The Criterion Collection

[jmclick]

Well, I made my second and last Barnes & Noble purchase this afternoon, adding:

The 400 Blows
The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant
My Beautiful Laundrette
Seconds
Tokyo Story

But I managed to add 55 other blu-rays to my Criterion Collection during the past five or six weeks via birthday presents, some trades and purchases with a few wonderful people here at the Blu-Ray Forum, a couple of eBay purchases, and some used thrift-store bargains (including The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Vivre Sa Vie for $12.50 each). I've got some serious watching to do between now and the next B&N sale in November!

On a sad note, the manager at Barnes & Noble drew me aside today and quietly told me that one of my favorite people back in the Media Department had suffered a stroke last week and died. He was only in his mid-40's. The news was unexpected and shocking, and made me extremely unhappy, but what she said next was sweet: "We consider you one of the family here, and I wanted you to hear it from one of us." What a nice thing to say. So R.I.P. to Bob, a fellow Criterion fanatic, and may your Heaven prove to be an endless supply of rare books and 4K restorations of lost films.

[SammyJankis]

The Vanishing is one of those films that has forever altered the way I look at something - in this case, it's when I go through a tunnel. It's impossible for me to not think of that film.

[q0rra]

Originally Posted by octagon

I dunno, the new (so far non-US) release sounds pretty sweet.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-T...130550/#Review

The Criterion is great and $60 is a very reasonable for that disc but only if you're shopping for that specific release and not simply for a great presentation of the film.

Originally Posted by jmclick

I definitely think so. It cost $40.00 band new, and is one of the most sought-after OOP titles; I think paying an addition premium of $20.00 over the MSRP is very, very reasonable. I paid significantly more for my copy, but mostly because it came in a plastic Scanovo case rather than a digipak. Great find!

Yeah, I think my Criterion collecting tendencies might just get the better of me. If I ever feel the urge to upgrade I could just sell it w/o loss. Thanks for responding, guys.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Well, I made my second and last Barnes & Noble purchase this afternoon, adding:

The 400 Blows
The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant
My Beautiful Laundrette
Seconds
Tokyo Story

But I managed to add 55 other blu-rays to my Criterion Collection during the past five or six weeks via birthday presents, some trades and purchases with a few wonderful people here at the Blu-Ray Forum, a couple of eBay purchases, and some used thrift-store bargains (including The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Vivre Sa Vie for $12.50 each). I've got some serious watching to do between now and the next B&N sale in November!

On a sad note, the manager at Barnes & Noble drew me aside today and quietly told me that one of my favorite people back in the Media Department had suffered a stroke last week and died. He was only in his mid-40's. The news was unexpected and shocking, and made me extremely unhappy, but what she said next was sweet: "We consider you one of the family here, and I wanted you to hear it from one of us." What a nice thing to say. So R.I.P. to Bob, a fellow Criterion fanatic, and may your Heaven prove to be an endless supply of rare books and 4K restorations of lost films.

RIP Bob

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Add me to the list of people who like Sans Soleil. Aw hell, I freakin' love the movie and its meditative nature.



Carnival of Souls (DVD)
Don't Look Now
The Innocents
Mulholland Drive
Persona
Picnic at Hanging Rock
The Vanishing

You seem to have a different take on the concept of "scary."

...Mulholland Drive, Persona and Picnic At Hanging Rock are not scary movies imo.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The Innocents is probably the scariest movie in the Collection in terms of generating a true sense of unease if one is watching it while alone at home.

The Vanishing is more unsettling in overall terms, though, and its unease factor during the final moments is an incredible payoff.

Would you say The Vanishing is a great movie from beginning to end?

...or an okay movie with a great ending?

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by octagon

Rosemary's Baby and The Innocents are both pretty chilling in their own ways. I don't know that either is scary exactly but they're pretty creepy.

