The Criterion Collection

[octagon]

Originally Posted by llj

Nice! I live in Canada and don't get TCM,...

Whoa, I'm really glad I was too lazy to follow up on that whole 'move to Canada' thing last fall

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by MeMynonsense

Revisited Le Trou after many years on the new Studiocanal BD and it remains every bit as enthralling as it was the first time around. It appears so understated and unpretentious, yet so poignant and dynamic that the underlying scrupulousness hardly ever comes to the fore. A prison-escape film that both mocks and eschews common genre cliches. There aren’t any nasty guards or sadistic wardens, no sucking up to Mr. Big for protection against hulking sexual predators, no time for unnecessary shower or mess hall politics. In fact there are no mess halls. Period. And most of the action is confined to the claustrophobic prison cells. Becker resists the deep plunges into character backgrounds or enlisting stars instead casts non-actors to boost their believability.

Le Trou houses an embarrassment of exhilarating, tenterhooking sequences. My favourite is the deafening demolition of a solid concrete floor using only a metal bed-supplement, in real time, while the cell-door is guarded through the peephole via a crude spy-glass - ingeniously fashioned out of a toothbrush and broken mirror. Becker heightens the suspense by forensically highlighting such salient details, grounding most of the action in the immediate present. Everything is so right here. He brilliantly succeeds in conveying with fidelity the realities of the prison world (loyalty, betrayal, isolation, inspections and inedible meals). There’s a reason why Le Trou feels like a distant cousin of Rififi. Both meticulously document the painstaking preparation that goes into pulling off a plan while utilising silence as the primary tension builder. Both deceptively transform the titillated viewer into an apprehensive accomplice. Only this time, instead of breaking into a place the protagonists are breaking out.

Equally noteworthy are the performances from its principals, in particular Philippe Leroy, Michel Constantin and Jean Keraudy, who’d never been in a film before. But it is ‘Roland’ played by the uber-industrious Jean Keraudy who lends credibility to this gritty caper. A co-conspirator of screenwriter José Giovanni in the notorious 1947 Santé Prison jailbreak attempt that inspired the film - Keraudy draws from his experience as an escape-artist and his rightly described as a “manual magician” in one of the disc supplements. His remarkable resourcefulness is why Le Trou lives and breathes in its processes: whether it’s his ingenuity with a makeshift sand-clock or the precision of his periscope device.
Jean-Pierre Melville famously hailed Le Trou as “The Greatest French Film Of All Time!” - a lofty claim but one not without merit. From its slow-burn start to its astounding, disquieting conclusion - Becker’s swan song is a veritable knockout.

I've heard about Le Trou for a long time, but had never seen it. After seeing the great review for the new Studio Canal blu ray, I decided to blind-buy it. I was blown away at how good this film was. I'm not sure how I should rate it because I've seen it so recently and as of yet only once, but I think I can already safely say that it is one of the very best, at least pre-1970 movies that I've ever seen. How this film doesn't have a bigger rep and can remain hidden from someone like me, who is a relatively big fan of film, I have no idea.

If Criterion don't renew their Studio Canal connection, not having Le Trou will leave a massive hole (no pun intended) in their blu ray catalogue. And those who have a region free player should buy the Studio Canal release right away. The technical presentation was terrific and it has some pretty decent extras - the old Criterion DVD of Le Trou seems to have been bare bones.

[SammyJankis]

Le Trou is the best prison film I've ever seen. I struggle to think of anything that comes close. It's been well over five years since I've seen it (on TCM) and yet I feel like I remember every detail within that meticulously elaborate narrative. Been hoping for a Criterion release ever since.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by DaysofSlevin

It should coming eventually. Mosfilm gave Criterion the rights to all of Tarkovsky's Soviet films and their restoration of the shorter cut of the film that's on Filmstruck now looks very good. Criterion has been rumored to have been working on restoring the full cut for many years now, so we may be getting an edition with both cuts of the film.

Wish Criterion would also get the rights to Dersa Uzala since it recently underwent a restoration.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Wish Criterion would also get the rights to Dersa Uzala since it recently underwent a restoration.

They do have the rights.

[bwdowiak]

Sounds like Le Trou is a must own. Still kinda expensive on Amazon UK. I'll add it to my UK wish list.

I haven't bought hardly anything this year.

Kinda feeling like when you haven't eaten for a while... Eyes are getting big and I feel like I'm about to over eat.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by llj

Nice! I live in Canada and don't get TCM, but I wish I did.

Originally Posted by octagon

Whoa, I'm really glad I was too lazy to follow up on that whole 'move to Canada' thing last fall

I live in Canada and I get TCM. Must be your specific provider who doesn't carry it.

[llj]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

I live in Canada and I get TCM. Must be your specific provider who doesn't carry it.

I haven't had cable in years, that's also a reason.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by llj

I haven't had cable in years, that's also a reason.

Also? More like THE reason.

[Poya]

Originally Posted by JupiterMission

A decent percentage of the Man in the Moon thread is Poya railing against Reese. It's a weird obsession.

