The Criterion Collection

[lDlisturb3d]

Bigger than Life (Criterion)

What a perfectly acted movie. I thought this was a great movie filled with drama and suspense. In addition it was good to see an old

[Show spoiler]Happy Ending

. I pretty muched loved the entire movie, the character development doesn't get any better than this and the story was very interesting.

You start off with a loving father and husband with a serious condition, and he only can be saved with this special miracle drug Cortisone. This experimental drug pushes this man and his family to the limits and physiological way! Very Very good story but one question to those who's seen it

[Show spoiler]Isnt Cortisone the same steroid that makes athletes go crazy?

Bottom line very great classic/contemporary film and i loved it. Must Own

5/5

[Deviation]

Cortisone is a steroid, but not an anabolic one. It's a prescribed medication used to reduce inflammation, which is why you'll hear about athlete sometimes receiving cortisone injections during the year in problematic joints (usually the shoulder or the elbow). People don't "go crazy" from using it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisone

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by Deviation

Cortisone is a steroid, but not an anabolic one. It's a prescribed medication used to reduce inflammation, which is why you'll hear about athlete sometimes receiving cortisone injections during the year in problematic joints (usually the shoulder or the elbow). People don't "go crazy" from using it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisone

WTF?

[Beta Man]

Anxiety and Depression are listed as side-affects, and my wife (a family practitioner) said that paranoia is also a potential side-affect......

I'm not sure why you're pointing out the finer points of Cortisone though.....

You also have to look at the era from which the film was made.

[SpiderBaby]

Who cares. The problem would of been fixed if the doc just gave James Mason some weed. Him and his son could of watched Looney Tunes that way, while the wife cooks some food. Happy 50's family. The way THEY want you to be.


Also, to the "Happy Ending" thing, I don't think Nic Ray wanted someone to leave the movie thinking happy thoughts. He wanted to show people the real middle-class family of that time and stop acting like everything was fine. That is why Ray was the f'n man in the 50's.

[lDlisturb3d]

Originally Posted by Deviation

Cortisone is a steroid, but not an anabolic one. It's a prescribed medication used to reduce inflammation, which is why you'll hear about athlete sometimes receiving cortisone injections during the year in problematic joints (usually the shoulder or the elbow). People don't "go crazy" from using it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisone

Originally Posted by ChadFL

WTF?

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Anxiety and Depression are listed as side-affects, and my wife (a family practitioner) said that paranoia is also a potential side-affect......

I'm not sure why you're pointing out the finer points of Cortisone though.....

You also have to look at the era from which the film was made.

So im lost know, i thought the drug was making him go crazy. Right?

Originally Posted by CassavetesGodard

Who cares. The problem would of been fixed if the doc just gave James Mason some weed.

[jello_02]

hi i was just at fye and saw a copy of third man in blu in the original cardboard packaging for $20, case had a some part missing like someone pulled a sticker too hard and took the first layer of cardboard off. i already have third man, is there any reason i should keep a spare copy?

[ChadFL]

Originally Posted by jello_02

hi i was just at fye and saw a copy of third man in blu in the original cardboard packaging for $20, case had a some part missing like someone pulled a sticker too hard and took the first layer of cardboard off. i already have third man, is there any reason i should keep a spare copy?

Heck no. You can re-sell that bad boy for a big markup.

[jello_02]

Originally Posted by ChadFL

Heck no. You can re-sell that bad boy for a big markup.

so i should buy it? where could i resell it, i dont use ebay or have an acct.

[Rhylliam]

Originally Posted by jello_02

so i should buy it? where could i resell it, i dont use ebay or have an acct.

Why not here in the trading forum?

[jello_02]

Originally Posted by Rhylliam

Why not here in the trading forum?

ok well ill pick it up if its still there.

[Rhylliam]

If the damage is minor, I'm sure someone will go for it. But Lionsgate/StudioCanal has a blu coming out so maybe demand has diminished...

[rkish]

Originally Posted by kndy

I asked David Shephard and he said:

At this moment in time, DVD sales of our silent film editions are such that Blu-Ray would definitely not be prudent.

We have been mastering in HD for a while, so there is a possibility of titles on Blu-Ray in the future, but at least for the silent films, none are presently planned.

Flicker Alley has some releases coming which are newer films and I believe Jeff Masino does intend to issue one in Blu-Ray to see how it does.

David Shepard

But to tell you the truth...when KINO's "Steamboat Bill Jr." came out on Blu-ray, David saw how people were reacting to the release on Nitrateville and suffice to say, I hope what he saw doesn't push FA away from BD releases:

I haven't seen the Blu-Ray DVD of STEAMBOAT BILL JR. nor do I benefit from it in any way, but I am appalled at the negative tone of so many of the posts about it here on Nitrateville.

