The Criterion Collection

[blu-bry]

Originally Posted by Wildcat47

Massive gap - Westerns (seems to be the talk of the forum?) 3:10 to Yuma, Stagecoach, or Red River (in that order) would be my choices.

Also, add Paris, Texas and Close Up ASAP - 2 must haves IMO

Another gap - Silents: Lloyd and Chaplin both have great Criterion releases, with plenty more to come I would think. Also, The Phantom Carriage is fantastic.

Honorable mentions off the top of my head: Rififi, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, Wages of Fear, Anatomy of a Murder, Diabolique, Ace in the Hole, Hard Days Night (if you like the Beatles at all), Thief

Or if you go the Directors route, dive into more Kurosawa, dip into Kiarostami, Hitchcock, and Ray. And if you like him, Wes Anderson. I personally love his movies, but he seems to get tons of hate here.

I could go on forever, but hope this helps.

Excellent post! I'll second everything here, except I haven't seen Paris, Texas, and I'm only lukewarm on Wes Anderson.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

just watched Vampyr (1932 Dreyer) @ hulu.
now, im wondering why so many people are always asking for that movie to be released on bluray. compared to nosferatu it was nothing special at all.

it even fellt like parts of the movie are missing , lol.

Too bad you didn't enjoy it, I LOVE that film, mostly because of the surreal visuals and the simply incredible experimentation on display.

The Criterion DVD is awesome, but I couldn't see much of an improvement for a Blu-ray. The film is in pretty rough shape.

[SilentDawn]

I just finished Picnic at Hanging Rock, and I have no idea what to think of it. A truly mystifying and confounding experience.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

just watched Vampyr (1932 Dreyer) @ hulu.
now, im wondering why so many people are always asking for that movie to be released on bluray. compared to nosferatu it was nothing special at all.

it even fellt like parts of the movie are missing , lol.

This film is all about atmosphere to me. It is something you have to be "sunk into" to get the full effect.

I don't know why it always comes up in discussions about a blu ray upgrade as I was pretty sure that the film elements just aren't there. If anyone has any info please share. The CC box set is one of their best packaging in my opinion,

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

I just finished Picnic at Hanging Rock, and I have no idea what to think of it. A truly mystifying and confounding experience.

It's one of the most unsettling films that I have ever seen.

[ngower]

Originally Posted by Wildcat47

Massive gap - Westerns (seems to be the talk of the forum?) 3:10 to Yuma, Stagecoach, or Red River (in that order) would be my choices.

Also, add Paris, Texas and Close Up ASAP - 2 must haves IMO

Another gap - Silents: Lloyd and Chaplin both have great Criterion releases, with plenty more to come I would think. Also, The Phantom Carriage is fantastic.

Honorable mentions off the top of my head: Rififi, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion, Wages of Fear, Anatomy of a Murder, Diabolique, Ace in the Hole, Hard Days Night (if you like the Beatles at all), Thief

Or if you go the Directors route, dive into more Kurosawa, dip into Kiarostami, Hitchcock, and Ray. And if you like him, Wes Anderson. I personally love his movies, but he seems to get tons of hate here.

I could go on forever, but hope this helps.

Regarding Westerns, I'm still exploring that genre. I was just at a screening of a Ford flick the other night, but I'm a bit iffy on them from my experiences.

I've never finished a Chaplin (I KNOW) and have never seen a Harold Lloyd flick (I KNOW AGAIN) so that's definitely an area of cinema to take in.

I've seen some other Kurosawa back in college and on the Hulu channel. He's definitely someone who piques my interest. I want to pick up Ran during the BN sale, but I'm told the Studio Canal transfer is garbage.

Ray—yes! I need to see The Big City. Maybe I'll watch it on Hulu tonight.

Having a minor meltdown trying to decide what to watch tonight between:

• White
• City Lights
• Amelie
• Persona
• The Big City

AHHHHHHH!!!!

[WalterNeff]

Originally Posted by ngower

Alright all, I'm sure there will be a billion answers: I wanna blind-buy the biggest omission from my Collection, but I want your help. Judging by my collection (size doesn't matter!) where do you see a massive gap—either with a must-have film, or a director, or a genre...whatever!? Pick one!

http://www.criterion.com/my_criterio...wer/collection

Well in my humble opinion, Brazil is a must-own( it was my first criterion after all). Also if you liked Seven Samurai, you'll probably like Yojimbo and Sanjuro.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Has anyone seen Leave Her to Heaven? There's a double bill at a theater with Out of the Past tomorrow, which I certainly plan on seeing. I mine as well catch this. I just don't know much about the film, aside from the fact that it's a 40s noir shot in technicolor (which intrigues me greatly.)

I'd love to see Out of the Past on a big theater screen. Let me know your thoughts on the film after the fact.

Leave Her to Heaven is a pretty amazing color film noir (one of the few color films in the genre). I cannot add much to watch oildude already said above, but I'd certainly take advantage of the chance to see it on a big screen. The Twilight Time Blu-ray has my enthusiastic recommendation, even if some folks are down on the way that the film was restored. Considering what they probably had to work with, I think that it looks beautiful.

