The Criterion Collection

[KrugerIndustrial]

Originally Posted by jw007

Thanks for responding to my special post.

I agree...the Proletariat Trilogy is something very substantial that many people haven't seen before.

Amazingly, I was able to buy these blu-rays imported from Finland at a very low cost of only $12 or 13 each! Shipping was only $6 too. Amazing deal. If you can do it, check this site and you can buy all of Kaurismaki's films for cheap...and all the blu-rays play perfectly in Region A/1 for USA: https://www.recordshopx.com/search/?...s&l=ab&l=c&l=d

Glad to see you enjoyed them and are now a fan.

[oildude]

The Bergman-Rossellini Trilogy was a blind buy and I found all three to be enjoyable dramas revolving around dislocation, marriage, and faith. I especially like Europe '51, a film that really surprised me because it took me a bit to get engaged in the story; based on a stretch near the middle, I began to fear I was in for a long slog of a dull political manifesto. However, I was completely sucked in by the end and found it to be a truly remarkable movie, with an intelligent and moving premise that revolves around Bergman's rejection of her rich lifestyle following a personal tragedy she blames on herself. As part of her healing process, she discovers her love for the poor and underprivileged she formerly ignored.

What makes the film so interesting is that Rossellini takes the story and Bergman's personal development in a direction that I wasn't expecting. Bergman's character

[Show spoiler]doesn't fall for the propaganda of a committed Communist who first introduces her to the poor communities and begins her indoctrination. No, it is a far more richer film than that, and proceeds to soar to new heights as it explores themes of faith, the Catholic Church, and Italian post-war society in a magnificent allegory of what it means to truly love and care for human beings. Bergman rejects the Communists because Rossellini makes us understand they are using the poor as tools to achieve power and would replace one hierarchy with another, with the result that nothing would really change except who became the new elites. The path she chooses is actually more difficult, and ultimately more threatening, to those elites no matter which side of the political spectrum they are on.

A brilliant film, with one of Bergman's finest performances. I am always intrigued, richly rewarded, and humbled in a kind of self-chastising way when a film does something wonderfully unexpected and blows away my preconceptions. One of the best in the collection.

[Snicket]

I watched Time Bandits or the first time a few days ago.

I don't think I have even been so cought off guard by an ending.

It's really a movie with 12 different ideas thrown in, like The Goonies on some mild narcotic.

I did gleefully laugh at Robin Hood's henchman punching those poor people after receiving their redistributed wealth.

Such a nice piece of camp.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by oildude

The Bergman-Rossellini Trilogy was a blind buy and I found all three to be enjoyable dramas revolving around dislocation, marriage, and faith. I especially like Europe '51, a film that really surprised me because it took me a bit to get engaged in the story; based on a stretch near the middle, I began to fear I was in for a long slog of a dull political manifesto. However, I was completely sucked in by the end and found it to be a truly remarkable movie, with an intelligent and moving premise that revolves around Bergman's rejection of her rich lifestyle following a personal tragedy she blames on herself. As part of her healing process, she discovers her love for the poor and underprivileged she formerly ignored.

What makes the film so interesting is that Rossellini takes the story and Bergman's personal development in a direction that I wasn't expecting. Bergman's character

[Show spoiler]doesn't fall for the propaganda of a committed Communist who first introduces her to the poor communities and begins her indoctrination. At this point I thought the film was going to devolve into a political agenda. No, it is a far more richer film than that, and proceeds to soar to new heights as it explores themes of faith, the Catholic Church, and Italian post-war society in a magnificent allegory of what it means to truly love and care for human beings. Bergman rejects the Communists because Rossellini makes us understand they are using the poor as tools to achieve power and would replace one hierarchy with another, with the result that nothing would really change except who became the new elites. The path she chooses is actually more difficult, and ultimately more threatening to those elites no matter which side of the political spectrum they are on.

A brilliant film, with one of Bergman's finest performances. I am always intrigued, richly rewarded, and humbled in a kind of self-chastising way when a film does something unexpected and blows away my preconceptions. One of the best in the collection.

I'm just a half hour in and had to pasue to popped back here and saw your post. Didn't read your spoiler yet, but I'm getting very involved as the movie progresses... looking forward to the rest. This was a blind buy for me as well.

