The Criterion Collection

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

I love mysterious cinema, as evident for my love for Under the Skin, so I'm really excited for Picnic on Hanging Rock. I'm glad you like the film, as you have great taste.

And yes, the book is a nice add on. Just a classy package all around.

Check out The Double Life of Veronique I watched 3 times in a row after first viewing - its incredible, great acting, INCREDIBLE music, so much emotion and of course, mystery left for us to solve and understand.

Brilliant cinema and I can't recommend enough, and the commentary track is also SUPERB so fi you life make sure to watch with that on another viewing

I love films with mystery, it stays with you longer and makes you ask questions and search for answers - its such a great experience

Originally Posted by Vinyl

ahh! okay, I give. With the blu ray release (finally) with the book, I have gotten curious again. Years ago I watched picnic at hanging rock and didn't know what to think of it. Definitely stuck with me but forget a lot. I am able to rent from my local library, so gonna check it out again. If I like its getting up toward the top of the list.

Like The Double Life of Veronique, I found Picnic At Hanging Rock better the more times you watch, its so refreshing for me to find a film that gives you so much back even after multiple viewings and still leaves you thinking about it.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Check out The Double Life of Veronique I watched 3 times in a row after first viewing - its incredible, great acting, INCREDIBLE music, so much emotion and of course, mystery left for us to solve and understand.

Brilliant cinema and I can't recommend enough, and the commentary track is also SUPERB so fi you life make sure to watch with that on another viewing

I love films with mystery, it stays with you longer and makes you ask questions and search for answers - its such a great experience

I actually just bought that about a month ago, what a movie! I really loved it!

Thanks for the recommendation about the commentary track, I always enjoy a good one of those.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

I actually just bought that about a month ago, what a movie! I really loved it!

Thanks for the recommendation about the commentary track, I always enjoy a good one of those.

Ah im so glad - its in my top faves list now, I need to watch gain! I have got the soundtrack on repeat on iPhone and it is all I am listening to currently haha! I want more films like this!

Inland Empire, Mulholland Dr.... Lost Highway... Ok All Lynch films have this same feeling and effect on me, Why are they not in collection already!? haha

Also, Primer and Upstream Colour are superb indy films that need more attention thrown at them!

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Ah im so glad - its in my top faves list now, I need to watch gain! I have got the soundtrack on repeat on iPhone and it is all I am listening to currently haha! I want more films like this!

Inland Empire, Mulholland Dr.... Lost Highway... Ok All Lynch films have this same feeling and effect on me, Why are they not in collection already!? haha

Also, Primer and Upstream Colour are superb indy films that need more attention thrown at them!

Mulholland Dr. is at the top of my Criterion wishlist. It used to be second, but after The Innocents (masterpiece!) got announced, It got bumped up to the top spot.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

Mulholland Dr. is at the top of my Criterion wishlist. It used to be second, but after The Innocents (masterpiece!) got announced, It got bumped up to the top spot.

Ah I have that on preorder - blind buy but very excited ))

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Ah I have that on preorder - blind buy but very excited ))

Yeah, buy with confidence, It's a stunning Gothic horror film with layers and layers of symbolism. Easily one of the greatest horror films ever made.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by KrugerIndustrial

My thoughts exactly. I'm allowing myself to spend no more than $65 w/ shipping to Europe on this sale. I'm battling between these:

-America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
-The Essential Jacques Demy
-Three Colors Trilogy + a regular Criterion release

I already own Easy Rider (Sony). It has been a while since my previous Criterion purchase (John Cassavetes: Five Films). I'd like to get something special this time.

I would recommend The Three Colors Trilogy plus a regular Criterion (The Double Life of Veronique, for example). They are some of the most beautifully filmed movies, as well as some of the deepest in the collection.

The Demy set is, no doubt, going to be nice. I'm blind buying it after only seeing The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Lola - two of the best films from the 1960s. I wouldn't, on the other hand, recommend America: Lost and Found. There are a couple of decent films in the set, specifically The Last Picture Show and The King of Marvin Gardens, but I do not see much replay value in any of them.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

Yeah, buy with confidence, It's a stunning Gothic horror film with layers and layers of symbolism. Easily one of the greatest horror films ever made.

I have made decision Halloween is a month early for me Eraserhead and The Innocents, yes please! Haha!

I have read a little about Innocents and watched trailer and such and looks brilliant and I do love a gothic horror film Might have to stick Beauty and the Beast on with those too as well!

It's so nice being in an environment where people are so passionate about the same things, even if they dislike a certain film in collection, there is still so much to talk about and share such an awesome community :P

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I have made decision Halloween is a month early for me Eraserhead and The Innocents, yes please! Haha!

I have read a little about Innocents and watched trailer and such and looks brilliant and I do love a gothic horror film Might have to stick Beauty and the Beast on with those too as well!

I had Beauty and the Beast in my hands at B&N today, but I decided to go with 8 1/2 instead. It's definitely on my must-buy list. And I love me some Gothic atmosphere.

And yes, this community is awesomesauce.

[atlantajoseph]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

I had Beauty and the Beast in my hands at B&N today, but I decided to go with 8 1/2 instead.

