The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by BLUgrass

As far as discussion, I'm kind of curious how you guys each got into the Criterion Collection. Was it because a certain film you wanted was only available via Criterion? Was it more because of the treatment the films get via special features and new transfers? Was it for a particular director or genre?

A family member had purchased me the DVD of The Royal Tenenbaums at Walmart upon its release date. I believe it was my first entry into both The Criterion Collection and Wes Anderson.

To continue with my story, I spent a good portion of my years watching generic films. One day, I decided that I wanted to get into more films after browsing IMDB's top films list, with a lot of those films being available via Criterion.

The first Blu-ray Criterion that I purchased was oddly enough The Royal Tenenbaums at Best Buy upon its release date. I then went to Barnes 'N Noble that same week to partake in the 40% off sale, where I purchased several films. The rest is history.

[serenityncc880]

Originally Posted by BLUgrass

Thanks for the feedback, guys.

As far as discussion, I'm kind of curious how you guys each got into the Criterion Collection. Was it because a certain film you wanted was only available via Criterion? Was it more because of the treatment the films get via special features and new transfers? Was it for a particular director or genre?

I was taking a film history class in college, which i had been really regretting because we just had watched Birth of a Nation. While being interesting from a historical perspective, a 3 hour+, silent, black and white, and super racist film that we had to watch in an incredibly musty, hot and humid room was not exactly comparable to a trip to an IMAX theater to see TDK for someone who, prior to taking this class, may have never seen a movie older than the Godfather, besides like Wizard of OZ or Disney films. Then one week we were shown 'A Story of Floating Weeds' by Yasujiro Ozu. To my utter astonishment I was completely captivated by this film, and was so drawn in that I completely forget i was watching a silent B&W foreign film, and it just felt like I was living in the world with these characters. That drove me to rush back to my dorm and look it up and I discovered it was only available through the criterion collection, which I had never heard of. That night, or maybe the next, I watched Seven Samurai, which also absolutely floored me. When browsing Criterion films I also fell in love with the high quality of the packaging and the top notch extras. From that point on I have been a follower of the Criterion Collection, which has given me such an incredible education on cinema and the beauty it has to offer.

TL,DR: 'A Story of Floating Leaves', 'Seven Samurai' brought me in. The Incredible packaging, extras, and amazing films kept me.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by BLUgrass

As far as discussion, I'm kind of curious how you guys each got into the Criterion Collection. Was it because a certain film you wanted was only available via Criterion? Was it more because of the treatment the films get via special features and new transfers? Was it for a particular director or genre?

One of my favourite films ever, The Thin Red Line, was released by them, and so i discovered Criterion. (it was my first purchase)
I liked their classy menu, design and covers and after that I discovered that other films that I liked and had seen in my teens were released (or were being released) (Howards End, Three Colors Trilogy, Double Life of Veronique), so I started looking for more Criterions..
Don't have much yet, just 9, and I have 14 more in my wishlist..
I'm just trying to buy films that would interest me and have seen and know that I like, and not just anything, just because it's Criterion.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Hiroshima mon amour is a mix bag for me.

The cinematography and film editing are superb. I really enjoyed the framing of the scenes.

Resnais political view is naive to say the least treating Japan as a victim by showing us the aftermath of the atomic bomb. He totally leaves out the monstrosities Japanese fascists did in China, concentration camps or Pearl Harbor. I cannot say that the US was completely faultless, but Japan is not like Poland.

I see what you're saying. I had not given it much thought if Resnais leans towards painting Japan in a somewhat innocent light. What I don't like about the movie is the clumsy, "look at me" attempts at being artful. When

[Show spoiler]she is describing her affair at the cafe during the mid point of the movie, she is arbitrarily swapping out pronouns - "he" for "you", etc.

Not only is it confusing, Resnais kind of bops you in the head w/ what is being implied by this artistic attempt...

and then -

[Show spoiler] the last lines of dialogue in the film. "I am Hiroshima" or whatever it is he says... No, really? cause I didn't gather that in the first 90 minutes of the film.

awful. sorry.

[Thebunk]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The "disc rot" threads that occasionally pop up in the main forum annoy me in a way, because I often suspect that a few of the posters are just trolling.

I've owned more CDs, DVDs, and Blu-rays in my time than I can count, including CDs from the late 1980s that are still in my collection, and I have not experienced this issue even once. I'm not saying that it does not happen, but my own experiences have convinced me that probability is on our side.

Of course, I'm more over-protective of my discs than most (or so I thought, until I joined this forum).

There does appear to be a genuine issue with Summer Hours, but I do not own that Blu-ray, and I cannot comment. I haven't experienced anything wrong with my copies of Walkabout, M, or Stagecoach, though.

Great Owl - I respect you and your knowledge and love of film but it looks like you are dead wrong.

I think people should really check out the "Summer Hours" thread as the list of films that could be affected is growing fast and Criterion have yet to comment on the matter. Heck, CriterionCast displayed a disc of theirs/his with the browning issue as well. One poster found 6 discs in his collection that all have the issue and will not even load in their players anymore. Not good...

[silverlakephil]

Originally Posted by BLUgrass

As far as discussion, I'm kind of curious how you guys each got into the Criterion Collection. Was it because a certain film you wanted was only available via Criterion? Was it more because of the treatment the films get via special features and new transfers? Was it for a particular director or genre?

