The Criterion Collection

[jw007]

Originally Posted by mja345

It gets increasingly bizarre and surreal as the movie goes on and ends up just being a colossal mindf**k. The first 30 or 40 minutes are basically used to establish the dynamic between Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall. Then, things start to get real weird, in a good way.

Altman's 3 Women is very David Lynchian now that I recall.

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by senseabove

I suspect 3 Women played a significant part in leading Kubrick to choose Duvall for The Shining.

I couldn't help but notice some of the parallels between Millie Lammoreaux in 3 Women and Wendy Torrance in The Shining. How both characters are looked down on, except in 3 Women there is one exception in Pinky.

Also, what struck me is that at one point in 3 Women she says "Purple and yellow are my favorite colors" and in The Shining she says "Pink and gold are my favorite colors".

And as for Jack Nicholson's character, one Youtube analysis pointed out the many parallels between Bobby Dupea from Five Easy Pieces and Jack Torrance. There's also a visual hint:

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

It tries way too hard to be all kooky and eccentric. I'd prefer to watch most of Sandler's 'dumb' comedies over it.

PTA in general is overrated, but I like some of his films. I don't like Punch Drunk Love though.

I'm sort of confused as to how the director of Hard Eight, There Will Be Blood, Magnolia, The Master and others could possibly be considered overrated.

[malakaheso]

Hard Eight was a solid debut, but it wasn't even the best debut by an American film maker of that time. Magnolia plays like dumbed down Altman. It impressed me the first time but not the second, which is typical of my experience with PTA films when revisiting them. There Will Be Blood is very good (DDD is superb) but Dano was weak and almost ruined many key scenes in my view. The Master is easily my fav of that list.

Taste is taste of course, but I don't see anything special in PTA. He is just a very good craftsman.

Judging by your best of decade list, we don't have similar taste. The only film I rate highly from that list is The Assassination of Jesse James, although I like most of them. The Master would probably make my ten best American films though over that time period. It could make me top overall list, who knows, I'd have to watch it again, but even if it did, that still wouldn't make him one of my favourite directors. Hard To Be A God is one of my personal favs of this decade, but I wasn't too keen on the director's other films.

I should really create my top ten list of this decade on here. Thanks for the idea! Now I have to figure out how to do it!

[theater dreamer]

Crying, the song that was adapted to Spanish for the movie, is a very famous song in the States. It was originally recorded by Roy Orbison in 1961. It reached #2 on the Billboard Top 100 list. Though he had a lot of very memorable songs, and big hits, it's probably his signature song.

Here he is performing the song live in 1965. He's known for having one of the most beautiful voices in popular music history. By the way, I think Rebekha did Mr. Orbison's song proud. It really translates well to Spanish, imho.

Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLC9o_unLq4

Originally Posted by pedromvu

That club silencio scene always gets me, I don't know if it is common knowledge what the lyrics of the song are saying in Spanish but they immediately click with the plot of the movie even if at that moment you are not completely aware of the specifics of how it is going to resolve, it gives you a good idea and that moment makes the scene incredibly powerful, also of course it helps that the song is great and it is beautifully singed by Rebekah Del Rio.

[thecardman23]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I watched about 45 minutes of 3 Women last night on Netflix and it was all I could take.

Does anything actually happen in this movie?

Assuming I can summon the willpower to finish it tonight, I do not think this will end up being one of my favorite Altman films.

...I do not think that is a possibility.

The first time I watched that film I wasn't wowed either. But months afterward it sat with me. I found myself looking up reviews of it and trying to better understand.

Eventually I ended up buying back the criterion copy I sold and on second viewing enjoyed it even more.

[Member-167298]

Doesn't Criterion usually have a sale in September?

If so, when would someone guess it would be? Does it usually only last for a single day?

[Gusto-Guus]

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

Doesn't Criterion usually have a sale in September?

If so, when would someone guess it would be? Does it usually only last for a single day?

Pretty sure it's usually in October.

[theater dreamer]

PrestonXI, I would expect it the first week of October. Keep an eye out this thread, and on the Reddit Criterion discussion. Also, go to the Criterion website, and make sure you've signed up with them for e-mail alerts. They will send you an e-mail to announce the start, and you should be able to set your e-mail to shoot you a text message when that is received.

