The Criterion Collection

[Blu_Beard]

Originally Posted by mja345

I watched "The Breakfast Club" recently for the first time in 10+ years and parts of it hold up and parts are really cringey (the dance scene, the heart to hearts after they get stoned). But high schoolers are incredibly cringey in general, so it kind of works. Also, you're telling me that Bender wouldn't be going after Ally Sheedy's character when not only is she way more on his wavelength, but is also sexier than Molly Ringwald? Bender is also an unrepentant, relentless a-hole who masks it in rebellion. Nonetheless, it is an important time capsule of American film.

I've never seen The Breakfast Club and have no desire, honestly. I've never been a big fan of films set in High School and have missed a lot of the classics. Can't Hardly Wait and Fast Times at Ridgemont High are exceptions.

[Trekkie313]

You're missing out, it's more like a chamber play than a typical highscool movie.

[Blu_Beard]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

You're missing out, it's more like a chamber play than a typical highscool movie.

That actually did spark a little intrigue.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by hariseldon

Starts 7/11 through the end of the day 8/7

Whoa, this is going through 8/7? It's going to be a good August. I'll be able to pick up Criterion's like there is no tomorrow.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Doc Moonlight

[/SPOILER]

But wait, there's more (that haven't been mentioned yet):
FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE
KAGEMUSHA
THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE
STRAW DOGS
TWO-LANE BLACK TOP

I've been wanting to pick up The Phantom Carriage as a blind buy. I might have to do it during the upcoming sale. I'm a sucker for almost any 1920s horror film.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Blu_Beard

I've never seen The Breakfast Club and have no desire, honestly. I've never been a big fan of films set in High School and have missed a lot of the classics. Can't Hardly Wait and Fast Times at Ridgemont High are exceptions.

It's an entertaining film, but is very overrated IMHO. If you see it as an adult for the first time, then it will likely fall short of expectations. I've seen it three times. First time, I was 14 and thought it was incredibly profound. Second time, I was 19, didn't like it as much. I'm 30 now and recently watched the BD I picked up cheap at Best Buy a few years ago and had a lot of problems with it. If you see it for the first time as an adult without the nostalgia factor, it will probably make you shrug your shoulders. But I don't deny that it's an important American film because of how much it captured the zeitgeist of when it was made.

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by Blu_Beard

I've never seen The Breakfast Club and have no desire, honestly. I've never been a big fan of films set in High School and have missed a lot of the classics. Can't Hardly Wait and Fast Times at Ridgemont High are exceptions.

What about colleges/universities?

And Rushmore?

[mja345]

What's interesting to me about "The Breakfast Club" is there are numerous lesser-known 80s high school films I find more interesting as an adult. I watched "The Last American Virgin" and "Class" with Rob Lowe and Andrew McCarthy recently and thought both were better than any of the Hughes high school films.

[Trekkie313]

Fast Times > LAV.

[javy]

"Walkin' down the hall by myself, smokin' a "j" with fifty elves."

Dazed and Confused for me when it comes to high school films. I stumbled across this gem at 13 years old. It opened up a whole new world of music for me. It never gets old.

[AaronJ]

See, for those of us who were basically HS age when The Breakfast Club came out, it was -- and remains -- a very important film. It defined the different groups and clicks and situations one encountered in HS, really. It was sort of a guidebook of sorts.

Also, looking at the social strata make-up of the group, I am pretty sure I went a similar HS. So, there was a lot to relate to. Mine might have been a bit preppier, but it was basically similar.

Again, if you were somewhere between say 13 and 17, that soundtrack really stuck with you. It had a great cast that basically defined the decade. For example, 3 or 4 main cast members were also in St. Elmo's Fire -- a movie I was obsessed with, and that came out nearly at the same time.

And nearly everyone had a major crush on both Ally Sheedy and Molly Ringwald back then. That's just how it was.


tl;dr -- You sorta had to be there.

[Blu_Beard]

Originally Posted by mja345

It's an entertaining film, but is very overrated IMHO. If you see it as an adult for the first time, then it will likely fall short of expectations. I've seen it three times. First time, I was 14 and thought it was incredibly profound. Second time, I was 19, didn't like it as much. I'm 30 now and recently watched the BD I picked up cheap at Best Buy a few years ago and had a lot of problems with it. If you see it for the first time as an adult without the nostalgia factor, it will probably make you shrug your shoulders. But I don't deny that it's an important American film because of how much it captured the zeitgeist of when it was made.

