The Criterion Collection

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Apologies for unsavory mental images.

What's everyone watching this weekend?

last weekend I watched Kwaidan because my wife was with me. I was able to sell her on the "ghost stories" angle and the fact that it was in color.

what I really wanted to watch, although Kwaidan didn't, by any means, disappoint, was the 2nd Apu movie, so maybe I'll see that this weekend if I'm lucky.

If the wife is involved, I think I'll recommend that we watch Still Walking which I haven't seen yet.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

What's everyone watching this weekend?

At least part of Blade Runner today but we've got a lot of NFL action this weekend. That will cut into movie time a bit.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Apologies for unsavory mental images.

What's everyone watching this weekend?

I just finished watching the documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, which I found absolutely fascinating, especially as a complement to Paul Thomas Anderson's film The Master, which I watched during the Christmas holidays.

I just received a large cache of Criterions in the mail today that I purchased from a fellow blu-ray.com member (just 36 more titles until I'm Criterion blu complete!), and for some reason I find myself curious as to what pleasures La Ciénaga might have in store. I know absolutely nothing about the film's plot, its director, or even who is in the cast; it was the blindest of blind buys.

I'm also planning on watching A Man Escaped, which I recently purchased from another forum member. I've wanted to see this for a very long time, but the copies I've come across in my local brick-and-mortar stores all looked like they'd been trampled by a herd of angry buffalo, and I kept forgetting to order it during the Criterion flash sale. Now that I've had a week or so to look at my flawless copy and build up some anticipation, I think it's time to go for it!

I may also watch a film I recorded off TCM last night, one that I've wanted to see for decades. That's the 1929 version of Bulldog Drummond, which featured Ronald Colman and Joan Bennett in their talking debuts, and was, in fact, the first sizable role that future femme fatale Bennett ever played onscreen (she'd previously appeared in a couple of her father's movies as a child and had played tiny bit parts in a couple of silent films).

Promises to be a fun weekend, especially since there's snow in the forecast for tomorrow!

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by oildude

I watched Jean Renoir's The River earlier this week. This is the only film I have watched recently that I could not comment on after viewing it and instead needed a few days to absorb how it affected me. I cannot convey how this wonderful but devastating film had such an emotional impact on me without spoiling it for those who have not seen it. I will just say that for me the film's most beautiful and lasting lessons are especially poignant to those of us who have children regularly in our lives, whether their own, a relative, or through a relationship with someone else. The River is a testament to family love and a reminder of what a great gift children are for us to cherish and protect. Never, not even for a moment, can we forget that family is the most important anchoring element around which our lives orbit. Renoir has created something extraordinary by reminding us of this in such a captivating and truly lovely cinema experience.

Based closely on the memoir-novel by Rumer Godden (who also wrote the book on which the film Black Narcissus is based), The River is a story of a group of Western expats living in India, and we see the nation through their eyes. Those eyes are respectful, loving, and joyous of India and its people. This is not a political screed against colonialism or capitalism, as it no doubt would have been in the hands of a director like Godard. Instead, we are reminded throughout that this is a Renoir film, flowing as calmly, relentlessly, and powerfully as the Ganges for which the film is named and around whose waters the circle of life plays out. The River is a deceptively simple film. Like any great body of water, it exists from one season to the next, sustaining those who inhabit its shores, is occasionally turbulent, and implies in its long course through many lands an inexorable march toward a distant and unknown future.

The plot involves two upper middle class British families living next door to each other. One family is completely English with parents, six children all under the age of 18, and their Indian servants and nanny. The eldest daughter Harriet is our guide to the story, a budding young writer who acts as the narrator in what might be the best voiceover ever captured in a film. The other family is an English widower and his half-Indian daughter Melanie who has just returned home after graduating from a boarding school. Harriet's best friend is also integral to the plot, a slightly older redheaded girl from a rich expat family living further down the river.

