The Criterion Collection

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Stagecoach is my clear favorite John Ford film, followed by The Searchers, The Quiet Man, Drums Along the Mohawk, The Grapes of Wrath, and Two Rode Together.

I've got a few still-unwatched Ford films that I need to get cracking on, though. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, My Darling Clementine, How Green Was My Valley, Rio Grande, etc.

You should really check out The Informer if you like noir. If there's such as thing as pre-noir, that film defines it in subject and style.

[hoytereden]

I really enjoy two Ford films I don't believe have been mentioned:
They Were Expendable-A great WWII film.
Wagonmaster-An unusual Ford western in that his usual stock company players are the stars-Bond, Johnson, and Carey Jr. really shine in what seems like a blueprint for Bond's later TV series Wagon Train.

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by nondiatonic

I would say his most a accessible movie is Minnie and Moskowitz. It is also an excellent movie. It doesn't feel as intense as many of his movies do, but I thoroughly recommend it.

Note: I have only seen Shadows, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Minnie and Moskowitz, A Woman Under The Influence, and Love Streams. My favorite of those would be Love Streams.

I have not heard of that one before, but it does seem a bit more on the accessible side. I might have to seek this one out.

Originally Posted by atlantajoseph

This may sound backwards (and it is, at least chronologically), but I recommend Love Streams as a fun and accessible intro to Cassavetes' style.

You know, I was considering trying out that one first just because if I really liked it, I figured I could just buy that Criterion without having to invest in the boxset before I'm really sure that I'm a Cassavetes fan. Hmm decisions.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by belcherman

You should really check out The Informer if you like noir. If there's such as thing as pre-noir, that film defines it in subject and style.

The Informer is terrific. I love Max Steiner's score and one of my favorite character actors-Joe Sawer gets a nice part.

[lordmorpheus72]

So I caved in to the 40% blu-ray sale, and used my additional 30% coupon to pick up Safe today. I've heard so many good things here in the thread about it, I couldn't pass it up.

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

anyone else? top 5 Ford titles?

Stagecoach
My Darling Clementine
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Searchers
The Quiet Man


And on another note.. wth just happened?

[Vinyl]

With this new 30% coupon I am thinking of just jumping in to Chaplin and getting The Great Dictator.

It seems weird to start with a movie so far into his career, but it seems to be the one that sticks with me... I have seen his older stuff (some shorts on Netflix, A dog's life, random bits of movies), but I am waiting until they are released on BD to own them. And, I hear Criterion might have gotten the rights.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

So I caved in to the 40% blu-ray sale, and used my additional 30% coupon to pick up Safe today. I've heard so many good things here in the thread about it, I couldn't pass it up.



Stagecoach
My Darling Clementine
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
The Searchers
The Quiet Man


And on another note.. wth just happened?

your order is very similar to mine! I think I'm gonna have to pick up Stagecoach. I've got a 25% (only) coupon for B & N... I'm not a member. only brings The Quiet Man down to $13.50. I'll shop around for both.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

My Darling Clementine
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Grapes of Wrath
How Green Was My Valley
The Searchers

anyone else? top 5 Ford titles?

I've only seen four! I loved them all and can't wait to watch My Darling Clementine sometime over these holidays.

In the meantime:

1 Stagecoach
2 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
3 The Searchers
4 The Quiet Man

Probably in that order...

[starman15317]

I've been meaning to buy it for a while now, but with all of this Sony North Korea business happening, I decided to order Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator. Can't wait to watch it again.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by jmclick

The Grapes of Wrath
The Searchers
The Quiet Man
Stagecoach
The Lost Patrol

There's another Ford film that I would love to see released on blu-ray, a real oddity that has never been released on video as a "stand-alone" title in North America in any format, although it was included in the massive Ford at Fox DVD box set. That film is Tobacco Road, starring Charley Grapewin, Marjorie Rambeau, and (in her third film) Gene Tierney. An uneasy, sometimes unsettling mix of tragedy and comedy surrounding a shiftless Georgia tobacco farmer and his depraved family, it is nonetheless beautifully photographed by Arthur C. Miller and marvelously scored by David Buttolph.

