The Criterion Collection

[brandon_260]

Blu-ray

Persona
Red Desert
In The Mood for Love
The Thin Red Line
Vivre sa vie (This is where Marienbad would actually go, but it's useless to people looking at these for the sale, since it's OOP)

DVD only

Hiroshima, Mon Amour
L'avventura
The Silence (from A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman)
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Scenes from A Marriage (like with Marienbad, this is actually where Contempt would sit)

[fahrenheit290]

Originally Posted by Chaotic

Probably but i can't believe every title is out of stock. Thats ridiculous.

I'm more targeting older titles. None of the recent releases have really interested me. Maybe those are the ones that are most popular. Every time I see the Criterion section at the local B&N it's like nobody else ever goes near it.

[Chaotic]

I guess ill go over there and see if they have any criterions just in case.

[ultlife2013]

Would you guys recommend Last Year At Marienbad?

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

With the ongoing B&N sake, why don't we post what are, in our own personal opinions, the five essential Criterion blu ray discs. The definition of essential is up to the individual. This could help some newer members, and older members alike, build their Criterion collection through seeing titles appear on member's lists. My five essentials:

Three Colors Trilogy
The Thin Red Line
The Night of the Hunter
Paris, Texas
Solaris

I'm guessing that Revanche is in your top 10 somewhere, right? Well, I think I will list a few titles that haven't been mentioned in a top 5 list yet:

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman
The Complete Jean Vigo
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Blow Out

Wow...that was difficult. I really wanted to do a top 10, but I wanted to challenge myself with just sticking to 5.

[fahrenheit290]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

Would you guys recommend Last Year At Marienbad?

Last Year is a good one to screen before buying. It's not for everyone and can be a difficult watch since it's so heavily focused on style. I got it out from the library...not sure I understood it, but I would watch it again to try to mine more from it.


I've always viewed the essential Criterions as not so much specific titles but directors.

Kurosawa - many titles are available; hopefully Ikiru comes soon
Bergman - I hope Virgin Spring is updated; so many of his works have been made accessible by Criterion
Fellini - besides 8 1/2 and Amacord, Criterion is way overdue in updating his works: La Strada, and hopefully Dolce Vita in the wings

...the great foreign masters

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

With the ongoing B&N sake, why don't we post what are, in our own personal opinions, the five essential Criterion blu ray discs. The definition of essential is up to the individual. This could help some newer members, and older members alike, build their Criterion collection through seeing titles appear on member's lists. My five essentials:

Three Colors Trilogy
The Thin Red Line
The Night of the Hunter
Paris, Texas
Solaris

I'd have to go:

Yojimbo (I could easily put Seven Samurai here)
The Rules of the Game
Anatomy of a Murder
The Royal Tenenbaums
Rififi

A wide variety of movies, both foreign and domestic; modern and classical. Some action, comedy and drama mixed in as well.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by jayembee

In the context of pop/rock music, calling The Beatles "over-rated" is similar to, in the context of classical music, calling Johann Sebastian Bach "over-rated".

Your analogy does not make sense, but it sure gave me a laugh. Thanks

[Scottie]

My Top 5 "essential" Criterions.

01. 12 Angry Men
02. The 400 Blows
03. Seven Samurai
04. Tokyo Story
05. Wild Strawberries

If these films do not make you fall in love with film, I'm not sure what will.

Granted that The Double Life of Veronique is my favorite film of all time, the films I listed above are great introductions to film, foreign film, and the art house, respectively.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by iScottie

My Top 5 "essential" Criterions.

01. 12 Angry Men
02. The 400 Blows
03. Seven Samurai
04. Tokyo Story
05. Wild Strawberries

If these films do not make you fall in love with film, I'm not sure what will.

Granted that The Double Life of Veronique is my favorite film of all time, the films I listed above are great introductions to film, foreign film, and the art house, respectively.

I'm not a Wild Strawberries fan but overall great selections.

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by Meek12345

I'm guessing that Revanche is in your top 10 somewhere, right?

Of course, I only didn't include it as I felt it would be too obvious.
Isn't my constant advertising of the film via my avatar enough??

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jayembee

In the context of pop/rock music, calling The Beatles "over-rated" is similar to, in the context of classical music, calling Johann Sebastian Bach "over-rated".

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Your analogy does not make sense, but it sure gave me a laugh. Thanks

Why doesn't it make sense? Because it's comparing a composer to performers?

I specifically chose Bach because from previous postings, I gathered that Polaroid likes Bach. I was hoping that he'd think about how he'd react if someone called Bach "over-rated", and realize that that's probably how we're reacting to his calling The Beatles "over-rated". It's a reasonable analogy.

[Fellini912]

These are the films that almost mirror life with it's glory, dilemmas and death.

The Tree of Life: anyone that is a parent will understand this film. If you are a "true" music aficionado, the film's soundtrack will delight your soul (this film should have been a criterion).

Andrei Rublev(DVD, hopeful we will see a blu-ray in the near future). This film is about the struggle/ burden of an artist.

8 1/2 is a great film about writers block and being sincere to oneself.

Persona, the true Jungian anima of all films.

Pickpocket the greatest film about redemption. If you do not understand the story, you do not understand the true meaning of redemption.

Enjoy

[DaveyJoe]

Picked up Thief and The Fantastic Mr. Fox as my first purchase. Thief looked and sounded great. It was only my second time viewing the film and I was really impressed, such an amazing movie.

Essential BluRays:

Harakiri
Repulsion
Chungking Express
8 1/2
The Devil's Backbone

[Abdrewes]

Let me out a different spin on the top 5:

Top 5 Criterion releases of 2014 so far:

1. L'Eclisse
2. Thief
3. Picnic at Hanging Rock
4. Persona
5. Breaking the Waves

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Why doesn't it make sense? Because it's comparing a composer to performers?

I specifically chose Bach because from previous postings, I gathered that Polaroid likes Bach. I was hoping that he'd think about how he'd react if someone called Bach "over-rated", and realize that that's probably how we're reacting to his calling The Beatles "over-rated". It's a reasonable analogy.

One can still be OK calling the Beatles over-rated in matter of opinion, but calling Bach over-rated in music is completely incorrect. You might get away by calling Phillip Glass over-rated, but not Bach.

By your analogy, I understand you really know very little about classical music and pop music.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

One can still be OK calling the Beatles over-rated in matter of opinion, but calling Bach over-rated in music is completely incorrect. You might get away by calling Phillip Glass over-rated, but not Bach.

Talk about not making sense.

By your analogy, I understand you really know very little about classical music and pop music per se.

If that's what you understand, then you understand less than you think I do.

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

Of course, I only didn't include it as I felt it would be too obvious.
Isn't my constant advertising of the film via my avatar enough??

Yeah, I suppose so I haven't seen Revanche yet, but I definitely want to see it as soon as possible. I haven't seen any negative reviews of it anywhere yet.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Talk about not making sense.

Bach = the bedrock of classical music (The foundation to Mozart and Mahler)

Beatles is not the bedrock of pop rock music.

Your analogy relies heavily on a very subjective statement that the Beatles is the bedrock of pop music.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Bach = the bedrock of classical music (The foundation to Mozart and Mahler)

Beatles is not the bedrock of pop rock music.

Your analogy relies heavily on a very subjective statement that the Beatles is the bedrock of pop music.

And apparently, my point has flown completely over your head.

Yeah. Whatever.