The Criterion Collection

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

I can't ever watch Watership Down

Can't add to the list of "emotionally draining films" bar echo Au Reviour Les Enfants & Bicycle Thieves. Not a clue why some are mentioning BITWC, I guess they saw something in Adele I certainly didn't that warrants it a mention in conjunction with the others put forward.

Apparently the sequel or some other film by them is worse - its about dogs or something :/

I think it's The Plague Dogs

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I dont understand why everyone thinks Bambi is a sad film... like its a cartoon >.> an like its not sad? I'm probably just heartless lol

When you see those films at such a young age, you are going to be shattered. It's inevitable.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by iScottie

When you see those films at such a young age, you are going to be shattered. It's inevitable.

I saw Bambi at young age and don't remember it affecting me :/ same with Watershed down tbh - need to see the dog one though lol

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I dont understand why everyone thinks Bambi is a sad film... like its a cartoon >.> an like its not sad? I'm probably just heartless lol

I never thought BAMBI was particularly sad but being a cartoon has nothing to do with it. Try watching GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES if you want to find out what "sad" can be like.

As for sad Criterion titles, I thought that BICYCLE THIEVES was emotional but had a very touching, hopeful conclusion. On the other hand UMBERTO D is probably the saddest of the Italian Neorealist films that I can recall. Then of course there's definitely MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, but that's not on Blu in the U.S. yet.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

I never thought BAMBI was particularly sad but being a cartoon has nothing to do with it. Try watching GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES if you want to find out what "sad" can be like.

As for sad Criterion titles, I thought that BICYCLE THIEVES was emotional but had a very touching, hopeful conclusion. On the other hand UMBERTO D is probably the saddest of the Italian Neorealist films that I can recall. Then of course there's definitely MAKE WAY FOR TOMORROW, but that's not on Blu in the U.S. yet.

Ah I didn't mean something can't be sad cause its a cartoon, dunno what I meant lol

Yeah I need to see Grave of The Fireflies >.>

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

Missed out on Bambi and/or Old Yeller at a young age, did ya? I was five.

Nothing I've seen since has come close.

Old Yeller packs an emotional gut punch.

The saddest film of my childhood, though, was The Earthling (1980), which starred Ricky Schroder and William Holden. The movie was never released on DVD, and I'd love to see a Blu-ray release. Such a tremendous film.

Bambi had its sad moments, but I was not particularly fazed, probably because I come from a family of deer hunters and because I kept craving venison during the movie.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

I can't ever watch Watership Down

Can't add to the list of "emotionally draining films" bar echo Au Reviour Les Enfants & Bicycle Thieves. Not a clue why some are mentioning BITWC, I guess they saw something in Adele I certainly didn't that warrants it a mention in conjunction with the others put forward.

yes. I saw myself.

(extremely mild spoilers for Blue and then for Au Revoir Les Enfants in the second paragraph. I tagged them anyway because if I hadn't seen either of these films, I wouldn't want to read it.)

[Show spoiler]the contrast between Adele at her birthday party (dancing, celebrating - on cloud 9) and Adele in the scenes where she has to put on a happy face for the school kids and is just going through the motions... Kechiche and Adele Ex.. do an amazing job of conveying how her thoughts are consumed.. first with love and all of its possibilities.. and then with heartbreak.

ARLE is one of my fav films in the collection, but honestly.. it didn't really devastate me. maybe, like another poster mentioned, it is just too difficult to wrap your head around the whole thing. I was more moved by the scene where the 2 friends are watching the Charlie Chaplin film. the universality of film and the simplicity of Chaplin.. and throw in the flickering old school film projector. THAT moment was perfect and welled up the eyes a bit.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

yes. I saw myself.

(extremely mild spoilers for Blue and then for Au Revoir Les Enfants in the second paragraph. I tagged them anyway because if I hadn't seen either of these films, I wouldn't want to read it.)

[Show spoiler]the contrast between Adele at her birthday party (dancing, celebrating - on cloud 9) and Adele in the scenes where she has to put on a happy face for the school kids and is just going through the motions... Kechiche and Adele Ex.. do an amazing job of conveying how her thoughts are consumed.. first with love and all of its possibilities.. and then with heartbreak.

ARLE is one of my fav films in the collection, but honestly.. it didn't really devastate me. maybe, like another poster mentioned, it is just too difficult to wrap your head around the whole thing. I was more moved by the scene where the 2 friends are watching the Charlie Chaplin film. the universality of film and the simplicity of Chaplin.. and throw in the flickering old school film projector. THAT moment was perfect and welled up the eyes a bit.

Very nice post, good thoughts.

[milo bloom]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Apparently the sequel or some other film by them is worse - its about dogs or something :/

I think it's The Plague Dogs

Plague Dogs is a fantastic book but the movie screwed up the ending. I have no interest in ever seeing it until it's fixed to end like the book.

spoilers if anybody cares:

[Show spoiler] At the end of the book the dogs are swimming toward an island where they think they'll be safe and are nearly dead from exhaustion and just as they start to sink the author acknowledges a deus ex machina and has a fishing boat pull the dogs out and rescue them. The movie just has the dogs swimming into the distance but implying that they die. I don't like happy endings for the sake of happy endings, but the dogs had suffered enough in the story, they deserved a win in the end.

