The Criterion Collection

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by joie

It is a great display of arrogance, I suppose.

Well, not all movies are about good or likable people, and that isn't a requisite to make a good movie.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Markpsf

Sils of Santa Maria

They've already announced through February and no Clouds. Care to clarify?

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by llj

If you're expecting nothing less than your world getting rocked whenever you're blind buying, you will be disappointed more often than not. The thing is, practically every film ever made has its fans, so naturally if you ask about a film on this board, the majority of the responses will be from fans of the film, so it's no real litmus test for how it goes with your own preferences. Sometimes it's just a matter of looking at the plot summary and the director and taking a wild stab at it. There are a metric ton of "great" films I don't own (and never will) because they are just not my thing.

If you like Wilder and the plot summary for Ace in the Hole sounds interesting, go for it. If not, then pass it up and rent it instead.

yes, that's right. I've followed this thread for a little over 2 years now and a few posters (posters who I have great respect for, btw) have never said bad words about any film. their mothers taught them, I'm sure, that "if they don't have anything nice to say, then don't say it all." so when soliciting for opinions, expect the nay-sayers to keep quiet... most times.

me, on the other hand? I'm not that nice. I've never seen Ace in the Hole, though, so I cannot comment.

[SkyAntoine]

Spent the entire day completely engrossed in Apu. Watched all three in a row. Pather is a 10/10 and the last two are 9/10.
Beautiful, emotional, raw, tragic. So incredible I don't even know how to describe.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

You can get the Criterion Designs book for $56 at Amazon with the code HOLIDAY30

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

A simple "Thank You" wasn't enough ... so I'm sending you a complicated , formal thank you! Much obliged.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by joie

Kirk Douglas. Is he acting or just being his arrogant self?

"If anyone I worked with is still alive, they will attest that I wasn't Mr. Popularity. I had a lot of anger matched by a lot of arrogance." -- Kirk Douglas

In fairness to Mr. Douglas, he has done a lot of humanitarian work and he was instrumental in ending the Hollywood blacklist. He's also a hell of an actor. Ace in the Hole is Billy Wilder at his most acid, there's not a likable character in the film aside from the guy in the hole. I think Some Like it Hot is my favorite Wilder, followed closely by Double Indemnity with AITH third.

As for my favorite Criterion, tonight it's The Sweet Smell of Success but ask me tomorrow and it might be a different answer.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

As good as Double Indemnity and Sunset Boulevard?

...better?

It's a great film. But allow me to point out that Double Indemnity and Sunset Blvd. are eminently quotable. Just two examples that I pulled out of my hat without a moment's hesitation:

"It's straight down the line for both of us." - Phyllis Dietrichson

"I am big! It's the pictures that got small." - Norma Desmond

On the other hand, I don't know any lines from Ace in the Hole (aka The Big Carnival), and no one else has ever quoted any to me. Does that mean anything? Maybe ...

[bwdowiak]

picked up City Lights, Modern Times, and The Gold Rush from B&N today. apparently, they are sold out of Ikiru online.

so for the month, I got:

[Show spoiler]
L'Avventura
A Room With a View
Kwaidan
Still Walking
My Beautiful Laundrette
The Gold Rush
City Lights
Modern Times
The Apu Trilogy

which is a lot of purchasing for me!

I'm thinking of getting Limelight, although the other 2 Chaplin 'talkies' seem to be more highly regarded. I LOVE sentimentality when it is done right and doesn't quite cross the line over into mush (Ikiru is a great example) with that said, should I get Limelight or The Great Dictator?

if I enjoy the Chaplin I bought, I'll probably end up with all of them soon enough, but if I get one more, what do you think?

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

Spent the entire day completely engrossed in Apu. Watched all three in a row. Pather is a 10/10 and the last two are 9/10.
Beautiful, emotional, raw, tragic. So incredible I don't even know how to describe.

Dammit bro...don't do this to me!

I picked up Ikiru and Ace in The Hole today.

I got a copy of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul coming into the store any day now and I may have to rob a bank to cover that one.

My bank account is on life support.

...don't do this to me.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by jmclick

It's a great film. But allow me to point out that Double Indemnity and Sunset Blvd. are eminently quotable. Just two examples that I pulled out of my hat without a moment's hesitation:

"It's straight down the line for both of us." - Phyllis Dietrichson

"I am big! It's the pictures that got small." - Norma Desmond

On the other hand, I don't know any lines from Ace in the Hole (aka The Big Carnival), and no one else has ever quoted any to me. Does that mean anything? Maybe ...

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

picked up City Lights, Modern Times, and The Gold Rush from B&N today. apparently, they are sold out of Ikiru online.

so for the month, I got:

[Show spoiler]
L'Avventura
A Room With a View
Kwaidan
Still Walking
My Beautiful Laundrette
The Gold Rush
City Lights
Modern Times
The Apu Trilogy

which is a lot of purchasing for me!

I'm thinking of getting Limelight, although the other 2 Chaplin 'talkies' seem to be more highly regarded. I LOVE sentimentality when it is done right and doesn't quite cross the line over into mush (Ikiru is a great example) with that said, should I get Limelight or The Great Dictator?

if I enjoy the Chaplin I bought, I'll probably end up with all of them soon enough, but if I get one more, what do you think?

I'd place The Great Dictator above Limelight, but I'd still get both without a second thought.

[DaBargainHunta]

I'm sure this has been brought up before, so my apologies if I'm opening up a can of worms (I sincerely hope not).

