The Criterion Collection

[jlk5844]

I just tested ordering something from Amazon.jp and I couldn't log in with my Amazon.com account.

As for favorite films only on DVD? Knife in the Water, Ingmar Bergman's "Faith"/"Silence of God" trilogy (ranked: 1) Through a Glass Darkly 2) The Silence 3) Winter Light), and Sisters was a fun, sleazy exploitation movie.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

I've got a feeling people have been too quick to judge this film. The calibre of organisations involved with the release ought to be enough to put paid to any concerns that it's a simple Pokemon knock-off, and I've seen the artist behind it compared to Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst. I'm really intrigued about the film and think it's a shame that some folk seem to have already decided to hate it.

How many people have actually seen it? It's only gotten a handful of votes on IMDB.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Coen

Recently got tired of waiting for Criterion to upgrade Le Samourai and picked it up on DVD (so if it's announced next month - you're welcome). In advance of the B&N sale, what are a couple of your favorite Criterions that are available only on DVD?

Now that The River has been upgraded, my top five are:

Andrei Rublev
The Human Condition
Kwaidan
The Last Wave
The Passion of Joan of Arc (yes, yes, I know...)

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

I just tested ordering something from Amazon.jp and I couldn't log in with my Amazon.com account.

Yeah, I couldn't either. I just made a new account. I guess you need different accounts for the Amazons.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Yeah, I couldn't either. I just made a new account. I guess you need different accounts for the Amazons.

Only for JP I believe. You can using your US login with the others (de, fr, it es, etc..)

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Yeah, I couldn't either. I just made a new account. I guess you need different accounts for the Amazons.

Odd. I've not tried to order anything from Amazon JP before, but I've had no problem using the same account at Amazon US, Amazon CA, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, and Amazon DE.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

How many people have actually seen it? It's only gotten a handful of votes on IMDB.

That's the thing, I don't think ANYONE has!

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Now that The River has been upgraded, my top five are:

Andrei Rublev
The Human Condition
Kwaidan
The Last Wave
The Passion of Joan of Arc (yes, yes, I know...)

I haven't seen any of these films, but your list intrigues me. About Kwaidan, Ebert said, "an assembly of ghost stories that is among the most beautiful films I've seen." sounds like it'd be easily digestible being broken up into 4 separate stories. I'll try to get it from the library soon.

For you or anyone else: Are all of Tarkovsky's films "difficult" or "heavy," so to say. I know that Ivan's Childhood isn't, but Solaris and The Sacrifice are. I am captivated while watching a Tarkovsky film, more so than with the other 'heavyweights,' but are they all difficult to penetrate?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by grahams76

Originally Posted by waxHead

My collection of 4000+ records agrees with you

I just sent both of you guys a contact/friend request on here.

I need to make more friends with people who 1) collect Criterions and 2) collect vinyl.

Such commonalities cannot be ignored!

(p.s. I don't have a photo to show yet of my record collection as its small and currently stored in yellow IKEA boxes...also looking to buy a Pro-ject Carbon Debut DC turntable for my birthday soon)

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I haven't seen any of these films, but your list intrigues me. About Kwaidan, Ebert said, "an assembly of ghost stories that is among the most beautiful films I've seen." sounds like it'd be easily digestible being broken up into 4 separate stories. I'll try to get it from the library soon.

For you or anyone else: Are all of Tarkovsky's films "difficult" or "heavy," so to say. I know that Ivan's Childhood isn't, but Solaris and The Sacrifice are. I am captivated while watching a Tarkovsky film, more so than with the other 'heavyweights,' but are they all difficult to penetrate?

Yes and that is why they are so remarkable!

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Only for JP I believe. You can using your US login with the others (de, fr, it es, etc..)

Oh, good to know! Thanks.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I haven't seen any of these films, but your list intrigues me. About Kwaidan, Ebert said, "an assembly of ghost stories that is among the most beautiful films I've seen." sounds like it'd be easily digestible being broken up into 4 separate stories. I'll try to get it from the library soon.

For you or anyone else: Are all of Tarkovsky's films "difficult" or "heavy," so to say. I know that Ivan's Childhood isn't, but Solaris and The Sacrifice are. I am captivated while watching a Tarkovsky film, more so than with the other 'heavyweights,' but are they all difficult to penetrate?

Andrei Rublev is ... difficult, yes. It's also very slow going. And that's not me criticizing it. I loved it. But I know some people who saw it and simply couldn't handle the pace. But everyone should give it a shot, at least once, in their lifetime. It's that good.

Speaking of that film, I was lucky enough to see it in the theater, at my local art institute. That was a magical experience.

[SammyJankis]

I know it's the film's anniversary and all, but Criterion's posts today just further my desire for them to release McCabe and Mrs. Miller. The DVD's transfer is pretty terrible. Its visuals deserve better.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by Coen

In advance of the B&N sale, what are a couple of your favorite Criterions that are available only on DVD?

Pygmalion
Bicycle Thieves
Andrei Rublev

...and I know Warner has the distribution rights, but I would like to see Criterion release a blu of Kurosawa's Dreams.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

Pygmalion
Bicycle Thieves
Andrei Rublev

...and I know Warner has the distribution rights, but I would like to see Criterion release a blu of Kurosawa's Dreams.

I would gladly update my dvd (which seems to have gone oop recently?).

If you're a fan of Dreams I highly recommend this!

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I think the best Criterion, BY FAR, that hasn't been updated yet is The Passion of Joan of Arc. But I'm aware that silents are not everyone's cup of tea.

