The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Here's my review of The Revenant, since we're discussing it in this thread....


I think that The Revenant is a good movie, but I also believe that it is missing a certain spark that would have made it a great movie. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu's film is fascinating in terms of cinematography and camera movement, but the stylistic choices draw attention to themselves to the extent that they overshadow the story. The end result is a movie that amazed my eyes, but failed to quicken my pulse.

Leonardo DiCaprio is admirably convincing as a resourceful hunter who is left for dead in the wilderness of early 1800s America after a vicious grizzly attack. Tom Hardy, as the self-centered fur trapper who values money over the welfare of others, effectively channels Tom Berenger's character in Platoon (1986). The Canadian film locations are the main attraction here, though, and they look wonderfully rugged on a big screen.

The grizzly encounter, which occurs early in the film, is a decent work of computer effects, but I was left underwhelmed after seeing a vastly superior bear attack sequence in the movie, Backcountry, which was released earlier in 2015. An early raid by a Native American tribe is more convincing, but Iñárritu's overt tracking shot techniques never let me forget that I was just watching a movie.

Despite my grievances, I still recommend seeing The Revenant at a theater, mainly because of the stunning wilderness photography and the powerful cast. If you are looking for gritty characters and conflicts with a riveting storyline, though, then I would first point to another 2015 Tom Hardy star vehicle, Mad Max: Fury Road, which excels at heavy-duty action that is less self-conscious and better at suspending our disbelief. If you just want to see someone get really jacked up in a bear attack, then rent Backcountry.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Here's my review of The Revenant, since we're discussing it in this thread....


I think that The Revenant is a good movie, but I also believe that it is missing a certain spark that would have made it a great movie. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu's film is fascinating in terms of cinematography and camera movement, but the stylistic choices draw attention to themselves to the extent that they overshadow the story. The end result is a movie that amazed my eyes, but failed to quicken my pulse.

Leonardo DiCaprio is admirably convincing as a resourceful hunter who is left for dead in the wilderness of early 1800s America after a vicious grizzly attack. Tom Hardy, as the self-centered fur trapper who values money over the welfare of others, effectively channels Tom Berenger's character in Platoon (1986). The Canadian film locations are the main attraction here, though, and they look wonderfully rugged on a big screen.

The grizzly encounter, which occurs early in the film, is a decent work of computer effects, but I was left underwhelmed after seeing a vastly superior bear attack sequence in the movie, Backcountry, which was released earlier in 2015. An early raid by a Native American tribe is more convincing, but Iñárritu's overt tracking shot techniques never let me forget that I was just watching a movie.

Despite my grievances, I still recommend seeing The Revenant at a theater, mainly because of the stunning wilderness photography and the powerful cast. If you are looking for gritty characters and conflicts with a riveting storyline, though, then I would first point to another 2015 Tom Hardy star vehicle, Mad Max: Fury Road, which excels at heavy-duty action that is less self-conscious and better at suspending our belief. If you just want to see someone get really jacked up in a bear attack, then rent Backcountry.

"Mad Max: Fury Road, which excels at heavy-duty action that is less self-conscious and better at suspending our belief."

I greatly respect your cinematic opinion, but this statement is baffling to me.

[SammyJankis]

Just watched A Day in the Country.

This is my ideal film in a sense. Not in terms of how the film looks and feels - although that does apply - but its sense of nature and how those unfamiliar make an impression that will forever be with them. Renoir's camera captures nature with real delicacy, having composition of various people positioned just right in the frame in order to showcase their surroundings while maintaining its undeniable intimacy. Like the lead's desire for a moment of romance she can never have again, this film only left me wanting more. More of the impressionistic setting Renoir (and others) captured while the townspeople are living out their lives.

The extras here are a must as well. A lot of on set footage, including some screen tests which are an absolute delight. One shot in the film itself left me wondering how the hell they pulled that off. This was answered in the segment where the historian chronicles the entire production and what followed. The camera set up itself is a sight to behold. I did find it interesting that the historian noted something with such certainty when Renoir himself contradicts this in the introduction. Ah, nevertheless.