Into the lives of these people arrives an American cousin, Captain John, who was wounded grievously in WWII and is coming to India on a spiritual journey to seek answers to questions in himself he is unable to find at home in the States. He is played wonderfully by non-professional actor Thomas Breen, who was in real life a WWII veteran who lost a leg in battle, just as the character he plays. When we witness Captain John's struggles in The River with the fate life has dealt him, we are seeing the real struggles of Breen's life. Renoir translates this to the screen in a series of interactions between Captain John and Harriet, Melanie, and Harriet's friend. The girls all compete for his attention, but it is quiet and dignified Melanie, the half-Indian girl, who we learn is most similar to Captain John in that she too is uncertain of where she belongs in the world. She sees right to the heart of Captain John's dilemma and to his questions poses one of the most perceptively intelligent replies ever penned to a script: "But where will you find a nation of one-legged men?"

This is the film that has finally catapulted Renoir into my pantheon of top directors. I have seen Swamp Water, The Rules of the Game, and the brilliant Grand Illusion, but none of these impacted me nearly as much as The River.

Whatever you do, after watching The River, do not turn it off without also viewing the Martin Scorsese supplement about the film and its impact on his own life. It is a very personal interview with Scorsese as he talks about his first viewing of the movie as a kid and how it astounded and devastated him in a similar way to how it affected me. Scorsese also gives the film its rightful due as a cinematic gem and a perspective on how it fits into Renoir's body of work. It was a low budget production, which turned out to be a great blessing because had it been given lavish funding, the actors hired would have been known brands lacking the ultimately realistic, grounded, and satisfying quality captured, for example, by the performance of Thomas Breen.

I highly recommend you check out A Day In The Country also. While short, it is certainly Renoir at his absolute best.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Apologies for unsavory mental images.

What's everyone watching this weekend?

I have absolutely no idea.

I'm so far behind on my movie watching, that it'll depend on my mood.

[jw007]

This is an amazingly ambitious new album from David Bowie. I think it might rank with some of his finest work from the 1970s actually. There are some masterpieces here, and this added Jazz element makes this unlike anything else I've heard from him on this level!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I may also watch a film I recorded off TCM last night, one that I've wanted to see for decades. That's the 1929 version of Bulldog Drummond, which featured Ronald Colman and Joan Bennett in their talking debuts, and was, in fact, the first sizable role that future femme fatale Bennett ever played onscreen (she'd previously appeared in a couple of her father's movies as a child and had played tiny bit parts in a couple of silent films).

Definitely worth your trouble. It's a nifty little mystery/thriller. I was fortunate to pick it up on LD back in the day as part of a double-bill with another early Colman, a romantic comedy called The Devil to Pay, which co-starred Loretta Young and Myrna Loy. Also worth scaring up.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

I highly recommend you check out A Day In The Country also. While short, it is certainly Renoir at his absolute best.

Ordered it yesterday from Amazon.

[Ausjdm]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Apologies for unsavory mental images.

What's everyone watching this weekend?

Watching Phoenix
Also since everyone keeps mentioning it I guess I'm give in and finally see Gone Girl. Damn you Affleck I'm blaming you for, To The Wonder! I'll just keep thinking (Ben Affleck naked bad Emily ratajkowski naked good lol and/or it is David Fincher how bad can it be...)

[MifuneFan]

I watched Safety Last! yesterday. It was my first Harold Lloyd film, and I absolutely loved it. It was hilarious and the stunts were amazing. Definitely will be checking out the others in the collection now.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Definitely worth your trouble. It's a nifty little mystery/thriller. I was fortunate to pick it up on LD back in the day as part of a double-bill with another early Colman, a romantic comedy called The Devil to Pay, which co-starred Loretta Young and Myrna Loy. Also worth scaring up.

Thank you for reminding me of The Devil to Pay!. I recorded that one onto a DVD-R disc several years ago, and have yet to watch it. Maybe I'll catch them both this weekend as a double feature.

Over the holidays, I ordered and watched Ronald Colman and Joan Bennett in their second film together, The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo, which is available on DVD-R from Fox Cinema Classics. Cute little romantic comedy with a great supporting cast (Colin Clive and Nigel Bruce included), and I thought they made a great screen team. My favorite Colman film will always be The Prisoner of Zenda with Madeleine Carroll, Douglas Fairbanks Jr and Mary Astor ... what a splendid adventure!

