The Criterion Collection

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

Nnnooooo!, you didn't just lump Terrence Malick in with Anderson, Lynch, and Nolan!!?! and David Fischer the hockey player!

Freaking autocorrect on my phone, I meant Fincher!

And I am not comparing Malick's skills to them, I meant, most people only seem to care about any Criterion release from those particular directors. Although, to be honest, I'm not a super huge Malick fan. Let the slings and arrows fly.

Ehh, I am not bothered by what Criterion chooses to release, I'm happy with what I own, and I'm just hoping the stupid 50% off sale is going to happen. Got quite the backlog to catch up on.

I've dismissed titles in the past, only to go watch them and decide to buy them instantly after various members of this board raved about them. Le Havre and House are perfect examples. The write-ups didn't really appeal to me, but once people on here explained why they enjoyed the films, I gave them a second chance.

[atlantajoseph]

Finally watching the Melville titles in my collection. I am not generally a fan of French new wave nor of crime dramas, but OH MY these gangster movies are a delight!

Over the past week I've watched:
Le Cercle Rouge on BD... my favorite of the lot... this NEEDS to come back into print.
Le Samourai... fantastic!
Bob le Flambeur... also a treat... would have been great, no doubt, if they had stuck to Melville's original script. This one was created before Melville had the $ to be fully autonomous.
Leon Morin, Priest... I dunno, I loved the first half of this (I'm all about philosophy and existential drama), but it seemed to meander and fizzle later on. Some knockout performances, however.

Next up is Le Doulos. Then I will revisit Army of Shadows, which I only saw once, years ago, but have not yet watched my BD copy.

They just don't make 'em like this anymore.

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

They're are plenty of films in the collection that I'm not familiar with, but none that I've never heard of.

(Then again, I'm a huge dork that keeps an excel spreadsheet updated with all the releases...)

All you have to be is the kind of dork who can type in Criterion's url and look through their website. If you care enough to comment about the quality of the announcements on announcement day, you ought to be a big enough dork to have a nodding awareness of the titles in the collection. But, I know, it's the internets, Jake.

[Brandon.]

Sorry if this has been mentioned before. But I just got my flash sale order in the mail and my 'The Night of the Hunter' I received is the digipak version. I was under the impression that it was OOP and the plastic case was the only one available now.

[movieben1138]

New Criterions at CostCo! (Well, one NEW and three other new to them.) There's a Western themed set where you can find My Darling Clementine, 3:10 to Yuma, Jubal, and Stagecoach all for $19.99 apiece. You better believe I picked up Clementine!

-Ben

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Freaking autocorrect on my phone, I meant Fincher!

And I am not comparing Malick's skills to them, I meant, most people only seem to care about any Criterion release from those particular directors. Although, to be honest, I'm not a super huge Malick fan. Let the slings and arrows fly.

Ehh, I am not bothered by what Criterion chooses to release, I'm happy with what I own, and I'm just hoping the stupid 50% off sale is going to happen. Got quite the backlog to catch up on.

I've dismissed titles in the past, only to go watch them and decide to buy them instantly after various members of this board raved about them. Le Havre and House are perfect examples. The write-ups didn't really appeal to me, but once people on here explained why they enjoyed the films, I gave them a second chance.

I knew that! I actually left the 'c' out of Malick when I posted and had to go back and edit~ would have been a bit of a comeuppance.

Seriously, I love Malick but his last was disappointing...once too often to that particular well I'm afraid, but I'll still look forward to his next, whatever that might be. Kes, La Haine, Fishtank, Leon Morin~ all ones I might have missed without the recommendations of trusted posters here!

And welcome back!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by atlantajoseph

Finally watching the Melville titles in my collection. I am not generally a fan of French new wave nor of crime dramas, but OH MY these gangster movies are a delight!

Over the past week I've watched:
Le Cercle Rouge on BD... my favorite of the lot... this NEEDS to come back into print.
Le Samourai... fantastic!
Bob le Flambeur... also a treat... would have been great, no doubt, if they had stuck to Melville's original script. This one was created before Melville had the $ to be fully autonomous.
Leon Morin, Priest... I dunno, I loved the first half of this (I'm all about philosophy and existential drama), but it seemed to meander and fizzle later on. Some knockout performances, however.

Next up is Le Doulos. Then I will revisit Army of Shadows, which I only saw once, years ago, but have not yet watched my BD copy.

