The Criterion Collection

[Ausjdm]

Originally Posted by Shrunkenhead

What's with all the hate for Crash? Yeah, Cronenberg adapting JG Ballard, what a bunch of hacks.

Haha! Good one sir!!!!!

I tell you one thing I haven't seen 50 Shades and never will. But Crash from 1996 thats hot and heavy lol

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Now damnit everyone go buy, Criterion of SAFE! I saw that 15 years ago, wow where does time go.

Amazing film... that was a great Criterion purchase for me.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by The_Iceflash

I would love to see a Titanic Criterion Release. Although, its Blu-ray is on the level of a Criterion Release being jammed packed with bonus features, documentaries, plus a flawless transfer.

Isn't James Cameron too big for Criterion?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Haha! Good one sir!!!!!

I tell you one thing I haven't seen 50 Shades and never will. But Crash from 1996 thats hot and heavy lol

So weird you wrote that. I saw the other Crash last night for the first time in like 10 years. Ya know, the Crash that won best picture in 2005 directed by Paul Haggis. It's such a relevant, timely film even today.

[Roninblues]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

In fact, it would make just as much sense for Criterion to release Forrest Gump as it did for Criterion to release Tootsie and The Big Chill.

Two wrongs, don't make a right.

[WonderWeasel]

I hope I'm not too late to the party on this one...

Amadeus
The Sting
On the Waterfront
Casablanca
The Bridge on the River Kwai

I'm not 100% sure that I like 'Bridge on the River Kwai' better than 'No Country for Old men'.

[spargs]

My 5 favorite Best Picture winners:

The Deer Hunter
The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
Lawrence of Arabia
On the Waterfront

My 5 least favorite Best Picture winners:

Crash
Dances with Wolves
Kramer vs. Kramer
Ordinary People
Slumdog Millionaire

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Worst best picture winners:

How green was my valley(beat citizen Kane and Maltese falcon ughhh...)

I agree with Owl. Very good / near great film from one of the best directors who ever lived.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Shakespeare in Love was not a bad little movie, but it did not deserve to beat out The Thin Red Line or Saving Private Ryan.

Crash (2005) goes into my top five list of worst movies that I have ever seen.

Dances with Wolves is a decent movie, but it has been forever tainted in my eyes by a skit, "Dirty Dancing with Wolves", from the early 1990s television comedy, In Living Color.

Kramer vs. Kramer is no Apocalypse Now and it is no Breaking Away (which I've watched three times since I bought the Twilight Time Blu-ray last month!). It does, however, have that scene with JoBeth Williams that made quite a wonderful mark on my childhood psyche.

How Green is My Valley is a wonderful, wonderful movie. It is not as good as The Maltese Falcon or Citizen Kane, but, on its own terms, it was highly deserving of the Best Picture honor.

At the risk of ridicule from my fellow Criterion fans, I'm going to come out and say that I have always liked Forrest Gump. In fact, it would make just as much sense for Criterion to release Forrest Gump as it did for Criterion to release Tootsie and The Big Chill. Now, I think that The Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, and the criminally underrated Quiz Show were all more deserving Best Picture hopefuls, but I do like Forrest Gump.

I never saw The Artist, although I love the idea of Bérénice Bejo (A Knight's Tale) receiving big recognition. The Artist struck me as too gimmicky (Hey everybody! It's a silent movie in modern day!), and I wanted The Tree of Life to win.

I saw the first showing of Forrest Gump on the day it opened (July 1994 ... I used to remember the exact date), and told my friends as we walked out the theatre, "Well, we just saw this year's Best Picture and Best Actor winner."

The point you made about How Green Was My Valley is right on the money. I personally would have voted for The Maltese Falcon as Best Picture of 1941, but it's not HGWMV's fault that it was the Academy's choice that year, and it winning status doesn't diminish its brilliance.

And yes, Crash was/is a real wreck!

[BohemianGraham]

Oooh, I'm going to say my least favourite, and I'm prepared for the slings and arrows!:

Rocky - Seriously, WTF didn't Network win?
Crash - Munich should have won
Terms of Endearment - not a lot really stands out for this year, but I didn't like this at all despite enjoying Broadcast News
Forrest Gump - I absolutely hate this film
Cavalcade - The Private Life of Henry VIII should have won
Birdman - Already said that there are at least 4 other films that I thought were better than Birdman. Honestly, I felt like Keaton was playing himself. I know this is a highly unpopular opinion, but, I don't care.

I could go on, such as Chariots of Fire, Ordinary People, Out of Africa, etc. The 80s were a bad decade of Best picture films IMHO.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by format916

i tell everyone to watch tree of life instead of boyhood. not that tree of life is the best film ever made, but its what i thought boyhood would be.

I'm trying to imagine Linklater making a movie that even remotely resembled Tree of Life.

I'm failing.

I haven't seen Boyhood yet, but Linklater is extremely talented, as is Malick. They are simply talented in different ways. But I'll go blind into anything either of them makes.

