The Criterion Collection

[Arawn]

Originally Posted by King Crimson

What do you prefer more, Yojimbo or Sanjuro?

Yojimbo is easily the superior film IMO.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by King Crimson

What do you prefer more, Yojimbo or Sanjuro?

I love them both. I think Yojimbo is the better film overall. It has a more complex screenplay, and so many interesting side characters. I think Sanjuro is the funnier of the two, having a more comical tone to it; I particularly love the bit with the hostage going in/out of the closet. It also has has a lot more action, Sanjuro slices up way more people in it than in Yojimbo, and that ending is pretty awesome. I enjoy the score more on Sanjuro too.

[King Crimson]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I love them both. I think Yojimbo is the better film overall. It has a more complex screenplay, and so many interesting side characters. I think Sanjuro is the funnier of the two, having a more comical tone to it; I particularly love the bit with the hostage going in/out of the closet. It also has has a lot more action, Sanjuro slices up way more people in it than in Yojimbo, and that ending is pretty awesome. I enjoy the score more on Sanjuro too.

I love both but Sanjuro wins out for me for a lot of the reasons you mentioned, as well as Tatsuya Nakadai's expanded role.

[LordSummerIsle]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Mid to late February. Last three early Flash sales:
Feb 13, 2018
Feb 28, 2017
Feb 23, 2016

Thank you

[zoodermin]

I'm setting aside some time to finally watch Ingmar Bergman's Cinema. How do you guys watch it? In chronological order or the film-festival order that Criterion is suggesting?

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I'm setting aside some time to finally watch Ingmar Bergman's Cinema. How do you guys watch it? In chronological order or the film-festival order that Criterion is suggesting?

I haven't started yet, but plan to follow the festival order - which is intriguing. I've seen very few Bergman films so I suppose there is an argument for watching them in chronological order - but I've never done this with any director and don't think it is necessary to appreciate or understand the development of their style.

[etimh]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I'm setting aside some time to finally watch Ingmar Bergman's Cinema. How do you guys watch it? In chronological order or the film-festival order that Criterion is suggesting?

I’m a big fan of watching a director’s work in chronological order, particularly if you’re just getting into them. It is very revealing to see how a director grows and transforms over the course of their career. But Bergman is Bergman and you can pretty much dive in anywhere and have a good time.

[theater dreamer]

My God, it's almost the 15th again. I feel like we just got the last announcements a few days ago.

[malakaheso]

Some people on here would still check regularly for Criterion announcements even if they were on their deathbeds!

[Egbert Souse]

Finally watched Hiroshima Mon Amour and Andrei Rublev. Both are incredible masterpieces. Watched the "director's cut" of Rublev, but I'll watch the Passion cut

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I'm setting aside some time to finally watch Ingmar Bergman's Cinema. How do you guys watch it? In chronological order or the film-festival order that Criterion is suggesting?

I'm going in festival order. Halfway through Scenes from a Marriage TV version. Absolutely harrowing. I did skip Wild Strawberries since I had just rewatched it not long ago, but I'll probably go back and rewatch anyways (with the commentary, perhaps).

Smiles of a Summer Night and A Lesson in Love are wonderful comedies, especially with Gunnar Bjornstrand's performances. Crisis might not be a masterpiece, but a very good debut film for Bergman. I was a bit cold on Summer with Monika, though it had some brilliant moments. To Joy is probably my favorite of the early Bergmans.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I started watching Sanjuro yesterday, and at around the 37 min mark my disc stopped playing. I tried a few times to get it to work, but nothing. I then realized this was the dreaded disc rot / bronzing issue that's plagued several discs from ~2009/2010. I decided to check more of my discs from that time and found 3 others that were affected. My 8 1/2 disc was the worst looking one, and it wouldn't even be recognized by my PS3. My Kagemusha disc is also not readable, and my Stagecoach disc freezes towards the end of the movie.

So what's the protocol here? Do I contact Criterion first, and tell them the issues? I know they brought up their replacement program a few years back, but only listed a few problematic films, and I don't think any of these are included. How do you guys package the discs? Jewel cases?

