The Criterion Collection

[bwdowiak]

The idea that the new generation is LESS curious because of the developments in modern technology are hogwash. And the idea that they are less interested in exploring foreign, classic, and independent film is rubbish, too. So are those who are of this opinion saying that there are fewer young film nerds out there? Where is the proof in that? Those who are curious will and have always found a way to explore film whether it be through renting VHS tapes, visiting the local library, or streaming.

I told this story once before but when I was around 20 I thought to myself that I hated movies. Whenever anyone around me would discuss ANY movie, I hadn't seen it. Why is that? Because the movies they were discussing didn't interest me. And when a good buddy of mine would come back from the video store, it was with some dumb movie. The intellectually curious are always curious though, so I found a way to rent La Dolce Vita, Bicycle Thieves, The 400 Blows, etc.

Today's curious can easily use the search function on their Netflix streaming account and find films directed by John Ford, Hirokazu Koreeda, Jean-Pierre Melville, Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, and others.

I saw Pale Flower, Phoenix, Blue is the Warmest Color, Le Cercle Rouge, Polanski films, and a lot of Cohen titles all via Netflix, so for the curious... It's out there for them.

[Lepidopterous]

Originally Posted by iScottie

[Show spoiler]Maybe it's just me, but when I think of a "film buff," I simply think of an individual passionate about all types of film.

I was born in 1991. I spent many childhood days at Blockbuster where I would rent various films and video games. I also used to also VHS tapes from local grocery stores and the library. I think most of my exposure to film, though, was through watching new releases on television and/or blind buying films on DVD at f.y.e, Walmart, etc.

I will definitely say I grew into a film buff. Most of the films I watched were films others told me were good. While I always did my own thing, I started being my own independent voice several years ago when I stopped merely watching the latest release and delving into world cinema and the most highly rated films of all-time. It was the best decision of my life and I've never looked back. I've taken several college courses in film history, which have made me more passionate about film and I'm also finishing up journalism studies where I hope I can use my degree to write film reviews in the future.

I can see both sides of the argument about becoming a "film buff" today. On one hand, it is impossible for an individual to go to a rental store and experience the sensation firsthand of browsing the aisles, reading jackets, being told when to return a movie by, etc. On the other hand, though, with video rental services, such as Amazon Instant Video and Netflix, it is very difficult to not find a film today. This looser availability offers much more variety and allows anyone to see what they want.

Thanks for sharing your story.

This has probably been said before but honestly I've felt nothing but more limited since we've moved towards streaming. If one doesn't simultaneously have a paying subscription to 3-4 different streaming services, the variety of films available is drastically limited, especially compared to brick and mortar rental stores, which, although much less convenient, created a far more versatile marketplace between leading competitors and mom and pop shops.

Streaming has also created a monopoly. For the typical person growing up now, if Netflix or Redbox don't offer it, the film doesn't exist. If a certain title is not contracted out to a streaming service, there is pretty much a 0% chance of finding it anywhere legally. With rental shops at least there were physical copies floating around somewhere.

Beyond a limited selection, our total reliance on proper internet connectivity also frustrates me. Not to mention the endless other inherently new technological issues. For example, the other day Flixster would not allow me to watch Mad Max: Fury Road in HD because it thinks you're bootlegging if you use an HDMI out on your laptop while viewing the film. Sometimes I can't help but feel like we're moving backwards because of these additional issues that make the DVD seem like the original wheel.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

For example, the other day Flixster would not allow me to watch Mad Max: Fury Road in HD because it thinks you're bootlegging if you use an HDMI out on your laptop while viewing the film. Sometimes I can't help but feel like we're moving backwards because of these additional issues that make the DVD seem like the original wheel.

To be fair, it probably still looked better than VHS

Another thing I miss from the old days is you could rent movies cheaper, you can rent a movie on some streaming services like Amazon and Google Play movies, and not only it costs way more than it used to $5-$6 even though it is digital you still loose the rights to watch it in 24-48 hours like they adopted the model from the physical stores even if it is not strictly necessary to be so tight since you already got several layers of DRM to avoid you copying it, I guess you have to pay for the commodity of not having to physically go to the store to return it.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

Thanks for sharing your story.

This has probably been said before but honestly I've felt nothing but more limited since we've moved towards streaming. If one doesn't simultaneously have a paying subscription to 3-4 different streaming services, the variety of films available is drastically limited, especially compared to brick and mortar rental stores, which, although much less convenient, created a far more versatile marketplace between leading competitors and mom and pop shops.

