The Criterion Collection

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Gull Cottage

Somewhat embarrassed to say that Ozu is a director i have ignored over the years for no good reason. I recently watched Late Autumn and An Autumn Afternoon and loved both of them (Liked Late Autumn more than An Autumn Afternoon though both were lovely films.) I'd like to continue to make my way through the rest of his color films first (Yes i know i probably should have started with his earlier films and i know there are a number of reasons why i should have..the fact that some of the later films are remakes of his earlier films and contain character variations/recurring themes etc.)

Was thinking of buying Equinox Flower next then jumping head on into the silents and early films.
Would appreciate any suggestions by Ozu fans on the films i should take a look at next. Apart from Tokyo Story which i know is considered his masterpiece.

Weird that you didn't started with the Noriko trilogy, I would say watch those in order:

Late Spring
Early Summer
Tokyo Story


While Tokyo Story is pretty good, I think I would have appreciated more if it wasn't my first Ozu.

But I guess there is no harm at this point if you watch Equinox Flower or Floating Weeds.

[pedromvu]

So I finally caught Pather Panchali, it was just what I was expecting

It is amazing that this is not only Satyajit Ray debut film but also cinematographer Subatra Mitra debut, not only that but many of the people that appear weren't even actors in any way.

The film naturalistic style combined with the music and the amazing shots of nature and the usage of sound that reminded me of some of Buñuel films, makes for a truly unique film, the only other film that comes to mind that has some similar qualities and feel to this is Kaneto Shindo Naked Island which was released 5 years later.

As for the story, I found it brutal at times, it keeps making me feeling sad then good, then sad again in a way few movies can.

For me this really is a film about the mother, I mean she seems to be the centerpoint in almost every major scene, while Apu is only observing most of what happens.

There were really some devastating scenes,

[Show spoiler]the whole part about Durga was so sad, but at the time was displayed in a way that made me kept it all inside like her mother, until that scene when his dad brings the sari as a gift, I just couldn't hold it anymore and had to tear up.

Also the scenes with Auntie were awful, I mean how she was treated but I guess there was no other option for Sarbojaya.

Can't wait to watch the next in the trilogy.

[Jef Costello]

Just watched Sansho The Bailiff. It was hauntingly beautiful yet sad. My first Miziguchi and most likely more films of him to watch.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

I had completely forgotten about The Godfather. That was the first. Apocalypse Now second. On The Waterfront third. It's because On The Waterfront left me in awe. He was amazing! Thanks for the recommendation. That'll be my fourth.

Go watch Streetcar immediately. It's a fantastic film; Marlon Brando, along with Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden, and Kim Hunter, are all flawless. Of course, Tennessee Williams's play is genius, and the film adaptation does it justice.

You can then watch The Fugitive Kind (out on Criterion DVD), which stars Brando and is also based on a Tennessee Williams play. It's not as good as Streetcar, but I did find it to be rather enjoyable and would certainly pick up the Blu-ray if Criterion ever upgrades it.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

Go watch Streetcar immediately. It's a fantastic film; Marlon Brando, along with Vivien Leigh, Karl Malden, and Kim Hunter, are all flawless. Of course, Tennessee Williams's play is genius, and the film adaptation does it justice.

You can then watch The Fugitive Kind (out on Criterion DVD), which stars Brando and is also based on a Tennessee Williams play. It's not as good as Streetcar, but I did find it to be rather enjoyable and would certainly pick up the Blu-ray if Criterion ever upgrades it.

A Tennessee Williams boxset (from whatever studio) would be great!!
Whatever film I have seen has never disappointed me!

Besides Streetcar and Fugitive Kind I've also seen:

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Summer and Smoke
The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone
Sweet bird of youth
This property is Condemned
Suddenly Last Summer
The Night of the Iguana

[kingdoxie]

First watch of Ace in the Hole and love the Chuck Tatum character. I'm torn with the ending though, think I would have preferred to have him remain the way he was earlier in the film.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by oildude

Your next Brando assignment is A Streetcar Named Desire

This was my first Brando film after The Godfather where I saw him as a young man and realized why he was considered so great.