I loved this film. I can already see doing a double feature with People on Sunday when I not only want to experience idealistic country life (something not possible for me at the moment) but lyrical cinema.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching the Criterion Blu-ray of Downhill Racer.

The Blu-ray sports a noticeable improvement over my old Criterion DVD, and I'm pleased to report that the image looks really good, especially considering the source material and the ski footage.

Downhill Racer is a different sort of sports film, in that it denies us the usual emotional catharsis that accompanies most movies in the genre. This is one of the rare "antihero" sports films. Unlike the antihero sports films of the classic film noir era, like Champion or Body and Soul, however, Downhill Racer does not even provide us with any sort of poetic justice angle as a moral anchor. Instead, this movie simply observes as Robert Redford's self-absorbed up-and-coming skier as he makes his way closer and closer to the Olympics with an absence of camaraderie with his teammates and an absence of any niceties whatsoever. Gene Hackman is perfect in his role as the ski coach who disapproves of Redford's character's approach, but who takes the necessary steps to ensure victories and endorsements for an asset to the U.S. rankings.

This is a great film that has the aura of a documentary, but captures the emerging cynicism of America during the time of its release. Highly recommended!

[MifuneFan]

Several Samurai titles are over 50% off at Amazon this week

https://www.amazon.com/movies-tv-dvd...d_p=2336257662

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Several Samurai titles are over 50% off at Amazon this week

https://www.amazon.com/movies-tv-dvd...d_p=2336257662

Dammit, I just was saying I wanted to try some of these Japanese classics. Expensive blind-buys is probably a bad idea, but this is tempting.

[ZeTi]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Several Samurai titles are over 50% off at Amazon this week

https://www.amazon.com/movies-tv-dvd...d_p=2336257662

Awesome. Well, best to get them all but one should at least get, in my humble opinion, the greatest movie ever made, HARAKIRI.

[Vinyl]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Several Samurai titles are over 50% off at Amazon this week

https://www.amazon.com/movies-tv-dvd...d_p=2336257662

Well, already have these, but a few aren't the blu ray. I will resist upgrading. Can't afford it now

[kuro_sawa]

I saw The Revenant this weekend, like a lot of you here. I was expecting to love this movie, and I was excited as hell as it went up on the screen. I was then disappointed that it was more spectacle than anything else. Iñárritu knows how to get great performances and set up scenes, and these things plus the visuals/cinematography made it a good film, but I can't say I'm excited to watch it again. What really ruined it for me is the forced subplot(?) with the wife. It either needed more to it or to be cut imo. The ending made me cringe, it was uselessly empty and I saw it coming a mile away because the film felt so long. The bear scene was gripping but I agree that the CGI takes you out of it (not that it would be possible to get that scene otherwise). Grizzly Man is still the best bear movie

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

I saw The Revenant this weekend, like a lot of you here. I was expecting to love this movie, and I was excited as hell as it went up on the screen. I was then disappointed that it was more spectacle than anything else. Iñárritu knows how to get great performances and set up scenes, and these things plus the visuals/cinematography made it a good film, but I can't say I'm excited to watch it again. What really ruined it for me is the forced subplot(?) with the wife. It either needed more to it or to be cut imo. The ending made me cringe, it was uselessly empty and I saw it coming a mile away because the film felt so long. The bear scene was gripping but I agree that the CGI takes you out of it (not that it would be possible to get that scene otherwise). Grizzly Man is still the best bear movie

Sure it would! Just get an actor who's a real man, and not some scary-cat like Leo!



Still looking forward to this for Chivo's photography if nothing else.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Sure it would! Just get an actor who's a real man, and some scary-cat like Leo!



Still looking forward to this for Chivo's photography if nothing else.

I would have been interested in Noel Marshall's take on the material! edit: didn't realize he passed away

ROAR Movie Clip # 2 (1981) - YouTube

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

I would have been interested in Noel Marshall's take on the material edit: didn't realize he passed away

[Show spoiler]ROAR Movie Clip # 2 (1981) - YouTube

HA! Those guys are having a bad day!

