The Criterion Collection

[rezpekt]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

Great! I also hope they are preparing a "Before" trilogy boxset!

Unfortunately, Warner owns Sunrise and Sunset while Sony owns Midnight. Warner does not like to license out their titles and bundling together films from different licensors might also be a problem.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by rezpekt

Unfortunately, Warner owns Sunrise and Sunset while Sony owns Midnight.

Hasn't Criterion signed a deal with Sony? so it is a possibility for that individual film to be released?

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by jw007

Okay, here is another good question.

Pick 5 Criterion films in your collection that you've waited the longest to watch the most?

So for example you bought a Criterion release 4 years ago that you still haven't watched...and maybe you have very little interest too and thats why its sat on the shelf, still sealed and gathering dust....well, that might be included in the list.

Mine are:

Carlos (6 hour running time is intimidating)
Pierrot le Fou (still sealed and OOP and never got around to it)
Yi Yi (still haven't gotten around to watching this)
Kagemusha (just haven't been in the mood yet for this)
Pierre Etaix (ditto)

Bonus:
Shoah (9 hours + dark/serious subject matter = procrastination)

Watch Carlos ASAP! You won't regret it.

[jayembee]

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?

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?

I'm tempted to respond "If you have to ask the question, you'll probably never understand the answer".

Not all Westerns are the same any more than that can be said for any other genre. Some are just "horse operas" with simplistic good guy versus bad guy stories. Actually, a lot of them are, though quite a few manage to be well-made and entertaining despite the limitations of the story (one example might be Anthony Mann's Winchester '73, with Jimmy Stewart).

Other Westerns rise above the simplistic "horse opera" classification. Two examples are from John Ford, perhaps the greatest director of Westerns ever. Fort Apache, on the surface, seems just like a "Cowboys & Indians" clash, but it has a lot to say about attitudes of whites towards the Indians. The Searchers is a powerful story of family, and the clash between love of family and racist beliefs. The ending is just an amazing piece of filmmaking.

If you're a fan of Kurosawa, consider that his samurai films were greatly influenced by American Westerns. So much so that they got turned around and remade as "genuine" Westerns -- Seven Samurai into The Magnificent Seven, Yojimbo into A Fistful of Dollars, and so on. It's no coincidence. There are a lot of similarities between the itinerant gunslingers in Westerns, and the wandering ronin of many samurai films.

(Hell, I even maintain that George Miller's The Road Warrior is, at its heart, a post-apocalyptic Western/samurai film.)

And that's not even taking into consideration that there's just spectacular scenery to be found in Westerns, especially Ford's recurring use of Utah's Monument Valley.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Heavens gate does sound exciting and I have never heard of it before, I won't watch online, ill probs just be brave an buy on Criterion and watch it, gets me in mood having physical copy lol

Well, you should know that it's the film that just about singlehandedly took down the New American Film movement of the seventies that gave auteurs nearly complete control (I might make it sound more idealized than it was, but, hey, I'm trying here). Along those same lines, you should check out 1900 (the Bertolucci film). It was also one of those epic flops (financially, not artistically) that arose in that era from letting a director hot off a worldwide hit to have free reign to do what he wanted.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by rezpekt

Unfortunately, Warner owns Sunrise and Sunset while Sony owns Midnight. Warner does not like to license out their titles and bundling together films from different licensors might also be a problem.

What's irritating is that Warner feels free to license titles from other studios. Their Stanley Kubrick set, for example, contains a Sony/Columbia title (Dr. Strangelove). And they licensed the original Terminator and Mad Max from MGM to put in their boxed sets of those franchises.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Thanks I will look into these

I am going to buy Heavens Gate, especially after you said it reminds you of The Leopard which I adore, such a beautiful film!

Oops, forgot Stagecoach. It took the same formula as Grand Hotel or Dinner at Eight-a lot of very different people with different agendas in a common setting. Beautiful Monument Valley, impressive stunts, and John Wayne's intro close-up rivals that of Welles in The Third Man IMO.

[Bad Sandwich]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I'm tempted to respond "If you have to ask the question, you'll probably never understand the answer".
.