Do you guys consider Benjamin Button a "real" Criterion release?

+ It has the Criterion label/branding.
+ It's directed by David Fincher, who is a Criterion darling.
- It wasn't released at the usual premium Criterion pricetag (in fact, it's $4 at Walmart right now)
- It comes in a regular Blu case, not the heavier and higher quality clear case Criterion usually uses.

I picked up the movie tonight. Blind buy.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Dammit bro...don't do this to me!

I picked up Ikiru and Ace in The Hole today.

I got a copy of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul coming into the store any day now and I may have to rob a bank to cover that one.

My bank account is on life support.

...don't do this to me.

Wait, wait! I just remembered that leading lady Jan Sterling won an award for her performance in Ace in the Hole, and when I went to go check to see which award it was (Best Actress from the National Board of Review), I saw that the screenplay was Oscar-nominated. And that Billy Wilder and composer Hugo Friedhofer both took home prizes from the Venice Film Festival! So you did really, really good!

As for myself, I am officially impoverished as of tonight. I threw caution to the wind and actually went out Christmas shopping in the freezing rain this afternoon. I started in September, and now I am done! While I was out, I did go a little crazy and picked up a couple of stocking stuffers for myself:

Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman @ 70.87
Mister Johnson @ 11.29
The Fisher King @ 16.14

And now I've ordered the Criterion Designs book from Amazon. Oh, well, time to go through my online pre-orders and start cancelling a few discs that I was "iffy" about anyway. With the Zatoichi set and all the other goodies in my "to be watched" pile, I've got more than enough to keep me busy through the first half of 2016!

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I'm sure this has been brought up before, so my apologies if I'm opening up a can of worms (I sincerely hope not).

Do you guys consider Benjamin Button a "real" Criterion release?

+ It has the Criterion label/branding.
+ It's directed by David Fincher, who is a Criterion darling.
- It wasn't released at the usual premium Criterion pricetag (in fact, it's $4 at Walmart right now)
- It comes in a regular Blu case, not the heavier and higher quality clear case Criterion usually uses.

I picked up the movie tonight. Blind buy.

You're not opening a can of worms! (At least, I don't think you are.)

I consider Benjamin Button to be a "real" Criterion release because:

+ It's listed as one on the Criterion website
+ It has an official spine number (#476)
+ It originally had a list price of $29.99, just like Gate of Hell, Identification of a Woman, and several other Criterion releases, including the upcoming Jellyfish Eyes.
+ Although it comes in a regular Blu case, it also originally had a very cool slipcover, and besides ... with all the Scanovo cases, digipacks, etc., there is always room for variation.

All that aside,it's a gorgeous transfer of a thought-provoking, well-acted, and very entertaining film. Enjoy!

[Scottie]

Is this scene not supposed to be in Ikiru?

[Show spoiler]

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by jmclick

It's a great film. But allow me to point out that Double Indemnity and Sunset Blvd. are eminently quotable. Just two examples that I pulled out of my hat without a moment's hesitation:

"It's straight down the line for both of us." - Phyllis Dietrichson

"I am big! It's the pictures that got small." - Norma Desmond

On the other hand, I don't know any lines from Ace in the Hole (aka The Big Carnival), and no one else has ever quoted any to me. Does that mean anything? Maybe ...

There are some great lines in Ace in the Hole. My favorite is "I don't go to church. Kneeling bags my nylons." Billy Wilder gave credit to his wife Audrey for that one.

[Ray Jackson]

Well I just got back from a second trip to Barnes and Noble today and successfully used another BF coupon.

I actually put on a different shirt, a different jacket and a baseball cap just in case it was the same cashier...which it was.

I felt like a bank robber returning to the scene of the crime to make a little cash deposit, wondering if anyone would recognize me.

...it was pretty badass.

[zoodermin]

Thanks to that 30% off coupon I bought The Apu Trilogy and Limelight. I'm waiting for Ikiru to be back in stock and perhaps I'll buy A Room with a View too.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I'm sure this has been brought up before, so my apologies if I'm opening up a can of worms (I sincerely hope not).

Do you guys consider Benjamin Button a "real" Criterion release?

+ It has the Criterion label/branding.
+ It's directed by David Fincher, who is a Criterion darling.
- It wasn't released at the usual premium Criterion pricetag (in fact, it's $4 at Walmart right now)
- It comes in a regular Blu case, not the heavier and higher quality clear case Criterion usually uses.

I picked up the movie tonight. Blind buy.

It's about as official a Criterion release as you can get. I do seem to remember that it was the studio that "licensed" the Criterion label and that Criterion as such was only minimally involved in the release, but I could be wrong about that. I'm sure some of the experts here can straighten my story out.

In any case, I personally found the film to be unbearable, like watching a remake of Forrest Gump (a movie I hate with a passion!). I know I'm not in the majority with my opinion, so odds are you'll like it. And for $4 it's almost worth picking up just to fill the spine number gap.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

It's about as official a Criterion release as you can get. I do seem to remember that it was the studio that "licensed" the Criterion label and that Criterion as such was only minimally involved in the release, but I could be wrong about that. I'm sure some of the experts here can straighten my story out.

In any case, I personally found the film to be unbearable, like watching a remake of Forrest Gump (a movie I hate with a passion!). I know I'm not in the majority with my opinion, so odds are you'll like it. And for $4 it's almost worth picking up just to fill the spine number gap.

I don't even know if I finished it. It's not just you.