The Criterion Collection

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Reading the description on Limelight on Criterion makes me REALLY want to see it. Is it worth a blind buy? Is it typical Chaplin comedy?

EDIT:

Luci Della Ribalta - trailer - YouTube

This trailer sold it to me. WOW. I have never really seen any of his works because the clips i've seen have bugged me a little (maybe I'm judging unfairly) but this looks incredible!

I can't speak about Limelight because I've never seen it, but I can tell you that Chaplin's City Lights, also available from Criterion, literally made me laugh out loud during some sequences and bawl like a baby in others. All those hackneyed superlatives that movie critics use, like "magical", "genius", "classic", "heartbreaking", "unforgettable", "perfect", "brilliant", "must-see", etc, etc.? They all apply here!

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

keep drinking the Malick kool-aid, though, everyone!

Originally Posted by Fellini912

Please, more Malick Kool-aid

man, oh man, was I feeling thirsty this morning!
picked up Badlands.. was long overdue actually.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by Page14

I saw American Pop when it first hit the theaters (1981), and thought it was great! It came out maybe toward the tail end of a period of time that seemed to cater to "artsy" kinds of animated feature films. (Watership Down came out only 3 years before it). Ralph Bakshi was a very hot/popular name at the time (still is, I suppose). I could see American Pop fitting in with Criterion. Whether it happens or not, who knows. It would be nice to see it come out on bluray at all.

The only Bakshi I've seen is Fritz the Cat and I absolutely loathed it. I wouldn't have watched it except for the fact that I had to for class. I can appreciate it for what it is, and what it's done for animation, but I am not at all a fan.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I can't speak about Limelight because I've never seen it, but I can tell you that Chaplin's City Lights, also available from Criterion, literally made me laugh out loud during some sequences and bawl like a baby in others. All those hackneyed superlatives that movie critics use, like "magical", "genius", "classic", "heartbreaking", "unforgettable", "perfect", "brilliant", "must-see", etc, etc.? They all apply here!

Ah right - maybe I should give him another chance! Lol

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Reading the description on Limelight on Criterion makes me REALLY want to see it. Is it worth a blind buy? Is it typical Chaplin comedy?

If you haven't seen any Chaplin films, you definitely should, but if you don't really care for his Tramp character you should at least check out Monsieur Verdoux and Limelight, those are not his typical comedies.

On the other hand i am not sure if Limelight would be totally safe blind buy for someone new to Chaplin, better to watch them on hulu or something.

[jlk5844]

I'd love a Criterion of The Iron Giant, but it may not be artsy enough, or foreign enough, or obscure enough.

[inderweltsein]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Reading the description on Limelight on Criterion makes me REALLY want to see it. Is it worth a blind buy? Is it typical Chaplin comedy?

EDIT:

Luci Della Ribalta - trailer - YouTube

This trailer sold it to me. WOW. I have never really seen any of his works because the clips i've seen have bugged me a little (maybe I'm judging unfairly) but this looks incredible!

Hi Polaroid.
I don't know how to answer to your "typical Chaplin comedy" question, more precisely because of the 'typical' word.
Monsieur Verdoux, A King in New York, A Countess from Hong Kong and Limelight are for me his greatest ones.

What other filmmaker knew like him to escape and get away with violence and grace from such a character as The Tramp, the most famous character in the world. It was just easy to let himself be imprisoned, caught up in the character. But that's because Chaplin is a great, immense "cinéaste" that he progresses in his knowledge of man, of the world and of cinema.
There is something more universal in theses four films, a greater grace, than even the incredible grace Chaplin had touched with the previous films (e.g The Great Dictator or The Kid )
More universal, and yet, in Limelight, Calvero is almost the old Chaplin himself, his discover of Claire Bloom is almost the discovery and nursing of Terry by Calvero. Like he almost nursed Buster Keaton, gave him a helping hand, when he learned that Keaton was going through hard times (he even probably edited the final scene in a way Keaton is even greater, lowering his own devilish performance).
So personal, intimate and however so universal.

[Noetic Hatter]

Flipping through Hulu, and I see that a bunch of Demy films have been added recently.

I have seen - and loved - Umbrellas. Where do I go next? I am thinking Les Demoiselles de Rochefort because Catherine. Also, isn't Gene Kelly in it?

But anyone have another suggestion?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Noetic Hatter

Flipping through Hulu, and I see that a bunch of Demy films have been added recently.

I have seen - and loved - Umbrellas. Where do I go next? I am thinking Les Demoiselles de Rochefort because Catherine. Also, isn't Gene Kelly in it?

But anyone have another suggestion?

The Young Girls of Rochefort and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg are my two favorite Demy films.

[Noetic Hatter]

Originally Posted by inderweltsein

Hi Polaroid.
I don't know how to answer to your "typical Chaplin comedy" question, more precisely because of the 'typical' word.
Monsieur Verdoux, A King in New York, A Countess from Hong Kong and Limelight are for me his greatest ones.