I've always thought it would make for an interesting Criterion release. The Broadway play was a huge hit, and the censorship problems surrounding the film adaptation would make an interesting supplemental feature. (The film's tag line was, "At Last ... It's on the Screen!")

Have you read Erskine Caldwell's novel? If not, go do so right now.

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I haven’t been blown away by any of the Ford films I’ve seen, but I really enjoyed 4 of them. I liked The Searchers, too, but only ‘liked’ it.
I’d rank the Ford that I’ve seen as follows:

My Darling Clementine
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Grapes of Wrath
How Green Was My Valley
The Searchers

anyone else? top 5 Ford titles?

1. How Green Was My Valley
2. The Searchers
3. Mogambo (why are people ignoring this one? is it because it's a remake?)
4. Fort Apache
5. Mary of Scotland (again, why is this overlooked?)

There are several more, and admittedly, I had issues narrowing down my top 5.

[yhzmr]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I really enjoy two Ford films I don't believe have been mentioned:
They Were Expendable-A great WWII film.
Wagonmaster-An unusual Ford western in that his usual stock company players are the stars-Bond, Johnson, and Carey Jr. really shine in what seems like a blueprint for Bond's later TV series Wagon Train.

Those two are definately worthy of mention. I recently watched Sergeant Rutledge which is now in my top 5. Woody Strode gives an amazing performance. Although not one of Ford's best, Donovan's Reef is an atypical holiday movie that some may appreciate during this time of the year.

[BohemianGraham]

I wasn't going to do it, but I did one last Criterion with the 40% off sale. I grabbed Sundays and Cybele, due to all the chatter on here. Even though I had no coupons, I'm still saving about 10 bucks by ordering from B&N, rather than ordering from Amazon Canada. So, I've basically bought 18 (24 technically because of the Demy set) releases in the past month. I don't need k-cups that badly, I can wait until next month to get some.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by yhzmr

Those two are definately worthy of mention. I recently watched Sergeant Rutledge which is now in my top 5. Woody Strode gives an amazing performance. Although not one of Ford's best, Donovan's Reef is an atypical holiday movie that some may appreciate during this time of the year.

Sergeant Rutledge almost made it into my top 5, but I'm a sucker for the English/Scottish monarchical dramas.

[bugsy_pal]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Add another film to my list of movies that I saw ages ago and felt nothing for only to revisit them on blu-ray and really enjoy them. Seeing Grapes of Wrath many years ago (probably on VHS,) I thought it was a movie in which nothing happens. Of course, it didn’t help that the audio on VHS tapes was shoddy at best for films of that age. Anyway, I’m preaching to the choir when I say that seeing such a clean print in high definition and having the option to turn on subtitles if so desired is a miracle to modern film lovers.

I haven’t been blown away by any of the Ford films I’ve seen, but I really enjoyed 4 of them. I liked The Searchers, too, but only ‘liked’ it.
I’d rank the Ford that I’ve seen as follows:

My Darling Clementine
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Grapes of Wrath
How Green Was My Valley
The Searchers

anyone else? top 5 Ford titles?

I haven't seen a huge number of Fords, but here's my list, in no particular order:

My Darling Clementine
Three Godfathers (This is a GREAT little movie)
The Searchers
Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Grapes of Wrath

[RojD]

Originally Posted by Vinyl

With this new 30% coupon I am thinking of just jumping in to Chaplin and getting The Great Dictator.

It seems weird to start with a movie so far into his career, but it seems to be the one that sticks with me... I have seen his older stuff (some shorts on Netflix, A dog's life, random bits of movies), but I am waiting until they are released on BD to own them. And, I hear Criterion might have gotten the rights.

If you haven't decided where to start with Chaplin yet, I'll throw Modern Times in the mix. It's basically a silent film made in the sound era, and it's sweet, engaging and poignant. And funny in a completely non-edgy way. I like Great Dictator, but Modern Times seems to hit the right notes every time while Great Dictator is a tiny bit less consistent.

