The Criterion Collection

[ChromeJob]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

certainly got it right with the one they ended up choosing

This just showed up in my local Costco, and I tossed it into my cart without a second's thought. I'd wanted to order it from Criterion's flash sale, but it sold out. Harumph. Nice to see Costco getting a recent release!

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by italy12

I don't know if anyone has posted about this, but has anyone noticed the non-digipak, non-dual format edition of Tess in their local stores?

I went to B&N a week or so ago and noticed a single Blu ray copy, a la Foreign Correspondent, of Tess.

I'm assuming they're slowly going this route with the others that had dual format digis.

I still need to replace my digipack of The Night of the Hunter, and I'll probably do the same with Tess now, although the digipack is beautiful and my copy is practically mint. Separation anxiety....lol

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Ray_Rogers

Criterion B&N Summer Sale is always June, not July, right?

No, it's July.

[Kaiju]

Criterion sale pls. Be here now.

[bwdowiak]

I don't know if this was already common knowledge, but there is a restored in 4K print of Tales of Hoffman out there. It will be playing at the art house theater here in Chicago, so I assume it will be elsewhere as well.

http://www.musicboxtheatre.com/featu...les-of-hoffman

and for those of us who like to speculate... it may

[Show spoiler](or may not)

be released on Criterion Blu-ray soon.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I've always thought Baby Face was a likely candidate for the Criterion treatment; it would be grand to have the original, pre-release cut and the censored theatrical version on the same blu-ray disc a la My Darling Clementine and Red River. It's a key film in Barbara Stanwyck's canon because it anticipates her celebrated performance as the predatory blonde in Double Indemnity, and it's of interest to John Wayne completists as well. Then, too, it's the film most responsible for Darryl F. Zanuck's exit from Warner Brothers (he wrote the story under the name of Mark Canfield).

I also love it because of the appearances of three supporting players: Theresa Harris, the beautiful, talented and unjustly neglected black actress with the musical voice, who plays Stanwyck's gal pal, Chico; Robert Barrat, the physical fitness fanatic turned actor who has a couple of memorable scenes as Stanwyck's perverse and perverted father; and James Murray, the gifted player who was propelled to stardom in King Vidor's silent masterpiece, The Crowd, and five years later was reduced to playing an uncredited bit (a railroad brakeman) in Baby Face. Murray was a self-destructive alcoholic whose body was pulled out of the Hudson River in 1936; it was never determined whether his death was the result of suicide, murder, or an accident.

Thinking about all the possible supplementary material that Criterion could come up with for Baby Face makes me salivate! I'm thinking they're the only company in North America who could truly do it justice. Here's hoping!

There are so many pre-codes I would like to see upgraded from my Forbidden Hollywood sets and TCM off-the-air recordings. Most are Warner titles so I don't know how well that would work but maybe something like The Story of Temple Drake or some of the DeMille titles like The Sign of the Cross, made by Paramount, could be possibilities.
I'm glad you mentioned some of the cast members of Baby Face. Barratt was a regular in some great titles like Heros For Sale, Lily Turner, Wild Boys of the Road, etc. Theresa Harris and another black actress of the pre-code era-Nina Mae McKinney (Safe in Hell), are actresses who got rare opportunities to actually be characters rather than caricatures. Wasn't James Murray's real life rise and fall the inspiration for the Norman Maine character in A Star is Born?

[K-Shaps]

How long do we have to keep waiting for Le Samourai? I really wish Criterion would get to it. The DVD is great, but come on I feel like I can't be alone on this one. It's highly influential and regarded by many as Melville's best. PLEASE CRITERION.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

There are so many pre-codes I would like to see upgraded from my Forbidden Hollywood sets and TCM off-the-air recordings. Most are Warner titles so I don't know how well that would work but maybe something like The Story of Temple Drake or some of the DeMille titles like The Sign of the Cross, made by Paramount, could be possibilities.
I'm glad you mentioned some of the cast members of Baby Face. Barratt was a regular in some great titles like Heros For Sale, Lily Turner, Wild Boys of the Road, etc. Theresa Harris and another black actress of the pre-code era-Nina Mae McKinney (Safe in Hell), are actresses who got rare opportunities to actually be characters rather than caricatures. Wasn't James Murray's real life rise and fall the inspiration for the Norman Maine character in A Star is Born?

