The Criterion Collection

[scottpcusa]

Originally Posted by Arch Stanton

Sixteen Candles AND Breakfast Club lmao what is going on

What I heard from a reliable source* is that John Hughes was bugging Criterion to hurry up and release Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel...but Criterion told John Hughes that they would only consider releasing the only Wes Anderson film they haven't released if they can also release a trilogy collection of John Hughes films. In a weakened state of desperation to complete his Criterion Wes Anderson collection, John Hughes agreed. Hence, the clues for Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. Rumor has it that the third clue will somehow involve a male deer posing in a picture with his niece and nephew, who belong to his brother-deer and sister-doe-in-law.

Then again, these facts could prove to be of the alternative nature.


*Kellyanne Conway

[the sordid sentinel]

Wish Criterion (or someone) would get the rights to Zhang Yimou's work and give us great new 4K scans of those beautiful films. While they're at it, give us some John Woo too.

About The Breakfast Club, love that movie to death. Very difficult for anyone who was a teen in the 80s not to be pulled in by that one. Snuck into it back in the day (was only 15). Yeah, it comes off a bit over wrought nowadays, but it still perfectly captures what being that certain age at that certain time was all about. Have owned it in every possible HV format, and will definitely spring for the Criterion release.

[Midnight Max]

30 Films (with one collection) I wish Criterion would release on Blu Ray (before I die and in no particular order)...

1. The Pianist
2. Gunga Din
3. Beau Geste (1939)
4. The Naked Prey
5. The Abyss
6. Curse/Night Of The Demon
7. The Circus
8. The Defiant Ones
9. Dersu Uzala
10. Waterhole #3
11. Vampyr (1932)
12. Roman Holiday
13. Red Beard
14. Shoot The Piano Player
15. Paper Moon
16. Oliver Twist (1948)
17. Night Moves (1975)
18. Memories Of Murder
19. The Limey
20. Hard Eight
21. The Thin Man Collection
22. Bad Company (1972)
23. Charley Varrick
24. After Hours (1985)
25. The Day Of The Jackal
26. Winchester '73
27. Panic Room
28. Valdez Is Coming
29. The List Of Adrian Messenger
30. Le Samourai

[MassiveMovieBuff]

I still haven't seen the original Straw Dogs. I saw the remake unfortunately and I wasn't a fan at all. I'm assuming the original is pretty solid but is it worth a blind buy?

[Spirit07]

Is anyone else having issues with Amazon not honouring their Pre Order Guarantee price?

Pre Ordered "They Live by Night", and as people would be aware this experienced significant price drops prior to being released.

I ordered on 21st June, and yet when it shipped on the 30th June, I was charged $19-06, yet I believe at one point on the 25th June it dropped to around $15-87.

Amazon appear to be refusing to honour the guarantee. I have sent 4 emails with a copy of the pricing graph over that period, and they seem intent on saving a couple of dollars and in the process possibly losing a long term customer who has spent thousands of dollars with them.

If you use the Honey APP it actually leaves a "price changes" icon underneath the listing, and clicking it shows all the price changes during a specific period.

I have never had issues with Amazon previously, but even though it is just a couple of dollars, it is the principle of the thing, and will jeopardise my future dealings with them.

Has anyone else had similar experiences lately?

[joy-division]

I'm hoping Criterion's next Tarkovsky will be Samurai Jack the Movie

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

I still haven't seen the original Straw Dogs. I saw the remake unfortunately and I wasn't a fan at all. I'm assuming the original is pretty solid but is it worth a blind buy?

I would say so as long as you can handle the content. The violence is tame overall by today's standards but the rape scene might be a problem for some people.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

I would say so as long as you can handle the content. The violence is tame overall by today's standards but the rape scene might be a problem for some people.

Cool. It shouldn't be an issue for me.

[Namuhana]

I watched Almodóvar's Bad Education last night and now I really need Criterion to release it for me. I love me some Gael and this film is top-notch.

[Phobics]

Originally Posted by bsend

I would be so happy if my Anchor Bay 4 DVD Dawn of the Dead set had a Blu ray Criterion Collection companion. I would whisper sweet nothings to those discs all night long.

Heck yeah, I've been holding out for a Blu of this quality.

