The Criterion Collection

[Polaroid]

Not sure if this has been discussed but found this on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Criterion-Collection-Hunter-Blu-ray-Import/dp/B00HVOFPD0/ref=sr_1_306?ie=UTF8&qid=1396440408&sr=8-306&keywords=criterion+bluray

Says its available on 8th april? Is Criterions secretly repackaging this or what?

The current version on Amazon is £40 second hand o_O I got the older version and the packaging is terrible :/

[Hintermann]

Originally Posted by DenOfEarth

Is this a BD release of Gandahar? I only have the (official) DVD.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Federico Fellini's 8½ was spectacular on a big theater screen tonight. Three friends and I were there for the opening lecture by an Emory University professor and for some of the Q&A after the film. I'm a little closer to comprehending this visually-striking somewhat-autobiographical musing this time around, although I prefer to take in the movie at face value instead of overanalyzing. It's a great story about filmmaking in general, lack of focus, and burnout. I've never worked in film (other than my one day in the sun as a movie extra), but I can relate to the burnout aspects of the story.

This showing of 8½ was advertised as a new digital restoration, meaning that it might well have been the recent 50th anniversary restoration. I've always thought of 8½ as one of Criterion's best presentations of a black-and-white film, but the images took on a new resonance in a theater.

I've been quite fortunate to have seen Seven Samurai, Breathless, Solaris, and 8½ at these Tuesday Classics showings. Catch them on a big screen if you have a chance.

Glad to hear it was a very rewarding experience.

I have this love-hate relationship with 8½. Part of me really enjoys it, especially the first 45 minutes, but then along the way I don't know where I am, thus being confused as to what is going on.

It's probably the only film that I've seen that I can't make some concrete thing out pre-, post-, or during viewing.

Originally Posted by Fellini912

We need more Buñuel blu rays on Criterion. With about the same amount for Tarkovsky films and Robert Bresson films it is slowly becoming a frustrating affair.

No one has mentioned Buñuel for awhile. I highly recommend his masterpiece short film Un Chien Andalou, Phantom Liberty and Belle de Jour (although The Exterminating Angel is fantastic, I prefer the above films) He is truly a surrealist.

It is because of Buñuel and Jodorowsky that I sold all my Lynch films a long time ago.

Belle de Jour was the first foreign film that I saw and not only did I realize how phenomenal foreign films were, but I was also blown away by how phenomenal the story was. I will agree with you on Un Chien Andalou. I saw it on the UK Blu-ray, along with L'Age d'Or (which I wasn't a huge fan of), and I thought it was really neat. Definitely recommended! I also have the Blu-rays of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise and Tristana and I think both films are excellent. There's no denying how great of a director he is, so I definitely hope we see more of him, as well!

The only Jodorowsky film that I saw was Santa Sangre and as a whole, I was honestly disappointed with it. I believe the third act is one of the closest things out there to being a masterpiece, but I found the first two acts to be rather drawn out.

[tenia]

Originally Posted by Undeadcow

I think cheesy is a good way to describe Kuroneko; I found it to be a disappointing film. It might have some camp value but not very scary. Maybe your mileage would vary.

I found it to be actually the complete opposite of cheesy. It's a beautifully designed movie, with a point of sad melancholy in it. While it is a bit slow, I don't think it has anything close to "cheesy" (if, by cheesy, you'd mean something like The Blob with McQueen, which is the kind of movie I associate with cheesy).

I also don't think its aim is to be scary at all. If you were looking for a scary movie, indeed, I'd understand you ended up disappointed.

Originally Posted by joie

Every time I've checked library DVDs with more than one disc, the supplements disc is relatively unscathed, while the feature disc is scratched up. I concluded that there isn' t much interest in the supplements.

It's an assumption to think it's aiming to libraries as its core audience.
However, I'm quite sure Criterion still has a good chunk of DVD-only consumers, to who this will looked as an half-assed DVD-only release.

