The Criterion Collection

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

What film was your gateway into the appreciation of cinema beyond blockbusters? Follow up question: what film opened you up to exploring the Criterion Collection?

Seeing The Seventh Seal on VHS as a teen is the answer to both. I collected a lot of the Criterion laserdiscs in the 1990s.

[malakaheso]

Cinema outside of Hollywood: It happened in around 93 I think, but I couldn't tell you the exact film that inspired me to delve deeper. I watched a mix of 80's/90s independent cinema (Jarmusch, Van Sant, Jarmusch etc), The Three Colors trilogy (I saw Red at the cinema when I was 16 and was by far the youngest person there heh). Then I got into Takeshi Kitano before he really broke in the US in 94/95 after taking a risk buying a few videos from the UK. That really set me off as far as exploring foreign cinema in a serious way was concerned.

As for the Criterion collection, my first purchase was Robocop back in 1999, but I had no idea who they were, I just wanted that film. I didn't start consciously thinking about the label and wanting to explore the films until 2000 or so.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

What film was your gateway into the appreciation of cinema beyond blockbusters? Follow up question: what film opened you up to exploring the Criterion Collection?

In India we had very little access to films on TV, so as a kid in the 80's I watched almost any movie, including some of the arthouse flicks that were screened on late night TV. I have memories of watching Picnic at Hanging Rock, Stalker, The Nun and The Bandit, Fedora, this quasi-exploitation film called Android. It also helped that my folks weren't very restrictive about what I watched unless it featured really raunchy content.

My first Criterion purchase was their Kurosawa Samurai Classics movie box, with Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Seven Samurai and Hidden Fortress. On a cost-per-film basis and in terms of entertainment value it seemed to offer the greatest VFM. I got a lot out of that set, and eventually upgraded all the movies in it to blu-ray. Also a friend of mine got me their DVD of Taste of Cherry. My first Criterion blu-ray was Wings of Desire, I think

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

What film was your gateway into the appreciation of cinema beyond blockbusters? Follow up question: what film opened you up to exploring the Criterion Collection?

As far as "cinema beyond blockbusters" goes, I'd probably go with the low-budget horror films of the 1980s that I routinely rented when I was a teenager (Slugs, From Beyond, Near Dark, etc.) and the low-budget 1970s horror films that I saw on Elvira's Movie Macabre series during childhood.

With regard to foreign cinema, I saw The Vanishing (Spoorloos) on some cable television channel during the early 1990s, and, if I recall correctly, it was the first foreign film that I had ever seen. I also saw Besson's La Femme Nikita during the early 1990s, and it changed my way of thinking.

Seven Samurai was the proper Criterion Collection gateway, though. I had been seeing the movie on several all-time top 10 lists, and my curiosity got the best of me.

[demonx]

Originally Posted by demonx

Greed 1924 in Blu-ray?

So when will Ben-Gur 1925 and Greed be 1924? Maybe there's a film gone?

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by demonx

So when will Ben-Gur 1925 and Greed be 1924? Maybe there's a film gone?

Ben-Hur will probably be unlikely for a BluRay release when it is on the 1959 Ben Hur collector's edition

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

What film was your gateway into the appreciation of cinema beyond blockbusters? Follow up question: what film opened you up to exploring the Criterion Collection?

In both cases, it was David Lean's Great Expectations. But also in answer to the first question, discovering Hitchcock.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

What film was your gateway into the appreciation of cinema beyond blockbusters? Follow up question: what film opened you up to exploring the Criterion Collection?

In about 4th year uni/college, I think I saw The 400 Blows, The Bicycle Thieves, Hiroshima Mon Amour and The Seventh Seal (3 of them from Criterion DVDs) over a week. Not the first time I had seen non blockbuster movies or anything but definitely the first time I started thinking of film as art.

[demonx]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

Ben-Hur will probably be unlikely for a BluRay release when it is on the 1959 Ben Hur collector's edition

So Ben-Gur of 1925 will never come out to the Blue-Ray? He was not released there in 1080r, he is also there in SD quality.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Reddington

In both cases, it was David Lean's Great Expectations. But also in answer to the first question, discovering Hitchcock.

Yeah if I had this question better I would say discovering Kurosawa. From there everything changed

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by demonx

So Ben-Gur of 1925 will never come out to the Blue-Ray? He was not released there in 1080r, he is also there in SD quality.

It's on the collector's edition as a BluRay extra to the Ben Hur Collection.

[demonx]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

It's on the collector's edition as a BluRay extra to the Ben Hur Collection.

I would like to have a completely, completely restored picture, with additional materials.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by olivianewtonyawn

What film was your gateway into the appreciation of cinema beyond blockbusters? Follow up question: what film opened you up to exploring the Criterion Collection?

Lawrence of Arabia. The first watch I was overwhelmed by the scope of the film but I knew I was seeing greatness. I watched it again soon after and then it had me. I was also fortunate to see Psycho and 2001 in my teens. I came across Pyscho on television and was hooked from the start. 2001 had me spellbound in 7th grade science class. It was the first film I can recall seeing that really made me think. It wasn't passing entertainment that I'd forget the next day.

Criterion - Seven Samurai. The film's greatness has been covered many times and sometimes citing it as a favorite comes off as boring and predictable. Let's not overlook the obvious. It's a great film and a lot of fun.

[MifuneFan]

New phantom page for Alexander Payne. With November titles being the next to beannounced, could Election finally be coming?

[CRM 114]

Without spoiling the former, how similar is Night Train to Munich to The Lady Vanishes? I've heard they're pretty similar but the summary of NTtM doesn't sound that similar to TLV. Would someone who liked TLV like NTtM?

[llj]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Unless I missed something, it doesn't look like anybody's being disrespectful at all.

Yeah, I'm puzzled. If he's referring to the "Maybe even better than Top Gun" remark I made, I was clearly just joking around with Ray.

[theater dreamer]

Again, though, the 1925 version is in standard definition, though on a blu-ray disc. At least that's what the review on our site states.

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

It's on the collector's edition as a BluRay extra to the Ben Hur Collection.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

New phantom page for Alexander Payne. With November titles being the next to beannounced, could Election finally be coming?

For me, my first thought was "Citizen Ruth".

[anthonyls]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

For me, my first thought was "Citizen Ruth".

I too would love to see Citizen Ruth.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

For me, my first thought was "Citizen Ruth".

I brought up Election because I believe it was discussed at Wexler event as a confirmed title a couple years back. I know it was the same time that Blood Simple was confirmed to be coming, but otherwise my memory is a bit fuzzy.