The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jmclick

In his book "Alternate Oscars", writer Danny Peary rewrites the history of the Academy Awards by explaining his own personal choices for the categories of Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress, from 1927/28 through 1992. In his opinion, Joan Bennett deserved the statuette in 1945 for her performance as Kitty "Lazy Legs" Marsh in Scarlet Street, which he considers to be the crowning achievement of her long, distinguished career.

Joan Bennett is my third favorite actress of all time, right behind Gene Tierney and Barbara Stanwyck, and I agree that her performance in Scarlet Street is note-perfect, although I think she was also superb in Me and My Gal (1932) opposite Spencer Tracy, and especially in the 1947 screen adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, The Macomber Affair, an unfairly neglected film co-starring Gregory Peck and Robert Preston, which would make a fantastic addition to the Criterion Collection. The New York Times critic summed up her performance in Macomber as being "completely hydrochloric", and I think that was a fitting tribute to the *****y character that she created so memorably.

I had the honor of meeting Miss Bennett in Houston, Texas, in 1983. She was a startlingly tiny woman, quite gracious and still lovely at the age of 73, and she exuded star quality from every pore. Her career lasted more than half a century; it's a shame that she was so often taken for granted by filmgoers and critics alike. She deserved to win many accolades; it's shocking to me that she was never even nominated for any of them.

The first movie that I ever saw starring Joan Bennet was a 1981 television movie called This House Possessed. She plays this mysterious old lady who warns the couple about the house that they just bought, telling them, "You shouldn't have come." I saw that movie back when it first aired on television, and I've never forgotten it. There's one scene where an automatic gate closes on a vehicle, killing the poor person inside.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by senseabove

If y'all haven't watched Treme, I highly recommend it. I, personally, think it's better than The Wire.

Treme is wonderful but I haven't got around to the last 2 seasons yet. And don't want to derail the thread too much but my top 5 (at least at the moment) would be The Wire, Deadwood, Mad Men, The Sopranos and Breaking Bad.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I try to stay up to date with watching all of the films released or announced to be released by Criterion on Blu-ray. As many of you know, I used to blind buy these films. However, for the past couple of years I've been opting to rent or stream the films instead (it saves me a lot of money, especially when I find most of them to have little replay value).

I've been lucky enough to see everything released from December 2008 (their start) until June 2016. Now I just need to get through my backlog and watch the remaining films already released or announced to be released.

Any of you see these? Any recommendations on the best ones to start with?

1. Le Amiche
2. Black Girl
3. Cameraperson
4. La Chienne
5. Chimes at Midnight
6. Dreams
7. The Executioner
8. Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words
9. Lone Wolf and Cub (all six movies)
10. Mildred Pierce
11. One-Eyed Jacks
12. Roma
13. Something Wild
14. A Taste of Honey
15. A Touch of Zen
16. The Tree of Wooden Clogs
17. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Since you already got a recommendation for Mildred Pierce, I'll put in a plug for Le Amiche.



I watched this a couple of weeks ago. Once again, Antonioni reminds me to include him in my list of top directors. There are themes here that provide a foundation for further construction a few years later in his alienation quadrilogy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Le Amiche. It is a delightfully witty, sometimes cruel, and often moving melodrama about the bonds that develop between a small group of girlfriends, their differing backgrounds and socio-economic upbringings, and the men who make their lives interesting. The center of gravity around which these relationships and interactions orbit is a beautiful young newcomer who arrives in the city to oversee the grand opening and manage a boutique for a fashion house. That may not sound all that exciting for a plot, but in the hands of Antonioni these characters and the moments they share become pure gold.

Antonioni may not be for everyone, but I have come to love his character dramas, his use of period music, his time capsule peek into mid-century Italian urban life, and all the interactions, dialogue, and chic - whether polished or shabby - of the lost souls that inhabit his gorgeously lensed worlds.




And now for something completely different......I'll also put in a plug for Lone Wolf and Cub. Just starting to watch the series and am enjoying it so far. When you need a change of pace from talky Italians nothing revives the spirit like a blazing chop-socky samurai chambara flick.

[jw007]

Hey all,

I finally got back from NYC this past weekend and have to say that the screening of The Tree of Life at the Brooklyn Academy of Music was pretty amazing.

