The Criterion Collection

[jw007]

Originally Posted by AnamorphicWidescreen

One of the most fascinating elements of 2001: A Space Odyssey were the iconic ending sequences.

[Show spoiler]I.e., the astronaut seeing himself aging, then as an old man dying in an elegant room, and then he's re-born as a star-child/baby....extremely deep stuff. The whole ending sequence is quite sublime, and has moved me on a level much more than any other film ending I've seen - and I've seen a lot of them...

My original posting on 2001 yesterday was exactly on all that. I still can't wrap my head around that damn ending! This is what makes me want to re-watch it all the time, because I still haven't figured out that mystery yet. Okay, I'm basically rewriting what I wrote in my other post now here.

Bottom line for me is, the more a film questions and has less answers equals a good/great movie that I can never grow tired of watching over and over again.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jw007

My original posting on 2001 yesterday was exactly on all that. I still can't wrap my head around that damn ending! This is what makes me want to re-watch it all the time, because I still haven't figured out that mystery yet. Okay, I'm basically rewriting what I wrote in my other post now here.

Bottom line for me is, the more a film questions and has less answers equals a good/great movie that I can never grow tired of watching over and over again.

Three words: ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

Parade...I understand how the film was shot and about certain limitations of elements . Bottomline, does not even look like film but like a very old TV show. The movie itself is weak...by far Tati' s worst. Not funny nor amusing. JT made one film too many.

That's because it is an old TV show (okay, I was a kid in 1974 so I refuse to call it very old ). It was mostly filmed on video for Swedish television, and if anyone can make video look decently good, it is Criterion. The colors were surprisingly vibrant on my plasma. But it is still mostly video so no getting around that.

I agree Parade is the weakest film, and also the most different, in a wonderful box set. After watching the entire set in release order, I have become a huge admirer and ardent fan of Tati. His short films and movies are like a throwback to the silent era. So much merriment, charm, and brilliance are present in his homages to silent comedies with their slapstick and absurd situations. There is a love of life that just spills over the screen in all of Tati's work.

I think the change in tone we see in Parade, and to a lesser extent in Trafic, are the lingering results of his bankruptcy over PlayTime. So sad, because I realized after watching PlayTime in this set (my second viewing after the stand alone release from a couple of years ago), that it really is a masterpiece and one of the most stunningly choreographed, complex, and amazing films ever made. Watching the special features afterward and learning that every single item in that film was part of a magnificently constructed movie set, from the office buildings and escalators to the city streets to the dazzling interiors, just blew me away. Nine years in the making, nothing on such a scale had ever been attempted in France before. PlayTime was a cinematic marvel.... and a colossal commercial failure that ruined him financially. Tati's horizons were much smaller afterward.

I enjoyed Parade solely for what it is: a TV variety show featuring acrobats, jugglers, clowns, musicians, trained animals, silly skits starring Tati as himself, all with audience participation. Entertaining though it may be, it drags a bit here and there especially in the last half, and is only mildly funny. It's no Carol Burnett show (my go-to-example of a variety comedy skit show I grew up loving in the 1970s also shot on video) but in a kind of parallel universe, its heart comes from the same place. It's just that Tati's heart was well over 60 years old and no longer capable of filling the screen with big dreams anymore. The charm is there, in a more intimate setting, but Parade, when compared to what came before, reminded me of what happens to American stars whose best days are behind them and who wind up their careers appearing nightly in Las Vegas. But for all that, the biggest let down about Parade was that I was watching Tati the variety show host and not Tati as Monsieur Hulot, a character I have come to love over the past month of viewing all of his films. Hulot was done, and Tati would never put him on the screen again.

And then something happens right at the end of the film that made me realize Parade had actually been worth it, that this may be lesser Tati but it is still something I will always treasure as part of his works. The two little kids from the audience seen throughout the film come on stage after the show is over and begin playing with the props as the actors are breaking down the sets. So simple a closing scene, yet so heartwarming, beautiful, and, I felt, the most absolutely perfect curtain drop on Jacques Tati's film career. Life goes on. Another generation is coming after. And they will be inspired. What a wonderful way to end it.

Vive le Jacques Tati

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Three words: ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny

Mind blown.

Seriously though, the Recapitulation Theory is about the best explanation I have heard for it.

...and this can't be a coincidence, can it?