It will be for them like "Yay, finally, I don't have to pay the price of a BD-release anymore to get just the DVD ! " shortly followed by "Hey ! WTF ?! Where did the extras and the booklet go ? "

[fahrenheit290]

Originally Posted by bdmartin134

Love Hulu..
First viewing of Viridiana and The Virgin Spring last night..
Not really sure how I feel yet about Viridiana. I thought it was fine, and interesting themes that have been copied for awhile now, but I'm sure a lot of finer detail or specifis went slightly over my head.
The Virgin Spring was awesome. Loved the cinematography and Max Von Sydow was so good. Knocking some more Bergman out later in the week. Next up is Summer Interlude and Autumn Sonata.
From Bunuel, I think I'm going with The Exterminating Angel next.

I loved Virgin Spring when I saw it. Have you seen Wild Strawberries? I watched that one for the first time last week and really enjoyed it---it was wonderfully directed and Victor Sjostrom (the lead actor) gave a fantastic performance. I'd highly recommend it.

I've seen many Criterions/foreign classics now over the past few weeks, including:
non-criterion
- The Edge of Heaven -- this was fantastic, from 2007, great Turkish film, won screenplay at Cannes
- La Dolce Vita -- Palme winner. Interesting what people have said about 8 1/2. Have you seen Dolce Vita? How would you compare the two? Dolce Vita was LONG, though there were some amazing scenes. I definitely found La Strada more enjoyable and more emotional, but it's a completely different film/part of Fellini's career.
- Farewell, My Concubine -- another long one, but a searing, often disturbing story coinciding with political upheaval in China. Great cinematography. Won Palme.

- Last Year at Marienbad -- I'm still digesting this one...I will most definitely have to watch it again and again and again.
- The Spy Who Came in From the Cold -- fantastic black and white photography, and what an ending!
- Days of Heaven -- beautiful photography, the story left me wanting, but it was like a fable/Bonnie and Clyde-esque. The actress who played Linda gave such a unique performance.
- Au Revoir Les Enfants -- probably my favorite of the bunch. This is a very accessible foreign film for people hesitant to read subtitles. I was blown away by the storytelling and the powerful ending...how did this not win the Oscar for Foreign Language Film?

[LPMA]

Originally Posted by fahrenheit290

- Last Year at Marienbad -- I'm still digesting this one...I will most definitely have to watch it again and again and again.

That one actually made me physically ill. Like completely disoriented. What a mind****.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Glad to hear it was a very rewarding experience.

I have this love-hate relationship with 8½. Part of me really enjoys it, especially the first 45 minutes, but then along the way I don't know where I am, thus being confused as to what is going on.

It's probably the only film that I've seen that I can't make some concrete thing out pre-, post-, or during viewing.



Belle de Jour was the first foreign film that I saw and not only did I realize how phenomenal foreign films were, but I was also blown away by how phenomenal the story was. I will agree with you on Un Chien Andalou. I saw it on the UK Blu-ray, along with L'Age d'Or (which I wasn't a huge fan of), and I thought it was really neat. Definitely recommended! I also have the Blu-rays of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise and Tristana and I think both films are excellent. There's no denying how great of a director he is, so I definitely hope we see more of him, as well!

The only Jodorowsky film that I saw was Santa Sangre and as a whole, I was honestly disappointed with it. I believe the third act is one of the closest things out there to being a masterpiece, but I found the first two acts to be rather drawn out.

I am glad you enjoyed Buñuel's films. If you like The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise, you will enjoy it's sister film Phantom Liberty; it is filled with some great imagery and maintains the same chaotic structure. Since criterion released Belle de Jour, I have been waiting for more of his films to be released by criterion on blu-ray.

El Topo and The Holy Mountain are Jodorowsky's undisputed masterpieces. I would check one of these films before you give a final judgement on Jodorowsky. Santa Sangre is a great film, in my opinion, but does not reach the heights of fore mention films.

By the way, Jodorowsky's Dune documentary will soon be out on blu-ray (by the end of this year) and if you live in NY city or LA you might still catch it in theaters.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

I am glad you enjoyed Buñuel's films. If you like The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise, you will enjoy it's sister film Phantom Liberty; it is filled with some great imagery and maintains the same chaotic structure. Since criterion released Belle de Jour, I have been waiting for more of his films to be released by criterion on blu-ray.

El Topo and The Holy Mountain are Jodorowsky's undisputed masterpieces. I would check one of these films before you give a final judgement on Jodorowsky. Santa Sangre is a great film, in my opinion, but does not reach the heights of fore mention films.

