The Criterion Collection

[Iamspartacus]

Can we confirm once and for all that The Killers is indeed one disc?

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by octagon

Carlos is absolutely fantastic. On an intellectual level I have no trouble with the thought that somebody might not like it. On an emotional level I can't even conceive of anybody not liking it.

So at $25 you think this is a safe bet for a blind buy?

5 1/2 hours...man that's pretty long.

How's the production value and cinematography?

...does it look like a TV show or more like a film?

[octagon]

Yeah, I think it's a very safe blind buy. I honestly can't think of anything to even warn somebody about.

Obviously a five-hour long subtitled mini-series about a Venezuelan terrorist in the 80s isn't going to be for everybody but you wouldn't be asking about it if any of those were red flags.

I can't specifically compare it to Algiers but I can't think of too many CC titles I enjoyed more.

edit: the production values are excellent. It's much more a multi-part film than a TV show. The cast is fantastic, the locations and sets are great, the soundtrack/score is excellent. Everything about it is very impressive.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by octagon

Yeah, I think it's a very safe blind buy. I honestly can't think of anything to even warn somebody about.

Obviously a five-hour long subtitled mini-series about a Venezuelan terrorist in the 80s isn't going to be for everybody but you wouldn't be asking about it if any of those were red flags.

I can't specifically compare it to Algiers but I can't think of too many CC titles I enjoyed more.

edit: the production values are excellent. It's much more a multi-part film than a TV show. The cast is fantastic, the locations and sets are great, the soundtrack/score is excellent. Everything about it is very impressive.

You've convinced me damnit.

...so much for saving money.

[zkirkland]

I'm going light with my haul this time since I am saving up for a big purchase.

The Fisher King
My Winnipeg
Short Cuts

This only means Short Cuts will be getting the Blu treatment by the time the year ends.

[ShellOilJunior]

One of the films I picked up today at BN is one that has eluded me for a while. Not anymore.

Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock is mesmerizing. I won't spoil anything for those that haven't seen it. Don't reveal the spoiler if you've yet to see it!

[Show spoiler]I knew what the basic premise of the film was going in so I was ready for that moment. I appreciated Weir not "telling" me what happened. By not telling me it engaged my brain. A great mystery allows one to think and feel for him or herself. Don't tell me what happened and don't explain it. By avoiding this Weir shows the audience great respect.

On this surface this film is simple. The girls are prim and expected to be proper, their principal is stern and formal, their environment is privileged and the land, to use the words of T.E. Lawrence, is "clean" and quite beautiful. Below the surface is a budding, latent sexuality meeting head on with the school's repression (See the corset tightening scene).

The great mystery in the film is anyone's guess (The principal believes it to be rape and murder). I suspect her guess is close. I believe the answer has something to do with something their school and society of the time can't quite grasp. Subsequent viewings may reveal more layers for me.

For $20 you get the film, a nice booklet and the novel. I can't ask for more.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Lol loved the recent Criterion Closet video - the pic made them look greedy and annoying but they didn't seem it in video, love how they didn't even know they could take them and they seemed so thankful :P

Once the cameraman said they could keep the movies, they took everything they could.

[Vlad Draculi]

Originally Posted by Iamspartacus

Can we confirm once and for all that The Killers is indeed one disc?

Yes it is.

[Bandit Tajomaru]

I got these before I went to work today. The first 2 are blind buys.

An Autumn Afternoon
Sansho the Bailiff
Throne of Blood
Tokyo Story
Yojimbo / Sanjuro

[jw007]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

That Wolfpack closet video is the best. Sometimes I get annoyed when rich directors grab all these free DVDs because, well, they can afford all of them and then some. These kids had genuine excitement. That may be my favorite closet video in a long time.

I just watched it myself and also thought it was very entertaining. I still want to see that documentary on them so its next on my bucket list.

[monorail91]

Just two for me this haul, In the Realm of the Senses and Make Way for Tomorrow.

I couldn't stop laughing seeing the other guests around me though; two others going through the CC had 5+ each in their hands. Nothing wrong with that of course, I loved seeing how excited they were, and we even joked about how this comes "but twice a year.."

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Fabs

Once the cameraman said they could keep the movies, they took everything they could.

That's nothing compared to what my uncle would do. At family get-togethers he always leaves with several containers of food to take home. This doesn't sound too bad until you consider the fact the food is loaded up in his car 5 minutes after he arrives at the party.

[*DrStrangelove*]

Looking to get some Noir. The Killers I'm definitely gonna pick up but how would you guys rank these in order from best?

