The Criterion Collection

[dml1988]

Originally Posted by mrmikefern

A great list so far. Most of my own favorite films are pre-Code Hollywood, and Criterion has a few I'd recommend. Trouble In Paradise and the Lubitsch Musicals Eclipse set (for The Smiling Lieutenant alone) are absolute essentials imo. I'd also recommend The Scarlet Empress if it weren't for the poor A/V quality which is well below Criterion's current standard.

It's funny, I never really stopped to take a look at how many Criterion Collection blu rays I already have, they just pile on lol. I probably have a good 25 to 30 so far. Just received The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog yesterday and have yet been able to watch it. Have been looking forward to finally seeing some silent Hitchcock.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by dml1988

Hello everyone, this is going to be my first time dipping into the B&N Criterion sale. Am actually looking at quite a few titles to get, curious what you would all recommend. Here is what I am looking at:

Seven Samurai
The Lady Vanishes
The Seventh Seal
The 39 Steps
Sullivan's Travels
The Killers
The Phantom Carriage
Ace in the Hole
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Sweet Smell of Success
The Great Dictator
Kiss Me Deadly
Monsieur Verdoux
Safety Last!
Foreign Correspondent
The Uninvited
Blood Simple
Lone Wolf and Cub

Long list I know, but those are what I am looking at to add to my ever growing collection. Just curious what you would all recommend, or if there are some I may have missed. Thanks

Also if were talking about Criterion DVDs I would suggest:

Shoot the Piano Player
The Thief of Bagdad
The Burmese Harp
The Lubitsch Musicals Eclipse Set
The Bad Sleep Well
Stray Dog
Brute Force
The Passion of Joan D' Arc

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by dml1988

It's funny, I never really stopped to take a look at how many Criterion Collection blu rays I already have, they just pile on lol. I probably have a good 25 to 30 so far. Just received The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog yesterday and have yet been able to watch it. Have been looking forward to finally seeing some silent Hitchcock.

I plan on getting The Lodger during the B&N sale. Next month there will be a lot of Hitchcock's silent work including The Lodger for those who are the fence about purchasing.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

I plan on getting The Lodger during the B&N sale. Next month there will be a lot of Hitchcock's silent work including The Lodger for those who are the fence about purchasing.

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the screenings on TCM. I mean, just look at their schedule: http://hitchcock50.tcm.com/assets/im...chedule_r1.pdf

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the screenings on TCM. I mean, just look at their schedule: http://hitchcock50.tcm.com/assets/im...chedule_r1.pdf

Yeah, I'm never going to get caught up with watching everything I've recorded and then there's Silent Hitchcock and then I still need to get around to watching some movies I've recently bought.

[MJD64]

Definitely in for The Before Trilogy, Rumble Fish and either Cat People (love it, but I do have the DVD which looks decent) or Carnival Of Souls.

May blind buy Lone Wolf And Cub; we'll see!

[llj]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

I'll never get why De Palma is considered a "rip off" artist. The guy's films are very much his own films paying homage and keeping the spirits alive from past directors he loves and has strong passion for. He's always been one of my top favorite directors and is very underrated. I highly recommend his documentary film called "De Palma" that came out last year as well.

There is a sense of repetition throughout his career, and motifs that he goes back to frequently, and I think this can be misunderstood by many as ripping off. There is also those stories his critics like to circulate, like how Bernard Herrmann once said to him "I've worked with Hitchcock and you sir are no Hitchcock!" and that only provides ammo for his detractors. But De Palma is working on a different kind of wavelength than most directors...I'd argue he's not just paying homage to his faves but conducting an ongoing study of them. In this sense he's even different from Tarantino, who takes what he likes and tries to put a completely fresh post-modern spin on them. De Palma in contrast is more deconstructing what he likes, taking them apart, putting them back together, and seeing what makes them work...or even not work sometimes. But what makes De Palma great is that he's not dry; he's still entertaining you even while he's self indulging.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

Yeah, I'm never going to get caught up with watching everything I've recorded and then there's Silent Hitchcock and then I still need to get around to watching some movies I've recently bought.

Luckily, I've seen most of Hitch's Hollywood stuff, so I'll mainly be recording his early works. That should save a lot of room on my DVR.

[mja345]

One thing I always find fascinating about De Palma is how darkly funny a lot of his films are, yet how incredibly awful his two mainstream pure comedies are ("Bonfire of the Vanities" and "Wise Guys"). "Hi, Mom" is a fantastic dark comedy and I actually think De Palma is one of the more versatile American directors of the last 30 years along with Scorsese and Altman. "Bonfire of the Vanities" was doomed to begin with because the book is so brilliant and "Wise Guys" is one of those films you want to revisit and discover a hidden gem, but man it sucks. De Palma has always been able to incorporate humor in a lot of his darker films, but he unfortunately was saddled with two bad comedic vehicles that didn't allow him to spread his wings.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

Luckily, I've seen most of Hitch's Hollywood stuff, so I'll mainly be recording his early works. That should save a lot of room on my DVR.

Same I own most of Hitch's work exceptYoung & Innocent and all of his post-Birds work and his silent work. I have a bunch of other movies on my DVR that I might get caught up on before the year is up.