[The Great Owl]

To say that Michelangelo Antonioni's 1962 film, L'Eclisse, has a disconnected aura is to make an understatement of epic proportions. I personally like to imagine that L'Eclisse takes place after the events in Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and that the pod people of the Siegel film are aimlessly going through the motions, unsure of what to do with their lives now that they have taken over the planet and all of the real humans are gone. After two characters in this Antonioni film go through oddly detached motions of attraction and lovemaking, a series of shots depicting deserted streets gives me the impression that these two have been taken away by the other pod people because they dared to show some semblance of emotion. Even the film's most prominent displays of action and emotion, when a character is mimicking tribal dancers and when characters are excitedly trading at the Rome Stock Exchange, are followed by sequences of people simply observing or even ignoring one another.

My tendency to compare L'Eclisse to science fiction is aided by Antonioni's otherworldly visuals. As Monica Vitti's Vittoria is preparing to leave her fiancee, Francisco Rabal's Riccardo, an extended glimpse out of a window reveals a water tower that resembles an alien from an H.G. Wells novel. Occasional references to possible nuclear war also contributes to the impression that this movie takes place in a lonely future. Finally, Antonioni's use of geometry and white lines often serves as a figurative division between people and gives one that idea that inert objects are characters all their own that have just as much, if not more, emotional immediacy as the human characters. Scenes of Vittoria kissing Alain Delon's Piero from opposite sides of glass door windows give us the most memorable relationship moments. I challenge any new viewer to watch this film and not be completely devastated during the final six minutes, as buildings, objects, and streetlights are shown in lieu of people. Years later, Antonioni would repeat this "may or may not be science fiction" approach with his 1982 film, Identification of a Woman.

Monica Vitti's performance in L'Eclisse is a masterwork of subtlety. Some of the film's most entrancing moments involve her wandering around and processing different scenarios with a silent countenance. These moments make me wonder if Scarlett Johansson's forlorn wanderings through Tokyo in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation were influenced by Antonioni's films. When Vittoria is all but ignored while her mother is preoccupied with stock trading, we sense that Vittoria's struggles to connect with others could be a result of a lack of affection from her mother while growing up, but this is never explicitly addressed in the film. Alain Delon, in turn, is remarkable as a stockbroker who may or may not be content to drift from one sexually intense fling to another, as though people are simply commodities instead of emotional beings.

This Criterion Blu-ray of L'Eclisse is a notable step up from my old Criterion DVD in terms of video and audio presentation. Antonioni's black-and-white images look gorgeous on this disc, just as they do on the Criterion Blu-ray of La Notte. The supplements are ported over from the DVD edition, but they deserve a second look from those familiar with that edition.

L'Eclisse is a five-star Criterion title from one of cinema's most fascinating and challenging directors.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

just watched Vampyr (1932 Dreyer) @ hulu.
now, im wondering why so many people are always asking for that movie to be released on bluray. compared to nosferatu it was nothing special at all.

it even fellt like parts of the movie are missing , lol.

Originally Posted by SilentDawn

Too bad you didn't enjoy it, I LOVE that film, mostly because of the surreal visuals and the simply incredible experimentation on display.

The Criterion DVD is awesome, but I couldn't see much of an improvement for a Blu-ray. The film is in pretty rough shape.

Whenever I watch a film this old I keep that at the forefront of my mind. For its age it is marvellous. Yes you can compare it to other films of its time but I feel that anything that came out in the 20/30's is a remarkable achievement and much better than any of the CGI fake kak we see today.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

This film is all about atmosphere to me. It is something you have to be "sunk into" to get the full effect.

I don't know why it always comes up in discussions about a blu ray upgrade as I was pretty sure that the film elements just aren't there. If anyone has any info please share. The CC box set is one of their best packaging in my opinion,

Oops, sorry I missed your post from my reply above ^

[cardiac161]

Richard Linklater's film Boyhood, which may be a Best Picture contender, will be released as part of the Criterion Collection, as confirmed by the filmmaker himself:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplayli...tures-20140718

[*DrStrangelove*]

I need help choosing 3 out of the following:

Tokyo Story
Jules and Jim
Ace in The Hole
The Life Aquatic
L'eclisse
Pick Pocket
Tess
Scanners
Or just The Cassavetes Set.

All blind buys except Jules and Jim.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

I need help choosing 3 out of the following:

Tokyo Story
Jules and Jim
Ace in The Hole
The Life Aquatic
L'eclisse
Pick Pocket
Tess
Scanners
Or just The Cassavetes Set.

All blind buys except Jules and Jim.

Tokyo Story. I'll let the rest of the board pick the other two.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

I need help choosing 3 out of the following:

Tokyo Story
Jules and Jim
Ace in The Hole
The Life Aquatic
L'eclisse
Pick Pocket
Tess
Scanners
Or just The Cassavetes Set.

All blind buys except Jules and Jim.

L'Eclisse
John Cassavetes
Tokyo Story

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by iScottie

L'Eclisse
John Cassavetes
Tokyo Story

Cheater!

