The Criterion Collection

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by shamdy

Dear members of the criterion forum,
The following statement is just a personal opinion so please don't get offended with its content. It's just something i wanted to get off my chest and nobody can take it seriously.
Well, I just can't believe that people are praising the Criterion Blurays that much. Or even the images of some of its titles.
The blurays of Criterion has a major flaw IMHO which is the subtitles. I got tricked by becoming a member of the Bluray community when I started reading Reviews by Dr. Svet Atanasov who usually praises the criterion blurays titles as if he's paid to do so. Then I bought a bunch of important classic and foreign films whom I saw when I was growing up and decided to add them to my collection when i read the great reviews.
These titles were on my shelf for a while as I had other movies to watch before watching them again. Then when I decided to enjoy my criterion bluray classic collection i received one of the shocks of the trade.
I was appalled when I saw the font of subtitles used by criterion on their bluray releases. I FIRST NOTICED IT WHEN I WATCHED PERSONA BY INGMAR BERGMAN. There were instances while watching as if there were no text available as the subtitles were almost invisible and hard to read. I watched the movie non the less till the end believing it's just a one time fluke. Then I got the complete shock when I put other black and white foreign films like THE MUSIC ROOM, THE COMPLETE JEAN VIGO, THE RULES OF THE GAME, VIVRE SA VIE, THE NAKED KISS, THE APU TRILOGY and the list goes on. L'AVVENTURA by ANTONIONI is a joke by Criterion on Bluray ( Fantastic picture quality with nonsensical hard to follow subtitles. I love that movie by the way. But the criterion subtitles made me stop watching halfway )
The list of bad subtitles goes on on movies like HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, UMBERTO D, LA JETTE and this is to name a few.
I even found the trouble of following the subtitles on certain colored foreign films like THE EMMIGRANTS and The BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT.
Well after spending so much on various criterion bluray titles, i figured out i was conned into believing in such format by a great and respectable company. I now find that People who want upgrades are cheating themselves as the criterion DVD'S are much worth our money people. At least the subtitles are thick and easy to read and enjoy against white backgrounds.
Anyways, thank you all for a lesson learned late. At least I loved BITTER RICE and IL SORPASSO when i watched the criterion DVD versions due to beautifully written subtitles font.
Finally there are tons of DVD's that have better picture quality than blurays. For example the Bluray picture quality of MCCABE AND MS MILLER is horrendous in my opinion. Also many beautiful movies who are only available on DVD are worth watching instead of waiting for a company to come and blotch it on this format known as Bluray.
And the best way to watch films are in cinemas.
And please forget about fake technologies that destroy what is beautiful. Damn the 4K for example. Rich people want to make more money from fake technological advancements.
Take care all

It only you had left it at the subtitle issue, with your broken English I would have assumed that maybe some of this was due to an ESL issue but then, yeah, that other stuff makes it hard to take you seriously.

[Martin_31]

So I watched The New World extended cut a couple of days ago. It was my first Terence Malick movie and it was a pretty solid movie. It dragged in some scenes but the visuals were gorgeous. Thinking about picking up another one of his films, any recommendations?

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

So I watched The New World extended cut a couple of days ago. It was my first Terence Malick movie and it was a pretty solid movie. It dragged in some scenes but the visuals were gorgeous. Thinking about picking up another one of his films, any recommendations?

The Thin Red Line--wasn't a fan at first, but on a rewatch I found it's quite compelling and stylistically comparable to The New World. Badlands and Days of Heaven are decent too, but they aren't my favorites of his.

Outside of the collection, I consider Tree of Life a must-have. But I might have to recommend trying before buying--it has its fair share of drag too, and it's such an ambitious movie that it might bewilder you when it strays from the simple family themes into scenes that show the birth of the universe and such.

That's all I'm currently familiar with. Malick's films are all rather slow, since they eschew traditional plotting and narrative structure in favor of a more poetic tone and more random style of editing. But they do resonate thanks to their gorgeous cinematography and use of character voices.

[willieconway]

20 minutes into Stalker and it's mesmerizing. Great picture and sound too.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

So I watched The New World extended cut a couple of days ago. It was my first Terence Malick movie and it was a pretty solid movie. It dragged in some scenes but the visuals were gorgeous. Thinking about picking up another one of his films, any recommendations?

Days of Heaven.

[hYPE]

Originally Posted by willieconway

20 minutes into Stalker and it's mesmerizing. Great picture and sound too.

Glad to hear! Definitely picking up Stalker tomorrow!