They just don't make 'em like this anymore.

If I had to name one thing about the Criterion Collection for which I am the most thankful, it would be the fact that the Collection led to my discovery of Jean-Pierre Melville's films. Every title that you've listed above is an out-of-the-park home run. It's such a shame that so many of his titles are out-of-print on these shores, because I love reading the thoughts of people who are new to his films.

[Peachy]

Now the deal with Warner lets all hopes , especially for this masterpiece that is After Hours of Scorsese.

A release of the film in their collection would be one of the finest realese ever.

I posted the question on FB Warner Archives few days ago and I never had answer, so, maybe positive sign (I think )

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

I knew that! I actually left the 'c' out of Malick when I posted and had to go back and edit~ would have been a bit of a comeuppance.

Seriously, I love Malick but his last was disappointing...once too often to that particular well I'm afraid, but I'll still look forward to his next, whatever that might be. Kes, La Haine, Fishtank, Leon Morin~ all ones I might have missed without the recommendations of trusted posters here!

And welcome back!

Danke.

Leon Morin is my favourite Melville, I'm looking forward to rewatching it in a few weeks. I still haven't found an English translated version of the novel, unfortunately.

I'm currently up to Fanny and Alexander in my "let's watch every Criterion I own in spine # order, and all the supplements with the exceptions of alternate cuts of the film, trailers, and audio commentaries." Supplements tonight, and the television version (the superior version) tomorrow night. I admit I've been slack because I've been reading books instead. However, my stalkerbook posts on my Criterions have generated a bit of discussion on some of the films, so that's a good thing?

I'm actually going back and adding a film I've watched, dismissed, but rewatched again and changed my mind on next month during the B&N sale, The Red Shoes. I liked it, but I didn't love it. Rewatching, I now love it.

I'm also in the process of checking out the Maddin as one of my friends gave me some other recommendations outside of what's being added to Criterion.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Danke.

Leon Morin is my favourite Melville, I'm looking forward to rewatching it in a few weeks. I still haven't found an English translated version of the novel, unfortunately.

I'm currently up to Fanny and Alexander in my "let's watch every Criterion I own in spine # order, and all the supplements with the exceptions of alternate cuts of the film, trailers, and audio commentaries." Supplements tonight, and the television version (the superior version) tomorrow night. I admit I've been slack because I've been reading books instead. However, my stalkerbook posts on my Criterions have generated a bit of discussion on some of the films, so that's a good thing?

I'm actually going back and adding a film I've watched, dismissed, but rewatched again and changed my mind on next month during the B&N sale, The Red Shoes. I liked it, but I didn't love it. Rewatching, I now love it.

I'm also in the process of checking out the Maddin as one of my friends gave me some other recommendations outside of what's being added to Criterion.

Have you seen Fanny and Alexander before? It is one of the most profound films that I have ever seen. Despite its lengthy runtime, I can see myself watching it at least once a year.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Have you seen Fanny and Alexander before? It is one of the most profound films that I have ever seen. Despite its lengthy runtime, I can see myself watching it at least once a year.

Long runtimes don't bother me in the slightest - I prefer it, more to watch nd get excited about!

I was hoping Gone Girl would have been longer, and could have been but in cinema guy next to me fell asleep snoring and guy behind me was complaining he was bored and was annoyed at run time... was only 3 hours - some people eh lol

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Have you seen Fanny and Alexander before? It is one of the most profound films that I have ever seen. Despite its lengthy runtime, I can see myself watching it at least once a year.

Yes, I've watched both versions. I've owned the set for almost two years. I haven't watched all of the supplements until recently, however.

I've watched at some point, all of the Criterions I own. The four showing up under my Criterions as "not watched" simply mean I haven't watched the blu-ray version yet, as I didn't want to screw up my spine order any more than necessary (had to jump back from Gimme Shelter to Picnic at Hanging Rock, and I'll probably do a few more in November).

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

However, my stalkerbook posts on my Criterions have generated a bit of discussion on some of the films, so that's a good thing?

A few months ago, I started a "Movie of the Week" theme on Facebook by changing my cover background photo to a different screenshot. These usually kick off some fun conversations.

Here are my "Movie of the Week" cover photos so far, with a handful of good Criterion picks...

[Show spoiler]

(I had to use Spoiler caps as not to inundate the thread with multiple large images.)

