The Criterion Collection

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I can see you enjoying The Last Metro. It was his film before The Woman Next Door. For lack of a better way to put it, it kinda shares that European art-house feel w/ TWND.

I was wondering about the story of Adele H. too.
I love period romantic dramas.

[orbital]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

I see what you are saying. Persona has more of an art feel to it especially with the opening imagery. I even found it odd that I compared the two, but when you begin to consider the perception from each character there are a lot of similarities...IMO.

I'll try to keep that in mind for my next viewing of Persona.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

I was wondering about the story of Adele H. too.
I love period romantic dramas.

I thought about mentioning that one, too, for you. I thought it was a solid film. Worth checking out. Very good acting and a few great scenes.

[bwdowiak]

It is interesting how your perspective evolves over time. Years ago, I had sought out all of the films in which River Phoenix was said to have had a great performance. I enjoyed Dogfight. I really enjoyed both Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty and Stand By Me which was a childhood staple that I had seen countless times.

My Own Private Idaho, however, was a film that was way over my head. I'm not a fan of Shakespeare and, truth be told, the film was way too artsy for my younger self. I tried two times over the years to watch the movie and found myself turning it off 30 minutes or so in.

I gave it a third try late the other night with the expectation that I'd be able to watch some of it and finish it the next day. I did not expect to love it, but I went into the film with the idea that I would work a little harder with it, if you will. I'd exercise a little more patience with the Shakespearean dialogue and listen to lines of dialogue again if I would have any difficulty understanding.

Well, to my pleasant surprise, I loved this film. I'm not sure I'd call it a great film, but it is at least a very good one and River Phoenix's performance is fantastic - especially

[Show spoiler]the scene by the campfire in which he professes his love for the Keanu Reeves character

. Definitely a candidate for the best acting in a single scene in the entire Criterion Collection. I could be forgetting some film or some director, but this has to be one of the more artsy American films of the last 25 years. I found the film to be pleasurable in a similar way to a Godard film from the 1960's in that MOPI had my attention for every minute of its running time because there was no telling what the next scene would bring.

I do not like watching films late at night because most films I enjoy require brain power that I typically do not have at that time of day. I surprised myself in that I finished the film in one sitting at around 11 PM. Good stuff! I hope the Blu-ray gets good marks.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

I watched Don't Look Now yesterday afternoon and was completely blown away. It seems that viewers either love this film or hate it. I thought it was masterful in imagery and storytelling. Best of all a thought provoking film that leaves you thinking about the symbolism and themes of the movie.

In many ways I found myself comparing it to Persona. Like Bergman, every single shot and line from Roeg added to the story. And, like Persona, I can see myself revisiting again and again to piece together the clues.

I have not seen Walkabout, Insignificance or The Man Who Fell to Earth, but I will be binge watching those this weekend.

I'm somewhat ambivalent about Don't Look Now.

I blind it bought it during the B&N sale and liked it, but didn't love it.

It wasn't scary in any sense to me and some of the thematic concepts have been done so many times in other films that it's probably difficult to appreciate how fresh they were in the early 70s.

It's certainly interesting and well-crafted.

...I'll be curious to know what you think about Walkabout.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I'm somewhat ambivalent about Don't Look Now.

I blind it bought it during the B&N sale and liked it, but didn't love it.

It wasn't scary in any sense to me and some of the thematic concepts have been done so many times in other films that it's probably difficult to appreciate how fresh they were in the early 70s.

It's certainly interesting and well-crafted.

I've often wondered when I hear people say that a film that has been categorized as 'horror' "was not scary...." What movies/films do you find scary? I don't know that I've really ever been scared by a movie and 'being frightened' isn't what I expect out of any film. I think we've been desensitized to this point. I know I have.

There is nothing 'scary' about The Vanishing, Don't Look Now, Rosemary's Baby... but heck if they aren't a few of the best horror titles in the CC.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I've often wondered when I hear people say that a film that has been categorized as 'horror' "was not scary...." What movies/films do you find scary? I don't know that I've really ever been scared by a movie and 'being frightened' isn't what I expect out of any film. I think we've been desensitized to this point. I know I have.

There is nothing 'scary' about The Vanishing, Don't Look Now, Rosemary's Baby... but heck if they aren't a few of the best horror titles in the CC.

I watched The Exorcist 3 for the first time the other night and it scared the bejeebers out of me.

Far more than the original ever did.

...and the original is in my top 20.

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I watched The Exorcist 3 for the first time the other night and it scared the bejeebers out of me.

Far more than the original ever did.

...and the original is in my top 20.

The film has some absolutely terrifying moments, such as:

[Show spoiler]the old woman crawling unnoticed on the ceiling, and the moment when Brad Dourif steps out of the side of the frame with the huge pair of cutting shears while the camera zooms in.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

I was wondering about the story of Adele H. too.
I love period romantic dramas.

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I thought about mentioning that one, too, for you. I thought it was a solid film. Worth checking out. Very good acting and a few great scenes.

I found The Story of Adele H. to be emotionally devastating, especially considering it is based on the true story of Adele Hugo, writer Victor Hugo's daughter. Isabelle Adjani's performance as the romantically obsessed young woman of the title is absolutely flawless ... she manages to be sympathetic, cringe-inducing, irritating and infuriating, sometimes in the same scene. If I had been on an awards committee back in 1975, I know who would have received my vote for Best Actress! (And in fact, she did capture several trophies for this film, including those from the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review.)

