The Criterion Collection

[MeMynonsense]

Watched Black River & The Inheritance from the Kobayashi Eclipse set. While the former was an admirable if a tad uneven portrait of Japan's seedy underbelly, the latter turned out to be a hugely satisfying noirish morality-play.
It follows the succession proceedings of a nasty industrialist’s estate when he’s diagnosed with terminal cancer. Locking horns over this potential fortune are: scheming subordinates, his trophy-wife, his femme-fatale of a secretary and a battery of illegitimate heirs.
In their quest to secure a bigger slice of the pie, we witness them forming suspicious alliances and ruthlessly resorting to impersonation, fraud, blackmail and even murder. It’s so callously cynical in its outlook that a couple’s implied incest is broached as “remember when” and then immediately dismissed to concentrate on the central deceit. What's refreshing here is that instead of conveniently blaming the capitalist mentality Kobayashi indicts human greed - sexual & material, which makes the plot even more universal.
Though less flamboyant than his sadistic gangster turn in Black River - Tatsuya Nakadai plays another ethically unsavory character who’s tasked with tracking down one of his client’s unacknowledged daughters. The Inheritance is also complemented with a wonderfully moody jazz score and its widescreen presentation looks great.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I've never seen Nickelodeon, so I will defer to your expertise. I'd just love to see a box set of his.

I don't think it's a great movie, but the black-and-white version kind of plays as a hybrid of "Paper Moon" and "What's Up Doc". Unfortunately, it doesn't achieve the artistic heights of either one. But it's the last of his series of throwback movies, and it's a better fit for him than "At Long Last Love" or "Daisy Miller" (I'm the one person who actually thinks that's a pretty good one, though).

[The Great Owl]

Just in case any of the Jean Cocteau Beauty and the Beast fans are curious...

Last night, I watched the 2014 French version of Beauty and the Beast, which was directed by Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf, Silent Hill), and which stars the lovely Léa Seydoux (Spectre, Blue is the Warmest Color, Inglourious Basterds) and Vincent Cassel (Black Swan, Jason Bourne).

This 2014 version is sort of a middle ground between the 1946 Cocteau version and Disney adaptations. It's darker in tone and more faithful to the original fairy tale than the Disney adaptations, but it still throws in a few modern-day story elements, including the storming of the castle.

More than anything, the 2014 version is an "eye candy" movie, with some rather incredible visuals. Of course, Léa Seydoux supplies much of the eye candy. It does not replace the 1946 movie in my eyes, though.

[MifuneFan]

Thanks to Ghost World, the man, the myth, the legend, David Cross has now graced the Criterion database.

https://www.criterion.com/people/125385

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Thanks to Ghost World, the man, the myth, the legend, David Cross has now graced the Criterion database.

https://www.criterion.com/people/125385

Let's hope his second entry in the CC comes sooner rather than later:

[Purplenoon]

Originally Posted by mrjohnnyb

I am region-free and have the BFI Roberto Rossellini: The War Trilogy collection, which I purchased because I became tired of waiting for a Criterion upgrade. Last night, I watched Germany, Year Zero for the first time. What an incredible film! The immediacy captured by having a war-ravaged Berlin as a backdrop makes the film a truly neo-realistic time capsule, as the main character, a young boy, is caught between "a rock and a hard place." Rossellini exposes a society struggling to survive, unafraid to show the victimization of its citizens, particularly of its youth. Highly recommended.

The Trilogy is remarkably brilliant. A must see.

[knuckles96]

sorry if asked before but does anyone here have a complete collection of criterion releases? like all from number 1 to the most recent release?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by knuckles96

sorry if asked before but does anyone here have a complete collection of criterion releases? like all from number 1 to the most recent release?

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

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by jw007

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

I think they were asking if someone here owned every single Criterion, not for a list of them.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by knuckles96

sorry if asked before but does anyone here have a complete collection of criterion releases? like all from number 1 to the most recent release?

I believe member CriterionBlues said he did, or close to.

edit: I may have been thinking of SkyAntoine, but it's possibly both

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

I started out buying them because they were the cream of the crop in blu-rays. Best transfers, packaging, ultimate edition of certain titles (Seven Samurai, 400 Blows, Seventh Seal). However, once I started picking up more and more it transformed into more of a passion to get all of the titles.

