The Criterion Collection

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

How many Angelopoulos films have you seen? Because he is the best Greek director ever. You really should see as many as possible. He needs to be part of the Criterion Collection already. There are no quality dvd's of his films available in the U.S.

The transfer of Landscape in the Mist in the Japanese Bluray that I've seen was excellent!
There are 3 more Blurays released.
https://www.blu-ray.com/Theodoros-An...164521/#Bluray

Someone says here that the transfres were supervised by the director:
http://www.criterionforum.org/forum/...rt=125#p384153


Unfortunately no English subtitles for whoever needs them.

[malakaheso]

Were these supervised transfers done in the mid 00's? Because New Star claimed that their transfers--which I believe were the ports used by Artificial Eye years later--were mastered from HD sources.

I don't need English subs--My Greek is OK--but if the Japanese subs are hard subs then I won't buy them.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Yami

I don't know them off the top of my head, but I can tell you that there have been some that have taken years to be released. That being said, given the highly requested nature of Mulholland Drive, I don't think they would have put out a newsletter clue unless it's going to be announced very very soon.

Years :O lol oh dear, yeah maybe we will get it soon seeing as they did tease it a while back :P

I hope there are no mishaps with this release though

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Were these supervised transfers done in the mid 00's? Because New Star claimed that their transfers--which I believe were the ports used by Artificial Eye years later--were mastered from HD sources.

I don't need English subs--My Greek is OK--but if the Japanese subs are hard subs then I won't buy them.

I'm not sure.

yes, I know you don't need subs but most people here I believe they will.
No, they aren't hard subs from what I know..

[Andrew13]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Has anyone kept track on the newsletter clues? Like are there any that have yet to be released?

Eager to get an idea on whether we can expect MHdr soon or if its a year + away lol.

Recent newsletter clues have consistently been announced within a month or two of the clue being given. In fact, I'm not sure if there are any outstanding newsletter clues (outside the NYD's drawing, obviously) apart from Mulholland, given that the Midnight Cowboy rumor seems to have been shut down.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by jw007

So other than Angelopoulos, can you tell me what some really good Greek directors would be? Forgive my ignorance but I'm pretty much clueless on the Greek film industry.

If anyone can shed some light on Greek filmmakers, please speak up. Thank you.

Yorgos Lanthimos has had a fair bit of breakout success (in the UK at least) in recent years, thanks to Dogtooth and Alps. His next film is a favourite for the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

How many Angelopoulos films have you seen? Because he is the best Greek director ever. You really should see as many as possible. He needs to be part of the Criterion Collection already. There are no quality dvd's of his films available in the U.S.

For myself, I've only seen one: I caught Eternity and a Day on Netflix about a year ago. Good, but it didn't blow me away.

The only other film from a Greek (kinda sorta) filmmaker that I've seen is Michael Cacoyannis's Zorba the Greek. I've been wanting to catch his film The Day the Fish Came Out ever since I bought and read the novelization back in my SF collecting days, but have never managed to see it.

[StingingVelvet]

Got Scanners and Repo Man in the mail today (along with Brazil) and I think you guys who complain about the digipacks are nuts! Scanners and Repo Man are really cool to look at compared to Brazil.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Got Scanners and Repo Man in the mail today (along with Brazil) and I think you guys who complain about the digipacks are nuts! Scanners and Repo Man are really cool to look at compared to Brazil.

You are now Polaroid's new best friend.

[Cocophone]

Love me some digipacks

[Mateo Sanboval]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Got Scanners and Repo Man in the mail today (along with Brazil) and I think you guys who complain about the digipacks are nuts! Scanners and Repo Man are really cool to look at compared to Brazil.

Completely agree in regards to Scanners vs Brazil. I'm not a case enthusiast by any means, but I think Scanners looks awesome as well. Nothing wrong with Brazil's case, mind you, just enjoy Scanners a bit more.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Got Scanners and Repo Man in the mail today (along with Brazil) and I think you guys who complain about the digipacks are nuts! Scanners and Repo Man are really cool to look at compared to Brazil.

I'm with you 100%. I have my Digipacks stacked/shelves separately from the rest of my collection and they are far better looking. The dual format Digipacks looked even better.

[aes3728]

Originally Posted by Andrew13

Recent newsletter clues have consistently been announced within a month or two of the clue being given. In fact, I'm not sure if there are any outstanding newsletter clues (outside the NYD's drawing, obviously) apart from Mulholland, given that the Midnight Cowboy rumor seems to have been shut down.

Possibly in September? Thats when we got Eraserhead last year so perhaps September is Lynch month

[jw007]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

well, I really haven't seen the important and worldwide acclaimed Greek films, so I used Google (although as you've said you could easily do it too)
Although i haven't seen them (except for Ifigeneia in my childhood), you can try the Greek films which are mentioned on the bottom of the page, which were nominated for an Oscar in best foreign film category:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...s_and_nominees

I guess Kakoyannis is considered a very important Greek director. (edit: Oh, i see he's Cypriot, but his films are considered Greek)
You can see here his filmography and the important awards for which his films were nominated:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Cacoyannis

Really, I haven't seen many serious Greek dramas.
I grew up mostly with comedies and musicals.
I was very happy to hear that a large catalogue of a certain film company was recently scanned at high resolution and restored, and this year they said they will start releasing them on Bluray.
I hope they do, I've asked them a couple of times in their facebook but they don't respond.
Some of these comedies and musicals are real gems.

