The Criterion Collection

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by jshaide

I'm still waiting for them to stock up on Hidden Fortress from when I ordered it two months ago.

Did you ask them to switch your order to the new BD-only release that comes out tomorrow? There's zero chance of the dual format showing up now; plus when I asked for the switch they gave me free priority shipping

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

I finished A Brighter Summer Day yesterday. It took me a few nights to get through it because I started late at night and it is such a slow burn. I cannot say that 4 hours flew by, but I also did not mind the length.

It is not like any other coming of age I have seen. Slow, deliberate narrative that was completely engrossing. The scope was so huge with so many characters that I did have a little difficulty in following. I was also at a disadvantage in historical understanding of the Taiwan/China/Japan dynamics.

Gorgeous, gorgeous film. Much was shot at night or with camera setups and angles unlike most movies. Solid 9/10.

It sounds a lot like Yang's Yi Yi, which if you haven't seen you should check out.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

Did you ask them to switch your order to the new BD-only release that comes out tomorrow? There's zero chance of the dual format showing up now; plus when I asked for the switch they gave me free priority shipping

Oh that's a good point. I didn't realize that. Did you call them up or send out an email?

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by jshaide

Oh that's a good point. I didn't realize that. Did you call them up or send out an email?

I just used the send a question on their site; got a response really quickly.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

I just used the send a question on their site; got a response really quickly.

Just did.

I'm glad I posted about this-I really didn't even think about the whole dual format issue being the reason for the delay. Thanks a lot for that.

[pedromvu]

The Janus page for Jeanne Dielman

Was very recently updated to include DCP format, hopefully that means it is a step closer to being released on blu-ray, although I am not sure if it has received a recent restoration or what.

[Majin Blu]

I bought and had a first-time watch of "8 1/2" and "A Special Day" over the weekend. I highly enjoyed both of them. I'll be doing a first time viewing of "In Cold Blood" later this week.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by reelgeek

I bought and had a first-time watch of "8 1/2" and "A Special Day" over the weekend. I highly enjoyed both of them. I'll be doing a first time viewing of "In Cold Blood" later this week.

A Special Day may have been my favorite blind-buy from last year. A truly incredible film.

[Snicket]

Since this is Criterion related, and I would rather slit my eyeballs open than wander into the movies section, here you go:

Knight of Cups


The first trailer for Knight of Cups was full of all the electric energy that one would expect to find in any recent work by David Fincher. After the pensive To The Wonder it looked like Knight of Cups may be a new benchmark in style for Malick. The marketing team did a great job in jazzing up the film to make it near presentable for a mainstream audience; they also completely failed the film by jazzing it up. None of that is the fault of the film or it's director however.

Christian Bale is stranded in a desert as a voice over from a priest like figure begins a Pilgrims Progress like oration about the follies of man, the quest to return to ones self, and other spiritual maxims that will drive Bale's quest back to feeling alive. The premise is one of Malick's strongest in years. The backdrop of LA nightlife, and later a trip to Las Vegas provides a rich visual pool (and literal pool as well, as it's rare to go more than 5 minutes without a shoot of someones pool) for Emmanuel Lubezki to draw from, and as expected, the film is gorgeous. Overlapping Pilgrims Progress with vapid Hollywood culture, fame, success, new age philosophy, raves, and sex is the films strongest hand.

Unfortunately the film strays from it's strengths to venture into side stories that really bog down the structure and are indicative of Malick at his worst. We are introduced to Bale's family, his brother and father, who have a rough relationship, as we have now come to expect. Once Bale's father begins to guide much of the voice over, the film being to stray into a vague and ponderous direction that happily kept at bay during the films first three quarters. Also an odd choice, as Bale's father is portrayed as an antagonist, but suddenly become a sort of spiritual guide late in the game. A confusing character arc but trying to follow narrative here is a fool's errand.

