The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

Several years ago I knocked out most of the Truffaut catalog. Some of these are not fresh in my mind but here are the tiers I'd place them in. Of the films I've seen there's not a bad one among them:

Great
400 Blows
Antoine and Colette (Short)
Bed and Board
Day for Night
Jules and Jim
Shoot the Piano Player
Small Change
Stolen Kisses
The Bride Wore Black
The Wild Child

Quite Good
Confidentially Yours
Love on the Run
Mississippi Mermaid
The Man Who Loved Women
The Woman Next Door

Good
Fahrenheit 451
The Last Metro
The Story of Adele H

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I will only purchase those two films, especially the former, if I do not have any other means to see them prior to their release.

The only Truffaut film I truly enjoy is The 400 Blows. I need to give Jules and Jim another chance.

Oh, okay. I thought that you were a Truffaut fan. his films, from what I have seen and from what I have come to understand about what I haven't seen, are typically more straight-forward fare.

[CHEЯNOБLY!]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Several years ago I knocked out most of the Truffaut catalog. Some of these are not fresh in my mind but here are the tiers I'd place them in. Of the films I've seen there's not a bad one among them:

[Show spoiler]
Great
400 Blows
Antoine and Colette (Short)
Bed and Board
Day for Night
Jules and Jim
Shoot the Piano Player
Small Change
Stolen Kisses
The Bride Wore Black
The Wild Child

Quite Good
Confidentially Yours
Love on the Run
Mississippi Mermaid
The Man Who Loved Women
The Woman Next Door

Good
Fahrenheit 451
The Last Metro
The Story of Adele H

I have not seen all of Truffaut's films but I have seen The 400 Blows, Antoine and Colette, Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, Love on the Run, Jules and Jim, Two English Girls, and The Last Metro. I only have a fresh memory of 400 Blows and Jules and Jim, which I consider both great films.

So, I watched The Double Life of Veronique...was the last scene where

[Show spoiler]Veronique touches and tree while showing her father look up from his carpentry project just supposed to be a reference to the story her mother told her about the leaves as a little girl in the beginning?

? I had this feeling that I missed some other reference or meaning.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Agree on Bigger than Life. I thought it was wholly unremarkable.

This is the only Criterion DVD I have in my collection that I decided not to upgrade to Blu-ray! I remember being very disappointed after having seen this film for the first time. I wanted this movie to be relevant and about how prescription drug addiction is just as timely as ever but I felt like the film, which didn't use the realistic "method acting" style, fell flat for realism purposes. I wanted something more realistic I suppose, that's my problem with that movie. But I may go back and revisit this and may just finally upgrade my DVD to BD if I feel like it (its just that I need to want to see this film again or at least more than once or twice).

[Brandish]

I want to see Being John Malkovich come down in price.

[yhzmr]

Originally Posted by jw007

This is the only Criterion DVD I have in my collection that I decided not to upgrade to Blu-ray! I remember being very disappointed after having seen this film for the first time. I wanted this movie to be relevant and about how prescription drug addiction is just as timely as ever but I felt like the film, which didn't use the realistic "method acting" style, fell flat for realism purposes. I wanted something more realistic I suppose, that's my problem with that movie. But I may go back and revisit this and may just finally upgrade my DVD to BD if I feel like it (its just that I need to want to see this film again or at least more than once or twice).

Bigger Than Life is an important film. Keep in mind that edgy film makers like Nick Ray were constrained by the studios and production codes i.e. the obligatory happy ending. However the "God was wrong" line was quite controversial and shocking perhaps to '50's sensibilities.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by yhzmr

Bigger Than Life is an important film. Keep in mind that edgy film makers like Nick Ray were constrained by the studios and production codes i.e. the obligatory happy ending. However the "God was wrong" line was quite controversial and shocking perhaps to '50's sensibilities.

There are so many films I would have loved to have seen when it was released and in that mind set, like the Exorcist for example, I don't find it shocking or scary - but I know it caused so many problems when it was released. I would love to experience that!

