The Criterion Collection

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I think a good case can be made for Tree of Life or Here's Your Life. I give the edge to Tree of Life because Criterion does love using puns in their art clues. Bad-lambs, Caught C's, Broadcast gnus, etc.

from your lips to criterion's ears!

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by GenPion

Personally, I found Boyhood to be one of the most significant accomplishments in film in 2014 and I know I am not alone.

no, you're definitely not alone. I just double checked the metacritic scale thinking that many 'liked' the film without outright loving it. my hunch was wrong as it has almost a full boat of '100' scores.

it seems, though, that now that many have seen this film, its detractors are coming out of the woodwork. there seems to be at least a half dozen of us who regularly post on this thread. I don't think the film will hold up as any kind of 'artistic achievement,' but I guess time will tell.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

no, you're definitely not alone. I just double checked the metacritic scale thinking that many 'liked' the film without outright loving it. my hunch was wrong as it has almost a full boat of '100' scores.

it seems, though, that now that many have seen this film, its detractors are coming out of the woodwork. there seems to be at least a half dozen of us who regularly post on this thread. I don't think the film will hold up as any kind of 'artistic achievement,' but I guess time will tell.

I liked Boyhood quite a bit, but agree with almost everything you've said about it. The lead actor is awful and if it hadn't been filmed over the time period but had the exact same script I doubt anyone would have cared. And the soundtrack was really lazy, especially the Coldplay and Britney Spears at the beginning.

[Polaroid]

Eastenders (A UK soap) has already done what Boyhood has done, they have had a character on the show for 30 years :P

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

Fixed, lol. But really, look at his filmography. You picked the 2 animated films out of everything he's done (but even Waking Life is more free form like Boyhood, with little story and more emphasis on scenes and ideas, like most of his films). The majority of his work is more like Boyhood.

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

How did the guy that made Dazed and Confused, the Before trilogy, Slacker, and School of Rock make Boyhood?

That seems more accurate. Boyhood is similar to The Tree of Life where it feels like the filmmaker had been building towards that moment for his entire career; one that feels like a culmination of everything he has been after.

I haven't seen his others films, hence the ones I chose :P!

[Jaymole]

]

[Fabs]

I wouldn't mind Tree of Life in the CC, but the existing blu ray already has excellent AQ and PQ, so I wish Criterion would use their time to release films that need a release. There are already so many wonderful films in their backlog that haven't had a blu ray, let alone DVD, release. And some older films of theirs could use upgrades to Blu Ray.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Fabs

I wouldn't mind Tree of Life in the CC, but the existing blu ray already has excellent AQ and PQ, so I wish Criterion would use their time to release films that need a release. There are already so many wonderful films in their backlog that haven't had a blu ray, let alone DVD, release. And some older films of theirs could use upgrades to Blu Ray.

Like releasing films from boxsets as stand alone releases :P? lol

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Seems there is a mistake with the Around the River supplement, it should be the complete documentary right? it is marked as 3 minutes long.

Thanks for catching that, Pedro It is definitely a coding error (it is from another line <li></ul>). Should be fixed now.

Pro-B

[soarinsteven]

Although, only a few years old The Tree of Life has quickly become one of my all time favorites. Howerver. I'm perfectly happy with the currently release, and see no need for a Criterion version. If it does happen (and I will probably buy it anyway cuz how could I not haha) hopefully we still get a Criterion release of The New World first!

TNW was one of my most watched dvds, but never ended up purchasing the now oop blu-ray, so I'm keen to revisit this film proper in HD.

Ohh how I miss summer of 2014 when Boyhood was released to theaters, and you couldn't find a negative response to it lol. That immediately became a favorite film of the decade. It's made up of such beautiful little moments, and it's a vivid and moving portrait of relationships between child and sibling, parent, teacher etc as time moves all too fast. It's a treasure of a film. Can't wait for the Criterion release, but not expecting it till at least 2016 or even 2017. This along with the Before trilogy (and School of Rock!) are by far my favorite things Linklater has done.

Anyways, I watched the original Insomnia for the first time! Loved it. Smart, lean, tense thriller done in a wonderfully muted, but haunting atmosphere. GREAT performance from Stellan Skarsgård. Adding to my wishlist.

