The Criterion Collection

[RojD]

Crushed at BN today. Had ordered the Flicker Alley Most Dangerous Game to go with Island of Lost Souls and Last of the Unjust to go with Shoah. Been waiting a long patient while for them. Got to the store today to discover DVDs there instead of blu's, which means I'll never get em fast enough to get to use the 40% sale and my 30% coupons. The poor SAs are being worked to death this week, though, so it's an understandable mistake. But those stars won't align for another year.

However, I now have a couple of coupons to burn tomorrow. I'm thinking Only Lovers Left Alive for a Jarmusch tie-in. Other Crit links on blu's that never go down in price?

EDIT: Chaplin Mutual Comedies came as blu (is there even a DVD?). I'm one for three anyway.

[The Great Owl]

On the subject of 3D movies...

I am unable to get the full effect of 3D movies because I have lazy eye in my right eye. I can sit through a movie with no problem if I'm watching with the Real3D glasses that have the same tint for both lenses, although the intended effect is lost on me, but the 3D glasses with the red tint in one lens and the green/blue tint in another lens do not work for me at all.

Whenever I have the choice, I opt for the 2D version of a new movie at the theater. If I do not have a choice, then I'll begrudgingly pay a couple of dollars extra and wear the 3D glasses, providing that they're the type of glasses that I can use.

The ubiquitousness of 3D movies is sometimes irritating. Because of my eye condition, I have always felt like an outsider to some extent. I never imagined that a day would come when I would feel like an outsider while enjoying a movie at the theater, but that day has arrived. Since I have always been such an enthusiastic fan of cinema, it disheartens me that I am increasingly unable to view movies in the way that they were intended to be viewed by the filmmakers. As a wise man once said, though, "When life gives you lemons, get the hell over it."

Fortunately, I can generally ascertain, or at least I think that I can generally ascertain, when a movie makes intelligent use of the 3D format. When I watched Martin Scorsese's Hugo for the first time, I was in admiration of how the director seemed to utilize the technology in a creative way. I also get the impression that Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity is an innovative step in the format. Finally, I always smile at the scene with the paddle-ball guy in House of Wax (1953).

In the end, I'm all for the advancements of new filmmaking innovations for the sake of art, even if I am not personally able to reap the benefits.

I'll probably see Pina one day, just to appreciate the movie content, even if I cannot get the full intended effect.

Of course, I have always found this Roger Ebert article to be of interest...
Why 3D Doesn't Work And Never Will

[Scottie]

I have never seen a 3D film nor do I have any interest to.

I have had my experience with some 3D technology in the past, i.e. the Nintendo 3DS, and it made me incredibly dizzy. I also get motion sickness easily, i.e. reading in the car, so I do not think it will sit well with me.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

My wife gets motion sickness when we go on car trips, but I haven't taken her negative body reaction to mean that there is something sinister about the way human beings travel place to place.

I'm pretty sure that Jean-Luc Godard's Weekend actually did prove that there is something sinister about the way human beings travel place to place.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by RojD

Crushed at BN today. Had ordered the Flicker Alley Most Dangerous Game to go with Island of Lost Souls and Last of the Unjust to go with Shoah. Been waiting a long patient while for them. Got to the store today to discover DVDs there instead of blu's, which means I'll never get em fast enough to get to use the 40% sale and my 30% coupons. The poor SAs are being worked to death this week, though, so it's an understandable mistake. But those stars won't align for another year.

However, I now have a couple of coupons to burn tomorrow. I'm thinking Only Lovers Left Alive for a Jarmusch tie-in. Other Crit links on blu's that never go down in price?

EDIT: Chaplin Mutual Comedies came as blu (is there even a DVD?). I'm one for three anyway.

Oh, wow, I'm so sorry that happened to you. Did you talk to the store manager about the mistake in ordering? I experienced a similar problem one time with a 50% off Criterion title and a 20% off coupon (my special order arrived damaged), and my store manager placed the re-order for me, then put a note in the computer that I was to receive the sale price plus my coupon discount when the disc came in. It might be worth your while to ask, especially since the mistake had nothing to do with you ...

[WonderWeasel]

After reading about the cheaper Criterion releases in the thread, I bought 'The Ballad of Narayama' blu-ray today. When I popped it open to make sure there was no damage to the disc/packaging, I noticed a slight fog around the center of the disc that's only visible in certain light. I can't tell if it's just the finish of the artwork on the disc or what. Has anyone else noticed this before?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Of course, I have always found this Roger Ebert article to be of interest...
Why 3D Doesn't Work And Never Will

Interesting arguments, but one of the problems with Murch's argument is:

"So the 'CPU' of our perceptual brain has to work extra hard, which is why after 20 minutes or so many people get headaches."

