The Criterion Collection

[lagunaca]

Criterion has some great horror movies to put me a Halloween kind of mood. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, does anyone have recommendations?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by lagunaca

Criterion has some great horror movies to put me a Halloween kind of mood. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, does anyone have recommendations?

All That Heaven Allows and Fanny and Alexander

[Polaroid]

Can you guys recommend A Christmas Tale?

Been eyeing it up but not sure ?

[StLouisRibs]

Originally Posted by lagunaca

Criterion has some great horror movies to put me a Halloween kind of mood. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, does anyone have recommendations?

The Ice Storm is a great movie for Black Friday as it's almost all set on the day after Thanksgiving. It's a great movie for that time if you want to feel the opposite of warm and happy feeling, though.

[Polaroid]

Sexy.

Seriously, the quality is phenomenal! I want a book like this for EVERY bluray release lol instead of those small booklets lol!

[lagunaca]

Originally Posted by StLouisRibs

The Ice Storm is a great movie for Black Friday as it's almost all set on the day after Thanksgiving. It's a great movie for that time if you want to feel the opposite of warm and happy feeling, though.

I watched The Ice Storm several months ago. I liked it but you are absolutely right, this is not a feel good movie.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by lagunaca

I watched The Ice Storm several months ago. I liked it but you are absolutely right, this is not a feel good movie.

I was a tad let down by it - it was good and I enjoy revisiting but it doesn't scream out at me lol

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Can you guys recommend A Christmas Tale?

Been eyeing it up but not sure ?

I did not particularly care for anything about that film.

[CinemaBlu]

Originally Posted by lagunaca

Criterion has some great horror movies to put me a Halloween kind of mood. With Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up, does anyone have recommendations?

Fanny and Alexander
Rosemary's Baby

[StLouisRibs]

Originally Posted by lagunaca

I watched The Ice Storm several months ago. I liked it but you are absolutely right, this is not a feel good movie.

It's kind of great because of that reason - it uses what we associate with Thanksgiving and the Holiday season (and what that in turn says about family) to suggest that things are not so hunky dory.

It really does an aces job with the atmosphere, though. It's a film to with the heat set low at that time of year, so you get that pervading feeling of a chill making it all the more effective...

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by lagunaca

I watched The Ice Storm several months ago. I liked it but you are absolutely right, this is not a feel good movie.

I personally found it very bland.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Can you guys recommend A Christmas Tale?

Been eyeing it up but not sure ?

I recommend it. I was underwhelmed the first time I saw it, but I've come to like it quite a bit.

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Can you guys recommend A Christmas Tale?

Been eyeing it up but not sure ?

I've been sizing that one up for a couple of years now, seems like something I'd really be into, but I haven't pulled the trigger. One of those "back burner" tier Criterions, where something new always comes up and goes ahead in the que. Would really like to know more about it, to convince me fully.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

You suffer from “thread participation guilt,” too? I’m not alone! I did notice though, Owl, that you have been MIA. I was performing some mundane task at home and thought, “you know… I’m losing the pulse on some of the (non-Criterion) older films being released on blu-ray because Owl hasn’t been around in the CC thread.” True story. So I, for one (ready for my big finish?)….. “crazy as it sounds… I need you around.”

Yeah, I'm going to have to figure some things out. My free time to watch Blu-rays will be noticeably reduced from now on, and I've got a ton of still-unwatched discs. This November Barnes & Noble sale may be quieter for me than I previously anticipated. (...and that might not be a bad thing)


This reminds me that I never answered a question from yesterday...