By the way, Jodorowsky's Dune documentary will soon be out on blu-ray (by the end of this year) and if you live in NY city or LA you might still catch it in theaters.

Thanks for the information! One of my art house theaters in the city will be getting The Dance of Reality in a few months.

I actually used to own both El Topo and The Holy Mountain, but I had sold them to someone before watching them. I'm curious if they will end up being re-released as they have gone OOP.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Thanks for the information! One of my art house theaters in the city will be getting The Dance of Reality in a few months.

I actually used to own both El Topo and The Holy Mountain, but I had sold them to someone before watching them. I'm curious if they will end up being re-released as they have gone OOP.

You are very lucky, I would love to watch his new movie The Dance of Reality. I have read his premise to the film about a year ago and it sounds great.

I did not realize that his blu ray films have gone OOP. Sony will release his documentary, maybe they have the rights (this is assumption) or the original company will make a new transfer of the film, that would be the best case scenario.

[bwdowiak]

I picked up Everlasting Moments and Belle de Jour from the library today. the latter was *somewhat* on my radar.. EM was not. so based on recent posts, I'll expand my horizons. looking fwd to giving these two a try!

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

You are very lucky, I would love to watch his new movie The Dance of Reality. I have read his premise to the film about a year ago and it sounds great.

I did not realize that his blu ray films have gone OOP. Sony will release his documentary, maybe they have the rights (this is assumption) or the original company will make a new transfer of the film, that would be the best case scenario.

I will more than likely go and see it.

The cool thing about my art house theater is that they get things that people request. Based off of a FaceBook status, I'm pretty sure they will be getting the restored version of Godzilla (1954) in a few months (I haven't seen it yet) and I have also encouraged them to try to get the newly restored version of L'Avventura that's been playing around New York and Los Angeles.

[bdmartin134]

Originally Posted by fahrenheit290

I loved Virgin Spring when I saw it. Have you seen Wild Strawberries? I watched that one for the first time last week and really enjoyed it---it was wonderfully directed and Victor Sjostrom (the lead actor) gave a fantastic performance. I'd highly recommend it.

I've seen many Criterions/foreign classics now over the past few weeks, including:
non-criterion
- The Edge of Heaven -- this was fantastic, from 2007, great Turkish film, won screenplay at Cannes
- La Dolce Vita -- Palme winner. Interesting what people have said about 8 1/2. Have you seen Dolce Vita? How would you compare the two? Dolce Vita was LONG, though there were some amazing scenes. I definitely found La Strada more enjoyable and more emotional, but it's a completely different film/part of Fellini's career.
- Farewell, My Concubine -- another long one, but a searing, often disturbing story coinciding with political upheaval in China. Great cinematography. Won Palme.

- Last Year at Marienbad -- I'm still digesting this one...I will most definitely have to watch it again and again and again.
- The Spy Who Came in From the Cold -- fantastic black and white photography, and what an ending!
- Days of Heaven -- beautiful photography, the story left me wanting, but it was like a fable/Bonnie and Clyde-esque. The actress who played Linda gave such a unique performance.
- Au Revoir Les Enfants -- probably my favorite of the bunch. This is a very accessible foreign film for people hesitant to read subtitles. I was blown away by the storytelling and the powerful ending...how did this not win the Oscar for Foreign Language Film?

Yes, I've seen Wild Strawberries, but definitely need to rewatch that one. I wasn't transcended on my first viewing like I wanted to, but it was years ago. I keep hearing about Marienbad, so that's on my radar to watch soon… and yes, La Dolce Vita is long. I think it's a little too long for my taste, by the end I didn't care for any of it.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Thanks for the information! One of my art house theaters in the city will be getting The Dance of Reality in a few months.

Which theater, iScottie... Avon or Cable Car? Unless Avon has recently updated it's hard, uncomfortable seating in the last 20+ years I probably won't go there. Luckily, The Grand Budapest Hotel is playing at other larger cinemas 'cause I was dreading on having to go to the Avon to see it. Cable Car isn't too bad... at least, they have couches for some of the seating. I did go see Nymph()maniac there the first Friday night it played.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by ccfixx

Which theater, iScottie... Avon or Cable Car? Unless Avon has recently updated it's hard, uncomfortable seating in the last 20+ years I probably won't go there. Luckily, The Grand Budapest Hotel is playing at other larger cinemas 'cause I was dreading on having to go to the Avon to see it. Cable Car isn't too bad... at least, they have couches for some of the seating. I did go see Nymph()maniac there the first Friday night it played.