[monorail91]

Just posted this week's Weekly Round-Up, including In Cold Blood available via the CC:

Genuinely creepy, though occasionally slow crime drama. This was especially fun to watch as I’d just finished the In Cold Blood novel days earlier.

Between the novel and the book: the portrayal of Perry wasn't quite what I had in my head, though Robert Blake certainly gave a strong performance. The intensity of the violence & sex scenes surprised me as well, though this would have been one of the first "New Hollywood" films so just imagine how surprised 1967 audiences were!

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by monorail91

Just posted this week's Weekly Round-Up, including In Cold Blood available via the CC:

Genuinely creepy, though occasionally slow crime drama. This was especially fun to watch as I’d just finished the In Cold Blood novel days earlier.

Between the novel and the book: the portrayal of Perry wasn't quite what I had in my head, though Robert Blake certainly gave a strong performance. The intensity of the violence & sex scenes surprised me as well, though this would have been one of the first "New Hollywood" films so just imagine how surprised 1967 audiences were!

The monologue in the rain is one of my favorite scenes ever. Amazing that it wasn't even intentional.

[moviebuffed]

Originally Posted by ZeTi

Awesome. Well, best to get them all but one should at least get, in my humble opinion, the greatest movie ever made, HARAKIRI.

Love your post. Harakiri is such an amazing film experience and I purchased it a few years ago as a blind buy. Of the 140 blu-ray Criterions I've purchased, I'd say if I had to choose 5 of my favorites, Harakiri would be one of those 5.

[dsman71]

This might have been brought up a few hundred pages back, but if not I wanted to share something pretty cool (to me anyway) For those interested in the Hitchcock Box set at Costco, if you contact Jon at Criterion and ask for the box only so you do not have to buy all the movies over again, they sell the box itself for 5.00. And I ordered the box, and its been shipped.
Aint collecting grand ??

[oildude]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

Dammit, I just was saying I wanted to try some of these Japanese classics. Expensive blind-buys is probably a bad idea, but this is tempting.

These are some great prices for some great movies.

Harakiri is included in the sale. I don't think you can go wrong with this one. This masterpiece by Masaki Kobayashi is brilliant, grim, beautifully staged and filmed, and one of the best movies ever made. It literally put me on the edge of my seat. If you only get one, this is it. I cannot recommend it highly enough. One of the best blind buys I ever made, when I wasn't even sure if I liked samurai movies. This is the film that set me on a quest to dig deeper into the genre.

The Samurai Trilogy is also over 50% off. It is arguably Toshiro Mifune's greatest role, just an amazing spectacle of action and story telling as we follow Mifune on his quest to become a master swordsman. Gorgeous cinematography and vibrant colors, great acting, and a story that build suspense as it plays out over the three films. I consider it Japan's equivalent to Gone With the Wind. Truly an epic of Japanese cinema.

There are also several from Kurosawa - Seven Samurai, Throne of Blood, The Hidden Fortress, and the two-movie box set Yojimbo/Sanjuro......

Seven Samurai is a no-brainer if you are looking to pick up more than one title. The most iconic and well known samurai film ever made. However, of all the Kurosawa samurai films in the Criterion Collection, I enjoy The Hidden Fortress the most, one of Kurosawa's best efforts, fast-paced, rousing action, and endlessly re-watchable, with another great Mifune performance.

If I didn't already have all these films, I'd be all over them at these prices.

[colbyw]

Just ordered Harakiri and Breaker Morant from the amazon sale. Thanks for all of the great info on Harakiri

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by colbyw

Just ordered Harakiri and Breaker Morant from the amazon sale. Thanks for all of the great info on Harakiri

As several others have already said, Harakiri is one of the greatest films ever made.

Kobayashi was every bit the genius that Kurosawa or Ozu was.

...but doesn't get the same level of recognition.

[Scottie]

Buy Harakiri and never look back.