I can't think of any recent films that has cause such huge uproar and controversy really :/ or even film that have been banned due to that O,o and don;t give me The Human Centipede lol, such a pathetic attempt at transgressive cinema lol.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

My wife actually had time to watch something with me so we watched Ali: Fear Eats the Soul which I had out at the same time. Without elaborating, I thought Ali was just 'ok,' and am probably one of very few around here who will now go on record as saying that I much preferred All That Heaven Allows.

You're definitely not alone on that one.
While I loved the cinematography and though the direction was terrific, I really couldn't have cared less for Ali as his acting was so terribly wooden (and if this was him trying to channel Bresson I didn't think it worked to his advantage), the ending was stupid and tacked on just to fill the All that Heaven Allows checklist and I thought that their love was too rushed and out of nowhere.

I'd still give it a solid 7/10 though as I did think there were a lot of other terrific moments and technical merits.

Y'all are crazy in terms of Bigger Than Life though. That movie is terrific!

[JJJ225]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

Y'all are crazy in terms of Bigger Than Life though. That movie is terrific!

Yes. Bigger Than Life is brilliant and James Mason is brilliant in it.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by JJJ225

Yes. Bigger Than Life is brilliant and James Mason is brilliant in it.

It's also one of the best transfers of a color film in the entire Collection. I feel as though I could step into the screen and get into one of those taxicabs.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

It's also one of the best transfers of a color film in the entire Collection. I feel as though I could step into the screen and get into one of those taxicabs.

Better than The Red Shoes :O?

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

There are so many films I would have loved to have seen when it was released and in that mind set, like the Exorcist for example, I don't find it shocking or scary - but I know it caused so many problems when it was released. I would love to experience that!

I can't think of any recent films that has cause such huge uproar and controversy really :/ or even film that have been banned due to that O,o and don;t give me The Human Centipede lol, such a pathetic attempt at transgressive cinema lol.

Part of the problem is that with the InterWebs, now EVERYTHING is controversial. Someone could make a movie about a puppy finding his way home, and people would criticize it for something. Then there would be a hashtag on Twitter. Then FoxNews would pick it up.

So, when everything is controversial, nothing is.

The last films that I remember as having legitimate controversial reactions against them were Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ and Godard's Hail Mary. Both of which, as an aside, I saw in the theater and liked very much.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Part of the problem is that with the InterWebs, now EVERYTHING is controversial. Someone could make a movie about a puppy finding his way home, and people would criticize it for something. Then there would be a hashtag on Twitter. Then FoxNews would pick it up.

So, when everything is controversial, nothing is.

The last films that I remember as having legitimate controversial reactions against them were Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ and Godard's Hail Mary. Both of which, as an aside, I saw in the theater and liked very much.

The Passion Of The Christ was quite controversially received over here.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

The Passion Of The Christ was quite controversially received over here.

Yeah. I thought about including that. But here in the States it was sort of taken for what it was. The intensely religious people thought it was genius and the rest of us thought it was just torture pr0n for the church-going set.

But yeah, that's one that's up there probably.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Better than The Red Shoes :O?

I would say that the transfer for Bigger Than Life is better than the transfer for The Red Shoes... yes

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I would say that the transfer for Bigger Than Life is better than the transfer for The Red Shoes... yes

I've never seen Bigger Than Life, but I definitely need to upgrade my copy of The Red Shoes, which, IMHO, is one of the best films ever made.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I would say that the transfer for Bigger Than Life is better than the transfer for The Red Shoes... yes

Oooh - I have got both films, but not had chance to watch Bigger Than Life -had other priorities, but will probs make it my next viewing, see how they compare in person as opposed to dvdbeaver.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I've never seen Bigger Than Life, but I definitely need to upgrade my copy of The Red Shoes, which, IMHO, is one of the best films ever made.

I didn't realise how much it influenced Black Swan - its a gorgeous film, I adore it! Love my Criterion copy

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Oooh - I have got both films, but not had chance to watch Bigger Than Life -had other priorities, but will probs make it my next viewing, see how they compare in person as opposed to dvdbeaver.

You realize, right, that saying stuff like "probs" makes you sound like a 14 year-old US girl?

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I didn't realise how much it influenced Black Swan - its a gorgeous film, I adore it! Love my Criterion copy

The Red Shoes and Black Swan is an awesome 2x feature.

Aronofsky's understanding of film history is one reason I'm such a big fan.