The Criterion Collection

[100pr00f]

Originally Posted by smoss469

Is your sig from Step Brothers?

Yup

[biglou114]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

emmanuel lubezki finally got an award! seriously, how did he lose so many times, I mean Hugo beat Tree of Life... how!?



I really am not a fan of the Oscars, they are over rated and often mess up on who they award too, plus you see all the non film buffs crying cause leo hasn't won, yet they ignore people like Lubezki etc lol



This is why I like Cannes etc, they seem to really appreciate every film even if they don't win, and they really celebrate and award those who are deserving.



Hell, look at Lars, he's won big at Canne and so has most his leading ladies (well deserved) yet he will never be appreciated by the masses or at oscars it seems (except for dancer and breaking which were at oscars, yet lost :/)



Also glad to see Her got some recognition as it was superb.

While it's nice that Lubezki did win, I do need to say that it is a damn shame that Roger Deakins still hasn't won a statue yet, (But I don't think he deserved it this year) as the man consistently does incredible work. Now he's an 11 time Oscar loser.

[smoss469]

Ahhh the joys of being snowed in. The constant concern about losing power, the hope that no one drives off the road through our fence.

On the upside, work is closed so I have the day free to get through some of the flash sale purchases I received Saturday. The downside is I doubt I'll be receiving order #2 due to the weather.

Oh well, no rush

Bring on The Lady Vanishes!!

[The Great Owl]

I watched Roman Polanski's Tess last night instead of watching the Academy Awards. I'm glad that I did, because Tess is a superb addition to the Collection, and it's one of the most beautiful color transfers that I've seen from Criterion. Don't wait until wedding night to mention the secrets from your past, people!

I read about the Academy Award winners this morning, though. I'm glad that 12 Years a Slave won.

I have mixed feelings about Gravity winning the Cinematography award, because my personal concept of innovative cinematography revolves around a cinematographer's ability to create beauty out of tangible settings. I do have a sincere appreciation of what was done for Gravity in cinematographic terms, though, after watching the supplementary features of the Blu-ray last week.

[Member-167298]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I have mixed feelings about Gravity winning the Cinematography award, because my personal concept of innovative cinematography revolves around a cinematographer's ability to create beauty out of tangible settings. I do have a sincere appreciation of what was done for Gravity in cinematographic terms, though, after watching the supplementary features of the Blu-ray last week.

Haha! I work at a performing arts high school and just had a debate with an A/V teacher I work with about this!

I think working with green screens is different than "normal" cinematography but it has become a 21st century reality of the medium. Great efforts should be recognized and rewarded regardless of the setting.

[ShellOilJunior]

Hitler edged out Stalin for World's "Greatest" Fascist Dictator. Mussolini was a distant third.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Watched it for the first time on TCM the other night. How Burton never won an Oscar either for this or Virginia Woolf is unfathomable.* I lost my way a little towards the end but a rewatch should fix that.


*likewise overlooking Peter O'Toole 8 times!

Yeah, there is a lot going on, especially right at the end. Just give it another try, and pay attention to the first 15 or so, and then the last 30. It really does some nice stuff right at the end, and really brings the movie to quite a nice end.

And yeah... so many people get overlooked too many times... Martin Scorsese!

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold is one of my top five Criterion transfers, strictly in terms of picture quality, but it's also one of my favorite titles across the board. I'm so glad that I double-dipped on this one and upgraded my old Criterion DVD.

I read the John Le Carre novel before watching the DVD years ago, but the movie can be enjoyed just as well without doing so.

After watchign the movie, I want to go back and read the books. I really did lvoe the movie, but the wife came home just after I finished it so I didn't get a chance to really talk about the film.

You are right on there Owl, the movie looks amazing! I really couldn't believe how good it looked and sounded. Richard Burton is superior in this, and can be a cold as anyone, then turn around and be so caring in the next scene.

It was a pure pleasure to watch, and I see myself enjoying the movie for years to come.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by jayembee

That was me. The quick and dirty list is at Wikipedia. You can get more detail on titles you might be interested in at the LaserDisc Database.

Thanks for the link.. and thanks for the LD! I may be trolling ebay for more later. Really looking for some LDs for movies that are OOP on dvd and blu-ray. Not sure what I want, but the links will help. Thanks for the help!

[monorail91]

Watched Blue is the Warmest Color this past weekend! I thought it was really good. Not quite as emotionally moving as Weekend but I thought Blue was a strong coming-of-age story.

[ShellOilJunior]

Persona is available at Family Video for $23.99 (+ $1.99 Shipping).

http://www.familyvideo.com/catalog/p...ucts_id=428936

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

That's the key thing in the film that I think some here maybe were missing or overlooked: the relationship between Jules and Jim is the paramount one in the film, even if Catherine is the orbital catalyst for the narrative. This is one of the best films about friendship that I've ever seen, particularly male friendship, and I see that and memory as the major themes of the film (notice the use of freeze frames). What strikes me the most when watching Jules et Jim is not only its style, which is as radical as Truffaut got in this regard, but the maturity with which at age 29 Truffaut coaxed the material.

Could not agree more. The movie is not about Catherine, she plays a major role, but it's about friendship, and the loyalty they have to each other. it's weird to say because of what happens, but they have this undying loyalty. And the use of the freeze frames was just amzing, and perfect. It's all about those moments in time. I relived many of my freeze frame moments while watching the film. Truffaut was brilliant at such a "young" age. And watching the interview with him concerning his reading of the book, you just get the feel of the respect he had for the material, the man, and the relationship.

It really was an amazing movie.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

emmanuel lubezki finally got an award! seriously, how did he lose so many times, I mean Hugo beat Tree of Life... how!?