[oildude]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I watched Safety Last! yesterday. It was my first Harold Lloyd film, and I absolutely loved it. It was hilarious and the stunts were amazing. Definitely will be checking out the others in the collection now.

I agree.

Speedy is my favorite Lloyd film out of the three released by Criterion so far:



Since you live in NYC, I think you will find Speedy especially enjoyable. The package also contains some very good supplements about Lloyd, including one that features some of Lloyd's home movies narrated by his granddaughter. Another outstanding supplement is about Babe Ruth and features film footage of him during his Murderers Row days and later at the end of his career. Apparently, surviving film of Ruth in action is exceedingly rare, which makes the supplement even more valuable.

Here are my thoughts on it that I posted a few weeks ago:

[Show spoiler]



I can't think of a more enjoyable film to introduce someone to the wonders of silent cinema than one of the newest additions to the Criterion Collection: Harold Lloyd's last silent movie Speedy. What a riot! Laugh out loud funny, with impressively clever sight gags and skits that will tickle your funny bone, Speedy is a fast paced clown car of a film that spills across the screen for 86 minutes of heartfelt hilarity.

The premise of Speedy is pretty simple. Lloyd is a guy nicknamed Speedy living in late 1920s New York City who loves the Yankees, his gal, and her grandfather, Pop Dillon, an old man who runs the last horse-pulled trolley car in the city. Speedy cannot hold a job for long due to the mishaps that seem to continuously reach out and grab him but he is smart and resilient and quickly finds others to replace the ones just lost. Trouble is brewing, however, as a nefarious businessman tries to strong arm Pop Dillon into selling his trolley line so the businessman can then integrate it into his own system.

As these plot strands weave their way through the film, the audience is treated to incredible visuals of the bustling streets of 1928 New York City/Los Angeles (standing-in for the Big Apple in some scenes) and an extended sequence set in the amusement park on Coney Island. Much of this reminded me of the time capsule feel I got while watching other Criterion silent gems like Lonesome and People on Sunday, two films that capture an era long gone but beautifully preserved in the background of their respective films. The Coney Island sequence in Speedy is amazing as we soak in the rides experienced by Lloyd and his gal, the food stands, the games, and the bright lights at night. And to add to the period atmosphere - and a huge bonus for baseball fans like me - there is a hilarious cameo by Babe Ruth as himself, when the Bronx Bomber has the misfortune to encounter Speedy on his first day in a new job as a cab driver.

I think what I find most appealing about Harold Lloyd and his "glasses" character is his eternal optimism. Lloyd is the silent screen's Everyman, an ordinary guy who smiles in the face of adversity and manages to find the resources in himself and others to bounce back each time. His films are filled with common situations all of us can relate to, yet in Lloyd's world those events manage to erupt into extended bouts of absurdity. No where is this more apparent than in Speedy. Ever had an ornery car that runs fine one moment then acts up at the worst time? Lloyd turns that into comic gold. How many of us have dressed up in nice clothes only to have a dog want to jump up on our pants with dirty paws? Lloyd takes that situation and turns it into one of the film's highlights. It is not only a side splittingly funny scene but the actions established in it become a key element later on when the same annoying but loveable dog becomes his greatest ally in protecting Pop Dillon's trolley line. One inspired scene involves the dog and some shaving cream that is so funny I couldn't stop laughing.

Speedy is a wonderful film. What l have described here is but a small taste of the magic it contains. Beautifully transferred onto Blu-ray by Criterion, with a memorable soundtrack by Carl Davis, it is marvelous to behold. Unlike Chaplin and Keaton, the other two giants of the silent screen, Harold Lloyd never got the continued exposure on television over the years that allowed his contemporaries to maintain their status to modern viewers. Due to decisions made by the Lloyd estate (or so I have read), his films remained unseen by the public as the decades passed and his star faded from memory. Thanks to Criterion, Lloyd is now ripe for rediscovery, and Speedy, like its title implies, is worthy of rapidly being added to your collections.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by oildude

I agree. This is my favorite Lloyd film out of the three released by Criterion so far:



Here are my thoughts on it that I posted a few weeks ago. Since you live in NYC, I think you will find Speedy especially enjoyable. There are also some very good supplements about Lloyd, including one that features some of Lloyd's home movies narrated by his granddaughter.

