The Criterion Collection

[AaronJ]

Three Colors is the best single trilogy that anyone put together, period. I know it sounds absurd. But when you get to the end of Red you will completely understand. There has never been anything so beautiful, so ... I'll shut up now. Heh.

Red is the best film ever made, IMO.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

The River would be my pick, but Odd Man Out is a close second.

I watched the trailer for Odd Man Out on Criterion's site, and loved it. But, I'm worried that if I buy it, and love it, then I'm going to get an itch I cannot scratch until I pick up The Third Man, too. I know I could get the StudioCanal copy for about $13, but that ship has already sailed. I've been bitten by the Criterion bug. The Third Man and Last Year at Marienbad are going to put a hurting on my wallet, but I'd rather bite the bullet now, because at some point, I have to believe the supply for these will dry up.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Three Colors is the best single trilogy that anyone put together, period. I know it sounds absurd. But when you get to the end of Red you will completely understand. There has never been anything so beautiful, so ... I'll shut up now. Heh.

Red is the best film ever made, IMO.

But...but...Ingrid Bergman.

I'm really in an untenable position here. I want both trilogies badly..right now, even though I know that at least five of the six films are on Hulu (not sure about Europe '51). There's something to be said about the tactile feel of a new master work in my hands that digital just can't touch. I want Solaris, The Red Shoes, M, Night and the City, Modern Times, Ace in the Hole, The Wages of Fear, Day For Night, and a whole slew of others. I guess it all comes down to prioritization. I can't have everything I want right away, though I don't want to wait.

God, I feel like a petulant child right now.

[AaronJ]

I can't possibly argue with you.

But I still argue towards Red.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Three Colors is the best single trilogy that anyone put together, period. I know it sounds absurd. But when you get to the end of Red you will completely understand. There has never been anything so beautiful, so ... I'll shut up now. Heh.

Red is the best film ever made, IMO.

Michelangelo Antonioni would like to have a word with you.

And in line behind him is Roberto Rossellini, and Hiroshi Inagaki, and Francis Ford Coppola, and John Ford, and Satyajit Ray, and Masaki Kobayashi, and Ingmar Bergman, and Yasujiro Ozu, and Andrzej Wajda, and Theo Angelopoulos, and ....wait, coming in the door is Sergio Leone, and George Lucas, and Peter Jackson, and all those Pixar toys from what was that trilogy called again? (Doesn't have to be an art film to get in line, ya know).

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by oildude

Michelangelo Antonioni would like to have a word with you.

And in line behind him is Roberto Rossellini, and Hiroshi Inagaki, and Francis Ford Coppola, and John Ford, and Satyajit Ray, and Masaki Kobayashi, and Ingmar Bergman, and Yasujiro Ozu, and Andrzej Wajda, and Theo Angelopoulos, and ....wait, coming in the door is Sergio Leone, and George Lucas, and Peter Jackson, and all those Pixar toys from what was that trilogy called again? (Doesn't have to be an art film to get in line, ya know).

No, Antonioni is the man. He's the one that I would give even the slightest ... something. But Kieslovky? Come on. There's nothing even remotely close to that.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I can't possibly argue with you.

But I still argue towards Red.

Honestly, I think I was leaning that way, anyway. Kieślowski is one of the modern masters, and I want to delve deeply into his filmography. If there were any doubt as to my choice, though, your avatar influenced my decision. Natalie looks like she might come over and kick my behind.

I watched the first part of Blue about a week ago before a doctor's appointment, and was really getting drawn into it. Juliette Binoche was simply riveting. But, it immediately struck me as a film that I needed to devote all my attention to. So, I have been waiting for a time when the house, and the noisy neighborhood, were quiet. I'll be able to finish the first film tonight, as I could hear a pin drop at the moment.

Ingrid will have to wait. Of course, about the time I'll be preparing to order the Rossellini trilogy, I'll be wanting the John Cassavetes collection, too. Oh, the horror.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I'd appreciate some suggestions for my initial foray into Yasujiro Ozu's canon. An Autumn Afternoon intrigues me, but I'm open to input from the puppet theater.

An Autumn Afternoon is a phenomenal film and you can't go wrong with it. Late Spring and Tokyo Story are excellent starting places as well. With Ozu, he made so many excellent films that it's hard to pick a bad one.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by oildude

Michelangelo Antonioni would like to have a word with you.

And in line behind him is Roberto Rossellini, and Hiroshi Inagaki, and Francis Ford Coppola, and John Ford, and Satyajit Ray, and Masaki Kobayashi, and Ingmar Bergman, and Yasujiro Ozu, and Andrzej Wajda, and Theo Angelopoulos, and ....wait, coming in the door is Sergio Leone, and George Lucas, and Peter Jackson, and all those Pixar toys from what was that trilogy called again? (Doesn't have to be an art film to get in line, ya know).

Mr. Hitchcock would like a word with you.

It's all good. The great thing about cinema is that one can have many loves. I've waxed poetic about film for a very long time, but I feel as if I've been reborn, in a sense, this past year. By expanding my horizons, I've found fulfillment I never imagined possible.

So much of what I feel has been missing in current Hollywood films (well, the vast majority of) is plentiful in the Criterion Collection. I feel much like a food lover who has recently expanded their spice palate. It's made me view film in a whole new way, and the possibilities are limitless. My only fear, now, is that I'll end up like Burgess Meredith in The Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough at Last".

Time Enough at Last - YouTube

To all of you that participate in this discussion, I owe my gratitude. I'm learning a lot from you all. And, plainly speaking, I enjoy the discourse. While I am a relative neophyte insofar as great cinema is concerned, I'm ravenous for knowledge. I look forward with great enthusiasm to participating in, and contributing to, future discussions here.

Chapeau.