[llj]

Originally Posted by mja345

One thing I always find fascinating about De Palma is how darkly funny a lot of his films are, yet how incredibly awful his two mainstream pure comedies are ("Bonfire of the Vanities" and "Wise Guys"). "Hi, Mom" is a fantastic dark comedy and I actually think De Palma is one of the more versatile American directors of the last 30 years along with Scorsese and Altman. "Bonfire of the Vanities" was doomed to begin with because the book is so brilliant and "Wise Guys" is one of those films you want to revisit and discover a hidden gem, but man it sucks. De Palma has always been able to incorporate humor in a lot of his darker films, but he unfortunately was saddled with two bad comedic vehicles that didn't allow him to spread his wings.

I agree "Bonfire" is his worst. And yes, it fell into the "Never make a movie out of a great book" trap that Orson Welles and tons of others have said.

(Although, as a Tom Wolfe fan, I actually put Bonfire 3rd or 4th favorite book of his. I have "A Man in Full" as his best. I'm surprised no egghead in Hollywood has tried a movie adaptation yet, but someday someone will--likely when Tom Wolfe kicks the bucket and someone says "Oh yeah, how about let's do a movie of this book...")

[senseabove]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the screenings on TCM. I mean, just look at their schedule: http://hitchcock50.tcm.com/assets/im...chedule_r1.pdf

Anyone know if these will be on FilmStruck? I'm "taking" the course and would love to watch these early ones, and I've still got my trial, so wanna time it right if they are.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by llj

I agree "Bonfire" is his worst. And yes, it fell into the "Never make a movie out of a great book" trap that Orson Welles and tons of others have said.

(Although, as a Tom Wolfe fan, I actually put Bonfire 3rd or 4th favorite book of his. I have "A Man in Full" as his best. I'm surprised no egghead in Hollywood has tried a movie adaptation yet, but someday someone will--likely when Tom Wolfe kicks the bucket and someone says "Oh yeah, how about let's do a movie of this book...")

Yeah, Wolfe is maybe my favorite writer. His books are fantastic. It would take a very specific group of collaborators to make many of his novels into good films. It requires everything hitting on all cylinders to make complicated novels into effective films ("The World According to Garp", "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"). Frankly, there's very little chance of that happening in today's Hollywood IMO.

[MJD64]

So many of you will be pleased to know Chuck Lorre is doing an 8 episode adaptation of Bonfire for Amazon...I love De Palma, but as soon as I read about the casting of Hanks and Willis in the trades back in the day, I knew it was over.

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by MJD64

So many of you will be pleased to know Chuck Lorre is doing an 8 episode adaptation of Bonfire for Amazon...I love De Palma, but as soon as I read about the casting of Hanks and Willis in the trades back in the day, I knew it was over.

And in this case as soon as I hear Chuck Lorre, I know it's over.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by jshaide

And in this case as soon as I hear Chuck Lorre, I know it's over.

If there were ever a name to associate with flaming dog shit, it's Chuck Lorre.

[MJD64]

Originally Posted by jshaide

And in this case as soon as I hear Chuck Lorre, I know it's over.

Agreed, I was being sarcastic. There's always the book.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

If there were ever a name to associate with flaming dog shit, it's Chuck Lorre.

Whoa there, you're talking about the creator of "Grace Under Fire". The man was responsible for an enduring masterwork.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to the screenings on TCM. I mean, just look at their schedule: http://hitchcock50.tcm.com/assets/im...chedule_r1.pdf

If or when Blackmail gets released I sincerely hope it will include both the silent and sound versions. The silent version has proved very elusive for me to see. Every time it's scheduled to be shown on TCM it's the talkie which reviews generally seem to agree is the weaker of the two. The closest I've gotten to see it was when TCM scheduled it for their Silent Sunday slot. Ben's intro praised it and said "and now the rarely seen silent version of Blackmail."........and then it Talked!

[theater dreamer]

Seven Samurai, The Seventh Seal and Sweet Smell of Success are must haves, imo.

I own several of the other ones, but have yet to watch them. Now that I'm back from Vegas, The Phantom Carriage is my next Criterion to view. But let's put it this way-it inspired Ingmar Bergman to become a director. That's a pretty safe bet, imo, so long as you are at all into silent films. Ace in the Hole? It's Billy Wilder and Kirk Douglas. Need I say more?

Any Hitchcock is worthwhile, so The 39 Steps and Foreign Correspondent should be in your collection if you like The Master of Suspense. Get the Classic Hitch box set when it goes on sale.

Originally Posted by dml1988

Hello everyone, this is going to be my first time dipping into the B&N Criterion sale. Am actually looking at quite a few titles to get, curious what you would all recommend. Here is what I am looking at:

Seven Samurai
The Lady Vanishes
The Seventh Seal
The 39 Steps
Sullivan's Travels
The Killers
The Phantom Carriage
Ace in the Hole
The Man Who Knew Too Much
Sweet Smell of Success
The Great Dictator
Kiss Me Deadly
Monsieur Verdoux
Safety Last!
Foreign Correspondent
The Uninvited
Blood Simple
Lone Wolf and Cub

Long list I know, but those are what I am looking at to add to my ever growing collection. Just curious what you would all recommend, or if there are some I may have missed. Thanks