The nostalgia factor would be lost on me, which I find helps propel a lot films in the High School genre. It's not that I don't have some fond memories of High School, it's just not an era I want to return to when I'm looking for my next cinematic adventure.

Originally Posted by joy-division

What about colleges/universities?

And Rushmore?

I can't think of a lot of College/University set films that are very high on my list.

Then again, you just made me very ashamed that I didn't mention Rushmore. It's my second favorite Wes Anderson film, behind The Life Aquatic w/ SZ. I really, really like Rushmore.

[The Great Owl]

I jumped the gun ahead of the Barnes & Noble sale and purchased Woman of the Year from Amazon for $17.85.

Sorry, Barnes & Noble, but...well...you know...

[jshaide]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I jumped the gun ahead of the Barnes & Noble sale and purchased Woman of the Year from Amazon for $17.85.

Sorry, Barnes & Noble, but...well...you know...

I did the same with THEY LIVE BY NIGHT. Should've grabbed the World Cinema box when it was cheap too.

[jshaide]

By the way, my buddy told me that the project description for the Criterion sale made mention that coupons would not be allowed on Criterion titles. So there's that.

I'm sure some will get apathetic/oblivious cashiers, but it sounds like they're being more strict about it.

[jbieste]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I jumped the gun ahead of the Barnes & Noble sale and purchased Woman of the Year from Amazon for $17.85.

Sorry, Barnes & Noble, but...well...you know...

Impeccable taste, now that's priceless.


P.S. When this arrives, please don't bury it in your, "To be watched someday" pile.

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by Blu_Beard

I can't think of a lot of College/University set films that are very high on my list.

no love for Animal House, The Social Network, Starter for Ten (doubt people outside the UK will get this one), Legally Blonde, The Rules of Attraction & Monsters University?

Then again, you just made me very ashamed that I didn't mention Rushmore. It's my second favorite Wes Anderson film, behind The Life Aquatic w/ SZ. I really, really like Rushmore.

Some of my other fave school films are American pie (sequels meh), Gregory's Girl, if it counts, Romy & Michelle's High Scool Reunion & Dead Poet's Society

[javy]

I just scored The Last Temptation of Christ for $19. Yay. I seen part of it once when I was a kid. I'm confident I'll appreciate it more now that I'm something like an adult.

[llj]

Originally Posted by mja345

It's an entertaining film, but is very overrated IMHO. If you see it as an adult for the first time, then it will likely fall short of expectations. I've seen it three times. First time, I was 14 and thought it was incredibly profound. Second time, I was 19, didn't like it as much. I'm 30 now and recently watched the BD I picked up cheap at Best Buy a few years ago and had a lot of problems with it. If you see it for the first time as an adult without the nostalgia factor, it will probably make you shrug your shoulders. But I don't deny that it's an important American film because of how much it captured the zeitgeist of when it was made.

The Breakfast Club is to Gen Xers what The Big Chill is to baby boomers.

They resonate mostly within a certain segment of those generations, and they are very broadly written with many of the typical tropes you would usually find in mainstream Hollywood writing, so more discerning cinephiles can easily roll their eyes at many of those elements.

Still, even though they have hackeneyed elements and such, you can't dismiss their impact because clearly a lot of people found a lot about them that they could relate to. Most audiences aren't snobs like us or Criterionforum.org.

A lot of my Gen X and early Gen Y peers really love those John Hughes teen films and The Breakfast Club is basically the cream of the crop for them. And you know, it's pretty daring to basically make a mainstream film that's mostly just people talking for the entire film. I still watch whenever it's on TV and I do still admire it even as I see it as less "truthful" as I thought it was when I was a child.

During ages 8-14, I passed many a lazy afternoon watching The Breakfast Club reruns on TV. They ran it A LOT on one local channel where I lived.

[llj]

Originally Posted by CinemaBlu

Identification of a Woman is an underrated gem.

I've never seen an Antonioni I didn't like. Even Zabriskie Point, his most slagged film, is highly fascinating to me.