[Polaroid]

People always spend so long trying to decipher films and that's great but sometimes I think you should take your own message from a film, I think on a more personal level you will take more from a film than if you was to decipher the true meaning.

I like to take my own opinion and message and then look into the true meaning to compare - fun stuff!

[jw007]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Three words: ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny

In purely scientific terms, oh yes.

I like to take a more, should I say, mystical approach, to all this though.

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by oildude

[Show spoiler]That's because it is an old TV show (okay, I was a kid in 1974 so I refuse to call it very old ). It was mostly filmed on video for Swedish television, and if anyone can make video look decently good, it is Criterion. The colors were surprisingly vibrant on my plasma. But it is still mostly video so no getting around that.

I agree Parade is the weakest film, and also the most different, in a wonderful box set. After watching the entire set in release order, I have become a huge admirer and ardent fan of Tati. His short films and movies are like a throwback to the silent era. So much merriment, charm, and brilliance are present in his homages to silent comedies with their slapstick and absurd situations. There is a love of life that just spills over the screen in all of Tati's work.

I think the change in tone we see in Parade, and to a lesser extent in Trafic, are the lingering results of his bankruptcy over PlayTime. So sad, because I realized after watching PlayTime in this set (my second viewing after the stand alone release from a couple of years ago), that it really is a masterpiece and one of the most stunningly choreographed, complex, and amazing films ever made. Watching the special features afterward and learning that every single item in that film was part of a magnificently constructed movie set, from the office buildings and escalators to the city streets to the dazzling interiors, just blew me away. Nine years in the making, nothing on such a scale had ever been attempted in France before. PlayTime was a cinematic marvel.... and a colossal commercial failure that ruined him financially. Tati's horizons were much smaller afterward.

I enjoyed Parade solely for what it is: a TV variety show featuring acrobats, jugglers, clowns, musicians, trained animals, silly skits starring Tati as himself, all with audience participation. It's no Carol Burnett show (my go-to-example of a variety comedy skit show I grew up loving in the 1970s also shot on video) but in a kind of parallel universe, its heart comes from the same place. It's just that Tati's heart was well over 60 years old and no longer capable of filling the screen with big dreams anymore. The charm is there, in a more intimate setting, but Parade, when compared to what came before, reminded me of what happens to American stars whose best days are behind them and who wind up their careers appearing nightly in Las Vegas. But for all that, the biggest let down about Parade was that I was watching Tati the variety show host and not Tati as Monsieur Hulot, a character I have come to love over the past month of viewing all of his films. Hulot was done, and Tati would never put him on the screen again.

And then something happens right at the end of the film that made me realize Parade had actually been worth it, that this may be lesser Tati but it is still something I will always treasure as part of his works. The two little kids from the audience seen throughout the film come on stage after the show is over and begin playing with the props as the actors are breaking down the sets. So simple a closing scene, yet so heartwarming, beautiful, and, I felt, the most absolutely perfect curtain drop on Jacques Tati's film career. Life goes on. Another generation is coming after. And they will be inspired. What a wonderful way to end it.

Vive le Jacques Tati

Great post, oildude! You sum it up beautifully. I really enjoyed Parade, possibly because I didn't expect too much. I found it funny and charming (and a bit like Il Sorpasso, a beguiling portrait of a long gone era).

Playtime is indeed a masterpiece and a true one-off.

[ShellOilJunior]

My first experience with 2001 was in 7th grade science class. My teacher wheeled out one of those AV carts and presented it on VHS presumably. Most of the class was bored but I was spellbound. Seeing the dawn of man sequence at that age was incredible. My teacher also showed us Carl Sagan documentaries. We had it good

[tisdivine]

Has anyone seen Samuel Fuller's House of Bamboo? Whats the closest movie you can compare it to? I noticed TT is releasing it in August. Ive looked for a place to stream it and its not available anywhere.

I love/own The Naked Kiss & Shock Corridor but I get the feeling Bamboo might not be that style.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

The first time I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey was in a theater with my dad, back, I'd guess, somewhere around the late 70s. Wow, did that blow my mind. I do remember sitting with my dad in a cafe afterwards, discussing the film.

Lots of new ideas for a 8 or 9 year old.

And yet today children are bored to death even with E.T.! (true story)
How did we come to this....

