The Criterion Collection

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Downfall is amazing, and Ganz is mesmerizing.

You should go to YouTube and do a search on "hitler game of thrones". There are some very funny videos using clips of Hitler's manic rants from Downfall as Der Führer expresses his dismay at some of the turns of events in Game of Thrones.

Oh, trust me, I've been aware of the Ganz-Hitler memes on Youtube for some time. They're downright legendary by now.

[SkyAntoine]

Last night, I took a break from 16th century Japan and experienced Greenwich Village in 1961. It was my first time watching Inside Llewyn Davis and it was superb. I've been a big Dylan fan for 20 years and prefer listening to the Coffee House station on XM radio. I have no idea why I haven't watched this now.

Very real, gritty snapshot of an artist struggling to keep doing what he does. In this case I thought the non-typical narrative worked well and Oscar Isaac was amazing. I pick a little on guitar so seeing musical talent especially when it is under-appreciated hits a soft spot with me. 9/10

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

For those of you here who are fans of 3:10 to Yuma and Jubal, both of which were directed by Delmer Daves and starred Glenn Ford...

I would like to herd all of you over to the Twilight Time forum today, because the 1958 Delmer Daves film, Cowboy, which also stars Glenn Ford, goes up for pre-order today.

I think that Jubal is one of the most underrated Criterion titles, and, of course, 3:10 to Yuma speaks for itself. I'm expecting great things out of Cowboy.

You just can't miss classic westerns like this.

I just made my first Twilight Time purchase last week. I picked up an unopened copy of The Big Heat, and it will have plenty of company on my shelf soon. There are a hell of a lot of titles I want from them, chief among them Birdman of Alcatraz, Inherit the Wind, Mississippi Burning, Philadelphia, As Good as It Gets, A Man For All Seasons, All The King's Men, Lilies of the Field, and Judgement at Nuremberg. Nuremberg absolutely blew me away. The performances from Spencer Tracy and Maximilian Schell were, as expected, riveting, but I thought Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland stole the spotlight. Lancaster's nuanced portrayal of Ernst Janning was simply enthralling. Film is at its most powerful, in my humble opinion, when the viewer is left to contemplate the morality of a human being's actions. Janning, a respected judge, and by all means a fair man with an even temperament, was guilty of following the letter of the law, even when his conscience told him to resist. His story was intriguing to me, both as somebody who studied law in college, and as a man with German and Polish ancestry, because he did exactly what his position required-a judge is not meant to interpret the ethical implications of the law, rather, they are there to enforce the very letter of the law. And while it is possible, on some level, to at least empathize with his position, ultimately, this moral man was compelled to perpetuate what may very well be the greatest evil man has ever wrought. Then there was Judy Garland's performance. It's my belief that Judy Garland's stature has never been what it deserves to be, since her death. She was infinitely talented, and while everybody knows her from The Wizard of Oz, and Meet Me in St. Louis, it is in A Star is Born, and to a greater extent, Nuremberg, where she really has a chance to put her talents as a dramatic actress on display. Her turn as Irene Hoffman Waller was unforgettable. This poor woman was being pulled in every possible direction, by her father, by incomprehensible laws enacted via jingoistic fervor, by her guilt, and by a prosecutor pulling her back to a past she wanted so desperately to forget. Judy's performance absolutely dripped with heartache, and regret. It was her bad luck to be nominated for Best Supporting Actress in the same year as Rita Moreno for West Side Story, because what Judy Garland put to film deserved a gold statue. And, Nuremberg belongs in every serious film enthusiast's library. I'm a real sucker for courtroom dramas, and that holds its own against 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington...any of them.

By the way, Great Owl, I've just started exploring westerns, as you can see by looking at my recent purchases. I will check out Twilight Times' forum tonight, and read up on Cowboy, based on your suggestion. /tip of the cap.

[rainbowbattlekid]

hey so i'm fairly new to criterions. how common (if at all) are reprints? totally never realized there was a criterion version of the man who fell to earth but obviously it's like a billion dollars now

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by rainbowbattlekid

hey so i'm fairly new to criterions. how common (if at all) are reprints? totally never realized there was a criterion version of the man who fell to earth but obviously it's like a billion dollars now

In theory we're paying more for the best transfers available and best packaging. Criterions are widely considered be the ultimate edition of a film.
However, there is endless debate between pro-Criterion and anti-Criterion folk on whether or not Criterion transfers are better than other versions. Lots of threads here and on other forums comparing versions.

If you're not worried about whether there is a "C" on the packaging or supplements, then you're going to be able to find versions with as good or better transfers for much, much less.