In a little under 4 years I am now blu-ray complete and expect to be DVD complete in another 18 months or so. I look forward to displaying every single title in a big media cabinet by spine #. Plus, my kids really do enjoy eating Spam every night.

[Scottie]

Several members own them all.

I know for certain that CriterionBlues owns them all. I believe shadedpain does, too.

[jshaide]

I have every single Criterion film that I want. I was so happy the day I finished my back catalog of desired titles. Though, on occasion, I will read about some older film in the collection and grab it.

Actually, the only old title from the collection I don't have that I really want is THE VIRGIN SPRING, only because I still feel a blu-ray has to be coming soon. It paid off waiting for PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, so I think it will here.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Several members own them all.

I know for certain that CriterionBlues owns them all. I believe shadedpain does, too.

Didn't you once own everything too and then sold a lot of your collection?

I remember years ago you mentioned this.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by jw007

Didn't you once own everything too and then sold a lot of your collection?

I remember years ago you mentioned this.

Yes. I owned every release put out on Blu-ray until May 2014.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Several members own them all.

I know for certain that CriterionBlues owns them all. I believe shadedpain does, too.

I'm blu only. I have some dvds, but blu-ray is the only potion of the collection I'm "complete" with.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Does this mean Tokyo Tribe is getting a Criterion release soon? I inexplicably decided to buy it recently and really now dread the thought that a spine will be wasted on it.

Wait, you didn't love it?

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I believe member CriterionBlues said he did, or close to.

edit: I may have been thinking of SkyAntoine, but it's possibly both

That post of mine must have been a while back. I became BD/DVD (spine) complete in July 2016. With the last flash sale I finished up the Eclipse sets and got the big Janus set. The only thing I'm not getting will be the Merchant Ivory titles. Primarily because the movies are too fancy for my taste.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Yes. I owned every release put out on Blu-ray until May 2014.

What was the epiphany you had to sell your Criterions? Maybe this can help some of us "detach" from our blu-rays. It's awfully hard for me at least to consider selling off any part of my vast film library (I own about 260 Criterion films on mostly blu-ray and some on dvd).

[Hullabaloo]

Question about the Chungking Express Criterion Blu-ray:
What's the difference between the two Blu-ray releases by Criterion, sold at Amazon.com?

One of them has "brighter" colors on the cover:
https://www.amazon.com/Chungking-Express-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B004KVXC64/

And the other has the same cover, but the colors are a bit more "grey", I guess:
https://www.amazon.com/Chungking-Express-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B001EOQCKS/

I can't notice any difference between the two releases. Is one of them possibly a standard case, and the other is a digipak? Criterion has done that sometimes.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by jw007

What was the epiphany you had to sell your Criterions? Maybe this can help some of us "detach" from our blu-rays. It's awfully hard for me at least to consider selling off any part of my vast film library (I own about 260 Criterion films on mostly blu-ray and some on dvd).

I got rid of everything I didn't love. I'll post more specifics later if you want but I'm in the process of doing some things right now.

But yeah, long story short is that only films I consider greatest of all-time (La Dolce Vita, Lost in Translation, Being There, Happy Together, In the Mood for Love, etc.) stay in my collection.

Originally Posted by Hullabaloo

Question about the Chungking Express Criterion Blu-ray:
What's the difference between the two Blu-ray releases by Criterion, sold at Amazon.com?

One of them has "brighter" colors on the cover:
https://www.amazon.com/Chungking-Express-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B004KVXC64/

And the other has the same cover, but the colors are a bit more "grey", I guess:
https://www.amazon.com/Chungking-Express-Criterion-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B001EOQCKS/

I can't notice any difference between the two releases. Is one of them possibly a standard case, and the other is a digipak? Criterion has done that sometimes.

The original release came in a DigiPack. Criterion re-issued it soon after in a plastic case along with a number of other releases (i.e. The Last Metro, The 400 Blows, etc.).

There is literally no difference between the two ASINs. If you can find a copy at this point, you're 50/50 going to get a DigiPack or the plastic case. If you want specific details with a Marketplace seller, for example, PM the merchant.