The Criterion Collection

[DenOfEarth]

Does Criterion have any plans for Rabid by David Cronenberg? i want that.

And for animation features, they need to get Felidae and Peter Jackson's Meet The Feebles

[The Great Owl]

[Show spoiler]

I'm convinced that this is a test.

If you're watching this scene with Juliette Binoche, and you notice a tiny mic on the top of the screen, then you lose your man card. If you're watching this scene with Juliette Binoche, and you do not notice a tiny mic on the top of the screen, then you get to keep your man card.

I'm pleased to report that, when I was watching Three Colors: Blue for the first time, I did not notice the mic.

Incidentally, there might have been a million technical oversights along the periphery of the frame during the Monica Vitti scenes in L'Aaventura, but I didn't happen to notice any of them either.


For what it's worth, this mic scene is mentioned under the Goofs section in the Internet Movie Database for Three Colors: Blue.
"Boom mic visible
When Oliver tells Julie he will not incorporate her changes into the musical score, a boom mic is visible briefly as Julie puts down the phone."

I do not know if this implies that the scene was in the original theatrical version, but it might be safe to assume that it was.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Kaiju

What did I miss?

Spoiler tags

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by D2Girls

Hey guys, just watched Rififi this morning. It's great!

So I've got this list, and I've already bought a few of the movies on here.
What should I get next? Here's the list (crossed out movies I got):



Persona
Solaris
Umberto D
Rififi
Yojimbo
Throne of Blood
Tokyo Story
Ugetsu
Life of Oharu
Seven Samurai

I was thinking of getting another Kurosawa movie, as I've heard he's more accessible then, say, OzU, but what do you guys think?

Persona

Terrific release for arguably Bergman's best film. It was also voted best Criterion release of 2014 in this thread. Criterion has done many fine b/w transfers but Persona is eye-popping good. It's up there with Marienbad for best b/w transfer, imo.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by D2Girls

Hey guys, just watched Rififi this morning. It's great!

So I've got this list, and I've already bought a few of the movies on here.
What should I get next? Here's the list (crossed out movies I got):



Persona
Solaris
Umberto D
Rififi
Yojimbo
Throne of Blood
Tokyo Story
Ugetsu
Life of Oharu
Seven Samurai

I was thinking of getting another Kurosawa movie, as I've heard he's more accessible then, say, OzU, but what do you guys think?

Persona, Throne of Blood, and Tokyo Story.

Persona quickly became one of my favorite films of all time after I purchased the Criterion set. Seriously, get at least Persona.

[Kaiju]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Spoiler tags

[jordan-r]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I have become a fan of Sirk after Seeing ATHA and Written on the Wind. – so much so, that I’ll buy just about anything that will be released on Blu-ray that was directed by him. I have yet to crack, however, how it is that he was so subversive. I know that it is a widely held critical analysis shared by many film scholars. I happen to feel (granted only 2 films in,) that he just happened to make colorful, stylish, really good, soapy dramas. I haven’t sensed that anything in the two films I have seen by him is submliminal.

About this -- don't miss Imitation of Life. Without giving too much away, the way the movie introduces one transparently trivial narrative line in the foreground while letting a different and more serious one simmer away in the background might be a good illustration of the subversive currents a lot of people see in his work.

[filmmusic]

On the Sirk subject, I hope Magnificent Obsesssion and Written in the wind get upgraded soon!
I love him too and this kind of films!
A Sirk boxset, would be a dream come true!

bwdowiak, if you're region free you can also check this:
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-T...Blu-ray/77751/

[The Great Owl]

Last night, I watched New Tale of Zatoichi (1963), which is the third film in the Zatoichi box set and the first of the movies to be filmed in color.

As with the previous two films, New Tale of Zatoichi combines emotional resonance with a few scenes of fierce action, and features great work from Shintarô Katsu.

I'm curious as to whether or not the creators of the 1970s/1980s television series, The Incredible Hulk, were influenced by these Zatoichi films. Each episode of The Incredible Hulk, which starred Bill Bixby, pretty much followed the exact same template as these Zatoichi films, with the title character wandering into a new town, becoming intrigued by a woman, becoming involved in local brawls, resolving conflicts with a final fight, and ultimately wandering off alone into the sunset. One could almost transpose that melancholic music that would play at the end of each Hulk episode, as Bixby's David Banner wanders down the road trying to hitch a ride, onto the conclusion of these Zatoichi films.

