The Criterion Collection

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by BAMJoe

I am looking to take my first step into the Fassbinder filmography. Which film is the best to start with. Right now I am leaning towards Ali or Bitter Tears.

Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is probably not the best for your first Fassbinder. It's very good, but... I just think it helps to know Fassbinder before watching that one. The Merchant of Four Seasons or The Marriage of Maria von Braun, along with Ali: Fear Eats the Soul are probably the "gentlest" intros.

Fassbinder's earliest works are less accessible (his theater background clearly showing) and Berlin Alexanderplatz is very depressing (but amazing!), so I'd hold off on those.

[BAMJoe]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant is probably not the best for your first Fassbinder. It's very good, but... I just think it helps to know Fassbinder before watching that one. The Merchant of Four Seasons or The Marriage of Maria von Braun, along with Ali: Fear Eats the Soul are probably the "gentlest" intros.

Fassbinder's earliest works are less accessible (his theater background clearly showing) and Berlin Alexanderplatz is very depressing (but amazing!), so I'd hold off on those.

Thanks for the recommendations.

[joy-division]

Nearly bought Zatoichi boxset before my prime membership runs out but I know it will sit unwatched for years

[javy]

I watched Tarkovsky's Stalker earlier and it definately left an impression on me, as well as bringing me to take stock of my own desires.

[Show spoiler]When they finally came to The Room and Stalker explained that their innermost desires would be fullfiled it made me stop and think, "What would I want?" Of course things like love and world peace are an inside job so they're out of the question. Anything else would be utter greed, so I hope I would be strong enough to not go in. I'm certainly not against having things, and I do love to have toys, but desires granted with that kind of power would corrupt absolutely, at least it would me anyway.

What I found to be sad about the movie was Stalker himself. He believed Writer and Professor lacked faith because they wouldn't enter The Room. However, they did have faith because they accepted life as it is and made the best of it by being content within themselves. But Stalker agonized over what he thought should be and denied his own self and happines.

This is a surreal journey which had me constantly saying to myself, "wtf?" I need to read the Criterion essays.

Awesome film. Requires patience and attention.
stalker.jpg

[BluRayBuddy98]

http://www.millcreekent.com/george-a...d-blu-ray.html Did anyone see this? Just saw the new thread on it.

[Ray Jackson]

I'm thinking about blind buying Being There.

I've seen Harold and Maude once and didn't really like it.

But I am a very strange human being--my childhood piano teacher believed I had Asperger Syndrome.

...does this bode well for my appreciation of the film?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I'm thinking about blind buying Being There.

I've seen Harold and Maude once and didn't really like it.

But I am a very strange human being--my childhood piano teacher believed I had Asperger Syndrome.

...does this bode well for my appreciation of the film?

I'm neutral toward Harold & Maude but think Being There is one of the greatest films ever made.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by joy-division

Nearly bought Zatoichi boxset before my prime membership runs out but I know it will sit unwatched for years

Ah, but the packaging is beautiful. Even if you never watch the films, it will add beauty to your life.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I'm thinking about blind buying Being There.

I've seen Harold and Maude once and didn't really like it.

But I am a very strange human being--my childhood piano teacher believed I had Asperger Syndrome.

...does this bode well for my appreciation of the film?

Get Being There, it's a masterpiece and also an appropriate film for this age.

[Scottie]

Not to mention, the ending of Being There is probably the greatest ending to any film.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by StarDestroyer52

Get Being There, it's a masterpiece and also an appropriate film for this age.

How about Lost In America?

...which one do you think is better?

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Ah, but the packaging is beautiful. Even if you never watch the films, it will add beauty to your life.

I had the opportunity to guarantee that it would arrive in a sturdy package instead of a crappy package, but it just wasn't enough. I have so many films to watch, & I have to start with all my recent Criterions

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

How about Lost In America?

...which one do you think is better?

Being There is, without a doubt.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Being There is, without a doubt.

[Show spoiler]

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

I'm thinking about blind buying Being There.

I've seen Harold and Maude once and didn't really like it.

But I am a very strange human being--my childhood piano teacher believed I had Asperger Syndrome.

...does this bode well for my appreciation of the film?

I didn't like Harold and Maude, but I really liked Being There!

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

How about Lost In America?

...which one do you think is better?

Haven't seen Being There but I love Lost in America. It's a great comedy. If you like Albert Brooks its no contest on a blind buy IMO

[oildude]

Originally Posted by BAMJoe

I am looking to take my first step into the Fassbinder filmography. Which film is the best to start with. Right now I am leaning towards Ali or Bitter Tears.

