The Criterion Collection

[Helikaon]

Talking about killing animals in movies...

If I remember correctly Tarkovsky had a horse shot in Andrei Rublev so it would fall down stairs. Though I believe it was already on its way to the slaughterhouse.

[Zen_Amako]

Watched Judex yesterday, which was a blind buy. I was a little disappointed, although it's an interesting companion piece to Eyes Without a Face (a fave). With all of the pulp elements, I thought it would be more clever or exciting, but it seemed to dispassionately go through the motions. The visuals on Blu-ray are very nice and I can't fault the film technically. The problem was that with the way the story was told, it wasn't very involving.

Perhaps more familiarity with the source material would help, but I think a great film should be able to be enjoyed on its own.

I give Judex **1/2 out of ****.

[Monty70]

I was wondering what Criterion BD's that have purchased as blind buys have turned out to be your favorites.

Mine would be the following...

Pale Flower
Emberto D.
White Material
Vengeance is Mine
Revanche
and
Marketa Lazarova

[ngower]

Originally Posted by Monty70

I was wondering what Criterion BD's that have purchased as blind buys have turned out to be you favorites.

Mine would be the following...

Pale Flower
Emberto D.
White Material
Vengeance is Mine
Revanche
and
Marketa Lazarova

Harold and Maude was my first Criterion and was a blind-buy. Love that film to death (lol) and even have a tattoo of Harold, so...

[Wildcat47]

Originally Posted by fahrenheit290

Will do. If I end up getting it. I've been fascinated by the Himalayas/Kangchenjunga/K2/Annapurna and feel it could be really compelling backdrop for drama done right.



Thanks on Tokyo Story. I would like to make four more purchases for this sale with a gift card I have, after already picking up Days of Heaven, Wild Strawberries, and Battle of Algiers. I think I'm down to Au Revoir Les Enfants, which I've seen and really enjoyed, and then three blind buys in Black Narcissus, 8 1/2 (I was told this one's visual quality/B&W really dazzles...loved La Strada and Dolce Vita I appreciated but didn't love; I think I'm ready for the big one), and Tokyo Story.

But I have a list of others I'd consider in the future that I could substitute. I'm curious if anyone feels particularly passionate about the BD quality of any (more so than quality of the films themselves):
- Night of the Hunter (blind)
- Kagemusha (blind -- this may be one I want to see first since some people are mixed; I thought about picking up Ran, but seems the BD has mixed reception)
- In the Mood for Love (seen in Chinese, not blu-ray quality)
- On the Waterfront (seen many times, do not have---don't feel this one is mentioned as much on here, so I'm not as excited to get before others)
- Red Shoes (seen)
- 400 Blows (seen -- don't feel that compelled to get this over others I mentioned)
- Jules et Jim (seen parts, not complete)
- Three Colors (seen -- waiting for Black Friday/November, cheaper with 40% coupon)

Night of the Hunter. Blind buy you will not regret IMO.

[Page14]

Has anybody ever used the "Recommendations" feature under your profile in here? I'm wondering how much it can be trusted. I have some coupons I want to use up during the current B&N sale and am trying to figure out what to buy. (Guess I could always try it).

[Page14]

Originally Posted by ngower

Harold and Maude was my first Criterion and was a blind-buy. Love that film to death (lol) and even have a tattoo of Harold, so...

Harold and Maude was my first Criterion blu-ray too, although it wasn't a blind buy for me ... I just really liked it. That purchase opened the door to the wealth and variety of films found within the Criterion Collection. So I guess I owe a big thanks to Harold and Maude.

EDIT: That purchase opened my eyes to the overall quality that the Criterion Collection offered. Up until Harold and Maude, I was one of those guys who didn't want to pay more than $10 for a blu-ray. Boy, things have really changed! ... and then some.

[Namuhana]

I just finished watching Three Colors: Blue for the first time and absolutely adored it. I thought Juliette Binoche did a splendid job. I may just have to pick up the Blu-ray set during the next Barnes & Noble sale (and maybe The Double Life of Véronique, too). I'll have to find some time to watch White and Red in the very near future!

[zafisher94]

Originally Posted by Monty70

I was wondering what Criterion BD's that have purchased as blind buys have turned out to be your favorites.

Mine would be the following...

Pale Flower
Emberto D.
White Material
Vengeance is Mine
Revanche
and
Marketa Lazarova

Every Criterion blu-ray I've bought has been a blind buy. I've purchased about 50 Criterions and have enjoyed everyone of them. My top picks of Criterion movies that truly blew me away would have to be:

-Night of the Hunter
-Seven Samurai
-The Seventh Seal
-Paths of Glory
-The Wages of Fear

[Slyth66]

Surely I'm not the only one who hates that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is in a regular Bluray box, right?

So I took matters into my own hands.

I used the clear box I had for my "Saw: The Final Chapter" and used it instead.






The only thing is, it now makes the Saw case look bad.



What do you think, should I keep it like this in my collection?

[ngower]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

I just finished watching Three Colors: Blue for the first time and absolutely adored it. I thought Juliette Binoche did a splendid job. I may just have to pick up the Blu-ray set during the next Barnes & Noble sale (and maybe The Double Life of Véronique, too). I'll have to find some time to watch White and Red in the very near future!

I watched it last night as well. It honestly didn't do much for me. At times it was fantastic, and at others it felt very sparse. The closing sequence, however, was insane filmmaking—Idziak's cinematography is in a class all its own.

I hope to get around to watching White today.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Slyth66

Surely I'm not the only one who hates that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is in a regular Bluray box, right?

So I took matters into my own hands.

I used the clear box I had for my "Saw: The Final Chapter" and used it instead.






The only thing is, it now makes the Saw case look bad.



What do you think, should I keep it like this in my collection?