And The Man Who Fell to Earth gives us a serious eyeful of Rip Torn's junk so I'm going to put that on the list too.

You had me at Rip Torn's junk.

[SlickDamian]

I love The Vanishing, but it was more suspenseful than scary, to me anyways. The ending is very unsettling.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

I love The Vanishing, but it was more suspenseful than scary, to me anyways. The ending is very unsettling.

Then I'll ask you the same question:

Would you say The Vanishing is a great movie from beginning to end?

...or a good movie with a great ending?

[SlickDamian]

Final tally from the B&N sake:

Watership Down
The Fisher King
Safe
Ride the Pink Horse
The Killers
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Hiroshima mon amour
The Black Stallion
The Thin Blue Line

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Then I'll ask you the same question:

Would you say The Vanishing is a great movie from beginning to end?

...or a good movie with a great ending?

Decent movie with decent ending. Definitely not scary, more Hitchcockian as people have said.

Phantom Carriage and Kuroneko are the two that unsettle me a bit, but it's more that there's creepy imagery. Same with Vampyr (which I did not like).

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Would you say The Vanishing is a great movie from beginning to end?

...or an okay movie with a great ending?

The Vanishing is one of my top 10 films in the Criterion Collection, and it's great all the way through.

[jhiggy23]

Just watched An Autumn Afternoon. I've seen several Ozu's, but this one may be my favorite. I think Tokyo Story is better, but I like Autumn better than Late Spring.

So far, I've loved every Ozu I've seen. His use of color in this film is truly incredible. I don't usually watch the commentary, but I rewatched some scenes with the commentary because Ozu was such a master technician in terms of scene composition and editing. The commentary is excellent and very informative.

Overall, I think it's a film that should be given serious consideration to add to your collection. The transfer is also great.

[DaveyJoe]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Then I'll ask you the same question:

Would you say The Vanishing is a great movie from beginning to end?

...or a good movie with a great ending?

It's a great movie for sure.

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Then I'll ask you the same question:

Would you say The Vanishing is a great movie from beginning to end?

...or a good movie with a great ending?

I think the film is somewhat of a masterpiece. No doubt that the ending really brings it all together and cements it, but nothing wrong with that, is there?

[Will G]

The Vanishing has grown on me, with each subsequent viewing it moves higher on my list. It's a great film.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The Vanishing is one of my top 10 films in the Criterion Collection, and it's great all the way through.

Agreed. It hooks you with a mystery, tantalizes you with the solution, and then ends with a surprise punch in the gut. An absolutely fantastic film ... tightly scripted, cleverly directed and edited, and superbly acted.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by DaveyJoe

It's a great movie for sure.

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

I think the film is somewhat of a masterpiece. No doubt that the ending really brings it all together and cements it, but nothing wrong with that, is there?

Originally Posted by Will G

The Vanishing has grown on me, with each subsequent viewing it moves higher on my list. It's a great film.

Originally Posted by jmclick

Agreed. It hooks you with a mystery, tantalizes you with the solution, and then ends with a surprise punch in the gut. An absolutely fantastic film ... tightly scripted, cleverly directed and edited, and superbly acted.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by stevieray44

Being a Noir junkie (as I know many of you on here are), I feel slightly remiss in saying I've never been able to see "Night and the City". It's one I have always wanted to see, yet I just have never gotten the opportunity to, for one reason or another. Since the new Criterion blu-ray is releasing soon with 2 different cuts of the film, and I really have no knowledge of the differences between them, I'd like to ask those of you who have seen it: What is the version that should be watched first?

The American version of Night and the City should be watched first. It is more cynical, and it packs a better noir punch. The British version is fun to watch afterwards to observe the difference in tone.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

You seem to have a different take on the concept of "scary."

...Mulholland Drive, Persona and Picnic At Hanging Rock are not scary movies imo.

I find atmospheric films, psychological thrillers, and ambiguous endings to be much more frightening than anything directly classified as "horror."