The Criterion Collection

[bwdowiak]

heading to the library.. will grab Solaris (never seen it) and Autumn Sonata (never seen it) based on the recent discussion here.

I think that I will enjoy Solaris because my hunch tells me that slow and meditative are more appropriate adjectives as opposed to just arty and vague. Would that be right?

I saw the Soderbergh remake in the theaters and liked it well enough. Can't remember a thing about it though.

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by tisdivine

Liv Ullmann's face kind of gets on my nerves

Seriously - enjoy. Once you go Bergman - you never go back.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

heading to the library.. will grab Solaris (never seen it) and Autumn Sonata (never seen it) based on the recent discussion here.

I think that I will enjoy Solaris because my hunch tells me that slow and meditative are more appropriate adjectives as opposed to just arty and vague. Would that be right?

I saw the Soderbergh remake in the theaters and liked it well enough. Can't remember a thing about it though.

Didn't he put the long shot of the cars on road to make people who get bored easy leave cinema?

:P

[olivianewtonyawn]

Originally Posted by tisdivine

Just blind bought my 1st Bergman's today at the B&N sale.

Persona
Autumn Sonata
The Seventh Seal

Hidden Fortress (Last AK blu I needed)

You all have given such amazingly positive reviews i decided to take the chance. Liv Ullmann's face kind of gets on my nerves 🙀🙀 lol but I love Ingrid Bergman. Can't wait to check them out.

Having just gotten into Bergman myself, let me say that Persona is absolutely mesmerizing and super creepy. Enjoy!

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Tin Drum

That's too bad. Surprising because the packaging shots over at criterionforum don't look too bad except for curled edges on the individual film digipacks.

Also surprising about the extra space in terms of the box itself and digipacks include because the photos over at Criterionforum seem to show different - the photo below shows them almost too snug!

How odd that something seems to have been changed...



Not surprised about the cardboard. Criterion always sacrifices durability in terms of their packaged sets.

What you'll find is that each of those individual digipaks compresses a bit, so there's a lot of give in the package, unfortunately. Plenty of space for the sides of the box to get crunched in.

Now it's entirely possible the box my B&N got was just handled unusually roughly, I'll be curious to hear what others report.

[johnny]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

Any thoughts on John Frankenheimer's Seconds? Going to B&N tonight for yet another spree and I noticed this one last time. Sounds interesting and like a great performance from Rock Hudson, but I was wondering about how rewatchable this one is.

Go for it.... Rock's best performance by far and very interesting Story, I Myself would have no problem re-watching it (I've seen it 3 times so far).

[dynel]

Anyone near the vicinity of B&N Denver? I would like to know if they have enough Criterion stock as I will visit the US soon

[tisdivine]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

Having just gotten into Bergman myself, let me say that Persona is absolutely mesmerizing and super creepy. Enjoy!

How many have you seen so far? Still trying to decide which to pick up next I kniw a lot if people rave about Wild Strawberries but it sounds a like it might be a little slow?

[Thebunk]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

Any thoughts on John Frankenheimer's Seconds? Going to B&N tonight for yet another spree and I noticed this one last time. Sounds interesting and like a great performance from Rock Hudson, but I was wondering about how rewatchable this one is.

Avoid. You are better off just watching Twilight Zone reruns.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Now it's entirely possible the box my B&N got was just handled unusually roughly, I'll be curious to hear what others report.

Like I said in my other comment, mine arrived fine. Was shipped in a regular box with bubble wrap on the top and bottom.

[Thebunk]

Ok so I have bought the following from the sale:

Pale Flower (blind)
Hard Days Night (blind)
8.5 (blind except first 20 mins which I saw)
Paris, TX
Au Revois Les Enfants (blind)
Summer Hours (blind - big fan of family dramas and Jeremy Rennier and Binoche)

Now still humming and hawing over the Cassavetes set. So here is what I am thinking of:

Cassavetes set

Vs.

3 single releases with thshort list being Night of the Hunter, Late Spring (have Tokyo Story but have not watched it yet), Scanners, Close Up, (open to other suggestions). Was looking for Yi Yi and Nasville but the location I will be at does not have them. A few things to note:

- Fav directors in the collection for me is Kieslowski and the Dardennes brothers
- Fav actor in the collection is Binoche
- I HATE dated /theatrical acting so please no Kurasowa films that use that (but I LOVE High and Low).
- Only a so so fan of Samurai flicks.

Thanks in advance!

[atfree]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

Any thoughts on John Frankenheimer's Seconds? Going to B&N tonight for yet another spree and I noticed this one last time. Sounds interesting and like a great performance from Rock Hudson, but I was wondering about how rewatchable this one is.

