The Criterion Collection

[octagon]

Originally Posted by oildude

Wild River. Just do it.

That pops up on TCM fairly regularly but for some reason it's never made it onto my DVR. I need to make a point of it next time.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Two more obscure titles in the collection I have been eying for a while are "White Material" and "Sweetie". I wanted to explore more female directors in the collection and thought this would be a good place to start. I have heard some discussion before about White Material, but I never knew Sweetie was in the collection until yesterday.

Anybody have any thoughts or feelings about these films?

I am a huge fan of Australian cinema, having discovered in the mid-1980s many of the Australian New Wave films then making their way to the U.S. Some of those films are my most wanted on blu-ray, including Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously. I also loved the U.S. films that New Wave pioneers like Weir and Beresford made after they relocated to Hollywood.

Sweetie is another in my long list of Australian cinema favorites. I find it to be a strange and touching film, part black comedy, part horror movie in a sort of house of mirrors, carnival creep show kind of way. There is a growing sense of absurdity and dread that builds as the story plays out and the black comedy gets progressively darker. It has a style to it that reminds me of a David Lynch film, peopled with disturbing and odd characters moving through a slightly off-kilter world that the rest of us are unable to see or experience. Campion never lets the horror elements take over, however. There is a pathos to the characters and events that makes Sweetie a profoundly moving film. The father, in particular, is a kind of sad clown trying to hold the family together while it spins apart under the cumulative weight of years of his mentally unstable daughter Sweetie's destructive influences. She is still his little girl, and he cannot bear to have her put away.

I was especially impressed with the ending. It was not what I expected, and I thought it was perfect. Sweetie is also a gorgeously shot film, the cinematography is expansive and vibrant with glowing color. I recommend Sweetie very highly; it was my first Jane Campion film and led me to seek out another great film of hers, The Piano. I am really hoping Criterion upgrades An Angel at my Table soon.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by octagon

This kind of talk will undoubtedly rankle the 'real movie fans don't care about packaging' crowd but crushable packaging is a legitimate concern.

It's obviously not of primary importance but if nothing else it's a perfectly reasonable tie-breaker (particularly since B&N appears to have fallen back in love with corrugated mailers).

I pay a premium for a Criterion release, that includes decent packaging. Their cheap fragile cardboard boxes are the furthest thing from that as you can get. I expect that crap from a $9.99 cheap TV release, not from a $40.00 MSRP remastered restored package from a respected company.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by oildude

And the fact that you rate A Face in the Crowd so highly means you get a gold star for good work.

I've mentioned it several times in the past. Do I get one too? Seriously, it and Ace in the Hole are two of a kind in showing how the media could be manipulated for personal gain. Maybe what's most impressive about AFitC is the debut of Andy Griffith. For those of us who only knew him as the likable Sheriff Taylor or Matlock this will shatter that image.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I've mentioned it several times in the past. Do I get one too? Seriously, it and Ace in the Hole are two of a kind in showing how the media could be manipulated for personal gain. Maybe what's most impressive about AFitC is the debut of Andy Griffith. For those of us who only knew him as the likable Sheriff Taylor or Matlock this will shatter that image.

The 1983 TV movie, Murder in Coweta County, is another film that showcases a darker role from Andy Griffith. I grew up in a neighboring county, and everyone was familiar with the true story that inspired the film. Johnny Cash played the sheriff who faces off with Griffith's villainous landowner character, and there's nothing cooler than watching the two of them onscreen.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by smoss469

I pay a premium for a Criterion release, that includes decent packaging. Their cheap fragile cardboard boxes are the furthest thing from that as you can get. I expect that crap from a $9.99 cheap TV release, not from a $40.00 MSRP remastered restored package from a respected company.

I think that the Criterion Cardboard packages are very high quality, that they can get damaged in transportation is another matter, i personally had only received one somewhat damaged but it was because i ordered it by itself and it was also a used copy.

Now what it means damaged varies a lot from what i see here, for example some of the packaging shots on criterionforum only have very minor damage that i personally wouldn't care.

[Killer Meteor]

Originally Posted by StLouisRibs

I think it's a bit of a shame there's no secondary option on Foreign Films with multiple dialects to transcribe English speech in the subtitles as well. I watched Europa the other day on DVD and was totally baffled by one scene towards the middle in English where I didn't catch about eight lines of dialogue but had no way to interpret...

It's funny. I have the opposite problems with films like Ip Man 2, where walls of clunky English is subtitled.

