The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by latehong

Glad to hear about the ever-underappreciated NARUSE Mikio, whom I admire more than any other Japanese masters (except maybe MASUMURA Yasuzo). I like almost every Naruse film I've seen, especially his later cinemascope works. His films especially dear to my heart are: Actors Who Play the Horse (1940), The Conductress (1941), Lightning (1952), Sound of the Mountain (1954), Sudden Rain (1956), The Heart of a Wife (1956), Daughters, Wives and Mothers (1960), The Approach of Autumn (1960), A Wanderer's Notebook (1962), Yearning (1964), Scattered Clouds (1967).

Thanks for chiming in. I'm just beginning my journey through his work and I'm already feeling bummed about the lack of readily available films to watch and the general lack of appreciation. (which I'm sure you've felt for a while)

I hope you can help me with my next question. Some of those films you listed are on filmstruck, but a good portion are not. Do you have any tips as to where I can watch the bulk of his filmography? I bet a few have aired on Mubi in the past, but idiot me wasn't up to speed back then.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by Scottie

Belle de Jour has been removed from Janus Film's website, which leads me to believe we'll get a Remastered Blu-ray announcement in the next month or two.

Hopefully not, since the current Criterion blu blows the teal-ed "restoration" out of the water.

[latehong]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Thanks for chiming in. I'm just beginning my journey through his work and I'm already feeling bummed about the lack of readily available films to watch and the general lack of appreciation. (which I'm sure you've felt for a while)

I hope you can help me with my next question. Some of those films you listed are on filmstruck, but a good portion are not. Do you have any tips as to where I can watch the bulk of his filmography? I bet a few have aired on Mubi in the past, but idiot me wasn't up to speed back then.

I'm afraid I can't be of any help. I don't live in the US or any other English speaking country and I saw his films mainly at local repertory theaters (Naruse is relatively big among cinephiles in my country and there have been retrospectives of his work from time to time).

[DaBargainHunta]

Because I couldn't fall back asleep...

Fake Criterion covers for the cinematic classic Over the Top:

The first two are the kind of pretentious covers Criterion might commission.



The creases aren't intentional - that's the only image I could find of that poster - but I think they look kind of "arty."



Original poster art. Sometimes this is all Criterion does (see Being There for an example)



Another variation on the original poster art.



Art by Robert Sammelin. I don't love how he drew the boy, but everything else is perfect. I added the obnoxious "Stallone" text.

[Dragon Ranger]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

As a man who loves films and wants to write my own stories, I want to agree that a film's main purpose is storytelling. Except, I'm not so sure most directors care about story per se. They seem interested in crafting experiences, which means manipulating audience emotions, always pushing them towards catharsis and awe. This effect should be accomplished with good writing, but I'm not sure Hollywood really cares about writers enough. Seems like technique, showmanship, editing tricks, and performances are what they focus on, all of which is slathered over writing problems in favor of emotional responses.

I don't think it's anything new though, it's just that CGI blockbusters are all the rage because they've been selling so well over the past few decades. Before CGI, studios banked harder on other showy things, like musicals, science fiction, monster movies, sword-and-sandal epics, vaudeville acts, screwball comedies--they all have built-in audiences, and each decade made a push in one direction or another. If anything, the free reign given to directors in the 70s for the whole New Hollywood movement opened the doors for the modern blockbusters, thanks not only to Lucas and Star Wars, but also in everyone's conscious efforts to move away from the mainstream of the past. The blessing of blockbusters is that the best of them appeal to all audiences--Titanic is a testament to that since it drew in literally everybody, those wanting romance, those wanting action and disaster porn, those wanting drama, it was all there.

As far as Jackson goes, I thought I saw a clip somewhere where he admits that he rushed the Hobbit movies and wasn't really "with it" like he really wanted. So even he sees its shortcomings, and I kinda wonder if we would have made a better product if he had his mind right in the first place.

All that being said, I often wonder if the time is imminent for another New Hollywood type of turnover. I am learning to embrace the films that exhibit good stories, scripts, and character-building more and more. More of these and less spectacle would be welcome, imo.

Nowadays, it seems like the Marvel movies are scaring the competition so much that it's fueling the streaming-exclusive markets more. Most Netflix exclusives haven't really wowed me to date, but some masterpiece is bound to pop up there if things keep up. It'll be strange, but maybe thrilling, to see what happens next.

I believe cinema and film are a broad enough canvas that there will always be room for movies with story at their core and some that are more about the spectacle and the experience. A recent example of the latter I would cite in a positive way is Dunkirk which I consider to be an absolute masterpiece, I didn't need to know all the back stories of all the characters as I was so invested in their desperate attempts to survive all that was happening around them. Cutting away from what they were going through to show their home life or a sweetheart pining for them would have made the movie lose its urgency and visceral qualities. Is it the way all war movies should be? Absolutely not but I'll take it over a director trying to imitate Private Ryan (other successful war movies are available from your retailer).

