The Criterion Collection

[Ausjdm]

Originally Posted by spanky87

DJ Qualls was so good in A Man Escaped.

I'm lost? The guy from hustle and flow huh?

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by StLouisRibs

It's from the most frequently seen poster of Z...

(which I'll cross my fingers will be announced for an upgrade on Wednesday...)

Oh! It's been years since I have seen that movie! Thanks for the answer

I could not help but going back to the Borders' well yesterday, this time for 8/12 and CHUNGKING EXPRESS.

And I am afraid I am going to give up to my weaker side and visit it once again today to get their only copy of PIERROT LE FOU. I must confess Godard is not that much of an acquired taste for me yet, but it certainly looks gorgeous, and I don't want to be searching for it when this OOP title really disappears.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

I'm questioning even watching Empire of Passion in the future. Is it better???

yes empire of passion is a simple ghost story with way less sex..
that one was made for the "western audience"

[Yami]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

None of these films appear on the WCF's list of restored films, so don't think these films will end up in the WCF collections. A number of them have recently been released on blu in Poland. Every finger and toe I own is crossed that at least some of these get released by our favorite label.

Yeah, they weren't restore by WCF but KinoRP

[TylerScruggs]

Weird question: are you supposed to blind buy Criterions? Like, is that part of the expirence? I've only been buying ones that I have an overt familiarity with but I feel like one's not supposed to watch them and consider picking them up, but experience the whole thing with the booklet and the 'new' art one's discovered.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

[StLouisRibs]

Originally Posted by TylerScruggs

Weird question: are you supposed to blind buy Criterions? Like, is that part of the expirence? I've only been buying ones that I have an overt familiarity with but I feel like one's not supposed to watch them and consider picking them up, but experience the whole thing with the booklet and the 'new' art one's discovered.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

You're not supposed to "do" anything - whatever you're most comfortable with!

I myself spend most of my time blind buying because I feel that regardless of what I think of the film almost everything Criterion puts out is worth revisiting for some greater meaning at a later point...

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by TylerScruggs

Weird question: are you supposed to blind buy Criterions? Like, is that part of the expirence? I've only been buying ones that I have an overt familiarity with but I feel like one's not supposed to watch them and consider picking them up, but experience the whole thing with the booklet and the 'new' art one's discovered.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

It's not a question of what one is supposed to do or not.

Those of us who blind-buy Criterions do so because our experience has been that, more often than not, the movies that Criterion releases are well worth watching. So if they release something we're not familiar with, we're more likely to give it a shot.

I started blind-buying Criterions back in their laserdisc days, and in doing so, I've considerably expanded the kinds of films that I watch, and have fallen in love with the works of several notable filmmakers that I had not been familiar with before.

[SlickDamian]

Not fully Criterion related, but I had a very long Christmas break, and my girl and I decided to watch as many films as possible. Our varied list for the holiday blu-ray viewings (all first time blu-ray watches) include:

Lawrence of Arabia
Unforgiven
Silver Linings Playbook
Role Models
Blazing Saddles
Sweet Smell of Success
The Royal Tenenbaums
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Killing Them Softly
Mud
Jack Reacher

And now we're going to start Band of Brothers, and planning on watching The Place Beyond the Pines tonight. In Criterion releases, I can't wait for Thief and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

[The Great Owl]

I just reserved Rififi, Thief, and Throne of Blood for pickup at Barnes & Noble. I'll go by there tomorrow on payday to grab them. Woo hoo! Looking forward to a good triple feature this weekend.

[The Great Owl]

Oh, and....

I also ordered a "Used - Like New" copy of the Criterion Blu-ray of The Third Man from Amazon just now for $75.99 ($79.98 after shipping).

*wipes brow*

The seller had extremely favorable reviews for other transactions, so I decided to take my chances.

This will be the most expensive Blu-ray that I've ever purchased, but it's also one of my absolute favorite movies, and the StudioCanal Blu-ray that I watched last month whet my appetite to see an even better presentation.

Thanks to the fellow thread regular who tipped me off to this sale!

[ccg1978]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Oh, and....

I also ordered a "Used - Like New" copy of the Criterion Blu-ray of The Third Man from Amazon just now for $75.99 ($79.98 after shipping).

*wipes brow*

The seller had extremely favorable reviews for other transactions, so I decided to take my chances.

This will be the most expensive Blu-ray that I've ever purchased, but it's also one of my absolute favorite movies, and the StudioCanal Blu-ray that I watched last month whet my appetite to see an even better presentation.

Thanks to the fellow thread regular who tipped me off to this sale!