Amen to that.

A Streetcar Named Desire is one of my favorite films of all time. When I watched it a few years ago, I couldn't believe what I was actually seeing.

[welcometothepartypal]

Originally Posted by oildude

Your next Brando assignment is A Streetcar Named Desire

This was my first Brando film after The Godfather where I saw him as a young man and realized why he was considered so great.

Streetcar is one of my all time favorites. If anybody is interested Marlons first film THE MEN is streaming on AMAZON PRIME. I watched it earlier this week and liked it a lot. It's no Streetcar or Waterfront but you can see "Stanley Kowalski" in a few scenes. But THE MEN reminded me a little like THE WILD ONE, in that Marlon is surrounded by that type of acting that was very early 50's. He just blew away anyone that was acting with him in any scene. He was just such a talent. But by the time Streetcar came around and Waterfront, his was surrounded by co-stars that were meeting him on his level and everyone was firing on all cylinders. Just beautiful stuff these movies.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by welcometothepartypal

Streetcar is one of my all time favorites. If anybody is interested Marlons first film THE MEN is streaming on AMAZON PRIME. I watched it earlier this week and liked it a lot. It's no Streetcar or Waterfront but you can see "Stanley Kowalski" in a few scenes. But THE MEN reminded me a little like THE WILD ONE, in that Marlon is surrounded by that type of acting that was very early 50's. He just blew away anyone that was acting with him in any scene. He was just such a talent. But by the time Streetcar came around and Waterfront, his was surrounded by co-stars that were meeting him on his level and everyone was firing on all cylinders. Just beautiful stuff these movies.

Nice post. I have the Olive blu-ray of The Men and agree, it is a very good film. I recommend it highly to anyone who has not seen it. I had read it was Brando's first starring role. He plays a war veteran recovering from a wound that has left him paralyzed from the waist down. At the time the film was made, there wasn't much out there on the subject of terribly wounded combat soldiers and their attempts at recovery and reintegration back into civilian society*. Much of the film takes place in the recovery ward of the hospital where Brando must come to terms with his life-changing injury and how it affects his mental state and relations toward his loved ones. His interactions with his fellow injured soldiers in the other beds populating the ward makes for much dramatic tension, realistic humor, and character growth.

The Men is a very moving film, and I rate it as one of the best films in Olive's extensive catalog, as well as one of the best films I have discovered since I began collecting blu-rays. It would fit very well into the Criterion Collection.


* The Best Years of Our Lives is another, perhaps the greatest film ever at depicting the trials and anguish of recovery and acceptance. TBYOOL and films like The Men really hit home with emphasizing the internal mental healing badly wounded servicemen must endure as part of their rehabilitation. There have been other films in more recent decades to address this subject, but these two films were among the first, and still to this day stand out as examples of how to do it right. Interestingly, Teresa Wright stars in both TBYOOL and The Men. She is terrific in both, equal in the acting department with greats like Brando, Fredric March, and Dana Andrews.

[CriterionBlues]

Sorry I have not been around much lately. I haven't talked about it, but having surgery on Wednesday so that has been on my mind & body, plus I have been occupied on projects.

In the meantime we got to talk to Alex Cox about The Criterion Collection and a lot of other stuff. He's just a film buff like the rest of us. I think you all will enjoy it.

A Conversation with Alex Cox

[Scottie]

Hope everything's okay, Aaron!

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Hope everything's okay, Aaron!

Yeah, fine. Long term sports injury. Getting my hip replaced at a young age, but I'll be up and around quickly.

[Gerby]

Originally Posted by oildude

* The Best Years of Our Lives is another, perhaps the greatest film ever at depicting the trials and anguish of recovery and acceptance. TBYOOL and films like The Men really hit home with emphasizing the internal mental healing badly wounded servicemen must endure as part of their rehabilitation. There have been other films in more recent decades to address this subject, but these two films were among the first, and still to this day stand out as examples of how to do it right. Interestingly, Teresa Wright stars in both TBYOOL and The Men. She is terrific in both, equal in the acting department with greats like Brando, Fredric March, and Dana Andrews.

