The Criterion Collection

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

I guess we will have to accept that Van Sant remembers how it looked twenty something years ago

Well, he did approve the DVD release as well:

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by I KEEL YOU

Well, he did approve the DVD release as well:

The Cinematographer's stamp appears to be new though...so the plot thickens I guess!

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by Will G

Insignificance...a significantly underrated film.

I bought it as a blind buy and some who loves Marilyn. Plus it sounded really interesting. I Started watching it but had to stop because I couldn't get into the film. I need to give it another shot.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by starman15317

So with the upcoming Wim Wenders retrospective, what are the chances that The Million Dollar Hotel will be released by Criterion? Hopefully Until the End of the World gets released soon too!

After getting lucky by seeing the 4K restoration of The American Friend recently (a first time viewing), I've been wanting to see more Wenders. A shame I'm not in any of the cities his retrospective is apart of.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by Brad1963

I am going to jump into the New Wave discussion and throw in Louis Malle to the mix. IMO his contribution to French Cinema ranks amongst the best during that period and continued until he passed.

I like much of Malle's work but don't consider him a part of the New Wave, rather a fringe figure like Melville. It's crazy to think that he'd already won the Palme d'Or three years prior to Truffaut taking The 400 Blows to Cannes, and ELEVATOR and ZAZIE are great films. In 2011 I taught a semester entitled Before The Wave, which featured screenings ELEVATOR alongside Melville's Le silence de la mer, Bresson's Pickpocket and Tati's Mon Oncle, amongst others.

[WonderWeasel]

Criterion posted an article and a short featurette from The Film Stage about Malick's Knight of Cups this morning:

http://thefilmstage.com/news/watch-n...st-featurette/

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

I like much of Malle's work but don't consider him a part of the New Wave, rather a fringe figure like Melville. It's crazy to think that he'd already won the Palme d'Or three years prior to Truffaut taking The 400 Blows to Cannes, and ELEVATOR and ZAZIE are great films. In 2011 I taught a semester entitled Before The Wave, which featured screenings ELEVATOR alongside Melville's Le silence de la mer, Bresson's Pickpocket and Tati's Mon Oncle, amongst others.

For some reason I always have. Elevator, The Lovers, Fire Within really fit into the into the mold of what the others were doing just a few years later. But you are probably right, he was more of the Pre-wave.

[Polaroid]

would loooooove to see Elephant get Criterion treatment. But I guess with all the current news in America its probably not going to be a huge seller...

[ravenus]

Got up this morning and went through the extras on the Valerie... disc. The three short films were interesting, especially, Footprints and Hall of the Footsteps. The critic's video essay was decent, mainly in its discussion of Jires' other work and the possible influence of his contemporaries from the New Wave (* although not as comprehensive as MichaelB's video essay on the SR DVD). I then thought to myself, "I'll just skim over a leedle bit of the Valerie Project Score before I head out for a run" and before I knew, I was watching the whole movie. TVP score was the album for which I compelled myself to install the clunky iTunes software on my PC, since I couldn't get a hold of it elsewhere. I didn't even know till I got the blu that this alternative score had been included, and it was such a thrill to me. The disc also has a nice video piece on the conception and playing of this score at screenings. The music is in lossy Dolby 2.0 (192kbps) but sounds pretty darn good to mine ears.

While I will always love my Second Run DVD for introducing me to the film, the new restoration is a revelation that makes it entirely worthwhile to upgrade.

[oildude]

I watched The Sword of Doom for the first time ever tonight. It is late but before turning in I just wanted to say that this movie is AWESOME. One of the best samurai films - and there are many great films in the samurai genre. Brutal and nihilistic, The Sword of Doom is like a Japanese version of a Greek tragedy, following several characters as their lives are impacted in different ways by a remorseless and murderous samurai.

The talented Tatsuya Nakadai is brilliant as the protagonist, Ryunosuke Tsukue, a warrior of unparalleled ability who as events unfold loses his soul to violence and chooses to walk the path of the damned. His descent into madness and evil is the main thrust of the film. Equally enjoyable is the performance of Toshiro Mifune as Shimada, a sword master and head of a school who crosses paths with Tsukue. In a film of many outstanding performances, special mention must go to Michio Aratama as the suffering concubine of Tsukue. A good person whose fate becomes intertwined with his, she is unable to accept or comprehend what is happening to her life.

For me, The Sword of Doom is worth the price of admission and deserves a place in the annals of film history for one scene in particular. Toshiro Mifune explodes onscreen in one of the greatest gut wrenching and powerful action sequences ever committed to film. In a case of mistaken identity, Shimada is waylaid by a gang of samurai enforcers loyal to the shogunate. When the samurai realize they have the wrong man, Shimada demands an apology. The samurai refuse and attack instead. Note to samurai thugs: when Toshiro Mifune demands an apology, it is best to apologize and get the hell out of there. What makes it such an unforgettable scene is how it is structured. Set in a heavily falling snow at night, the cinematography is breathtakingly beautiful while the moment is captured with a ferocity that will leave you on the edge of your seat. The choreography of the battle is astonishing as the camera cuts to different points of view and we witness the reaction of Tsukue to the situation. Mifune is magnificent; he only plays a supporting role in the film, but this ranks as one of my favorites of his performances.