Bale does a mostly fine job as the film's lead. He is most often required to aimlessly wander from once experience to the next, not really show much emotion, and often walking behind others as a sort of bored tourist in his own life. The other top billed actors, Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman (who shows up late in the game) are right at home in Malick's style, he seemingly asks nothing and everything of his actors. There are a trio of women in the film who are not receiving enough credit however, Freida Pinto, Teresa Palmer and especially Imogen Poots are all notably fantastic in their roles, and play well into Malick's style. They each, along with Portman and Blanchett have their own unique pull on Bale as he searches for a life he can call his own. An interesting choice that piques my curiosity about how Malick feels about women, especially considering this is his most sexual film to date. Thankfully though Malick is not too harsh in his male gaze with the camera, as he explores sex and nudity with the same cinematic curiosity he explores a sidewalk or a fish.

True to form the film also features many cameos of triple A talent that play as little more than background. Antonio Banderas and Nick Offerman among them, who were lucky enough to not have all their lines cut. To be in the film at all would be considered a big win.

In the end Knight of Cups is a little too long and a little too ponderous to make a lasting impression. The film says everything it needs to in the first three quarters and is really just covering the same old ground in it's last. Although it's supporting cast and cinematography make it worth the watch completely. I'm glad Terrence Malick gets to make films, we need more filmmakers like him who get to be uncompromising and make exactly what they want to. They may not always paint the Mona Lisa, but the art is theirs. And that's something that most filmmakers don't get to claim.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by pedromvu

The Janus page for Jeanne Dielman

Was very recently updated to include DCP format, hopefully that means it is a step closer to being released on blu-ray, although I am not sure if it has received a recent restoration or what.

It has, I posted earlier in the thread that it'll be screening at The Film Forum in NYC courtesy of Janus Films, and they state it's from a new restoration. A BD upgrade seems very likely this year, maybe even part of a Chantal Akerman boxset

http://filmforum.org/film/chantal-ak...bruxelles-film

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

My head will explode if both are announced for July.

Can very much see Before movies being the July box set!!!

[ShellOilJunior]

Kiarostami update.

The good news is he's come out of the coma but is recovering from cancer treatments.

Kiarostami reportedly went into a coma following bleeding brought on by intestinal cancer and while he has recovered from the coma, he is still under treatment in a hospital in Iran.

The latest reports indicate that Kiarostami is recovering from the bleeding attack and cancer treatments.

Physicians have told Iran's national TV broadcaster that Kiarostami underwent a successful surgical procedure.

The Kiarostami family has not yet made any statements regarding his current state of health.

Abbas Kiarostami won the Palm D'Or at Cannes in 1997 for his Taste of Cherry and has become one of the internationally known faces of Iranian cinema, continuing his success both in Iran and abroad with films such as Ten and Certified Copy.

http://www.payvand.com/news/16/mar/1122.html

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by Fabs

It sounds a lot like Yang's Yi Yi, which if you haven't seen you should check out.

Yi Yi has been on my short list to watch for a couple of months. I'm waiting for the right mood to hit me. I also need to watch The Emigrants/The New Land. I have to space out these 3-4 hour films or I get burnt out on taking nightly bites out of them. Unless I have time on the weekends I just can't devote that many consecutive hours in front of the TV.

I started Z last night and may delve into the Costa-Gavras films for a couple of weeks. The first hour was right up my alley. Ever since seeing Spotlight and Manchurian Candidate I've been on a investigative/political/thriller kick. Reading "All the President's Men", too. It is a favorite flick, but I have never read the book.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Since this is Criterion related, and I would rather slit my eyeballs open than wander into the movies section, here you go:

Knight of Cups


The first trailer for Knight of Cups was full of all the electric energy that one would expect to find in any recent work by David Fincher. After the pensive To The Wonder it looked like Knight of Cups may be a new benchmark in style for Malick. The marketing team did a great job in jazzing up the film to make it near presentable for a mainstream audience; they also completely failed the film by jazzing it up. None of that is the fault of the film or it's director however.

Christian Bale is stranded in a dessert as a voice over from a priest like figure begins a Pilgrims Progress like oration about the follies of man, the quest to return to ones self, and other spiritual maxims that will drive Bale's quest back to feeling alive. The premise is one of Malick's strongest in years. The backdrop of LA nightlife, and later a trip to Las Vegas provides a rich visual pool (and literal pool as well, as it's rare to go more than 5 minutes without a shoot of someones pool) for Emmanuel Lubezki to draw from, and as expected, the film is gorgeous. Overlapping Pilgrims Progress with vapid Hollywood culture, fame, success, new age philosophy, raves, and sex is the films strongest hand.

