The Criterion Collection

[Mansinthe]

Pro-B did mention this

PACKAGING PHOTOS (Review will be up tomorrow night):

*Also included one photo with the old R2 DVD release (uncut).

could this mean the bluray might be cut? i dont see why else he should mention that the R2 DVD was uncut.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

yuck.. it is the worst!

I initially wasn't pleased with the cover, but it has grown on me. Everything else, however, looks great.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

I initially wasn't pleased with the cover, but it has grown on me. Everything else, however, looks great.

I was never keen on cover, and still prefer the temp one they used (the typography was much nicer) - but for some reason digipaks make any artwork looks great! I love look of it.

I was same with The Great Beauty, hated the artwork ons screen, but the digipak release is stunning and the artwork is beautiful, especially the contrasting artwork on inner case.

How can you not love the extra artwork on a digipak

Eraserhead better be a digipak!

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

thanks

Pro-B what is your most favorite Criterion release this year?

This is a very difficult question because this year there have been so many great releases from Criterion. I'll give you three that I really liked:

1.

Superb restoration of a classic film that has been impossible to see in the U.S. (unless you go back to VHS or some bootlegs).

2.

The folks at Chimney Pot are doing incredible work. This release basically shows everything that is great about Blu-ray.

3.

I am actually one of those guys who kept the Criterion laserdisc even after my player stopped working. And believe me, this release is amazing. Great, great American film!

The only reason I am not listing Bay of Angels is because it is part of a box set, and The Great Beauty came out earlier on the other side of the Atlantic. (But the Criterion release of The Great Beauty might well be the most elegant in the entire collection. Fantastic design!).

I hope you are well, Mansinthe

Pro-B

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

I initially wasn't pleased with the cover, but it has grown on me. Everything else, however, looks great.

the image on the book is nice, but I think that I'll blow up the pic of Maribel Verdú, cut a hole in her mouth, hang it up somewhere and see if I can throw cherries through it from across the room. just a stupid picture.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

the image on the book is nice, but I think that I'll blow up the pic of Maribel Verdú, cut a hole in her mouth, hang it up somewhere and see if I can throw cherries through it from across the room. just a stupid picture.

It is a nice set and the artwork is nice, but its average - I think Criterion and the designer could have created something much better and more reflective of the film.

Juts feels nice... but I think this artwork would look very weak/poor in aplastic case :/

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

Speaking about Ebert, is it possible that Criterion will release Life Itself? I still haven't seen it but I don't want to see the scenes of Ebert near the end. That'll make me lose my cool for sure.

Magnolia Pictures, so...I highly doubt it. At least it'll be on Netflix Streaming earlier.

(And I already knew most of the story by the end, since I was hooked for the last year on Ebert's personal-blog column.
He didn't talk much about films by that point, except for his annual Cannes trip, and only a little about his medical problems; mostly used it to rationalize his old Catholic-school upbringing into a sort of lured atheism bi-curiosity, for which I would always give him Be-Smart-Don't-Start heck.
He was hoping for good snarky rule-breaking discussion and actually liked some of my comments, which, considering I'd always wanted to be a movie critic since I was in junior high, just from watching the show... )

[aes3728]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

PACKAGING PHOTOS (More in the review below):

Y Tu Mamá También Blu-ray REVIEW

Pro-B

Any idea when we will get the Love Streams review?

[Scottie]

Man, that Y tu mamá también packaging looks gorgeous.

I really cannot wait to own it. It is truly one of the greatest films of the 2000s.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I spent $84.08 on my entire collection of Godard on blu that consists of:

Breathless (Criterion)
Weekend (Criterion)
Vivre sa Vie (Criterion)
Une Femme Mariée (MoC)
Pierrot le Fou (Studio Canal)

the only one I bought used was PLF and the digipack was in perfect condition!

I dread to think how much I've spent on Godard movies. There's over $400 in the most recent 2 box-sets and Histoire(s) du cinéma from France alone, and I've got a number of multiples too. All told I own 59 individual Godard releases on DVD and Blu-ray!

[Scottie]

From Criterion's FaceBook page.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by iScottie

From Criterion's FaceBook page.

I love when they do these photoshoots so much thoughts goes into the the location and framing, just brilliant

[ijustblumyself]

I always seem to come in late for these discussions..
I love the fact that Ebert was never afraid to unconditionally praise a flawed film if it connected with him in some way. You always got the sense that when he gave a movie 4/4 stars, he genuinely loved it. There are some reviews where you never truly get a sense of why a critic enjoyed a certain film, but even with Ebert his love always felt real and I could truly understand it.
It's great to read his reviews after watching some of the classics.