[ShellOilJunior]

Attached is a .zip for a listing of Criterion's Hulu offerrings that are not on blu-ray. Shorts that are included as bonus material on blu-rays are not part of the list.

Attached as a zip. ODS format (Will work with Excel, Open Office and most any spreadsheet application).

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Attached is a .zip for a listing of Criterion's Hulu offerrings that are not on blu-ray. Shorts that are included as bonus material on blu-rays are not part of the list.

Attached as a zip. ODS format (Will work with Excel, Open Office and most any spreadsheet application).

Early contender for 2016 Criterion Thread Member Of The Year

[ajburke]

A few pages back, there were posts about what some members consider the best thing they've ever seen on TV. After seeing the premier of The People vs O.J. Simpson last night, I need to at least mention this great new show. I watched it twice last night, and will probably watch it a few more times before the next episode airs. It may have been wiser on my part to wait until I could binge it. It's officially too late for that.

Also, I loved LOST. Have sat through it twice now, really felt the show couldn't have ended much (if at all) differently or better that it did. No regrets there.

I also consider Mad Men, Breaking Bad, The Americans, Community, and Parks and Recreation to be among the finest shows I've seen. The latter two are very easy to romanticize given their struggles to maintain acceptable ratings.

My wife and I are currently watching Gilmore girls, which I suddenly realize I have unfairly overlooked until now. It is a wonderful show. The Wire is probably next, and it will be my first time viewing it.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Jellyfish was recommended, but aside from the ones that have serious PQ issues, I think only Tiny Furniture, The Last Days of Disco and Frances Ha.

But I think the point is, there is quite a difference between a recommendation and the highest of recommendations, those titles mentioned that should be on every serious cinephile library.

Originally Posted by AaronJ

What's funny is that Frances Ha is one of my favorite films in the collection.

Then again, I'm a big Baumbach fan and a big Gerwig gan.

I, too, loved Frances Ha (and Greta Gerwin's performance) and I was quite taken with The Last Days of Disco, as well. And as I mentioned a month or so ago, despite the volume of complaints aimed at the Three Colors Trilogy, I was so captivated by the stories and performances that I never noticed any of the flaws that spoiled the films for other viewers.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by jw007

I'm wondering, as Criterion collectors, what sort of TV do you all watch?

Besides an awards show now and then, and most recently, all the presidential debates, I don't watch any commercial television. In fact, I basically just watch one station, and that's Turner Classic Movies.

In terms of series television available on blu-ray and/or DVD, I prefer dramas and sci-fi like The X-Files, Millenium, The Walking Dead, The Twilight Zone, The Shield, Six Feet Under, Dexter, Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, The Wire, The Big Valley and The Waltons. (Hey! Don't start with me! Grandpa Walton reminds me of my own Grandpa, who was just as ornery and down-to-earth as he could be.)

Comedy-wise, I enjoy rewatching Sex and the City, I Love Lucy, and The Dick Van Dyke Show on occasion. I used to be addicted to M*A*S*H, and would probably buy it if it ever came out on blu-ray.

[Wooden Lens]

Since 'Hail, Caesar!' comes out this weekend, what does everyone think the next Coen Bros. title Criterion might release is? I know Barton Fink is on the tip of everyone's tongue but I'm kind of hoping Criterion gets their hands on the rest of those Fox titles too: Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing & Fargo.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Wooden Lens

Since 'Hail, Caesar!' comes out this weekend, what does everyone think the next Coen Bros. title Criterion might release is? I know Barton Fink is on the tip of everyone's tongue but I'm kind of hoping Criterion gets their hands on the rest of those Fox titles too: Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing & Fargo.

I think "Barton Fink" and "The Ladykillers" are the only two Coen bros. films not released on BD in the US. Obviously, "Barton Fink" would fit in well with Criterion, "The Ladykillers" probably not. Of the films already released on BD, it's tough to say. I'd like to see Criterion get their hands on "Blood Simple" and do a real proper release. "Miller's Crossing" would be great as well.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Put me down as a new fan of Kino, too. They have some wonderful releases that I could very easily see within the Criterion Collection, including a pair of films from F.W. Murnau, Faust and Nosferatu, several silent film gems from Buster Keaton including The General and the two-film pairing ofSherlock Jr. and Three Ages, and Fritz Lang's science fiction masterpieceMetropolis. Kino Lorber also released Giorgio Morder's version for distribution; it does not include the newly-discovered scenes, and makes use of a modern score made up of popular artists from the early 1980s including Freddie Mercury, Loverboy, Bonnie Tyler. I have not seen this version, so I cannot comment as to a preference. Ultimately, I'm likely to own both. Other selections that I am eager to add to my collection include Witness to Murder, starring Barbaba Stanwyck and George Sanders, and the 1955 Academy Award winner for Best Picture winner, Marty, which also won Ernest Borgnine a Best Actor Oscar. Paddy Chayefsky wrote the screenplays for both Marty and Network, and after seeing Network for the first time on Friday night, Marty has now jumped way up on my want list.