[ShellOilJunior]

Million Dollar Baby does it for me every time. I've seen it at least 10 times and have read all of F.X Toole's boxing short stories and novel (All are great!).

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Any fans of Au Revior les Enfants? JW recommended I buy it.

Thanks for mentioning me, Justin.

One usually just can't go wrong with the films of Louis Malle. He is one of the few French directors whose movies I actually love to watch (but don't go after me for not being a fan of French new wave... I just don't see Malle in that French New Wave category for some reason).

[jw007]

Why is the 15th or so of every month always such an awesome day for me? Because that is the day new Criterion releases are announced!

Seriously, I find it amusing and amazing that its one of my favorite days every month, but I just love finding out what they're coming out with next. I must be a Criterion addict or junkie.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I think it's The Plague Dogs

Yes, The Plague Dogs is the saddest animated movie that I've seen. (Before anyone brings it up, I have not yet seen Grave of the Fireflies.)

The Plague Dogs is also the source of the recording at the beginning of "Testure" by Skinny Puppy, which always brings back fond memories of MTV's 120 Minutes show on Sunday nights during the late 1980s.

[dtyner92]

Originally Posted by jw007

Why is the 15th or so of every month always such an awesome day for me? Because that is the day new Criterion releases are announced!

Seriously, I find it amusing and amazing that its one of my favorite days every month, but I just love finding out what they're coming out with next. I must be a Criterion addict or junkie.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by EricJ

(Er, might want to do a little more Asberger's research there, Pol. )

Excuse me?

[Thebunk]

Another blind buy request.

I have heard a lot of good things about Pale Flowers, Hari Kiri and Au Revoir Les Enfants. A few things to consider:

- My favorite criterions that are dramas would be The Three Colors, Kid with a Bike, High and Low, Double Life of Veronique, Le Cercle Rouge.

- I really dislike the theater-esque acting found in many early Japanese flicks. That said I do like 7 Samurai but HATE Rashoman so do with that as you will.

- Would like to consider special features and specifically re-watchability as key factors rather then whether the film is ground breaking or has out of this world audio and video.

- I am open to buying 1, 2, or all 3 if the feedback is very good.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

Another blind buy request.

I have heard a lot of good things about Pale Flowers, Hari Kiri and Au Revoir Les Enfants. A few things to consider:

- My favorite criterions that are dramas would be The Three Colors, Kid with a Bike, High and Low, Double Life of Veronique, Le Cercle Rouge.

- I really dislike the theater-esque acting found in many early Japanese flicks. That said I do like 7 Samurai but HATE Rashoman so do with that as you will.

- Would like to consider special features and specifically re-watchability as key factors rather then whether the film is ground breaking or has out of this world audio and video.

- I am open to buying 1, 2, or all 3 if the feedback is very good.

If you like Le Cercle Rouge and High and Low, then I'd be willing to bet that Pale Flower is the right choice out of the three that you've listed. Pale Flower was released just after the classic-era film noir period here in America, but it's a splendid example of how the genre crossed over into Japan. Everything about this movie is riveting and devastating.

[Ausjdm]

Saddest Criterion movie ever... Antichrist was, I was sad for...

[Show spoiler] Their private parts *wham! #Snip! •Pow, boom#%! Lol

sorry couldn't resist myself! don't read the spoiler if you never seen the movie!!

[Jakamarak]

Originally Posted by ngower

Call for opinions: What is the single most emotionally devastating work in the Collection? Just one—only one! In other words, what film has absolutely destroyed you emotionally and shaken you to your very core? Offer a brief explanation why, but please limit it to one as I'm sure this ought to elicit a number of responses.

Although later posts have changed this to just be the "saddest film," you originally asked for "the single most emotionally devastating work in the Collection?" Although I can name many, the one that floored me like no other was Umbrellas of Cherbourg. Initially, it seems sweet and ridiculously colorful and maybe even silly, then by the final scene it's clear that, despite all the artifice, Demy has unexpectedly found a way to cut through to something sad and beautiful and true about the human experience. And the use of Michel Legrand's music -- particularly at the end -- just kills me.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

Another blind buy request.

I have heard a lot of good things about Pale Flowers, Hari Kiri and Au Revoir Les Enfants. A few things to consider:

- My favorite criterions that are dramas would be The Three Colors, Kid with a Bike, High and Low, Double Life of Veronique, Le Cercle Rouge.

- I really dislike the theater-esque acting found in many early Japanese flicks. That said I do like 7 Samurai but HATE Rashoman so do with that as you will.

- Would like to consider special features and specifically re-watchability as key factors rather then whether the film is ground breaking or has out of this world audio and video.

- I am open to buying 1, 2, or all 3 if the feedback is very good.

I have no doubt you'll like Au Revoir. It's a widely liked film, as opposed to some the polarizing ones in the collection. I'm even more confident you'll like it based on the films you listed that you like, in that they have very serious tones but are still accessible.

I think you'd like Harakiri, but I'm not completely confident. The acting is far less theatrical than many Kurosawa samurai films. It has similar acting to Drven Samurai and isn't over-the-top like Rashomon. Wouldn't hurt to see it first though.