The Criterion Collection

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

What is the best Ray film to start out with? Obviously, the Apu Trilogy isn't out on BluRay. Of the 3 available, which one do you guys consider the best one?

I would say The Music Room would be a great starting place.

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

So the B&N sale starts tomorrow, right?

Yes, but remember: tomorrow begins at 12 midnight!

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

What is the best Ray film to start out with? Obviously, the Apu Trilogy isn't out on BluRay. Of the 3 available, which one do you guys consider the best one?

I've only seen Charulata, but I would certainly recommend that one. I thought it was quite enjoyable.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

Depends on where you're at or at least concerning the sale. Normally prices start changing b/w 12 and 1 Eastern. On occasion however price changes can be delayed seveal hours.

So if I live on the west coast, does that mean there's a chance the sale will go into effect at 9pm tonight?

*edit*

...this won't be happening in my town at least.

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

What is the best Ray film to start out with? Obviously, the Apu Trilogy isn't out on BluRay. Of the 3 available, which one do you guys consider the best one?

I started with The Big City and than Charulata. The Big City is more entertaining according to my wife. Plus, it comes with bonus film The Coward. Charulata is slower paced, I gather. There are some amazing camera tricks used in there, though. I like both for different reasons.

[RojD]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

What is the best Ray film to start out with? Obviously, the Apu Trilogy isn't out on BluRay. Of the 3 available, which one do you guys consider the best one?

Strictly hearsay, but my impression is that the Trilogy is the best entry. It's not on blu yet, but I think it's close. It's listed for pre-order on Amazon, and someone in this forum had read that it's planned for a November release.

Otherwise, I've heard from many people that Big City is a great film, but I haven't seen it. I personally like Music Room a lot. It's a film that works on several levels at the same time -- historically about modernization and change in India; on the level of character, about a man dealing with getting old (think Indian Wild Strawberries); and about art and its place in life. And it's an awfully pretty film. If Big City is better than Music Room, I've got a major treat ahead.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

I would say The Music Room would be a great starting place.

That's my first and only do far, and I thought it was great.

[diskspinner]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

What is the best Ray film to start out with? Obviously, the Apu Trilogy isn't out on BluRay. Of the 3 available, which one do you guys consider the best one?

I like all 3 available, but my vote goes to The Big City as starting point. It is also my favorite film in Ray catalog (till I rewatch a few of his other films)

and BTW, I read somewhere that Charulata (The Lonely Wife) is Ray's favorite movie out of the films he directed and many of the people in my home town agrees with him (I was raised in the Big City, i.e. Calcutta) and obviously seen all his movies.

[pro-bassoonist]

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders Blu-ray REVIEW



Fantastic restoration of an outstanding film. The three shorts are also restored and look terrific. All three are truly great, but the first, Uncle, is a small masterpiece.

I don't quite agree with some of Peter Hames's points in the interview -- because in the West there is this very odd tendency to try and "explain" East European films while routinely applying Anglo-Saxon values to them -- but this is a different topic.

Anyhow, great release which will appear on my top ten list at the end of the year. Daisies should have received a similar treatment.

Have a great week, guys.



Pro-B

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by fdm

"Peppermint" reminded me about Diane Kurys' Peppermint Soda. I'd like to see some of her early work get some (proper) releases: Peppermint Soda (which I have not seen), Cocktail Molotov (which I might have seen, not sure) and Entre Nous (it had a non-anamorphic dvd that was no great shakes, but it's a film I definitely like). Criterion or otherwise.

There are no decent releases of her early films for English speakers. I would recommend the DVD release of Children of the Century with Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel, which is every bit as good as Jean-Paul Rappeneau's The Horseman on the Roof. Her more recent For A Woman is also out in France on Blu-ray (you can click below for our review).

Contrary to what reviews on this side of the Atlantic will have you believe À la folie is also very good, but that Australian DVD is poor. A treat for Béatrice Dalle and Anne Parillaud fans.

Edit: Looks like Children... is out of print. Please disregard my suggestion.





Pro-B

[aes3728]

My. God. Yes the Apu Trilogy is that good.

Yesterday I had the good fortune to watch a marathon trilogy of the entire Apu Trilogy courtesy of the Austin Film Society. They are offering individual showings each Tuesday in July, but this was the only chance to view the entirety of them in one sitting. Sitting in the theater I was surprised at the attendance- out of a 250 seat auditorium I would wager possibly 35-40% filled. Perhaps the daunting task of 6 hours of Indian cinema in one sitting scared some away.

After a brief introduction of the history of Ray and these films, the lights dimmed. The first image after the Janus Logo was a paragraph long detailed report on how The Criterion Collection went about restoring these films. The details will not be new to anyone who regularly reads this forum, but seeing it on the screen really brought gravitas to the films- this small company really did tackle this film Goliath and did so impeccably.

In terms of the films themselves- blown away does not even come close. Pather Panchali just entered into the conversation of Top 10 films all-time for me. I've been digesting the films for almost 24 hours and outside of Renoir I think Ray is our greatest humanist. Mixing Renoir with Italian Neo-Realism these films are a one-of-a-kind experience and I am grateful to have seen them all in one sitting.