Cable Car

I don't go up to the city too often, but I was lucky enough to catch both Blue Is The Warmest Color and The Hunt there over the past year. I would have gone up to see Nymphomaniac but it was more convenient for me to watch it On Demand at home.

[Colkurtz88]

I got a question for everyone. I bought It's a MAD MAD MAD MAD World during the criterion flash sale in February. I just now was able to try and watch it. Well, during the 2nd half of the movie there was alot of freezing and skipping. I just sent an email to see if I can return it. Has anybody had any issues exchanging defective dics for new ones? Also, what about the Criterions that I buy from Barnes and Nobles? I have alot that I bought in the past that I have not got around to watching yet.If I watch them now and I notice the same issues such as skipping or freezing, I cannot take it back to Barnes and Noble because it's past the time period to return/exchange. Would Criterion be able to replace my disc? I just don't want to be caught with defective discs, naturally.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

I am glad you enjoyed Buñuel's films. If you like The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoise, you will enjoy it's sister film Phantom Liberty; it is filled with some great imagery and maintains the same chaotic structure. Since criterion released Belle de Jour, I have been waiting for more of his films to be released by criterion on blu-ray.

El Topo and The Holy Mountain are Jodorowsky's undisputed masterpieces. I would check one of these films before you give a final judgement on Jodorowsky. Santa Sangre is a great film, in my opinion, but does not reach the heights of fore mention films.

By the way, Jodorowsky's Dune documentary will soon be out on blu-ray (by the end of this year) and if you live in NY city or LA you might still catch it in theaters.

Santa Sangre >> Mulholland Dr though, no?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Colkurtz88

I got a question for everyone. I bought It's a MAD MAD MAD MAD World during the criterion flash sale in February. I just now was able to try and watch it. Well, during the 2nd half of the movie there was alot of freezing and skipping. I just sent an email to see if I can return it. Has anybody had any issues exchanging defective dics for new ones? Also, what about the Criterions that I buy from Barnes and Nobles? I have alot that I bought in the past that I have not got around to watching yet.If I watch them now and I notice the same issues such as skipping or freezing, I cannot take it back to Barnes and Noble because it's past the time period to return/exchange. Would Criterion be able to replace my disc? I just don't want to be caught with defective discs, naturally.

Criterion is good about replacing faulty discs. If you emailed them, then they'll probably take care of you. It may take a few weeks, but it should happen.

They replaced my first printing of the Three Colors: White disc within a couple of weeks after my email.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by Colkurtz88

I got a question for everyone. I bought It's a MAD MAD MAD MAD World during the criterion flash sale in February. I just now was able to try and watch it. Well, during the 2nd half of the movie there was alot of freezing and skipping. I just sent an email to see if I can return it. Has anybody had any issues exchanging defective dics for new ones? Also, what about the Criterions that I buy from Barnes and Nobles? I have alot that I bought in the past that I have not got around to watching yet.If I watch them now and I notice the same issues such as skipping or freezing, I cannot take it back to Barnes and Noble because it's past the time period to return/exchange. Would Criterion be able to replace my disc? I just don't want to be caught with defective discs, naturally.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Criterion is good about replacing faulty discs. If you emailed them, then they'll probably take care of you. It may take a few weeks, but it should happen.

They replaced my first printing of the Three Colors: White disc within a couple of weeks after my email.

Sorry to hear that

I have twice been in contact with Customer Service @ Criterion, each time dealing with a lady called Claire and she has been great.

First resulted in a $10 gift voucher
Second resulted in new packaging for The Great Beauty being sent.

orders@criterion.com is the address I used.

Good luck

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

Santa Sangre >> Mulholland Dr though, no?

If you are being sincere, I totally agree.

You are my new best friend.

[BakedSardines]

I'm really excited about the bluray release of Life Aquatic.
I think it may be my favourite of his films.