World on a Wire is brilliant and beautiful film. What German director Rainer Fassbinder accomplished with modest budgets is amazing. An original work that has influenced other science fiction films, particularly The Matrix, it is one of the most outstanding films Criterion has ever released and one that the company is very proud of being able to present in a colorful new digital restoration. In my opinion, it was their release of the year when it came out in early 2012.

The story is difficult to describe without giving away the twists that make the film so intriguing and full of surprises (and spoil it for those who have not seen it). I think of the premise as something akin to a set of Russian nesting dolls. The main character, a cool and clinical cybernetics engineer named Fred Stiller, investigates a series of mysteries (including a suicide) at his company Simulacron involving a computer simulation project. The program recreates a realistic and functioning virtual world where social modeling is used on virtual people to better predict how humans will respond to commercial marketing and other situations. Sounds a bit dull, right? Not quite. In between fending off the sudden interests of bosomy blondes, Stiller slowly uncovers an apparent conspiracy so frightening and powerful it threatens his definition of the real world we see around us every day. Bit by bit, the logical, self-controlled Stiller finds himself breaking down as he morphs between different realities and comes to realize the lethal consequences of looking too closely into Simulacron's collusion with shadowy government agencies. Fassbinder uses the Stiller character to explore themes of paranoia and mental stability in a future society, while raising questions about technology and its effects on humanity. Much like Blade Runner, it has strong noir elements. Because World on a Wire has influenced more recent better known films, it may not appear to a viewer as fresh as it did to audiences in 1973, but it is still a first rate film and classic of science fiction.

I read an article a couple of years ago that World on a Wire should appeal to fans of Kubrick, Philip K. Dick, and Kurt Vonnegut, and I agree with that assessment.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

How about Lost In America?

...which one do you think is better?

I have not seen Lost in America yet, so I can not comment on it. I need to remedy that.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by oildude

[Show spoiler]
World on a Wire is brilliant and beautiful film. What German director Rainer Fassbinder accomplished with modest budgets is amazing. An original work that has influenced other science fiction films, particularly The Matrix, it is one of the most outstanding films Criterion has ever released and one that the company is very proud of being able to present in a colorful new digital restoration. In my opinion, it was their release of the year when it came out in early 2012.

The story is difficult to describe without giving away the twists that make the film so intriguing and full of surprises (and spoil it for those who have not seen it). I think of the premise as something akin to a set of Russian nesting dolls. The main character, a cool and clinical cybernetics engineer named Fred Stiller, investigates a series of mysteries (including a suicide) at his company Simulacron involving a computer simulation project. The program recreates a realistic and functioning virtual world where social modeling is used on virtual people to better predict how humans will respond to commercial marketing and other situations. Sounds a bit dull, right? Not quite. In between fending off the sudden interests of bosomy blondes, Stiller slowly uncovers an apparent conspiracy so frightening and powerful it threatens his definition of the real world we see around us every day. Bit by bit, the logical, self-controlled Stiller finds himself breaking down as he morphs between different realities and comes to realize the lethal consequences of looking too closely into Simulacron's collusion with shadowy government agencies. Fassbinder uses the Stiller character to explore themes of paranoia and mental stability in a future society, while raising questions about technology and its effects on humanity. Much like Blade Runner, it has strong noir elements. Because World on a Wire has influenced more recent better known films, it may not appear to a viewer as fresh as it did to audiences in 1973, but it is still a first rate film and classic of science fiction.

I read an article a couple of years ago that World on a Wire should appeal to fans of Kubrick, Philip K. Dick, and Kurt Vonnegut, and I agree with that assessment.

Being an unrepentant anarchist, I hate to side with the Man on this one, but our fearless moderator is absolutely right.

World on a Wire is pure genius.

...both stylistically and thematically.

[SammyJankis]

Another Saturday, another Lang picture with G. Robinson, Bennett, and Duryea. My initial reaction is that A Woman in the Window utterly pails in comparison to Scarlett Street, but that's because the latter has grown so much in my mind since my very favorable impression. However, there's a point in the film that made me scoff that now puts the entire picture in a different light for me. I almost want to rewatch it now to reassess every little piece that I thought of as a simple genre trope. All three actors aren't as good here, mainly because their roles are intentionally downplayed.

Gonna continue the Lang streak, but without the three leads. This time, it's a recommendation from the They Live By Night extra: You Only Live Once.