[jw007]

Two night ago I opened up Safe and watched it on my blu-ray player.

What an amazing film!

The story is ahead of its time... and the dilemma on environmental toxicity only continues to grow in proportion in the present day. This film was made in 1995 but took place in 1987 so I found this pretty interesting.

The acting is tremendous. Julianne Moore. What more can I say. She's a revelation.

The directing by Todd Haynes. Wow. I love his style. I like the long, controlled, steady takes and shots. He's one of my new favorite directors now...

...especially... because the following night I watched Far from Heaven, another Haynes film. This is totally an homage to All that Heaven Allows and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. It was his take on those movies basically, but he did an extraordinary job making a retro-looking film but also it being original in its own way (using not only racial tensions but sexual orientation too).

Safe is still my favorite Haynes film.

(I had seen Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There in the past too).

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by jw007

Two night ago I opened up Safe and watched it on my blu-ray player.

What an amazing film!

The story is ahead of its time... and the dilemma on environmental toxicity only continues to grow in proportion in the present day. This film was made in 1995 but took place in 1987 so I found this pretty interesting.

The acting is tremendous. Julianne Moore. What more can I say. She's a revelation.

The directing by Todd Haynes. Wow. I love his style. I like the long, controlled, steady takes and shots. He's one of my new favorite directors now...

...especially... because the following night I watched Far from Heaven, another Haynes film. This is totally an homage to All that Heaven Allows and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. It was his take on those movies basically, but he did an extraordinary job making a retro-looking film but also it being original in its own way (using not only racial tensions but sexual orientation too).

Safe is still my favorite Haynes film.

(I had seen Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There in the past too).

You should check out his HBO series adaptation of Mildred Pierce (unless you already have). It's a wonderful translation of the book to the screen, and much better than the 1945 film, in my opinion. Kate Winslet is great in the titular role (I mean, she did win an Emmy and Golden Globe), and Guy Pearce and Evan Rachel Wood are splendid, too. Definitely check it out if you haven't!

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by jw007

Two night ago I opened up Safe and watched it on my blu-ray player.

What an amazing film!

The story is ahead of its time... and the dilemma on environmental toxicity only continues to grow in proportion in the present day. This film was made in 1995 but took place in 1987 so I found this pretty interesting.

The acting is tremendous. Julianne Moore. What more can I say. She's a revelation.

The directing by Todd Haynes. Wow. I love his style. I like the long, controlled, steady takes and shots. He's one of my new favorite directors now...

...especially... because the following night I watched Far from Heaven, another Haynes film. This is totally an homage to All that Heaven Allows and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. It was his take on those movies basically, but he did an extraordinary job making a retro-looking film but also it being original in its own way (using not only racial tensions but sexual orientation too).

Safe is still my favorite Haynes film.

(I had seen Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There in the past too).

Good to hear such good things about it. I blind bough this just before the last BN sale ended, but haven't watched it yet... may movie it up on the list now though. I'm really excited to watch, just want to make sure I'm in the right frame of mind... but sounds like I won't disappointed no matter what.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

You should check out his HBO series adaptation of Mildred Pierce (unless you already have). It's a wonderful translation of the book to the screen, and much better than the 1945 film, in my opinion. Kate Winslet is great in the titular role (I mean, she did win an Emmy and Golden Globe), and Guy Pearce and Evan Rachel Wood are splendid, too. Definitely check it out if you haven't!

It's like 6+ hours but if I can get my hands on it (maybe I can check the library), I will. I'm not sure the subject matter interests me enough to want to see this but maybe I'll give it a try. thnx.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

Good to hear such good things about it. I blind bough this just before the last BN sale ended, but haven't watched it yet... may movie it up on the list now though. I'm really excited to watch, just want to make sure I'm in the right frame of mind... but sounds like I won't disappointed no matter what.

Most likely you will not be disappointed but possibly blown away by how engaging the film is. For me it was a big surprise and a pleasant one at that. It's a great feeling to blind buy something and not only does it pay off, it becomes one of your favorite things you bought. Safe is now one of my instant favorite films.

(also, the music/score in Safe reminded me a bit of a David Lynch film oddly enough)

[lordmorpheus72]

Just finished Europe '51 and must say I quite enjoyed every aspect of the film. I have a background (undergrad degree) in political science and along with that, am a huge history buff/nerd, etc. So to have the film centered around post-war Italy, and the great division among the haves and have-nots, it really allowed to enjoy the film on multiple levels.