The Reddit group is usually pretty good about nailing down a date at least a week in advance. And, yes, it will last for 24 hours only. If you want to lock in a certain group of movies, I'd order as soon after the sale kickoff as possible. Orders over $50 ship free. All DVDs and Blu-rays are 50% off MSRP. And, Criterion tracks all orders purchased through their store. After you've spent $500 on merchandise, they'll instantly award you a free $50 gift certificate. I only need $184 more, which I'll hit easily, so I'll get one for sure. I'm going to single-handedly crash their server with my order, lol. It's going to be pretty big.

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

Doesn't Criterion usually have a sale in September?

If so, when would someone guess it would be? Does it usually only last for a single day?

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I watched about 45 minutes of 3 Women last night on Netflix and it was all I could take.

Does anything actually happen in this movie?

Assuming I can summon the willpower to finish it tonight, I do not think this will end up being one of my favorite Altman films.

...I do not think that is a possibility.

Ray, 3 Women is a masterpiece. Start it over, and watch it through. Then let it marinate for a day or two and come back. Marinate on the film, that is. I don't mean go out and tend to your meats while the film is playing.

The cinematography in those first 45 mins alone would've made me cut your finger off for pressing stop.

[theater dreamer]

Just ordered Kenji Mizoguchi's The Life of Oharu from Barnes & Noble. Used my 40% off coupon.

I'm really excited. I have some great films coming in the mail right now, all in advance of next month's Flash sale. Besides the aforementioned Mizoguchi masterpiece, I have these coming from various sources:

Life is Beautiful
Malena (uncut Korean digibook import)
Amelie
Darling (Studio Canal UK import)
Lifeboat (MoC import)
Rope
Shadow of a Doubt
La Môme (La Vie en Rose) (UK import)
Wild at Heart (UK import)
The Lost Weekend (MoC import)
Wings

With these, and the Criterions I still haven't watched from the B&N sale, I am going to be a very busy boy. I don't know how I'll keep my eyes open long enough to watch all these. Seeing a young Julie Christie and Laura Dern should help. Who knows, maybe I'll go all A Clockwork Orange for the rest.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

Ray, 3 Women is a masterpiece. Start it over, and watch it through. Then let it marinate for a day or two and come back. Marinate on the film, that is. I don't mean go out and tend to your meats while the film is playing.

The cinematography in those first 45 mins alone would've made me cut your finger off for pressing stop.

I finished it last night.

That...is a very strange product of the cinematic medium.

A very...very...very strange product.

Is there a secret about the ending that I'm supposed to understand?

Because I'm lost right now.

Lost in a mind-numbing, psychotropic haze of purple and yellow, old people in bathing suits and disturbingly graphic pool-bottom murals.

Is it just me or is Shelley Duvall one of the oddest human beings who ever walked the earth?

She's just so...odd.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Hard Eight was a solid debut, but it wasn't even the best debut by an American film maker of that time. Magnolia plays like dumbed down Altman. It impressed me the first time but not the second, which is typical of my experience with PTA films when revisiting them. There Will Be Blood is very good (DDD is superb) but Dano was weak and almost ruined many key scenes in my view. The Master is easily my fav of that list.

Taste is taste of course, but I don't see anything special in PTA. He is just a very good craftsman.

Judging by your best of decade list, we don't have similar taste. The only film I rate highly from that list is The Assassination of Jesse James, although I like most of them. The Master would probably make my ten best American films though over that time period. It could make me top overall list, who knows, I'd have to watch it again, but even if it did, that still wouldn't make him one of my favourite directors. Hard To Be A God is one of my personal favs of this decade, but I wasn't too keen on the director's other films.

I should really create my top ten list of this decade on here. Thanks for the idea! Now I have to figure out how to do it!

[Show spoiler]


Get out of here devil!

Get...out...of....HEREEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[senseabove]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I finished it last night.

That...is a very strange product of the cinematic medium.

A very...very...very strange product.

Is there a secret about the ending that I'm supposed to understand?

Because I'm lost right now.

Lost in a mind-numbing, psychotropic haze of purple and yellow, old people in bathing suits and disturbingly graphic pool-bottom murals.

Is it just me or is Shelley Duvall one of the oddest human beings who ever walked the earth?

She's just so...odd.

