The Criterion Collection

[*DrStrangelove*]

Hadn't seen Mulholland Dr. in years, yea still a masterpiece.

[wondervamp]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

Anyone know when members will be getting another round of coupons? Wanna pick up Gomorrah before the sale ends. Saw it once years ago and keep thinking back on it.

If you are a member, you will find it in your e=mail box upon waking.

[jw007]

FINALLY!

I'm done! I'm done with the Les Blank: Always for Pleasure box set!

Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!

It was a great experience overall, and I learned much about Mr. Blank. He was a quiet man when he didn't have a camera in his hand. He was a chameleon, able to immerse and blend into his environment. He was atypical and unorthodox, with a skeleton crew who were devoted and passionate. He was, the least blank person by the name of Blank. His films were rich with culture and history and music and food. He was a pleasure seeker of women and all that titillates, stimulates, fascinates. From the Cajun to the Creole, from the Latino to the Appalachian, from the Maestro to the Gap Toothed Women, from Garlic to Grass, from Polka to Blues, from drum-shamans to fiddles n' giggles, and folks and blokes, this was Super-cultural-fragilistic-expialidocious.

Blank faced I am? Not after this! I am blanketed!

1/2 with pleasure.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Downhill Racer Blu-ray REVIEW

Thanks.

I'm really excited for the Blu-ray release of Downhill Racer, as I was a big fan of the movie on DVD.

I received two Barnes & Noble 20% Off coupons in the mail yesterday, and they're good until December 24, so one of them will go toward the purchase of this Blu-ray after the sale is over.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I don't think it's House.

Here's the photo:

Antichrist

Its the scene before this, its a shot from inside the train looking out and every few moments they flash her face almost tiles a subliminal message - great scene, especially with the sound effects and music:

Antichrist (2009) -best scene - YouTube

[SkyAntoine]

For Fassbinder fans...

This week I have watched Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. I'm having a very odd reaction to Fassbinder's films. On one hand I love everything about the style, framing, dialogue, pace, etc. However, I would give both of these a rather average rating of 7/10.

I don't mind slow paced movies (i.e. Ozu), but I keep finding myself wanting a little more pizzazz or substance to his story-lines. It almost seems like his output was so prolific that he didn't perfect either of these films. For some reason he reminds me of Orson Welles with cinematic ADHD.

Am I off base with this very premature judgement? I want to keep watching his films waiting to be blown away, but I'm not there, yet.

Any recommendations? I have World on a Wire, The Merchant of Four Seasons, the BRD Trilogy and Berlin Alexanderplatz that I still need to watch.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

Any recommendations? I have World on a Wire, The Merchant of Four Seasons, the BRD Trilogy and Berlin Alexanderplatz that I still need to watch.

I haven't seen The Merchant of Four Seasons yet, but the others come highly recommended from me, especially Berlin Alexanderplatz.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

On the Criterion webpage under the "Scary Movies" section of the Themes, the top still image to to the left of the heading "Scary Movies" looks like a blurred face in the middle of a forest or something.

It's very disturbing.

...does anyone know what movie it's from?

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Antichrist

Its the scene before this, its a shot from inside the train looking out and every few moments they flash her face almost tiles a subliminal message - great scene, especially with the sound effects and music:

Antichrist (2009) -best scene - YouTube

Actually, Polaroid has it wrong here. It is from a film called Blurred Face In The Middle of a Forest or Something. I couldn't sleep for weeks.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

My initial reaction was...good flick, but didn't exactly blow my skirt up.

I was waiting to post any thoughts on it until watching it at least one or two more times. Feels like the kind of movie that might take multiple viewings to fully come into focus.

What are your thoughts about it?

...what do you love about it?

I saw it a couple months ago for the first time. Here's what I wrote then...

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Had the great pleasure of seeing Yi Yi recently... The plot is a bit loose, but Yi Yi is a film more about feeling than it is about the details of its plot. There a few scenes that are cinematic perfection - scenes that hardly need the context of the plot to understand their greatness. The film balances comedy with gravely serious life (and death) matters that everyone can relate to. Yi Yi wraps up

[Show spoiler]on a tone that is perhaps too morose

, but considering the ambitious nature of this 3 hour film, I feel that it is easy to look past that.