Edward Dmytryk's 'Till The End Of Time' (1946) is another great film on this subject & was actually released a few months before TBYOOL.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

A Tennessee Williams boxset (from whatever studio) would be great!!
Whatever film I have seen has never disappointed me!

Besides Streetcar and Fugitive Kind I've also seen:

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Summer and Smoke
The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone
Sweet bird of youth
This property is Condemned
Suddenly Last Summer
The Night of the Iguana

I love the Tennessee Williams box set from Warner Brothers, and wish they would upgrade it from DVD to blu-ray. It contains Baby Doll, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Night of the Iguana, Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone, Streetcar Named Desire, Sweet Bird of Youth, and the 1973 documentary, Tennessee Williams’ South. Well worth a look-see, especially if you can find it at a discount!

The Williams title I would most like to see on blu-ray is Suddenly, Last Summer. What a cast! Elizabeth Taylor (at her most voluptuous and giving one of her finest performances), Katharine Hepburn (at her most neurotic and the perfect foil for Taylor), Montgomery Clift, Mercedes McCambridge, Albert Dekker ... each of them shines. Since both Criterion and Twilight Time are releasing some of the Columbia Classics, I'm hoping one of them will get it and give it the deluxe treatment.

One more recent film based on a Tennessee Williams work that I personally enjoyed, and which is available on blu-ray, is The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond. While it's not among his best works, and the film suffers from some miscasting (Bryce Dallas Howard is good, but not great, in the female lead) and a loosely constructed screenplay, there are some compensations that make it worthwhile: solid performances by Chris Evans, Ellen Burstyn, and (Meryl Streep's daughter) Mamie Gummer, an interesting turn by Ann-Margret (who was brilliant as Blanche Du Bois in a television adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire), and some excellent cinematography. If you're a Williams fan, it's definitely worth a rental if not a purchase.

[Namuhana]

And now I'm somehow happily watching Streetcar.

[WonderWeasel]

I'm watching Mars Attacks! right now, and just realized Burton spoofed the dog carrying a hand shot from Yojimbo. I also noticed Lynch had an homage to it in Wild at Heart when I watched it a few months ago. Are there any other films that pay tribute to the shot?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Yeah, fine. Long term sports injury. Getting my hip replaced at a young age, but I'll be up and around quickly.

Good luck!

One of my running friends had his hip replaced in middle age, and he routinely runs 100-mile ultramarathon races now. He uses them for fundraisers for his community and such. There is definitely long and happy life after those surgeries.

Throw my name into the pool of those who love A Streetcar Named Desire.

I'm also reminded that I need to pull my Blu-ray of The Wild One out of the still-unwatched stack and watch it at long last.

[CriterionBlues]

That's amazing about the ultra marathons. I have to go easy for awhile. Will be up and around before I know it. They said I'll walk stairs the day of surgery.

The one good thing about having film as a hobby is that getting hurt is not such a bad thing. I have a few movies lying around that I'll get to watch.

And I'll +1 on Streetcar. Not as big a fan of The Wild One.

[pro-bassoonist]

Jellyfish Eyes Blu-ray REVIEW



Pro-B

[pedromvu]

So now that Jellyfish Eyes got a 3.5 and is over Dazed and Confused, Moonrise Kingdom and Frances Ha, which seem to be some of the lowest rated at 3.

I was wondering what are your absolute worst movies that are available in the main Criterion line out in blu-ray, I know no one will make new friends by listing them since I am pretty sure someone probably loves what we hate but just for fun.

And I am talking about actively disliking the films, not just because they are OK but there is nothing worse in your lists, not even neutral were you just didn't care for it.

In my case I have given very few an actual negative score and these are in order of worst to less bad:

1.- Naqoyqatsi
2.- Week End (1967)
3.- Naked Lunch

I would say out of more than 350 titles, it is not bad at all.

Here is a list of Criterion releases that might help to have them sorted if you happen to have rated them on IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/list/ls076130683/