The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

Ace in the Hole (1951)

To no one's surprise, I again played the self-serving bad guy in Billy Wilder's drama about a disgraced journalist trying to reinvent his big career in small-town Albuquerque. When a tunnel collapses outside a small town, he sees a big opportunity in his exclusive coverage of the man trapped below, convincing him to delay rescue for the sake of the headlines. My co-star was Jan Sterling, playing the the victim's scheming wife. In one scene I am supposed to choke her. Before the cameras rolled, I told Jan to let me know if I was being too rough. When she turned blue and went limp, I released her. "Why didn't you stop me?!" I demanded when she came to. "I couldn't," she rasped, "because you were choking me." Ace in the Hole, redubbed The Big Carnival in America, was not a hit at the time, but it became a cult favorite. I loved working with Billy, who became a good friend.

Fascinating read on the films Douglas is most proud of:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kirk-d...b_6290742.html

Strange Love of Martha Ivers
Champion
Ace in the Hole
The Bad and the Beautiful
Act of Love
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
The Indian Fighter
Lust for Life
Paths of Glory
Spartacus
Lonely Are the Brave (His favorite)
Seven Days in May

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by ijustblumyself

Another solid month. A classic Bergman, a Truffaut and some great documentaries.
I never understand why people complain about the announcements.

Remarkably enough, I don't think that this month there was a single "I haven't heard of any of these films" complaint.

[Tin Drum]

Cries and Whispers will go quite well with the rest of my Bergman blus.

Not interested in owning any of the other March titles.

[Polaroid]

Cries and Whispers artwork also looks like this XD

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by TJS_Blu

Just not an especially highly regarded example of the genre. As CC has (naturally) stressed, lots of superior talent went into the making of this film, not sure that the end product is reflective of the talent. I'm totally OK with people seeing S&S, Riot, or Pink Horse, but wouldn't say any are particularly compelling blind buys.

I concur. I just re-watched Ride the Pink Horse again, wondering if I had perhaps missed something special about it during my first viewing. But, no, I didn't like it any better this time around. I still think it's miscast, too slowly paced, and even a little bit offensive.

Hopefully, mine will end up being the minority opinion ...

Oh, and by the way ... doesn't the figure at the upper right hand corner of the Ride the Pink Horse artwork look just a little like Max Schreck in Nosferatu?

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I think Criterion are cutting back A LOT budget wise tbh, the designs lately have been pretty weak and really not up to the C standards, although there have been some great, I have just seen more weaker ones lately.

With all due respect, this is nonsense. My lone complaint, re;the covers of the last three months of releases would be with the font used on Time Bandits. I struggled to call it when naming the best cover in ShellOilJunior's recent poll, I was completely torn between Safe, Sundays And Cybele, L'Avventura, La Dolce Vita and the Tati set, which for my money is the best looking box-set they've ever released. In the end I went with It Happened One Night, because everything about that cover, from the production still (which fulfils a number of legacy contractual obligations) through to the typography used (a lovely reference to the film) just oozes class and attention to detail.

Nothing they have produced this year leads me to think that budgets for cover artists has been cut, not least the fact that a number of long-term artists have stuck around.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

With all due respect, this is nonsense. My lone complaint, re;the covers of the last three months of releases would be with the font used on Time Bandits. I struggled to call it when naming the best cover in ShellOilJunior's recent poll, I was completely torn between Safe, Sundays And Cybele, L'Avventura, La Dolce Vita and the Tati set, which for my money is the best looking box-set they've ever released. In the end I went with It Happened One Night, because everything about that cover, from the production still (which fulfils a number of legacy contractual obligations) through to the typography used (a lovely reference to the film) just oozes class and attention to detail.

Nothing they have produced this year leads me to think that budgets for cover artists has been cut, not least the fact that a number of long-term artists have stuck around.

you know.. despite my comment from before, you're right. the ones you mentioned (except Safe) all had really good covers. I voted for L'Avventura.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

With all due respect, this is nonsense. My lone complaint, re;the covers of the last three months of releases would be with the font used on Time Bandits. I struggled to call it when naming the best cover in ShellOilJunior's recent poll, I was completely torn between Safe, Sundays And Cybele, L'Avventura, La Dolce Vita and the Tati set, which for my money is the best looking box-set they've ever released. In the end I went with It Happened One Night, because everything about that cover, from the production still (which fulfils a number of legacy contractual obligations) through to the typography used (a lovely reference to the film) just oozes class and attention to detail.

Nothing they have produced this year leads me to think that budgets for cover artists has been cut, not least the fact that a number of long-term artists have stuck around.

Theres a lot of cover designs lately that have been very weak and poor by Criterions standard, same for the designs of the new leaflets.

