The Criterion Collection

[mja345]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

100 Years of Billy Graham Specials

That would be incredible. Hopefully that or "Pat Robertson: Celebrating 100 years of the 700 Club".

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by mja345

That would be incredible. Hopefully that or "Pat Robertson: Celebrating 100 years of the 700 Club".

More like 700 years of the 100 Club for him.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

More like 700 years of the 100 Club for him.

Robertson's been dead for years. He's the real life Bernie Lomax.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by mja345

Robertson's been dead for years. He's the real life Bernie Lomax.

[CRM 114]

Aren't we due for another newsletter clue?

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by CRM 114

Aren't we due for another newsletter clue?

Yes. It's usually the last Friday of the month or the last week day of the month.

[MeMynonsense]

Ploughed through the bounteous supplements on Rebecca and just wanted to put in a word for the Du Maurier doc, thought it was really well done. The 55 min doc gives us a closer look into Du Maurier’s creative processes and how her aristocratic heritage, feminist attitudes and sexual anxieties influenced her work. It’s really fascinating to see how much of herself she instilled in many of her characters. The doc explores her obsession with the paranormal and how it materialised into some of her most famous works like The Birds and Don't Look Now. There’s also some interesting footage from an archival BBC interview with Du Maurier in which we get to see the original manuscript of Rebecca.

Craig Barron’s Visual Effects essay was equally revelatory. We’re given a pretty comprehensive rundown of the multitude of special effects (or “trick shots”- in old Hollywood parlance), the inventive use of rear projections, miniatures and matte paintings (and how these effects evolved over the years). There are also some interesting observations regarding some of Hitch’s technical choices concerning camera lenses and his patented subjective camerawork.

While light on film-making insights (particularly when compared to the terrific 40 min Hitchcock chat included on criterion’s The 39 Steps disc) - the Tom Snyder interview is still a lotta fun. Hitch is an incredibly entertaining raconteur and while the anecdotes range from mildly amusing to creepy to outrightly hilarious ones, there’s never a dull moment. We’re also given a primer into cockney rhyming slang. An excellent time capsule.
Beside retaining the ‘making of’ featurette and radio adaptations from the MGM blu, the Criterion blu also ports over the entire collection of screen tests from their earlier DVD release. It might appeal to only the hardcore-est of Hitchcock fans but it really puts Fontaine’s casting over the likes of Vivien Leigh, Anne Baxter etc into perspective.
The selected production correspondence between Selznick, Hitch, Val Lewton (who was then employed as a story-editor for Selznick) included in the Booklet also makes for an intriguing read and reiterates the kind of prickly relationship Rebecca’s director and producer shared.

While double-dipping is never fun, I think the financial blow is considerably softened when the re-release effectively trounces the previous releases in almost all significant respects. I hope Notorious is next!

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by MeMynonsense

Ploughed through the bounteous supplements on Rebecca

[Show spoiler]and just wanted to put in a word for the Du Maurier doc, thought it was really well done. The 55 min doc gives us a closer look into Du Maurier’s creative processes and how her aristocratic heritage, feminist attitudes and sexual anxieties influenced her work. It’s really fascinating to see how much of herself she instilled in many of her characters. The doc explores her obsession with the paranormal and how it materialised into some of her most famous works like The Birds and Don't Look Now. There’s also some interesting footage from an archival BBC interview with Du Maurier in which we get to see the original manuscript of Rebecca.

Craig Barron’s Visual Effects essay was equally revelatory. We’re given a pretty comprehensive rundown of the multitude of special effects (or “trick shots”- in old Hollywood parlance), the inventive use of rear projections, miniatures and matte paintings (and how these effects evolved over the years). There are also some interesting observations regarding some of Hitch’s technical choices concerning camera lenses and his patented subjective camerawork.