Because more of the Academy members who voted thought that Hugo's cinematographer was better.

I really am not a fan of the Oscars, they are over rated and often mess up on who they award too

The thing people don't understand about the Oscars is that they aren't awarded by some secret cabal with a mysterious agenda. With some exceptions, the nominations in each category are made by Academy members who work in those professions, i.e. directors nominate for Best Direction, editors nominate for Best Editing, actors nominate for the four acting categories, and so on. Once the final ballot is established, all of the members vote to decided the winners.

The Academy voters are people, just like you and me and that guy over there in the corner. And they have their opinions, just like you and me and that guy over there in the corner. The Oscars are nothing more than the consensus of opinion of the voting membership, and the rest of us are free to agree or disagree with the results.

It's like American Presidential elections. The winner isn't necessarily the best man for the job -- and often the best man for the job isn't even on the ballot -- but is the one that the most people think should win.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Because more of the Academy members who voted thought that Hugo's cinematographer was better.



The thing people don't understand about the Oscars is that they aren't awarded by some secret cabal with a mysterious agenda. With some exceptions, the nominations in each category are made by Academy members who work in those professions, i.e. directors nominate for Best Direction, editors nominate for Best Editing, actors nominate for the four acting categories, and so on. Once the final ballot is established, all of the members vote to decided the winners.

The Academy voters are people, just like you and me and that guy over there in the corner. And they have their opinions, just like you and me and that guy over there in the corner. The Oscars are nothing more than the consensus of opinion of the voting membership, and the rest of us are free to agree or disagree with the results.

It's like American Presidential elections. The winner isn't necessarily the best man for the job -- and often the best man for the job isn't even on the ballot -- but is the one that the most people think should win.

For some reason I always thought the membership of the Academy was secret, seems not - http://www.oscars.org/academy/members/members.html Not a full list but gives you an idea of the scope of membership.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by TylerScruggs

Legit question: Why are people buying this barebones release of Blue is the Warmest Color when the film is on Netflix and a better release is on the way?

Originally Posted by TylerScruggs

But even if you paid the 8 dollars for 1 month of Netflix just to watch Blue, that's still like a third of the price?

Am I missing something here? I feel like everyone is saying they'll resell the film when the new release comes around but who would want it?

considering how nit-picky most everyone on this thread is (myself included) regarding temporary anomalies in our high def transfers, it makes sense to be p'd off when the stream quality is even a smidgen less than perfect HD. I doubt that I am the only one who gets some percentage of the movie in hi-def and some of the movie in something that looks like it was shot on an iPhone. ..and I have a legit cable TV and internet provider and am living in a major city.

as for who would want the edition w/o the special features, I am likely to be hitting up someone here to sell me their copy in a few months or however soon the bigger, better edition comes out.

[The Great Owl]

I might watch Tess again tonight for the second night in a row. It's a long film, but it goes by in a flash. If I had more time, I would make a double feature night of Tess and Malick's Days of Heaven, because both films are superb at mixing idyllic settings with intense emotional turmoil. Nastassja Kinski is a phenomenon in this movie, and Roman Polanski's camera adores her at every step along the story.

I may write a User Review later on for Tess, but I'm not sure. It's one of those Collection titles, like the Three Colors Trilogy, that I thoroughly enjoy, but lack the ability to put into words why I enjoy it. It's just there, and it's beautiful.

[bwdowiak]

I, too, chose to watch a Criterion film in lieu of the Oscars although I am glad I caught Jared Leto's acceptance speech before giving Breathless a spin in the disc player. Anyway, yeah.. Breathless.. Wonderful. The two of them could have spoke about nothing for the entire duration of the film in the hotel room and I still would have loved it. The last time I saw it was probably close to 15 years ago, so I remembered next to nothing. Seeing it as a younger man, all the style was lost on me - went right over my head. I didn't give much thought to Godard's typical poetry that comes through the dialogue either. tons of re-watchability. and of course, the film looks amazing in high-def. One of my favorites in the CC!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I, too, chose to watch a Criterion film in lieu of the Oscars although I am glad I caught Jared Leto's acceptance speech before giving Breathless a spin in the disc player. Anyway, yeah.. Breathless.. Wonderful. The two of them could have spoke about nothing for the entire duration of the film in the hotel room and I still would have loved it. The last time I saw it was probably close to 15 years ago, so I remembered next to nothing. Seeing it as a younger man, all the style was lost on me - went right over my head. I didn't give much thought to Godard's typical poetry that comes through the dialogue either. tons of re-watchability. and of course, the film looks amazing in high-def. One of my favorites in the CC!

I'm pumped up about the 35mm theatrical showing of Breathless here in Atlanta next Tuesday. I'm just as excited about it as I am about seeing Seven Samurai at the theater tomorrow night. Two epic Tuesdays in a row.

Breathless has such an incredible rhythm to it that keeps me enthralled.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm pumped up about the 35mm theatrical showing of Breathless here in Atlanta next Tuesday. I'm just as excited about it as I am about seeing Seven Samurai at the theater tomorrow night. Two epic Tuesdays in a row.

Breathless has such an incredible rhythm to it that keeps me enthralled.

I'm sure the first time that I saw it, I didn't know my noir from my blanc , so I did not recall that it was kind of noir-ish. I like the jazz riff that plays over and over in the film.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I'm sure the first time that I saw it, I didn't know my noir from my blanc , so I did not recall that it was kind of noir-ish. I like the jazz riff that plays over and over in the film.

Breathless definitely takes some cues from American film noir, although I would not classify it as such. It's a cool noir-edged French new wave film, I suppose. The jazz really injects a lively vibe into the story, just as Miles Davis's score makes Malle's Elevator to the Gallows a cooler film.