The Criterion Collection

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by nitin

I rewatched Nashville after about 10+ yrs via the Criterion blu. On my last viewing I liked it but didn’t particularly love it. I am sure it’s a combination of changing/evolving taste and personality, along with seeing it via the fabulous restoration, but this time around I was absolutely gobsmacked by not just its scope, scale and ambition but also how perfectly it manages to capture numerous intimate moments amongst all that sprawl.

Easily a 5 Star film and probably into my top 25 all time (the second film I have seen this year, along with Fat City, that has done that).

It’s an excellent film. One of my favorites.

[KMR]

Originally Posted by liveandletmarblerye

Wow, I had no idea Il mistero di Oberwald was shot on video. Has Criterion ever released a movie that was shot on video before? It could break new ground.

Someone already mentioned Hoop Dreams. There's also the HBO series Tanner '88. Of course, if by "video" you include digital as well as analog, there have been several.

[The Great Owl]

I received Forty Guns and True Stories for Christmas. Woo hoo!

...and the idea of receiving a Samuel Fuller film and a David Byrne work at the same time is oddly amusing.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by KMR

Someone already mentioned Hoop Dreams. There's also the HBO series Tanner '88. Of course, if by "video" you include digital as well as analog, there have been several.

I think "Fishing with John" was shot on video as well. It certainly looked that way.

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by javy

Here are some films that I would love to see come to Criterion blu-ray:

Cleo from 5 to 7
Pandora's Box
A Woman is a Woman
Alphaville
Le Petit Soldat
After Hours
Scarface (1932)
Babyface
The Seventh Continent
Dogville
Lawn Dogs
Eyes Wide Shut
Lost in Translation
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Basic Instinct
Orange County
Hard Eight
Spellbound
Pi
Pink Floyd The Wall
Le Deuxieme Souffle
Haxan
Primer

Alphaville already confirmed to be coming from Kino. They have at least some of the StudioCanal titles that went OOP from Criterion.

Originally Posted by ravenus

Ran's new color grading is approved by one of the DoP's who worked on the film. No way Criterion will meddle with it. Their history shows that they bow down to even blatant harmful revisionism, like Storaro's cropping of The Last Emperor to his 2:1 Univisium ratio.

Yep, I know, and it's wrong. It's been heavily tealed to the point where brown wood is green. It's a travesty to the original photography which DID looks gorgeous until the modern revisionist color grading crept in. But Dreams is also incorrectly tealed (like Fantastic Planet and others) and Criterion chose to release the incorrect versions of those, so I doubt they will do the right thing and fix it. But even the StudioCanal disc, colors aside, has heavy black crush, so there's not much you can do to salvage the PQ unless they started over form the raw scan.

[hoytereden]

I'm visiting my daughter in the mainland and for the first time in 3 years I visited a B&N! I was fortunate that they had the 40% off Blu-rays so I picked up The Complete Monterey Pop Festival and Wim Wenders: The Road Trilogy . It's a very well stocked store, Criterion-wise, so there were so many I wanted but had to call it quits before the Missus disowned me.

Merry Christmas to all my fellow Criterionites! May you get all the titles you wished for.

[Marshall Crist]

Originally Posted by Bates_Motel

Alphaville already confirmed to be coming from Kino. They have at least some of the StudioCanal titles that went OOP from Criterion.



Yep, I know, and it's wrong. It's been heavily tealed to the point where brown wood is green. It's a travesty to the original photography which DID looks gorgeous until the modern revisionist color grading crept in. But Dreams is also incorrectly tealed (like Fantastic Planet and others) and Criterion chose to release the incorrect versions of those, so I doubt they will do the right thing and fix it. But even the StudioCanal disc, colors aside, has heavy black crush, so there's not much you can do to salvage the PQ unless they started over form the raw scan.

Still butthurt about the color on VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS...

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by Marshall Crist

Still butthurt about the color on VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS...

?

[nitin]

What a strange, beguiling little film The King of a Marvin Gardens is, with some of the best ensemble acting you will see from Nicholson, Dern and Burstyn.

The Last Picture Show is the one truly great film in the America BBS set, but at least 3 of others are excellent and worth watching.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by nitin

The Last Picture Show is the one truly great film in the America BBS set, but at least 3 of others are excellent and worth watching.

