The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Andrew13

Picked up Traffic, King of the Hill, and The Long Day Closes this morning. All blind buys, but they felt fairly safe as I'm a fan of Soderbergh and have heard nothing but great things about LDC.

With that, I think I may finally be caught up on my blu-ray wishlist, though I've had an eye on Everlasting Moments and Here Is Your Life for a time. Any thoughts on either of these films?

A lot of people like Jan Troell, but I am not particularly a fan.

I watched Everlasting Moments a year or so ago and, for the most part, I found it to be good. However, I did not see any replay value in it so I ultimately decided to sell it. A couple of days ago, I watched Here is Your Life so that I decide whether or not to cancel or keep my pre-order. I didn't necessarily hate the film, but I certainly didn't like it. It was very, very, very slow paced and, overall, felt incredibly bland to me.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by JLant19

Thanks for the input. What made you not recommend Ministry?

I personally thought it was laborious to sit through. I duder connect with any of the characters and thought the story was uninteresting. There are some nice directorial moments, as Lang is a great director (I love M), but ultimately it didn't work for me.

Keep in mind that noir is a genre a do not care for, so you should factor that in when considering my opinion. Others on here love noir and have an incredible knowledge base about same, so their opinion might mean more.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Andrew13

Picked up Traffic, King of the Hill, and The Long Day Closes this morning. All blind buys, but they felt fairly safe as I'm a fan of Soderbergh and have heard nothing but great things about LDC.

With that, I think I may finally be caught up on my blu-ray wishlist, though I've had an eye on Everlasting Moments and Here Is Your Life for a time. Any thoughts on either of these films?

Traffic is such a well-made film. King of the Hill I liked and was entertained by. I haven't bought it because I'm not sure I would watch it too many times.

Everlasting Moments I've said for years is one of the most underrated films in the collection. It's not talked about often, but it is phenomenal. I think the picture quality is among the best the collection has to offer in terms of it being "film-like." The train scene (not a spoiler at all) looks particularly incredible. I would strongly urge you to buy it.

[bdmartin134]

Had a nice Criterion watching session yesterday. Went to Barnes and picked up a few and then did nothing the rest of the day but watch movies, haha.
Watched in order:
Sullivans Travels: (1st time) Thought it was pretty good. I thought the "slap-stick" was a little much and over the top but I guess that's the point. Veronica Lake, wow! Watched the supplements and really enjoyed everything about the whole disc. Not a typical Sturges fan, but I'll check some of his others out.
The River: Great technicolor and solid movie all around and really loved the settings. I was kind of out of it while watching early on, but snapped to about half way. Maybe a purchase down the line, as I watched it on Hulu with really good quality.
The Killers: (Repeat) Awesome film noir. The first time I saw this I really didn't pay as much attention as I should have, so the story fell from beneath. This time I was glued though. I kept thinking is this guy an insurance agent or FBI? Didn't seem like the law was interested in what happened to the Swede. Solid film though.
Make Way For Tomorrow: I don't know how much replay value this one has, but I'm really glad I have it. Awesome movie that as Bogdonavich says, is more and more timely. I guess it's a theme that has always been there, but my father definitely wouldn't let this happen to his parents as he took care of them financially. That's just not the case with everyone. Hopefully I'll be able to provide anything my parents will need as they hit that age.
Supplements educated me on Leo McCarey and how big of a director he was back then.


Later today I'm planning on watching:
Medium Cool or Macbeth, and definitely Cranes Are Flying

[blu-bry]

Originally Posted by JLant19

I want to pick up a few more during the BN sale. Any recommendations on Sullivan's Travels, Palm Beach Story, Ministry of Fear, Anatomy of a Murder, It Happened One Night?

Those are all very good choices. I own all of them except Palm Beach Story, which I hope to pick up tomorrow at Barnes & Noble. Anatomy of a Murder is a real classic in my book.

[Glanced]

Originally Posted by nondiatonic

I appreciate the discussion, even if (or rather especially because) I have a different opinion.

You had expectations for the film, but got something not to your liking. It happens. Your issues with Don't Look Now are difficult to argue because they're of such a subjective nature -- with the exception of your b-movie claim, which I still think is way off-base.

I will. Like I said, it will probably make a showing in October.

Let's face fact here: your opinion isn't going to change much, if at all, after just three or four months. I'd put it off for a much later date.

They're was a near-ten-year gap between my first and second viewing.

[ubergooberfunk]

Well, I just received my first ever Criterion Blu-ray today. I ordered 'Valerie and week of wonders'.

I unpackaged it and then took a close look at the disk itself, and to be honest, the disk art just looks like a fancy sticker placed on top a blu-ray disk.

It's even out of focus and blurry looking. I'm not sure if it's supposed to look like that or not.

basically "and her week of w" is all blurry, and then suddenly "onders" is all clear. Is that intentional?

I know what really matters is the film itself, which I have not watched yet, but still, for a first time buyer I kind of feel let down.

Anyone else notice that on the disk art? is it supposed to be blurry?

[zafisher94]

My dad bought Cries & Whispers for me. I've never seen it, but I've loved the 3 other Bergman films I've seen, so I'm excited to see it. Hopefully I can pop it in later today.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by ubergooberfunk

Anyone else notice that on the disk art? is it supposed to be blurry?

well, is it like this?

