The Criterion Collection

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by octagon

People do complain about other films that already have excellent (and sometimes not so excellent) releases. It's very common.

Tree of Life isn't being singled out here.

Ah, ok then.
Because I had the notion that it was singled-out.

[Andrew13]

Originally Posted by iScottie

As others have pointed out, October 2014's newsletter clue seems to be hinting at Carol Reed's 1947 film-noir, Odd Man Out.

It'd certainly be nice to see this paired with a re-release of The Third Man.

[GenPion]

On the subject of The Tree of Life, if something like that ever happened (where it joins the collection) maybe some of the countless hours of deleted footage could show up in either an alternate extended cut or simply as deleted sequences. That's enough material right there (if they can get it) for an edition.

I just watched the Criterion release of Godzilla. I had never seen the original before and I must say the film took me by surprise. It's a shockingly different movie than I had been expecting, even knowing that the film had an element to it about the Hydrogen bombs. I thought it was incredibly powerful filmmaking. This is very clearly a masterpiece, with an incredibly story, great performances, and fantastic direction. I loved it.

I had just recently seen the new Hollywood version of Godzilla, which I had been very much hoping would be a fun thriller of sorts, but was let down by how poor the story, characters, and even the over-the-top CGI was. By comparison, the classic Godzilla used a costume and stop-motion animation to great effect and was technically far more impressive despite it 's age. I was much more enthralled by these more traditional effects. Even after all these years they have held up remarkably well.

I guess I was just surprised how much I loved the film, especially after being so let down by the latest attempt by Hollywood to reboot the franchise. There's no real comparison in quality between the two; the original stands as the clear victor of the two.

[JJJ225]

Originally Posted by aes3728

My guess is it comes out in May, that 5 has to be for something.

There is another James Mason thriller, Five Fingers, that came out a few years after Odd Man Out. A James Mason collection? (half kidding, but thinking wishfully!)

[jw007]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Watched Persona this morning. Was really looking forward to this after all of the love here. I was delightfully surprised in the beginning to see such a strange, moody montage with mesmerizing images and the score overall was creepy and unnerving. I knew right away this was going to be different than Bergman's previous films. And sure enough, as I discovered, it was his most artsy and confusing film, that I've seen anyway. There were some fantastic moments and simply amazing cinematography, lots of close ups with stark black and dark gray subjects against bright white backgrounds, such as on the cover of the Criterion Blu-ray. I was reminded of the opening of Under the Skin actually, particularly in regards to that opening eerie sequence of Persona. The acting by Bibi Andersson is terrific.

That said, I have to admit, coming fresh off my first viewing, I didn't enjoy most of the film. I'm sure it all means something, but I just found it frustrating. It was so challenging and difficult to read (not the subtitles, the film's meaning) that I gave up and wanted it to end at a point. It didn't always hold my attention, there were periods of not much happening that slowed it down.

Now, it is acclaimed, and this kind of film requires multiple viewings and analysis, so I'll be sure to grant it that before declaring my final word on whether or not I believe it to be a good film. Did anyone else have a similar experience?

I have a strange reluctance of wanting to see this film. I keep hesitating about watching Persona. I take it out and put it back on the shelf again realizing I'm not in the right mood to see it (or if I ever will be). There's something about Bergman's films that zap any remnant of joy or happiness out of me. His films are just so damn melancholic for me for some reason. He is by far the most challenging director at least for me (in terms of viewability).

[jw007]

Why do I always get this sense that I seem to provoke these intense conversation starters and then I'm away all day and log in late at night (or early morning) and discover several pages that have been discussed over The Tree of Life. Wow, I seem to have such an amazing power to continue opening these cans of worms. Ha.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by jw007

Why do I always get this sense that I seem to provoke these intense conversation starters and then I'm away all day and log in late at night (or early morning) and discover several pages that have been discussed over The Tree of Life. Wow, I seem to have such an amazing power to continue opening these cans of worms. Ha.

yeah for god sake always causing problem and forcing people to try like/appreciate TTOL... GOD...

Good thing I'm not involved :P

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by GenPion

On the subject of The Tree of Life, if something like that ever happened (where it joins the collection) maybe some of the countless hours of deleted footage could show up in either an alternate extended cut or simply as deleted sequences. That's enough material right there (if they can get it) for an edition.

I just watched the Criterion release of Godzilla. I had never seen the original before and I must say the film took me by surprise. It's a shockingly different movie than I had been expecting, even knowing that the film had an element to it about the Hydrogen bombs. I thought it was incredibly powerful filmmaking. This is very clearly a masterpiece, with an incredibly story, great performances, and fantastic direction. I loved it.

I had just recently seen the new Hollywood version of Godzilla, which I had been very much hoping would be a fun thriller of sorts, but was let down by how poor the story, characters, and even the over-the-top CGI was. By comparison, the classic Godzilla used a costume and stop-motion animation to great effect and was technically far more impressive despite it 's age. I was much more enthralled by these more traditional effects. Even after all these years they have held up remarkably well.

I guess I was just surprised how much I loved the film, especially after being so let down by the latest attempt by Hollywood to reboot the franchise. There's no real comparison in quality between the two; the original stands as the clear victor of the two.

I didn't mind Godzilla remake - the director stayed true to his roots and I don't think he sold out at all. It was lawed at times but it could have been worse

It had some great cinematic moments - check out his first film, Monsters - EXTREMELY low budget but pretty awesome tbh.