[jmclick]

The Most Deserving Best Picture Winners:

Schindler's List (1993)
Gone With the Wind (1939)
It Happened One Night (1935)
Titanic (1997)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946; even though I would have given the award to It's a Wonderful Life)

The Least Deserving Best Picture Winners:

Crash (2005)
The Broadway Melody (1928/29)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Cimarron (1930/31)
Oliver! (1968)

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Oooh, I'm going to say my least favourite, and I'm prepared for the slings and arrows!:

Rocky - Seriously, WTF didn't Network win?
Crash - Munich should have won
Terms of Endearment - not a lot really stands out for this year, but I didn't like this at all despite enjoying Broadcast News
Forrest Gump - I absolutely hate this film
Cavalcade - The Private Life of Henry VIII should have won
Birdman - Already said that there are at least 4 other films that I thought were better than Birdman. Honestly, I felt like Keaton was playing himself. I know this is a highly unpopular opinion, but, I don't care.

I could go on, such as Chariots of Fire, Ordinary People, Out of Africa, etc. The 80s were a bad decade of Best picture films IMHO.

Cavalcade also beat out I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, which would have received my vote.

Chariots of Fire was one of my earliest Blu-ray upgrades from DVD. I was chapped during my childhood when that film beat out Raiders of the Lost Ark and On Golden Pond, but I've really grown to love it in recent decades.


Back to last night...
Although my pulse is not quickened by the idea of watching Boyhood, I am admittedly happy that a Dream Warrior won an Academy Award (Patricia Arquette).

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Oooh, I'm going to say my least favourite, and I'm prepared for the slings and arrows!:

Rocky - Seriously, WTF didn't Network win?
Crash - Munich should have won
Terms of Endearment - not a lot really stands out for this year, but I didn't like this at all despite enjoying Broadcast News
Forrest Gump - I absolutely hate this film
Cavalcade - The Private Life of Henry VIII should have won
Birdman - Already said that there are at least 4 other films that I thought were better than Birdman. Honestly, I felt like Keaton was playing himself. I know this is a highly unpopular opinion, but, I don't care.

I could go on, such as Chariots of Fire, Ordinary People, Out of Africa, etc. The 80s were a bad decade of Best picture films IMHO.

Rocky won because it's a feel good movie and Network, well, isn't.

Crash is one of the worst films I've ever paid money to see. It's painfully, laughably bad. It's not just one of the worst films to win BP, it's one of the worst films to gain wide release. Munich, OTOH, is possibly Spielberg's best film.

[Polaroid]

Crash wasn't THAT bad... It had a nice soundtrack at least

My problem with Crash was it was too safe, I much prefer films like Babel, Magnolia etc (similar in terms of the multiple interweaving characters).

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Crash wasn't THAT bad... It had a nice soundtrack at least

My problem with Crash was it was too safe, I much prefer films like Babel, Magnolia etc (similar in terms of the multiple interweaving characters).

Well, in my opinion, the two worst films I've ever paid to see (and I used to go to the theater a LOT, even if now it's a rare occurrence) are Matrix: Reloaded and Crash. Easily. Reloaded was just a massive disappointment after the first one. And Crash was offensive. What am I? Eight? If a movie's going to lecture me, it had sure as heck better not talk down to me.


As to Citizen Kane, I think it's got to be fairly clear that it simply wasn't understood by most of the people seeing it at the time. Sure, the techniques, both in cinematography and in storytelling, are now the sort of thing that we take for granted now. But then? NO way. I'm pretty sure that a lot of people walked out of Kane thinking, "WTF did I just watch?!"

[spargs]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

And Crash was offensive. What am I? Eight? If a movie's going to lecture me, it had sure as heck better not talk down to me.

This nails it for me, exactly how I felt upon seeing it. I was offended and felt insulted by the film, which is why it is my least favorite Best Picture winner.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Crash wasn't THAT bad... It had a nice soundtrack at least

My problem with Crash was it was too safe, I much prefer films like Babel, Magnolia etc (similar in terms of the multiple interweaving characters).

Seems like everybody here hates Crash, i also didn't think it's bad, it seems it winning Best Picture it's what has given it its bad reputation, it even has some very good reviews.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

No just 2D - maybe that's why but surely a film should be good 2D as well, rather than limiting itself, guess Godard doesn't care about that either lol

That depends. If the film is designed around being shot in 3D, it may well look fine in 2D, but it won't be seen as it was designed to be seen. Just as you can probably watch, oh, Black Narcissus in black-&-white and have an enjoyable viewing experience, but it wouldn't be the same as seeing it in colour.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Seems like everybody here hates Crash, i also didn't think it's bad, it seems it winning Best Picture it's what has given it its bad reputation, it even has some very good reviews.

Winning Best Picture over the likes of Brokeback Mountain and Munich certainly didn't help but a lot of people - me included - thought it sucked well before Jack Nicholson's startled 'whoa, Crash'.