I expected to see tumbleweeds go by in response to the most recent one, but it turns out that a couple of FB friends are familiar with The Vanishing after all.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Long runtimes don't bother me in the slightest - I prefer it, more to watch nd get excited about!

I was hoping Gone Girl would have been longer, and could have been but in cinema guy next to me fell asleep snoring and guy behind me was complaining he was bored and was annoyed at run time... was only 3 hours - some people eh lol

Jeez, if they can't handle a film that is a little over 2 hours, I'd like to see how they would handle an actual long film.

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Yes, I've watched both versions. I've owned the set for almost two years. I haven't watched all of the supplements until recently, however.

I've watched at some point, all of the Criterions I own. The four showing up under my Criterions as "not watched" simply mean I haven't watched the blu-ray version yet, as I didn't want to screw up my spine order any more than necessary (had to jump back from Gimme Shelter to Picnic at Hanging Rock, and I'll probably do a few more in November).

Oh cool. I've only seen the TV version and that worked perfectly well for me.

Sadly, I have not watched too many of the supplements in my collection. I'm currently making rewatching my films or watching them for the first time my priority before I begin to go through the commentaries, shorts, and other featurettes. God only knows when that may be, though. Haha.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Long runtimes don't bother me in the slightest - I prefer it, more to watch nd get excited about!

I was hoping Gone Girl would have been longer, and could have been but in cinema guy next to me fell asleep snoring and guy behind me was complaining he was bored and was annoyed at run time... was only 3 hours - some people eh lol

If a movie grabs you, running times become meaningless and like you say, often you wish they were longer. For instance, one of my favorites is Downfall which flew by for me and I wanted more. Btw-I would love to see it in the Collection.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

If a movie grabs you, running times become meaningless and like you say, often you wish they were longer. For instance, one of my favorites is Downfall which flew by for me and I wanted more. Btw-I would love to see it in the Collection.

Downfall is an extraordinary film. I've consistently ranked Bruno Ganz's performance as one of the top 3 I've ever seen. To me, it's astonishing, even though it's become such a popular youtube spoof.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Jeez, if they can't handle a film that is a little over 2 hours, I'd like to see how they would handle an actual long film.



Oh cool. I've only seen the TV version and that worked perfectly well for me.

Sadly, I have not watched too many of the supplements in my collection. I'm currently making rewatching my films or watching them for the first time my priority before I begin to go through the commentaries, shorts, and other featurettes. God only knows when that may be, though. Haha.

That's why I'm rewatching all my films in spine order, and including all supplements with the exception of trailers, alternate cuts/dubbed versions, and commentaries. Some of the supplements are almost better than the films themselves. The Autumn Sonata making of documentary is like double the length of the film, and it's actually very interesting to see Ingrid and Ingmar argue with each other. Also, the stuff in the Algiers set I think I might have slightly enjoyed more than Algiers itself. That is a pretty amazing set. I admit, I'm loving the titles coming out in January, yet I'm slightly critical of them because they seem to be heavily lacking in supplements, compared to some of the films I own presently. I know a few people have mentioned Sword of Doom is priced too high for just having a commentary, but Criterion did the same thing with Charade.

I may go back and watch the commentaries and alternate cuts at some point, but most of the alternate versions of the films are horrible. The Leopard, for example, is a completely different film and isn't nearly as enjoyable in English with 20 minutes, give or take, hacked out of it. Hell, in most of the other supplements on The Leopard, everyone says the American, English dub is crap, including the people who actually re-edited the film for that release.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Downfall is an extraordinary film. I've consistently ranked Bruno Ganz's performance as one of the top 3 I've ever seen. To me, it's astonishing, even though it's become such a popular youtube spoof.

His performance is so convincing that you actually feel like you're watching documentary footage of the events. Amazing film.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

Lol, I know the feeling. I didn't realize until last night that the announcements had been made. I have been busy too, with my 3 day old baby. That made the Criterion announcement which I always look forward to just a little less important.

Congratulations! You are in for a world of excitement

[jw007]

Originally Posted by jayembee

True enough. I did say that Maddin isn't for everyone, and that his films are dubious blind buys.

I can vouch for this. Maddin is truly a director with films I can never ever say are blind-buy material. If there is any director out there who is an acquired taste, Guy Maddin is a big one that comes to mind.