"Head" is such a beautifully shot film and one of my favorite surrealist films. Much of that has to attribute to The Monkees soundtrack.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

"Head" is such a beautifully shot film and one of my favorite surrealist films. Much of that has to attribute to The Monkees soundtrack.

I might actually give that a shot along with Drive He Said and A Safe Place, The remaining 3 Films from the set I haven’t eeen yet.

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by nitin

I might actually give that a shot along with Drive He Said and A Safe Place, The remaining 3 Films from the set I haven’t eeen yet.

"Head" is easily the best one of those three; I'm not normally a fan of those kind "freak-out" films from the 60s but "Head" is a much more enjoyable experience, especially if you know any background on The Monkees. "Drive, He Said" is just such a forgettable film even with all the talent involved (Probably a very good reason why Nicholson rarely directed). As for "A Safe Place"? Well...

[Show spoiler]

...it's 94 minutes (But it sure feels like 120).

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by nitin

What a strange, beguiling little film The King of a Marvin Gardens is, with some of the best ensemble acting you will see from Nicholson, Dern and Burstyn.

The Last Picture Show is the one truly great film in the America BBS set, but at least 3 of others are excellent and worth watching.

Ah, no, Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces are also a truly great films IMO.

Originally Posted by Dailyan

"Head" is such a beautifully shot film and one of my favorite surrealist films. Much of that has to attribute to The Monkees soundtrack.

I really love that film too. The first time I saw it, I just thought it was a pretentious mess. Maybe it still is, but I sure enjoy it now and some of the music is the best in the Monkees entire catalogue. The Porpoise Song is one of the greatest pieces of psychedelic pop I have ever heard, and the daddy's song sequence with Davy Jones is a lot of fun (the song itself was written by Harry Nilsson who clearly had a lot of daddy issues).

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

I really love that film too. The first time I saw it, I just thought it was a pretentious mess. Maybe it still is, but I sure enjoy it now and some of the music is the best in the Monkees entire catalogue. The Porpoise Song is one of the greatest pieces of psychedelic pop I have ever heard, and the daddy's song sequence with Davy Jones is a lot of fun (the song itself was written by Harry Nilsson who clearly had a lot of daddy issues).

The whole soundtrack is amazing. "Porpoise Song", the opening notes and "coda" on the full length version, always send shivers down my spine. The "Circle Sky" sequence just proves that "Head" is the most hardcore G-rated film ever. "Can You Dig It?" and "Long Title" truly show off Tork's talents as a guitarist. "Daddy's Song" is such a well choreographed and edited sequence.

My personal favorite is "As We Go Along" (With special guest star Neil Young on guitar); one of my favorite music montages in film. Jones' forrest shots are quite lovely. The cinematography and editing in this film are underappreciated.

[Egbert Souse]

A Safe Place was definitely the weakest film in the BBS set when I rewatched it earlier this year, but it's not a total waste. It pales in comparison, but I thought it was a fun little film and Orson Welles is wonderful every time he's on-screen.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

Ah, no, Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces are also a truly great films IMO.



I really love that film too. The first time I saw it, I just thought it was a pretentious mess. Maybe it still is, but I sure enjoy it now and some of the music is the best in the Monkees entire catalogue. The Porpoise Song is one of the greatest pieces of psychedelic pop I have ever heard, and the daddy's song sequence with Davy Jones is a lot of fun (the song itself was written by Harry Nilsson who clearly had a lot of daddy issues).

I counted Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces as 2 of the 3 excellent films in the set. For me, The Last Picture Show is on another level.

[M. Crist]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

?

VALERIE's color is obscenely teal on the Criterion disc.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Marshall Crist

Still butthurt about the color on VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS...

Originally Posted by M. Crist

VALERIE's color is obscenely teal on the Criterion disc.

Posting with two different accounts. Smart.

[The Great Owl]

I ordered Smithereens.

The music connections brought me into the fold.

[Brad1963]

Originally Posted by Egbert Souse

A Safe Place was definitely the weakest film in the BBS set when I rewatched it earlier this year, but it's not a total waste. It pales in comparison, but I thought it was a fun little film and Orson Welles is wonderful every time he's on-screen.

I started watching A Safe Place when the box set was first released since I had never seen it before. After about 30 minutes I turned it off. Never wanted to go back and to try watching it again.