A couple of guys on this forum (RojD and SammyJankis) were supposed to meet up with me sometime that weekend but things didn't fall through, so none of us got to meet up.

However, seeing this epic Terrence Malick film in a huge theater complete with a 100 piece symphony orchestra and live choir was phenomenal. At times I wasn't sure what to look at... the movie or the musicians? I mostly stared at the screen, but since I'd seen this film already, I wanted to take in the spectacle of seeing a live orchestra scoring a film, so at times I was thoroughly amazed at how seamless the live music went with the movie. They were perfectly on cue. Now I want to see more favorite films of mine with an accompanying live orchestra! I can't imagine how beautiful it would be to experience a movie such as 2001: A Space Odyssey with a live orchestra too. Does anyone know if such experiences take place on a regular basis somewhere around the world?

I've attached a photo I shot right after the credits finished rolling as the musicians played. The moment of the photo captures the applause from the audience and how the many musicians were honored. To be honest, I hadn't seen this film in about 5 years, and many parts of the film gave me an amazing emotional experience that I had yet to feel. The two parts that really got to me was the 15 minute universe-evolution sequence with the music by Mozart (Lacrimosa) as well as the finale beach sequence with the music by Berlioz (Agnus Dei). Man, what a wallop! I got hit hard. 'Twas hard to not keep a tear running down my cheek sitting there on the Mezzanine level with my actress friend Marci.

[monorail91]

Originally Posted by jw007

Hey all,

I finally got back from NYC this past weekend and have to say that the screening of The Tree of Life at the Brooklyn Academy of Music was pretty amazing.

[Show spoiler]A couple of guys on this forum (RojD and SammyJankis) were supposed to meet up with me sometime that weekend but things didn't fall through, so none of us got to meet up.

However, seeing this epic Terrence Malick film in a huge theater complete with a 100 piece symphony orchestra and live choir was phenomenal. At times I wasn't sure what to look at... the movie or the musicians? I mostly stared at the screen, but since I'd seen this film already, I wanted to take in the spectacle of seeing a live orchestra scoring a film, so at times I was thoroughly amazed at how seamless the live music went with the movie. They were perfectly on cue.

Now I want to see more favorite films of mine with an accompanying live orchestra! I can't imagine how beautiful it would be to experience a movie such as 2001: A Space Odyssey with a live orchestra too. Does anyone know if such experiences take place on a regular basis somewhere around the world?

Happy to say that these do take place somewhat often in the Los Angeles area. This year alone, the Hollywood Bowl has hosted screenings w/ live orchestra of the following (and I'm sure I'm forgetting some) --

• Back to the Future
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
• The Little Mermaid
• Tim Burton's the Nightmare Before Christmas

[AaronJ]

Oh wow. What an experience that must have been. I can hardly imagine!

And yes I find Malick's films to be moving in general. I know people are very split on Malick, but I'm a huge fan. And what he does and has done, it amazes me. I mean, not only is he a great filmmaker IMO, but we're talking about someone who graduated Harvard summa cum laude, who went to Oxford, who translated Kierkegaard, and made films like The Tree of Life.

He's something else.

I'm so envious of you.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Oh wow. What an experience that must have been. I can hardly imagine!

And yes I find Malick's films to be moving in general. I know people are very split on Malick, but I'm a huge fan. And what he does and has done, it amazes me. I mean, not only is he a great filmmaker IMO, but we're talking about someone who graduated Harvard summa cum laude, who went to Oxford, who translated Kierkegaard, and made films like The Tree of Life.

He's something else.

I'm so envious of you.

Thanks! This was only the 2nd time I saw the film. The first time was in the theater 5 years ago! I bought the blu-ray a year or two ago but never got around to watching it yet and I'm glad as I had a fresh perspective again seeing this film a 2nd time. The one thing I wish this film had more of was Sean Penn's character in the modern world and how he could have talked more on his disenchantment of western society. I really could relate to that one line he said "The world's gone to the dogs, people greedy, getting worse". I realize this film is prob. a secret biopic of Malick's life with his upbringing in Texas and his 2 brothers (one who died in real life), so I saw a genuine authenticity in this film. When I first saw the film in 2011, I wrote it off as "pretentious" amongst other things.... but I have a different view of the film now. I think its absolutely unique, because its so familiar with the director, who crafted this beautiful, epic tone poem.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by jw007

Hey all,

I finally got back from NYC this past weekend and have to say that the screening of The Tree of Life at the Brooklyn Academy of Music was pretty amazing.