Streaming has also created a monopoly. For the typical person growing up now, if Netflix or Redbox don't offer it, the film doesn't exist. If a certain title is not contracted out to a streaming service, there is pretty much a 0% chance of finding it anywhere legally. With rental shops at least there were physical copies floating around somewhere.

Beyond a limited selection, our total reliance on proper internet connectivity also frustrates me. Not to mention the endless other inherently new technological issues. For example, the other day Flixster would not allow me to watch Mad Max: Fury Road in HD because it thinks you're bootlegging if you use an HDMI out on your laptop while viewing the film. Sometimes I can't help but feel like we're moving backwards because of these additional issues that make the DVD seem like the original wheel.

Where do you live?

In my past experience, video stores had crap selections compared to what is available through either streaming or the library. Try your local library. The one I used to go to all the time in Arlington Heights IL has an insane amount of films. You name a director and they probably at least have 1 or 2 films on hand no matter how obscure he/she might be.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by DjMethod

This has probably been said before but honestly I've felt nothing but more limited since we've moved towards streaming. If one doesn't simultaneously have a paying subscription to 3-4 different streaming services, the variety of films available is drastically limited, especially compared to brick and mortar rental stores, which, although much less convenient, created a far more versatile marketplace between leading competitors and mom and pop shops.

Streaming has also created a monopoly. For the typical person growing up now, if Netflix or Redbox don't offer it, the film doesn't exist. If a certain title is not contracted out to a streaming service, there is pretty much a 0% chance of finding it anywhere legally. With rental shops at least there were physical copies floating around somewhere.

This is how I feel about music nowadays. Downloads and streaming makes the classics and new stuff readily available, but I notice lots of albums from the 90s or early 00s can't be downloaded. I've been buying up a lot of physical CDs used precisely because it's the only alternative for certain bands that interest me (which I don't mind, but it makes me wonder how many other music fans are missing out on specific albums, singles, EPs, remixes, etc. Some of it might have even been radio hits before, but will eventually be forgotten and lost to history).

I suppose I can see movies going the same way. I've always used Netflix's disc rentals rather than relying on their streaming, precisely because I want the bigger selection. There are still like 50 or more films on my rent list that aren't streamable.

[ChromeJob]

Originally Posted by Meek12345

They do tend to blend in together even more than the James Bond films, since you are unable to use a change in actor as a way of differentiating between films. Shintaro Katsu is great in the role though and I can't imagine another actor that can do the role justice right now. I normally enjoy Beat Takeshi's performances, but I hated the 2003 Zatoichi film. It didn't help that Zatoichi is treated as a background character without any substantial dialogue.

Well, I hope you will enjoy the last five Zatoichi films. By the way, have you flipped thru the hardcover book yet? The film summaries are very inciteful and the illustrations by each artist are quite wonderful to me anyways. This set is still my favorite blu-ray purchase ever.



I agree with you. Katsu directed #24 Zatoichi in Desperation as well. That one has a grindhouse feel to it that I wasn't prepared for the first time around. I should give it another try after I watch Kiss me Deadly(Thanks RickDee!) and On the Waterfront again.

I had a good gosh darn time last year going through the entire boxed set, one film per night (okay, some nights were a double feature). Reading the booklet mini essays with each film added to the treat.

I really love the consistent bookmark feature on all CC BDs, as I could bookmark all the "OMFG did he really do that" scenes.

My favorite for great swordsmanship, drama, and humor was ZATOICHI MEETS SANJURO. The drunken fight where Ichi

[Show spoiler]captures the bodyguard's katana in its own scabbard, and the drunken bodyguard exclaims, "What the h--?! You're a monster!"

had me laughing right off my sofa. Oh and when the young wimp pleads with him, and the gruff bodyguard mocks him with a sarcastic "Sensei..!" Mifune has been great so many times, but both these great actors were superb in that film.

The film (earlier in the series) which ends with Ichi just dancing off down the road with a dopey grin on his face, turning to a scowl just as the film fades to black is a high point of 1960s cinema.

[mja345]

Obviously, the availability of quality films in great transfers has gone up astronomically since the video store days. Being a movie collector in the year 2016 is a dream come true. My only point was that the intellectual curiosity regarding film, music, books is different and less among people born, say, post late nineties. There is something different about holding a physical copy of something, whether it's a film or an album or a book, that gives it greater significance to me personally. I still remember films that I picked up in the video store when I was a kid or albums that I picked up in music stores. I can say with 100% that I wouldn't have internalized those same films in the same way had I been scrolling through them on Netflix or Amazon Prime. IMO the act of looking at vast amounts of films or books or albums on shelves has a different effect on the brain than scrolling through a menu on your computer or TV. That's just my own perspective.