Technologically the restoration is stunning. Having never seen the older transfers or raw material I have little base of comparison outside of the ::kogonada video essay showing the work done on them. But my gosh seeing them on a big screen was a treat beyond belief. Pather Panchali's scenes in the woods looked as if they were filmed days ago, not 60 years. Aparajito was the roughest of the three, with noticeable drops in quality throughout, but overall they look fantastic. I noticed the majority of the disruption occurred in the transitions between scenes, where the film would have been physically laid upon itself, so perhaps little to no work could be done on those parts.

From being a complete stranger to these films, I am now pre-ordering the November (fingers crossed) boxset directly from Criterion. They deserve full price for the amount of work that they directly poured into this trilogy and I am excited for every person alive today to be able to be a witness to these films.

[ShellOilJunior]

Has Criterion ever released a film that also included the original soundtrack AND novel? (Where applicable of course).

Film is such a great medium because it's also a gateway into discovering music and literature. I think the ultimate release would include all of these. I don't think you could ask for anything more.

[monorail91]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Has Criterion ever released a film that also included the original soundtrack AND novel? (Where applicable of course).

That's an excellent idea, would love to have that available for films like Picnic at Hanging Rock which don't have proper soundtrack releases available.

[aes3728]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

What is the best Ray film to start out with? Obviously, the Apu Trilogy isn't out on BluRay. Of the 3 available, which one do you guys consider the best one?

Wait until the Apu Trilogy and make those your first. I just did and am excited to explore the rest of his works. But I love starting with the earliest work of a director.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by aes3728

My. God. Yes the Apu Trilogy is that good.

Yesterday I had the good fortune to watch a marathon trilogy of the entire Apu Trilogy courtesy of the Austin Film Society. They are offering individual showings each Tuesday in July, but this was the only chance to view the entirety of them in one sitting. Sitting in the theater I was surprised at the attendance- out of a 250 seat auditorium I would wager possibly 35-40% filled. Perhaps the daunting task of 6 hours of Indian cinema in one sitting scared some away.

After a brief introduction of the history of Ray and these films, the lights dimmed. The first image after the Janus Logo was a paragraph long detailed report on how The Criterion Collection went about restoring these films. The details will not be new to anyone who regularly reads this forum, but seeing it on the screen really brought gravitas to the films- this small company really did tackle this film Goliath and did so impeccably.

In terms of the films themselves- blown away does not even come close. Pather Panchali just entered into the conversation of Top 10 films all-time for me. I've been digesting the films for almost 24 hours and outside of Renoir I think Ray is our greatest humanist. Mixing Renoir with Italian Neo-Realism these films are a one-of-a-kind experience and I am grateful to have seen them all in one sitting.

Technologically the restoration is stunning. Having never seen the older transfers or raw material I have little base of comparison outside of the ::kogonada video essay showing the work done on them. But my gosh seeing them on a big screen was a treat beyond belief. Pather Panchali's scenes in the woods looked as if they were filmed days ago, not 60 years. Aparajito was the roughest of the three, with noticeable drops in quality throughout, but overall they look fantastic. I noticed the majority of the disruption occurred in the transitions between scenes, where the film would have been physically laid upon itself, so perhaps little to no work could be done on those parts.

From being a complete stranger to these films, I am now pre-ordering the November (fingers crossed) boxset directly from Criterion. They deserve full price for the amount of work that they directly poured into this trilogy and I am excited for every person alive today to be able to be a witness to these films.

Good post. Pather seems to have that reaction with everyone (including myself) I've talked to about it. I love the feel of it, where Apu and his sister are just doing things on camera. Going to a festival, watching trains, stealing fruit, etc. The rain scene still is in my mind to this day.

[monorail91]

If the Barnes & Noble website crashes in 4 minutes (12 midnight EST), I blame everyone in this thread.

Update - west coasters, I don't see any price change on the web site as of right now (9:02 pm PST).

[RojD]

Originally Posted by monorail91

If the Barnes & Noble website crashes in 4 minutes (12 midnight EST), I blame everyone in this thread.

Update - west coasters, I don't see any price change on the web site as of right now (9:02 pm PST).

So I happen to be up at 12:03 here, EDT, and there aren't any Crits on sale. I see something like Book Test 2 and Book Test 1. Coupons in hand, I wait....

[Prof. Lumpcicle]

Are we sure the sale is actually happening? I was looking at their stock online a couple of days ago and it was gutted.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

In store, no it should start tomorrow morning.
Online I'd be surprised if it doesn't. Sorry if there was any implication that store prices would change earlier

Online prices have gone up at midnight before, because not too long ago they screwed up and the 50% off sale overlapped the buy 2 get 1 free sale. So some people made out like bandits before it was corrected.

Edit: 50% prices are up on the mobile site.

[JulesAndJim]

Just my 2 cents on the Ray conversation:

Charulata, The Big City, and The Coward are my favorites among those I've seen so far, including the Apu Trilogy which I also just saw in Austin. The Criterion blu-ray of The Big City has The Coward as a special feature, so that's a good 2-for-1 deal.