What other filmmaker knew like him to escape and get away with violence and grace from such a character as The Tramp, the most famous character in the world. It was just easy to let himself be imprisoned, caught up in the character. But that's because Chaplin is a great, immense "cinéaste" that he progresses in his knowledge of man, of the world and of cinema.
There is something more universal in theses four films, a greater grace, than even the incredible grace Chaplin had touched with the previous films (e.g The Great Dictator or The Kid )
More universal, and yet, in Limelight, Calvero is almost the old Chaplin himself, his discover of Claire Bloom is almost the discovery and nursing of Terry by Calvero. Like he almost nursed Buster Keaton, gave him a helping hand, when he learned that Keaton was going through hard times (he even probably edited the final scene in a way Keaton is even greater, lowering his own devilish performance).
So personal, intimate and however so universal.

Ooh, I haven't seen Limelight in years - probably on an old VHS, actually. I didn't recall Claire Bloom being in it. That's even more reason for me to watch it again when it comes out.

[atlantajoseph]

Originally Posted by Noetic Hatter

Flipping through Hulu, and I see that a bunch of Demy films have been added recently.

Yay, thank you for the heads-up. I have been curious about Demy but didn't want to blind-buy the collection. Would Umbrellas be the best starting point?

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by atlantajoseph

Yay, thank you for the heads-up. I have been curious about Demy but didn't want to blind-buy the collection. Would Umbrellas be the best starting point?

I love it! I've got it ranked 15th out of 102 CC titles I've seen since being a forum contributor.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by atlantajoseph

Yay, thank you for the heads-up. I have been curious about Demy but didn't want to blind-buy the collection. Would Umbrellas be the best starting point?

Definitely a good place to start.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Noetic Hatter

Flipping through Hulu, and I see that a bunch of Demy films have been added recently.

Apart from the 6 from the boxset, i noticed there are 3 more in HD:

The Pied Piper
A Slightly Pregnant Man
Parking

But those are non-essential i guess

[lordmorpheus72]

Just got notification that my Watership Down pre-order from BB just shipped. I should have it on release day! So excited about this release...

But for today, I'm at home sick, watching The Seventh Seal. Wondering if it's a good idea to watch a movie about Death when your sick.

[littleprince32]

Originally Posted by Noetic Hatter

Flipping through Hulu, and I see that a bunch of Demy films have been added recently.

I have seen - and loved - Umbrellas. Where do I go next? I am thinking Les Demoiselles de Rochefort because Catherine. Also, isn't Gene Kelly in it?

But anyone have another suggestion?

I bought the set when it came out and I was planning on watching Umbrellas first but for some reason Bay of Angels was calling my name so I watched that one first instead... and it was a great decision. Brilliant, beautiful film. The opening shot alone is quite the rush. Dr. Svet named Bay of Angels (not the whole set, just the single film) as his blu-ray release of 2014 and I'd have to agree.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

Just got notification that my Watership Down pre-order from BB just shipped. I should have it on release day! So excited about this release...

But for today, I'm at home sick, watching The Seventh Seal. Wondering if it's a good idea to watch a movie about Death when your sick.

It's an excellent idea. The whole time you can be thinking "well, it could be worse!" regarding your own sickness.

[Page14]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

The only Bakshi I've seen is Fritz the Cat and I absolutely loathed it. I wouldn't have watched it except for the fact that I had to for class. I can appreciate it for what it is, and what it's done for animation, but I am not at all a fan.

I saw Fritz the Cat too (probably in the 70s), and I can understand your feelings about it. I think American Pop is a very different type of film though. I don't remember it being nearly as controversial in subject matter as Fritz the Cat was. If you remember, Fritz the Cat was supposedly the first animated film to receive an X-rating, which was a very big deal back then. If I'm remembering correctly, a lot of people were upset with Bakshi for using rotoscoping on American Pop ... saying that it was more like tracing live action film/negatives than creating animation from scratch. Much info about Bakshi/Fritz/American Pop and more can be found here, among other places I'm sure: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Bakshi

Sorry for straying Off Topic. I have a soft spot for animation. To tie this into Criterion a little bit, Fritz the Cat was a Robert Crumb creation.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

Just got notification that my Watership Down pre-order from BB just shipped. I should have it on release day! So excited about this release...

But for today, I'm at home sick, watching The Seventh Seal. Wondering if it's a good idea to watch a movie about Death when your sick.

Hey, friend, sorry to hear you're not feeling well. Hope it's nothing serious! Take care of yourself and get plenty of rest so that you'll be ready for next week's anticipated Flash Sale!

[Scottie]

Just came back from seeing Two Days, One Night at the theater and cannot wait for its Criterion release. My favorite film of 2014.