The story itself so depressing, but uplifting at the same time. Bergman plays her character so well, that as the film progresses, you really feel her struggle, and begin to care for her much, much than you did in the beginning of the film. And to see her 180 degree shift, shows the triumph of the human spirit over the political culture, no matter the costs.

An excellent movie and one I look forward to watching again and again.

Now on to finish the box set with Journey to Italy.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by jw007

Most likely you will not be disappointed but possibly blown away by how engaging the film is. For me it was a big surprise and a pleasant one at that. It's a great feeling to blind buy something and not only does it pay off, it becomes one of your favorite things you bought. Safe is now one of my instant favorite films.

(also, the music/score in Safe reminded me a bit of a David Lynch film oddly enough)

I've had planned tonight's, and tomorrow's, movie line up, but I'm thinking I may change it up.... except during the Cowboys game tomorrow .

And very exited about the music and score now... thanks for the great review on Safe.

[RojD]

Originally Posted by jw007

Two night ago I opened up Safe and watched it on my blu-ray player.

What an amazing film!

The story is ahead of its time... and the dilemma on environmental toxicity only continues to grow in proportion in the present day. This film was made in 1995 but took place in 1987 so I found this pretty interesting.

The acting is tremendous. Julianne Moore. What more can I say. She's a revelation.

The directing by Todd Haynes. Wow. I love his style. I like the long, controlled, steady takes and shots. He's one of my new favorite directors now...

...especially... because the following night I watched Far from Heaven, another Haynes film. This is totally an homage to All that Heaven Allows and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. It was his take on those movies basically, but he did an extraordinary job making a retro-looking film but also it being original in its own way (using not only racial tensions but sexual orientation too).

Safe is still my favorite Haynes film.

(I had seen Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There in the past too).

Really glad you liked the film. I completely agree with what you say about it. I have a feeling it'd be very slow for some people, but if you buy into what Haynes is doing, it's simply incredible. And like you said, Julianne Moore is outstanding. There just aren't a lot of roles for women who have to carry a film, and there are fewer still where the actors can actually do it. Safe gives her the opportunity, and she knocks it out of the ballpark. Though I don't know how they picked it, I'm very glad Criterion chose to release this film. And it's nice to know there are others out there who like it.

[Ausjdm]

Glad you liked Safe JW! I couldn't go outside after watching it years ago. Far from Heaven is really good too! I gotta buy both asap

Originally Posted by jw007

Two night ago I opened up Safe and watched it on my blu-ray player.

What an amazing film!

The story is ahead of its time... and the dilemma on environmental toxicity only continues to grow in proportion in the present day. This film was made in 1995 but took place in 1987 so I found this pretty interesting.

The acting is tremendous. Julianne Moore. What more can I say. She's a revelation.

The directing by Todd Haynes. Wow. I love his style. I like the long, controlled, steady takes and shots. He's one of my new favorite directors now...

...especially... because the following night I watched Far from Heaven, another Haynes film. This is totally an homage to All that Heaven Allows and Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. It was his take on those movies basically, but he did an extraordinary job making a retro-looking film but also it being original in its own way (using not only racial tensions but sexual orientation too).

Safe is still my favorite Haynes film.

(I had seen Velvet Goldmine and I'm Not There in the past too).

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Glad you liked Safe JW! I couldn't go outside after watching it years ago. Far from Heaven is really good too! I gotta buy both asap

From what I've seen here, I guess I need to check out Far from Heaven as well.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

You should check out his HBO series adaptation of Mildred Pierce (unless you already have). It's a wonderful translation of the book to the screen, and much better than the 1945 film, in my opinion. Kate Winslet is great in the titular role (I mean, she did win an Emmy and Golden Globe), and Guy Pearce and Evan Rachel Wood are splendid, too. Definitely check it out if you haven't!

Yeah, it's very, very good.

And it's a great example of a remake that can bring something new to the table even when the classic is pretty damn classic and a great case study in the advantages of the mini-series format. Could somebody have done a faithful adaptation of the novel in one or more theatrical films? Sure, but it would have been a lot more difficult and in this case it would have been really hard to maintain interest over a period of a year or more.