A GREAT film!

[callmestu]

What's the chances of another '$10 off $75+' B&N online coupon (or better!) before the end of the sale?

I've been holding back on my order until IKIRU is released next week...

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

For Fassbinder fans...

This week I have watched Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. I'm having a very odd reaction to Fassbinder's films. On one hand I love everything about the style, framing, dialogue, pace, etc. However, I would give both of these a rather average rating of 7/10.

I don't mind slow paced movies (i.e. Ozu), but I keep finding myself wanting a little more pizzazz or substance to his story-lines. It almost seems like his output was so prolific that he didn't perfect either of these films. For some reason he reminds me of Orson Welles with cinematic ADHD.

Am I off base with this very premature judgement? I want to keep watching his films waiting to be blown away, but I'm not there, yet.

Any recommendations? I have World on a Wire, The Merchant of Four Seasons, the BRD Trilogy and Berlin Alexanderplatz that I still need to watch.

I have seen almost all of his films and I would strongly recommend going through the supplements. They will help you understand where he is coming from. He was heavily influenced by Douglas Sirk in his films, which is where a lot of his style comes from. You have to keep in mind that these films were made in post-war Germany when the Wall was still up. The Cold War was at its peak and that weighs heavily into his thought process. I think a lot of times, a lot of the CC films are hard to swallow at first because you have to remember the time period the film was made and Fassbinder definitely follows that. Wire is an interesting film, which you may enjoy the most, but Alexanderplatz is IMO, his best work. You have to be patient while taking it in though, as it's pacing is deliberately slow and mentally challenging, which is Fassbinder's key attribute IMO. If your looking for some 'plot' or faster paced films, he may not be the right style for you. But as many will agree, go through the supplements, as they really help to explain some of his thought process.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by jcs913

I have seen almost all of his films and I would strongly recommend going through the supplements. They will help you understand where he is coming from. He was heavily influenced by Douglas Sirk in his films, which is where a lot of his style comes from. You have to keep in mind that these films were made in post-war Germany when the Wall was still up. The Cold War was at its peak and that weighs heavily into his thought process. I think a lot of times, a lot of the CC films are hard to swallow at first because you have to remember the time period the film was made and Fassbinder definitely follows that. Wire is an interesting film, which you may enjoy the most, but Alexanderplatz is IMO, his best work. You have to be patient while taking it in though, as it's pacing is deliberately slow and mentally challenging, which is Fassbinder's key attribute IMO. If your looking for some 'plot' or faster paced films, he may not be the right style for you. But as many will agree, go through the supplements, as they really help to explain some of his thought process.

Very helpful. Thank you.
It's not that I need more of a Hollywood-esque plot or mind the slow, thoughtful pace. I guess I was looking for more purpose for the story he told with these first two films.

Supplements are always helpful, so I will go through these.

[Dubstar]

so is 'Downhill Racer' a good blind buy? I like Hackman (then Redford )

[jordan-r]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

For Fassbinder fans...

This week I have watched Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. I'm having a very odd reaction to Fassbinder's films. On one hand I love everything about the style, framing, dialogue, pace, etc. However, I would give both of these a rather average rating of 7/10.

I don't mind slow paced movies (i.e. Ozu), but I keep finding myself wanting a little more pizzazz or substance to his story-lines. It almost seems like his output was so prolific that he didn't perfect either of these films. For some reason he reminds me of Orson Welles with cinematic ADHD.

Am I off base with this very premature judgement? I want to keep watching his films waiting to be blown away, but I'm not there, yet.

Any recommendations? I have World on a Wire, The Merchant of Four Seasons, the BRD Trilogy and Berlin Alexanderplatz that I still need to watch.

