The Criterion Collection

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by MJD64

It's unfortunate that Fish Tank isn't talked about more, and director Andrea Arnold's recent American Honey is also a terrific film. As good as Fassbender is here, I thought Katie Jarvis in the lead role of Mia was fantastic (and regrettably, I've not seen her in anything since).

Yeah Katie Jarvis was fantastic. Of course she had the more demanding role. I'd love to see her in another feature. She's completed a 17 minute short called Ginger where she plays Jack the Ripper victim Mary Kelly. Too bad that's not a feature.

I keep meaning to see Honey and for some reason never manage to get around to it. I want to change that soon.

[MJD64]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

Yeah Katie Jarvis was fantastic. Of course she had the more demanding role. I'd love to see her in another feature. She's completed a 17 minute short called Ginger where she plays Jack the Ripper victim Mary Kelly. Too bad that's not a feature.

I keep meaning to see Honey and for some reason never manage to get around to it. I want to change that soon.

Do take a look at American Honey, it's well worth it. The lead performance by newcomer Sasha Lane is impressive (Andrea Arnold has a real eye for spotting new talent), as are the performances by Shia LaBeouf (I'm not always a fan, but he's great in this) and Riley Keough (who blew me away in The Girlfriend Experience, and is really coming into her own as a terrific actress). The sense of time and place as these wayward kids travel across America's heartland is both sad and strangely beautiful, it's a shame it's so underseen.

Thanks for the heads up regarding Jarvis as Mary Kelly in Ginger, as a fan of the underrated From Hell, I'm sure I'll find it interesting.

[Rory]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Just putting it out here that a good while ago I blocked Ray Jackson's posts, not because of any offence caused, but I was bored and annoyed by his constant stream of "cult of weird personality" posts. It worked for a good while and now suddenly I find a bunch of other people quoting and responding to that stuff, and this thread has gotten a little harder to go through. Just my two bits, feel free to ignore this post.

Yeah, he's a silly person.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by MJD64

Do take a look at American Honey, it's well worth it. The lead performance by newcomer Sasha Lane is impressive (Andrea Arnold has a real eye for spotting new talent), as are the performances by Shia LaBeouf (I'm not always a fan, but he's great in this) and Riley Keough (who blew me away in The Girlfriend Experience, and is really coming into her own as a terrific actress). The sense of time and place as these wayward kids travel across America's heartland is both sad and strangely beautiful, it's a shame it's so underseen.

Thanks for the heads up regarding Jarvis as Mary Kelly in Ginger, as a fan of the underrated From Hell, I'm sure I'll find it interesting.

Will do. There are so many films I want to see, but that's been near the top of the list for a while.

And yeah, I just re-watched From Hell the other night. I've always been a fan.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by FilmFanPaul94

I sure hope that one day Criterion will release David Mamet's Homicide (1991) on Blu ray. Caught it last week for the first time. Excellent film.

House of Games needs an upgrade as well. They are two of the best movies in the collection imo.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

House of Games needs an upgrade as well. They are two of the best movies in the collection imo.

I'm surprised no one has gotten around to "The Spanish Prisoner". Would be a great fit with either Twilight Time or Indicator. Sony releasing that as a BD-R in their Choice "Collection" would be atrocious.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by mja345

I'm surprised no one has gotten around to "The Spanish Prisoner". Would be a great fit with either Twilight Time or Indicator. Sony releasing that as a BD-R in their Choice "Collection" would be atrocious.

Agreed. It's probably Mamet's third best movie and it needs a BD release almost as much as his top 2.

I just saw that Sony released it on DVD-R as part of their Choice Collection a few years back... Hopefully it's on TT or Indicator's radar.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

Agreed. It's probably Mamet's third best movie and it needs a BD release almost as much as his top 2.

I just saw that Sony released it on DVD-R as part of their Choice Collection a few years back... Hopefully it's on TT or Indicator's radar.