The use and now dominance of CGI has been one of the biggest catalysts for change in the entire industry but the wow factor is certainly staring to disappear and it's hard to imagine any movies effects recapturing the magic of Terminator 2, Jurassic Park or The Matrix. It will be interesting to see if there will be something else come along that is as revolutionary as CG was in the 90's.

Will a new film making tool bring us into a new era where something other than the latest CG heavy release dominates the box office? Maybe, maybe not but one thing film can constantly do is surprise and enthral us. No one saw The Matrix coming and I hope that something just as mind blowing is just around the corner.

[Mothravka]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Are there any Naruse fans here? After being completely blown away by Floating Clouds and When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, I now feel compelled to see as much of his 50s and 60s work as possible (16 total films on film struck wooooo!). It's premature, but it may be possible that one of those ends up being my favorite Japanese film. Both are thrilling and heartbreaking steady descents into less savory parts of human nature. They're dark, but like the very best of, say, Haneke, it's deeply unsettling material you can't pry your eyes from. It doesn't hurt that Hideko Takamine has the saddest eyes in the history of cinema.

Does anybody have a few favorite Naruse films they'd like to share? Yearning (given the subject matter it's one I'll probably love) and Late Chrysanthemums seem to be his next two highest acclaimed films

Of the 50+ Naruse films I've seen, these are the best ones in no particular order:

Sound of the Mountain (1954)
Mother (1952)
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
Yearning (1964)
The Stranger Within a Woman (1966)
Lightning (1952)

People usually don't talk so much about The Stranger Within a Woman (1966), at least they didn't back when I saw it, but that one could possibly be his darkest one I've seen. Very tense and somehow pessimistic murder story.

As for Late Chrysanthemums (1954), I remember not liking it as much as the majority, but I wouldn't mind rewatching it. Yearning (1964) is very good. And very sad!

I'll probably try to watch all the films I have left this year, at least the ones that are available. Even a mediocre/average Naruse film is at the minimum worth to see.

[ShellOilJunior]

Here's the interview from the Juliette Binoche visit on 5/4. Excellent read. She discusses working with Haneke, Assayas, Kiarostami, Denis and Kieślowski.

https://www.criterion.com/current/po...being-directed

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Because I couldn't fall back asleep...

Fake Criterion covers for the cinematic classic Over the Top:

The first two are the kind of pretentious covers Criterion might commission.



The creases aren't intentional - that's the only image I could find of that poster - but I think they look kind of "arty."



Original poster art. Sometimes this is all Criterion does (see Being There for an example)



Another variation on the original poster art.



Art by Robert Sammelin. I don't love how he drew the boy, but everything else is perfect. I added the obnoxious "Stallone" text.

Fake Criterion covers stopped being funny or interesting like a decade ago.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

Fake Criterion covers stopped being funny or interesting like a decade ago.

Hey, you're the one who quoted them.

[Al_The_Strange]

I like looking at them. Guess that makes me uncool. Oh well.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

Fake Criterion covers stopped being funny or interesting like a decade ago.

of all the things that get beat to a bloody pulp on this thread, fake covers are way at the bottom of my list of things that I find irksome. they are, like Al said, at least fun to look at.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

Fake Criterion covers stopped being funny or interesting like a decade ago.

Says the guy that doesn't know how to spoiler tag repeated images.

[peschi]

soooo many baits

[plateoshrimp]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

Fake Criterion covers stopped being funny or interesting like a decade ago.

Even for Over the Top?

I liked the second one the best. It looks the most Criterion to me and it's misleading.

[DaBargainHunta]

Glad most everyone is enjoying my fake Criterion covers (or at least tolerating my warped sense of humor, lol). Thank you for the positive feedback. It's much appreciated.

[ShellOilJunior]

Mock covers bring some levity to the thread every so often. It's always good to see a movie (The Tree of Life) get a spine after it's had countless mock covers created for it.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Glad most everyone is enjoying my fake Criterion covers (or at least tolerating my warped sense of humor, lol). Thank you for the positive feedback. It's much appreciated.

The covers you made in the cel-style art are probably closer to what Shout Factory would release. But please do share your efforts as and when, they are better contributions than empty "Criterion NEEDS to do <insert title already available in a great HD edition in another region>" posts

[MifuneFan]

This is my fake criterion cover over the debate over DaBargainHunta's fake criteiron covers. It was a sobering drama.



(this is one of those things that sounded better in my head than reality, sue me )

[plateoshrimp]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

This is my fake criterion cover over the debate over DaBargainHunta's fake criteiron covers. It was a sobering drama.

[Show spoiler]

(this is one of those things that sounded better in my head than reality, sue me )

I hope it stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as DaBargainHunta and comes with lots of extras!

[ZeTi]

I very much enjoy good fake criterion covers but these ones look like lo-res pictures copy&pasted into a template without proper resizing them. Sad to say.