The Criterion Collection

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by johnmccabe

It's like saying people like Short Cuts mainly because we see a half naked Julianne Moore.

Julianne Moore? Madeleine Stowe is the one I remember best. Well, either way...

[johnmccabe]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Julianne Moore? Madeleine Stowe is the one I remember best. Well, either way...

JM is arguing with Matthew Modine and she's not wearing anything below the waist.

[bwdowiak]

I have "fallen in love" with female characters in films and felt that my connection/attraction to the film was heightened because of it, but never because of nudity or a specific steamy hot scene.

..and I agree with the above poster's buddies - Blue is the Warmest Color is one of the best films in recent memory. I fell in love with the Adele character. I think the actress is smoking hot, but that wasn't the reason why I connected with her. I wasn't turned on by the sex in the film either.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Julianne Moore? Madeleine Stowe is the one I remember best. Well, either way...

Originally Posted by johnmccabe

JM is arguing with Matthew Modine and she's not wearing anything below the waist.

Yes, I remember the JM scene. I was just saying that as far as pleasant memories of the female form go with respect to that film, it's Stowe that made more of an impression on me.

[Arch Stanton]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

I don't get a strong surreal vibe from MD. It seems too 'straight' for me, but then perhaps I had overdosed on his style by the time it arrived.

Oh no, not to the extent of Eraserhead or even Inland Empire, but he sweeps those elements in along with the conventional Hollywood narrative/soap opera bits that make up Betty's story. The hobo behind the diner, the cowboy, Club Silencio, the old couple emerging from under the door etc. And of course lots of electricity.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

You'll be glad you made that choice.

It's just a a very ... depressing and hurting film. Gosling and Williams are simply spectacular, and the script is amazing. Watching it is like watching a building crumble to the ground in super-slo-motion.

I'm doing a great job selling it, eh?

But it really is a terrific film.

Ryan Gosling's fake receding hair line in that film is so bad and it is so easy to spot... it reminds me of Indian Superman. I don't think that director does too well with make-up and costumes. His tattoos on Gosling in The Place Beyond The Pines was equally as bad, just in a different way.

Indian Superman - YouTube

[BerryTheMusicMan]

Two more Criterion order's just arrived !
[IMG][/IMG]

[BerryTheMusicMan]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

My favorite David Lynch movie is still Dune (1984). I guess that I'm in the extreme minority.

Wish the extended cut would get a good remaster an a BluRay release

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I think if I had to pick 5 present directors whose work I appreciate more than anyone else's right now, it would have to be:

Fincher
NWR
Aronofsky
Nolan
Malick

Spike Jonze and Steve McQueen are definitely up there, just missing out.

Wait... I thought Sophia Coppola was the LeBron James of filmmaking? Does that make these 5 directors nine-foot basketball Jesus?

[Roninblues]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I liked A Simple Life just fine, but it's no where near as good as Departures, at least for me.

You are correct

[silverlakephil]

I recently got a $50 cash card from my health provider. I plan on using it to pick up some Criterions later

[RalphoR]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Clearly, Lynch missed the optimal tag line for Mulholland Drive:

"Come for the tits. Stay for the art."



And just think...if Alexandria Daddario's rack had "accidentally" spilled out while she was swimming underwater, San Andreas might have challenged Vertigo and Citizen Kane for the top spot on Sight & Sound's "Top 100 Films of All-Time" list in 2022. An opportunity missed. Or two, depending on how one looks at it.


"Damn your modesty, Alexandria! My name could have been elevated to the pantheon of greats, alongside Welles and Hitchcock!!--Brad Peyton

You should check out True Detective.......they are most impressive.

[Roninblues]

Originally Posted by silverlakephil

I recently got a $50 cash card from my health provider. I plan on using it to pick up some Criterions later

Did you just retire?

[Kyle15]

Originally Posted by prior

With 'people' you obviously mean heterosexual men?

I agree this is a big part of why the film is so loved by many. Nothing wrong with that. It would be nice though if they could admit as much and not make the film into the art-festival it simply isn't.

I'm a gay dude and it's my favorite Lynch movie, and one of my favorite movies period. The atmosphere is intoxicating. (ymmv of course as always)

Also, I think it's sort of a cop-out (not to mention immature) to say it only has a lot of love over boobs. PUH-LEEEEZE

[Ray Jackson]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...music is the most underrated element of great films.