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I can buy that for Malick, but not for Linklater. Boyhood is full of clichés and some laughably poor acting (see

[Show spoiler]Dad’s dinner scene outburst

.) The soundtrack choices do nothing to establish tone for the film; they simply serve as markers to document the passing of time. The only time this movie resembles some of Linklater’s better work is in the last segment of the film when he probably realized that it was time to wrap things up. Even then, some of the philosophical themes and ideas are retreads of the Before trilogy and Waking Life.

I was wrong about The Tree of Life. But for all the times I called it pretentious, I should have probably put a disclaimer out there and that would have been, “I might be wrong.” Like it or not, I think everyone can agree that that film is “challenging,” “ambitious,” etc. I should have accepted the fact that maybe I “didn’t get it.” Boyhood, on the other hand, is so generic. I can’t imagine why anyone would want to return to this film, but that’s just my opinion.

Completely agree about Boyhood. It's one of those movies that in 10 years it'll be completely forgotten and those who do remember it will facepalm at ever liking it. No better than a Hallmark or Lifetime made for television picture.

[Yami]

The Tree of Life would be a fantastic Criterion release if it was the 6 hour cut that has supposedly been in the works. If it were just a release of the theatrical cut, I wouldn't see the point either. (But it was Here's Your Life )

I'm very much on Team Boyhood. Loved it in theater and loved it just as much on Blu-Ray. Sadly, I don't have enough time to dedicate to writing a full explanation about why I think it's great but I don't think I've ever connected with a film on such a deep level. While my upbringing wasn't remotely similar to Mason's, I could identify with him as someone who grew up roughly parallel over the same time period. The film ends with him going off to college, and I first saw the film a few weeks prior to moving to university.

But while a good part of my appreciation of the film might well be personal, I do think that there's a lot to be said about it's more formal achievements. The editing, the acting and the direction are all laudable.

I think Mark Kermode put it quite well when he said that in 10 years time there are going to be pub quizzes where one of the questions is 'what won Best Picture the year that Boyhood didn't?'

[filmmusic]

By the way, do you think that these 2 last clues (My beautiful Launderette and unknown "life" film) are for the upcoming announcement?
I mean the confession clue wasn't just before the announcement of the Bluray?
I don't remember..

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

I liked Boyhood quite a bit, but agree with almost everything you've said about it. The lead actor is awful and if it hadn't been filmed over the time period but had the exact same script I doubt anyone would have cared. And the soundtrack was really lazy, especially the Coldplay and Britney Spears at the beginning.

How is that lazy, exactly? Those were relevant when the opening sequences were shot 12 years ago, so they reflect the time period perfectly.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

How is that lazy, exactly? Those were relevant when the opening sequences were shot 12 years ago, so they reflect the time period perfectly.

They may have fitted the time but it did come across as tacky and a bit lazy lol, quit cringey too lol.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

How is that lazy, exactly? Those were relevant when the opening sequences were shot 12 years ago, so they reflect the time period perfectly.

Choosing whatever song was the number one single at the time to use as the soundtrack is lazy and uninteresting IMO. Britney Spears was less annoying cause it was used diegetically and little kids really would have been listening to it, but Coldplay is just on the soundtrack and is really annoying. And I LIKE that song!

[jw007]

Just got word from an insider... Criterion is releasing James Cameron's The Abyss in a massive special release!

Click the spoiler below for a sneak peak!

[Show spoiler]APRIL FOOLS! just kidding!

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

They may have fitted the time but it did come across as tacky and a bit lazy lol, quit cringey too lol.

Not to me, but okay.

Originally Posted by cakefactory

Choosing whatever song was the number one single at the time to use as the soundtrack is lazy and uninteresting IMO. Britney Spears was less annoying cause it was used diegetically and little kids really would have been listening to it, but Coldplay is just on the soundtrack and is really annoying. And I LIKE that song!

That's fine, but since the film was ABOUT time and the passage of it, I felt it fit the movie better because it was clearly dated. Too many movies use songs in the soundtrack for me to blankly call it "lazy" evertime it's done. And that's going back to the 1930s. I agree that sometimes it comes off as uninspired for sure, but in this case I felt it worked.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

They may have fitted the time but it did come across as tacky and a bit lazy lol, quit cringey too lol.

For me it took about 3 full seconds to go from cringing to "getting it" back to cringing.

[DfndroftheFaith]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

They may have fitted the time but it did come across as tacky and a bit lazy lol, quit cringey too lol.

I think the "cringeyness" of it makes a lot of sense for the movie. I cringe far more thinking about what I was singing and dancing to when I was that age.