Personally, I love this film and Criterion's BD is excellent. It's not exactly an uplifting film (to say the least) but I have watched it several times just because it's so well-made and absorbing. Without a doubt Rock Hudson's best performance.

[olivianewtonyawn]

Originally Posted by tisdivine

How many have you seen so far? Still trying to decide which to pick up next I kniw a lot if people rave about Wild Strawberries but it sounds a like it might be a little slow?

I have seen Persona and Wild Strawberries. I bought Autumn Sonata and The Seventh Seal but have not yet watched either yet.

I found Wild Strawberries to be deeply affecting. It is definitely a slower paced film than Persona. It is essentially about loss, many types of loss. Perhaps the main one being the loss of time to learn or understand life's mysteries. In some ways, I felt heartbroken at the end of the film. And apparently, I like that!

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

Mine arrived in the UK in great condition (bar one slight scuff on one corner). The outer box is the same kind of cardboard as the typical Criterion digipack.

Ditto. I received my Amazon copy via USPS and I have no complaints other than the fact that the DigiPacks inside are not perfectly flat, but semi-angled.

Maybe the box could have been a bit snugger, but I would rather have a smidge more room than not enough.

[spargs]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

Any thoughts on John Frankenheimer's Seconds? Going to B&N tonight for yet another spree and I noticed this one last time. Sounds interesting and like a great performance from Rock Hudson, but I was wondering about how rewatchable this one is.

I'm a big fan as well. Love Frankenheimer's early-to-mid-60s films. I've watched my blu twice already.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

Any thoughts on John Frankenheimer's Seconds? Going to B&N tonight for yet another spree and I noticed this one last time. Sounds interesting and like a great performance from Rock Hudson, but I was wondering about how rewatchable this one is.

I first watched the movie last year via Criterion's release of the film. Over the course of the film, I just couldn't get into it. I have never been the biggest fan of culty films, so that played a part. Also, a lot of it had to do with me expecting this great, psychologically frightening piece of work that so many have made it out to be. Long story short, I couldn't see any of that.

I rewatched the film a couple of nights ago as I am rewatching all of my films to determine which ones I should hold on or get rid of (due to not liking them). I found myself surprisingly enjoying the film a lot and even feeling paranoid in the process. First and foremost, I was able to see the bigger picture of the film and secondly, I was able to see some comparisons to societal issues.

I wouldn't make the film your number one priority, but I still think you should check it out. Now seems to be as good of a time as any to pick it up with the sale going on.

Originally Posted by tisdivine

How many have you seen so far? Still trying to decide which to pick up next I kniw a lot if people rave about Wild Strawberries but it sounds a like it might be a little slow?

Wild Strawberries is one of the best films in The Criterion Collection. If you like films such as "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Umberto D.", where the viewer is shown the brighter side of life through the characters' hardships and downfalls, then you will absolutely adore this one.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Ditto. I received my Amazon copy via USPS and I have no complaints other than the fact that the DigiPacks inside are not perfectly flat, but semi-angled.

Maybe the box could have been a bit snugger, but I would rather have a smidge more room than not enough.

Glad to hear other people are reporting their Jacques Demy cases look okay, it's indeed possible the box my B&N got was dropped off the back of a truck or something, it looked like all the cases crushed each other in transit.

[blu-bry]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Wild Strawberries is one of the best films in The Criterion Collection. If you like films such as "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Umberto D.", where the viewer is shown the brighter side of life through the characters' hardships and downfalls, then you will absolutely adore this one.

Solid advice.

[The Great Owl]

My copy of The Essential Jacques Demy is in perfect condition, thankfully. The folks at Barnes & Noble know that I'm a regular, so they picked the best of the three copies at the store to reserve for me.



It's a bulky set, and it takes up a lot of room in my collection, but the package has a colorful and parade-y look that I quite like.

It's a fragile set as well, but I would not go so far as to say that it's flimsy. I'll just have to watch my weight room grip strength when I pick it up.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

Any thoughts on John Frankenheimer's Seconds? Going to B&N tonight for yet another spree and I noticed this one last time. Sounds interesting and like a great performance from Rock Hudson, but I was wondering about how rewatchable this one is.

Seconds is awesome in every sense of the word.

It's a great Twilight Zone-esque story that veers into dark territory in both philosophical and literal terms. The cinematography is wonderfully claustrophobic and the black-and-white images look amazing on the Criterion Blu-ray. I cannot recommend it enough.

I wrote a long User Review for Seconds that is linked on the movie page on this site, and I go into a lot more detail about it there.

What's up with your username, though? Olivia Newton John was my first childhood crush. I was crazy about her when I was 8 or 9 years old back in the early 1980s when her songs were popular and when Grease reruns used air on primetime television. She was so lovely back then, and she never stopped being lovely after that. Criterion totally needs to release Xanadu.