The Criterion Collection

[dwk]

Originally Posted by fuzzymctiger

Sorry to distract from a topic or anything, but I can't find a list for this anywhere.

Does anyone have a list of Criterion editions that come with Books?

I know Red River and Picnic at Hanging Rock do, do any others, DVD or Blu Ray?

The Criterion Forum has your answer:
Burden of Dreams (DVD) [excerpts from Blank’s and Gosling’s production journals]
Furies (DVD) [novel]
The Man Who Fell to Earth (DVD) (OOP) [novel]
Mr Arkadin (DVD) [novel]
Picnic at Hanging Rock (Blu-ray/DVD dual-format)[novel]
Red River (Blu-ray/DVD dual-format)[novel]
Short Cuts (DVD) (Re-released without the book)[short stories]
Six Moral Tales (DVD)[short stories]
Two-Lane Blacktop (DVD)(Re-released without the book)[screenplay]
Vampyr (DVD)(Re-released without the book)[screenplay and Sheridan Le Fanu 1872 story “Carmilla,”]

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

In The Mood for Love is certainly a stylish film, but I've never heard anyone say it lacked substance.

Perhaps, but accusations of W.K.W films lacking substance are very common, particularly Fallen Angels and Chungking Express.

[darkness2918]

Can someone tell me how Thief is? Is it worth a blind buy?

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Perhaps, but accusations of W.K.W films lacking substance are very common, particularly Fallen Angels and Chungking Express.

OK, but we're talking about In The Mood For Love.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by nondiatonic

Based on Fallen Angels I fear In The Mood for Love will fall prey to the "style over substance" virus that seems so prevalent in modern Asian cinema. I can't take the risk when there are so many other movies I'd like to try.

You're doing yourself a huge disservice by not at least trying out In the Mood For Love. It's nothing at all like Fallen Angels. It's more mature and refined. One of the most emotionally and visually arresting films ever made.

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by octagon

Okay, fine, I'll tell my embarrassing The Magician story.... It looked great, MVS was chewing scenery with his eyes alone and I was pretty much keeping up with what was going on including - cue swell of pride - all the religion/science subtext. It wasn't just about debunking a particular magician, that was cover for a discussion of faith and science and how the church manages information and so forth and so on.

I was on quite the little interpretive roll.

Then I dig into the supplements and the first people discussing it start talking about how brilliantly it commented on the relation between artists and critics....

But isn't that just exactly why film (or any other art form) can be so great - there is never a single interpretation. If you got that its about religion/science, then why not? It's what you get out of it that is important - not what other people tell you (well, there is that, otherwise we wouldn't read the booklets and watch the commentary - but whatever you get out of it is just as important as what others may get out of it).

I'm almost certain that I've had the same experience. In fact, I think I've at least once avoided reading about some films because the feelings I got from them were so strong I didn't want them to be spoiled by a competing interpretation

Originally Posted by Bandit Tajomaru

As for the movie House I loved it so much that I imported the soundtrack from Japan along with 2 other Godiego albums. From that I imported the Monkey TV series from the UK and got Galaxy Express 999 just because I love Godiego's music.

I have House and plan to watch it soon but didn't realise that Godiego did the music. Monkey! was (and still is) one of my favourite TV shows and I even bought the BBC 7" single of the theme tune back in 1979! Had to order it specially from the local record shop - anyone remember doing that

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

Can someone tell me how Thief is? Is it worth a blind buy?

Yes, especially if you are into the early work from Michael Mann (the original Miami Vice series, Manhunter, Heat, etc.)

I think that Thief is a tremendous Criterion title and a great neo-noir film.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

Can someone tell me how Thief is? Is it worth a blind buy?

But if you want the original theatrical cut too with the original colors, the Arrow version is the one to go which contains BOTH cuts:
http://caps-a-holic.com/hd_vergleich...ess=#vergleich

(although I think it's OOP now. The limited edition had both cuts. Now the regular edition, has only the director's cut like the Criterion)

[14728]

So prime day is tomorrow. I'm hoping for 50+% off criterions. Speaking of which, is the criterion sale still going on at B&N? I'm going to go there today to buy Go Set a Watchman.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

OK, but we're talking about In The Mood For Love.

I am one too that i think it's overstylised and it lacks substance.
I had mentioned it earlier in the thread.
But again, I don't think that a film has to have substance to appeciate it.
You can appreciate the style.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by 14728

So prime day is tomorrow. I'm hoping for 50+% off criterions. Speaking of which, is the criterion sale still going on at B&N? I'm going to go there today to buy Go Set a Watchman.

Yes, I'm going there this afternoon to get Hiroshima Mon Amour and The Black Stallion. A last hurrah of sorts from this current sale before I move into my new place.

I'm holding off on Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman for now. I'm a huge fan of To Kill a Mockingbird, and I'd like to keep my impression of that novel intact.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

I have House and plan to watch it soon but didn't realise that Godiego did the music. Monkey! was (and still is) one of my favourite TV shows and I even bought the BBC 7" single of the theme tune back in 1979! Had to order it specially from the local record shop - anyone remember doing that

Monkey Magic! Great theme to a great show. Only ever saw it during its original run, but my brother and I were big fans.

[myka22]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

Can someone tell me how Thief is? Is it worth a blind buy?

It is available on Netflix if you want to check it out. I just watched it and thought it was okay.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

So you're getting less for the same price?