While light on film-making insights (particularly when compared to the terrific 40 min Hitchcock chat included on criterion’s The 39 Steps disc) - the Tom Snyder interview is still a lotta fun. Hitch is an incredibly entertaining raconteur and while the anecdotes range from mildly amusing to creepy to outrightly hilarious ones, there’s never a dull moment. We’re also given a primer into cockney rhyming slang. An excellent time capsule.
Beside retaining the ‘making of’ featurette and radio adaptations from the MGM blu, the Criterion blu also ports over the entire collection of screen tests from their earlier DVD release. It might appeal to only the hardcore-est of Hitchcock fans but it really puts Fontaine’s casting over the likes of Vivien Leigh, Anne Baxter etc into perspective.
The selected production correspondence between Selznick, Hitch, Val Lewton (who was then employed as a story-editor for Selznick) included in the Booklet also makes for an intriguing read and reiterates the kind of prickly relationship Rebecca’s director and producer shared.

While double-dipping is never fun, I think the financial blow is considerably softened when the re-release effectively trounces the previous releases in almost all significant respects. I hope Notorious is next!

Great post. Have to admit to rarely watching supplements - clearly to my detriment, and something I need to address.

[blujazz]

Danny Boyle! Nice lad whose favourite Boyle film is Millions.

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by shane01

I'll be honest...

I want that Breakfast Club release...

[20th Century Boy]

Originally Posted by Mike0284

I really want new Blu-ray releases of Hard Boiled, & The Killer with new 2K or 4K scans.

I keep seeing this request but I've never heard that the elements are less than shit shape.

China/Hong Kong is known for some of the best films ever, but taking care them is a whole 'nother story.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by MeMynonsense

While light on film-making insights (particularly when compared to the terrific 40 min Hitchcock chat included on criterion’s The 39 Steps disc) - the Tom Snyder interview is still a lotta fun.

I'm pretty happy with the MGM disc but that might be the double-dip tie-breaker. I love those little time capsule features. They don't have to be particularly relevant or even all that interesting in and of themselves. I just love those old interviews.

Two of my other faves are Otto Preminger on Firing Line with William F Buckley and some of the brit interviews in the Lean/Coward set.

[Abdrewes]

I am unable to grasp the greatness of Abbas Kiarostami. His critical reputation is unmatched: His "A Taste of Cherry" (1997) won the Palme d'Or at Cannes, and "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999) won the Golden Lion at Venice. And yet his films--for example his latest work, "Ten"--are meant not so much to be watched as to be written about; his reviews make his points better than he does.

I recently saw Ten and I couldn't help but think of malakahaso when I read the opening to this Ebert review.

Anyway, I have a question to all. What are your thoughts on pre-Close Up Kiarostami. Ive seen just about all his fiction (or "fiction") films after Close Up, but his work preceding it is a total blind spot. I know Where Is my Friend's Home is something I should see asap, but are there other works to check out? And is there a better place to start than the aforementioned film?

Also, I feel my knowledge of Iranian cinema is slim outside of Kiarostami and Farhadi. I'm pretty sure the only films I've seen outside of those boxes are The Cow and The House is Black. Anybody willing to give me a primer? I know the films of Makhmalbaf will probably be the first mentioned, so where should I start with his work and are there any others that come recommended?

Many thanks

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Originally Posted by javy

Has there ever been a hint or a mention of Bergman's trilogy of Through a Glass Darkly, Winter Light, and The Silence coming to blu-ray?

I don't know if it's been mentioned but I can confirm that Through A Glass Darkly has been restored, looks stunning and is ready for a really nice upgrade. I saw it as part of a Bergman festival a few months ago. Winter Light was a 35mm print and I didn't get a chance to see The Silence but I believe I read online that it was also a print. I don't know if restorative work has been done on these two.

[Gerby]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I recently saw Ten and I couldn't help but think of malakahaso when I read the opening to this Ebert review.

