The Criterion Collection

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Norbie

Looks at this lovely package Barnes & Noble has sent me....


Attachment 122613

.... who knew that Barnes & Noble deals with second hand items?

The history......

During the Criterion sale I ordered this set as well as the 3 Rossillini with Bergman one. The Rossillini set was fine, it came with the same issues that we all are familiar with when it comes to this style of digipack and it included the regular blu-ray sticker that comes with every item.

But this.... No blu-ray sticker and not the original cellophane covering the set. This is the third or fourth time they have done this to me. I believe they think they can do this because I'm an international customer (Australia) and it will be a ***** to deal with their "customer service" people.

Has there been anyone who is an international customer dealt with B&N because they sent an item like the one above? Did you ask for a refund or for them to replace the item? Was it a ***** dealing with them?

I used to have a lot of OCD ordering from Barnes and Noble and I complained to their customer service department many, many times. They re-shipped me box sets that were once again damaged in all sorts of ways. I don't think its just limited to international consumers. I eventually gave up trying to order Criterion box sets from B&N and now only purchase them in a local B&N store, as I'm fortunate enough to live within a 20 minute drive of 3 B&N stores.

[SkyAntoine]

I watched Day for Night last night in preparation for Criterion Close-up's podcast on the film. The film gained some steam toward the end, but I wasn't as blown away as I expected based on reviews I had read.

I feel like it is a movie I will go back and appreciate in a year or more. My exposure to Truffaut is limited thus far (this is only my 2nd film after 400 Blows). I probably didn't appreciate it as much as Hitchcock with Hopkins or Ed Wood (not saying that either film is better that D4N). I'm definitely interested in Truffaut, but I can't personally relate to him or his films just by seeing the one film. I have more exposure to him in Close Encounters of the Third Kind than as a director.

I still enjoyed the film and pulling the curtain back on the process.
My goal is to watch Jules & Jim this week.

[AaronJ]

I've never been a big fan of Day For Night, or of Truffaut in general. Which, really, is sort of strange considering how big of a fan I am of French New Wave films overall. Godard, Resnais, Rohmer, Demy, etc.

But for whatever reason, other than The 400 Blows, I've never really connected with Truffaut.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Aerodude73

Ok, so to me, it seems ANYTHING with Criterion in front of it, (right or wrong), is granted a Perfect 5/5 for Video & Audio, no matter the age, the limited (initial) Audio, etc.

I’m glad you got your questions answered. The part of your message that I quoted here is another one of those Criterion myths that should be dispelled. Off the top of my head, the following releases received marks of 3 ½ out of 5 or less:

Dressed to Kill
In the Mood For Love
The Last Days of Disco
Children of Paradise
The Earrings of Madame de...
The 39 Steps

The Secret of the Grain and Yi Yi are films from this century and both received 4 out of 5.

There are many others with 4 out of 5 which is certainly a good score. Nevertheless, the abundance of titles that have received that mark should be proof enough that people who are fans of Criterion’s work do not operate under the assumption that Criterion can do no wrong. That’s hogwash.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I've never been a big fan of Day For Night, or of Truffaut in general. Which, really, is sort of strange considering how big of a fan I am of French New Wave films overall. Godard, Resnais, Rohmer, Demy, etc.

But for whatever reason, other than The 400 Blows, I've never really connected with Truffaut.

Which other Truffaut films have you seen?

I find that the number of people who are coming out saying that they are not fans or that they have had a hard time connecting with his films to be baffling as his films are very accessible - especially when compared to some of the French directors you mentioned.

[AnamorphicWidescreen]

Re: Ang Lee's Ride with the Devil (1999), I also saw this on Blu a while back and felt it was incredible - I remember very little about this after I first saw this on DVD years ago, but this Criterion Blu is the director's cut & I'm fairly certain it's a longer film. And, I'm extremely impressed by how truly incredible the PQ is here - the outdoor scenes especially are truly incredible, especially the Fall & winter scenes.

In any case, this is extremely poignant & heartfelt movie, and in all honesty may be my favorite Ang Lee film. This is not just a movie about the civil war, but about the importance of family, being true to yourself more than to a cause you may be fighting for, forgiveness, and friendship.

