The Criterion Collection

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I'm holding off on Late Spring until either...
a) CC re-releases w/ the new restoration
b) the Japanese edition becomes more affordable or
c) it is released in the UK by either BFI or MoC

I think a. is unlikely. As for b., it's only about $30 right now and I think it's still shipping with the slipcase and book. If it's anything like Tokyo Story, that will only happen for so long. Shipping is usually $8-$10ish from Amazon.jp, but it's more reasonable if you order a few things (and it comes in like 24-48 hours). I think i added The Elephant Man and Straight Story to my order which were each only about $10.

As for c, i believe BFI still has the rights and they have already released it. Hard to imagine they would re-release it just for slightly better picture quality.

[llj]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I love Alexander Payne. David O. Russell... not so much.

I think Russell is a decent screenwriter... he can pound out some clever dialogue on occasion and he knows how to make an audience "like" his characters. But as a director, he's very mediocre. I would even go so far as to say bland, despite his attempts at intentional chaos in narrative and editing. But his scenes play out very generically outside of those elements. I also don't think he's a good director of actors, even though that's his rep; an "actor's" director. Performances in his films tend to be very shouty and broad--which I guess could be considered "Oscar bait", but can get very tiresome once you see more than 1 of his films.

I do think Jennifer Lawrence should think about hitching her alt-film career onto a director who can better control her worst impulses though. She's a supremely talented actress, but as her star has gotten brighter, her performances have gotten broader, more like "post-Scent of a Woman Pacino" than pre, and her performances after Silver Linings Playbook you could even say she's turned in some very bad performances. She was very bad in American Hustle, I feel. At this rate I could even picture her in a remake of Heat with her playing the Pacino character and getting to shout lines Pacino-style in her patented throaty voice "Because she's got a GREAT ASSSSS" and I wouldn't bat an eye.

[llj]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Also watched about 30 minutes of Odd Man Out before packing it in for the night.

Every time James Mason spoke all I could think about was the fat, creepy serial killer from True Detective.

...is that weird?

James Mason was always good at playing creepy guys, even when he wasn't playing a creepy guy. One of my favorite creepsters in film history.

Peter Sarsgaard is rapidly moving up that list tho

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I think a. is unlikely. As for b., it's only about $30 right now and I think it's still shipping with the slipcase and book. If it's anything like Tokyo Story, that will only happen for so long. Shipping is usually $8-$10ish from Amazon.jp, but it's more reasonable if you order a few things (and it comes in like 24-48 hours). I think i added The Elephant Man and Straight Story to my order which were each only about $10.

As for c, i believe BFI still has the rights and they have already released it. Hard to imagine they would re-release it just for slightly better picture quality.

yes, a re-release might be unlikely, but from what I have heard, (not just from Ray) it rates kinda lousy in the PQ department.

I have a feeling if any of the Eclipse films have a chance at a Blu-ray release, it is some from the Late Ozu set. That box was released in 2007 and, as you know better than I do, a few of those films are as highly regarded as any of his work.

are there any reviews for the Japanese release out there? might be silly, but I don't know if I'd want a Japanese release for a non-Japanese film, so I'd be limited on what I could supplement my purchase from Amazon.jp to ease the shipping cost.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Also watched about 30 minutes of Odd Man Out before packing it in for the night.

Every time James Mason spoke all I could think about was the fat, creepy serial killer from True Detective.

...is that weird?

Yeah, I don't see that at all.

As for my praise for Odd Man Out on previous pages, I'm thinking it might not be a Ray Jackson film.

I agree about the Late Spring print, but it has that great Wenders documentary on the disc.

Edit after reading bwdowiak's excellent comment above:

That's one problem is that Criterion has not set a precedent to upgrade a title unless from DVD to Blu-Ray. They have never upgraded a restoration, and they have never upgraded an Eclipse title. There have been so many opportunities (Raymond Bernard, Daisies) that I think this is intentional for them. I doubt we see any movement until there's a format change (4K?) or they've made more progress upgrading their DVD catalog.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by llj

I think Russell is a decent screenwriter... he can pound out some clever dialogue on occasion and he knows how to make an audience "like" his characters. But as a director, he's very mediocre. I would even go so far as to say bland, despite his attempts at intentional chaos in narrative and editing. But his scenes play out very generically outside of those elements. I also don't think he's a good director of actors, even though that's his rep; an "actor's" director. Performances in his films tend to be very shouty and broad--which I guess could be considered "Oscar bait", but can get very tiresome once you see more than 1 of his films.