I echo all the sentiments you expressed, and am so glad you mentioned William Wellman's Safe in Hell. Of all the pre-code films from Warner Brothers, I think it's the one that stunned me the most on first viewing. It exudes depravity in every frame, and that ending! Wow!

I also was knocked over by Paramount's The Story of Temple Drake. Miriam Hopkins, an actress I'm not terribly fond of, was absolutely superb, and Jack LaRue gave what had to be his best performance in what I think was probably his greatest role (of course, I haven't seen all his films, so I'm just commenting based on what I've seen).

I've also read that James Murray's life story was one of the inspirations for Norman Maine's character in A Star is Born. And the Norman Maine-Vicki Lester relationship is supposedly based on Barbara Stanwyck's marriage to Frank Fay. But I sort of question those ideas, because the same characters and situation had appeared five earlier in RKO-Radio's What Price Hollywood? (1932) with Constance Bennett and Lowell Sherman. In 1932, James Murray hadn't quite hit rock bottom yet; although his star was plummeting quickly, he was still playing leads at Columbia (Air Hostess, 1933) and landing a few key supporting roles at Warners. Similarly, the Fay-Stanwyck marriage was still struggling along in 1932; his film career was already a proven disaster, but he was still a bankable star in Vaudeville ...

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I echo all the sentiments you expressed, and am so glad you mentioned William Wellman's Safe in Hell. Of all the pre-code films from Warner Brothers, I think it's the one that stunned me the most on first viewing. It exudes depravity in every frame, and that ending! Wow!

I also was knocked over by Paramount's The Story of Temple Drake. Miriam Hopkins, an actress I'm not terribly fond of, was absolutely superb, and Jack LaRue gave what had to be his best performance in what I think was probably his greatest role (of course, I haven't seen all his films, so I'm just commenting based on what I've seen).

I've also read that James Murray's life story was one of the inspirations for Norman Maine's character in A Star is Born. And the Norman Maine-Vicki Lester relationship is supposedly based on Barbara Stanwyck's marriage to Frank Fay. But I sort of question those ideas, because the same characters and situation had appeared five earlier in RKO-Radio's What Price Hollywood? (1932) with Constance Bennett and Lowell Sherman. In 1932, James Murray hadn't quite hit rock bottom yet; although his star was plummeting quickly, he was still playing leads at Columbia (Air Hostess, 1933) and landing a few key supporting roles at Warners. Similarly, the Fay-Stanwyck marriage was still struggling along in 1932; his film career was already a proven disaster, but he was still a bankable star in Vaudeville ...

Thanks for the information on the Murray/Maine character.
Miriam Hopkins is an actress who's persona really shone in the pre-code era and I really find her very appealing in those films but once the code was enforced she seemed to disappear into roles that any number of actresses could do or she was playing second fiddle to Bette Davis. There was still some films I liked her in like These Three or The Heiress but the coy, naughty girl who flirted into the camera was gone. Her temptation scene with Fredric March in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde is so sexy! I do hope Criterion will get around to upgrading Trouble in Paradise sometime in the near future.

[demonknight]

2nd Annual Criterion Bingefest

1. Crumb- #533
2. Something Wild- #563
3. Eraserhead- #725
4. Drive, He Said- #547
5. Slacker- #247
Linklater's inaugural feature was certainly one of his. Nicely shot, with the spectacularly introspective dialogue I have come to expect whenever he's writing as well as directing. 4/5
6. Life During Wartime- #574
My second Solondz film (after Dollhouse). What can I say... You'll either like it or you won't. I really liked it though. It's is what Jon Brion would call a "Bummer Jam." 4/5

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by demonknight

2nd Annual Criterion Bingefest
6. Life During Wartime- #574
My second Solondz film (after Dollhouse). What can I say... You'll either like it or you won't. I really liked it though. It's is what Jon Brion would call a "Bummer Jam." 4/5

Wasn't this supposed to be a kind of sequel to Happiness? That one was a film I loved. "Bummer Jam" describes it quite well, hahaha

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Wasn't this supposed to be a kind of sequel to Happiness? That one was a film I loved. "Bummer Jam" describes it quite well, hahaha

Yes. Everyone is recast. Michael Lerner even plays Dawn Wiener's father.