Good call. B&B is a visual treat (and recommended), but 8 1/2 seeps into one's soul. Enjoy.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by atlantajoseph

Good call. B&B is a visual treat (and recommended), but 8 1/2 seeps into one's soul. Enjoy.

Thank you, It's always been a film that I have been meaning to see. And now, I can watch it in all of its Criterion glory.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

I had Beauty and the Beast in my hands at B&N today, but I decided to go with 8 1/2 instead. It's definitely on my must-buy list. And I love me some Gothic atmosphere.

And yes, this community is awesomesauce.

When/if you do get Beauty and the Beast, watch it with Philip Glass' soundtrack/opera. It really really makes a better experience and the opera just goes so well with the visuals.

I need to watch without the opera though to see if it changes the film much, but its a beautiful film and yeah really makes the Disney version look pretty pathetic haha!

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by jw007

How many other people have bought Red River? I used an "$8 off $40 or more" coupon at B&N yesterday and got it for $14 (normally priced at $50). This is my first "classic" western in the collection (excluding Heaven's Gate) as I'm not a fan of them but I figured this is better than Jubal, Stagecoach, 3:10 to Yuma, The Furies, the 2 Fuller Westerns or the upcoming title of My Darling Clementine.

I bought Criterion's RED RIVER and watched the movie last week thinking I'd seen it before some decades ago, but I remembered so little that I may have only seen clips on documentaries (and in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW). It's considered a classic western, but it really is just as much if not more a classic character drama that happens to be set in the old west, with very strong performances by John Wayne and Montgomery Clift (and the whole cast, really). It's also interesting to compare the two different cuts of the film, and go through the supplements on the disc. Haven't yet read the novel.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by KrugerIndustrial

Demy or Kieślowski it is then. Decisions, decisions.

If in doubt, buy both!

[Polaroid]

Can someone give me a good rational as to why Westerns in the collection are so great and what is so good about them?

I have never really found much appreciation for that genre and find it very dull/boring, not sure if its the twangy voices or the sandiness or whatever haha but would be nice to see why you guys find so much appreciation towards this genre?

As I said before, I think it was the scene in 'The good, The Bad, The Ugly' I did find a certain scene in that really amazing and well executed but thats all I can think of.

Not sure if its just cause I've caught snippets of bad westerns on TV and I just have an image in my head and am expecting them all to be the same but yeh - let me know please ! Thanks ))

and a westerny style emoticon

[TomN245]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've only seen three Fellini films, but I love all three.

In order of preference...

I Vitelloni
8½
La Dolce Vita

Seeing 8½ on a big theater screen this past spring was a great experience.

Mine has got to be:

Amazing
La Strada
8 1/2
La Dolce Vita
Nights of Cabiria

These four films have inspired countless filmmakers and are truly unmissable.

Fairly Good
Il Bidone-Not that remarkable, but a decent film.
Amarcord-Saw it in film class, everyone hated it except me.
Julliet of the Spirits

Dull
Il Vitteloni

Vile, Grotesque and rage inducing
Satyricon-I'd rather watch Salo any day of the week.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Can someone give me a good rational as to why Westerns in the collection are so great and what is so good about them?
:

Two words: Heaven's Gate.

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by Freder Fredersen

Just know you'll probably have conflicting feelings about it, which is a good thing! I think that's what makes art, art, in a way.

Also, don't forget to watch the sequel, The Beales of Grey Gardens!

By coincidence, I finally got around to watching GREY GARDENS last night for the first time, and I immediately had to watch the "sequel" THE BEALES OF GREY GARDENS right after it. Many people seem to talk about how bizarrely strange, sad, creepy, unusual, campy, exploitive, touching, witty, eccentric, etc., the film and its subjects are. It (and they) may well be all of that, but while watching I was constantly reminded of more than a few people I know and have known over the years. Big and Little Edie may not live average everyday lives, but they are far from unusual.

Great documentary, that makes me want to revisit CRUMB finally (which is one of my Criterion Blu-rays that's been sitting unopened, as it remained vivid in my memory for years after seeing it in the theatre).

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Two words: Heaven's Gate.

Had a quick look on IMDB and certain parts of trailer remind me of Days of Heaven - but it does look quite twangy and sandy haha XD

Not sure if I am brave enough top try it haha!

[StLouisRibs]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Heres a question:

What was everyones first Criterion? and why?

Mine was The Qatsi Trilogy because I was obsessed with it, the visuals, the score and the emotional impact it had on me - also because the artwork was a stunning representation of the films in the set.

That's when my addiction to Criterion started haha

Broadcast News. Completely arbitrary choice from a basic wishlist I had made for myself in the November sale after enjoying several Criterion films on Hulu+ in October. Picked up Wild Strawberries and Robinson Crusoe on Mars within three days after this...

I actually am pretty likely to own at least 52 Criterion BD releases by the time the one-year anniversary of that rolls around, which I find a little scary (to think I've spent MSRP $40 a week; though I've never actually spent more then $25). I'm up to 40 now and I can't imagine I won't get anything more in this sale and will almost certainly pick up a few in the Criterion[dot]com sale later this year.