Probably my favorite scene in the film was when

[Show spoiler]Pitt & his friend rode up to Roedel's (Magurie's) camp near the end; obviously Roedel wanted revenge against Pitt who had tried to take him out earlier; He and Holt definitely had the drop on both of them at that point. However, Roedel decided to spare them...and probably not just because he knew Pitt & the other guy were riding to certain death in Newport....Very good scene.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Which other Truffaut films have you seen?

I find that the number of people who are coming out saying that they are not fans or that they have had a hard time connecting with his films to be baffling as his films are very accessible - especially when compared to some of the French directors you mentioned.

Off the top of my head:

Shoot the Piano Player
The Story of Adele H.
Jules and Jim
The Last Metro

I'm sure there are others. And don't get me wrong: I'm not implying that he wasn't a truly talented filmmaker, or that his films weren't good films. I just never connected with them. OK, I did really like The Last Metro, but I'm such a Deneuve fan ...

It's interesting that you say that his work is so accessible, compared to the ones I listed. Maybe that's why I like them more, as backwards as that might seem?

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

It's interesting that you say that his work is so accessible, compared to the ones I listed. Maybe that's why I like them more, as backwards as that might seem?

could be.

a lot of his stuff might be considered "standard fare," but even those films I find to have re-watchability. wondering if that will change as A Gorgeous Girl Like Me will be the next one I see. some like it, I guess, but it is one of his more poorly reviewed films.

[Al_The_Strange]

Haven't seen too much Truffaut myself. 400 Blows is pretty good, will have to watch it again to see how it holds up with me.

The one I care about the most would be Fahrenheit 451; it has that familiar French New Wave feeling to it, but it's also classic sci-fi, so it's great. Would love a Criterion release of it, but I recently got the German release, which is supposed to be great too.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Haven't seen too much Truffaut myself. 400 Blows is pretty good, will have to watch it again to see how it holds up with me.

The one I care about the most would be Fahrenheit 451; it has that familiar French New Wave feeling to it, but it's also classic sci-fi, so it's great. Would love a Criterion release of it, but I recently got the German release, which is supposed to be great too.

Oh yeah, I've seen that too. That is indeed a very good film. Great story, of course.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

The one I care about the most would be Fahrenheit 451; it has that familiar French New Wave feeling to it, but it's also classic sci-fi, so it's great. Would love a Criterion release of it, but I recently got the German release, which is supposed to be great too.

Agree with Farenheit 451, immediately after watching it I decided to finally read the book, and while the book is pretty good too, I find some of the choices on the movie, specially the ending to be more powerful, but I suppose this kind of things always depend on which you see first, have I read the book first it might be a different story.

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

wondering if that will change as A Gorgeous Girl Like Me will be the next one I see. some like it, I guess, but it is one of his more poorly reviewed films.

That is definitely a weird one, still don't know what to make of it, at least that release comes with a great early short film of his which I thought was great.

[InTheMood]

Originally Posted by Norbie

Looks at this lovely package Barnes & Noble has sent me....


Attachment 122613

.... who knew that Barnes & Noble deals with second hand items?

The history......

During the Criterion sale I ordered this set as well as the 3 Rossillini with Bergman one. The Rossillini set was fine, it came with the same issues that we all are familiar with when it comes to this style of digipack and it included the regular blu-ray sticker that comes with every item.

But this.... No blu-ray sticker and not the original cellophane covering the set. This is the third or fourth time they have done this to me. I believe they think they can do this because I'm an international customer (Australia) and it will be a ***** to deal with their "customer service" people.

Has there been anyone who is an international customer dealt with B&N because they sent an item like the one above? Did you ask for a refund or for them to replace the item? Was it a ***** dealing with them?

The B&N sale last July was my last. I will never order from them again. I ordered a few releases and Satyricon came with a broken case. It was so mangled that one of the corners just had a hole in it.The case was re-wrapped and there was no plastic inside the package so they must have just re-wrapped a returned, broken item and decided to send it to another customer.