Except that not everyone gets headaches. In fact, I'd say that the percentage of people who do is probably on the minority side, or there'd be as big a fuss about this as there was about vaccinations causing autism or cellphones causing brain damage (both of which have been proven false). [On edit: Well, it would be more accurate to say that there's no evidence that either is true.]

Which means that there's something else at work here that effects some people and not others, much like why some people get bad cases of car sickness (like my sister and her two sons) while some don't (like me and my other sister). Or people who are more susceptible to vertigo while others aren't. I agree that if one gets headaches watching a 3D movie, by all means stop doing it. But anecdotal evidence that some people are adversely affected by it doesn't mean that there's anything inherently dangerous about it for everyone.

Another problem with Murch's remarks:

"And lastly, the question of immersion. 3D films remind the audience that they are in a certain 'perspective' relationship to the image. It is almost a Brechtian trick. Whereas if the film story has really gripped an audience they are 'in' the picture in a kind of dreamlike 'spaceless' space. So a good story will give you more dimensionality than you can ever cope with."

What he's ignoring is the fact that, for a lot of people, the "dimensionality" of 3D (at least the current system) works. If it didn't, people wouldn't go to see movies in 3D. One of the reasons why the anaglyph (red/blue) 3D never caught on was precisely because the majority of moviegoers didn't think the process worked particularly well.

In fact, I had a remarkable demonstration of how the current system works yesterday when my wife and I went to see the new Hobbit film in the HFR/3D/IMAX format. During a scene where there were slight snow flurries, I caught myself just before I reached out to "catch" some of the flakes.

An even better moment was one of the Despicable Me films, where one of the minions was blowing bubbles. The illusion of the bubbles floating right out in front of ours faces was so striking, that both my wife and I did reach out to touch one. And in a moment of synchronicity that couldn't ever be planned, when my finger "touched" a bubble, it happened to burst.

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by jw007

If you watch the documentaries on Hulu first, won't you want to wait a while until you watch them again after purchasing this 3 disc blu-ray release? Usually after I see a film for the first time, I need to wait a minimum of a year or maybe longer until I watch it again (unless I just totally am mesmerized by it of course). To me, I think its about taking a leap of faith and blind-watching all of these wonderful films for the first time on pristine blu-ray quality.

And yes, I hope Pro-B gets a review up soon on this release!

Well, I may just watch one or two of the documentaries on Hulu to help me decide if I really want to buy the set. I took the same approach with the Zatoichi set by watching the first 4 films on youtube. However, it would be nice to watch all of the Les Blank documentaries for the first time on blu-ray. The quality of the films on Hulu aren't quite as good as blu-ray right? So, I may just take your approach and blind buy the Always for Pleasure set next time it's on sale. Usually, after I watch a film for the first time I don't watch it again for several months. However, if I am only watching a small fraction of the Blank set this month on Hulu, I think it won't be too soon for me to rewatch some of it again on blu a few months later. By the way, did you read the dvdtalk review?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by RojD

However, I now have a couple of coupons to burn tomorrow. I'm thinking Only Lovers Left Alive for a Jarmusch tie-in. Other Crit links on blu's that never go down in price?

FWIW, I absolutely loved this. I don't know how well it will hold up to repeat viewings but I was blown away the first time through. Jarmusch always has a great eye for cityscapes/landscapes but some of the stuff in OLLA is just breathtaking and none of it is simply for show, it all serves a purpose.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm pretty sure that Jean-Luc Godard's Weekend actually did prove that there is something sinister about the way human beings travel place to place.

Ain't that the truth!?

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

After reading about the cheaper Criterion releases in the thread, I bought 'The Ballad of Narayama' blu-ray today. When I popped it open to make sure there was no damage to the disc/packaging, I noticed a slight fog around the center of the disc that's only visible in certain light. I can't tell if it's just the finish of the artwork on the disc or what. Has anyone else noticed this before?

Please disregard my question. Whatever the cloudiness was on the disc, it wiped off very easily. Still odd there was something like that on a brand-new disc.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

After reading about the cheaper Criterion releases in the thread, I bought 'The Ballad of Narayama' blu-ray today. When I popped it open to make sure there was no damage to the disc/packaging, I noticed a slight fog around the center of the disc that's only visible in certain light. I can't tell if it's just the finish of the artwork on the disc or what. Has anyone else noticed this before?