I'm not blaming today's kids for being less intellectually curious. It's simply inevitable with the shift in our society. Viral videos are the new form of entertainment for kids, which has made sitting down and watching a slower-paced two hour film seem incredibly arduous for them. Also, streaming allows people to be incredibly lazy with their viewing habits if they aren't inherently curious, which many people aren't. If you want to watch the same television show all the time, you can do that. Another aspect is that when many of us were growing up, we discovered films that we may not have otherwise watched by flipping through channels. I remember watching films like "Rosemary's Baby", "The Shining" and "Raging Bull" when I was a kid simply because I came upon them on various movie channels and they caught my interest. Now, with streaming, you can essentially tailor your viewing habits so you never watch something unfamiliar or out of your comfort zone.

[the sordid sentinel]

Originally Posted by ChromeJob

I had a good gosh darn time last year going through the entire boxed set, one film per night (okay, some nights were a double feature). Reading the booklet mini essays with each film added to the treat.

I really love the consistent bookmark feature on all CC BDs, as I could bookmark all the "OMFG did he really do that" scenes.

My favorite for great swordsmanship, drama, and humor was ZATOICHI MEETS SANJURO. The drunken fight where Ichi

[Show spoiler]captures the bodyguard's katana in its own scabbard, and the drunken bodyguard exclaims, "What the h--?! You're a monster!"

had me laughing right off my sofa. Oh and when the young wimp pleads with him, and the gruff bodyguard mocks him with a sarcastic "Sensei..!" Mifune has been great so many times, but both these great actors were superb in that film.

The film (earlier in the series) which ends with Ichi just dancing off down the road with a dopey grin on his face, turning to a scowl just as the film fades to black is a high point of 1960s cinema.

The stark contrast in Zatoichi is probably what I took away most from the set overall. There are many times he could fit in along side Larry, Moe, and Curly as a 4th stooge. Other times, sometimes even in the same episode, he could be an absolute ghoul. Amazing performance by Katsu to make it all seem organic while also having to feign blindness.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching Zatoichi's Conspiracy, the final film of the Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman box set, and I'm now going through the special features on the final disc.

I'm done! I feel as though I've just run a marathon. (Incidentally, I am running an actual marathon on Sunday morning.) I thought that I would be overjoyed to be done with this box set at long last, but I'm actually going to miss hanging out with Zatoichi. I'll revisit these films from time to time, but all together, and not in order. I like the idea of making a "Wheel of Zatoichi" that I can spin on occasion, and watch whatever movie the wheel lands on.

Zatoichi's Conspiracy features Takashi Shimura (Seven Samurai, Ikiru, Zatoichi and the Fugitives) once again in some all-too-brief scenes. This movie is a step down after the amazing previous entry, Zatoichi in Desperation, but it comes to a great end, with a well-choreographed fight scene in a rice warehouse.

Off the top of my head, here are my top five Zatoichi films...

1. The Tale of Zatoichi
2. Zatoichi in Desperation
3. Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
4. Fight, Zatoichi, Fight
5. Zatoichi's Revenge

It's surreal to be watching the behind-the-scenes footage on the final disc right now, because I'm having to get used to seeing cars on these film sets alongside Katsu and others in period garb. Pretty funny.

I'm really glad that I decided to purchase this box set all that time ago. It's an ambitious Criterion release that pays off in spades.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just finished watching Zatoichi's Conspiracy, the final film of the Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman box set, and I'm now going through the special features on the final disc.

I'm done! I feel as though I've just run a marathon. (Incidentally, I am running an actual marathon on Sunday morning.) I thought that I would be overjoyed to be done with this box set at long last, but I'm actually going to miss hanging out with Zatoichi. I'll revisit these films from time to time, but all together, and not in order. I like the idea of making a "Wheel of Zatoichi" that I can spin on occasion, and watch whatever movie the wheel lands on.

Zatoichi's Conspiracy features Takashi Shimura (Seven Samurai, Ikiru, Zatoichi and the Fugitives) once again in some all-too-brief scenes. This movie is a step down after the amazing previous entry, Zatoichi in Desperation, but it comes to a great end, with a well-choreographed fight scene in a rice warehouse.

Off the top of my head, here are my top five Zatoichi films...

1. The Tale of Zatoichi
2. Zatoichi in Desperation
3. Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
4. Fight, Zatoichi, Fight
5. Zatoichi's Revenge

It's surreal to be watching the behind-the-scenes footage on the final disc right now, because I'm having to get used to seeing cars on these film sets alongside Katsu and others in period garb. Pretty funny.