Originally Posted by Bandit Tajomaru

Lucky for me I picked up the dual edition Throne of Blood last week at Barnes & Nobel. Love it when studios give you less for your money.

They're not really giving you less for your money. You were getting more for your money with the Dual Format. Seriously. The basic price for Criterion Blu-rays back when they were originally Blu-ray only was $39.95. When they went to the Dual Format, the price remained at $39.95. When they went back to Blu-ray only, the price remained at $39.95.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by nondiatonic

Based on Fallen Angels I fear In The Mood for Love will fall prey to the "style over substance" virus that seems so prevalent in modern Asian cinema. I can't take the risk when there are so many other movies I'd like to try.

Originally Posted by Fabs

You're doing yourself a huge disservice by not at least trying out In the Mood For Love. It's nothing at all like Fallen Angels. It's more mature and refined. One of the most emotionally and visually arresting films ever made.

I agree with you, Fabs. Dismissing one film based off of how you felt about another film, even if by the same director, doesn't make too much sense. In film, you usually find a director evolving their technique and style over the arc of their career. A director is always seeking interesting topics/stories to present to the world, but, of course, what is considered interesting is highly subjective from person to person.

I can only relate this to dismissing the films of other directors based off of one of their films. Let's look at some of the "big name" directors.

Steven Spielberg... If you're not fond of E.T. does that mean you're never going to see Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Jaws, or any films in the Indiana Jones series?

James Cameron... You hated Titanic; does that mean you're going to skip over the first two Terminator movies and Aliens?

David Fincher... Alien 3 is considered by many to not be that good, but it seems like enough people forgave him since he's gone on to make Seven, Fight Club, The Game, Zodiac, etc.

Peter Jackson... The Lovely Bones surely wasn't one of his better received films, but does that mean The Frighteners, Dead Alive, or the The Lord Of The Rings trilogy aren't going to appeal to the same people that dismissed The Lovely Bones?

I think, more often than not, that a director is always wanting to evolve his/her craft and not get stuck in a rut of making the same style of films, but it's been proven many times that some directors are just better suited to helm a particular genre of storytelling. Most film directors would probably want to expand their options, though, given the opportunity.

@nondiatonic... If you can't take the risk, then what are you doing blind-buying films in the first place? That's the whole point of blind-buying anything, right? It might be better suited for you to subscribe to Hulu (if available) or try your local library (if possible) as a means of watching the films you're interested in before taking any kind of risk.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

In the Mood For Love is fantastic. I haven't seen and can't compare it to Fallen Angels though.

Both films couldn't be any further from each other. Fallen Angels is mostly style over substance. In the Mood For Love is a slower paced romance movie kind of like a japanese version of David Leans Brief Encounter. It is a very subtle and slower paced film so if that's not your thing be warned. It does not have a lot of experimental camera effects like Fallen Angels. While Chungking express does a lot of flashy camera effects it is more accessible then Fallen Angels IMO. I adore all 3 films, but Chungking Express is probably my favorite by the director.

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by jayembee

They're not really giving you less for your money. You were getting more for your money with the Dual Format. Seriously. The basic price for Criterion Blu-rays back when they were originally Blu-ray only was $39.95. When they went to the Dual Format, the price remained at $39.95. When they went back to Blu-ray only, the price remained at $39.95.

And when they introduced BD, they left DVDs at $39.95 as well. If they hadn't later dropped them to $29.95 each there might not have been the backlash (in some quarters) against dual format

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Vlad Draculi

I've been meaning to ask this for a while but keep forgetting. Is there any significance to the numbers that are on the bottom of the spine on the Criterion discs? I'm curious since every movie seems to have a different number, but I can't figure out why. At first, I thought they were release order, but The Killers was just released and that number is smaller than Kiss Me Deadly and Godzilla.

Originally Posted by tisdivine

I think it is release order. The Killers was originally released on DVD way before Godzilla but its just now being released on bluray.

In theory -- and for the most part -- the spine numbers are the order in which the discs were released on DVD. For production reasons, #1 (Grand Illusion was released eight months after #2 (Seven Samurai), which in turn had been released ten months after #3 (The Lady Vanishes), which in turn had been released two months after #4 (Amarcord and #5 (The 400 Blows).

The spine numbers originated with their laserdisc releases. The last LD spine number was #384 (Aramgeddon). When they started releasing DVDs, they decided to start over again with #1. Don't know for sure why, but I suspect it's because they knew that they'd be abandoning the LD format soon after.

When they started releasing Blu-rays, there was no expectation of abandoning the DVD format in the foreseeable future, so given that they'd be releasing new titles in both formats, they decided to stick with the same numbering system. So, as they upgrade older titles, they issue them with lower numbers.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

But isn't that just exactly why film (or any other art form) can be so great - there is never a single interpretation.

The late SF/Fantasy author John M. Ford, had a saying: "Every story is actually three stories: the one the writer writes, the one the reader reads, and the one where the first two meet by moonlight."

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Both films couldn't be any further from each other. Fallen Angels is mostly style over substance. In the Mood For Love is a slower paced romance movie kind of like a japanese version of David Leans Brief Encounter. It is a very subtle and slower paced film so if that's not your thing be warned. It does not have a lot of experimental camera effects like Fallen Angels. While Chungking express does a lot of flashy camera effects it is more accessible then Fallen Angels IMO. I adore all 3 films, but Chungking Express is probably my favorite by the director.

What do you think about Happy together?
I was interested in seeing this as a 2nd film after In the Mood for Love.