I'm showing my age here, but I was really obsessed with Blade Runner when it was first released in theaters in 1982. I was already a fan of Sci-Fi, always picking up the latest magazines of Starlog, Cinemafantastique, Fantastic Films, Heavy Metal, etc., so when this movie came out I was blown away.

Anyways, I was happy catching it during reruns on cable, but when Laserdiscs became popular during the early 90s, I had to grab Criterion's Laserdiscs version. It came in a box, and was heavy. Back then, I thought the PQ was great, but a bit of a chore to play since movies on laserdiscs were spread out on several discs (parts of the movie on each side like an LP), and if your player didn't automatically change sides, you'd have to do it yourself.

I didn't purchase too many Criterions Laserdiscs since they were so expensive, but it was my first introduction to Seven Samurai and It became one of my favorites since first watching it on laserdisc way back then. The audio commentary on that is a classic.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

Great Owl - I respect you and your knowledge and love of film but it looks like you are dead wrong.

I think people should really check out the "Summer Hours" thread as the list of films that could be affected is growing fast and Criterion have yet to comment on the matter. Heck, CriterionCast displayed a disc of theirs/his with the browning issue as well. One poster found 6 discs in his collection that all have the issue and will not even load in their players anymore. Not good...

maybe they haven't commented because it is a non-issue? or because no one at Criterion who reviews or owns the movies has confirmed it to be a real problem.

I've had one DVD just stop working. It happened to be the first DVD I ever bought and my favorite movie of all-time, too - my copy of Vertigo that I bought in like '98 or '99. just stopped working.

[DeyoreW]

I first started with The James Bond Titles "Dr No" "From Russia with Love" and "Goldfinger" on CLV Laserdisc.
I remember just feeling I purchased something truly special.
Widescreen and awesome picture quality. They were worth the $40 each they commanded. Those were the only Criterions of the 20 or so LDs I purchased in the early 1990s.

Fast forward several years and I noticed Criterion started producing DVDs. I purchased Time Bandits on release day back in 1999. Then Armageddon, The Rock and Brazil.

When I noticed The 400 Blows dvd went out of print and started commanding high prices I had to get it to see what all the fuss was. I ended up really like that foreign film as my first foray in "non mainstream non Hollywood" films. I quickly purchased about 100 Criterion dvds over the course of several years.

It was then that I started cataloging which ones I had and keeping a list of all titles by spine.

When they announced Blu-ray's I knew that this was my chance to collect every single released title.

So currently I have every single Blu-ray title and about 40 or so DVD's I have kept from long ago for my Criterion Collection.

I see the full collection as a growing piece of art that's weight and significance comes from the collection over a specific title.

[Akijama]

[Scottie]

Good God - that is one gorgeous looking cover.

[duggie walker]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Good God - that is one gorgeous looking cover.

You Dirty Old Man - Steptoe and Son - YouTube

[StLouisRibs]

So... no sale today, I suppose.

[Thebunk]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

maybe they haven't commented because it is a non-issue? or because no one at Criterion who reviews or owns the movies has confirmed it to be a real problem.

I've had one DVD just stop working. It happened to be the first DVD I ever bought and my favorite movie of all-time, too - my copy of Vertigo that I bought in like '98 or '99. just stopped working.

Please read the thread then comment.

I know we are all Criterion fan-boys/girls but lets not our bias cloud reality.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by StLouisRibs

So... no sale today, I suppose.

Seems that way.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

Please read the thread then comment.

I know we are all Criterion fan-boys/girls but lets not our bias cloud reality.

take it easy there, bunkster. it is only a "reality" when CC confirms the problem. until then, "Johnny Criterion Collector's copy of xyz film has some brown stuff around the edges. and..... CC has not commented on it!" sounds more like a conspiracy theory than a reality.

not saying that it can't be true, but I don't know how other people store their movies and I need not qualify how unreliable the internet can be, so there's no need for anyone to panic.

btw... I'm the farthest thing from a Criterion fanboy. I know that I can't expect you to follow or recall things I've said, but anyone who might have a bead on me knows that I'm the last person to fit that description

[DenOfEarth]

I can't wait for Time Bandits and Tootsie to be on Criterion this winter.

Now Criterion, how about City of Lost Children, Trippletes of Belleville, Perfect Blue, Peter Jackson's early films etc. next year? it's my wishlist.

[Partyslammer]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

take it easy there, bunkster. it is only a "reality" when CC confirms the problem. until then, "Johnny Criterion Collector's copy of xyz film has some brown stuff around the edges. and..... CC has not commented on it!" sounds more like a conspiracy theory than a reality.

Yeah, that's the ticket. A bunch of random people got together and decided to concoct a story about disc rot to bring down Criterion.

[captveg]

I've worked in the home video industry for a decade now. I have 3 discs effected by this issue. It's a legit problem on some batches of discs that were manufactured at in at least the period of 9/22/09-5/25/10. I guarantee the reason Criterion has yet to respond is because they are getting the full facts before doing so.

[Clare2904]

I have Summer Hours but no idea what I am supposed to be looking for on the disc.

Are there any pics ?

Also how do I find out what pressing my copy is ?

Thanks

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

yeah, I know.. I'm on an island w/ this opinion. fortunately for me, Roger Ebert and Pauline Kael are there with me, so there is movie talk aplenty.

I'm with you. I think it's a good film but not a masterpiece whatsoever. IMO a lot of its praise comes from it's subject matter rather than the quality of the full itself.