[Show spoiler]



I can't think of a more enjoyable film to introduce someone to the wonders of silent cinema than one of the newest additions to the Criterion Collection: Harold Lloyd's last silent movie Speedy. What a riot! Laugh out loud funny, with impressively clever sight gags and skits that will tickle your funny bone, Speedy is a fast paced clown car of a film that spills across the screen for 86 minutes of heartfelt hilarity.

The premise of Speedy is pretty simple. Lloyd is a guy nicknamed Speedy living in late 1920s New York City who loves the Yankees, his gal, and her grandfather, Pop Dillon, an old man who runs the last horse-pulled trolley car in the city. Speedy cannot hold a job for long due to the mishaps that seem to continuously reach out and grab him but he is smart and resilient and quickly finds others to replace the ones just lost. Trouble is brewing, however, as a nefarious businessman tries to strong arm Pop Dillon into selling his trolley line so the businessman can then integrate it into his own system.

As these plot strands weave their way through the film, the audience is treated to incredible visuals of the bustling streets of 1928 New York City/Los Angeles (standing-in for the Big Apple in some scenes) and an extended sequence set in the amusement park on Coney Island. Much of this reminded me of the time capsule feel I got while watching other Criterion silent gems like Lonesome and People on Sunday, two films that capture an era long gone but beautifully preserved in the background of their respective films. The Coney Island sequence in Speedy is especially amazing as we soak in the rides experienced by Lloyd and his gal, the food stands, the games, and the bright lights at night. And to add to the period atmosphere - and a huge bonus for baseball fans like me - there is a hilarious cameo by Babe Ruth as himself, when the Bronx Bomber has the misfortune to encounter Speedy on his first day in a new job as a cab driver.

I think what I find most appealing about Harold Lloyd and his "glasses" character is his eternal optimism. Lloyd is the silent screen's Everyman, an ordinary guy who smiles in the face of adversity and manages to find the resources in himself and others to bounce back each time. His films are filled with common situations all of us can relate to, yet in Lloyd's world those events manage to erupt into extended bouts of absurdity. No where is this more apparent than in Speedy. Ever had an ornery car that runs fine one moment then acts up at the worst time? Lloyd turns that into comic gold. How many of us have dressed up in nice clothes only to have a dog want to jump up on our pants with dirty paws? Lloyd takes that situation and turns it into one of the film's highlights. It is not just a side splittingly funny scene but the actions established in it become a key element later on when the same annoying but loveable dog becomes his greatest ally in protecting Pop Dillon's trolley line. One inspired scene involves the dog and some shaving cream that is so funny I couldn't stop laughing.

Speedy is a wonderful film. What l have described here is but a small taste of the magic it contains. Beautifully transferred onto Blu-ray by Criterion, with a memorable soundtrack by Carl Davis, it is marvelous to behold. Unlike Chaplin and Keaton, the other two giants of the silent screen, Harold Lloyd never got the continued exposure on television over the years that allowed his contemporaries to maintain their status to modern viewers. Due to decisions made by the Lloyd estate (or so I have read), his films remained unseen by the public as the decades passed and his star faded from memory. Thanks to Criterion, Lloyd is now ripe for rediscovery, and Speedy, like its title implies, is worthy of rapidly being added to your collections.

Bruce did an amazing job with the supplements, some of the best I've seen on a Criterion release in a long time.
One of the best releases I picked up in a while

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

What's everyone watching this weekend?

For the past hour or so, I've just been lying on my living room sofa, listening to the new David Bowie album, and reading the liner notes. Sadly, I don't do that with music as often these days as I used to when I was younger, because, in these busy hurry adult days, I usually listen to music in the background, or during my commutes to work. It feels good just to chill on the sofa and give my undivided attention to an album, though.

