The Criterion Collection

[theater dreamer]

Yeah, I know. That's a kind of self abuse, isn't it? Not exactly light fare.

Originally Posted by PrestonXI

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Input would be appreciated!

The Killing has an additional Kubrick movie on it. I always like it when Criterion adds another movie, it feels like I'm getting more value that way.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Ok, guys, I need some help narrowing down my choices. I'm going to head over to my local Barnes & Noble, and pick up two more blus before the sale ends. My girlfriend just had her birthday on Friday, and I spent an insane amount on her presents. So, I'm going to try and be good here.

I've narrowed it down to the following candidates: Steve McQueen's Hunger, Kubrick's The Killing, Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Baker's A Night to Remember, Antonioni's La Notte, Ford's Stagecoach, and Clouzot's The Wages of Fear.

How the hell do I choose? I really want Hunger. I'm a real big Michael Fassbender fan, and I thought 12 Years a Slave was exceptional. I plan on watching Shame and Hunger back to back.

Input would be appreciated!

If you love Fassbender, Hunger is a must. I'm not sure if it's his best performance, but I wouldn't argue with anyone making that claim.

As for your other title.. La Notte may be my favorite of the trilogy, so if you're familiar with, and like, Antonioni, I think that one would be a no-brainer. Plus it would be fitting given Jeanne Moreau's recent passing. At the same time, if you want something that has tension brimming within every frame, go for Wages of Fear. I have only seen it once, but man, what an experience.

[sawdustandtinsel]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Ok, guys, I need some help narrowing down my choices. I'm going to head over to my local Barnes & Noble, and pick up two more blus before the sale ends. My girlfriend just had her birthday on Friday, and I spent an insane amount on her presents. So, I'm going to try and be good here.

I've narrowed it down to the following candidates: Steve McQueen's Hunger, Kubrick's The Killing, Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Baker's A Night to Remember, Antonioni's La Notte, Ford's Stagecoach, and Clouzot's The Wages of Fear.

How the hell do I choose? I really want Hunger. I'm a real big Michael Fassbender fan, and I thought 12 Years a Slave was exceptional. I plan on watching Shame and Hunger back to back.

Input would be appreciated!

The Wages of Fear ranks among my best blind buys, one of the most suspenseful films I've ever seen. Hunger was my 1st Criterion so I'll always have a soft spot for it, as I am also a McQueen/Fassbender fan, I'd say go for it.

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Ok, guys, I need some help narrowing down my choices. I'm going to head over to my local Barnes & Noble, and pick up two more blus before the sale ends. My girlfriend just had her birthday on Friday, and I spent an insane amount on her presents. So, I'm going to try and be good here.

I've narrowed it down to the following candidates: Steve McQueen's Hunger, Kubrick's The Killing, Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Baker's A Night to Remember, Antonioni's La Notte, Ford's Stagecoach, and Clouzot's The Wages of Fear.

How the hell do I choose? I really want Hunger. I'm a real big Michael Fassbender fan, and I thought 12 Years a Slave was exceptional. I plan on watching Shame and Hunger back to back.

Input would be appreciated!

I'd have to say The Killing. I flat out loved it

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I've narrowed it down to the following candidates: Steve McQueen's Hunger, Kubrick's The Killing, Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Baker's A Night to Remember, Antonioni's La Notte, Ford's Stagecoach, and Clouzot's The Wages of Fear.

I like Wages of Fear and The Killing as much as the next guy and you certainly won't be disappointed with either but I'll be the first to give Stagecoach a ringing endorsement.

Just a flat out game-changer that heralded the Western as a major genre, birthed an American icon and offers one of the richest ensembles in all of cinema. Every time I watch it is like seeing an old, fond friend. You'd be remiss to miss it.

[javy]

Originally Posted by thatguamguy

The Killing has an additional Kubrick movie on it. I always like it when Criterion adds another movie, it feels like I'm getting more value that way.

Right, and Killer's Kiss is great. That rooftop scene at the end is very atmospheric, as well as the rest of the feature.

[Bonzi]

Originally Posted by MassiveMovieBuff

I'd have to say The Killing. I flat out loved it

I second that. Make sure you get The Killing.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Ok, guys, I need some help narrowing down my choices. I'm going to head over to my local Barnes & Noble, and pick up two more blus before the sale ends. My girlfriend just had her birthday on Friday, and I spent an insane amount on her presents. So, I'm going to try and be good here.