[Show spoiler]

And for anyone wondering, I had an older copy of Sanjuro on DVD, so I was able to watch the rest of the movie that way ...I'm also wondering whether I should send in Yojimbo too. I watched that one 2 weeks ago and it was perfectly fine, but it's from the same set, so I don't know if it's bound to fail eventually too..

I'm sure Jon would replace them if you contact him about the issue. I haven't gone through the process for any of these titles despite owning all of them, however. Just keep putting it off.

Anyway, here's the response I got about disc rot last fall:

Thanks for writing. I'm sorry to hear that your MONTEREY POP is defective. I've pasted the exchange instructions with all of the details below:

We have confirmed that certain Blu-ray discs pressed at a replication facility that we used for a period in 2010 have become defective, showing a noticeable bronze discoloration on the underside and developing playback problems. We have confirmed the problem on ten titles, but not on all copies of these titles. All of these titles have since been re-pressed at a different pressing plant, and the vast majority of discs in circulation should not be affected.

The confirmed potentially affected Blu-ray titles are:

SUMMER HOURS
WALKABOUT
PARIS, TEXAS
M
THE SEVENTH SEAL
PIERROT LE FOU
HOWARDS END
MONSOON WEDDING
MONTEREY POP
RIDE WITH THE DEVIL

If you have found that your Blu-ray copy of one of these titles does not play, please send your disc in to the following address for a replacement:

The Criterion Collection
Attn: Jon Mulvaney
215 Park Avenue South
5th floor
New York, NY 10003

Please include only your disc -- no packaging -- along with the address to which you'd like us to mail your replacement. We will not be replacing or exchanging packaging. There is no need to email us in addition.

If you decide not to send in a disc that is playing fine and it starts to show signs of the defect at a later date, we will be happy to exchange your disc at that time. If we learn that other titles are similarly defective, we will add them to the list and continue to replace them as well (excluding discs that are out of print that aren't listed above). The best way to tell if your disc from the list is defective is by looking on the under side of the disc (the shiny side) and if you see the letters 'BVDL' your disc will be fine. If you don't see those letters you should send in your disc.

Thank you for your patience and understanding!

Jon Mulvaney

[mrjohnnyb]

Last night, I finally got around to watching Bowling for Columbine, which I had not seen since its original release. All I can say is: "Wow! It's more poignant in today's current state of affairs."

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

My God, it's almost the 15th again. I feel like we just got the last announcements a few days ago.

Criterion just posted a picture of Audrey Hepburn on their insta. Roman Holiday or Sabrina anyone?

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Criterion just posted a picture of Audrey Hepburn on their insta. Roman Holiday or Sabrina anyone?

Why not both?

[Hazel Motes]

I hope we get some more John Huston this month. Either an upgrade in Wise Blood or Under The Volcano. Or a first timer in The Dead or Night of the Iguana.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by Hazel Motes

I hope we get some more John Huston this month. Either an upgrade in Wise Blood or Under The Volcano. Or a first timer in The Dead or Night of the Iguana.

I want all of them! More Huston!!!

[Martin_31]

I watched Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! and it’s such a funny and bonkers film that once I think about what really happened it’s really insane and horrific.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by nitin

Watched Safety Last today, not as good as the Chaplins or the Keaton that I have seen, but still very charming and I watched with a smile throughout.

Originally Posted by nitin

Modern Times is the one Chaplin I would put comfortably ahead of Safety Last, The Gold Rush and City Lights are probably not that far ahead of Safety Last (at least on first viewings Of each). I have only seen one Keaton to date but The General was incredible in my book.

My favorite Lloyd film was the most recent released by Criterion.....over three years ago. So glad more are coming. Here is the review I wrote up after watching it back then.






I can't think of a more enjoyable film to introduce someone to the wonders of silent cinema than Harold Lloyd's last silent movie Speedy. What a riot! Laugh out loud funny, with impressively clever sight gags and skits that will tickle your funny bone, Speedy is a fast paced clown car of a film that spills across the screen for 86 minutes of heartfelt hilarity.

