The Criterion Collection

[mja345]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I love Nashville, really like Quintet, and like 3 Women and Short Cuts. Most of the Altman films I've seen range from "I love it" to "I really like it". I can't think of a single Altman film that I didn't like, but then there are still films of his that I haven't seen.

Other than maybe Quintet, I think the most divisive film in Altman's oeuvre is probably Popeye. I know Altman fans who love it (I'm one), and some who hate it.

"Popeye" is great. Altman was such a weird choice to direct that though. It would be like getting Paul Thomas Anderson now to direct a movie based on a children's cartoon. Very incompatible in terms of the target audience. "Ready to Wear" and "Dr. T and the Women" are my two least favorite Altman movies by a fair margin. Neither contained much I really liked.

[Polaroid]

You guys must hate me going off topic but I don't care

Just got back from second screening of The Neon Demon and it's even better than before and the flaws I had found on first screening seem to become resolved after the second.

Defo one of my favorite recent horror films to have come out!

I wouldn't be disappointed to see Criterion approach Refns films!

[prior]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

You guys must hate me going off topic but I don't care

Just got back from second screening of The Neon Demon and it's even better than before and the flaws I had found on first screening seem to become resolved after the second.

Defo one of my favorite recent horror films to have come out!

I wouldn't be disappointed to see Criterion approach Refns films!

That's the spirit.

[llj]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

EDIT: sorry, too, btw... I called it Japanese and it's Chinese. people are sensitive about that, I think.

Coming from a movie buff, it would be considered quite annoying. You can make this kind of mistake on a message board, but I have to admit, if in the 'real world' I hung out with you and I heard you talk for days about movies and then you made this mistake, I'd be momentarily irritated.

A casual moviegoer making this mistake, though, less so.

But I seem to recall you saying before that you weren't very good with Asian cinema, at any rate. Time to level that weakness up!

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Ok, I think I am officially done with the Criterion sale after two more buys today.

[Show spoiler]
Here's my haul:






For those reading the forum on a tablet or smart phone: John Cassavetes: Five Films, 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman, Summer with Monika, Bicycle Thieves, La Jetée/Sans Soleil, Day for Night, Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, 3 Women, Wings of Desire, Only Angels Have Wings, Phoenix, The Bridge, Insomnia, Le silence de la mer, In the Mood for Love, Certified Copy, Autumn Sonata, Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion.

I'm absolutely thrilled to have gotten every single movie I wanted during this sale. Now that the work is done, the fun begins. I have no idea what to watch first, though. I guess my mood tonight will dictate my first selection.

By the way, I want to thank you guys, once again, for your invaluable input as to my rapidly-expanding collection. I bought my first Criterion (On The Waterfront) fourteen months ago; since then, I've added 114 more films in 94 releases. I also picked up a few films that I hadn't planned on, namely The Bridge, and Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion. I've seen people speaking so highly of the two films, I figured what the hell. I read the synopsis of each, and they seemed right up my alley. They add quite nicely to what I think is a real diverse set of films.

Now, to start planning for the next Flash sale!

Very nice haul.

I never knew La Jetee was put on on Blu-Ray--I've been meaning to see that one, since I keep hearing it's classic sci-fi. Will have to keep an eye on it and place an order when it's back in stock.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

You guys must hate me going off topic but I don't care

[daffyduck]You're dethpicable.[/daffyduck]

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by mja345

"Popeye" is great. Altman was such a weird choice to direct that though. It would be like getting Paul Thomas Anderson now to direct a movie based on a children's cartoon. Very incompatible in terms of the target audience. "Ready to Wear" and "Dr. T and the Women" are my two least favorite Altman movies by a fair margin. Neither contained much I really liked.

I love Popeye and it's cock-eyed world. I find it charming even if it's not particularly funny. I think the main problem was with the script by Jules Feiffer. The few parts where it is funny are the result of the cast (Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall and Paul Dooley) being funny in spite of the script. If you read Robert Evans' memoir The Kid Stays in the Picture, he devotes several pages to the production and the aggravation it caused him, but he's the guy who hired Feiffer. Sometimes I wonder what how great it could have been if someone else had written the script.