But I noticed that Criterion's Zatoichi Meets The One Armed Swordsman uses a source, unlike the old dvds, that has no Japanese titles for the lengthy Mandarin sections, which may be an annoyance to Japanese speakers, (this isn't Criterion's fault)

[polygon1371]

Originally Posted by oildude

I am a huge fan of Australian cinema, having discovered in the mid-1980s many of the Australian New Wave films then making their way to the U.S. Some of those films are my most wanted on blu-ray, including Gallipoli and The Year of Living Dangerously. I also loved the U.S. films that New Wave pioneers like Weir and Beresford made after they relocated to Hollywood.

Sweetie is another in my long list of Australian cinema favorites. I find it to be a strange and touching film, part black comedy, part horror movie in a sort of house of mirrors, carnival creep show kind of way. There is a growing sense of absurdity and dread that builds as the story plays out and the black comedy gets progressively darker. It has a style to it that reminds me of a David Lynch film, peopled with disturbing and odd characters moving through a slightly off-kilter world that the rest of us are unable to see or experience. Campion never lets the horror elements take over, however. There is a pathos to the characters and events that makes Sweetie a profoundly moving film. The father, in particular, is a kind of sad clown trying to hold the family together while it spins apart under the cumulative weight of years of his mentally unstable daughter Sweetie's destructive influences. She is still his little girl, and he cannot bear to have her put away.

I was especially impressed with the ending. It was not what I expected, and I thought it was perfect. Sweetie is also a gorgeously shot film, the cinematography is expansive and vibrant with glowing color. I recommend Sweetie very highly; it was my first Jane Campion film and led me to seek out another great film of hers, The Piano. I am really hoping Criterion upgrades An Angel at my Table soon.

I saw Sweetie years ago on video, I still remember it to this very day. It was such a strange, memorable film. I really should purchase the Criterion and re-live it after all these years.

[Needleman]

Excuse me if this has been asked before. Really pumped that Criterion is putting out Breaking the Waves, extraordinary movie. Does anyone know how Criterion is handling the 4k scan though? Breaking the Waves was edited on video and quite strangely transferred from it's video master back onto 35mm. Is this video-to-film print going to be the one scanned at 4k? I'm really hoping it isn't haha but I know that the old DVD copy I had of it made it palpably clear that it was sourced from a video master. Does anyone know if Breaking the Waves has ever been presented in it's original film (from the negative) form?

[The Great Owl]

I've always wanted to see Robert Siodmak's The Killers, but the out-of-print Criterion DVD is too expensive.



I searched on Amazon just now, though, and pulled the trigger on a region free Hong Kong DVD for $13.

I succumbed to curiosity tonight because I just finished watching Robert Siodmark's 1949 film, Criss Cross, which also stars Burt Lancaster. Criss Cross is outstanding, and I can see now why so many fans of film noir list it as one of their favorites from the genre. It carries the bleak tone of these movies to a new level, and it succeeds thanks to great work from Lancaster, the beautiful Yvonne De Carlo, and the always slimy Dan Duryea (Ministry of Fear, Scarlet Street).

Going off the top of Blu-rays here, I guess, but I'm curious as to whether anyone else here has experience with the region free Hong Kong DVD of The Killers (or the Criterion DVD, for that matter).

[amteidlg]

Just ordered my first: The Game

[demonknight]

How about Forbidden Zone for Criterion? It seems like one of those weird cult movies they like to throw in for some reason.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've always wanted to see Robert Siodmak's The Killers, but the out-of-print Criterion DVD is too expensive.

Criterion still has it for around $32 I believe; it's not listed as OOP on their site either. However, I checked Amazon and it's priced like it's gone. Glad I got mine cheap when I did.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Criterion still has it for around $32 I believe; it's not listed as OOP on their site either. However, I checked Amazon and it's priced like it's gone. Glad I got mine cheap when I did.

Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

I just canceled my Amazon order for the Hong Kong DVD and placed an order on the Criterion website for the DVD. $37 after shipping is steep, but it will be worth it if the DVD arrives in good condition, because this package has the 1946 Siodmak version and the 1964 Don Siegel remake.