I'm tempted to say Ive always been a little irked by the ol' "Im TEMPTED to say..." template, since it's simply a way to say precisely the "harsh" thing you want to say under the pretense of softening the blow via the ineffectual "tempted" buffer and that I think it eminates from a dubious place psychologically, but I won't actually say that. hehe~! #armchaircriterionthreadshrink #highlyrelevant

Joking...In all seriousness I agree with these astute assessments of the western genre you've made

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I'm tempted to respond "If you have to ask the question, you'll probably never understand the answer".

Not all Westerns are the same any more than that can be said for any other genre. Some are just "horse operas" with simplistic good guy versus bad guy stories. Actually, a lot of them are, though quite a few manage to be well-made and entertaining despite the limitations of the story (one example might be Anthony Mann's Winchester '73, with Jimmy Stewart).

Other Westerns rise above the simplistic "horse opera" classification. Two examples are from John Ford, perhaps the greatest director of Westerns ever. Fort Apache, on the surface, seems just like a "Cowboys & Indians" clash, but it has a lot to say about attitudes of whites towards the Indians. The Searchers is a powerful story of family, and the clash between love of family and racist beliefs. The ending is just an amazing piece of filmmaking.

If you're a fan of Kurosawa, consider that his samurai films were greatly influenced by American Westerns. So much so that they got turned around and remade as "genuine" Westerns -- Seven Samurai into The Magnificent Seven, Yojimbo into A Fistful of Dollars, and so on. It's no coincidence. There are a lot of similarities between the itinerant gunslingers in Westerns, and the wandering ronin of many samurai films.

(Hell, I even maintain that George Miller's The Road Warrior is, at its heart, a post-apocalyptic Western/samurai film.)

And that's not even taking into consideration that there's just spectacular scenery to be found in Westerns, especially Ford's recurring use of Utah's Monument Valley.

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Well, you should know that it's the film that just about singlehandedly took down the New American Film movement of the seventies that gave auteurs nearly complete control (I might make it sound more idealized than it was, but, hey, I'm trying here). Along those same lines, you should check out 1900 (the Bertolucci film). It was also one of those epic flops (financially, not artistically) that arose in that era from letting a director hot off a worldwide hit to have free reign to do what he wanted.

Originally Posted by hoytereden

Oops, forgot Stagecoach. It took the same formula as Grand Hotel or Dinner at Eight-a lot of very different people with different agendas in a common setting. Beautiful Monument Valley, impressive stunts, and John Wayne's intro close-up rivals that of Welles in The Third Man IMO.

Thanks for the great responses

I will check the films that have been suggested out and read up on them

Its just one of the genres I avoid for some unknown reason, my reason aren't exactly valid because I never really sat through a western, I have only seen them in background and found them twangy and annoying haha! but as I said not sure if this is cause they were generic crappy ones played on tv to fill space?

Ive never been let down with blind buys or any film from Criterion so there is a little trust and also what you guys have said interests me

Its a bit like Chaplin though, never sat through his films but I avoid them like an illness, the small clips I have seen really really bug me and I just don't find them funny? Maybe I have watched too much Antichrist and Salo and have lost my sense of humour haha but yeah just not brave enough to find online or buy and try sit through these genres, just scared of getting bored or let down! - Not saying his films are crap as I can appreciate and understand the importance of them etc etc etc just find them hard to enjoy lol

Maybe I will try them in future, but very intrigued by Heavens Gate

[Polaroid]

Omg!? I did not know the director of Waking Life and A Scanner Darkly did Boyhood (or Before...).

...and School of Rock... (Really....?? :/)

Very interesting!

[hoytereden]

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?

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?

Maybe because I grew up in a era ('50s-60s) when Westerns were everywhere on TV I didn't think much about the voices. Of course there were exceptions like Ben Johnson, Strother Martin, Arthur Honeycutt, Dub Taylor, etc. Very unique character actors. I miss guys like that nowadays.

[The Great Owl]

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'd place Stagecoach over Red River in terms of greatness, because Stagecoach just grabs ahold of me and never lets go, but Red River is a wonderful film.

I recommend reading the novella first, as it enhanced my appreciation of the movie without spoiling the fun.