The ending of the film is not at all what I was expecting and in my opinion this adds to its dramatic impact.

[Show spoiler]Further reading afterward indicates this was meant to be the first film in a trilogy, so the ending is abrupt and meant to be continued. However, the sequels were never made and therefore several character arcs in the story remain unresolved. Taken on its own without knowledge of this intended series of films, the ending still works quite well. It is speculative but the implication as to the fate of Tsukue in the final fight is not in doubt.

The direction of this film by Kihachi Okamoto is well done. Not everything is shown, some key points are implied or happen offscreen to build a sense of dread as the events play out. One implied scene is especially disturbing and makes the film as much a horror story as it is a tragedy.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

I hope Criterion has some Taiwanese films lined up for future releases. I've been delving further into the New Wave, with the two most recent ones being The Terrorizers and A Summer at Grandpa's, both of which were superb in their own ways. I've been vocal for a A Bright Summer Day release for the longest time, mainly because we've been teased for a while now (and if the TCM premiere is any indication, I imagine its release will be sooner rather than later), but that's only a sliver of the selection.

It's just distressing to think a number of vital films from a rather notable movement don't have a stateside release - Hou-Hsiao Hsien's films, in particular. Here's hoping that changes in the near future.

Agreed. The more I dive into that Taiwanese cinema, the more I fall in live with it. I have to say Dust in the Wind is one of the best films I've ever seen.

[SlickDamian]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

I bought it as a blind buy and some who loves Marilyn. Plus it sounded really interesting. I Started watching it but had to stop because I couldn't get into the film. I need to give it another shot.

I couldn't get into Insignificance either. I watched the whole thing, and I was really excited about it because j really enjoy surreality and philosophical films. Couldn't get it though. Maybe I need another viewing.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

I couldn't get into Insignificance either. I watched the whole thing, and I was really excited about it because j really enjoy surreality and philosophical films. Couldn't get it though. Maybe I need another viewing.

Good to know I'm not the only one. I want to give it another watch, but just waiting till the mood strikes me. It seemed so interesting when I read the description, just need to be in that mood i guess.

[filmmusic]

just wanted to say I watched The Passenger the other day (my 2nd Antonioni film), and I found it much better than L'Avventura.
Maybe It's because I love Jack Nicholson in these early films.
I don't know.
Hope it's released by someone soon..

It seems I found a fake Criterion cover:

[Show spoiler]

[Polaroid]

Managed to get a mint condition of Last Year at Marienbad digipak for £5 lol (no disc obviously)

I know its not a huge deal, but I have a few copies at home and one isn't the best condition so be nice to have more mint condition copies

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

I couldn't get into Insignificance either. I watched the whole thing, and I was really excited about it because j really enjoy surreality and philosophical films. Couldn't get it though. Maybe I need another viewing.

That was my response as well. Maybe I had been over-sold on it. The idea was intriguing and Theresa Russell is always an interesting actress, but the whole movie fell flat and I didn't think Russell was at the top of her game. The much-lauded scene in which

[Show spoiler]The Actress explains the theory of relativity to The Scientist

didn't really engage me. I felt the film was an ambitious experiment that just didn't come off on the screen as well as it probably did on paper.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by jmclick

That was my response as well. Maybe I had been over-sold on it. The idea was intriguing and Theresa Russell is always an interesting actress, but the whole movie fell flat and I didn't think Russell was at the top of her game. The much-lauded scene in which

[Show spoiler]The Actress explains the theory of relativity to The Scientist

didn't really engage me. I felt the film was an ambitious experiment that just didn't come off on the screen as well as it probably did on paper.

But that ending.... that was amazing, wasn't it?

[Vriess]

Originally Posted by jmclick

That was my response as well. Maybe I had been over-sold on it. The idea was intriguing and Theresa Russell is always an interesting actress, but the whole movie fell flat and I didn't think Russell was at the top of her game. The much-lauded scene in which

[Show spoiler]The Actress explains the theory of relativity to The Scientist

didn't really engage me. I felt the film was an ambitious experiment that just didn't come off on the screen as well as it probably did on paper.

I like Roeg's The Man Who Fell To Earth so wanted to enjoy Insignificance but the movie either didn't work at all or flew over my head, maybe both.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by jw007

But that ending.... that was amazing, wasn't it?

To be honest, I thought it felt a little contrived, as if the screenwriter had written himself into a corner and thought, "How am I going to wrap this up? Oh, I know!

[Show spoiler]I'll just blow everything up!

"

What surprised me was that I didn't feel anything at the end, which told me that I wasn't emotionally or intellectually involved with the characters or their fates. Because their were so many parallels between the characters and their real-life counterparts, I wanted an ending that hinted at how their interactions had affected them or changed the course of their lives after the fadeout.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by jmclick

To be honest, I thought it felt a little contrived, as if the screenwriter had written himself into a corner and thought, "How am I going to wrap this up? Oh, I know!

[Show spoiler]I'll just blow everything up!

"

What surprised me was that I didn't feel anything at the end, which told me that I wasn't emotionally or intellectually involved with the characters or their fates. Because their were so many parallels between the characters and their real-life counterparts, I wanted an ending that hinted at how their interactions had affected them or changed the course of their lives after the fadeout.

That's how I felt about the ending of Don't Look Now...too contrived/predictable as I saw it coming the whole time.