[smoss469]

It was the 2nd Criterion release I bought. I justified the higher price because it's 2 movies instead of just 1. Lee Marvin is great in the remake and the original is excellent all around! Even on DVD, some of the dimly lit scenes, especially the scene outside the diner at the beginning are amazing. The just ooze noir.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by smoss469

It was the 2nd Criterion release I bought. I justified the higher price because it's 2 movies instead of just 1. Lee Marvin is great in the remake and the original is excellent all around! Even on DVD, some of the dimly lit scenes, especially the scene outside the diner at the beginning are amazing. The just ooze noir.

Thanks for the review.

Now that I've ordered the DVD, Criterion will probably announce a Blu-ray upgrade just around the corner. If so, then I guess I'll take one for the team.

I always assumed that this DVD was out of print, because it has not been available at normal price on Amazon for a long time. I'm not sure what the deal is, but I hope that my Criterion order goes through.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've always wanted to see Robert Siodmak's The Killers, but the out-of-print Criterion DVD is too expensive.

I'm not sure why you think it's OOP, Owl. And I have no idea why Amazon Marketplace dealers are selling it for such an insane amount. You can get it straight from Criterion for $32.

It's worth the money. Not only does the Criterion have Siodmak's film, but Don Siegel's 1964 version as well. But wait, there's more! There's also a student film version of the story by Andrei Tarkovsky.

I succumbed to curiosity tonight because I just finished watching Robert Siodmark's 1949 film, Criss Cross, which also stars Burt Lancaster. Criss Cross is outstanding, and I can see now why so many fans of film noir list it as one of their favorites from the genre. It carries the bleak tone of these movies to a new level, and it succeeds thanks to great work from Lancaster, the beautiful Yvonne De Carlo, and the always slimy Dan Duryea (Ministry of Fear, Scarlet Street).

Criss Cross is great. It's one of a small number (only four that I know of) of films that Universal issued as noir-branded releases. All of them are corkers. The others are Black Angel (with Dan Duryea), The Big Clock (with Ray Milland) and This Gun for Hire (with Alan Ladd). you can get them for about $10 a pop at Amazon. I was never sure why Universal dropped the line after only four.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

I just canceled my Amazon order for the Hong Kong DVD and placed an order on the Criterion website for the DVD. $37 after shipping is steep, but it will be worth it if the DVD arrives in good condition, because this package has the 1946 Siodmak version and the 1964 Don Siegel remake.

There's bound to be a flash sale along relatively soonish and you probably wouldn't have too much trouble getting over the $50 free shipping requirement.

Then again, bird in the hand and whatnot.

[Infernal King]

Originally Posted by smoss469

I pay a premium for a Criterion release, that includes decent packaging. Their cheap fragile cardboard boxes are the furthest thing from that as you can get. I expect that crap from a $9.99 cheap TV release, not from a $40.00 MSRP remastered restored package from a respected company.

DigiPacks are by far my least favorite type of Blu-ray packaging. I'd be happy if they were never used at all. I'm disappointed Criterion has decided to use them for practically all of their new releases.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I'm not sure why you think it's OOP, Owl. And I have no idea why Amazon Marketplace dealers are selling it for such an insane amount. You can get it straight from Criterion for $32.

It's worth the money. Not only does the Criterion have Siodmak's film, but Don Siegel's 1964 version as well. But wait, there's more! There's also a student film version of the story by Andrei Tarkovsky.

Criss Cross is great. It's one of a small number (only four that I know of) of films that Universal issued as noir-branded releases. All of them are corkers. The others are Black Angel (with Dan Duryea), The Big Clock (with Ray Milland) and This Gun for Hire (with Alan Ladd). you can get them for about $10 a pop at Amazon. I was never sure why Universal dropped the line after only four.

I found out about the Criterion $32 price just after my first post, canceled my order for the import, and ordered from Criterion.

I watched This Gun for Hire earlier today before watching Criss Cross. Those Universal noir DVDs are pretty impressive, and I got mine for less than $5 apiece from third-party Amazon dealers. I'd love for them to hit Blu-ray one day, but I got tired of waiting.

Originally Posted by octagon

There's bound to be a flash sale along relatively soonish and you probably wouldn't have too much trouble getting over the $50 free shipping requirement.

Then again, bird in the hand and whatnot.

The possibility of the Flash Sale came to mind tonight, but the idea of getting The Killers from Criterion for $32 right now instead of paying the $100 that Amazon third-party dealers are asking or paying for an import disc drew me in. If the $32 Criterion DVD is still available on their website when the Flash Sale comes around, then shame on me.

I am, however, planning to order Samuel Fuller's Pickup on South Street if the Flash Sale rolls around.