The premise of Speedy is pretty simple. Lloyd is a guy nicknamed Speedy living in late 1920s New York City who loves the Yankees, his gal, and her grandfather, an old man named Pop Dillon who runs the last horse-pulled trolley car in the city. Speedy cannot hold a job for long due to the continuous mishaps that seem to reach out and grab him, but he is smart and resilient and quickly finds other jobs to replace the ones just lost. Trouble is brewing, however, as a nefarious businessman tries to strong arm Pop Dillon into selling his trolley line so the businessman can then integrate it into his own system.

As these plot strands weave their way through the film, the audience is treated to incredible visuals of the bustling streets of 1928 New York City/Los Angeles (standing-in for the Big Apple in some scenes) and an extended sequence set in the amusement park on Coney Island. Much of this reminded me of the time capsule feel I got while watching other Criterion silent gems like Lonesome and People on Sunday, two films that capture an era long gone but beautifully preserved in the background of their respective films. The Coney Island sequence in Speedy is especially amazing as we soak in the rides experienced by Lloyd and his gal, the food stands, the games, and the bright lights at night. And to add to the period atmosphere - and a huge bonus for baseball fans like me - there is a hilarious cameo by Babe Ruth as himself, when the Bronx Bomber has the misfortune to enter a cab driven by Speedy on his first day in a new job as a cabbie.

I think what I find most appealing about Harold Lloyd and his "glasses" character is his eternal optimism. Lloyd is the silent screen's Everyman, an ordinary guy who smiles in the face of adversity and manages to find the resources in himself and others to bounce back each time. His films are filled with common situations all of us can relate to, yet in Lloyd's world those events manage to erupt into extended bouts of absurdity. No where is this more apparent than in Speedy. Ever had an ornery car that runs fine one moment then acts up at the worst time? Lloyd turns that into comic gold. How many of us have dressed up in nice clothes only to have a dog want to jump up on our pants with dirty paws? Lloyd takes that situation and turns it into one of the film's highlights. It is not just a side splittingly funny scene but the actions established in it become a key element later on when the same annoying but loveable dog becomes his greatest ally in protecting Pop Dillon's trolley line. One inspired scene involves the dog and some shaving cream that is so funny I couldn't stop laughing.

Speedy is a wonderful film. What l have described here is but a small taste of the magic it contains. Beautifully transferred onto Blu-ray by Criterion, with a memorable soundtrack by Carl Davis, it is marvelous to behold. Unlike Chaplin and Keaton, the other two giants of the silent screen, Harold Lloyd never got the continued exposure on television over the years that allowed his contemporaries to maintain their status to modern viewers. Due to decisions made by the Lloyd estate (or so I have read), his films remained unseen by the public as the decades passed and his star faded from memory.

In addition, the package also contains some very good supplements about Lloyd, including one that features some of Lloyd's home movies narrated by his granddaughter. Another outstanding supplement is about Babe Ruth and features film footage of him during his Murderer's Row days and later at the end of his career. Apparently, surviving film of Ruth in action is exceedingly rare, which makes the supplement even more valuable.

Thanks to Criterion, Lloyd is now ripe for rediscovery, and Speedy, like its title implies, is worthy of rapidly being added to your collections.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Criterion just posted a picture of Audrey Hepburn on their insta. Roman Holiday or Sabrina anyone?

I would die happy if it were Roman Holiday.

[AaronJ]

Well, receiving (surprisingly, in fact) the Ingmar Bergman Cinema set yesterday has vioiently altered my "Cast & Crew" statistics, of course.

Anne Hathaway is no longer at the top of the Cast list. That would now be Gunnar Björnstrand. And I seriously doubt anyone will ever top Bergman himself at director. I suppose some massive box of Hitchcock could happen sometime. But I doubt it.

Now I just need to decide when to dive in. I'm thinking later tonight as a start point. This will be exciting. I've decided to go with the festival order. How fascinating this is going to be.

The book is gorgeous. I'm going to go to Starbuck's pretty soon and dig into it.