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

I need help choosing 3 out of the following:

Tokyo Story
Jules and Jim
Ace in The Hole
The Life Aquatic
L'eclisse
Pick Pocket
Tess
Scanners
Or just The Cassavetes Set.

All blind buys except Jules and Jim.

Just curious why that list? I will say that I personally think the best film on that list is Tokyo Story. L'eclisse and Pick Pocket are quite good as is The Life Aquatic (if you like Anderson films). I personally do not think Scanners or Tess are worthy of Criterion treatment...one I thought was laughable back when it came out and the other has always been overrated. Jules and Jim is a good film but I could not connect with the characters at all and I have never seen Ace in the Hole (yet)

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

[Show spoiler]

To say that Michelangelo Antonioni's 1962 film, L'Eclisse, has a disconnected aura is to make an understatement of epic proportions. I personally like to imagine that L'Eclisse takes place after the events in Don Siegel's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and that the pod people of the Siegel film are aimlessly going through the motions, unsure of what to do with their lives now that they have taken over the planet and all of the real humans are gone. After two characters in this Antonioni film go through oddly detached motions of attraction and lovemaking, a series of shots depicting deserted streets gives me the impression that these two have been taken away by the other pod people because they dared to show some semblance of emotion. Even the film's most prominent displays of action and emotion, when a character is mimicking tribal dancers and when characters are excitedly trading at the Rome Stock Exchange, are followed by sequences of people simply observing or even ignoring one another.

My tendency to compare L'Eclisse to science fiction is aided by Antonioni's otherworldly visuals. As Monica Vitti's Vittoria is preparing to leave her fiancee, Francisco Rabal's Riccardo, an extended glimpse out of a window reveals a water tower that resembles an alien from an H.G. Wells novel. Occasional references to possible nuclear war also contributes to the impression that this movie takes place in a lonely future. Finally, Antonioni's use of geometry and white lines often serves as a figurative division between people and gives one that idea that inert objects are characters all their own that have just as much, if not more, emotional immediacy as the human characters. Scenes of Vittoria kissing Alain Delon's Piero from opposite sides of glass door windows give us the most memorable relationship moments. I challenge any new viewer to watch this film and not be completely devastated during the final six minutes, as buildings, objects, and streetlights are shown in lieu of people. Years later, Antonioni would repeat this "may or may not be science fiction" approach with his 1982 film, Identification of a Woman.

Monica Vitti's performance in L'Eclisse is a masterwork of subtlety. Some of the film's most entrancing moments involve her wandering around and processing different scenarios with a silent countenance. These moments make me wonder if Scarlett Johansson's forlorn wanderings through Tokyo in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation were influenced by Antonioni's films. When Vittoria is all but ignored while her mother is preoccupied with stock trading, we sense that Vittoria's struggles to connect with others could be a result of a lack of affection from her mother while growing up, but this is never explicitly addressed in the film. Alain Delon, in turn, is remarkable as a stockbroker who may or may not be content to drift from one sexually intense fling to another, as though people are simply commodities instead of emotional beings.

This Criterion Blu-ray of L'Eclisse is a notable step up from my old Criterion DVD in terms of video and audio presentation. Antonioni's black-and-white images look gorgeous on this disc, just as they do on the Criterion Blu-ray of La Notte. The supplements are ported over from the DVD edition, but they deserve a second look from those familiar with that edition.

L'Eclisse is a five-star Criterion title from one of cinema's most fascinating and challenging directors

.

Nice comments about the difference between Delon's character and Vitti's character. It totally makes sense why their romance works out that way. I totally agree with your comments.

[joie]

The commentary track on "l'eclisse" can be misleading. The commentary mentions Africans arriving in Italy, from the colonies, when two black men are seen sitting outside a cafe at Verona's airport. They may be US servicemen. At an outdoor table, at the same cafe, there are two white men sitting at a table, drinking beer, speaking English. When "Vittoria" steps into the cafe, someone says, "hello," to her in English. There was a US military presence in Verona for some time after WW II.

The architecture in EUR, a roman suburb, plays a part in the movie and has some interesting examples of what could be called "cookie-cutter classicism." EUR was started by Mussolini to be the site of a world expo, but WW II intervened and the fair didn't take place, but EUR continued to be developed. To some extent the film contrasts the architecture of old Rome with that of new Rome, but I wouldn't swear that it was the director's intent to do so -- he doesn't show us the best of cookie-cutter classicism.

[ngower]

Just watched White and, as seems to be the case with all of Kieslowski, I'm gonna need to re-watch. He's such a puzzling, yet simple filmmaker. Nothing about his plots demand re-watching—they're fairly straightforward—but there's always an element of curious confusion as the credits roll. Might try and squeeze Red in before going to bed and then start blowing through all the special features. Between these and the book on Kieslowski earlier, I'm pretty ****ing jazzed about this dude's work. To think it all started with a random watch of The Double Life of Veronique just a few weeks ago. He's starting to contest Malick's spot as my favorite director.