I think knowing that

[Show spoiler]it was based on a dream Altman had helps some

with understanding how the logic works. The "this is a puzzle that I need to solve" interpretation would be

[Show spoiler]that the bulk of the movie is Willie's dream from which she wakes at the end, with Willie, Millie, and Pinky being mother daughter, and granddaughter in "real life," there presumably having been an abusive husband in one of their lives at some point, and the dream is a cycling through different roles/personalities/life stages that Willie experiences herself or sees the other two women go through.

The "this is fiction, it doesn't have to make sense" interpretation would be

[Show spoiler] that given the ease with which Pinky shifts identity and Millie's desire to find a solid relationship, the three women assume pseudo-familial roles in post-Edgar life.

But while you ponder interpretations, you can play this on a loop in the background for inspiration:

HELLO, I'M SHELLEY DUVALL ! - YouTube

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I finished it last night.

That...is a very strange product of the cinematic medium.

A very...very...very strange product.

Is there a secret about the ending that I'm supposed to understand?

Because I'm lost right now.

Lost in a mind-numbing, psychotropic haze of purple and yellow, old people in bathing suits and disturbingly graphic pool-bottom murals.

Is it just me or is Shelley Duvall one of the oddest human beings who ever walked the earth?

She's just so...odd.

Man, I just love Shelley Duvall and I think her performance is what holds 3 Women together, although Sissy Spacek does a good job in a kind of creepy way and Janice Rule is effective with the little she has to work with. I think the film can best be described as, imagine Persona if Bergman had spent a few months in the California desert eating peyote.

Glad you made it to the finish line, Ray.

[bwdowiak]

Despite having quite a few CC titles on my wish list, i just cant make it work with my 40% B&N coupon. I even considered spending the $25 on a membership, but the timing would be bad for that. I guess, too, that I'd rather pledge my allegiance to Criterion by buying straight from them during their next flash sale. One day I'll get to the free gift certificate, although I'm pretty far away.

PM me if you'd like to have my code. I just ask that it is somebody who contributes to the thread here. Doesn't have to be regularly or often.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by senseabove

[Show spoiler]I think knowing that

[Show spoiler]it was based on a dream Altman had helps some

with understanding how the logic works. The "this is a puzzle that I need to solve" interpretation would be

[Show spoiler]that the bulk of the movie is Willie's dream from which she wakes at the end, with Willie, Millie, and Pinky being mother daughter, and granddaughter in "real life," there presumably having been an abusive husband in one of their lives at some point, and the dream is a cycling through different roles/personalities/life stages that Willie experiences herself or sees the other two women go through.

The "this is fiction, it doesn't have to make sense" interpretation would be

[Show spoiler] that given the ease with which Pinky shifts identity and Millie's desire to find a solid relationship, the three women assume pseudo-familial roles in post-Edgar life.

But while you ponder interpretations, you can play this on a loop in the background for inspiration:
HELLO, I'M SHELLEY DUVALL ! - YouTube

[Show spoiler]

[mja345]

A bizarre dream you actually remember is usually far more bizarre than anything you could possibly create when you're awake. I've always felt like "3 Women" and "Marienbad" are two films that are like outlines of really bizarre dreams. Even more than Lynch films, which are more calculated surrealism. Can't you just imagine having a dream where you're wandering around the corridors of a giant chateau endlessly pursuing a woman while her Lurch-like husband seems to always be lurking on the edges?

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Man, I just love Shelley Duvall and I think her performance is what holds 3 Women together, although Sissy Spacek does a good job in a kind of creepy way and Janice Rule is effective with the little she has to work with. I think the film can best be described as, imagine Persona if Bergman had spent a few months in the California desert eating peyote.

Glad you made it to the finish line, Ray.

The Persona influence is pretty obvious.

[kuro_sawa]

It's like all great abstract art. You can't pin-point A B C and simply explain why they're there, nor can you explain the whole piece succinctly without adding your own interpretation, and every one who experiences it will come away with a different but equally valuable take on it. It sounds stupid but it transcends film in a way; the first time I saw it was the only time I felt high without ingesting a substance of some sort. It had an effect on me no other film I'd seen had. This was before I could easily watch it at home any time I felt like it, so I thought about it and discovered it in my head for a long time until I finally saw it again and it did the same thing to me, and I had a whole other interpretation.