I'm really glad that I decided to purchase this box set all that time ago. It's an ambitious Criterion release that pays off in spades.

Now you need to watch the 26th film not included in the box set.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/250163

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by mja345

Obviously, the availability of quality films in great transfers has gone up astronomically since the video store days. Being a movie collector in the year 2016 is a dream come true. My only point was that the intellectual curiosity regarding film, music, books is different and less among people born, say, post late nineties. There is something different about holding a physical copy of something, whether it's a film or an album or a book, that gives it greater significance to me personally. I still remember films that I picked up in the video store when I was a kid or albums that I picked up in music stores. I can say with 100% that I wouldn't have internalized those same films in the same way had I been scrolling through them on Netflix or Amazon Prime. IMO the act of looking at vast amounts of films or books or albums on shelves has a different effect on the brain than scrolling through a menu on your computer or TV. That's just my own perspective.

I'm not blaming today's kids for being less intellectually curious. It's simply inevitable with the shift in our society. Viral videos are the new form of entertainment for kids, which has made sitting down and watching a slower-paced two hour film seem incredibly arduous for them. Also, streaming allows people to be incredibly lazy with their viewing habits if they aren't inherently curious, which many people aren't. If you want to watch the same television show all the time, you can do that. Another aspect is that when many of us were growing up, we discovered films that we may not have otherwise watched by flipping through channels. I remember watching films like "Rosemary's Baby", "The Shining" and "Raging Bull" when I was a kid simply because I came upon them on various movie channels and they caught my interest. Now, with streaming, you can essentially tailor your viewing habits so you never watch something unfamiliar or out of your comfort zone.

Some interesting points.

If I ever had the chance to have a conversation with an old school cinephile like Martin Scorsese, the first question I'd ask him is what impact do you think the unprecedented level of access to film has had on film making in the modern age?

Back in the 40s, 50s and 60s if you wanted to watch a foreign film or any Criterion-style film, you had to wait for it to come to a local arthouse theater and maybe you got to watch it once or twice and then it disappeared. Every once in a while you might be able to catch a movie like Bicycle Thieves on tv very late at night...but not very often.

They didn't even have rental stores or VCRs back then, let alone Internet streaming sites like we have today. We live in an age where just about every conceivable film that's ever been made is at your fingertips 24/7. And with DVDs and blu-rays you can actually own as many exotic films as you want and play them over and over and over again...skip scenes, repeat scenes, play scenes in slow motion...hit pause to freeze whatever shot you want to analyze.

The ability to study films and absorb the techniques, themes and styles through osmosis and obsessive analysis is unprecedented in the age we live in. In my opinion that can be good and that can be bad.

The benefits are obvious, but what, if any, are the cons?

Do aspiring filmmakers who grow up immersed in a digital ocean of cinema access become more original or more derivative? I would submit the possibility that such access has provided us with a greater ability to learn about film, but also a greater ability to copy other filmmakers...if only subconsciously.

This wasn't really an option in Scorsese's time. They didn't have the ability to study films as assiduously as we do, therefor I suspect that it required them to develop their own styles and techniques in a way that led to more cinematic innovation and less redundancy.

...at least that's one theory that I have.

[Todd Fredericks]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Some interesting points.

If I ever had the chance to have a conversation with an old school cinephile like Martin Scorsese, the first question I'd ask him is what impact do you think the unprecedented level of access to film has had on film making in the modern age?

Back in the 40s, 50s and 60s if you wanted to watch a foreign film or any Criterion-style film, you had to wait for it to come to a local arthouse theater and maybe you got to watch it once or twice and then it disappeared. Every once in a while you might be able to catch a movie like Bicycle Thieves on tv very late at night...but not very often.

They didn't even have rental stores or VCRs back then, let alone Internet streaming sites like we have today. We live in an age where just about every conceivable film that's ever been made is at your fingertips 24/7. And with DVDs and blu-rays you can actually own as many exotic films as you want and play them over and over and over again...skip scenes, repeat scenes, play scenes in slow motion...hit pause to freeze whatever shot you want to analyze.

The ability to study films and absorb the techniques, themes and styles through osmosis and obsessive analysis is unprecedented in the age we live in. In my opinion that can be good and that can be bad.

The benefits are obvious, but what, if any, are the cons?

Do aspiring filmmakers who grow up immersed in a digital ocean of cinema access become more original or more derivative? I would submit the possibility that such access has provided us with a greater ability to learn about film, but also a greater ability to copy other filmmakers...if only subconsciously.