[Show spoiler]A couple of guys on this forum (RojD and SammyJankis) were supposed to meet up with me sometime that weekend but things didn't fall through, so none of us got to meet up.

However, seeing this epic Terrence Malick film in a huge theater complete with a 100 piece symphony orchestra and live choir was phenomenal. At times I wasn't sure what to look at... the movie or the musicians? I mostly stared at the screen, but since I'd seen this film already, I wanted to take in the spectacle of seeing a live orchestra scoring a film, so at times I was thoroughly amazed at how seamless the live music went with the movie. They were perfectly on cue. Now I want to see more favorite films of mine with an accompanying live orchestra! I can't imagine how beautiful it would be to experience a movie such as 2001: A Space Odyssey with a live orchestra too. Does anyone know if such experiences take place on a regular basis somewhere around the world?

I've attached a photo I shot right after the credits finished rolling as the musicians played. The moment of the photo captures the applause from the audience and how the many musicians were honored. To be honest, I hadn't seen this film in about 5 years, and many parts of the film gave me an amazing emotional experience that I had yet to feel. The two parts that really got to me was the 15 minute universe-evolution sequence with the music by Mozart (Lacrimosa) as well as the finale beach sequence with the music by Berlioz (Agnus Dei). Man, what a wallop! I got hit hard. 'Twas hard to not keep a tear running down my cheek sitting there on the Mezzanine level with my actress friend Marci.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by jw007

Thanks! This was only the 2nd time I saw the film. The first time was in the theater 5 years ago! I bought the blu-ray a year or two ago but never got around to watching it yet and I'm glad as I had a fresh perspective again seeing this film a 2nd time. The one thing I wish this film had more of was Sean Penn's character in the modern world and how he could have talked more on his disenchantment of western society. I really could relate to that one line he said "The world's gone to the dogs, people greedy, getting worse". I realize this film is prob. a secret biopic of Malick's life with his upbringing in Texas and his 2 brothers (one who died in real life), so I saw a genuine authenticity in this film. When I first saw the film in 2011, I wrote it off as "pretentious" amongst other things.... but I have a different view of the film now. I think its absolutely unique, because its so familiar with the director, who crafted this beautiful, epic tone poem.

I think "this beautiful, epic tone poem" is a perfect description. I think that's Malick's approach in general. I mean, how could someone watch The Thin Red Line or The New World and not feel that he's creating these works of art as something he imagines, something he concludes. There's something to his work that is poetic beyond most of the directors I very much respect (e.g. Fincher).

[jw007]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I think "this beautiful, epic tone poem" is a perfect description. I think that's Malick's approach in general. I mean, how could someone watch The Thin Red Line or The New World and not feel that he's creating these works of art as something he imagines, something he concludes. There's something to his work that is poetic beyond most of the directors I very much respect (e.g. Fincher).

Yes, exactly. His work strives for nothing less than cinematic perfection. His movies are nothing less than epic in scope and story. Though many have their favorite films of Malick, mine will still always be The New World, because the use of music and imagery in that film just about come close to absolute transcendence. As an adult, I consider that film as close to any resonant work of film in my life. Every theme, every idea, every hope in that movie touches me in some heavenly uncanny way I cannot describe. If I had to die watching a movie, it would probably be The New World. Remember that scene at the end of Soylent Green when the victims lay in that video chamber and watched beautiful imagery of nature and Planet Earth? Well, if they were able to edit out and play all of the nature/classical music sequences from The New World for me in that chamber, I'd go out in peace.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

Anyone a fan of Here Comes Mr. Jordan? I almost blind-bought it at B&N this morning, but the disc was loose and shaking around and they only had one copy so I passed.

Not me, I found it a tedious Capra wannabe, a chore to sit through.

