The Criterion Collection

[TJS_Blu]

New doc on Altman:

Altman

Interview with director Ron Mann here.

[myka22]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Watch the original film, Abre Los Ojos. It's better in every way...well, except for the soundtrack.

Do you know if this is on netflix/hulu/amazon? Or do I have to track down a copy?

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by myka22

Do you know if this is on netflix/hulu/amazon? Or do I have to track down a copy?

Look for it under the anglicized title.

Amazon

[Mansinthe]

got a B&N 15% coupon that ends tomorrow. i wont use it so here it is:

Enter code WA2QX8ZJQLX6F

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by myka22

Do you know if this is on netflix/hulu/amazon? Or do I have to track down a copy?

I don't believe it is on any subscription streaming service at the moment (I hope I'm wrong). Maybe locating a DVD would be the cheapest option (and definitely take up TJS Blu's advice by looking for it under the title "Open Your Eyes").

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Helikaon

My favourite Tom Cruise moments:

I think that Tom Cruise gets a bad rap.

I grew up watching Tom Cruise in the 1980s, and I still love The Outsiders, Risky Business, All the Right Moves, Top Gun, Cocktail, and Days of Thunder.

I'm one of the few people who really enjoyed Oblivion last year, and I think that it's an awesome Blu-ray.

I did not quite warm up to Edge of Tomorrow as much as most people did, but I do think that Tom Cruise has a great role in the film that showcases all of his strengths. It's fun to see him go from a reluctant slacker to a full-fledged action hero.

[The Great Owl]

I watched the Criterion Blu-ray of I Married a Witch last night.

I do not normally associate the term, "fluffy", with Criterion titles, but I Married a Witch is definitely the fluffiest film that I own from the Collection. It's fun to watch a Criterion movie ever so often that does not require me to put on my thinking cap, though, and I found the lighthearted satire and situational comedy moments in this film to be quite refreshing. The special effects in this movie are impressive, and the cinematography is engaging.

I could look at Veronica Lake in anything. She was such a true classic beauty in every sense. Cecil Kellaway, who plays her father in this film, commands almost as much attention, though.

There's no need to write a long User Review for this particular Criterion Blu-ray, but I pretty much concur with the official site review. I Married a Witch is not a movie that will change anyone's outlook on life, but it's a wonderfully charming title.


Incidentally, I decided to watch I Married a Witch last night just for a comedic antidote to the comparably intense Vincent Price film, Witchfinder General, that I had watched the night before. In truth, though, I think that the ideal double feature in this regard would be Witchfinder General and Marketa Lazarova. These two movies share an unsettling vibe in the sense that the world has not always been a kind place to young beautiful women who are left to fend for themselves.

[malakaheso]

On the subject of 'lighter' films, at least somewhat, I wish Criterion would release Night Of The Living Dead(Romero). Isn't that in public domain? Nobody has released a great blu-ray to my knowledge.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

On the subject of 'lighter' films, at least somewhat, I wish Criterion would release Night Of The Living Dead(Romero). Isn't that in public domain? Nobody has released a great blu-ray to my knowledge.

the japanese bluray is not bad...

[RojD]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I think that Tom Cruise gets a bad rap.

I grew up watching Tom Cruise in the 1980s, and I still love The Outsiders, Risky Business, All the Right Moves, Top Gun, Cocktail, and Days of Thunder.

I'm one of the few people who really enjoyed Oblivion last year, and I think that it's an awesome Blu-ray.

I did not quite warm up to Edge of Tomorrow as much as most people did, but I do think that Tom Cruise has a great role in the film that showcases all of his strengths. It's fun to see him go from a reluctant slacker to a full-fledged action hero.

I liked Oblivion, too. Aside from too much expository blabbing at the beginning and another dose of it in the middle with storytelling by Morgan Freeman, it's very competent, slick, engaging and fun. I always enjoy a sci-fi that nudges thought a little, and the end of Oblivion asks some questions like only sci-fi can do.