To paraphrase one of my favorite lines from "Our Town," these films came into the world to give pleasure. If you don't think they will give you sufficient pleasure to justify the very modest price of a Blu-Ray, buy a SD DVD instead, or another movie, or a book, or a decent Chinese dinner. In my opinion no constuctive purpose is served by the carping tone of so many posts in this thread. No one is compelling anyone to purchase this product, nor is the publisher going to recall it for revision to the standards of a Nitrateville poster.

Once in a while I prepare some wonderful film for DVD and a customer whines because, for example, he or she doesn't think the violinist in the scoring orchestra achieved a sufficiently pure tone. ( Really, I'm not making it up). I have a standard reply to such complaints: I cheerfully and in good faith offer to buy back the product which seems to have given such offense. No one has yet accepted this offer.

Does anybody think mainline DVD publishers of silent movies are getting rich by peddling shoddy to Nitrateville posters?

Our next DVD release (via Flicker Alley) will be the Chaplin Keystone comedies, the best effort of six years work by the BFI, the Cineteca de Bologna, Lobster Films, UCLA and myself with new scores by nine outstanding practitioners of silent film accompaniment. The big surprise is, now that one can actually see what's going on (some of the films are patched together from five sources; most look terrific, a few don't), many of these are excellent and very funny comedies.

However, based upon this thread I'll have to start saving to refund purchase prices to the self-styled judges who give no evidence of having laughed, but who complain that this one is too contrasty or too flat, that one has some jump cuts, another runs too fast, yet another moves too slowly, this one should have had a larger orchestra, that one a different pianist yadda yadda yadda.

Please remember why these films were made and that someone who cared about them found them worth reviving, and please look at them in reasonable expectation of pleasure -- or spend your money elsewhere. At least in my opinion, nothing is accomplished by carping about a finished work which no one is under compulsion to watch.

David Shepard

WOW kndy...thanks for the very detailed feedback on this Chaplin boxset!

This sounds like it will probably be an addition for me at one point or another in the near future. NO ONE has a decent copy of these shorts out now (except for Tillie's Punctured Romance, which Image released as well.)

It's a shame that there are no immediate plans to realease these on blu But I might be willing to jump on these, when the price drops a bit.

Thanks again kndy!

[retask]

Originally Posted by wolffuncut

There are rumours of a possible BD Release of Herzog/Kinski Collection in Germany..
In the meantime, Trailer for the new Herzog Documentary Happy People

You got any links for that rumor?

[lDlisturb3d]

Black Narcissus (Criterion)

"A Superior to all is a servant to all"

A test of faith, religion, morals, and will power is what these nuns are up against in this strange new environment that they have chosen do their Order's will. Will these temptations and trails get the best of them? Of course in every group of people you have the strong willed, weak minded, and Curious.

This film is a overall masterpiece and reminds me more of a modern "The Seventh Seal" and the performances these ladies delivered was nothing less than Perfect! Direction was amazing and of course the story caught me by surprise. Watching this film i was ready to rate it a 4.5/5 but as the story progressed i could help myself in rewarding it with a 5/5. This has to be one of the best films i've seen when it comes to the test of faith.

Highly Recommended

5/5

Definitely added to the Great Movies section!

[ccfixx]

To lDlisturb3d... I just wanna say that I thoroughly enjoy your mini-reviews of the Criterion releases. It's a nice change of pace in here. So, keep up the good work.

CC

[rkish]

Originally Posted by lDlisturb3d

Black Narcissus (Criterion)

"A Superior to all is a servant to all"

A test of faith, religion, morals, and will power is what these nuns are up against in this strange new environment that they have chosen do their Order's will. Will these temptations and trails get the best of them? Of course in every group of people you have the strong willed, weak minded, and Curious.

This film is a overall masterpiece and reminds me more of a modern "The Seventh Seal" and the performances these ladies delivered was nothing less than Perfect! Direction was amazing and of course the story caught me by surprise. Watching this film i was ready to rate it a 4.5/5 but as the story progressed i could help myself in rewarding it with a 5/5. This has to be one of the best films i've seen when it comes to the test of faith.

Highly Recommended

5/5

Definitely added to the Great Movies section!

To quote CC...Yes...it's a nice change of pace to have someone steer this thread back to more appropriate waters...

I agree with your review as well...I had streamed this on NetFlix and very quickly decided that this film would get a place in my collection sooner than later...

[nametag]

Just saw Black Narcissus the first time the other day as well (gave the UK ITV BD a rental) and LOVED IT. The last 20 minutes were so gripping, and the actress who played Sister Ruth scary as hell. I want to buy the Criterion Blu asap!

[Falcon Eddie]

Kinda has shades of Hitchcock attached to it. Not many directors have been able to hold an audience's attention long enough to pull a thing like this off. I thought Powell did a good job of it here.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by rkish

To quote CC...Yes...it's a nice change of pace to have someone steer this thread back to more appropriate waters...

To be fair..... it was his post that steered the thread towards the Cortisone discussion..... be it intentionally or not

He's circularly posting now