[theater dreamer]

The New World was much better, to me, the second time through. Yes, the film has slower pacing, but once you've seen it, and have acclimated to the pacing, and all the eye candy, you can really settle into the film as a whole.

I love The Thin Red Line, too.

Originally Posted by Martin_31

So I watched The New World extended cut a couple of days ago. It was my first Terence Malick movie and it was a pretty solid movie. It dragged in some scenes but the visuals were gorgeous. Thinking about picking up another one of his films, any recommendations?

[theater dreamer]

Take your copy in to B&N, and have them send a replacement copy to the store for you to inspect, and then take home.

Yes, Criterion will offer replacements, but on films they've sent direct. They'd likely tell you the merchant responsible for the sale should take care of the issue, and they'd be right.

If you've never had replacement packaging directly from Criterion, they'll send you a one time replacement set for free with proof of purchase of the film. I bought a copy of On The Waterfront (my first film), and the digi was all dinged up. Mulvaney sent me a brand new slip box, inner tray and booklet.

Otherwise, you can purchase the individual items for $5 each through orders@criterion.com. Make sure to tell them what you are ordering (I use Paypal, easy to add notes). They ship pretty darned fast. I've ordered replacement packaging five or six times, and each time, I received them within just a few days.

Good luck!

Originally Posted by GaragePoet

does anybody know if Criterion offers replacement cases? i bought "Following" at Barnes & Noble this week but when i got home & opened it i noticed the plastic wrap on the front is off-center and leaves the outer paper exposed along the bottom. there isn't another copy at the store to exchange it, so i wrote an e-mail to mulvaney@criterion.com but i haven't heard back for a few days now. anyone else ever had a similar issue?

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Wait...what?

You're not talking about a new moderator are you?

Because I think I deserve to be under serious consideration for the position.

I have all the requisite qualifications and I think I've proven myself to be a reliable, trustworthy and venerable member of this community over the last several years.

I believe in decorum.

I believe in respect.

I believe in the terms of service.

If there's an opening for a moderatorship, I would like to formally submit my candidacy.

Ray Jackson: Faith, Family Values, Loyalty.

...and you can take that to the bank.

[Show spoiler]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeqGuaAl6Ic

Ray, you've also got the best brain. A beautiful brain. Believe me. Fantastic. And a daughter who's a really dynamic girl, a real dynamo. Fantastic girl. Trust me, folks. Your son in law is a great guy, beautiful guy. You've known bad guys, bad people and you're going to get good people. Believe me. It's terrific, folks.

[captainron_howdy]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

So I watched The New World extended cut a couple of days ago. It was my first Terence Malick movie and it was a pretty solid movie. It dragged in some scenes but the visuals were gorgeous. Thinking about picking up another one of his films, any recommendations?

I'd recommend tying out "Days of Heaven" & "Badlands." Those were the 2 films that put him on the map. "The Thin Red Line" is possibly my favorite war film so I can't give that film a higher recommendation either.

"Tree of Life" is an absolute masterpiece and his last 2 films "Knight of Cups" & "Song to Song" I thought were both pretty amazing also.

If you like gorgeous visuals - Malick is your guy. Esp. if you enjoyed the extended cut of "New World" as your first film of his, I can almost guarantee you'll like the rest of his films.

[diskspinner]

I watched "Bigger than life" yesterday, I liked it and realized I do not have many straight forward dramas like this in criterion collection.

Any recommendations for movies like this? My present collection below.

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I watched "Bigger than life" yesterday, I liked it and realized I do not have many straight forward dramas like this in criterion collection.

Any recommendations for movies like this? My present collection below.

If you like Bigger Than Life, I'd check out the other two Nicholas Ray films in the collection - They Live By Night and In a Lonely Place.

[diskspinner]

Originally Posted by Egbert Souse

If you like Bigger Than Life, I'd check out the other two Nicholas Ray films in the collection - They Live By Night and In a Lonely Place.

I have In a Lonely Place and I liked it as well...Read some not too good review on They live by night

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I have In a Lonely Place and I liked it as well...Read some not too good review on They live by night

Don't listen to 'em, They Live by Night is excellent.

[Doctor Jack]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I have In a Lonely Place and I liked it as well...Read some not too good review on They live by night

They Live By Night is excellent. You need to never read reviews from the people would said it wasn't good ever again. They obviously do not have any idea what a great movie is.

[llj]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I watched "Bigger than life" yesterday, I liked it and realized I do not have many straight forward dramas like this in criterion collection.

Any recommendations for movies like this? My present collection below.