I didn't respond nearly as positively to Edge of Tomorrow.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by RojD

I liked Oblivion, too. Aside from too much expository blabbing at the beginning and another dose of it in the middle with storytelling by Morgan Freeman, it's very competent, slick, engaging and fun. I always enjoy a sci-fi that nudges thought a little, and the end of Oblivion asks some questions like only sci-fi can do.

I didn't respond nearly as positively to Edge of Tomorrow.

Really? Oblivion was a mess... only film I have ever wanted to walk out of, I couldn't wait for it to end.

I have forgotten most of it luckily, but my god it was so predictable, full of cliches and just generally a terrible film.

I mean I went in knowing and expecting a mainstream sic-fi but it was just so bad, so many things wrong with it. I id however love the Tron film he did, again it is a bit mainstream and has its flaws but it was so visually striking and the soundtrack was incredible and as much as i hate 3D it was used quite nicely in that film (2d in real world but 3D when in the game).

[Mansinthe]

I Really liked recent sci-fi movies like Oblivion , Pacific Rim and Elysium. Best modern Sci-fi movies since District 9.

lot of people into Criterion movies seem to dislike "modern" movies for whatever reason...

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

the japanese bluray is not bad...

The Japanese Blu-ray of Romero's 1968 Night of the Living Dead is fantastic, in my opinion. I bought it for ridiculously cheap a few months ago ($16 or so, including shipping, to the best of my memory). I never expected the picture quality to be so good for that film.

[Rich Pure Doom]

All this comparison of PTA to Altman has me frustrated, especially the Magnolia comparison. Comparing Magnolia to a film like Nashville is like comparing 8 1/2 to 300. One of these films is tactless and appeals to the lowest common denominator. It beats you over the skull with whatever obvious points it's trying to make. It presents characters as archetypes and tries to get the viewer to believe these characters say something about the world (they don't). Altman presents us with people in a natural setting and allows his characters to live and react to the world presented to them. Their three dimensions reveal slowly without all the obvious traps PTA would use. Altman is too often criticized of not "making" us invest in his characters. I disagree with this viewpoint wholeheartedly. It's not his job to make us.

The following is taken from a Salon article on Nashville:

In one scene, Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine have just had sex. (A tape of him singing plays on his tape recorder: This seems to be a seduction technique of his — he’s purveying his self-regard.) In bed, relaxing, he has her show him how to say “I love you” in American Sign Language. She smiles happily, then realizes it’s getting late. She straightens her hair and pulls on her clothes, sizing up the damage in a bathroom mirror. Carradine is stung — we’ve seen him with a number of other women, but he’s opened up only with her. You can see him thinking: “People don’t leave me. I leave them.”

He retaliates by dialing up an old girlfriend, working his charm on her and offering to bring her to Nashville in full hearing of Lily. Almost imperceptibly, Lily — a straitlaced mother and wife who has probably never before cheated on her husband — registers how childish and selfish the man she’s just had sex with is; she also registers how badly she must have needed this tumble. She waves goodbye briskly and leaves wearing a different smile than the one she wore in bed; Carradine ends his phone conversation abruptly. He can make any woman in a club think he’s singing a song for her alone, but here, now, he’s frustrated and disconsolate.

Altman LOADS Nashville with scenes like these, that seem simple and without much meaning, but with a little prying, we can find out everything we want to know about these characters, and without all the heavy-handed direction, we as the viewer, can make up our own minds about them.

I will give PTA credit for improving his craft with his most recent film The Master, which I regard as his most mature film. But to say he's in league with Altman is high praise he has not yet earned. I don't even think it's a valid comparison, no matter how much PTA thinks he's "ripped off" Altman in his career, I still feel like he's done a pretty bad job of it. Their films are NOT similar.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

I Really liked recent sci-fi movies like Oblivion , Pacific Rim and Elysium. Best modern Sci-fi movies since District 9.

lot of people into Criterion movies seem to dislike "modern" movies for whatever reason...