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Does anyone else work out how much you've spent on your collection and want to cry a little? I could have bought a car or a deposit for a house lmao

I'm pulling this number out of thin air, but I figure that I've spent an average of $15 per movie in my collection.
$15 x 802 = $12,030

I've spent more than $15 apiece on a great many titles from Criterion and Twilight Time, of course, but, then again, I've also taken advantage of some great box set deals for several of my movies (25 Zatoichi films for less than $100, all of the Friday the 13th films for less than $65, The Buster Keaton Collection for $87, Alfred Hitchcock: The Masterpiece Collection for less than $90, etc.). During the early days of my Blu-ray collecting, I was able to purchase a lot of my discs for roughly $7 apiece at a local used store, and I also took hearty advantage of the Best Buy Upgrade & Save program for the more conventional titles in my collection a couple years back.

The reason why $12,030 seems quite high, though, is because I funded a lot of my Blu-ray purchases last year by selling off about 600 DVDs that I owned in order to make room for the inevitable upgrades. Of course, I spent money on those DVDs back in the day, so... Oh well...I dunno.

Let's just go with $12,030.

This does not make me want to cry, though. I'm quite pleased with the results of my Blu-ray collecting.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

I've been sizing that one up for a couple of years now, seems like something I'd really be into, but I haven't pulled the trigger. One of those "back burner" tier Criterions, where something new always comes up and goes ahead in the que. Would really like to know more about it, to convince me fully.

Its biggest strengths are its strong cast and the interesting family dynamics. It also evokes that wintery Christmas feeling, of a family coming together, for better or worse. The technical aspects of the film are also good.

Its drawbacks is that it's a bit too long, the stories are not unique, and there are some unnecessary directorial touches.

The first time I watched it, the drawbacks were too much for me. Each subsequent viewing I've liked it more, with the positives becoming more prevalent.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Let's just go with $12,030.

This does not make me want to cry, though. I'm quite pleased with the results of my Blu-ray collecting.

Thank goodness you had that laser-beam-focused all-killer-no-filler policy.

Just imagine how much you could have spent if you just bought whatever caught your eye

[octagon]

I was totally floored by The Ice Storm. I wasn't surprised that I liked it (okay, well, maybe a little...while I'm pretty much over my Toby McGuire hate there's still some lingering apprehension when I see his name in a cast) but I absolutely did not expect to walk away with that 'omg, best movie ever' feeling.

I dunno, maybe I just in the exact right frame of mind but I absolutely loved it.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by octagon

Thank goodness you had that laser-beam-focused all-killer-no-filler policy.

Just imagine how much you could have spent if you just bought whatever caught your eye

Ahhh. Memories...

The "all killer no filler" standard actually still applies, but my collection has veered down a few unexpected side roads (film noir titles from Olive Films, 1980s horror from Scream Factory, etc.) that I did not anticipate a couple of years ago when I intended only to upgrade "essential favorites" to the Blu-ray format.

Much of this is due to the fact that we're now seeing a lot more fun films being released on Blu-ray that I never expected to be released on Blu-ray. The Kino Lorber titles this year, for example, are really something else. (The kid in me rejoices that Avalanche was released a few months ago.) If Warner Archive rocks out 2015, as rumors have suggested that they will, then there will be some great additions to my place next year.

[the sordid sentinel]

Originally Posted by octagon

I was totally floored by The Ice Storm. I wasn't surprised that I liked it (okay, well, maybe a little...while I'm pretty much over my Toby McGuire hate there's still some lingering apprehension when I see his name in a cast) but I absolutely did not expect to walk away with that 'omg, best movie ever' feeling.

I dunno, maybe I just in the exact right frame of mind but I absolutely loved it.

I think it is excellent as well. Great performances throughout and the ending really resonates. I only wish the video quality of the disc measured up to the movie.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by octagon

I was totally floored by The Ice Storm. I wasn't surprised that I liked it (okay, well, maybe a little...while I'm pretty much over my Toby McGuire hate there's still some lingering apprehension when I see his name in a cast) but I absolutely did not expect to walk away with that 'omg, best movie ever' feeling.

I dunno, maybe I just in the exact right frame of mind but I absolutely loved it.

You should definitely consider reading the book too, as it is also quite good.