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by Fabs

An Autumn Afternoon is a phenomenal film and you can't go wrong with it. Late Spring and Tokyo Story are excellent starting places as well. With Ozu, he made so many excellent films that it's hard to pick a bad one.

Thank you, Fabs. I think I'll start with An Autumn Afternoon, then. I've long been fascinated by Japanese culture, and it does my heart good to see so many works from Ozu and Kurosawa waiting to be discovered.

It's a great time to be alive. So many wonderful choices available at our fingertips.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Fabs

An Autumn Afternoon is a phenomenal film and you can't go wrong with it.

some people in this thread wouldn't agree with that as it turned out some time ago when we referred to this film.
Different people connect with different films.
It's just that the expression "you can't go wrong with it" is highly subjective.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Three Colors is the best single trilogy that anyone put together, period. I know it sounds absurd. But when you get to the end of Red you will completely understand. There has never been anything so beautiful, so ... I'll shut up now. Heh.

Red is the best film ever made, IMO.

The Double Life of Veronique is 100 times better than any film in the Three Colours Trilogy.

However, The Double Life of Veronique could easily be part of the trilogy.

Such a beautiful scene:

La double vie de Veronique - YouTube

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I can't possibly argue with you.

But I still argue towards Red.

I'll second the vote for Three Colors over Rossellini, and Red is unquestionably the highlight for me. Not that I dislike the Rosselini set. Stromboli is actually my favorite of that group. Buy both.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I'm perplexed this evening. I'm trying to figure out what films I want to order before the end of the B&N sale. Doing so while maintaining some semblance of a budget is exceedingly difficult. I'd like to keep it to four or five more films.

I want to explore more Kurosawa, and Ikiru looks like a film I could truly love. If I don't order it this month, I'll be buying it in December.

I'd appreciate some suggestions for my initial foray into Yasujiro Ozu's canon. An Autumn Afternoon intrigues me, but I'm open to input from the puppet theater.

Thanks, guys. I'm going to start Kieślowski's Three Colors trilogy now, and decided if I use that 30% off coupon on it, or the collection of three films Roberto Rossellini did with Ingrid Bergman. I watched Stromboli three nights ago, and was surprisingly moved by it.

Buy Ikiru. I doubt you'd regret it.

For Ozu, I started with Tokyo Story, then went to Late Spring, then An Autumn Afternoon. I personally would recommend doing Tokyo Story and An Autumn Afternoon. Tokyo Story is considered his greatest achievement and is in black and white. An Autumn Afternoon was his last film and was in color.

[SkyAntoine]

Does anyone know if there is a possibility for David Lynch's The Straight Story to come to Criterion?

I would like to watch this, but looks like there is only a Japanese version on blu and the DVD release. I found where there are a few Buena Vista/Disney DVD titles on Criterion.

[PowellPressburger]

Straight Story thru Criterion I could see happening. If they do they will hint it in 2017 and release it in 2019

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

Oh, i thought CriterionBlues had the largest collection around here.
Isn't there a person here that has bought all of them?
I think it was him?

I'm going to pick up my purchases from this BN sale today, and with those I am Criterion Blu-Ray complete, as well as Eclipse complete and Essential Art House complete for the 5 titles not released in the main line. I have all the OOP Criterions with the exception of the Hiroshi Teshigahara set which slipped right by me and I haven't found a decent price on yet. At this point, I need 176 more titles to have a complet3 collection through the February 2016 announcements.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Surprised there is no talk on these forums of the Yoshida set. I wonder if Criterion plans on releasing this in the states since apparently Arrow doesn't have the rights or feels it would not sell.

Finally watched the 3+ hour version of Eros plus Massacre. While the story and it's structure can be perplexing I found it much easier to follow then say a Robbet Grillet film or Marianbad and other films of this type.

However the imagery, framing and composition in the movie is nothing short of breath taking. Definitely recommended for arthouse film fans.

.

I watched everything in the set this past weekend, totally forgot how great Heroic Purgatory is. You're spot on about the composition of his shots, that has long been my favourite aspect of Yoshidas work. If you enjoy films that are so visually intriguing you could watch the film on mute these are them. Transfers are amazing, having previously only seen these in very poor quality, the discs were like watching for the first time. I don't know if people are not familiar with these films or don't know that the box set is region free but I also encourage others to check it out. I recommend for fans of Resnais, Oshima and the like.

[silverlakephil]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I watched the trailer for Odd Man Out on Criterion's site, and loved it. But, I'm worried that if I buy it, and love it, then I'm going to get an itch I cannot scratch until I pick up The Third Man, too. I know I could get the StudioCanal copy for about $13, but that ship has already sailed. I've been bitten by the Criterion bug. The Third Man and Last Year at Marienbad are going to put a hurting on my wallet, but I'd rather bite the bullet now, because at some point, I have to believe the supply for these will dry up.

The U.K. Studio Canal's rerelease of The Third Man is from a recent 4k transfer and is much better in terms of PQ then the previous one. Plus, it's region free. A nice alternative if you want to opt out on a potential expensive purchase of the Criterion version.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by jrsl76

I'm going to pick up my purchases from this BN sale today, and with those I am Criterion Blu-Ray complete, as well as Eclipse complete and Essential Art House complete for the 5 titles not released in the main line. I have all the OOP Criterions with the exception of the Hiroshi Teshigahara set which slipped right by me and I haven't found a decent price on yet. At this point, I need 176 more titles to have a complet3 collection through the February 2016 announcements.

That is terrific. I am 100% Blu-Ray complete and am one short of being Eclipse complete, which I'll get on Black Friday. Have not measured my DVD completeness, but I'm doing okay. Working on box sets since they seldom get upgrade. Just got Berlin Alexanderplatz and might get The Human Condition during the sale.