And yeah, Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood are fantastic and Guy Pearce just nails it. And I had to look up Morgan Turner (young Veda) but she was really great too.

[lordmorpheus72]

Finished Journey to Italy a few minutes ago. I really enjoyed the film, a nice story about losing and finding love. One of the things I have always worried about is what happens after years of marriage... will someone grow tiresome of the other, will love remain, but not like, or crazy things like that.

The movie itself was beautiful, and wonderful. Such an amazing backdrop for a film like this, and the scene at the Fontanelle Cemetery was breath taking... I know that's odd, but it really did just kind of hit me hard.

I can see why this is one of Rossellini's most regarded films.

[Luke B.]

Sadly, there's no portuguese subtitle in this Rosemary's Baby edition, but, I still want to buy it. This edition is great.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

I've had planned tonight's, and tomorrow's, movie line up, but I'm thinking I may change it up.... except during the Cowboys game tomorrow .

And very exited about the music and score now... thanks for the great review on Safe.

'welcome. Let me know when you end up seeing it.

Originally Posted by RojD

Really glad you liked the film. I completely agree with what you say about it. I have a feeling it'd be very slow for some people, but if you buy into what Haynes is doing, it's simply incredible. And like you said, Julianne Moore is outstanding. There just aren't a lot of roles for women who have to carry a film, and there are fewer still where the actors can actually do it. Safe gives her the opportunity, and she knocks it out of the ballpark. Though I don't know how they picked it, I'm very glad Criterion chose to release this film. And it's nice to know there are others out there who like it.

This is one of the best examples of Criterion choosing to bring a director's best film (out of his body of work) into the collection. A lot of the times Criterion can only get the rights to a director's early works or films that aren't their best work (examples would be Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, as his Deer Hunter is far superior to that movie... or the only David Lynch film in the collection is Eraserhead which is definitely not his best film by any means). Though its not Haynes' first film, as that would be Poison (the only feature film of his I haven't seen yet), I think Safe is just a marvelous piece of cinema that I can see myself watching annually. A few nights after seeing it, I even was planning on screening this film tonight for 3 other friends of mine but we ended up watching another film instead.

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Glad you liked Safe JW! I couldn't go outside after watching it years ago. Far from Heaven is really good too! I gotta buy both asap

Oh, this film didn't scare me... I know my dad told me once that after he saw Jaws, he didn't go into the ocean for years or something (as did many people). But it wasn't that disturbing for me, because I'm neurotic myself. Not as neurotic as characters Woody Allen would play, but I totally could relate to Julianne Moore's character in Safe.

[Nielsb90]

Watching Macbeth for the first time on my Panasonic BD player. There is no setup menu on this BD? I can't figure out how to turn on subtitles and there is no button for it on my remote. Any tips?

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by jw007

It's like 6+ hours but if I can get my hands on it (maybe I can check the library), I will. I'm not sure the subject matter interests me enough to want to see this but maybe I'll give it a try. thnx.

Yeah, it's a few hours, but it's definitely worth it. I didn't think I would be too interested in it until I read the novel and then watched the series (I may have seen the 1945 film before I read the novel, but I don't think I did). The relationships between Mildred, her husband, her daughters, her friends, etc. are very well done. I absolutely loathe the character of Veda (Mildred's daughter, and for obvious reasons), but the two actresses who play Veda--Morgan Turner and Evan Rachel Wood--are so mesmerizing that it's hard to look away. At least watch the first episode; I guarantee that you'll be hooked into watching the rest of the series.

Originally Posted by octagon

Yeah, it's very, very good.

And it's a great example of a remake that can bring something new to the table even when the classic is pretty damn classic and a great case study in the advantages of the mini-series format. Could somebody have done a faithful adaptation of the novel in one or more theatrical films? Sure, but it would have been a lot more difficult and in this case it would have been really hard to maintain interest over a period of a year or more.

And yeah, Kate Winslet and Evan Rachel Wood are fantastic and Guy Pearce just nails it. And I had to look up Morgan Turner (young Veda) but she was really great too.

I agree completely with you (except for the fact that I'm not too keen on the 1945 film). The acting is stupendous and adapting the novel into five episodes was a very smart decision on Haynes part.