And if you're interested in Great Dictator because of its satire, Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be is an almost perfect project aimed at the same target. OMG, is that a funny film! The casting of Jack Benny as Hamlet says it all.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by RojD

If you haven't decided where to start with Chaplin yet, I'll throw Modern Times in the mix. It's basically a silent film made in the sound era, and it's sweet, engaging and poignant. And funny in a completely non-edgy way. I like Great Dictator, but Modern Times seems to hit the right notes every time while Great Dictator is a tiny bit less consistent.

And if you're interested in Great Dictator because of its satire, Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be is an almost perfect project aimed at the same target. OMG, is that a funny film! The casting of Jack Benny as Hamlet says it all.

Seconded on all counts.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I wasn't going to do it, but I did one last Criterion with the 40% off sale. I grabbed Sundays and Cybele, due to all the chatter on here. Even though I had no coupons, I'm still saving about 10 bucks by ordering from B&N, rather than ordering from Amazon Canada. So, I've basically bought 18 (24 technically because of the Demy set) releases in the past month. I don't need k-cups that badly, I can wait until next month to get some.

Somebody's going to have a sad, sad Christmas holiday.

(Sundays and Cybele is a wonderful movie, though.)

If you like it, then you should check out the Twilight Time Blu-ray of Rapture before it's gone. Sundays and Cybele and Rapture were both incredible blind buys for me.

In fact, I almost wrote in Sundays and Cybele as my favorite Criterion blind buy in the year-end poll, but ended up choosing Il Sorpasso instead. 2014 has been a great year.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Somebody's going to have a sad, sad Christmas holiday.

(Sundays and Cybele is a wonderful movie, though.)

If you like it, then you should check out the Twilight Time Blu-ray of Rapture before it's gone. Sundays and Cybele and Rapture were both incredible blind buys for me.

In fact, I almost wrote in Sundays and Cybele as my favorite Criterion blind buy in the year-end poll, but ended up choosing Il Sorpasso instead. 2014 has been a great year.

If I may ask, is Sundays and Cybele's plot revolving around Christmas?
Or it has just 1-2 Christmas scenes?

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Somebody's going to have a sad, sad Christmas holiday.

(Sundays and Cybele is a wonderful movie, though.)

If you like it, then you should check out the Twilight Time Blu-ray of Rapture before it's gone. Sundays and Cybele and Rapture were both incredible blind buys for me.

In fact, I almost wrote in Sundays and Cybele as my favorite Criterion blind buy in the year-end poll, but ended up choosing Il Sorpasso instead. 2014 has been a great year.

No I won't, because it's going to come after Christmas. It will ship tomorrow, and because I live in CanadaNova Scotia, it's at least two weeks before it will arrive, possibly a month. So the movie will not make things sad, but the wait for it might. I'm already sad about the limited release of The Imitation Game around here (one theatre on Christmas Day, because Nova Scotia is stupid), and that was my most anticipated film to watch over Christmas. Guess I'll just have to make due with Exodus, Into the Woods, and Battle of the Five Armies.

I have plenty of stuff to watch whilst waiting for Sundays and Cybele, Time Bandits, and I Married a Witch (all from B&N, all shipped/will ship this week), as I still have 9 (15, Demy) of the 18 Criterions I've purchased from B&N to watch, all the Criterions I'm rewatching in Spine # order, the two latest Studio Ghiblis, and two Terry Gilliam upgrades besides Time Bandits (Holy Grail (yes, other Terry co-directed) and Brothers Grimm), plus some TV shows and various films to check out via Netflix and other onDemand services.

I'm also aware of the ending, which is why I ended up buying the film. I'm odd.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

your order is very similar to mine! I think I'm gonna have to pick up Stagecoach. I've got a 25% (only) coupon for B & N... I'm not a member. only brings The Quiet Man down to $13.50. I'll shop around for both.

It's really hard to pick a favorite, and the order changes... just like most people I think. It's always a tough question when someone asks what my favorite movie is... I flash back to High Fidelity and how John Cusack describes how it's just not that simple to pick.