What's really a shame is none of Mamet's first nine films he directed ("House of Games" through "Spartan") that were released theatrically have been released on BD in the U.S. Only "Spartan" has been released on BD in Germany, but I haven't picked that up because I'm very lukewarm on that film.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by mja345

What's really a shame is none of Mamet's first nine films he directed ("House of Games" through "Spartan") that were released theatrically have been released on BD in the U.S. Only "Spartan" has been released on BD in Germany, but I haven't picked that up because I'm very lukewarm on that film.

Agreed. I actually think Mamet directed nothing but good movies (some better than others, of course) up until Phil Spector (which isn't bad) and a lot of them should be better known.

Heist's DVD is apparently OOP, so hopefully that means the wheels are turning on a BD release from WAC.

Things Change, Oleanna, and The Winslow Boy are all very good movies that unfortunately will probably not be getting BD releases anytime soon.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by thinredline

I hope "Bringing Up Baby" is not too far behind!

I Also wouldn't mind if Criterion released Arsenic and Old Lace. Not exactly high brow material, but one of my favorite films.

[plateoshrimp]

Does anyone think Barfly will ever get a Criterion release? It's one of my favorites but I wonder if it only appeals to Bukowski fans since he wrote the script.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

Does anyone think Barfly will ever get a Criterion release? It's one of my favorites but I wonder if it only appeals to Bukowski fans since he wrote the script.

The DVD from WB is OOP... so that could be a good sign.

I'd definitely like it to get a release from Criterion. Great movie and one of Rourke's best performances.

[English Patient]

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

Agreed. I actually think Mamet directed nothing but good movies (some better than others, of course) up until Phil Spector (which isn't bad) and a lot of them should be better known.

Heist's DVD is apparently OOP, so hopefully that means the wheels are turning on a BD release from WAC.

Things Change, Oleanna, and The Winslow Boy are all very good movies that unfortunately will probably not be getting BD releases anytime soon.

That will be depressing as hell to me, since Winslow Boy is my all-time favorite movie, and boy does that old DVD look pretty rough on a 40-inch HD screen. I wish I knew why many of Mamet's films aren't on BD. Rights issues? Meager appeal? Winslow Boy would be perfect for Criterion because it's Mamet, it's based on a well-respected play (by Terence Rattigan), it's an artsy period film, and it's got brilliant intelligent dialogue and excellent acting. Criterion's already released another Rattigan play (The Browning Version) on DVD, so it would make sense to do Winslow Boy.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

Does anyone think Barfly will ever get a Criterion release? It's one of my favorites but I wonder if it only appeals to Bukowski fans since he wrote the script.

There's a decent release from Australia out there that's region free. Criterion has a relationship with Barbet Schroder, so you never know. Bukowski appeals to a small subset of people for sure, although I'm a big fan. He's obviously not for the easily offended or people bothered by depictions of debachery. Bukowski's not one of those writers I'd recommend for a book group haha.

Funny story, the first book I was assigned in college was "Ham on Rye", which I'd read in high school. I was thinking after that, "Man, college reading lists are going to be awesome." I was wrong.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by mja345

I'm surprised no one has gotten around to "The Spanish Prisoner". Would be a great fit with either Twilight Time or Indicator. Sony releasing that as a BD-R in their Choice "Collection" would be atrocious.

I have asked Indicator about both The Spanish Prisoner and Croneberg's Spider, and they didn't exactly shoot either of them down.

[plateoshrimp]

Originally Posted by mja345

There's a decent release from Australia out there that's region free. Criterion has a relationship with Barbet Schroder, so you never know. Bukowski appeals to a small subset of people for sure, although I'm a big fan. He's obviously not for the easily offended or people bothered by depictions of debachery. Bukowski's not one of those writers I'd recommend for a book group haha.

Funny story, the first book I was assigned in college was "Ham on Rye", which I'd read in high school. I was thinking after that, "Man, college reading lists are going to be awesome." I was wrong.