I've not seen Read to Wear, but Dr. T and the Women is my least favorite Altman. It just seemed like a movie anyone could have directed. I couldn't finish Quintet, and I still liked that film more than Dr. T.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by llj

Coming from a movie buff, it would be considered quite annoying. You can make this kind of mistake on a message board, but I have to admit, if in the 'real world' I hung out with you and I heard you talk for days about movies and then you made this mistake, I'd be momentarily irritated.

A casual moviegoer making this mistake, though, less so.

But I seem to recall you saying before that you weren't very good with Asian cinema, at any rate. Time to level that weakness up!

yeah, I got duped. it was a trailer on the disc for a Japanese film. I'm blaming it on Arrow!

I've been working my way through a lot of great Asian cinema, though, and have enjoyed the heck out of pretty much everything.

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by mja345

"Popeye" is great. Altman was such a weird choice to direct that though. It would be like getting Paul Thomas Anderson now to direct a movie based on a children's cartoon. Very incompatible in terms of the target audience. "Ready to Wear" and "Dr. T and the Women" are my two least favorite Altman movies by a fair margin. Neither contained much I really liked.

They aren't good, but I prefer them to Beyond Therapy and O.C and Stiggs. Popeye looks great but it is a very annoying film.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

They aren't good, but I prefer them to Beyond Therapy and O.C and Stiggs. Popeye looks great but it is a very annoying film.

I always liked Ready to Wear -- though, admittedly, it's been a long time since I've seen it -- but I think that's because I really enjoy the milieu in which it takes place. The world of high fashion is such a weird, fascinating, bizarre place. It's like science fiction, almost.

[tama]

Didn't realize how many CC films I already had. I've only picked up Fantastic Planet and Carnival of Souls so far this sale. That's the least amount since I've been collecting during the B&N sales.

[WonderWeasel]

I was thinking about getting a couple of blind buys today. I've already decided on The Emigrants/The New Land, and I was considering a few of Bergman's films for my other one.

Out of Fanny and Alexander, Cries and Whispers, and Persona, which would you guys consider to be the most essential?

[olivianewtonyawn]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I was thinking about getting a couple of blind buys today. I've already decided on The Emigrants/The New Land, and I was considering a few of Bergman's films for my other one.

Out of Fanny and Alexander, Cries and Whispers, and Persona, which would you guys consider to be the most essential?

Persona for sure. An amazing film. Do you already have other Bergman films or would this be your first?

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

Out of Fanny and Alexander, Cries and Whispers, and Persona, which would you guys consider to be the most essential?

Persona is my favorite of the three, but they're really all fantastic.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I was thinking about getting a couple of blind buys today. I've already decided on The Emigrants/The New Land, and I was considering a few of Bergman's films for my other one.

Out of Fanny and Alexander, Cries and Whispers, and Persona, which would you guys consider to be the most essential?

That's like asking, "Which of your children do you love the most?"

Personally, I would choose Persona. But really, I am certain that you cannot go wrong with any of those choices. They are all brilliant, and each in a different way.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by WonderWeasel

I was thinking about getting a couple of blind buys today. I've already decided on The Emigrants/The New Land, and I was considering a few of Bergman's films for my other one.

Out of Fanny and Alexander, Cries and Whispers, and Persona, which would you guys consider to be the most essential?

Fanny and Alexander and Persona are essential and have the most rewatchability for me.

I don't think I could subject myself to Cries and Whispers again. Not a bad film by any stretch, but incredibly depressing.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Fanny and Alexander and Persona are essential and have the most rewatchability for me.

I don't think I could subject myself to Cries and Whispers again. Not a bad film by any stretch, but incredibly depressing.

That's true.

Then again, I just watched Blue Valentine for like the 10th time the other night. And that's not exactly the most uplifting film ever made.

There may be something very, very wrong with me.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

Persona for sure. An amazing film. Do you already have other Bergman films or would this be your first?

Thanks for the suggestion. I have Wild Strawberries, The Magician, Summer Interlude, and Summer with Monika, and I've also seen The Seventh Seal and Autumn Sonata. I've enjoyed every film of his I've seen, from the reflective to the existential

[bwdowiak]

I'd get Persona perhaps for no other reason than it has one of the best B&W transfers in the collection. The contrast between black and white is so important to the themes of the film and CC did right by the film.

I haven't seen C&W. I didn't like what I saw of F&A and the transfer stinks on the extended version.

[moviecriticsonline]

Has anyone seen Bitter Rice, is it worth getting?