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I've often wondered when I hear people say that a film that has been categorized as 'horror' "was not scary...." What movies/films do you find scary? I don't know that I've really ever been scared by a movie and 'being frightened' isn't what I expect out of any film. I think we've been desensitized to this point. I know I have.

There is nothing 'scary' about The Vanishing, Don't Look Now, Rosemary's Baby... but heck if they aren't a few of the best horror titles in the CC.

I'm not so frightened by monsters or aliens or devils, etc., although I do find the best of those films to be exciting and pulse-pounding. What scares me are films that depict plausible psychopaths and people in danger. I watched Vacancy not too long ago and found myself yelling at the characters and jumping in my seat a couple of times ... a sure sign that I was scared and enjoying myself immensely. And I still get a little anxious when Martin Balsam starts creeping up the stairs of the Bates house in Psycho, even though I've seen the film dozens of times and know exactly what's going to happen ...

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I'm not so frightened by monsters or aliens or devils, etc., although I do find the best of those films to be exciting and pulse-pounding. What scares me are films that depict plausible psychopaths and people in danger. I watched Vacancy not too long ago and found myself yelling at the characters and jumping in my seat a couple of times ... a sure sign that I was scared and enjoying myself immensely. And I still get a little anxious when Martin Balsam starts creeping up the stairs of the Bates house in Psycho, even though I've seen the film dozens of times and know exactly what's going to happen ...

yeah, now that you mention it... the Balsam scene is superb and it has the same effect on me.

don't get me wrong, I get invested in characters and whatnot.. maybe I classify that as feeling suspense more so than feeling frightened.

[Ray Jackson]

A truly scary horror film to me has to have scenes that genuinely creep me out to the point where I consider covering my eyes or turning the TV off.

Films like The Vanishing and Don't Look Now are psychological thrillers, not horror movies imo.

They may have disturbing concepts and/or unnerving scenes, but they don't scare me in the slightest.

[kuro_sawa]

A film like The Vanishing scares me when I'm not watching it but am out in the world. To me it is the best kind of horror. I remember being scared to death of The Exorcist as a kid when it was on but once it's off its just sort of funny to think of the make up and outlandish aspect of it and why you were so scared. There's a difference to me in "actual horror" films where you jump or yell at the screen, there's blood or monsters etc, but have a laugh at the end, and ones that aren't classically "horror" films but stick in your mind and affect you outside of the cinema. Both are great but may not work for everyone.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I'm not so frightened by monsters or aliens or devils, etc., although I do find the best of those films to be exciting and pulse-pounding. What scares me are films that depict plausible psychopaths and people in danger.

Same here. A film like The Strangers terrifies me because it is something that could actually happen.

I was surprised myself to see Don't Look Now on several people's horror lists. I did not consider it in the horror genre. Horror and thrillers are two separate things for me. Rosemary's Baby is a horror movie...Silence of the Lambs (not the best example, but a Criterion title) is a thriller. Both have killers, but supernatural devils edge it into horror as opposed to psychological devils.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Films like The Vanishing and Don't Look Now are psychological thrillers, not horror movies imo.

yes, you're right. that is a better classification. are there any true horror movies in the CC? Rosemary, The Uninvited, and The Innocents all could have better classification than simply "horror film."

[pedromvu]

Count me in in the camp that have never been genuinely scared by horror films, at least the ones about ghosts, monsters, or supernatural things like that.

I guess it all depends on what kind of fears one was brought up with as a kid, like someone mentioned before, the only thing that brings real horror to me would be real life threats like being chased by a psychopath killer or something like that, but I don't really like the Slasher sub-genre either.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

A truly scary horror film to me has to have scenes that genuinely creep me out to the point where I consider covering my eyes or turning the TV off.

Films like The Vanishing and Don't Look Now are psychological thrillers, not horror movies imo.

They may have disturbing concepts and/or unnerving scenes, but they don't scare me in the slightest.

I consider both The Vanishing and Don't Look Now to be horror movies. I consider horror to be an emotion, as opposed to a genre, and both of these films horrified me with their subject matter, even if I was not outright scared while watching them.

Most horror movies do not outright scare me (...although Backcountry comes pretty close. Check that movie out sometime!). Instead, the good horror movies unsettle me and unnerve me. I love it when a movie makes me feel genuine apprehension. In that regard, The Vanishing and Don't Look Now succeeded with flying colors.

Rosemary's Baby is a beautiful work of horror. The final half is just golden, with its vibe of big city paranoia.

I also remember The Brood being an effective horror film, from what I recollect about it from my rentals back in the 1980s. There's just something insanely creepy about the little beings running around.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

Rosemary's Baby is a horror movie...

but what about its abundance of black comedy?

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I'm going to see Koreeda's latest film Our Little Sister tomorrow at TIFF. I still feel like the collection could use more of his films. I wonder if Still Walking is a poor seller?

I would do anything if just one of Maborosi, Nobody Knows, or Distance could get a Blu Ray release. These are all masterpieces, and I feel they haven't got much respect in the physical media world. The DVDs are mediocre or poor quality and 10 or more years old. It's a shame.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

but what about its abundance of black comedy?

Regardless of the rest of the movie, the scene in the bedroom

[Show spoiler]with the devil

makes it a horror movie IMO.

Thrillers and horror films can be close, but horror, to me, includes something supernatural. I would not consider Jaws a horror film although many do.