At any rate, I'm really enjoying these episodic stories with each subsequent film.

Onward to Zatoichi the Fugitive...

[SammyJankis]

Two Days, One Night Review

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by prior

Haven't seen Ugetsu so can't comment on that one, might very well be great too.

See it ASAP, a very poetic and beautiful film.

[silverlakephil]

Originally Posted by JJJ225

James Mason is a cinematic treasure.

I remember watching Salem's Lot for the very first time on TV back in 1979, and I was pretty young and this was probably my first experience of seeing this great actor perform. I remember his character creeeped me just as much as the vampires in the movie, and that's due to his memorable subtle performance.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by silverlakephil

I remember watching Salem's Lot for the very first time on TV back in 1979, and I was pretty young and this was probably my first experience of seeing this great actor perform. I remember his character creeeped me just as much as the vampires in the movie, and that's due to his memorable subtle performance.

I own the 1979 Salem's Lot television movie on DVD, and I have been clamoring for Warner to release it on Blu-ray.

In addition to having a degree of separation from the Criterion Collection by way of James Mason's role, Salem's Lot also starred Elisha Cook Jr. and Marie Windsor together decades after they starred in Stanley Kubrick's The Killing.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I own the 1979 Salem's Lot television movie on DVD, and I have been clamoring for Warner to release it on Blu-ray.

In addition to having a degree of separation from the Criterion Collection by way of James Mason's role, Salem's Lot also starred Elisha Cook Jr. and Marie Windsor together decades after they starred in Stanley Kubrick's The Killing.

Would love to see a Salem's Lot Bluray. Especially if it recieves some restoration effort. Still the creepiest vampire on film IMO though it's design owes a lot to Murnau's Nosferatu. Doubt we will see it though. Warner seems content to sit on their huge film archive only re-releasing the same catalog films with new packaging most of the time.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

[Show spoiler]

I'm convinced that this is a test.

If you're watching this scene with Juliette Binoche, and you notice a tiny mic on the top of the screen, then you lose your man card. If you're watching this scene with Juliette Binoche, and you do not notice a tiny mic on the top of the screen, then you get to keep your man card.

I'm pleased to report that, when I was watching Three Colors: Blue for the first time, I did not notice the mic.

Incidentally, there might have been a million technical oversights along the periphery of the frame during the Monica Vitti scenes in L'Aaventura, but I didn't happen to notice any of them either.


For what it's worth, this mic scene is mentioned under the Goofs section in the Internet Movie Database for Three Colors: Blue.
"Boom mic visible
When Oliver tells Julie he will not incorporate her changes into the musical score, a boom mic is visible briefly as Julie puts down the phone."

I do not know if this implies that the scene was in the original theatrical version, but it might be safe to assume that it was.

All cute anecdotes and bickering aside - the Criterion, as well as all the bluray releases worldwide, have this framing/composition issue. It goes back sometime to the master and it is not correct, but I doubt it's worth clamoring over here, or at the worst missing out on the film, because it's likely never to be addressed or remastered anytime soon.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

All cute anecdotes and bickering aside - the Criterion, as well as all the bluray releases worldwide, have this framing/composition issue. It goes back sometime to the master and it is not correct, but I doubt it's worth clamoring over here, or at the worst missing out on the film, because it's likely never to be addressed or remastered anytime soon.

well, if it was 1-2 scenes I could live with it (even with the mic appearing), but the misframing is in the whole movie from what I understand.
It's not like in the Fisher King, where it affects only a brief shot.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by monorail91

My spreadsheet lists them out, and is color-coded Green for what I've seen and Yellow for what I haven't seen but is readily available (as Hulu or Netflix streaming). I also have a tally formula at the top calculating how many spines I've seen, plus their share of the total # spines.

I don't have the Eclipse or additional titles from Hulu listed anywhere...but first things first, gotta tackle the spines.