No; however, there is a known "anomaly" with TBON during playback. I forget where it is, but during a pan across some autumn leaves and into a scene, the video suddenly goes into slow motion for about 20 seconds. I recall reading that this glitch is not an encode error but inherent to the restored elements. It was a topic of discussion a couple of years ago, but rarely gets mentioned anymore.

The story is so engrossing and the cinematography is so brilliantly colorful and gorgeous to look at that it doesn't take you out of the experience for more than a few seconds.

EDIT: From Pro-b's review on this website: "There's not a problem with the encode of the Criterion DVD or Blu-ray release of THE BATTLE OF NARAYAMA. What is perceived to be an encoding error is actually inherent to the surviving film elements and the restored materials. It is also present in the 2007 Tartan UK release. The Criterion version is consistent with the Shochiku restoration that premiered at Cannes last year, which was the basis for the Criterion release."

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by oildude

No; however, there is a known "anomaly" with TBON during playback. I forget where it is, but during a pan across some autumn leaves and into a scene, the video suddenly goes into slow motion for about 10 seconds. I seem to recall reading that this glitch is not an encode error, but inherent to the restored elements. It was a topic of discussion a couple of years ago, but rarely gets mentioned anymore.

The story is so engrossing and the cinematography is so brilliantly colorful and gorgeous to look at that it doesn't take you out of the experience for more than a few seconds.

EDIT: From Pro-b's review on this website: "There's not a problem with the encode of the Criterion DVD or Blu-ray release of THE BATTLE OF NARAYAMA. What is perceived to be an encoding error is actually inherent to the surviving film elements and the restored materials. It is also present in the 2007 Tartan UK release. The Criterion version is consistent with the Shochiku restoration that premiered at Cannes last year, which was the basis for the Criterion release."

Thank you for preemptively answering my next question! I started watching it, and noticed the video stuttering begins at about the 36:03 mark and lasts until 36:25, without affecting audio. Other than that (and like you said), the film is too beautiful to be too distracted by it. Thanks for the info, oildude.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

My wife gets motion sickness when we go on car trips, but I haven't taken her negative body reaction to mean that there is something sinister about the way human beings travel place to place.

Hate to be a complainer here but traveling in a car is kind of unnatural if you think about it and its actually downright dehumanizing. I mean, if you look back in 32,000 years of human history, humans have only had automobiles for about 100 years, so human DNA hasn't adjusted yet or evolved to today's unnatural forms of transportation. Humans sealed in a dehumanizing metal container traveling at unholy speeds that horses couldn't even run at, is kind of, well, "new" in the grand scheme of things.

And hell, ever since the automobile was invented, well over 3 1/2 million people have died in the U.S. alone. http://www.saferoads.org/federal/200...s1899-2003.pdf / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...n_U.S._by_year
Here's an article to chew on: Murder Machines (regarding 30,000 Americans will die next year from car crashes): http://www.collectorsweekly.com/arti...rder-machines/
And on average, 1.2 million people die per year worldwide from car accidents. That's a big deal.

Like Great Owl said, Godard's Weekend pretty much sums up what happens when you put angry people into 4,000 lb metal machines.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by jw007

Hate to be a complainer here but traveling in a car is kind of unnatural if you think about it and its actually downright dehumanizing. I mean, if you look back in 32,000 years of human history, humans have only had automobiles for about 100 years, so human DNA hasn't adjusted yet or evolved to today's unnatural forms of transportation. Humans sealed in a dehumanizing metal container traveling at unholy speeds that horses couldn't even run at, is kind of, well, "new" in the grand scheme of things.

Not disagreeing with anything you said, but just wanted to point out that humans are closer to ~50,000 years old. Not that it's all that important to your overall point.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by jw007

Hate to be a complainer here but traveling in a car is kind of unnatural if you think about it and its actually downright dehumanizing. I mean, if you look back in 32,000 years of human history, humans have only had automobiles for about 100 years, so human DNA hasn't adjusted yet or evolved to today's unnatural forms of transportation. Humans sealed in a dehumanizing metal container traveling at unholy speeds that horses couldn't even run at, is kind of, well, "new" in the grand scheme of things.

And hell, ever since the automobile was invented, well over 3 1/2 million people have died. http://www.saferoads.org/federal/200...s1899-2003.pdf / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...n_U.S._by_year
Here's an article to chew on: Murder Machines (regarding 30,000 Americans will die next year from car crashes): http://www.collectorsweekly.com/arti...rder-machines/
And on average, 1.2 million people die per year worldwide from car accidents. That's a big deal.

Like Great Owl said, Godard's Weekend pretty much sums up what happens when you put angry people into 4,000 lb metal machines.