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by ubergooberfunk

Anyone else notice that on the disk art? is it supposed to be blurry?

this link has a closer look at the disc artwork

http://www.criterionforum.org/dvd_pa...hp?dvd_id=1431

[ubergooberfunk]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

well, is it like this?

I took a look at that photo as well, but even looking at the full resolution of the picture its too hard to tell the details on the disk art, so i wasn't able to tell if it was intentional, or just mine. as far as everything else goes it looks just like that.

What i'm referring to specifically, is if you look on the disk art, where it says in big white letters "Valerie", well right underneath that is the rest of the title. about 3/4 of that is just blurry looking, and then the rest "onders" is crystal clear.

[ubergooberfunk]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

this link has a closer look at the disc artwork

http://www.criterionforum.org/dvd_pa...hp?dvd_id=1431

i can say this much. the title on that little picture looks clearer to read than the one i'm looking at in my hand. strange. I bought it directly from amazon, not even a third party seller, so it cant be a fake... at least i hope

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by ubergooberfunk

i can say this much. the title on that little picture looks clearer to read than the one i'm looking at in my hand. strange. I bought it directly from amazon, not even a third party seller, so it cant be a fake... at least i hope

amazon will replace it for you if you think it is a production flaw. they won't give you any problems.

[ubergooberfunk]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

amazon will replace it for you if you think it is a production flaw. they won't give you any problems.

Hopefully someone can post a bit clearer and larger photo of the disk art itself so i can be sure or not. I almost dont want to deal with returning a product and waiting to have it re-shipped over blurry disk art. If that is the case.. well, it just sucks you know

[octagon]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

This B&N sale, I am planning to pick up at least one box.

Between BBS Story & John Cassavetes box, which one do you recommend? I have only watch Five Easy Pieces out of all the 12 films in these 2 boxes.

Both sets are really great. The supplements tend more toward interviews than documentaries or features but they're very interesting interviews and they augment the films really, really well in both cases. As for the films themselves, if I could only have one of the set I might maybe lean slightly toward the BBS set but that's primarily because the Cassavetes films are so draining I can't see popping them back in all that frequently.

And I'll strongly second the suggestion that you consider the David Lean/Noel Coward set. That's another box set with fantastic films (and arguably much more accessible films than in either the BBS or Cassavetes sets) with a great set of supplements.

All three are really nice packages though.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Everlasting Moments I've said for years is one of the most underrated films in the collection. It's not talked about often, but it is phenomenal. I think the picture quality is among the best the collection has to offer in terms of it being "film-like." The train scene (not a spoiler at all) looks particularly incredible. I would strongly urge you to buy it.

I was very surprised by how much I liked Everlasting Moments. Given the period, the subject matter and visual style one would reasonably expect a fairly dour experience but that definitely wasn't the case. Well, it was sort of the case from time to time but the overall experience was not dark or oppressive. I won't go so far as to say it was uplifting but it absolutely wasn't the downer one might think it would be.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by ubergooberfunk

Hopefully someone can post a bit clearer and larger photo of the disk art itself so i can be sure or not. I almost dont want to deal with returning a product and waiting to have it re-shipped over blurry disk art. If that is the case.. well, it just sucks you know

I'm fairly certain you're just being a bit picky and it is indeed supposed to look like that. I picked it up on Tuesday and watched the film last night, didn't notice what you're talking about when I put the disc in/out and the film and extras were terrific. I liked the paper stock they used for the leaflet as well, really nice touch. I'll have another look at my disc when I get home, but it looks like the pics above - everything is legible.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by ubergooberfunk

Well, I just received my first ever Criterion Blu-ray today. I ordered 'Valerie and week of wonders'.

I unpackaged it and then took a close look at the disk itself, and to be honest, the disk art just looks like a fancy sticker placed on top a blu-ray disk.

It's even out of focus and blurry looking. I'm not sure if it's supposed to look like that or not.

basically "and her week of w" is all blurry, and then suddenly "onders" is all clear. Is that intentional?

I know what really matters is the film itself, which I have not watched yet, but still, for a first time buyer I kind of feel let down.

Anyone else notice that on the disk art? is it supposed to be blurry?

Return it

[ubergooberfunk]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

I'm fairly certain you're just being a bit picky and it is indeed supposed to look like that. I picked it up on Tuesday and watched the film last night, didn't notice what you're talking about when I put the disc in/out and the film and extras were terrific. I liked the paper stock they used for the leaflet as well, really nice touch. I'll have another look at my disc when I get home, but it looks like the pics above - everything is legible.

I don't think i'm being overly picky. I'm just here to find out if it is some sort of production flaw or if its intentional. If it's intentional then fine all is good, but my hunch is that isnt supposed to look blurry and out of focus, and in that case, i think its alright to express feeling a bit let down. It's my first criterion disk, maybe i had high expectations with every aspect, including packaging and presentation.

and like i said, i'm not commenting on the content of the disk itself. i'm just commenting on the disk art. thats it.

[Rich Pure Doom]

So I own every Hitchcock film released on blu except The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934).

I've been hesitant because I don't much enjoy the other two Hitch films I own from the 30's (Lady Vanishes and 39 Steps). It's odd because I normally love films from this decade. I happen to LOVE Foreign Correspondent. Should I pick this one up? Make me decide!!