I'm feeling Downhill Racer, Mississippi Burning, and Hoosiers this weekend, methinks. These Blu-rays have been sitting around unwatched (although I've seen these movies before many times), and I'm in a Gene Hackman sort of mood.

Tomorrow, after my morning run, I'm going to see The Revenant. One of my top 10 movies of 2015, Backcountry, and the recent Scorpion Releasing Blu-ray of Grizzly whet my appetite for horribly gruesome grizzly bear attacks, I guess, so I may as well make The Revenant a priority. Bear attacks in movies rule. I mean, I wouldn't want to go through something like that in person, but I like seeing it happen to fictional characters.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I just finished watching the documentary Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, which I found absolutely fascinating, especially as a complement to Paul Thomas Anderson's film The Master, which I watched during the Christmas holidays.

I just received a large cache of Criterions in the mail today that I purchased from a fellow blu-ray.com member (just 36 more titles until I'm Criterion blu complete!), and for some reason I find myself curious as to what pleasures La Ciénaga might have in store. I know absolutely nothing about the film's plot, its director, or even who is in the cast; it was the blindest of blind buys.

I'm also planning on watching A Man Escaped, which I recently purchased from another forum member. I've wanted to see this for a very long time, but the copies I've come across in my local brick-and-mortar stores all looked like they'd been trampled by a herd of angry buffalo, and I kept forgetting to order it during the Criterion flash sale. Now that I've had a week or so to look at my flawless copy and build up some anticipation, I think it's time to go for it!

I may also watch a film I recorded off TCM last night, one that I've wanted to see for decades. That's the 1929 version of Bulldog Drummond, which featured Ronald Colman and Joan Bennett in their talking debuts, and was, in fact, the first sizable role that future femme fatale Bennett ever played onscreen (she'd previously appeared in a couple of her father's movies as a child and had played tiny bit parts in a couple of silent films).

Promises to be a fun weekend, especially since there's snow in the forecast for tomorrow!

La Cienaga was a blind watch for me on Hulu and drew me in pretty quickly. I always feel at odds saying I "enjoyed" a pretty downbeat film but it was one that stayed with me for a while.
I think you'll enjoy Bulldog Drummond. It was my first time seeing it too. TCM is saluting William Cameron Menzies this month on Thursday prime time slots and they showed this along with Chandu the Magician, the silent Thief of Bagdad and the very odd but intriguing '33 Alice in Wonderland. They were all a lot of fun.

[Ray Jackson]

I saw The Revenant today.

I think this could end up being a future Criterion release.

It's sort of like an extremely intense, brutal hybrid of Jeremiah Johnson, Kill Bill (minus the humor) and a Terrence Malick film.

Very glad I decided to see it on the big screen.

...a true cinematic experience.

[colbyw]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I saw The Revenant today.

I think this could end up being a future Criterion release.

It's sort of like an extremely intense, brutal hybrid of Jeremiah Johnson, Kill Bill (minus the humor) and a Terrence Malick film.

Very glad I decided to see it on the big screen.

...a true cinematic experience.

I saw it yesterday, very well done! DiCaprio was very good, but I came away thinking about the excellence that was Tom Hardy.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by colbyw

I saw it yesterday, very well done! DiCaprio was very good, but I came away thinking about the excellence that was Tom Hardy.

Tom Hardy is just a great actor.

Best supporting actor nomination should be a lock.

Probably Leo's best performance to date imo.

[colbyw]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Tom Hardy is just a great actor.

Best supporting actor nomination should be a lock.

Probably Leo's best performance to date imo.

This is the site that I use for Oscar predictions - but I do also agree that he gets his first Nomination this year.

http://www.awardscircuit.com/oscar-p...porting-actor/

If you look at their predictions - Leo is the front runner.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Apologies for unsavory mental images.

What's everyone watching this weekend?

I got about halfway through re-watching Odd Man Out last night, so I'm going to finish that up and then watch either The Quiet Man or the 1939 live-action Hunchback of Notre Dame with Charles Laughton and Maureen O'Hara. I'm going to try to find time to squeeze in Django Unchained as well so I can finish off Tarantino's films.