My only problem is that he tended to dismiss a lot of genre films without second thought, and was a tad condescending to people who enjoyed them. He focused too much on the whole 'think about the children' angle when reviewing horror films.
I know horror films are never critical darlings, but I think arguing a movie is bad for children is a bad line of criticism.

Speaking of horror films, I've recently been trying to work out why I enjoy them so much. I don't really enjoy the horror films we get today as they seem to follow a rather boring formula, but I can't get enough of the cult stuff between the 70's and 90's. I think that even when a horror film is badly plotted, terribly acted, ect; it still attempts to create a palpable mood. For me, that makes the average horror film more watchable than an average drama.
That being said, I can't really think of a cult horror film that's become one of my all time favourites. I just enjoy watching them.

[SammyJankis]

I picked up Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles from the library. I don't know much about it, other than its running time (which, admittedly, could put me off from watching it.)

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

I'm not the biggest fan of the film, but Ebert's reasoning for disliking Blue Velvet has always struck me as lousy. His reviews for Clockwork Orange and Texas Chainsaw don't do much for me, either (although he admitted on a talk show years later that he was probably wrong on the former.)

There were times when Ebert & Siskel changed their opinion on a film. Their initial reviews of Blade Runner weren't particularly positive, but several years later, they revised their opinion upwards.

Their review of Videodrome was a headscratcher, too. It was enough to make me wonder if they saw some bizarre alternate cut that no one else in the entire world saw, or they just weren't paying attention. They talked about the sadistic scene where James Woods burns Deborah Harry's breast with a cigarette. Yeah...oooookaaaay...

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by jayembee

There were times when Ebert & Siskel changed their opinion on a film. Their initial reviews of Blade Runner weren't particularly positive, but several years later, they revised their opinion upwards.

Their review of Videodrome was a headscratcher, too. It was enough to make me wonder if they saw some bizarre alternate cut that no one else in the entire world saw, or they just weren't paying attention. They talked about the sadistic scene where James Woods burns Deborah Harry's breast with a cigarette. Yeah...oooookaaaay...

Siskel also changed his thumb on Apocalypse Now. One time he changed it during the middle of a show.

Siskel & Ebert: Broken Arrow (Year 1996) - YouTube

[SlickDamian]

Just watched Secret Sunshine for the first time. Powerful film. Gripping. Really enjoyed it.

Watched Leon Morin, Priest for the first time yesterday, despite owning it since before it went OOP. Don't know why I waited so long. Very interesting thoughts and religion and faith. As an atheist, it really connected with me. Melville never missed, did he?

[SlickDamian]

Not overly thrilled that Y Tu Mama Tambien is a digipack, to be honest. Not a huge fan of them, was excited when Criterion's supplier developed the three-disc case... Which it looks like won't get used much. Oh well, I will still buy this eventually. I haven't seen the film, but it looks to be up my alley, and I really like Gravity and Children of Men.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ijustblumyself

Speaking of horror films, I've recently been trying to work out why I enjoy them so much. I don't really enjoy the horror films we get today as they seem to follow a rather boring formula, but I can't get enough of the cult stuff between the 70's and 90's. I think that even when a horror film is badly plotted, terribly acted, ect; it still attempts to create a palpable mood. For me, that makes the average horror film more watchable than an average drama.
That being said, I can't really think of a cult horror film that's become one of my all time favourites. I just enjoy watching them.

This summarizes my own feelings pretty well. I watched Without Warning (1980) and The Fog (1980) last night, and had an awesome time with both films. I've seen The Fog about a hundred times during my life, but this was my first rodeo with the Blu-ray. Later tonight, I'm going to watch Sleepaway Camp.

I've been going back in time lately to enjoy a lot of horror films that I liked back in the early 1980s. None of them will ever be confused for Best Picture nominees, but, truth be told, I prefer some of them to a lot of Best Picture nominees.

Incidentally, Criterion fans will appreciate a scene in Without Warning where Neville Brand (Riot in Cell Block 11, Stalag 17), Ralph Meeker (Kiss Me Deadly, Paths of Glory), Martin Landau (North by Northwest), and Jack Palance (Panic in the Streets, Man in the Attic) are all in the same room together. I got the impression while watching the film that these actors must have had fun appearing together at this point in their lives. Without Warning was Ralph Meeker's final film.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

Just watched Secret Sunshine for the first time. Powerful film. Gripping. Really enjoyed it.

Watched Leon Morin, Priest for the first time yesterday, despite owning it since before it went OOP. Don't know why I waited so long. Very interesting thoughts and religion and faith. As an atheist, it really connected with me. Melville never missed, did he?

Both of those films deal very interestingly with religion and faith. Two of my favorites in the collection.