As to Shortbus, I always wonder why a film like that, clearly explicit, isn't considered pornography. I mean, I know it's rare, but there are actually some porn that is produced that has an actual budget (relatively, anyways), a real story, some at least semi-decent writing, some art direction, etc. The movies that Stormy Daniels has directed for Wicked come to mind.

It seems like an unfair dichotomy. If one is considered pornography, then why not the other? Just something that comes to mind every once in a while. Thinking out loud.

I second your opinion of The Passion of Joan of Arc. I started to include it on my list, but having already included Vampyr and Day of Wrath, I was afraid that people might mistake me for a Carl Th. Dreyer freak (which, of course, I am).

You raise an interesting questions regarding Shortbus in particular and pornography in general. Although I would at one point in my life have considered Shortbus to be pornographic, I don't now. That's because I don't think the intention of the film is to titillate or to serve as masturbatory material. I believe it is intended as a commentary on sexuality and sexual behavior, and I think it achieves that goal beautifully.

I would say that a film like Natural Born Killers, with its excessive emphasis on anarchistic violence, is pornographic. Yeah, I know it was supposed to be a satire or a black comedy or both, depending on who was defending it at the time ... but it deeply offended me on every level.

It will be interesting to see what I think of In the Realm of the Senses. I bought a copy of it last week on eBay, and the seller wrote me to ask if I was familiar with it. Most of the films I had bought from him previously were classic Hollywood fare. I had to admit I knew nothing about it, and that I had bought it because it was priced so low and because I'm trying to expand my cinematic horizons. I've since looked it up on the Criterion website, and am hoping that I made a wise buying decision. It should arrive any day now, and then I'll find out ...

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

That's the thing, I don't think ANYONE has!

After reading a bit more about the plot, I'm warming up to the thought of giving it a chance. A bunch of freaky-looking, Pokemon-like creatures popping up in post-nuclear disaster Fukushima? That sounds entertaining to me.

On another note, I watched my blind buy from the June 40% off sale, Letter Never Sent, last night. It was my first Kalatozov film, and I was not disappointed. The only complaint I have is that it felt a bit too short, like the love triangle between Andrei, Sergei, and Tanya should have been developed more.

The cinematography was brilliant (the silhouetted shots of the expedition party walking in the distance were particularly striking), and the restoration is nearly perfect. It's probably the best "budget" Criterion film I've seen so far.

Has anyone seen The Cranes are Flying? My local library has the DVD, and I was thinking about checking it out.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I second your opinion of The Passion of Joan of Arc. I started to include it on my list, but having already included Vampyr and Day of Wrath, I was afraid that people might mistake me for a Carl Th. Dreyer freak (which, of course, I am).

We are brothers in cinema, my friend.

You raise an interesting questions regarding Shortbus in particular and pornography in general. Although I would at one point in my life have considered Shortbus to be pornographic, I don't now. That's because I don't think the intention of the film is to titillate or to serve as masturbatory material. I believe it is intended as a commentary on sexuality and sexual behavior, and I think it achieves that goal beautifully.

OK, I can see that. Thank you for answering my question.

I would say that a film like Natural Born Killers, with its excessive emphasis on anarchistic violence, is pornographic. Yeah, I know it was supposed to be a satire or a black comedy or both, depending on who was defending it at the time ... but it deeply offended me on every level.

I actually like Natural Born Killers, but I can completely understand how someone would see it as simply a deep dive into violence porn and nihilism. Which of course it was. I would never attempt to argue that point. And I think that Stone really was expressing his frustration with the ugliness and nihilistic nature of what America had become in the 1990s. I mean, I bet that if one took at a poll at the time of Americans more of them could tell you who Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan were than could name their two U.S. Senators.

I believe, not that this is some great critical insight or anything, that Stone's intention was to shine a light on the emptiness of American society, especially at the time, and to force the audience to look into the mirror of the characters and the narrative, and end up repulsed at what they saw in themselves.

So, clearly, this is an easy film to dislike. And it's an easy film to be offended by. Stone lays out what he thinks American society has become. It's up to each audience member to decide how to react to that.

So, even though I have respect for the film, I completely understand your reaction to it. And lets face it, many of Stone's films are provocative and create these sorts of audience reactions that span a spectrum, create respect in some and repulsion in others. That's sort of his trademark, really.

It will be interesting to see what I think of In the Realm of the Senses. I bought a copy of it last week on eBay, and the seller wrote me to ask if I was familiar with it. Most of the films I had bought from him previously were classic Hollywood fare. I had to admit I knew nothing about it, and that I had bought it because it was priced so low and because I'm trying to expand my cinematic horizons. I've since looked it up on the Criterion website, and am hoping that I made a wise buying decision. It should arrive any day now, and then I'll find out ...

I of course have read about In The Real of the Senses, and the controversies, and such. But I have never seen it either. I'm interested in what your reaction to it will be. It definitely sounds ... challenging, to say the least.

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I second your opinion of The Passion of Joan of Arc. I started to include it on my list, but having already included Vampyr and Day of Wrath, I was afraid that people might mistake me for a Carl Th. Dreyer freak (which, of course, I am).

For those that are region-free, it is highly unlikely the MOC Blu of Passion of Joan of Arc will be bettered by Criterion. It already underwent a full scale, very impressive restoration for that release. MOC's packaging and supplements are also beyond compare. It's probably the single best blu of any film I own.

Blu-Ray Update #3 - The Passion of Joan of Arc - Masters of Cinema Blu-Ray - YouTube

[AaronJ]

Man, I REALLY need to get a region-free player.