Yes, I do have a problem. That was written a few months before I finally decided to go to therapy. I appreciate you to not be this personal. It was my fault the thread got derailed. Let’s just move on (everyone’s already did but I like having the last word).

Anywho, someone at the WAC thread mentioned the possibility of Angels with Dirty Faces getting a Criterion release. Could that be possible? It’s a bit too mainstream for the Collection.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Poya

Anywho, someone at the WAC thread mentioned the possibility of Angels with Dirty Faces getting a Criterion release. Could that be possible? It’s a bit too mainstream for the Collection.

I dunno, it's no more mainstream than The Philadelphia Story or Mildred Pierce or The In-Laws or Tootsie or...well, you probably get the idea.

That said, if I had to bet I'd say it's a more likely WAC candidate but who knows.

[Poya]

Originally Posted by octagon

I dunno, it's no more mainstream than The Philadelphia Story or Mildred Pierce or The In-Laws or Tootsie or...well, you probably get the idea.

That said, if I had to bet I'd say it's a more likely WAC candidate but who knows.

Either way, Cagney’s 2nd best gangster picture needs a BD release. Heck, just a release in general. The DVD has been OOP for years.

[llj]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Also? More like THE reason.

It definitely is. I never said I didn't have a choice! Just that I wish I had TCM and do not (for budget reasons).

(For the record, I wasn't sure if we could get it in Canada even though I suspected we did. When I last had access to cable, the choice of channels was out of my hands)

[JupiterMission]

Originally Posted by Poya

Yes, I do have a problem. That was written a few months before I finally decided to go to therapy. I appreciate you to not be this personal. It was my fault the thread got derailed. Let’s just move on (everyone’s already did but I like having the last word).

Anywho, someone at the WAC thread mentioned the possibility of Angels with Dirty Faces getting a Criterion release. Could that be possible? It’s a bit too mainstream for the Collection.

Glad to hear you're getting help, bro. Hopefully that means that someday when Freeway finally comes to blu, we'll all be able to have a nice thread about it. ;^)

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by llj

It definitely is. I never said I didn't have a choice! Just that I wish I had TCM and do not (for budget reasons).

(For the record, I wasn't sure if we could get it in Canada even though I suspected we did. When I last had access to cable, the choice of channels was out of my hands)

It's been available in Canada for many years. Every now and then though there is a movie on the schedule that TCM doesn't have the broadcast rights for Canada so they substitute it with a different film.

[llj]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

It's been available in Canada for many years. Every now and then though there is a movie on the schedule that TCM doesn't have the broadcast rights for Canada so they substitute it with a different film.

Ah. Thanks. I thought as much. I didn't want to make any declarations about something (Saying we get definitely get TCM in Canada) that I wasn't completely sure about, though.

[jw007]

As a longtime forum member, I was once guilty of derailing our Criterion thread, and I confess that my Criterion-watching days aren't as prolific as they used to be, HOWEVER... I am going to get the Criterion train back on its tracks with this question and answer.

Q: What 5 favorite Criterion DVD titles would you like to see upgraded to blu-ray?

A: Mine are:

The Last Wave (Directed by Peter Weir)
Before the Rain (Directed by Milcho Manchevski)
House of Games (Directed by David Mamet)
Andrei Rublev (Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky)
Stranger Than Paradise (Directed by Jim Jarmusch)

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

As a longtime forum member, I was once guilty of derailing our Criterion thread, and I confess that my Criterion-watching days aren't as prolific as they used to be, HOWEVER... I am going to get the Criterion train back on its tracks with this question and answer.

What 5 favorite Criterion DVD titles would you like to see upgraded to blu-ray?

I might or might not have derailed this thread a time or two during my early days here back in 2012 and 2013.

Five Criterion titles that I would like to see upgraded to Blu-ray...

Brute Force
Thieves Highway
Pickup on South Street
Elevator to the Gallows
Touchez Pas Au Grisbi

Just because I cannot stop there, I'll continue with five more...

The Naked City
Le Trou
Le Doulos
Le Deuxième Souffle
Bob Le Flambeur

Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog would be nice as well.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by jw007

As a longtime forum member, I was once guilty of derailing our Criterion thread, and I confess that my Criterion-watching days aren't as prolific as they used to be, HOWEVER... I am going to get the Criterion train back on its tracks with this question and answer.

Q: What 5 favorite Criterion DVD titles would you like to see upgraded to blu-ray?

A: Mine are:

The Last Wave (Directed by Peter Weir)
Before the Rain (Directed by Milcho Manchevski)
House of Games (Directed by David Mamet)
Andrei Rublev (Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky)
Stranger Than Paradise (Directed by Jim Jarmusch)

Oh, lord, this could change tomorrow, but right at this very moment my list would be:

Summertime
Brute Force
The Naked City
Thieves' Highway
Pickup on South Street

[Knaldskalle]

I'd love to see updates of

The Bad Sleep Well
Eisenstein: The Sound Years
The Scarlet Empress
Le Corbeau
A Story of Floating Weeds/Floating Weeds