I do think Jennifer Lawrence should think about hitching her alt-film career onto a director who can better control her worst impulses though. She's a supremely talented actress, but as her star has gotten brighter, her performances have gotten broader, more like "post-Scent of a Woman Pacino" than pre, and her performances after Silver Linings Playbook you could even say she's turned in some very bad performances. She was very bad in American Hustle, I feel. At this rate I could even picture her in a remake of Heat with her playing the Pacino character and getting to shout lines Pacino-style in her patented throaty voice "Because she's got a GREAT ASSSSS" and I wouldn't bat an eye.

from what I have seen of him, I pretty much agree with your assessment. his films are incredibly generic. I admit to not having seen American Hustle, but the trailers, the Hollywood hype that surrounds all of his films, and works like The Fighter (speaking of generic dime a dozen stories and film-making) placed that one on the CAN miss! list

in general, the X-mas releases used to excite me, but I've barely noticed them in the last few years. I'll see Hateful Eight giving Tarantino the benefit of the doubt, but knowing what I know of his film-making style, it looks dreadfully boring to me. I'll see The Revenant, too, but Iñárritu doesn't excite me any more and Leo DiCaprio's ship has sailed some years ago. He should have stopped working w/ Scorsese as he's really only been suited for a few of those roles.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Edit after reading bwdowiak's excellent comment above:

That's one problem is that Criterion has not set a precedent to upgrade a title unless from DVD to Blu-Ray. They have never upgraded a restoration, and they have never upgraded an Eclipse title. There have been so many opportunities (Raymond Bernard, Daisies) that I think this is intentional for them. I doubt we see any movement until there's a format change (4K?) or they've made more progress upgrading their DVD catalog.

thanks! I know you know some people, so get in their ear. We want Eclipse upgrades!!

[diskspinner]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

from what I have seen of him, I pretty much agree with your assessment. his films are incredibly generic. I admit to not having seen American Hustle, but the trailers, the Hollywood hype that surrounds all of his films, and works like The Fighter (speaking of generic dime a dozen stories and film-making) placed that one on the CAN miss! list

in general, the X-mas releases used to excite me, but I've barely noticed them in the last few years. I'll see Hateful Eight giving Tarantino the benefit of the doubt, but knowing what I know of his film-making style, it looks dreadfully boring to me. I'll see The Revenant, too, but Iñárritu doesn't excite me any more and Leo DiCaprio's ship has sailed some years ago. He should have stopped working w/ Scorsese as he's really only been suited for a few of those roles.

I went to watch American Hustle in theaters because of the hoopla & because I like Amy Adams...

I was bored to death!!!

Silver Lining Playbook was better, but nothing special IMO

[mja345]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I went to watch American Hustle in theaters because of the hoopla & because I like Amy Adams...

I was bored to death!!!

Silver Lining Playbook was better, but nothing special IMO

I really disliked "American Hustle". It felt like two and a half hours of Hollywood stars playing dressup. Russell is a director who, IMO, would be better off making pure comedies. I think "Flirting With Disaster" is absolutely brilliant and one of the funniest movies of the last 25 years. It's just basically a pure screwball comedy in the Preston Sturges mold. The problem is that comedies don't win any awards, so Russell has naturally tried to incorporate dramatic elements in his films to try to become this highly praised director. "Flirting With Disaster" is by far his best, most rewatchable film IMO because it taps into what he does best as a filmmaker. But no talented director nowadays seems to want to be labeled a pure comedy guy, i.e. Preston Sturges or Mel Brooks, so Russell went in a completely different direction.

[llj]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I went to watch American Hustle in theaters because of the hoopla & because I like Amy Adams...

I was bored to death!!!