On another note, the next week is packed with titles for me:
I own King of Marvin Gardens, A Safe Place, and Carnival of Souls
I have two coming from Netflix- Schizopolis and Broadcast News
I have four from the library- Benjamin Button, Walker, Shallow Grave, and Big Chill

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by K-Shaps

How long do we have to keep waiting for Le Samourai? I really wish Criterion would get to it. The DVD is great, but come on I feel like I can't be alone on this one. It's highly influential and regarded by many as Melville's best. PLEASE CRITERION.

You talk as though Criterion were willfully teasing their customer base. The current HD releases of the film show significant problems. I am sure Criterion do not want to license the rights to a DNR'd master, which may be all that they are offered. They burnt their fingers with Children of Paradise, and would lose serious credibility with their cultists, erm, fans if they repeated that mistake.

Anyway, I am wondering between Criterion and Eureka for a blind buy of Fellini Satyricon. CC has a large extras package, while Eureka have an English dub, which may be preferable since I am informed that the principal actors of the film speak English. Both? Unlikely, unless it turns out to be a film I enjoy enough to own multiple HD versions of, like Zombie Flesh Eaters or US4: Day of Reckoning

[jw007]

Originally Posted by ravenus

cultists, erm, fans

I love that you used that word, "cultists"... sometimes I need a reality check, because I wonder if Criterion is the closest thing there is to a video distribution cult. Am I a cult member of Criterion? Is Criterion going to force us to drink the Kool Aid sometime in the future? Maybe they'll teach us to melt our bronzing discs and let the liquid drip into a shotglass to which we will be ordered to drink it in order to receive 1,000 loyalty member points on Criterion.com. And we shall see if our skin turns bronze or not... oh ha ha ha. But oh my oh my, I'm in a cult and I didn't even know it!

[cash_black]

Originally Posted by ravenus

You talk as though Criterion were willfully teasing their customer base. The current HD releases of the film show significant problems. I am sure Criterion do not want to license the rights to a DNR'd master, which may be all that they are offered. They burnt their fingers with Children of Paradise, and would lose serious credibility with their cultists, erm, fans if they repeated that mistake.

Anyway, I am wondering between Criterion and Eureka for a blind buy of Fellini Satyricon. CC has a large extras package, while Eureka have an English dub, which may be preferable since I am informed that the principal actors of the film speak English. Both? Unlikely, unless it turns out to be a film I enjoy enough to own multiple HD versions of, like Zombie Flesh Eaters or US4: Day of Reckoning

The DNR'd release of Le Samourai wou speak of was re-released with much less dnr by the same company a year or so later after so many complaints.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by cash_black

The DNR'd release of Le Samourai wou speak of was re-released with much less dnr by the same company a year or so later after so many complaints.

The question is, are they offering Criterion or any other company access to a raw scan or some pre-DNR'd master? In this case Criterion doesn't have access to the film materials and can only license what they are offered. I suspect the rights-holder may even be hesitant to license a raw scan because a proper new blu-ray would accentuate the flaws of the previous releases and lead to big protests from their customers. It's not at all a question of Criterion not knowing what a significant addition to their catalog a Le Samourai blu-ray would be

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by jw007

...I wonder if Criterion is the closest thing there is to a video distribution cult. Am I a cult member of Criterion? Is Criterion going to force us to drink the Kool Aid sometime in the future?

Several labels have their rabid fans, Criterion is not alone in this regard. If you believe that they're the only significant boutique label and collect spine numbers instead of films, you're already drinking the Kool AId

[jw007]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Several labels have their rabid fans, Criterion is not alone in this regard. If you believe that they're the only significant boutique label and collect spine numbers instead of films, you're already drinking the Kool AId

No worries, I'm a very picky film buff. I don't care about the spine numbers or completing the entire collection and I never ever ever judge a blu-ray by its cover, not even the beautiful Criterion artwork.

[ChromeJob]

I spent time at Fred Davis' web site after seeing the recent bit on Criterion's site about his Don't look Now cover. It'd never occurred to me that the same artist did cover, disc art, menus. Such quality. Big studios ought to be embarrassed at the crap they deliver compared with a label like this.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by ChromeJob

I spent time at Fred Davis' web site after seeing the recent bit on Criterion's site about his Don't look Now cover. It'd never occurred to me that the same artist did cover, disc art, menus. Such quality. Big studios ought to be embarrassed at the crap they deliver compared with a label like this.

Yeah I think a lot of people neglect the work that goes into the design, they don't just design the cover, but the booklets, menu's etc

Its pretty neat they do this though !