The Criterion Collection

[tatterdemalion]

Originally Posted by Purplenoon

I feel like I've landed in the wrong thread. Wasn't this the Criterion Discussion thread?

The thread has gone all schizophrenic this year. I think half the posts have no connections to Criterion at all.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by excalibunny

A lot of whispering online about the Lana Del Rey set.
starting to feel more and more likely.

I don't think I know anything about her/have ever heard her music. What kind of artist is she?

[bwdowiak]

I, too, recently watched Only Angels Have Wings (first viewing) and enjoyed it. Very well cast, good story, a little bit of adventure, and of course, Hawks and Grant at the top of their game.

Someone recently lamented that this film was released before a different Hawks film because the other film is thought to be better. I've only seen Red River, The Big Sleep, and this one, so whatever that film is, bring it on. His films are really darn entertaining!

[Purplenoon]

Originally Posted by tatterdemalion

The thread has gone all schizophrenic this year. I think half the posts have no connections to Criterion at all.

No kidding. Snap out of it, everyone. We've survived another full moon. Let's move on! Lana Del Rey: who gives a rip?

[Scottie]

Night and Fog review is up.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

What a gem Only Angels Have Wings is. Carry Grant looking as suave as ever while displaying a kind of vulnerability that's rare for him, the stellar special effects (Mac's first landing in particular), and a set that manages to make sure light is peaking through every blind, always luminously backlighting Jean Arthur. Every character felt stuck in their rigid roles, both due to setting and the past, and were given the optional path to take in order to break free. Great stuff, and the final scene is a real pleasure.

Now I'm feel like going on a Jean Arthur binge.

It's my favourite Hawks, I know that's a big call but it's sheer perfection IMHO.

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by callahan09

Why doesn't the criterion website seem to acknowledge the existence of their laserdisc catalog?

They do:

https://www.criterion.com/about_us

but at the same time, the format has been dead for a number of years. Most of that stuff they either no longer have the rights to or they released it on DVD (or Blu-Ray).

You can no longer buy a single Laser Disc from them so even including it in the out of print section seems pointless.

[78deluxe]

Just watched "Le Trou" (OOP DVD). Fantastic film, wonder if anyone has the rights to release it on Bluray in the US.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

Just watched "Le Trou" (OOP DVD). Fantastic film, wonder if anyone has the rights to release it on Bluray in the US.

I wish. Jacques Becker's Touchez Pas Au Grisbi and Le Trou are two great Criterion DVDs that I'm still holding onto in my collection in hopes that they are upgraded to domestic Blu-ray at some point.

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I wish. Jacques Becker's Touchez Pas Au Grisbi and Le Trou are two great Criterion DVDs that I'm still holding onto in my collection in hopes that they are upgraded to domestic Blu-ray at some point.

Yeah, I held off buying Le Trou for years in hopes that it would see a region free (or Region A) blu-ray release. Couldn't wait any longer.

I understand there is a Japan release, but without the English subs, it wouldn't do me any good.

Since it went OOP with Criterion a while ago, I'm assuming this means they lost the rights to it all together.

[moreotter]

That's too bad. I have a huge soft spot for prison escape films, and LE TROU has been in my top 2-3 since I first saw it years ago. Hopefully it'll eventually get a Blu release so more people can be exposed to it.

In a similar vein of great films still only on Criterion DVD, I finally watched my copy of LE SAMOURAI and loved it. It was a real slow burn and a nice change of pace.

[theater dreamer]

Oh, man...those screenshots. A couple of them made me tear up.

Seeing any film about the Holocaust can make for quite the emotional experience, obviously; but in the back of my mind, I'm always cognizant of the fact that it's a recreation, or a fictional story set against very real events. So, while it can be incredibly compelling, and moving, there's always that realization, on some level, that I'm watching actors on a movie set. When you see actual black and white pictures, or film, taken from the camps...the diaphanous veil of art is pulled back, and you're confronted full-on with the sheer horror. These are real people, forced to endure the most inhumane treatment imaginable. These aren't scenes drawn up on a storyboard; these are windows into perhaps the darkest moment in human history. The viewer is confronted with pure evil in the form of Adolf Hitler.

I'm quite interested to own, and see this, but I have to be in a very specific frame of mind to sit down, and experience it. Night and Fog is one of those documentaries that demands your full attention. The subject matter deserves all the reverence one can accord.

Resnais is one of the directors I want to explore. I still haven't watched Hiroshima, Mon Amour.

Originally Posted by iScottie

Night and Fog review is up.

[easydreamer]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I wish. Jacques Becker's Touchez Pas Au Grisbi and Le Trou are two great Criterion DVDs that I'm still holding onto in my collection in hopes that they are upgraded to domestic Blu-ray at some point.

Both are owned by StudioCanal, so the chances are pretty slim for the US Blu-ray releases now.

SC released Alphaville in the UK, so they may release them there in the future, but I don't expect the Region A, English friendly release to surface, unless SC cut the ties to LG & everything will be up for grab again.

[MeMynonsense]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I wish. Jacques Becker's Touchez Pas Au Grisbi and Le Trou are two great Criterion DVDs that I'm still holding onto in my collection in hopes that they are upgraded to domestic Blu-ray at some point.

Touche
Absolutely love Le Trou, I think it even eclipses A Man Escaped when you consider the precision and logistical meticulousness involved.
My usual pitch to all prospective viewers is - "It's like the Rififi of the prison-escape genre".
And as far as Touchez Pas Au Grisbi is concerned, all I can say is Monsieur Gabin made one suave hustler. It makes a great double feature with JPM's Bob Le Flambeur - Another studiocanal casualty

[adamhopelies]

We've shared pics of our Criterion/Classic Cinema related tattoos in the past, so I thought I'd share my latest addition. (From Porter's The Great Train Robbery [1903])

[The Great Owl]

I've spent the past couple of days enjoying the Roger Corman's Cult Classics Blu-rays, and revisiting these films that I've loved since childhood.

On my flex day off from work today, I watched Battle Beyond the Stars, which is basically a sci-fi remake of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai. This scrappy flick does not delve quite as deeply into the concepts as the Kurosawa film does, but it does give each "samurai" a distinct personality, so that we grow to love each one, and we miss them when they are killed.

It's great how Seven Samurai is always ripe for timely reinterpretations. The Magnificent Seven, Battle Beyond the Stars, A Bug's Life, etc. Even Guardians of the Galaxy, to a certain extent, is a reinterpretation.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

You can no longer buy a single Laser Disc from them so even including it in the out of print section seems pointless.

It would be nice to be able to see what special features they included on their laser disc releases, to compare them to other releases. I know the information is out there, but it's hard to track down, even the lddb doesn't seem particularly complete.

At the same time, I can see how they don't want to confuse people who think "Oh, Criterion *did* release Citizen Kane? I'll get that one!"

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

They do:

https://www.criterion.com/about_us

but at the same time, the format has been dead for a number of years. Most of that stuff they either no longer have the rights to or they released it on DVD (or Blu-Ray).

You can no longer buy a single Laser Disc from them so even including it in the out of print section seems pointless.

For archival purposes, it would be welcomed.

[78deluxe]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

For archival purposes, it would be welcomed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...rdisc_releases

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...u-ray_releases

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by 78deluxe

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...rdisc_releases

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...u-ray_releases

I believe people are looking for more than a list, they are looking for the same type of entries that Criterion.com currently has for dvd/blu releases with a full description of details and features.