I've narrowed it down to the following candidates: Steve McQueen's Hunger, Kubrick's The Killing, Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Baker's A Night to Remember, Antonioni's La Notte, Ford's Stagecoach, and Clouzot's The Wages of Fear.

How the hell do I choose? I really want Hunger. I'm a real big Michael Fassbender fan, and I thought 12 Years a Slave was exceptional. I plan on watching Shame and Hunger back to back.

Input would be appreciated!

The Killing and Stagecoach. But if just one, The Killing (cuz it also has Killer's Kiss).

[theater dreamer]

Oof, it was so hard to choose. I ended up grabbing Hunger and The Last Temptation of Christ. An argument could be made for all of the ones I listed. For one thing, I'm a huge Kubrick fan, and, as mentioned, there are two films in the Killing release. That was hard to pass up. Stagecoach? I've begun slowly amassing John Ford's films to do a comprehensive study of his directorial style all at once. I have How Green Was My Valley, The Searchers, and The Grapes of Wrath. Until I get The Quiet Man and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, as well, I'll have to hold off. I plan on making that a long weekend, so Stagecoach can wait a bit. I also really want A Night to Remember, as I'm a Titanic nut, and having just recently watched the Barbara Stanwyck film, my interest has been piqued all over again.

But I'm happy with the two I picked. However, I think I'm going to pick up Wages before close of business Monday. It seems the universe is telling me to get it. [emoji13]I thoroughly enjoyed William Friedkin's Sorcerer, which was, of course, a modern adaptation of WOF. And, while taking a break to post this, I did a little reading about Danny Boyce's sci fi gem, Sunshine, which I am finishing up. Cilian Murphy watched The Wages of Fear preparing for his performance to better understand the level of suspense Boyle was wanting to create.

I also really want La Norte, especially with Jeanne Moreau's recent passing. But I kind of want to watch Antonioni's trilogy all at once.


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[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by Bonzi

I second that. Make sure you get The Killing.

I might've guessed...

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Ok, guys, I need some help narrowing down my choices. I'm going to head over to my local Barnes & Noble, and pick up two more blus before the sale ends. My girlfriend just had her birthday on Friday, and I spent an insane amount on her presents. So, I'm going to try and be good here.

I've narrowed it down to the following candidates: Steve McQueen's Hunger, Kubrick's The Killing, Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Baker's A Night to Remember, Antonioni's La Notte, Ford's Stagecoach, and Clouzot's The Wages of Fear.

How the hell do I choose? I really want Hunger. I'm a real big Michael Fassbender fan, and I thought 12 Years a Slave was exceptional. I plan on watching Shame and Hunger back to back.

Input would be appreciated!

Buy in this order:

1. La Notte
2. Stagecoach
3. The Killing

All three of these are must own.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by TimeForNostalgia

Hey guys! I picked up 20 titles from the sale and made a quick Criterion hunting and haul video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooBG...ature=youtu.be

I was watching your intro and when you said the Barnes and Noble was an hour drive I was like, "Ye gads how far out in the boonies is this fella?!"

...then I looked at your location...it's my hometown!!!

Then it all made sense.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Ok, guys, I need some help narrowing down my choices. I'm going to head over to my local Barnes & Noble, and pick up two more blus before the sale ends. My girlfriend just had her birthday on Friday, and I spent an insane amount on her presents. So, I'm going to try and be good here.

I've narrowed it down to the following candidates: Steve McQueen's Hunger, Kubrick's The Killing, Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ, Baker's A Night to Remember, Antonioni's La Notte, Ford's Stagecoach, and Clouzot's The Wages of Fear.

How the hell do I choose? I really want Hunger. I'm a real big Michael Fassbender fan, and I thought 12 Years a Slave was exceptional. I plan on watching Shame and Hunger back to back.

Input would be appreciated!

Wages of Fear just got a 4K restoration from the negative, so the upcoming BFI disc could best the Criterion in terms of transfer.

[The Great Owl]

I bought the Criterion Blu-ray of Jean-Luc Godard's Weekend at Barnes & Noble earlier today while I was at the store for other things.

I was a bit freaked out by Weekend when I saw it on DVD years ago, but I've had a hankering to revisit it lately. I think that my affinity for sick and twisted drive-in exploitation movies will help me get more out of this film in many ways.

[theater dreamer]

Dun dun dun.

Just opened Hunger, and there's no booklet inside. Now, I have to drive all the way back to exchange the one I bought. Ugh.

Is my best bet to order online, and have it shipped to the store?


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[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Dun dun dun.

Just opened Hunger, and there's no booklet inside. Now, I have to drive all the way back to exchange the one I bought. Ugh.