I didn't know that Criterion has a relationship with Barbet Schroder. That gives me hope! It would be great if they could have some footage of Bukowski on the extras. It seems like many people I meet who are familiar with Bukowski find him offensive. I'm not as into him as I was when I was younger, but like Hoke Moseley said it's a great movie and I think it's Mickey Rourke's best so it might have appeal beyond Bukowski.

Thanks for the tip on the Australian release. I'll try to track that down.

I wish I had been assigned Ham on Rye in college. My English professors probably would have thrown me out of the class if I suggested it.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by English Patient

That will be depressing as hell to me, since Winslow Boy is my all-time favorite movie, and boy does that old DVD look pretty rough on a 40-inch HD screen. I wish I knew why many of Mamet's films aren't on BD. Rights issues? Meager appeal? Winslow Boy would be perfect for Criterion because it's Mamet, it's based on a well-respected play (by Terence Rattigan), it's an artsy period film, and it's got brilliant intelligent dialogue and excellent acting. Criterion's already released another Rattigan play (The Browning Version) on DVD, so it would make sense to do Winslow Boy.

I feel like "Winslow Boy" was very quickly forgotten because it's such an unusual Mamet movie in so many different ways. But it definitively deserves better, it's one of his best films.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by plateoshrimp

I didn't know that Criterion has a relationship with Barbet Schroder. That gives me hope! It would be great if they could have some footage of Bukowski on the extras. It seems like many people I meet who are familiar with Bukowski find him offensive. I'm not as into him as I was when I was younger, but like Hoke Moseley said it's a great movie and I think it's Mickey Rourke's best so it might have appeal beyond Bukowski.

Thanks for the tip on the Australian release. I'll try to track that down.

I wish I had been assigned Ham on Rye in college. My English professors probably would have thrown me out of the class if I suggested it.

Yeah, Schroder's documentaries like "General Idi Amin Dada" and "Koko: A Talking Gorilla" are in the collection. "Reversal of Fortune" is another Schroder film I'd love to see get a release.

Some of Bukowski's stuff, like "Women", is pretty hard to stomach. Bukowski was clearly in a bad place when he wrote that and it's regrettable IMO. I love "Factotum", "Ham on Rye", and "Post Office" though. As for being assigned "Ham on Rye", that particular prof was just badass. He was teaching Intro to Literature and was just like "F**k it, I'm assigning what I want." So, we read Vonnegut, Bukowski, Tom Wolfe, John Irving, Don DeLillo, etc. Definitely was an outlier instead of a trend unfortunately.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by nitin

I have asked Indicator about both The Spanish Prisoner and Croneberg's Spider, and they didn't exactly shoot either of them down.

Those would both be fantastic.

[plateoshrimp]

Originally Posted by mja345

Yeah, Schroder's documentaries like "General Idi Amin Dada" and "Koko: A Talking Gorilla" are in the collection. "Reversal of Fortune" is another Schroder film I'd love to see get a release.

Some of Bukowski's stuff, like "Women", is pretty hard to stomach. Bukowski was clearly in a bad place when he wrote that and it's regrettable IMO. I love "Factotum", "Ham on Rye", and "Post Office" though. As for being assigned "Ham on Rye", that particular prof was just badass. He was teaching Intro to Literature and was just like "F**k it, I'm assigning what I want." So, we read Vonnegut, Bukowski, Tom Wolfe, John Irving, Don DeLillo, etc. Definitely was an outlier instead of a trend unfortunately.

I would get the Schroeder documentaries now while they are on sale if I hadn't spent so much this month already. I'm really interested in the Koko one. I'll probably have to wait for the next flash sale.

I agree that "Women" was awful. I remember struggling to finish it. IMO the other three you mentioned are his best, with Post Office being my favorite. Hollywood and Pulp were okay but forgettable. I would like to see Factotum get the Criterion treatment. That Intro to Lit class must have been great fun.