The Criterion Collection

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Firecrackker

Is Gilda blind buy worthy?

Oh, hell yeah.

[Vidya]

I just noticed that Picnic at Hanging Rock was given 5.1 surround treatment. Seems odd for its age. Anybody know what the movie originally played with? mono? stereo?

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

I like James Mason, but I hated Odd Man Out. He spends 2/3 of the film

[Show spoiler]passed out, dying, or in need of help. That's hardly a proactive protagonist, and the film suffered IMO from not having a leading character to get behind.

I don't hate it but was not bowled over by it. I saw it in 35 mm several years ago so it may be time for another viewing.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Vidya

I just noticed that Picnic at Hanging Rock was given 5.1 surround treatment. Seems odd for its age. Anybody know what the movie originally played with? mono? stereo?

As far as I know, it was originally released with mono sound, and the 5.1 audio was created when the Director's Cut was released in the mid-90s or thereabouts. Every release of the D.C. I know of has the 5.1 audio, except for the Criterion laserdisc, which was Dolby Surround. My Japanese laserdisc of the original cut is mono.

[bwdowiak]

this might sound like sacrilege in this neck of the woods, but I've come to realize that I'm not particularly fond of the noir genre. it seems to me that the great ones are few and far between and so many of them are marred by ridiculous dialogue and labyrinth plots that are complicated solely for the sake of being complicated.

I'd like to see Odd Man Out and Ride The Pink Horse - especially since they have been discussed a lot here, but I've been underwhelmed by quite a few others that have great reputations.

it sometimes feels like their directors were holding clipboards marking off checklists of noir genre conventions while making them.

come to think of it, I think it is the American noirs that I'm not especially fond of

[diskspinner]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

this might sound like sacrilege in this neck of the woods, but I've come to realize that I'm not particularly fond of the noir genre. it seems to me that the great ones are few and far between and so many of them are marred by ridiculous dialogue and labyrinth plots that are complicated solely for the sake of being complicated.

I'd like to see Odd Man Out and Ride The Pink Horse - especially since they have been discussed a lot here, but I've been underwhelmed by quite a few others that have great reputations.

it sometimes feels like their directors were holding clipboards marking off checklists of noir genre conventions while making them.

come to think of it, I think it is the American noirs that I'm not especially fond of

I kind of agree with this...Somehow films categorized as noir always leaves me wanting more...Dialogues, Plot points are very frequently 'for the sake of' being a noir...just like James Bond movies have to be like Bond movies. There is hardly anything that has not been done before...

I can say Double indemnity is probably my favorite out of the films categorized as noir and I have seen some very good too but my overall perception of the genre is not that high...

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I kind of agree with this...Somehow films categorized as noir always leaves me wanting more...Dialogues, Plot points are very frequently 'for the sake of' being a noir...just like James Bond movies have to be like Bond movies. There is hardly anything that has not been done before...

I can say Double indemnity is probably my favorite out of the films categorized as noir and I have seen some very good too but my overall perception of the genre is not that high...

Double Indemnity happens to be my favorite American noir, too!

I also love Out of the Past and Laura.

a few non-American noir (or noir-ish) films I love:
Pale Flower
The Third Man
Rififi

everything else probably falls into the 'like' category or something less. although I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

[CriterionBlues]

I'm with you that I prefer British noirs over Americans although there are some American greats, including the ones in the couple posts above. Detour is a particular favorite of mine.

I generally prefer the American noirs that Criterion has rights to, like Kiss Me Deadly, Sweet Smell of Success, Night of the Hunter.

Ealing had some great noirs that are harder to come by because of rights. I just watched Brighton Rock recently and that was exceptional. Also It Always Rains on Sunday. There are more and I'm slowly working my way through them.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Haven't yet seen any interview with Ray, but my impression is he might be from the first camp, Bergman interview with Erland Josephson from Cries and Whispers is a good example of how incredibly open they were when asked things about their life and relationships, that is just something you don't see nowadays, at least most actors seem to refuse to talk about anything not directly related to their roles these days.

I think a lot of actors want to allow the role to speak for itself. They are contractually obligated to go on these big tours, and give interview after interview saying the same things over and over. I just saw one the other day where Jennifer Lawrence looked like she was half-dead; it simply gets very tiring.

But also we live in such a weird time. If you're a famous actor and you reach for your glass at a restaurant and accidentally knock it over, within a half-hour social media has turned it into an "event" where you were so drunk you had to be carried out of the restaurant. Everything that happens in your personal life is on Page 6. And on and on.

To be honest, if I were an actor -- especially a well-known one -- I wouldn't answer anything that was even remotely personal. I'd come off as a complete *******, and the public would probably dislike me, and god knows what people would say on Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr ... but I wouldn't care.