[pro-bassoonist]

Hello everyone. I wanted to leave a short note that our review of L'avventura will be up later today. The new restoration of the film is absolutely magnificent, while Criterion's technical presentation is simply outstanding. L'eclisse should have looked this good.

If you don't have this release pre-ordered yet, you should place an order now.

The featurette with Olivier Assayas (Carlos) is also very good.

What a fantastic year this has been for Antonioni (and Italian cinema) fans!





Pro-B

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hello everyone. I wanted to leave a short note that our review of L'avventura will be up later today. The new restoration of the film is absolutely magnificent, while Criterion's technical presentation is simply outstanding. L'eclisse should have looked this good.

If you don't have this release pre-ordered yet, you should place an order now.

The featurette with Olivier Assayas (Carlos) is also very good.

What a fantastic year this has been for Antonioni (and Italian cinema) fans!





Pro-B

cool, never seen so be nice to read your review - is it a very windy film lol?

[CinemaBlu]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hello everyone. I wanted to leave a short note that our review of L'avventura will be up later today. The new restoration of the film is absolutely magnificent, while Criterion's technical presentation is simply outstanding. L'eclisse should have looked this good.

If you don't have this release pre-ordered yet, you should place an order now.

The featurette with Olivier Assayas (Carlos) is also very good.

What a fantastic year this has been for Antonioni (and Italian cinema) fans!





Pro-B

Sounds great! I'm looking forward to upgrading my DVD along with L'Eclisse next month to go with my La Notte blu. I've been waiting until all three were on Blu-ray to watch them as a triple feature.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

Well, I think Criterion isn't only about the transfer. It's more than that..
I mean why people wish for Criterion to release this and that?
Why not be content with just a good transfer from any other studio?

This just keeps getting brought up. My view isn't so much "why does it need to come out from Criterion when another label has done a perfectly acceptable (if not terrific) job". It's "why should Criterion spend time and effort to do something that another label has already done a good job on when there are literally hundreds of other worthy titles that haven't been released yet?"

I'd love to see Lawrence of Arabia under the Criterion label again, but I'd rather see them spend the time, money, and effort to bring out a killer edition of John Woo's Bullet in the Head.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Here is a great example of someone doing it wrong and this makes me laugh so hard lol

Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey | Official Trailer - YouTube

Well, that depends. I mean, this is a trailer that's trying to encapsulate 12 hours of material into 3 minutes. I really don't think you can equate it to a 3-hour film.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! - YouTube

Replace Britney with Terrence Malick and this is how I feel...

Now, that is something about which I can truly and honestly say "Words fail me."

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by dsman71

They Made Me A Fugitive is that the They Made Me A Criminal alternate title with John Garfield ? I keep mixing those up.

I assume that octagon was referring to the Cavalcanti film with Trevor Howard, which is sometimes known as "I Became a Criminal", just to muddy the waters.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Andrew13

It'd certainly be nice to see this paired with a re-release of The Third Man.

Ah-hah! That's what the "5" on the catcher's jersey means. Criterion's laserdisc of The Third Man was Spine #5.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by GenPion

I just watched the Criterion release of Godzilla. I had never seen the original before and I must say the film took me by surprise. It's a shockingly different movie than I had been expecting, even knowing that the film had an element to it about the Hydrogen bombs. I thought it was incredibly powerful filmmaking. This is very clearly a masterpiece, with an incredibly story, great performances, and fantastic direction. I loved it.

I had just recently seen the new Hollywood version of Godzilla, which I had been very much hoping would be a fun thriller of sorts, but was let down by how poor the story, characters, and even the over-the-top CGI was. By comparison, the classic Godzilla used a costume and stop-motion animation to great effect and was technically far more impressive despite it 's age. I was much more enthralled by these more traditional effects. Even after all these years they have held up remarkably well.

I guess I was just surprised how much I loved the film, especially after being so let down by the latest attempt by Hollywood to reboot the franchise. There's no real comparison in quality between the two; the original stands as the clear victor of the two.

I didn't dislike the recent Godzilla, but I was disappointed in it. I always liked the original, but never cared for most of the sequels because of the way Godzilla was turned from being the monster destroying human civilization to the hero defending mankind from other horrors. If you look at Godzilla as a metaphor for nuclear weapons, the sequels seem to be twisting the message to say "Nuclear weapons can be helpful".

Gareth Edwards' film (aside: I loved his previous films Monsters) makes Godzilla out, again, to be a helpful weapon. Sure, he helped lay waste to San Francisco, but, you know, collateral damage, friendly fire, you have to destroy the village in order to save it.

Anyway, this is why I preferred Pacific Rim, as it was a straight up "the monsters are out to kill us, and we have to kill them first" story.

[Scottie]

It appears as if The Night of the Hunter replacement case is no longer being offered as it has been removed from criterion.com.

[pedromvu]

Did someone else noticed this about the Designs book on the latest CC newsletter:

Preorder now with promo code 30YRS for 20% off SRP

It is still more expensive than amazon, but depending on taxes and loyalty points maybe it is of use to someone.

[bwdowiak]

I picked up The Tree of Life from the library yesterday and began watching it last night. I got 59 minutes in and a bowl of peanut butter Cheerios was calling me from the kitchen upstairs… when I came back down, I was too tired to continue.

I’ll have a more thought out opinion early next week as I’ll finish the film either tonight or on Sunday. So far, my appreciation for the film is growing, but I still think it is an extremely generic story. It did grab and hold me for the hour that I saw, but at the same time, when I pressed pause, I was certain that at least an hour and a half had passed.