Anyway, I have a question to all. What are your thoughts on pre-Close Up Kiarostami. Ive seen just about all his fiction (or "fiction") films after Close Up, but his work preceding it is a total blind spot. I know Where Is my Friend's Home is something I should see asap, but are there other works to check out? And is there a better place to start than the aforementioned film?

Also, I feel my knowledge of Iranian cinema is slim outside of Kiarostami and Farhadi. I'm pretty sure the only films I've seen outside of those boxes are The Cow and The House is Black. Anybody willing to give me a primer? I know the films of Makhmalbaf will probably be the first mentioned, so where should I start with his work and are there any others that come recommended?

Many thanks

The only Makhmalbaf film i've seen is Gabbeh (1996) but it is very good.
I highly recommend Jafar Panahi's The White Balloon (1995) & Majid Majidi's Children Of Heaven (1997) & The Color Of Paradise (1999).

[Alex82]

I already asked this question in the topic about the Othello Blu-ray, but I guess it's worth a shot asking it here as well... This is regarding the differences between the European cut and the U.S. cut.

Anyone knows if there's a site compiling all the differences between versions?

The spoken credits and the dubbings are the most famous, but apparently there are a lot of different takes and angles, but to be honest, I'm not that good picking up subtle changes, the only thing that was obvious to me were the spoken credits.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by Alex82

I already asked this question in the topic about the Othello Blu-ray, but I guess it's worth a shot asking it here as well... This is regarding the differences between the European cut and the U.S. cut.

I've not seen a comparison anywhere (yet). The site movie-censorship.com does scene-by-scene comparisons with screen caps, but I'm not very familiar with it and don't know if they ever look at Criterion releases. As the site name implies, I assume the focus is on cuts/edits due to censorship in different regions.

Only review I've seen so far to compare screen caps between the 1952 and 1955 versions is on DVDBeaver, and those are to illustrate the respective PQ.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Gerby

The only Makhmalbaf film i've seen is Gabbeh (1996) but it is very good.
I highly recommend Jafar Panahi's The White Balloon (1995) & Majid Majidi's Children Of Heaven (1997) & The Color Of Paradise (1999).

Thanks, Gabbeh has been on my radar for a while now. Actually, it must have been after I saw Kandahar. I forgot that was by him. Excellent movie.

It seems only Panahi's recent docs, Taxi and Closed Curtain, are available to stream. I may just have to start there. Although, I'm sure thats not even the ideal starting point for his docs.

[bwdowiak]

I second the recommendation for Children of Heaven. Beautiful little film.

[MeMynonsense]

Originally Posted by octagon

I'm pretty happy with the MGM disc but that might be the double-dip tie-breaker. I love those little time capsule features. They don't have to be particularly relevant or even all that interesting in and of themselves. I just love those old interviews.

Two of my other faves are Otto Preminger on Firing Line with William F Buckley and some of the brit interviews in the Lean/Coward set.

Yeah I enjoy them too. The one on Rebecca is very freewheeling in that regard and the discussion casually segues between Hitch’s dietary routines, practical pranks, British rhyming slang and the plot of his next film (the then un-named Family Plot).
Joan Fontaine’s appearance on Tomorrow is equally entertaining (if a tad gossipy) as she candidly discusses her lifelong feud with sister Olivia de Havilland.

Other similar interviews worth mentioning:

Mike Scott interview (included on The 39 Steps) - I absolutely adore this, offering extensive evaluation of his British phase in the form satisfying entertainment with the comical Chamber of Horrors setting providing the obligatory flavour of macabre.
It’s crude yet enormously informative. Hitch’s quick-wittedness is on full display, particularly when he describes his smooth transition to sound - “as a duck takes to water as a duck takes to a quack”.

Another one that instantly springs to mind is the terrific 70 min Richard Widmark Q&A on BFI’s Night and the City release. He might be pushing 90, but Widmark is an absolute riot in this - loaded with interesting and affectionate anecdotes featuring everybody from Ford, Kazan, Fuller, Dassin etc and plenty of jokes aimed at his films and himself.