The Criterion Collection

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

It is a lengthy episode so you might not get to that Rosselini War Trilogy discussion, but I would recommend against getting the DVD release soon. It is a strong candidate to get upgraded and hopefully with more features.



Let me know what you think of Umberto D.



I'm also going to delve into Day for Night soon.

I liked Umberto D very much but I couldn't put it on the same tier as Bicycle Thieves. The sheer desperation in Bicycle Thieves was so much greater to me. Maybe I just didn't sympathize as much with Umberto as Ricci, a man responsible for his family.

I was surprised that Ingmar Bergman credits it as his favorite film.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I also got a kick out of The Palm Beach Story. It's a criminally underrated Criterion title.



I owned Sullivan's Travels, The Lady Eve, and Unfaithfully Yours on Criterion DVD, but I still haven't made it around to watching my Blu-ray upgrade of Sullivan's Travels. Soon.

I haven't watched Palm Beach, yet, but Sullivan's Travels is one of my favorite Criterion titles. I thought Joel McCrea was captivating and Preston's humor and storytelling is wonderful.

[repulsed]

Anyone have an opinion or any idea how likely it is that criterion will add a commentary to Bicycle Thieves if/when it gets an upgrade
I should probably take a look at some other upgraded titles as a bit of a hint

I feel like too many Criterion titles are lacking commentaries. In Cold Blood is a good example. Five interviews but no commentary. If they are good interviews that's a good trade-off I suppose but I guess I still just prefer commentaries

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by ParaOK

I was under the impression the release was moved from August to September to eliminate the 1st printing altogether and only offer the 2nd printing?

That's the same thing I was thinking. I wonder if a few 1st prints might sneak in anyway.

[pro-bassoonist]

Day for Night Blu-ray REVIEW







Pro-B

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Day for Night Blu-ray REVIEW

I'm still working through this release, but couldn't agree more. Love this movie so much. It was actually the second time I saw it, but the first time was long ago before I had learned about film. I'd say it is near impossible for a cinephile to dislike this movie, since it speaks to the process and the art on various different levels. It is not only complex, but is daring, and in a weird way, possibly Truffaut's most personal film.

This might be another candidate for one of the year's best releases.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Perhaps the omission of Mulholland Drive from the list is indicative that it is one of the most surreal films in history. It may just be an enigma that we have to figure out, sort of like the movie itself.

Either that, or the creator of the video simply didn't like the film.

Agreed. I know that Mulholland Drive is often considered to be surreal, as are many other Lynch films, but it doesn't fit with a lot of the films in that clip like Bunuel, Cocteau, Jodorowsky, some of the Czech New Wave, etc. Lynch creates fascinating art, but if you were to compare him with artists, he is more of an Escher compared to a Dali or Picasso.

I could see an argument for and against him being included.

[ShellOilJunior]

I completed my viewing of the Apu Trilogy with Apur Sansar (The World of Apu) presented in 4K.

The third film in trilogy appears to be in the best condition of the three. The first two have some print damage and a few examples of banding but these are trivial complaints. All in all, the trilogy looks fantastic in 4K.

Remember the rescue job performed on The Music Room? The work done on The Apu Trilogy goes well beyond that great restoration. It will make you cry how beautiful India looks.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by oildude

I have seen the light, and the name of the light is Preston Sturges.

One of us! One of us! One of us!

For those discovering the glory that is Preston Sturges, I recommend the Universal DVD set Preston Sturges: The Filmmaker Collection.

On the downside, you'll end up with DVDs of the two films on Criterion BD, as well as the Criterion DVD-only The Lady Eve (but not the other Criterion DVD-only title, Unfaithfully Yours). On the upside, it's worth it for the other four films.

Also of note is the TCM Vault Collection Blu-ray of Remember the Night. It's directed by Mitchell Leisen, but written by Sturges.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Day for Night Blu-ray REVIEW







Pro-B

Thanks. You have just added another film to my already massive CC wishlist lol.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

This YouTube video ought to keep you people interested for a good eight minutes, since it includes several great Criterions.

Examples of Surrealism in Cinema

[Show spoiler]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBLvGOuDCls

I've seen The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Metropolis, Freaks, The Wizard of Oz, Spellbound, Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la Bete), The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Mon Oncle, Last Year at Marienbad, Carnival of Souls, The Haunting, 8 1/2, Alphaville, Repulsion, Blow-Up, Persona, Weekend, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Barbarella, Yellow Submarine, Head, A Clockwork Orange, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Don't Look Now, Amarcord, Zardoz, A Boy and His Dog, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Tenant, The Man Who Fell to Earth, House, Eraserhead, Jubilee, Suspiria, Alien, Phantasm, Life of Brian, Time Bandits, The Evil Dead, Scanners, Pink Floyd: The Wall, The Thing, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, Videodrome, Repo Man, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Brazil, Labyrinth, Hellraiser, Evil Dead II, Beetlejuice, Dead Ringers, Jacob's Ladder, Edward Scissorhands, 12 Monkeys, Being John Malkovich, Donnie Darko, Big Fish, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Sunshine, Black Swan, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Funnily enough, most of the gaps in my knowledge are from the past couple of decades.