I contacted the customer service and asked how can they send me a broken item. I grilled the representative for over half an hour about all this and he didn't even answer my questions. He always answered that he can give me a 10% discount or I can send the broken item back and they'll refund it but then I would have to pay for the postage.

I just went on saying that the 10% is useless (I wouldn't even pay 50% for a broken item) and I also asked how they thought that I would pay extra for the postage of a broken item when they have deliberately sent me a faulty item. I would just lose money by ordering from them because they sent me a broken film. He just continued with his copy-paste answers and after about 40 minutes the chat just went down. Guess he didn't want to help me anymore.

Afterwards, I got a feedback form in my email that asked how my experience went with customer service. I answered truthfully about the whole thing. I didn't even give the lowest ratings for everything (the chat was fast and didn't lag for example) but I couldn't send the form forward. I guess they don't want negative feedback.

I'd advice every international customer to stay away from B&N. I had ordered from them for two whole years without problems. Every digipak had came in mint condition but for the last couple sales they have really let me down and I genuinely think they are scamming international customers. Stay away!

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Agree with Farenheit 451, immediately after watching it I decided to finally read the book, and while the book is pretty good too, I find some of the choices on the movie, specially the ending to be more powerful.



That is definitely a weird one, still don't know what to make of it, at least that release comes with a great early short film of his which I thought was great.

Yes! I watched the short film. It was very good! sweet, poignant, and nice to have seen it in hi-definition.

Surprised yet again with Truffaut posts here! Fahrenheit 451 is a worthwhile watch, then? Okay. Cool. I guess I am now officially looking forward to seeing it. My previous understanding was that it is/was a dud.

I read the book a while back. Ray Bradbury. Was good.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I've never been a big fan of Day For Night, or of Truffaut in general. Which, really, is sort of strange considering how big of a fan I am of French New Wave films overall. Godard, Resnais, Rohmer, Demy, etc.



But for whatever reason, other than The 400 Blows, I've never really connected with Truffaut.

The supplements on Day for Night were fascinating. Especially the spat between Truffaut and Godard. It heightened my interest in both directors.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Agree with Farenheit 451, immediately after watching it I decided to finally read the book, and while the book is pretty good too, I find some of the choices on the movie, specially the ending to be more powerful, but I suppose this kind of things always depend on which you see first, have I read the book first it might be a different story.

Yeah, I slightly preferred the book. But I had read it first in AP English. So like you said, that probably had something to do with it.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

The supplements on Day for Night were fascinating. Especially the spat between Truffaut and Godard. It heightened my interest in both directors.

That supplement might be among my favorite of the year. It made me want to go out and read a book and see a film that has been on my queue for awhile (Two in the Wave).

Disappointed you weren't as into the film. I think my first take might have been similar to yours. I found it enjoyable, but I was only ambivalent. This time I fell in love.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I'd even group Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, Iron Sky, and Sharknado in the mix, but those are bad on purpose, and that's where a lot of people draw the line.

The late, lamented Cinefantastique's review of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes included the comment, "When it deliberately sets out to be bad, can you really blame it if it succeeds?"

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by jayembee

The late, lamented Cinefantastique's review of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes included the comment, "When it deliberately sets out to be bad, can you really blame it if it succeeds?"

Yep.

Exactly how I feel about the Sharknado films. Either you can enjoy yourself while drinking some beer and watching total, utter absurdity on the screen, or you can't. But clearly, they made the films they were trying to make. It's not like they failed to achieve their goal.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Yep.

Exactly how I feel about the Sharknado films. Either you can enjoy yourself while drinking some beer and watching total, utter absurdity on the screen, or you can't. But clearly, they made the films they were trying to make. It's not like they failed to achieve their goal.

There are so many good movies to see, that I don't make a point of deliberately watching ones that I'm pretty sure are going to be bad, even if they're of the "so bad they're good" variety. I do, however, occasionally see a movie that looks like it might be reasonably good, turns out to be bad, but is somehow enjoyable despite being utter nonsense, and will watch it any number of times. An example would be Independence Day.

[dsolon]

awesome