I have bad news for you. People actually fly nowadays too.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by oildude

I have bad news for you. People actually fly nowadays too.

Yes, in airplanes. But imagine when cars will fly. Wow, I wouldn't want to be a forensic statistician in 70 years.

[Cat III]

Originally Posted by jw007

I watched another Werner Herzog movie last night: Into the Abyss. It was a powerful documentary and absolutely honest right down to every interview. It was chilling looking into the face of a murderer who was set to be executed in a week's time and also heartbreaking watching the one remaining family member speak about her brother and mother's murders. Additionally there were also eye-opening interviews from various other people who were formerly involved in capital punishment in Texas and how after 125 executions, one man couldn't do it anymore and resigned from being the captain of the death house. This is an amazing film and Herzog does not disappoint.

It really is a great documentary and everyone, regardless of their stance on capital punishment, should see and appreciate it. Herzog doesn't play down the heinousness of the crime. The footage of the crime scene really pushes home how senseless, how utterly asinine the crime was. The woman killed was in the middle of baking cookies. A carton of eggs and bowl of half-made batter lay on the blood-stained counter. The woman was living her life normally and posed no threat, was not even an annoyance, to the idiots who took her life and the life of her stepson and his friend. The interviews with the dead woman's daughter and the brother of the friend show the eternal impact that murder has. I suspect many viewers will agree with the daughter that the two killers deserve death even after she concedes that Jesus would probably disagree.

The other side of things is given it's due. Especially relevant is the interview with one of the criminals' father, himself in prison. He says that if he had been present in his son's life we wouldn't be watching this interview. I suspect that the fathers of every death row inmate could say such a thing. Herzog brings his normal quirky brilliance when he talks with the wife of one of the criminals and asks the fair question of how she got pregnant with his child (he's not allowed conjugal visits). It's a funny exchange but Herzog's frank curiosity is justified. So yeah, I really like the movie.

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

On the subject of 3D movies...

I am unable to get the full effect of 3D movies because I have lazy eye in my right eye. I can sit through a movie with no problem if I'm watching with the Real3D glasses that have the same tint for both lenses, although the intended effect is lost on me, but the 3D glasses with the red tint in one lens and the green/blue tint in another lens do not work for me at all.

Whenever I have the choice, I opt for the 2D version of a new movie at the theater. If I do not have a choice, then I'll begrudgingly pay a couple of dollars extra and wear the 3D glasses, providing that they're the type of glasses that I can use.

The ubiquitousness of 3D movies is sometimes irritating. Because of my eye condition, I have always felt like an outsider to some extent. I never imagined that a day would come when I would feel like an outsider while enjoying a movie at the theater, but that day has arrived. Since I have always been such an enthusiastic fan of cinema, it disheartens me that I am increasingly unable to view movies in the way that they were intended to be viewed by the filmmakers. As a wise man once said, though, "When life gives you lemons, get the hell over it."

Fortunately, I can generally ascertain, or at least I think that I can generally ascertain, when a movie makes intelligent use of the 3D format. When I watched Martin Scorsese's Hugo for the first time, I was in admiration of how the director seemed to utilize the technology in a creative way. I also get the impression that Alfonso Cuarón's Gravity is an innovative step in the format. Finally, I always smile at the scene with the paddle-ball guy in House of Wax (1953).

In the end, I'm all for the advancements of new filmmaking innovations for the sake of art, even if I am not personally able to reap the benefits.

I'll probably see Pina one day, just to appreciate the movie content, even if I cannot get the full intended effect.

Of course, I have always found this Roger Ebert article to be of interest...
Why 3D Doesn't Work And Never Will

I feel the exact same way, your post explained exactly how I feel about 3D.
I have a rare eye conduit, and I'm nearly blind in my left eye. Hasn't affected ny life at all; I work offshore, drive, etc. Just can't see 3D.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by jw007

If you watch the documentaries on Hulu first, won't you want to wait a while until you watch them again after purchasing this 3 disc blu-ray release? Usually after I see a film for the first time, I need to wait a minimum of a year or maybe longer until I watch it again (unless I just totally am mesmerized by it of course). To me, I think its about taking a leap of faith and blind-watching all of these wonderful films for the first time on pristine blu-ray quality.

And yes, I hope Pro-B gets a review up soon on this release!

I love my Hulu Plus account. I try to check out blond buys on Hulu so they aren't so blind, if I don't know much about the film, or it hasn't been recommended here. With the Criterion movies, and every thing else, the $7.99 isn't a huge cost... for me anyway.