I did not write one of my long-winded User Reviews for Red River when I watched it a few weeks ago, because...well...because I just was not in the mood to write a long-winded review at the time. This movie deserves attention and it deserves a big audience, though.

[jjones1193]

I'm looking for a recommendation from the members here. I am going to pick up either "Harold and Maude" or "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" tonight while I'm at Costco. I can only afford to buy one this week . Which title would you recommend?

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by jjones1193

I'm looking for a recommendation from the members here. I am going to pick up either "Harold and Maude" or "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World" tonight while I'm at Costco. I can only afford to buy one this week . Which title would you recommend?

I only own the first release of Its a Mad Mad World, but I'd go with that one. It's a really entertaining movie...and hey, it's like twice as long as Harold and Maud and the set includes a ton extras.

[fahrenheit290]

Originally Posted by belcherman

FIrst Criterion: On the Waterfront.
Why? One of my goals when I started getting serious about my blu ray collection was to collect as many films as I could from the AFI's list of top 100 American movies. OTW is #8 on the 1997 list and #19 on the 2007 list. Not to mention Brando, Steiger, and Kazan. It's more than a contender!

Most recent (as of two hours ago): BBS Story.
Why? Easy Rider (also on the AFI list) and Last Picture Show (Cloris Leachman just blows me away in the kitchen scene). Five Easy Pieces and Head are also interesting, less so King of Marvin Gardens. Drive, He Said and A Safe Place are total blind buys for me.

I have a bunch that I mean to pick up before the current B&N sale is over. After that, I'll be cutting back my blu-ray purchases to absolute essentials for a while, or at least until the next sale

So many blu rays, so little time.

Don't let the AFI list contain you so much and drive your collection. Quite frankly both iterations weren't that strong. Many key films were overlooked; the ranking is flawed as well. It's a popular conception of the greatest films in American cinema rather than the greatest films in American cinema.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Hasn't Criterion signed a deal with Sony? so it is a possibility for that individual film to be released?

I think the deal with Sony was just manufacturing and/or distributing, not anything to do with film licensing. There are probably others who know more about this that me however.

[Clare2904]

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

My first purchase was for 3 films

Ivan's Childhood - Wanted a war film from a Russian POV
Anatomy Of A Murder - Love Jimmy Stewart
The Thin Red Line - The whole film appealed to me

Ivan was the first film I actually watched so if pushed I would class that as my first.

[jlk5844]

My first ever Criterion was The Blob DVD. I remember thinking, why is this so expensive?!

My first ever Criterion Blu-ray was actually 2: Rosemary's Baby and Following. I had been wanting to see the former for a long time, and the other was Nolan and the premise interested me, and I had been interested in that one for a little while. This was still before I really knew a lot about Criterion, and this was for Christmas 2012.

The following summer was when I got caught up about the company and in July I went crazy with my first big haul.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by jw007

Okay, here is another good question.

Pick 5 Criterion films in your collection that you've waited the longest to watch the most?

So for example you bought a Criterion release 4 years ago that you still haven't watched...and maybe you have very little interest too and thats why its sat on the shelf, still sealed and gathering dust....well, that might be included in the list.

Mine are:

Carlos (6 hour running time is intimidating)
Pierrot le Fou (still sealed and OOP and never got around to it)
Yi Yi (still haven't gotten around to watching this)
Kagemusha (just haven't been in the mood yet for this)
Pierre Etaix (ditto)

Bonus:
Shoah (9 hours + dark/serious subject matter = procrastination)

From July 2013 I still have to watch:

3:10 To Yuma
Red Beard
Days of Heaven
Clean, Shaven
The Magician

I have started to watch the older films on my shelf before any of the more recent purchases.

[hoytereden]

First Criterion:
Laserdisc Super Cop-I liked Michelle Yeoh and Jackie Chan and you could watch it w/o the dubbing.
DVD And God Created Woman-It was that beautiful cover art of BB that got me!
Blu-ray Walkabout, Red Desert, and Days of Heaven-I ordered all three from B&N. I believe I watched Red Desert first because it was the only one I didn't own on a previous format.