I loved District 9, I wanted to love Elysium, but it was no way as good as District 9, I think it was to aimed at mainstream audience, like the flashbacks and such - they should re edit it tbh.

[ultlife2013]

So much snobbery going on, it makes me sad.

[Helikaon]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

I Really liked recent sci-fi movies like Oblivion , Pacific Rim and Elysium. Best modern Sci-fi movies since District 9.

lot of people into Criterion movies seem to dislike "modern" movies for whatever reason...

Filmsnobs are the worst kind of snobs . I liked Oblivion, thought Pacific Rim was fantastic, but was disappointed in Elysium after the impressive District 9. What did you think of the latest Godzilla?

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

All this comparison of PTA to Altman has me frustrated, especially the Magnolia comparison. Comparing Magnolia to a film like Nashville is like comparing 8 1/2 to 300. One of these films is tactless and appeals to the lowest common denominator. It beats you over the skull with whatever obvious points it's trying to make. It presents characters as archetypes and tries to get the viewer to believe these characters say something about the world (they don't). Altman presents us with people in a natural setting and allows his characters to live and react to the world presented to them. Their three dimensions reveal slowly without all the obvious traps PTA would use. Altman is too often criticized of not "making" us invest in his characters. I disagree with this viewpoint wholeheartedly. It's not his job to make us.

The following is taken from a Salon article on Nashville:

In one scene, Lily Tomlin and Keith Carradine have just had sex. (A tape of him singing plays on his tape recorder: This seems to be a seduction technique of his — he’s purveying his self-regard.) In bed, relaxing, he has her show him how to say “I love you” in American Sign Language. She smiles happily, then realizes it’s getting late. She straightens her hair and pulls on her clothes, sizing up the damage in a bathroom mirror. Carradine is stung — we’ve seen him with a number of other women, but he’s opened up only with her. You can see him thinking: “People don’t leave me. I leave them.”

He retaliates by dialing up an old girlfriend, working his charm on her and offering to bring her to Nashville in full hearing of Lily. Almost imperceptibly, Lily — a straitlaced mother and wife who has probably never before cheated on her husband — registers how childish and selfish the man she’s just had sex with is; she also registers how badly she must have needed this tumble. She waves goodbye briskly and leaves wearing a different smile than the one she wore in bed; Carradine ends his phone conversation abruptly. He can make any woman in a club think he’s singing a song for her alone, but here, now, he’s frustrated and disconsolate.

Altman LOADS Nashville with scenes like these, that seem simple and without much meaning, but with a little prying, we can find out everything we want to know about these characters, and without all the heavy-handed direction, we as the viewer, can make up our own minds about them.

I will give PTA credit for improving his craft with his most recent film The Master, which I regard as his most mature film. But to say he's in league with Altman is high praise he has not yet earned. I don't even think it's a valid comparison, no matter how much PTA thinks he's "ripped off" Altman in his career, I still feel like he's done a pretty bad job of it. Their films are NOT similar.

Great post! I think I have to agree with your criticism of Magnolia; even though I like it a lot, I can't watch it too many times because its emotional manipulation is so full-throttle.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

So much snobbery going on, it makes me sad.

I don't get how any of this stuff is snobbery, whats wrong with knowing what you like an what you dislike? :P

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

So much snobbery going on, it makes me sad.

Amen. I was about to respond to a certain post, but said user came off as very hostile to any opinion outside of his/her own. What's the use?

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I don't get how any of this stuff is snobbery, whats wrong with knowing what you like an what you dislike? :P

Agreed. I hate when you ask someone what they like (music for example) and they just say "I like everything" as if it's some sort of deep, open-minded stance. It's really that the person has turned off their brain and has accepted anything without any sort of critical analysis. Society is leaning more and more in this direction all the time. Knowing what you like, and why, is the intellectual open-minded stance.