You'll want to look at Douglas Sirk's films. All of the Criterion Sirks are worth getting, but I'm not sure if all of them are on blu-ray. I know one of my favorites--Magnificent Obsession--is still DVD-only. All That Heaven Allows is the only Criterion Sirk on blu-ray, I think. Is Written on the Wind on blu yet?

Nice collection btw.

[llj]

Originally Posted by jayembee

True enough. Although other folks seem to hate them, I really wish they'd use yellow subtitles on b&w film.

I think b&w subs are fine...in cases like High and Low, the sub font simply needs darker or thicker outlines. I actually think the lower res b&w subtitle font on DVDs actually are better than the font they use on blu rays.

[billy pilgrim]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I have In a Lonely Place and I liked it as well...Read some not too good review on They live by night

With all due respect for some of the people who did not like They Live By Night, I have to respectfully disagree.

They Live By Night is an exceptional film noir. I had never seen this film until I purchased the Criterion. After watching it, I realized that I had read the short story that the film is based on in a collection of roman noir. The short story was quite compelling and I found both film adaptations fine. They both displayed the tone of the characters of the story accurately. The remake was Thieves Like Us by Robert Altman, which was released by Kino on Blu Ray.

The Nicholas Ray version has two themes running through it: The first is the prison escape with two career criminals and the life of crime with their gang that follows. In this endeavor Bowie, played by Farley Granger, hardly thinks twice about the damage and pain he causes other people.

The second theme is his possible salvation from the life of crime by Keechie, the daughter of a local liar and town drunk, who tries to warn Bowie about her father and the other scumbags manipulating him. It's in the tender (but not saccharine) love story that develops between Bowie and Keechie which gives Bowie the realization that there might be a faint possibility that they might make it together, except...?

I thought Farley Granger was perfect as Bowie and I've been a great fan of his work from the numerous Italian gialli he starred in. Keechie is an Oscar worthy performance by Cathy O'Donnell, an actress I have never heard of before. Not sure that she wasn't stiffed when awards were handed out.

The supporting characters are excellent also. Howard da Silva and J. C. Flippen are truly frightening as the two escaped convicts who manipulate Bowie and drag the two lovers into a violent crime spree.

DaSilva is marvelous as Chicamaw, the psychotic three time loser who has just one eye (as Nicholas Ray did. So is he a stand in for Ray in this film, like Bogie was in In a Lonely Place? I wonder.) The milked out right eye he proudly sports gave me an appreciative laugh. Make no doubt about it though, he plays a truly frightening thug.

Flippen is the more controlled T-Dub, who, although not so volatile, is equally menacing as the "brains" of the outfit. He is the master of manipulation, helping to keep the psycho, Chicamaw, in line and pulling the slow witted Bowie further into their criminal enterprises.

I would rank this as one of the finest of the film noirs that I have seen. A stone cold classic of the first order. I'm not sure why this film has gotten so much hate on these sites.

The PQ and AQ are beautiful and Criterion put out a top quality Blu Ray.

Although sharing a similar theme, I like this a lot more than Malick's Badlands.

My highest recommendation for lovers of film noir and for fans of films about doomed lovers on the run.

As always, this is strictly my humble opinion.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I have In a Lonely Place and I liked it as well...Read some not too good review on They live by night

Disregard any bad reviews on They Live by Night. It's a great film-noir an IMO, director Nicholas Ray's best. If you like In A Lonely Place I promise you will like They Live by Night.

[senseabove]

Originally Posted by diskspinner

I watched "Bigger than life" yesterday, I liked it and realized I do not have many straight forward dramas like this in criterion collection.

Any recommendations for movies like this? My present collection below.

Geez. Folks who like They Live by Night feel really, really strongly about it. Count me in the camp that thought it was an interesting first feature film/worth watching/good if you like Ray, but unexceptional. I thought Bigger than Life fell a little short, too, though, so what do I know. I look forward to seeing both again, but I don't feel the need to own them. I'll wait til they play near me again.

But either way, They Live by Night isn't what you asked for: straight forward drama. (Well, really... melodrama, but that word has too much baggage for most people.) If you liked Bigger than Life, I'll second the recommendation to check out Sirk, specifically All That Heaven Allows and Imitation of Life. Also be sure to check out Ray's Rebel Without a Cause, if you haven't seen it yet. And if you're going from Ray to Sirk, you might as well go on to Fassbinder, too. Check out The Marriage of Maria Braun, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, and Fox and His Friends. Not all of those are Criterion, but at least one suggestion for each director is.