OK, anyways ...

[oildude]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

this might sound like sacrilege in this neck of the woods, but I've come to realize that I'm not particularly fond of the noir genre. it seems to me that the great ones are few and far between and so many of them are marred by ridiculous dialogue and labyrinth plots that are complicated solely for the sake of being complicated.

I'd like to see Odd Man Out and Ride The Pink Horse - especially since they have been discussed a lot here, but I've been underwhelmed by quite a few others that have great reputations.

it sometimes feels like their directors were holding clipboards marking off checklists of noir genre conventions while making them.

come to think of it, I think it is the American noirs that I'm not especially fond of

Fred Sanford - This is the big one! I'm dyin'! - YouTube

[The Great Owl]

It's worth noting that most of the classic-era film noir movies were retroactively categorized as "film noir", because, although that term was coined by a French critic in 1946, it was not widely used on these shores until the 1970s. Many of these films were simply referred to as "melodramas" before then. There really was not a genre checklist, per se, during the classic film noir era (1940s and 1950s).

I'm fascinated with film noir. I love how the movies capture a growing cynicism when World War II veterans were returning home to struggle with gainful employment, when the early days of the Cold War were taking effect, and when women were taking more assertive roles. Although there are quite a few British films noir (and Japanese, for that matter) that came about under similar circumstances, I think of "film noir" as a true American cinematic phenomenon.

Out of the Past, The Maltese Falcon, and Double Indemnity are my three favorite films noir, and I love the films noir on the Criterion queue, namely Sweet Smell of Success, The Killers, The Killing, Night and the City, Ace in the Hole, Ministry of Fear, The Night of the Hunter, The Third Man, Ride the Pink Horse, Kiss Me Deadly, etc.

I also, however, love a lot of the "scrappy" films noir that were created on the fly and have been released on Blu-ray by the likes of Olive Films or Kino Lorber. Private Hell 36 and Hell's Half Acre are two examples of films noir that I hold dear to my heart.

[mja345]

Another great film noir is "Kansas City Confidential". That's one that's Criterion-worthy IMO, although it already has a decent BD release.

[Vidya]

Originally Posted by jayembee

As far as I know, it was originally released with mono sound, and the 5.1 audio was created when the Director's Cut was released in the mid-90s or thereabouts. Every release of the D.C. I know of has the 5.1 audio, except for the Criterion laserdisc, which was Dolby Surround. My Japanese laserdisc of the original cut is mono.

It would have been nice had the original mono been included but I suppose it's acceptable considering that the 5.1 track was created specifically for the director's cut. Thanks for the info.

[CriterionBlues]

I think I tend to gravitate towards noirs that are more rooted in Poetic Realism and German Expressionism rather than the ones that are from hard boiled detective mysteries. Of course there are many that were inspired by both, and I'd say most on The Great Owl's list fall into that category. It just happens that the British noirs, especially Carol Reed's work, were inspired more of European films and that's why I prefer them. Orson Welles was inspired more by Europe as well.

I've seen some mediocre noirs that are more fiction oriented and not really art films. Like Owl said, it was not an actual label at the time. It was more of a cycle like superhero films are now, but some imaginative filmmakers were able to use the conventions to make some of the best films of the time.

[CriterionBlues]

Oh yeah, this week has been a haze and this is my first day posting in the thread since surgery. It went well and I am in no pain now. Appreciate the well wishes.

Now I get to relax through the holidays and watch a ton of great films, including some Criterions. This will probably be my best Christmas ever.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Oh yeah, this week has been a haze and this is my first day posting in the thread since surgery. It went well and I am in no pain now. Appreciate the well wishes.

Now I get to relax through the holidays and watch a ton of great films, including some Criterions. This will probably be my best Christmas ever.

Very good news. I'm glad to hear it.

[bwdowiak]

a really good noir that went off the rails as a result of an overly complicated plot is Force of Evil.

I'll try to remember some of these 'under the radar' titles you guys are mentioning, but I still have to catch up on some Criterion stuff.

last year and the year prior, I used Criterion for nearly all of my film exploration and this past year I veered outside a little bit and explored what my mind and heart told me I'd probably enjoy.

with that said... Rome, Open City... wow! got the BFI box set for $31 on Black Friday. not regretting that!

[KillaCam]

I was checking out the Criterion website and noticed they have The League Of Gentlemen listed in their Noir section. It's available to rent or buy digitally but has there been any news about a BD release?

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by KillaCam

I was checking out the Criterion website and noticed they have The League Of Gentlemen listed in their Noir section. It's available to rent or buy digitally but has there been any news about a BD release?

https://www.criterion.com/films/2753...e-of-gentlemen

DVD only.

[Martin_31]

Zatoichi The Fugitive was so bad*ss!