Another option is to buy Criterion case and put it in and to fill the gap that would be missing, put some black paper or card under the artwork slip

Did that for Revanche fake I got and looks better until I replace

But yeah - that case is ghastly! :/

(also is that an argos shelf? looks just like mine XD)

[Slyth66]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Another option is to buy Criterion case and put it in and to fill the gap that would be missing, put some black paper or card under the artwork slip

Did that for Revanche fake I got and looks better until I replace

But yeah - that case is ghastly! :/

(also is that an argos shelf? looks just like mine XD)

I really like the idea about the black paper, I'll definitely have to do that next time I order some more blank cases. I just figured this is a better temporary solution, especially since the case it came with is cracked on the spine. Definitely lessened the look of the collection.

I'm not sure about the shelf, I got it from Walmart for $16 when I moved to my apartment 2 months ago. Sadly, it seems like they discontinued them and I only bought two which are now nearly full

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Slyth66

I really like the idea about the black paper, I'll definitely have to do that next time I order some more blank cases. I just figured this is a better temporary solution, especially since the case it came with is cracked on the spine. Definitely lessened the look of the collection.

I'm not sure about the shelf, I got it from Walmart for $16 when I moved to my apartment 2 months ago. Sadly, it seems like they discontinued them and I only bought two which are now nearly full

Ah right - well yeah looks a lot better now than that blue!

Ahhh ok looks identical to mine (even though a little bit is showing lol) and damn you got me in mood to watch Cloverfield, really really really really love this film, from the mysteriousness of it, the fact we don't get any real answers. The campaign behind it and the bonus features are great - such a great monster film

Oh and the music for it is great, think its a remix of the Godzilla theme...

Roar - Cloverfield ( Excellent Quality ) - YouTube

[Slyth66]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Ah right - well yeah looks a lot better now than that blue!

Ahhh ok looks identical to mine (even though a little bit is showing lol) and damn you got me in mood to watch Cloverfield, really really really really love this film, from the mysteriousness of it, the fact we don't get any real answers. The campaign behind it and the bonus features are great - such a great monster film

Haha, I hate to admit it but I followed the viral campaign behind it so closely. It's all I could talk about as a 14-year-old. I was a bit disappointed that it barely related to the film but I loved it none-the-less

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Slyth66

Haha, I hate to admit it but I followed the viral campaign behind it so closely. It's all I could talk about as a 14-year-old. I was a bit disappointed that it barely related to the film but I loved it none-the-less

Well it does tie into it, just no real mention int he film only subtle bits (the satellite etc).

Such a brilliant campaign though, loved the viral videos and extra story, but yeah shame more wasn't mentioned.

I loved the videos of the girl on cam who talked about her boyfriend, then after tasting that stuff, in the film we see her sick on the sofa at party.

It was subtle but really well done - there is talk of Cloverifeld 2 so maybe that will go into it more (I don't think its needed tbh).

But I love films with great viral campaigns that have so much thought go into them, Super 8 had a pretty cool campaign, just a sham the film was a bit of a disappointment...

[Slyth66]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Well it does tie into it, just no real mention int he film only subtle bits (the satellite etc).

Such a brilliant campaign though, loved the viral videos and extra story, but yeah shame more wasn't mentioned.

I loved the videos of the girl on cam who talked about her boyfriend, then after tasting that stuff, in the film we see her sick on the sofa at party.

It was subtle but really well done - there is talk of Cloverifeld 2 so maybe that will go into it more (I don't think its needed tbh).

But I love films with great viral campaigns that have so much thought go into them, Super 8 had a pretty cool campaign, just a sham the film was a bit of a disappointment...

I'm still holding out hope for the sequel. We'll see, haha.

And I didn't know Super 8 had a campaign behind it, but I really loved the film, as it's one of my favorites. Not actually sure why, I guess I could just relate to the kids a lot since I shot movies like that with my friends when we were younger

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Slyth66

I'm still holding out hope for the sequel. We'll see, haha.

And I didn't know Super 8 had a campaign behind it, but I really loved the film, as it's one of my favorites. Not actually sure why, I guess I could just relate to the kids a lot since I shot movies like that with my friends when we were younger

Wasn't as good as Cloverfield - they released segments of the footage which related to the film and some of the footage had to be unlocked by people across the world, I think hey had to go to a place and scan something and we got a new segment of the video like 1-3 seconds.

There were a few other things which was cool - just the film was a bit disappointing

[Slyth66]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Wasn't as good as Cloverfield - they released segments of the footage which related to the film and some of the footage had to be unlocked by people across the world, I think hey had to go to a place and scan something and we got a new segment of the video like 1-3 seconds.

There were a few other things which was cool - just the film was a bit disappointing

Ohh, I hate I missed all that. But yeah, viral campaigns are always best when the movies are just as good

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by jw007

Just finished watching King of the Hill and I liked it a lot. I thought, however, that the film had a real "Hollywood" feel to it and even the ending was too happy and contrived in some ways. I liked the actors in this but the story was sort of pedestrian, if that is the right term to use. The real highlight was the directing and editing though, including the camera-work. Absolutely fantastic. And the music and score was very good too. The picture quality is amazing to say the least too.

Soderbergh is one of my favorite directors, despite that some of his films aren't favorites of mine. In this film, the technical use of warm colors only enhanced the feel of the story and characters. I really am happy that I blind-bought this one with confidence.

I am going to spend 3 hours tomorrow night watching the interviews and supplements as well as Soderbergh's 4th film, The Underneath, which is included on the disc.

I thought it was a good film too, although I think the color palette could have been different. I also think it was a bit too Hollywood in some of the choices made, but it was certainly an enjoyable film. I like Soderbergh a lot but I will not be buying the film.