This wasn't really an option in Scorsese's time. They didn't have the ability to study films as assiduously as we do, therefor I suspect that it required them to develop their own styles and techniques in a way that led to more cinematic innovation and less redundancy.

...at least that's one theory that I have.

In the 70's in NY, we rented 16mm films. People also had collections and would have screenings. A filmmaker like Scorsese had access to films.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by Todd Fredericks

In the 70's in NY, we rented 16mm films. People also had collections and would have screenings. A filmmaker like Scorsese had access to films.

Not at the same level that we have today.

How many folks back then had movie collections totaling 1000 or 2000 or more?

The Internet did not exist--streaming did not exist...Amazon and Ebay did not exist.

Even in the VHS age, most rental stores didn't have a very large collection of foreign films or Indy films.

"In the 70's in NY, we rented 16mm films.

I'd be willing to bet that the selection of available films was not nearly what it is today.

...the selection in the 90s wasn't nearly what it is today.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Not at the same level that we have today.

How many folks back then had movie collections totaling 1000 or 2000 or more?

The Internet did not exist--streaming did not exist...Amazon and Ebay did not exist.

Even in the VHS age, most rental stores didn't have a very large collection of foreign films or Indy films.

"In the 70's in NY, we rented 16mm films.

I'd be willing to bet that the selection of available films was not nearly what it is today.

...the selection in the 90s wasn't nearly what it is today.

I only lived few years and as a kid in a pre internet-imdb era and I can't really envision how it was since I wasn't as much into movies at that age.

But I gather it was really hard to know much about the industry, I mean the only way to get information was through ads of new films or magazines, and people used to rent movies just based on the covers in video stores (well normal people probably still do, but on streaming services).

IMDB was a great help to be able to seek movies from certain actor or director who you really enjoyed, otherwise in those years I gather it was even hard to find the names of other movies directed by Kubrick for example if you wanted, otherwise it probably was just like it happens to me with music scores: "ohh there is the name of that guy that sounds familiar, that means it will probably be good".

[jw007]

Ray Jackson, great points you made on today's digital sea of interactivity.

I think the saying of "every person is a filmmaker" today is quite true though.

In fact, I just got back from NYC earlier in the week after having attended a New Order concert at Radio City Music Hall, and decided to shoot HD video on my Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone. I edited together a 14 min. smartphone film. Yes, a "smartphone film". I hear now there are film festivals just for smartphone movies. I've done some video editing in the past but nothing too professional. I don't consider myself professional by any means either, even though my B.A. is in Film Studies. That's purely scholarly though, and not anything in terms of production or craft.

However, with the advent of amazing advanced video technologies, the one big pro of today's society is, anyone can be a filmmaker because our smartphones and cameras all shoot digital video.

And now audio has improved even more, even on smartphones, where I don't even need an external shotgun mic to connect to my device to capture average to good audio! I shot 2 songs from New Order directly through my smartphone's mic and it sounds pretty good.

If anyone wants to watch my short film, here it is! (featuring one of my best friends, Marc "Rock"):

New Order, New York (A Smartphone Film) - YouTube

[Polaroid]

Tangerine was shot on an iPhone

[ZeTi]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

1. The Tale of Zatoichi
2. Zatoichi in Desperation
3. Zatoichi Goes to the Fire Festival
4. Fight, Zatoichi, Fight
5. Zatoichi's Revenge

Very nice, i think we got some in common. Mine would be:

1. Zatoichi at the Fire Festival
2. Tale of Zatoichi
3. The Blind Swordsman's Pilgrimage
4. Masseur Ichi and the Chest of Gold
5. Zatoichi Challenged

Finished my set quite quickly so i'm looking forward to revisit them again in the near future.

[adamhopelies]

Portions of Godard's latest film were shot on iPhones too.

[theater dreamer]

There may be more access to films now, but there's also a hell of a lot more competition for a youngster's attention span/money.

As a percentage, how many college kids do you think have seen a single Hitchcock film, or even know who the hell Ingmar Bergman was? Back in the 1960s and 1970s, universities had film societies. The local movie theaters would play double features of classics on weekends. These things don't exist anymore, at least not in anywhere near the same numbers they once did.

[adamhopelies]

As for the wider debate, about how film culture has developed in the modern age, I remember a lecturer pal of mine (who's been in the business far longer than me) once bemoaning the fact, as he saw it, that with greater choice came a more limited consensus outlook on cinema. He claims it has turned students lazy. Being from the generation he was criticising I disagreed with him from the off, but I've since seen signs of it myself. It's quite a complicated issue, but I'm not exaggerating when I say that out of the class of 20 second-year film studies students I taught last week only three of them had seen Breathless.