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

And yet today children are bored to death even with E.T.! (true story)
How did we come to this....

I'm bored to death with ET.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

I'm bored to death with ET.

It's ALWAYS on TV in Uk - so annoying lol

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

And yet today children are bored to death even with E.T.! (true story)
How did we come to this....

When it was released on blu me and my wife picked it up and watched it after not watching since we were kids. Needless to say, it didn't hold up that well. I don't see us watching it anytime soon. Maybe show it to the kids?

[Page14]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

My first experience with 2001 was in 7th grade science class. My teacher wheeled out one of those AV carts and presented it it VHS presumably. Most of the class was bored but I was spellbound. Seeing the dawn of man sequence at that age was incredible. My teacher also showed us Carl Sagan documentaries. We had it good

Saw this one in the theater when it first came out. It threw me for a loop then and it still does now.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Vinyl

Needless to say, it didn't hold up that well.

Or maybe you forgot how it is to be kids and moved on with your life..
Which is perfectly fine, no arguing that.

[The Great Owl]

I read Arthur C. Clarke's novelization of 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was written concurrently with Kubrick's film, several times in my childhood before I ever saw the movie. My understanding of the book helped a lot with my enjoyment of the movie.

I like that the Kubrick film is more abstract and open to interpretation. Kubrick and Clarke reportedly developed the story together, but worked on the novel and movie as separate entities, with neither one being an adaptation of the other. Still, it's easy to relate to the film in terms of the events at the conclusion of the novel, because everything is there in visual terms.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by jw007

A perfect example of a film that I still don't understand fully but have to re-watch again more and more to solve the mystery is 2001: A Space Odyssey. It's that damn ending! I still re-interpret that ending so many times. I can't seem to wrap my head around this even though I have a feeling I know where Kubrick is going.

Late to this discussion I know, but I feel the same way. The first time I saw the film I was a teenager, still in HS on home video. I remember sitting in my living room late at night going, "huh?" I loved it, and knew it was important, but just didn't fully understand... heck, I still don't fully understand. But, that doesn't make it any less enjoyable or important. It's a film I truly love and keep looking at the LD Criterion release on ebay from time to time.

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

The first time I saw 2001: A Space Odyssey was in a theater with my dad, back, I'd guess, somewhere around the late 70s. Wow, did that blow my mind. I do remember sitting with my dad in a cafe afterwards, discussing the film.

Lots of new ideas for a 8 or 9 year old.

That's an awesome memory with your dad!

[waxHead]

Originally Posted by Vinyl

When it was released on blu me and my wife picked it up and watched it after not watching since we were kids. Needless to say, it didn't hold up that well. I don't see us watching it anytime soon. Maybe show it to the kids?

I watched E.T. with my fiancee a few months ago, we both hated it. The movie may have been groundbreaking at the time, but compared to other science fiction films released in the late 70's and early 80's (Blade Runner and Alien in particular), the quality of the entire production seems quite poor now. At least Drew Barrymore helped offset some of Elliott's endless whining. Even in E.T., her acting talent stood out.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by Vinyl

Awesome, La Grande Illusion is such a great film.

Shame Criterion lost the rights to this. Orson Welles favorite film called by many the greatest film ever made.

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Thanks Will, Aaron and jhiggy.

I'm tempted to go for the trilogy, but my wallet is screaming for Veronique.

Maybe I'll be cheap and get Veronique and if I really love it just bite the bullet and shell out the $40 for the trilogy?

...these decisions are always so damn tough.

Veronique and the Three Colors Trilogy are by far some of the best movies in the collection. With White being the weakest link there. I think you will be happy with either, but they are all must owns IMO.

Originally Posted by Priam

Anyone getting The Black Stallion this sale? I've never seen it, but reviews are mostly positive. Probably pick up The Killers as well before next week.

Both are amazing films. The Black Stallion is a very wonderful film with amazing cinematography which carries many stretches of it without the need for dialog. The movie is a fluke in the Director was able to take so much time making it without studio influence due to how powerful Coppola (producer) was at the time.

The Killers comes with 2 films. The 40's version is one of the best Film noir's ever made. Tight dialog, dark expressionistic imagery lathered in shadows with a equally dark tone to the characters/story and of course Ava Gardner which is reason enough to purchase. The other version I didn't care for that much, but it was interesting to watch.