Theres has been some great designs but personally, I feel there are more weak than strong, actually its funny because some of the poorer designs would look much nicer if it had been put on a digipak lol.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

I'm in for The Soft Skin and Ride the Pink Horse. Big fan of the former, never heard of the latter. That's Criterion summed up in two titles for me.

I have the excellent UK release of The Soft Skin but am double-dipping for the Kent Jones video essay.

I probably won't pick up Cries & Whispers, as I'm not really a fan, but I love the artwork. Same for The Soft Skin, which captures the tone of the film perfectly. Now, if only they'd have announced Une Femme Mariee for March too, which was in many ways Godard's response to Truffaut's movie.

was just thinking, Adam, that I wanted to ask you... is UFM fairly straight forward fare? I've got the MoC blu-ray at home and I haven't felt inclined to give it a look yet. since you compared it to Truffaut's TSS (which I haven't seen, actually) I'm curious to know how this Godard films plays out. closer to Pierrot or perhaps closer to something with more of a narrative like Band of Outsiders?

[jw007]

bwdowiak: you're back from India! Glad to see you survived! Hope it was fun.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jw007

bwdowiak: you're back from India! Glad to see you survived! Hope it was fun.

thanks, JW! it was a good time. much better the second time around. the first time I went, I didn't know what to expect and you end up missing silly things like leafy green salads and U.S.A. coffee. all good though for this second visit. thanks for mentioning!

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

With all due respect, this is nonsense. My lone complaint, re;the covers of the last three months of releases would be with the font used on Time Bandits. I struggled to call it when naming the best cover in ShellOilJunior's recent poll, I was completely torn between Safe, Sundays And Cybele, L'Avventura, La Dolce Vita and the Tati set, which for my money is the best looking box-set they've ever released. In the end I went with It Happened One Night, because everything about that cover, from the production still (which fulfils a number of legacy contractual obligations) through to the typography used (a lovely reference to the film) just oozes class and attention to detail.

Nothing they have produced this year leads me to think that budgets for cover artists has been cut, not least the fact that a number of long-term artists have stuck around.

I voted for IHON too! I honestly haven't had too many complaints about CC covers. Not fussy over Cries and Whispers, but it's certainly not the worst cover out there.

I think my issue with the releases as of late aren't the booklets or cover art, but the growing number of releases with limited special features that are still being charged out for a full release. Charade's an old release, but I'm seeing more and more new releases being treated like Charade: little or no releases, yet it's a 39.99 MSRP rather than a 29.99 title. Some titles seemingly have a lot of bonus features, but they're all 5-10 minute deals. I'll buy the releases, but I'm more inclined to buy them marked down, or not upgrade from the releases I already have.

[Polaroid]

What are some great 'life changing' films in collection? This will obviously be a bit personal and vary - just want to see more films that make you think, and question yourself and your life, I know it sounds corny but oh well :P

It's hard to explain, but like something that questions everything you believe and makes you see things on a different scale...

I'm not looking for a list of your fave films in collection, but something more than that, even if its just one film . Even if its a certain scene form a film, let me know which or post a clip!

Will be exciting to see what people suggest!

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

Nothing they have produced this year leads me to think that budgets for cover artists has been cut, not least the fact that a number of long-term artists have stuck around.

I really dislike the new leaflet approach to presenting the essays and art, never thought it could be due to budget but it makes sense. I hope they decide to keep doing booklets eventually though.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

you know.. despite my comment from before, you're right. the ones you mentioned (except Safe) all had really good covers. I voted for L'Avventura.

I think Safe is one that really benefits when contextualised by the movie.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Theres has been some great designs but personally, I feel there are more weak than strong, actually its funny because some of the poorer designs would look much nicer if it had been put on a digipak lol.

I'm interested to hear what you're considering "weak". As I say I can't really fault any of them from a design perspective, bar my issue with Time Bandits.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

I think Safe is one that really benefits when contextualised by the movie.

Agree, I like the cover art and approach. The only thing I didn't get was the purple for the inside ??

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

was just thinking, Adam, that I wanted to ask you... is UFM fairly straight forward fare? I've got the MoC blu-ray at home and I haven't felt inclined to give it a look yet. since you compared it to Truffaut's TSS (which I haven't seen, actually) I'm curious to know how this Godard films plays out. closer to Pierrot or perhaps closer to something with more of a narrative like Band of Outsiders?

I'd say it was pretty challenging, but one which benefits greatly from reading around it. The booklet in the MoC edition is perfect for that! It's quite abstract, moreso than Pierrot I'd say, Weekend is probably the closest comparison from the better known Godard movies (but even then they're barely alike!). Apologies for not being very clear, I'd just give it a spin if I were you, let it wash over you and take it from there.