Is my best bet to order online, and have it shipped to the store?


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You could email Criterion, I bought a movie from a Barnes and Noble and had no booklet, and emailed, and they sent it.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I bought the Criterion Blu-ray of Jean-Luc Godard's Weekend at Barnes & Noble earlier today while I was at the store for other things.

I was a bit freaked out by Weekend when I saw it on DVD years ago, but I've had a hankering to revisit it lately. I think that my affinity for sick and twisted drive-in exploitation movies will help me get more out of this film in many ways.

Great title. Nice way to end his first New Wave period.

[belcherman]

I watched The Breaking Point last night and it did not disappoint. I was expecting to like it based on the story, director and cast, but if anything the whole was even greater than the sum of the parts. If you're looking to get one more title while the sale is on, get this one if you don't already have it.

One thing I think that hasn't been discussed here is the role of the female characters in this film. Patricia Neal and Phyllis Thaxter are both terrific playing opposite types. A PhD thesis could be written (and probably has) on the contrasting female archetypes in 1950s film. Patricia Neal is the "bad" female and is a force of nature. She looks at John Garfield the way Shere Khan looked at Mowgli in The Jungle Book and I half expected her to swallow him whole. Phyllis Thaxter is the "good" female, trying gamely to keep her family from falling apart. It's a completely unglamorous role and Thaxter is heart-breakingly vulnerable in it.

Those are the two poles of the female archetypes -- pull the family apart or hold it together, and in the middle is John Garfield, trying to provide for his family on his terms and losing badly. So you could make a case that this film is really about families and, in that context, the final shot of the film is even more devastating.

I can't wait to watch it again.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching my Criterion Blu-ray of The Breaking Point.



John Garfield plays Harry Morgan, a charter boat captain who is struggling to make ends meet so that he can provide a good life for his wife, played by Phyllis Thaxter (Superman: The Movie, Act of Violence), and their two children. His sturdy postwar morals are challenged when he accepts a dangerous job from a crooked lawyer, played by Wallace Ford (Shadow of a Doubt, Spellbound), and brushes with flirtation with the insanely sexy Leona, played by Patricia Neal (Breakfast at Tiffany's). Juano Hernandez (Kiss Me Deadly, The Pawnbroker) is terrific as Morgan's loyal shipmate.

The Breaking Point, which was directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, Mildred Pierce), is the second film adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel, To Have and Have Not, after the iconic Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall movie by the same name. This Curtiz film is more faithful to the Hemingway novel, and it also excels as a truly devastating film noir that takes us into some bleak corners rarely explored by most works even in that genre.

This is a sobering movie in every sense, because it gives Garfield's Harry Morgan a tough, but likable edge that is all the more heartbreaking when we sense the economic and moral walls collapsing around him despite his best efforts. The fact that Morgan has such an amazing relationship with his wife compels us to pull for him all the more. Many of the best films noir reverberate in American culture because the storylines, which portray beleaguered middle class and lower class people struggling to "keep up with the Jones's" during tough times. For this reason, many of them are just as relevant today as they were in post-World War II America. Morgan never stops fighting fiercely to keep his head above water, and the movie's violent conclusion is gripping because we desperately want him to succeed, despite his falling from grace with both his family and the law. The final camera shot of The Breaking Point is one of the most saddening cinematic gut-punches that I have ever seen in my life.

John Garfield's striking looks and his blend of toughness and vulnerability made him especially suited for film noir, and he excelled in noir titles like The Postman Always Rings Twice, Force of Evil, Body and Soul, and He Ran All the Way. The story of Garfield is a story that ended too soon, because of the unfortunate way that the Communist scare affected his career, and because of his untimely death from a heart attack at the age of 39.

It's a shame that The Breaking Point was poorly received because of Garfield's blacklisting, because, under different circumstances, it could have been one of the most famous films noir ever made. It's high time for this movie to be reevaluated, so I'm glad that it's now out on Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.

This Criterion Blu-ray sports a wonderfully filmic presentation of this black-and-white movie, and I feel justified in giving it a five-star picture rating. The audio is quite good, and the sound quality accentuates many of the movie's most impactful plot points by way of small details, like the sound of the sewing machine operated by Morgan's wife when she struggles to help him keep the family fed.

I'd love to have seen a commentary track on this Blu-ray, but the supplements that we do get are quite fascinating, especially the extra with John Garfield's daughter. I also love The Breaking Point. Fluid Style documentary.

This Blu-ray has my highest recommendation.