Sweet! I don't see all the hype behind the film but maybe a few more viewings will change that!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ccg1978

Sweet! I don't see all the hype behind the film but maybe a few more viewings will change that!

The Third Man is one of the most visually spectacular movies that I've ever seen, and I always have to rewind the street scenes and sewer chase scenes during the final half when I revisit the film.

I also love how the story plays out. Classic film noir movies, at their core, are about doing the right thing, even if the final result is not pleasant. That's all I'll say, plotwise, but it's an interesting story where all of the major characters have postwar psychological scars of some form or fashion. This movie is sort of like a darker twin of Casablanca, because it gives us a more extensive view of the war-torn aftermath suffered by those in Europe.

I'm going to keep my StudioCanal Blu-ray, because of the cool extras on that version, but I'll probably get some good money out of my Criterion DVD to soften the blow of this purchase.

[fahrenheit290]

I'm very interested to hear what you think about the Criterion Blu-ray. Every time I have watched The Third Man the visual quality hasn't been great. I saw it on DVD the first time, which didn't have great image clarity or sound. And most recently on TCM, which unfortunately doesn't show films in HD. Looking at stills on DVD Beaver, the Criterion BD looks like the most impressive presentation, and I imagine will be a far superior viewing experience than most other versions of the film.

[shane01]

Originally Posted by TylerScruggs

Weird question: are you supposed to blind buy Criterions? Like, is that part of the expirence? I've only been buying ones that I have an overt familiarity with but I feel like one's not supposed to watch them and consider picking them up, but experience the whole thing with the booklet and the 'new' art one's discovered.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Everyone has different reasons for buying any movie, really. Criterion fans are, to me, like the opposite of the "Day One" buyers who buy three or four different versions of the latest blockbuster to have the steel books, exclusives, toys, promos, giveaways, etc. Some Criterion fans enjoy their new additions as coveted pieces of art and share the same respect Criterion has for the movies.

As for blind buying Criterions, it's not very different from blind buying any other movie (but in dollars, I'd say at least 15). Except Criterion movies are typically never "bad," which makes the blind buying process much better.

[Nielsb90]

Found a used copy of Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence for sale locally. Thinking of blind buying it as I am a big fan of war movies. Is this a dark/brutal movie or is it more in the vein of classic movies like "Bridge on the River Kwai"? Hope you understand the question.

[PowellPressburger]

got my amazon order of Thief and Rififi today.

Anyone else kind of hate the way the back cover paper is usually more bunched up crimped on these new dual layer cases? It just looks kind of cheap. I know others had to notice.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by fahrenheit290

I'm very interested to hear what you think about the Criterion Blu-ray. Every time I have watched The Third Man the visual quality hasn't been great. I saw it on DVD the first time, which didn't have great image clarity or sound. And most recently on TCM, which unfortunately doesn't show films in HD. Looking at stills on DVD Beaver, the Criterion BD looks like the most impressive presentation, and I imagine will be a far superior viewing experience than most other versions of the film.

I'll definitely chime in when I receive the Criterion Blu-ray of The Third Man, hopefully in a few days.

The StudioCanal Blu-ray is not a bad disc, in my opinion, and it's well worth the inexpensive price. If I did not hold the movie in such high esteem, I'd be content to stick with the StudioCanal edition.

Of course, Criterion will probably secure rights to these movies this week since I made this purchase today, so I'll be taking one for the team. That's alright, though.

[JJJ225]

Originally Posted by TylerScruggs

Weird question: are you supposed to blind buy Criterions? Like, is that part of the expirence? I've only been buying ones that I have an overt familiarity with but I feel like one's not supposed to watch them and consider picking them up, but experience the whole thing with the booklet and the 'new' art one's discovered.

I feel more comfortable blind buying Criterions than anything else. Besides the fact I admire what they do, can always expect a good product, and the interesting variety of films, their resale value is very high. So if you don't like it, you can generally get pretty close to what you paid for it.

[willieconway]

Originally Posted by TylerScruggs

Weird question: are you supposed to blind buy Criterions? Like, is that part of the expirence? I've only been buying ones that I have an overt familiarity with but I feel like one's not supposed to watch them and consider picking them up, but experience the whole thing with the booklet and the 'new' art one's discovered.

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

I do blind-buy Criterions but I mostly stay within a rather limited range, English-language movies from the 70s to the 90s. The best thing for me is that I can always count on stellar PQ and AQ from Criterion. I'm not interested in extras but for those that are, I'd imagine that a Criterion blind-buy rarely disappoints in that area either.