I'm all for John Hughes CC releases... though I want uncle buck....

[belcherman]

Just bit on Two Lane Blacktop for $17.73 plus tax from Amazon. Who needs B&N sales?

[MassiveMovieBuff]

So it looks like Criterion is really doing Breakfast Club? Someone on the Breakfast Club 30th anniversary just announced it.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

People who want to try to buy them for $12-14?

Good luck with that.

[Namuhana]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Just bit on Two Lane Blacktop for $17.73 plus tax from Amazon. Who needs B&N sales?

People who don't have Prime, like me. We do exist, haha.

Luckily, I have a B&N Member card, and I'm happy with buying standard discs at $18 each.

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Good luck with that.

no luck required

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

So it looks like Criterion is really doing Breakfast Club? Someone on the Breakfast Club 30th anniversary just announced it.

Oh I'm sure of it. And of Sixteen Candles.

Since I bought both within the last six months, it's pretty much a done deal we'll be getting Criterion editions.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by joy-division

no luck required

Seriously, I've been shot down trying to use coupons for the last three sales. If you can get them to work with Criterions, more power to you.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by ShirleyFilms

With the price drops/sales, I want to give my money to Amazon and B&N as quickly as I can part with it, but I feel like I already own just about all the Criterions that I have ever actively sought. But there must me some out there that I would enjoy. But how to know?

Any recommendations? I tend to like noir, timeless classics, and horror. I tend to NOT like French new-wave, sports movies, or rom-coms.

Here is what I have. What hidden gems is my Criterion collection missing?

[Show spoiler]12 Angry Men
The 39 Steps
Ace In The Hole
Anatomy Of A Murder
Antichrist
Asphalt Jungle
The BBS Set
Being John Malcovich
Brazil
The Cassavettes Set
Charade
Chimes At Midnight
The Coward/Lean Set
The Curious Case of Benny B
The Del Toro Set
Diabolique
Dr. Strangelove
Eraserhead
Eyes Without A Face
F For Fake
Fear and Loathing in LV
Foreign Correspondant
The Game
Gilda
His Girl Friday
The Immortal Story
In A Lonely Place
The Innocents
The Killers
The Killing
Kiss Me Deadly
Kwaidan
The Lady Vanishes
Love Streams
M
Macbeth
The Man Who Knew Too Much
The Manchurian Candidate
Mildred Pierce
Ministry Of Fear
Mullholland Dr.
Naked Lunch
Night and the City
Night Of The Hunter
Odd Man Out
On The Waterfront
Only Angels Have Wings
Paths Of Glory
Red River
The Red Shoes
Ride The Pink Horse
Rosemary's Baby
Seconds
Seven Samurai
The Seventh Seal
Solaris
The Sweet Smell Of Success
They Live By Night
The Third Man
The Uninvited
Videodrome
The War Room

Gracias!

Lots of really good ones on your list. Awesome collection. Some of my favorites that you are missing jump out at me.

Harakiri - simply one of the great films, not just a great samurai film. HIGHLY Recommended.

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold - a special mention for this one: Martin Ritt's cold war spy masterpiece, it has noir elements in its intelligent story, is low on action but high on twists, turns, and cynicism. It keeps you guessing all the way to an ending that will never be forgotten. One of the films I put in to show friends and family just how incredible older black and white movies can look in hi-def.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence - can't say enough good things about this psychological character study set in a WWII POW camp between British prisoners and their Japanese captors. A classic. David Bowie's best performance and a fantastic film. One of Japanese director Nagisa Oshima's most outstanding works. Also features an incredible music score and a memorable theme from legendary Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Breaker Morant - my introduction to the Australian New Wave in the 1980s after Mad Max. A courtroom drama about three Australian soldiers on trial for murder during the Boer War. Mostly told in flashbacks, it is a film that draws you in all the way to the final frame.

Picnic at Hanging Rock - an Australian girl's school, an innocent picnic turned into something sinister, and a mystery to be solved. Excellent movie and an example of why the late 70s to 1980s Australian New Wave period of filmmaking blew me away when these films first started showing up in the U.S. I am a huge huge fan of this era of Australian films.