Odd Man Out
The Spy Who Came From The Cold
Foreign Correspondent

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Looking to get some Noir. The Killers I'm definitely gonna pick up but how would you guys rank these in order from best?

Odd Man Out
The Spy Who Came From The Cold
Foreign Correspondent

I'd go with the Hitchcock. Odd Man Out is good but not on par with The Third Man or even The Fallen Idol, imo.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Looking to get some Noir. The Killers I'm definitely gonna pick up but how would you guys rank these in order from best?

Odd Man Out
The Spy Who Came From The Cold
Foreign Correspondent

1) The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
2) Foreign Correspondent
3) Odd Man Out


All are very good to great and worth owning. Not much to separate 2 and 3. But in my opinion, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, is one of the great films, not just one of the best spy thrillers. It isn't a noir, if that is a main criteria for you, but it does possess some noir tropes, including a morally conflicted and burnt out main character, a kind of seedy patina of corruption and darkness all over it, and an interesting leading lady. It is well done on many levels, a thinking man's spy movie with a cleverly written plot that emphasizes grim reality and intrigue rather than action. It builds its tension and suspense through acting and a few well executed twists and turns that will leave you guessing. On a deeper level, it has much to say about the spy game and how it reflects a society's values, particularly to what levels it is willing to sacrifice or compromise itself in the quest for security. James Bond this is not, although it does star a few Bond notables (including Bernard Lee, the original M, as Burton's chief).

My three reasons for The Spy Who Came in From the Cold:

•Richard Burton at his perfectly craggy best, well oiled with drink, hard-bitten cynicism, and that magnificent voice.

•Arguably the smartest and grittiest Cold War espionage movie ever made.

•The ending.

Also, the transfer is insanely gorgeous, a demo for just how good a black and white film can look on Blu-ray.

I had a friend from out of town come to visit a couple of months ago. He is a movie fan and so I talked him into watching TSWCIFTC since he had never seen it. He wasn't all that keen for it, thinking it would be too slow for his taste (and it is a carefully paced film for the most part) but said ok. By the time we were halfway through it, he wasn't laying on the couch anymore but was sitting up and leaning forward. Parts of it made him exclaim out loud. And by the end he too had become a fan.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Looking to get some Noir. The Killers I'm definitely gonna pick up but how would you guys rank these in order from best?

Odd Man Out
The Spy Who Came From The Cold
Foreign Correspondent

If you're specifically after noir, Odd Man Out is the only one that is noir.* I really enjoyed my first watch, but haven't revisited it yet.

Foreign Correspondent is good but not great Hitchcock. Some very nice sequences make it very worthwhile. Being a massive Hichcock fan, I'd probably put that in second place, but YMMV.

The Spy Who Came From The Cold is... Well, kind of cold. Which isn't to say it's not a great film, it is. Beautifully shot too. I haven't purchased it because I'm not sure I would rewatch it much, but I certainly understand why people love it.

If you are after more noir and you don't have it, The Sweet Smell of Success is tremendous.

*Some would argue it's not as it is not a US production.

[movieben1138]

I agree with oildude that THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD is the best of the three mentioned. It is a masterpiece. And then I'd also suggest ACE IN THE HOLE if you don't already have it.

[ravenus]

Having already ordered stuff from Eureka and Arrow, I shall try to keep my fingers off the buy buttons for at least a month. The (hopefully) last order for now, from the B&N Criterion sale:

The Innocents - talk about multi-dips. I have purchased this film on the Fox DVD, the BFI DVD (for its fantastic plate of supplements, including that wonderful short film The Bespoke Overcoat), the BFI blu-ray (because HD) and now this Criterion blu-ray which features a new 4K restoration with immensely better detail and color gradation and a correction of the Cinemascope mumps. I know some of you may say, well you could have gone for a film you haven't seen before, but, what can I say, it's one of my all-time favorite films, a classic of horror.

People on Sunday - I like documentary-style explorations of people / cultures and this experimental film, with the sheer power of the talent behind it, promises to be an engaging experience.

[Mr.F]

I don't know if it was discussed already since I've been away from the computer most of the day, but earlier today Brad Bird tweeted about The Iron Giant getting a "signature edition" release. Could he mean a Criterion release? They are after all pretty much the only ones that do those kinds of releases today, and I doubt WB would give it any sort of special treatment unless he meant like one of those Diamond Lux things.

That film would be a perfect fit for the collection

[Fabs]

Probably gonna pick up just Hiroshima mon Amour.... Maybe House as well, which I need to rewatch, because last time I was not in love with it.