I can juxtapose two films I watched over the last week to underscore my point.

All three films of the Vim Venders Road Trilogy were amazing to me and not coincidentally, I loved the score in all three films.

A Brighter Summer Day, on the other hand, had no score and I did not love it.

Yes I thought it was a little slow...yes I thought it was too long. But it never ceases to amaze me the extent to which music often provides the emotional backbone for a great film. Perhaps there are some movies for which not having an original score or some kind of soundtrack is a good idea. I do not think A Brighter Summer Day is one of those films.

...especially when it's four hours long.

Would Alice In The Cities still be a good film without the acoustic guitar theme that plays throughout? Yes it would still be very good. Would it be magical in a way that tugged at my heartstrings like a violin?

...I don't think so.

Would Vertigo still be a great film with a crappy score? Yeah probably.

Would it be one of the greatest films of all time?

...I don't think so.

Music plays such a pivotal role in elevating a film into the realm of the transcendental and the spiritual.

I wish Edward Yang was still alive.

I would've loved to ask him his philosophy on this.

[BerryTheMusicMan]

Just watched Thief , hadn't watched it in 10 years ,
Forgot how on edge this movie makes me and the soundtrack just adds to it .
Good stuff !

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I've said it before and I'll say it again...music is the most underrated element of great films.

(edited to add the quote, for reference, because a post popped up in between)

I saw "No Country For Old Men" at a very very early screening, pre-Cannes, in NY. At the end of the film, I was scanned the back, looking for the Coens, because a lot of times directors come to the early ones, to see how the audience reacts (that's how I met Terry Gilliam, but that's a different story). They weren't there, but I saw two women I had worked with on a previous job, one of whom I knew was their assistant editor. So I asked her and she confirmed that it was locked down (and that the brothers weren't there).

So I asked her, "There was a music credit at the end... are they going to add music to that?" And she said, "No, that was it." And I got relieved because, honestly, I couldn't imagine how music could've improved any of it.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I've said it before and I'll say it again...music is the most underrated element of great films.

I can juxtapose two films I watched over the last week to underscore my point.

All three films of the Vim Venders Road Trilogy were amazing to me and not coincidentally, I loved the score in all three films.

A Brighter Summer Day, on the other hand, had no score and I did not love it.

Yes I thought it was a little slow...yes I thought it was too long. But it never ceases to amaze me the extent to which music often provides the emotional backbone for a great film. Perhaps there are some movies for which not having an original score or some kind of soundtrack is a good idea. I do not think A Brighter Summer Day is one of those films.

...especially when it's four hours long.

Would Alice In The Cities still be a good film without the acoustic guitar theme that plays throughout? Yes it would still be very good. Would it be magical in a way that tugged at my heartstrings like a violin?

...I don't think so.

Would Vertigo still be a great film with a crappy score? Yeah probably.

Would it be one of the greatest films of all time?

...I don't think so.

Music plays such a pivotal role in elevating a film into the realm of the transcendental and the spiritual.

I wish Edward Yang was still alive.

I would've loved to ask him his philosophy on this.

Agreed, the best score for me was Kings of the Road though, I've yet to see A Brighter Summer Day but I remember loving a few films with no score too, for example, Revanche, I believe The Birds has no score either which is probably my favorite Hitchcock film.

[CPinheiro]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Music plays such a pivotal role in elevating a film into the realm of the transcendental and the spiritual.

I couldn't agree more. To be honest Alice in the Cities is one of my all time favorites and the score and cinematography must be the main reasons for why I like it so much.

Same thing can be said about Kieślowski movies. And Malick's (would the creation of the universe scene in The Tree of Life be as perfect as it is without Preisner's Lacrimosa?).
Come to think of it, Picnic at Hanging Rock was in my mind for days when I first watched it, specially because of its haunting score too.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by CPinheiro

I couldn't agree more. To be honest Alice in the Cities is one of my all time favorites and the score and cinematography must be the main reasons for why I like it so much.

Same thing can be said about Kieślowski movies. And Malick's (would the creation of the universe scene in The Tree of Life be as perfect as it is without Preisner's Lacrimosa?).
Come to think of it, Picnic at Hanging Rock was in my mind for days when I first watched it, specially because of its haunting score too.