Most importantly, though, the song that played for the video, Ride's "Leave Them All Behind", is one of my favorite tracks of the 1990s, and it brings back a lot of college memories.

The Japanese silent film-A Page of Madness should be included. The first few minutes. ....Wow!

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I can't wait for the day when you first see The Lady Eve. It's not only one of Preston Sturges' best films, I think it's one of the best films ever made ... a sly, knowing comedy that just gets better and better with every viewing. Even the trailer is hysterically funny, with its tongue-in-cheek use of the word "vexy", with must surely have caused a few censors to raise their eyebrows in consternation. And the film delivers "vexiness" in spades. Here's hoping Criterion with upgrade it soon so that you won't have to languish in a state of delayed gratification for too much longer!

I love both The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story. Charles Coburn in the former and "The Weenie King" in the latter being highlights for me. I wish the other Coburn and McCrea film-The More the Merrier would show up.

[CraigThom]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I love both The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story. Charles Coburn in the former and "The Weenie King" in the latter being highlights for me. I wish the other Coburn and McCrea film-The More the Merrier would show up.

I suppose I think the Lady Eve had a better story, and Barbara Stanwyck, but it's hard to beat the Ale and Quail Club.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I love both The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story. Charles Coburn in the former and "The Weenie King" in the latter being highlights for me. I wish the other Coburn and McCrea film-The More the Merrier would show up.

Oh, yes, definitely ... The More the Merrier is just brilliant and is ripe for rediscovery. Charles Coburn richly deserved the Oscar he won, and I think Jean Arthur gives the best performance of her distinguished career. Joel McCrea, too, is marvelous; he was such an incredibly versatile leading man and IMHO, was (and is) vastly underrated. I own the DVD, and would love to see this one restored and released on blu-ray.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jmclick

Oh, yes, definitely ... The More the Merrier is just brilliant and is ripe for rediscovery. Charles Coburn richly deserved the Oscar he won, and I think Jean Arthur gives the best performance of her distinguished career. Joel McCrea, too, is marvelous; he was such an incredibly versatile leading man and IMHO, was (and is) vastly underrated. I own the DVD, and would love to see this one restored and released on blu-ray.

Yes, regarding Joel McCrea. I really enjoy his early RKO films like Bird of Paradise and especially The Most Dangerous Game (his performance makes me wish he had been cast as Jack Driscoll rather than Bruce Cabot in King Kong) He's mostly known for Westerns since, at one point, he decided to do those exclusively but, like you say, he could pretty much ease into any genre and fit perfectly natural into it. Along with McCrea, Joseph Cotton is another of my favorite underrated actors.

[repulsed]

Just watched that What is Cinema documentary in Netflix. Wasn't amazing or anything but I enjoyed it and I don't think it deserves only 2 stars for a rating.

Saw a handful of clips from Criterion I have yet to watch. That sometimes helps push me to throw them in the player so that is likely to happen. [emoji3]

There was a clip of a movie by Pablo Berger called Blancanieves that immediately grabbed me and what I thought was a clip of Mr Peabody and the Mermaid but it probably wasn't. It just reminded of the BD cover art. I really want to see that anyway

[Bob Kramer]

Originally Posted by repulsed

Just watched that What is Cinema documentary in Netflix. Wasn't amazing or anything but I enjoyed it and I don't think it deserves only 2 stars for a rating.

Saw a handful of clips from Criterion I have yet to watch. That sometimes helps push me to throw them in the player so that is likely to happen. [emoji3]

There was a clip of a movie by Pablo Berger called Blancanieves that immediately grabbed me and what I thought was a clip of Mr Peabody and the Mermaid but it probably wasn't. It just reminded of the BD cover art. I really want to see that anyway

"The Story of Film" is also on Netflix. One of the better documentary overviews of film that I've seen. No substitute for a few good film histories in book form, but still very good. 15 episodes, very thoughtful, well organized and surprisingly deep.

[moriarty01]

have amazon.com stopped shipping criterions to uk. if so what are the alternatives?

Thanks

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by moriarty01

have amazon.com stopped shipping criterions to uk. if so what are the alternatives?

Thanks

eBay!

[14728]

I know this question has probably been posted tons of times before, but what film would you like to see Criterion re-release on blu-ray? I'd personally like to see Spinal Tap get a criterion release, mainly because I love the film so much.