaprio collaborations except for The Wolf of Wall Street and all I keep thinking about is one thing...

Please don't use Gimme Shelter on the soundtrack for this film too Marty. I actually love the song, but I think he needs to move on. Can anyone confirm if Scorsese uses it again or not? I'll eventually see the movie no matter what, but I guess I'm feeling nitpicky about the soundtrack right now.

By the way, my favorite Scorsese/DiCaprio collaboration is The Aviator. It doesn't hurt that I love aviation, and the scope of the film is impressive. I believe that Leo deserved an Oscar for that role. However, I haven't seen Jamie Foxx in Ray before, so I can't argue against Foxx getting the Oscar over Leo that year. At least one of my favorite actresses, Cate Blanchett, received the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as Katharine Hepburn.

Also, should I wait for The Wolf of Wall Street to come to blu-ray or is it a must-see theatre experience?

It's a must-see theater experience and there is no Gimme Shelter in the soundtrack from what I recall. Like others have posted, its the audience reaction that really makes it worth seeing on the big screen. Even though maybe the theater I was in on a Saturday night at a 9:45 PM screening was about 20% full, everyone was seemingly whispering or talking to one another throughout the movie because, well, Marty's movies just make you have to talk!

[fahrenheit290]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

kagemusha is a great kurosawa movie. the story and each person is done so well. acutally i thought about rewatching it yesterday
but i think you cant go wrong with a kurosawa movie at all.
the making of and audio commentary for kagemusha is pretty good as well.
but you should defintly get the criterion release here since (as far as i know) the EU releases we got over here have only the short international cut.


my first kurosawa was Ran , and even with the underhelming studio canal bluray that movie is one of my favorite color movies of him.

Kagemusha is definitely a Criterion release I will target in the future. I found the images stunning, and I think Kathryn Bigelow, a painter like Kurosawa, said it was among her favorite movies. I have yet to purchase a 'color' Criterion film-- I may be looking at The Red Shoes to see how technicolor looks on blu-ray for a home theater.

I avoided Ran for the reason you said, general consensus that the StudioCanal version is underwhelming. For the StudioCanal Grand Illusion, I was rather impressed, but now that I made that purchase watch the Criterion DVD get updated this year. I wonder if Ikiru is due to be converted soon...I'd imagine that one may be the most important Kurosawa film yet to see a blu-ray.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by fahrenheit290

For the StudioCanal Grand Illusion, I was rather impressed, but now that I made that purchase watch the Criterion DVD get updated this year.

Not gonna happen in the foreseeable future. Criterion had lost the rights to the film -- the same reason why Criterion's planned Blu-ray of Ran was cancelled. And why their editions of The Third Man and other titles went out of print.

[hoytereden]

I watched George Washington on Hulu last night. I'm not sure how I feel about it. The narration made me think Days of Heaven, one of the plot points Stand By Me, also elements of The Last Picture Show and Killer of Sheep came to mind. I watched it very late at night so a re-watch is in order but I..just..don't..know.

[Ausjdm]

Originally Posted by jw007

It's a must-see theater experience and there is no Gimme Shelter in the soundtrack from what I recall. Like others have posted, its the audience reaction that really makes it worth seeing on the big screen. Even though maybe the theater I was in on a Saturday night at a 9:45 PM screening was about 20% full, everyone was seemingly whispering or talking to one another throughout the movie because, well, Marty's movies just make you have to talk!

I saw it out of town in Florida I think 25% of the audience walked out due to its graphic nature lol. I should of told those folks my rents took me to see casino when I was like 16 haha!

[manunited1]

Do you guys think Hidden Fortress is worth full price or would it be better to wait for a B&N sale?

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by manunited1

Do you guys think Hidden Fortress is worth full price or would it be better to wait for a B&N sale?

Sale, IMO. It was a decent movie, but not one I see re-watching on a regular basis.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

I saw it out of town in Florida I think 25% of the audience walked out due to its graphic nature lol. I should of told those folks my rents took me to see casino when I was like 16 haha!

Yup, you don't take your grandma to see this movie after finishing off the egg nog over Christmas dinner. Just like there are certain women you don't introduce to your mother. This one is not for the faint of heart! And DEFINITELY not for conservative audiences (such as down in parts of Florida).

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yup, you don't take your grandma to see this movie after finishing off the egg nog over Christmas dinner. Just like there are certain women you don't introduce to your mother. This one is not for the faint of heart! And DEFINITELY not for conservative audiences (such as down in parts of Florida).

I just finished watching the Olive Films Blu-ray, Force of Evil. The disc also includes an introduction by Martin Scorsese, who says that this movie was a huge influence on Mean Streets, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas.

It's an older introduction, but I would not be surprised if Force of Evil came to Scorsese's mind a few times while he was working on The Wolf of Wall Street. Both films depict illegal financial dealings as a commentary on the pursuit of an idealized "American Dream."

At any rate, it's a great flick. I'll probably review it after I get a good night's sleep.

To bring this ship into Criterion waters, Force of Evil stars the wonderful Mary Windsor, who had a prominent role in Stanley Kubrick's The Killing.

Fun Fact: Mary Windsor and Elisha Cook Jr. starred as a married couple in The Killing, but did not appear together again in another film until Tobe Hooper's 1979 adaptation of Salem's Lot. When I saw The Killing for the first time, I wondered why the couple looked familiar, and I finally realized when I went through the Criterion supplements and looked on the Internet Movie Database.

[jw007]

I need to check out Force of Evil on blu-ray still. Thanks Owl!

Oh, do you remember After Hours? There was that last scene that took place in the early 80s of the big office room with the camera circling around the tables with computers and office papers. I kept thinking of that as I watched The Wolf of Wall Street.

After Hours. Now there is a movie I wish was available in the Criterion Collection.

[brandon_260]

WCP boxset showed up today. I may try to squeeze in The Housemaid or Touki Bouki before tomorrow's New Years celebration.

I finally got to revisit Frances Ha today, 15 months removed from my initial viewing. In that time frame I discovered many different films, including a bunch of French New Wave titles, so viewing the film with these new points of reference gave me a new appreciation of the film. Also, it's good to see that the film held up, and then some, so far from my first time seeing it. This is definitely one of Criterion's greatest contemporary films in the collection.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

I need to check out Force of Evil on blu-ray still. Thanks Owl!

Oh, do you remember After Hours? There was that last scene that took place in the early 80s of the big office room with the camera circling around the tables with computers and office papers. I kept thinking of that as I watched The Wolf of Wall Street.

After Hours. Now there is a movie I wish was available in the Criterion Collection.

I've never seen After Hours.

Funnily enough, though, one particular extended scene in The Wolf of Wall Street that involves two characters high on quaaludes and a telephone line made me think of Harold Lloyd's Safety Last!. There was a distinct physical comedy aspect to that scene that made me think of the Lloyd silent film. It was an outrageously engaging sequence in a similar way.