Both UFM and The Soft Skin deal with themes of fidelity, with it suggested that Godard filmed UFM as his response to Godard's thesis on such matters in Soft Skin.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

What are some great 'life changing' films in collection? This will obviously be a bit personal and vary - just want to see more films that make you think, and question yourself and your life, I know it sounds corny but oh well :P

It's hard to explain, but like something that questions everything you believe and makes you see things on a different scale...

I'm not looking for a list of your fave films in collection, but something more than that, even if its just one film . Even if its a certain scene form a film, let me know which or post a clip!

Will be exciting to see what people suggest!

Breathless, The 400 Blows, L'Avventura. Any of the landmarks of the canon ought to provoke *something* out of anyone. Breathless is the one which changed my life.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

I'm interested to hear what you're considering "weak". As I say I can't really fault any of them from a design perspective, bar my issue with Time Bandits.

I have no issue with Time Bandits artwork, I love it and I love the typography, yes it looks dated but I think its quite ironic seeing the theme of the film is time lol. Also with that new cover thingy they have it add that retro feel to it and I think it compliments each other.

A few I find that have had poor execution are:

Cries and Whispers, just no, its a mess. Her head wasn't even cut out from background well! Look at the edges especially in bottom left corner lol

Don't Look Now, I love the concept behind it and how its a fresh take of he design and not been used like this for the film, but it just feels a bit tacky or cliche, if that makes any sense.

Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, now I love the illustration but the backdrop is so bland and weakens the beautiful image and just makes it a bit lifeless and empty.

Every Man for Himself, I don't know the film so not sure how the cover reflect the film themes and story, but its a bit 'easy' it feels like the designer got a bit stuck for ideas and thought to cut and paste elements over each other and play with transparency, its just annoying and coming from Graphic Design at Uni, you see a lot of students try be out there and experimental and do stuff like that which is actually pretty meaningless and pointless. Now it may relate to the films themes and if so I will retract my comment son this one.

An Autumn Afternoon, it feels like that are trying to keep theme running with the other artworks for this director and its not as strong as Tokyo Story, its not awful but just feels like they ran out of ideas so they went for the grid of images approach. I mean it can work and works for the other covers but yeah I am sure they could have created something a bit more fresh.

I mean look at the Qatsi trilogy artwork, Sam Smith created some beautiful imagery by overlapping and blending multiple images, rather than sticking every nice shot in a grid.

Sword of Doom, I think this is just a re use of the DVD artwork? The imagery is beautiful but the typography feels a tad dated, seeing as it was taken straight from an older piece of design. I think hey could have used some newer typography to bring ti to life and give it a fresh look?

Tootsie, just a quick indesign job lol, hardly have to explain it in technical details, but not seen the film so not sure if the cover design is there to make fun of itself in a way?

It Happened One Night, Its ok, but nothing spectacular, I don't mind the imagery and the typography just feels a bit odd, it doesn't work for me. I like the image they chose for the cover, but something bugs me about the typography - budget wise, this wouldn't have taken long to design, Place a few different images and just place a bit of text and play with different types.

L'AVVENTURA, Sam Smiths poster design (which is for sale on the website) would have been a better choice IMO, I like the image but it feels more like something for in the booklet... When I look at the cover its just some women who's enjoying the wind too much lol, and may be looking for her umbrella as it looks like it may rain!

Safe, I love the design, but its not exactly something that will take ages to design and come up with, now I haven't looked into it or seen the alternate designs, which may have had more time spent on them, but any designer can over lay a few screenshots and add a bit of type. It works beautifully but time/budget wise I can't see it being expensive.

I love that they used the original artwork for Time Bandits and Watership Down, adds that nostalgia, maybe they should have taken a few elements from the Don't Look Now posters and maybe incorporated them into it, I don't know.

I may have come across as saying most the designs are crap, maybe I worded it wrong, there are nice designs, but what I meant it they don't look or feel like a lot of time has been use don them. I know I haven't seen the designers alternate works so it is unfair to really judge.

Also, we all love different things, the things I see and dislike or feel are weak, may be very strong in your eyes and I respect that. I am not claiming to be a design god either, yes I studied it but I gave up working in design because I feel I am weak and not so good at it lol (hell you saw the Cries an Whisper posters I did on here haha!).

Oh and also, I have NO IDEA what Criterion's briefs are for each design and what they discuss with the designer so again its a bit hard to truly judge and be so critical.

I don't know, just some of these designs I think they could have put a little more into, but thats my opinion :P

(aso I am crap at writing and explaining myself so sorry if this makes no sense haha)!