[MKej]

Criterion should really get there hands on: Southwest (2012) by Eduardo Nunes



Absolutely amazing debut film, shot in 3.66:1!
Very much reminiscent of Jancso, Tarr and Tarkovsky.

[Sifox211]

Originally Posted by jw007

... I can't imagine how beautiful it would be to experience a movie such as 2001: A Space Odyssey with a live orchestra too. Does anyone know if such experiences take place on a regular basis somewhere around the world?

There was a performance with orchestra of 2001 last month at the Barbican in London.

[ShellOilJunior]

Amazon has a few sales this week:

Mulholland Drive $20.95
The New World $25.80
Inside Llewyn Davis $19.80
Eraserhead $20.50
The Royal Tenenbaums $18.79
Moonrise Kingdom $20.95
Badlands $20.87
The Thin Red Line $20.95

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by jw007

Hey all,

I finally got back from NYC this past weekend and have to say that the screening of The Tree of Life at the Brooklyn Academy of Music was pretty amazing.

A couple of guys on this forum (RojD and SammyJankis) were supposed to meet up with me sometime that weekend but things didn't fall through, so none of us got to meet up.

However, seeing this epic Terrence Malick film in a huge theater complete with a 100 piece symphony orchestra and live choir was phenomenal. At times I wasn't sure what to look at... the movie or the musicians? I mostly stared at the screen, but since I'd seen this film already, I wanted to take in the spectacle of seeing a live orchestra scoring a film, so at times I was thoroughly amazed at how seamless the live music went with the movie. They were perfectly on cue. Now I want to see more favorite films of mine with an accompanying live orchestra! I can't imagine how beautiful it would be to experience a movie such as 2001: A Space Odyssey with a live orchestra too. Does anyone know if such experiences take place on a regular basis somewhere around the world?

I've attached a photo I shot right after the credits finished rolling as the musicians played. The moment of the photo captures the applause from the audience and how the many musicians were honored. To be honest, I hadn't seen this film in about 5 years, and many parts of the film gave me an amazing emotional experience that I had yet to feel. The two parts that really got to me was the 15 minute universe-evolution sequence with the music by Mozart (Lacrimosa) as well as the finale beach sequence with the music by Berlioz (Agnus Dei). Man, what a wallop! I got hit hard. 'Twas hard to not keep a tear running down my cheek sitting there on the Mezzanine level with my actress friend Marci.

So jealous!!! I saw a clip someone uploaded wth the music and it sounded so beautiful!

Also the creation sequence music was Zbigniew Preisner's Lacrimosa :P (or are you saying they changed it to Mozart?) But yeah that must have been amazing live, and as you said the final piece is so powerful, I'd love to hear it live.

But damn, can't believe I had to miss this. UK needs to up its game!

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

There was a performance with orchestra of 2001 last month at the Barbican in London.

Whatttt? How do I miss these things.......?!

[AaronJ]

Not that I've ever been to London -- as sad as that is -- but wow. That would be something to see, hear.

[Sifox211]

To my shame, I was in London that weekend but couldn't go. I did get to see/hear Garrison Keillor with the RPO at the Cadogan Hall. Wasn't sure what to expect but it was brilliant - a mix of orchestral music, his anecdotes and the man (who has a fine voice) singing various American folk songs.

Polaroid - I think they do them regularly at the Barbican. There's probably a mailing list you can join.

Barbican - silent film & live music series

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

To my shame, I was in London that weekend but couldn't go. I did get to see/hear Garrison Keillor with the RPO at the Cadogan Hall. Wasn't sure what to expect but it was brilliant - a mix of orchestral music, his anecdotes and the man (who has a fine voice) singing various American folk songs.

Polaroid - I think they do them regularly at the Barbican. There's probably a mailing list you can join.

Barbican - silent film & live music series

Thanks will defo sign up, be great to make the most of this!

[monorail91]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Not me, I found it a tedious Capra wannabe, a chore to sit through.

I'm on the same page, had a rough time surviving it. Not sure what it is about him but Robert Montgomery isn't a great leading man IMO, he's off-putting and I don't like being stuck with him for two hours. The

[Show spoiler]madcap mix-up stuff

at the end didn't work for me either.