Silver Lining Playbook was better, but nothing special IMO

I saw Silver Linings Playbook as a good but very typical Hollywood-style rom-com, not much different than the countless Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts ones back in their heyday. It follows the same formulas: the misunderstood protagonist, the ex who's moved on, the attractive friend who turns into a love interest after initial friction, wacky shenanigans with the loving parents, the climax featuring the protagonist chasing the tearful love interest down to declare his love for her (but at least it wasn't an airport!), and so on and so forth...the only reason it didn't get an initial wide release is the mental illness thing.

[mja345]

You gotta admit, the Pacino "great ass" line is absolutely hilarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvTpEoi0tzE

[llj]

Originally Posted by mja345

You gotta admit, the Pacino "great ass" line is absolutely hilarious.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvTpEoi0tzE

I love Pacino in Heat PERIOD, don't get me wrong. But it's definitely one of the examples (along with "Hoo-hah!") which people point to when charting the start of Pacino's career turn to more overacted roles. It's unfair to use those examples though since he already showed signs of that even earlier, like in Sea of Love (another favorite of mine. Ellen Barkin was really hot here!)

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

All of mine go into the garbage, but one man's trash is another man's treasure, I guess.

Truth be known, most of my Ultraviolet digital code leaflets for Blu-rays from Universal and other such studios also go straight to the trash. I really should set up an account here to sell them, but I just never seem to want to hassle with that.

it is fairly easy now, just add it to your collection with the "want to sell" group, and choose your price, then wait to be notified by PM if someone want's the code.


As for the releases of the year, it is weird no one picked Mulholland Dr. not even Svet who gave it 5 across the board, which is not all that common.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by llj

I love Pacino in Heat PERIOD, don't get me wrong. But it's definitely one of the examples (along with "Hoo-hah!") which people point to when charting the start of Pacino's career turn to more overacted roles. It's unfair to use those examples though since he already showed signs of that even earlier, like in Sea of Love (another favorite of mine. Ellen Barkin was really hot here!)

I agree. Pacino started going way over the top in "Scarface" and it basically never stopped. Although, he basically only did the godawful "Revolution" between "Scarface" and "Sea of Love". It's amazing watching him in the "Godfather" films, "Serpico, "Dog Day Afternoon", and even "Cruising". Those performances, although punctuated with moments of over the top emotion, are very muted for the most part. "The Devil's Advocate" is easily his most over the top performance and a contender for most over the top performance of all time.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by mja345

I really disliked "American Hustle". It felt like two and a half hours of Hollywood stars playing dressup.

Agree with this line completely. The 2 + hours came close to physical pain for me The subsequent praise/awards were baffling.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by llj

I love Pacino in Heat PERIOD, don't get me wrong. But it's definitely one of the examples (along with "Hoo-hah!") which people point to when charting the start of Pacino's career turn to more overacted roles. It's unfair to use those examples though since he already showed signs of that even earlier, like in Sea of Love (another favorite of mine. Ellen Barkin was really hot here!)

I am a huge fan of Sea of Love as well.

[Arch Stanton]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Also watched about 30 minutes of Odd Man Out before packing it in for the night.

Every time James Mason spoke all I could think about was the fat, creepy serial killer from True Detective.

...is that weird?

How can you only watch half an hour of a film? Or had you seen it before?

[diskspinner]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

How can you only watch half an hour of a film? Or had you seen it before?

oh...no...you cannot miss some 50-60 posts Ray Jackson made asking about everybody's opinion on Odd Man Out...He did not watch it before...

May be he felt sleepy...may be he got scared...

Ok, I am going to get that Tati set right now...Please encourage/discourage me before it's too late...

[octagon]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

Ok, I am going to get that Tati set right now...Please encourage/discourage me before it's too late...

Is encouraging you to get the David Lean set too what you had in mind?

If so, get the David Lean set too.

If not, well, get the David Lean set too.

(did we already do this? was that you the other day in the sale thread?)

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

Ok, I am going to get that Tati set right now...Please encourage/discourage me before it's too late...

Go ahead. You know you deserve it. And you're going to get it eventually anyway ... why wait? Do it!