Blood Simple

Carnival of Souls

High and Low - as much as I love Kurosawa's samurai dramas, I love his crime and noir films even more. Criterion needs to release Blu-ray upgrades of more of these with a sense of urgency sadly lacking. We need Stray Dog, Drunken Angel, and The Bad Sleep Well on Blu-ray now.

Pale Flower - stylish, well-done Japanese noir-yakuza film with a superb jazzy score, great acting, and story. One of the highlights of the Criterion Collection.

Harold Lloyd films (The Freshman, Safety First, and especially my favorite Speedy)

The Jacques Tati Set - I love Tati's Mr. Hulot character, comic genius, and the homage he pays to silent film comedy

Chaplin (City Lights, The Kid, Modern Times, The Gold Rush)

The Blob

The Hidden Fortress

Thief - in my opinion, one of the best neo-noirs and crime films to come along since Chinatown.

Rififi - yeah, it's French, it's not New Wave, and its a helluva good crime-heist thriller. One of the originals and best that has been imitated and borrowed from over the years.

Letter Never Sent - Russian film about a group of researchers caught in a raging forest fire. Some of the greatest cinematography ever put on film and a gripping story of survival.

Repulsion - paranoia, murder, insanity, and Catherine Deneuve.

A Night to Remember - the best movie about the Titanic disaster. Everything about this classic is superb. Captures the terror and the tragedy with images that have never been surpassed. The scene of the child left behind being comforted by a crewmember as the ship goes down.....nothing in Cameron's CGI-heavy version can come close to equaling the impact of that single scene.

The Last Emperor - if you like historical epics, this is a very good one. Well done, filmed on a grand scale, great dramatic moments, and partially shot in the Forbidden City.

Still Walking - a touching and engaging story about a modern Japanese family. This is the movie that made me explore Japanese cinema beyond kaiju, yakuza, and samurai movies. A film about a family gathering together to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the eldest son's tragic drowning death. It is slow, talky, multi-layered, outstandingly written, acted, and directed, and keeps you glued to the screen with its characters and family dynamic. One of the best films Criterion has released in my opinion. Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda takes a small simple story and turns it into something extraordinary with deeper meanings than what are initially visible on the surface. Fans of Ozu should jump on this one immediately.

Tokyo Story - Ozu at his best

The Great Beauty

Il Sorpasso - highly enjoyable Italian film about an outgoing braggart who befriends a shy introverted student and forces the latter to emerge from his shell with a getaway into the Tuscan countryside. A kind of warped buddy film, often hilarious but always poignant, and ultimately shocking.

Ivan's Childhood - Tarkovsky's first major film. A boy grows up way before he should during the hell of the German-Soviet war. Beautifully lensed, it captures in pictures and words the impact of WWII on Russian society. In my opinion, no one makes more hard hitting character studies set during WWII than the Russians, and Tarkovsky nails it here.

I know you don't like rom-coms, but there are some classic 30s and 40s films in the collection that are great comedies with romance thrown in to fuel the mayhem. I highly recommend these four:

It Happened One Night
The Palm Beach Story
Sullivan's Travels
I Married a Witch


I also love Michelangelo Antonioni. Don't ask me why because his films are often the kind I run away from but for some reason with Antonioni I cannot get enough of his frequently enigmatic storylines and talky dialogue. They are all well written, superbly acted, and never dull, but for the uninitiated I would recommend watching some previews or streaming before a blind buy. He explores character, relationships, life choices, and human failings with an honesty and sense of style better than anyone. For me, Antonioni is one of the greatest directors of all time and rightfully deserves all the accolades he gathered in his lifetime.

L'Avventura
La Notte
L'Eclisse
Red Desert
Blow Up
Le Amiche

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Oh I'm sure of it. And of Sixteen Candles.

Since I bought both within the last six months, it's pretty much a done deal we'll be getting Criterion editions.

Im really in a quandary if its a new 4K scan. I really really don't feel like buying this again. The current remastered blu ray really is solid. I'll Prob wait for the review.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

Im really in a quandary if its a new 4K scan. I really really don't feel like buying this again. The current remastered blu ray really is solid. I'll Prob wait for the review.

Yeah, it is solid.

The same thing happened with me when it came to Ghost World from Germany. Then it became obvious that Criterion was going to release it some months later.

It's just the way life seems to work.