You're not off-base with that. Unfortunately, I think this is a trait of Fassbinder's work that one is either immediately drawn to or just isn't grabbed by, depending on how much one enjoys being absorbed into the worlds he depicts. If you're looking for Fassbinder that's a little more neatly wrapped up in a substantive sense than those two very character-based and stylistically-heavy films, I'd suggest maybe Chinese Roulette and In a Year with 13 Moons (neither on Criterion, unfortunately). The ones you own and still have yet to watch are great, but you might find them to be a similar experience to the ones you've already seen (though the BRD ones are perhaps a little less that way).

[BAMJoe]

Originally Posted by jw007

FINALLY!

I'm done! I'm done with the Les Blank: Always for Pleasure box set!

Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray! Hip Hip Hooray!

It was a great experience overall, and I learned much about Mr. Blank. He was a quiet man when he didn't have a camera in his hand. He was a chameleon, able to immerse and blend into his environment. He was atypical and unorthodox, with a skeleton crew who were devoted and passionate. He was, the least blank person by the name of Blank. His films were rich with culture and history and music and food. He was a pleasure seeker of women and all that titillates, stimulates, fascinates. From the Cajun to the Creole, from the Latino to the Appalachian, from the Maestro to the Gap Toothed Women, from Garlic to Grass, from Polka to Blues, from drum-shamans to fiddles n' giggles, and folks and blokes, this was Super-cultural-fragilistic-expialidocious.

Blank faced I am? Not after this! I am blanketed!

1/2 with pleasure.

I am kicking myself for missing the B&N/Ebay deal on this. I have been wanting this set, but the price has kept me away.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by jordan-r

You're not off-base with that. Unfortunately, I think this is a trait of Fassbinder's work that one is either immediately drawn to or just isn't grabbed by, depending on how much one enjoys being absorbed into the worlds he depicts. If you're looking for Fassbinder that's a little more neatly wrapped up in a substantive sense than those two very character-based and stylistically-heavy films, I'd suggest maybe Chinese Roulette and In a Year with 13 Moons (neither on Criterion, unfortunately). The ones you own and still have yet to watch are great, but you might find them to be a similar experience to the ones you've already seen (though the BRD ones are perhaps a little less that way).

Those are 2 good suggestions for more of a story that moves, but not the easiest titles to find. If you want to keep it in the CC, the Early Eclipse set is very good and really spells out what you will see in his later films. They are very simple in style and substance. Personally, my favorite film of his is The Marriage of Maria Braun, which is in your BRD Trilogy. I think it epitomizes who Fassbinder was as a filmmaker. It takes into account all his emotional demons and really puts a face on Germany through his eyes. Again, a lot of his thought process is putting up a post-war Germany for either ridicule or just a simple examination. I am big into German and post WW2 filmmakers and he really had a grasp on that society. His demons unfortunately caught up to him too early. Hopefully CC will upgrade the Trilogy to blu, as besides Alexanderplatz, it is really one of my favorite sets from CC.

[jcs913]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

100% -- since there are 2 does that make it 200%? probably not.

$10 off $75+ Total Purchase
BNTURKEY1 November 19, 2015 at 12:01am to November 21, 2015 at 2:59am Eastern Time
BNTURKEY10 November 23, 2015 at 12:01am to November 26, 2015 at 2:59am Eastern Time.
BNDEC10 December 1, 2015 at 12:01am to December 3, 2015 at 2:59am Eastern Time.

Hariseldon, are these non-member coupons? If not, are there going to be any for non-members, as you seem to have the 'in' on the Barnes information.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Actually, Polaroid has it wrong here. It is from a film called Blurred Face In The Middle of a Forest or Something. I couldn't sleep for weeks.

[Polaroid]

Mulholland Dr and Moonrise Kingdom are so thin they are pretty non existent

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

He's not real. That's a fact. Maybe once upon a time in 1984 there was a Jon Mulvaney who worked there, but now it's just a pseudonym for customer service. I know first hand from Peter Becker and when I went to the offices, there was no Mulvaney there.

Who is Peter Becker?

Perhaps he has ulterior motives--either financial or political in nature.

Maybe Mulvaney slept with his wife and he's still bitter about it.

I'm an educated man, but I'm afraid I can't speak intelligently on the personal credibility of Peter Becker.

...a lot of people still view the Warren Commission as fact.