Oh, yes, Witness to Murder! It's one of my guiltiest pleasures, and I've pretty much formed a one-man cult around it. It's the perfect example of how a supremely talented actor ... in this case, Barbara Stanwyck ... can take a fairly undistinguished role in a potentially lame potboiler, and through sheer creative genius, turn it into something memorable. I've seen it a dozen times, and always enjoy Stanwyck's woman-in-peril performance. And there's a line in the film spoken by Gertrude Hoffman that has become an inside joke between my brother and I, whenever we want to comment oh-so-subtly about someone's behavior: "Show Mr. Peabody into the library, please." Listen for it when you see (or re-watch) the film.

I also love the film Marty. It's sweet and poignant and brilliantly done. Borgnine is absolutely incredible and so is Betsy Blair (who, somewhat surprisingly given her appearance in this film and The Snake Pit, was married to Gene Kelly in real life). A real winner ...

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Nuremberg belongs in every serious film enthusiast's library. I'm a real sucker for courtroom dramas, and that holds its own against 12 Angry Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington...any of them.

I really love Judgement at Nuremberg and most courtroom dramas, I just recently saw The Verdict which I see you already have, another great one, along with Inherit the Wind, Anatomy of a Murder and Witness for the Prosecution which unfortunately I haven't been able to get due to missing subtitles.

[buffetfroid]

All this TV talk and no mention of Northern Exposure??

[Marlow27]

Originally Posted by buffetfroid

All this TV talk and no mention of Northern Exposure??

I like it a lot. Hit and miss show at times, but definitely unique and worth watching.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by jw007

I'm wondering, as Criterion collectors, what sort of TV do you all watch?

The only shows I currently DVR and watch regularly are Archer (back in March!!!), South Park (done until next fall), It's Always Sunny, and Jeopardy!, so I'm not watching much TV right now. I also powered my way through Breaking Bad over a couple of weekends not too long ago.

I think I stick with comedy on TV as a counterbalance because I mostly watch dramatic films.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I just made my first Twilight Time purchase last week. I picked up an unopened copy of The Big Heat, and it will have plenty of company on my shelf soon. There are a hell of a lot of titles I want from them, chief among them Birdman of Alcatraz, Inherit the Wind, Mississippi Burning, Philadelphia, As Good as It Gets, A Man For All Seasons, All The King's Men, Lilies of the Field, and Judgement at Nuremberg. Nuremberg absolutely blew me away.

If you want TT's edition of Judgment at Nuremberg (and why wouldn't you, as it's a great release) be advised that you shouldn't put it off too long. TT's latest Low Quantity Alert list says that JatN is down to under 500 copies left. It'll probably still take a while to go through those, but I'm just saying that you should probably get it sooner rather than later.

(You can find the LQA list in post #1 of the TT thread.)

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by rainbowbattlekid

hey so i'm fairly new to criterions. how common (if at all) are reprints? totally never realized there was a criterion version of the man who fell to earth but obviously it's like a billion dollars now

Welcome to Criterionland.

Criterion makes their best effort to keep all of their titles in print. When a title goes OOP, it's because Criterion's license for that title expired, and they weren't able to renew it (presumably because the rights holder decided to offer it to someone else). It was a real shame that Criterion lost the license for The Third Man, for example, as until that happened they'd kept it continually in print since it they first released it on laserdisc back in 1985. Even longer, if you want to include the VHS release by Criterion's at-the-time co-parent company, Voyager Press.

If losing the license is the case, a "reprint" isn't likely until Criterion can manage to get a new license. Which does happen on occasion. Criterion had released Breaking the Waves on LD, but lost the license when it came to DVD until they got it back for BD and DVD.

[CoolRanch]

Originally Posted by BobbyMcGee

Checking my order history with Criterion.com the past four years around this time period:

10 March 2015
25 Feb 2014
26 Feb 2013
15 Feb 2012

Sweet thanks, I've been saving up and getting all of my film school peers hyped for it so it would be a shame if for whatever reason they decided not to have one this year