The Criterion Collection

[MifuneFan]

I do like Fistful, but I definitely think Yojimbo is the better overall film. I think there's enough differences to appreciate both for their own merits though. The Magnificent Seven is also a very good western adaption. Great ensemble cast, and a classic score from Elmer Bernstein. The Blu-ray collection, which includes all 4 Magnificent Seven films, is a great value at $16 (it also can be bought at Foxconnect for $11.19 shipped with the code zvDYASCvp4lvjJSb). I've only seen the first, so I can't comment on how good the sequels are however

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

Just watched SANJURO again for the first time in about four-and-a-half years, the perfect movie to open a bottle of sake for! I remember having liked it before, but thinking it was a substantial step below YOJIMBO. This time I enjoyed and appreciated it much better, its satiric edge and outright comedy, the semi-surprise result of the inevitable final showdown, and of course the magnificent use of the widescreen black-and-white cinematography, though it's still not quite as good a film as YOJIMBO.

Given Mifune's wily character, I honestly kept expecting the bloody surprise showdown at the end to have been

[Show spoiler]deliberately faked by the two, to scare the young wannabe students, as the one thing the two old enemies could agree on was that the hard life of the samurai was not meant for these kids, and maybe Mifune's old hardass enemy had finally learned the value of a little sneakiness from him.

But no, it was,

[Show spoiler]"Oh, howboutthat, really DID kill him!...Huh."

[jshaide]

Flash sale Tuesday? Will history repeat itself?

[UNCMT9]

Originally Posted by jshaide

Flash sale Tuesday? Will history repeat itself?

Confirmed?

[jlk5844]

Haven't popped in in a little while. I've since seen The 400 Blows and Through a Glass Darkly.

400 Blows was great. A very simple, timeless, easy to enjoy story with its sad moments. I was really invested in the lead character Antoine and his situation. Great use of the camera and there are a couple suspenseful scenes, one involving theft and a long take tracking shot toward the very end. Also, that famous ending. The film lived up to the critical praise.

Through a Glass Darkly if I were to describe it would be an intimate, dark, emotionally raw study of its 4 characters. I liked the isolated setting and taking place only over the course of a day, and the cast is absolutely great. I'm really liking seeing this side of Max von Sydow, as I'm only used to seeing him in more contemporary films such as The Exorcist, Minority Report, and Shutter Island. Gunnar Bjornstrand has been a great introduction as well, and my word am I glued to Harriet Andersson whenever she's on screen. She's not only beautiful but a fantastic actress, and she has some tough material to work with but has a few scenes to truly display her talent in the film's more intense moments. I didn't expect the mental illness angle, and I think that was better, because it gradually becomes more significant as the film goes on. As is usual with Bergman, the film is lovingly shot. A quietly (quite literally, as there is hardly any music) powerful small scale film, and it's tough to rank, but it's at least on par with Seventh Seal and Summer with Monika for me. Hope this comes to Blu-ray sometime soon.

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Am I the only one who prefers A Fistful of Dollars to Yojimbo?

I think Yojimbo is far better. As for the Dollars movies I think For a Few Dollars More is the best of the trilogy.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I love Sanjuro, and I enjoy it as much as Yojimbo. The latter is the better overall film, but I find Sanjuro to more entertaining. It's strange too, because even though it is a black and white movie, when I think back on many scenes,

[Show spoiler]like the red and white camellias going down stream

, I see it all in color. It looks great in B&W no doubt, but I think it would also have looked amazing in color too.

Here's a rare color shot from the set:

Hopefully thinking that photo is rare doesn't mean that you don't have this!

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Hopefully thinking that photo is rare doesn't mean that you don't have this!

Nope I don't have it yet! It's been on my wish list for a while, among several Kurosawa books lol. I need to start picking some them up.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Nope I don't have it yet! It's been on my wish list for a while, among several Kurosawa books lol. I need to start picking some them up.

Do it! I think it might be oop, but there are still reasonably priced copies out there.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by UNCMT9

Confirmed?

Pure speculation on my part since the last couple of years had one this week.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished re-reading the Henry James novella, The Turn of the Screw, for the first time in over a decade, because I wanted it fresh in my mind before I watch The Innocents later tonight. The novella is purposely ambiguous in so many ways, but the vagueness of certain story elements just makes the end result more disturbing, because much of how we choose to interpret things depends on our own psyches.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just finished re-reading the Henry James novella, The Turn of the Screw, for the first time in over a decade, because I wanted it fresh in my mind before I watch The Innocents later tonight. The novella is purposely ambiguous in so many ways, but the vagueness of certain story elements just makes the end result more disturbing, because much of how we choose to interpret things depends on our own psyches.

Love the novella, ADORE the film!

I got my Criterion Blu-ray copy of The Innocents coming in soon, and I'm practically salivating at the mouth to watch it on Blu.

[Brad1963]

I just watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for the first time...WOW!

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

I just watched The Umbrellas of Cherbourg for the first time...WOW!

Easily one of my all-time Top 10 films. It's magical on every level, pretty much. And I think it's one of the most beautiful films ever made.

It's gorgeous. The casting is perfection. The music is ... well, what can you even say? The story is amazing. It's just about as good as it gets.

[UNCMT9]

Originally Posted by jshaide

Pure speculation on my part since the last couple of years had one this week.

Cools I hope it holds true! Would love to pick up The Innocents and preorder The Vanishing.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by UNCMT9

Cools I hope it holds true! Would love to pick up The Innocents and preorder The Vanishing.

Criterion.com flash sales are limited to in stock items.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Criterion.com flash sales are limited to in stock items.

At least the BN sale should happen for him to get Vanishing.

[UNCMT9]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Criterion.com flash sales are limited to in stock items.

Thanks for the heads up. I can wait unti November if I have to I suppose

[SammyJankis]

Sometimes the flash sales will have a glitch when the sales go up. I've seen a lot of people around her snag pre-orders before. That's just wishful thinking, though.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Sometimes the flash sales will have a glitch when the sales go up. I've seen a lot of people around her snag pre-orders before. That's just wishful thinking, though.

Yeah? I've never been able to squeeze it in. At least BN will have their thing in November. I like the flash sale because it lets me split up the funds over the course of two months instead of all one lump sum.

I have 50 bucks to redeem from Criterion.com too.