Also, I'm iffy on my local Barnes & Noble - lots of the Blu-rays don't have the blue CC sticker, and a ton of the cases are cracked / otherwise damaged. How far does a fella have to travel to get a copy of Carlos that hasn't been beaten to a pulp! Of my wish list of 10ish Criterions, they were either not acceptable for purchase or were simply not at my B&N at all. Total first world problem but still.

Well ... a pale green backfill in the "Blu-Ray" column on my spreadsheet means that the spine number is available on blu-ray; a pale blue backfill in that column means that it is coming soon. No backfill in that column means that it is available on blu-ray, but only as part of a boxed set.

In the "Own Blu-Ray" column, a pale rose backfill means that I own it; a pale yellow backfill means that I don't. In the "Own DVD" column a pale orchid backfill means that I do own it.

In the "Title" column, a gray backfill means that the DVD is OOP, and a pale orange backfill means the Blu-Ray is OOP. You can probably visualize how incredibly aesthetically pleasing my spreadsheet is. (Excuse me a minute ... I forgot to take my OCD medications this morning.)

Okay, I'm back. Now, about your local Barnes & Noble. Ask the Media Department manager and the Store Manager to meet you over in the Criterion section. Show them which discs have cracked cases or are rattling around loose, and point out that no one is ever going to buy these copies. Ask them to send them back to the warehouse and order fresh replacement copies. Remind them that their sales will pick up afterward because you'll start purchasing your Criterions there again, and other customers will follow suit. Be nice and respectful, and they'll probably thank you ... the more money the store makes, the more salary they make. That's what I did, and my Barnes & Noble has one of the nicest Media Departments of any store I've ever visited; if fact, they just recently expanded the Criterion blu-ray section, and it now takes up a whole kiosk all by itself.

If there are titles you want that they don't normally stock, ask them to special order them for you. They'll usually arrive in-store within 3 to 4 days, and you can inspect them before you buy.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

well, if it was 1-2 scenes I could live with it (even with the mic appearing), but the misframing is in the whole movie from what I understand.
It's not like in the Fisher King, where it affects only a brief shot.

I agree it's hard to live with, and to be honest it sucks, but I've seen this discussion go nowhere for years especially on this forum. We still have people arguing for it having never seen the film or disc at hand. My post was meant to reinstate the fact that the framing/composition on the master of all bluray editions of this film is incorrect. There really shouldn't be an argument there. However, what will be done about it is nothing, so to keep making it into an argument here is useless.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

I agree it's hard to live with, and to be honest it sucks, but I've seen this discussion go nowhere for years especially on this forum. We still have people arguing for it having never seen the film or disc at hand. My post was meant to reinstate the fact that the framing/composition on the master of all bluray editions of this film is incorrect. There really shouldn't be an argument there. However, what will be done about it is nothing, so to keep making it into an argument here is useless.

unless they do a new 4K scan ..

Since Blind Chance got a 4K scan, I think it would be inexcusable for Three Colors (the crown jewel of the director) not to get one too.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Last night, I watched New Tale of Zatoichi (1963), which is the third film in the Zatoichi box set and the first of the movies to be filmed in color.

As with the previous two films, New Tale of Zatoichi combines emotional resonance with a few scenes of fierce action, and features great work from Shintarô Katsu.

I'm curious as to whether or not the creators of the 1970s/1980s television series, The Incredible Hulk, were influenced by these Zatoichi films. Each episode of The Incredible Hulk, which starred Bill Bixby, pretty much followed the exact same template as these Zatoichi films, with the title character wandering into a new town, becoming intrigued by a woman, becoming involved in local brawls, resolving conflicts with a final fight, and ultimately wandering off alone into the sunset. One could almost transpose that melancholic music that would play at the end of each Hulk episode, as Bixby's David Banner wanders down the road trying to hitch a ride, onto the conclusion of these Zatoichi films.

At any rate, I'm really enjoying these episodic stories with each subsequent film.

Onward to Zatoichi the Fugitive...

Thanks for this review, more and more I'm thinking about picking up this box set. And your description has just about sealed the deal for me. I love how you compare it to the Incredible Hulk, and I can see the correlation just from your description.