Originally Posted by Yami

[Show spoiler]

I mentioned it over the page, but I searched out a copy of Nikos Koundouros' The Dragon (O Drakos) after reading this Guardian article by Peter Bradshaw that described it as this:

"O Drakos is brilliant: a dark, satirical noir masterpiece. [...] like a French New Wave picture crossed with a British Ealing comedy, with something of Fellini in its zinging energy, and Carol Reed's Odd Man Out and The Third Man. The stark, dramatic key-lighting in the "arrest" scene gives the imagery a Weegee-type crime-scene aesthetic."

I wasn't disappointed. It was also voted as the best Greek film of all time by the Greek Film Critics Association. You can find it on YouTube with English subtitles, as there's sadly still no English subtitled release (nor many people pushing for one, due to its obscurity).

I've also seen Koundouros' Young Aphrodites, which I didn't think was particularly good but is at least available on DVD. Based on the Greek myth of Daphnis & Chloe, it's a film about the nature of love and attraction, looking at two couples - one young (I'd guesstimate between 12-14) and one of age. Koundouros does a good job at creating atmosphere - think Korda's The Jungle Book mixed in with Satyajit Ray or something along those lines - but the film doesn't amount to much more than that.

I'd love to see more of his work, such as The Magic City, The Outlaws, The River and 1922 to see if there's any of The Dragon's greatness in them.

Originally Posted by malakaheso

How many Angelopoulos films have you seen? Because he is the best Greek director ever. You really should see as many as possible. He needs to be part of the Criterion Collection already. There are no quality dvd's of his films available in the U.S.

As for other Greek directors, here are some I'd recommend: Nikos Koundouros(O Drakos and Mikres Aphrodites), Nikos Nikolaidis(Ευριδίκη ΒΑ 2Ο37, Πρωινή Περίπολος(Morning Patrol), Singapore Sling), Pantelis Voulgaris(most of his films are good).

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

Yorgos Lanthimos has had a fair bit of breakout success (in the UK at least) in recent years, thanks to Dogtooth and Alps. His next film is a favourite for the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes.

Great to hear all your responses on this.

After watching many different trailers from these various Greek filmmakers, I've concluded that it's quite possible Greek films aren't for me, but as a former film student and current filmmaker, I feel its in my responsibility to learn/watch as many movies from this culture as possible.

filmmusic, I checked that Wikipedia page and didn't even realize Elia Kazan was Greek-born, not to mention modern day director Alexander Payne (who is one of my favorite directors today). Vangelis, a brilliant composer, might be regarded as the best known Greek musician/composer in movies too.

Yami, great call on that webpage listing the top 10 voted-on Greek films (even though that webpage is 9 years old, I doubt much has changed).

malakaheso, I haven't seen a single Angelopoulos film yet. I'm due. Indeed, Criterion would do a great service to add him in their collection.

adamhopelies, Lanthimos seems like the new Greek filmmaker of today, but after I just watched the trailers for Dogtooth and Alps, I wasn't too impressed. Reminds me of the shock/blunt value from some other movies I don't care to mention. Not my speed.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Got Scanners and Repo Man in the mail today (along with Brazil) and I think you guys who complain about the digipacks are nuts! Scanners and Repo Man are really cool to look at compared to Brazil.

woooo

Originally Posted by jayembee

You are now Polaroid's new best friend.

Yay I'm allowed friends lol

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by jw007

After watching many different trailers from these various Greek filmmakers, I've concluded that it's quite possible Greek films aren't for me, but as a former film student and current filmmaker, I feel its in my responsibility to learn/watch as many movies from this culture as possible.

Influenced by our talk here, I will be watching soon Stella (1955) and the Red lanterns (1968), which are considered classic here and I even knew them by name from my childhood!
I'll get back to you.
I've also seen Never on Sunday. It was quite good too..
Melina Merkouri was the best attribute of that movie (she was Oscar nominated for it for best actress in leading role, which i consider a feat for a foreign film. Especially Greek!)

edit: Oh, another film I really liked was Brides by Pantelis Voulgaris, executive produced by Scorsese.
Maybe something like this is your cup of tea..
and another one that I liked more aesthetically (it reminded me a bit of Mallick) is Mavro livadi (Black Field)

Trailers:

[Show spoiler]

Brides / ��φες 2004 - YouTube

Μα��ο Λιβάδι trailer - YouTube

[Angel Eyes]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

I'm with you 100%. I have my Digipacks stacked/shelves separately from the rest of my collection and they are far better looking. The dual format Digipacks looked even better.

[AaronJ]

Sign me up for the Digipak Fanclub, too.

[TomN245]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

How many Angelopoulos films have you seen? Because he is the best Greek director ever. You really should see as many as possible. He needs to be part of the Criterion Collection already. There are no quality dvd's of his films available in the U.S.

I've seen most of them, and The Travelling Players is my favourite. The scope of the film is enormous and strangely reminds me of Hou Hsiao Hsien (with the long shots and the historical aspect). It'll be somewhere in my Top 20 films ever, if I ever made one.

[Polaroid]

Where were all you digipak lovers when I needed help defending them lol

And yes - digipaks all together on separate shelf looks incredible!