Unfortunately the film strays from it's strengths to venture into side stories that really bog down the structure and are indicative of Malick at his worst. We are introduced to Bale's family, his brother and father, who have a rough relationship, as we have now come to expect. Once Bale's father begins to guide much of the voice over, the film being to stray into a vague and ponderous direction that happily kept at bay during the films first three quarters. Also an odd choice, as Bale's father is portrayed as an antagonist, but suddenly become a sort of spiritual guide late in the game. A confusing character arc but trying to follow narrative here is a fool's errand.

Bale does a mostly fine job as the film's lead. He is most often required to aimlessly wander from once experience to the next, not really show much emotion, and often walking behind others as a sort of bored tourist in his own life. The other top billed actors, Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman (who shows up late in the game) are right at home in Malick's style, he seemingly asks nothing and everything of his actors. There are a trio of women in the film who are not receiving enough credit however, Freida Pinto, Teresa Palmer and especially Imogen Poots are all notably fantastic in their roles, and play well into Malick's style. They each, along with Portman and Blanchett have their own unique pull on Bale as he searches for a life he can call his own. An interesting choice that piques my curiosity about how Malick feels about women, especially considering this is his most sexual film to date. Thankfully though Malick is not too harsh in his male gaze with the camera, as he explores sex and nudity with the same cinematic curiosity he explores a sidewalk or a fish.

True to form the film also features many cameos of triple A talent that play as little more than background. Antonio Banderas and Nick Offerman among them, who were lucky enough to not have all their lines cut. To be in the film at all would be considered a big win.

In the end Knight of Cups is a little too long and a little too ponderous to make a lasting impression. The film says everything it needs to in the first three quarters and is really just covering the same old ground in it's last. Although it's supporting cast and cinematography make it worth the watch completely. I'm glad Terrence Malick gets to make films, we need more filmmakers like him who get to be uncompromising and make exactly what they want to. They may not always paint the Mona Lisa, but the art is theirs. And that's something that most filmmakers don't get to claim.

Great write-up, Snicket. You really give me a good feel for this film. "Bored tourist in his own life"....I like that description. I am not much of a Malick fan but I still watch his films and appreciate their artistry, as well as Malick's ability to continue to make movies his way. I completely agree with the sentiments in your last paragraph.

I have not seen this film yet, but if it opens with Bale stranded in a dessert, then this seems like a bit of a new direction for Malick. Me, I would love to be stranded in a giant key lime pie. Yum!

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by oildude

Great write-up, Snicket. You really give me a good feel for this film. "Bored tourist in his own life"....I like that description. I am not much of a Malick fan but I still watch his films and appreciate their artistry, as well as Malick's ability to continue to make movies his way. I completely agree with the sentiments in your last paragraph.

I have not seen this film yet, but if it opens with Bale stranded in a dessert, then this seems like a bit of a new direction for Malick. Me, I would love to be stranded in a giant key lime pie. Yum!

Pro tip: Never write while hungry.

[joie]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

It has, I posted earlier in the thread that it'll be screening at The Film Forum in NYC courtesy of Janus Films, and they state it's from a new restoration. A BD upgrade seems very likely this year, maybe even part of a Chantal Akerman boxset

http://filmforum.org/film/chantal-ak...bruxelles-film

At the link, the announcement for "Beauty and the Beast" states Blu-ray and DVD (aside from DCP and 35 mm), but "Jeanne Dielman ..." only states DVD. Typo?

I am curious about whether "Beauty & the Beast" is from the new restoration.

[Nuck Horris]

How long does it take for that Jon Mulvaney guy to email back?

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by Nuck Horris

How long does it take for that Jon Mulvaney guy to email back?

Last time it took "him" 4 minutes to email me back.

[shadedpain4]

To those who are always requesting more animation in the Criterion Collection, do yourself a favor and pick up this. It's only available until the remainder of the kickstarter leftovers are sold, and it's brilliant

[Nuck Horris]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

Last time it took "him" 4 minutes to email me back.

Well, I'm on 4 days and since then one release I asked about artwork for is now supposedly being upgraded in the near future... Maybe the other release I asked about will be upgraded too and I won't have to worry about it anymore. I will then have more out of print urine soaked artwork to add to my collection of peed on things.