The Criterion Collection

[javy]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Last night I watched a doc on Netflix called Minimalism.

It changed me.

I looked deep into the abyss of my so-called life and found a giant, 10,000 pound pile of clutter staring back at me. I keep things I don’t really need. I collect things I don’t really use. I shoplift ladies underwear that I only wear occasionally.

It all ends NOW.

I’m getting rid of everything and only keeping the bare essentials—starting with my Criterion collection. Only 20 will remain after i’m finished with the purge.

It was difficult and painful, but here are the 20:

[Show spoiler]1. Badlands
2. Days of Heaven
3. The Thin Red Line
4. The Tree of Life
5. High and Low
6. Ikiru
7. Harakiri
8. Picnic at Hanging Rock
9. Hiroshima Mon Amour
10. The Apu Trilogy
11. The Road Trilogy
12. Three colors Trilogy
13. World on a Wire
14. For All Mankind
15. Eraserhead
16. Mulholland Drive
17. Sans Soleil
18. Repo Man
19. Le Samourai
20. The Last Temptation of Christ

...it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

[Show spoiler]

[javy]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

If you had to pare your collection down to 20 titles, which 20 would you pick?

Rule: you can only keep five box sets and none that contain more than five titles.

No Bergman set, no Zatoichi, no World Cinema Project.

...all the rest have to be individual titles.

That is too hard, bro. I'm glad I'm not faced with that decision.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

If you had to pare your collection down to 20 titles, which 20 would you pick?

Rule: you can only keep five box sets and none that contain more than five titles.

No Bergman set, no Zatoichi, no World Cinema Project.

...all the rest have to be individual titles.

Assuming this is Criterion titles only...

1. The Qatsi Trilogy
2. The Passion of Joan of Arc
3. Tree of Life
4. Seven Samurai
5. Eraserhead
6. Bicycle Thieves
7. Ivan's Childhood
8. Silence of the Lambs
9. Brazil
10. The Kid
11. Stalker
12. Breaking the Waves
13. The Thin Red Line
14. The Third Man
15. The Virgin Spring
16. Le Samourai
17. Solaris
18. Antichrist
19. Wages of Fear
20. Touch of Zen

Tough break having to omit so many other titles I know and love, but I gotsta draw the line somewhere.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

If you had to pare your collection down to 20 titles, which 20 would you pick?

Rule: you can only keep five box sets and none that contain more than five titles.

No Bergman set, no Zatoichi, no World Cinema Project.

...all the rest have to be individual titles.

That's cruel and inhumane punishment.

[javy]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

[Show spoiler]

My wife says I can keep whatever brings me joy.

[Gacivory]

I don’t believe in minimalism, only maximalism!

My hero once said... “Greed is Good!”

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

If you had to pare your collection down to 20 titles, which 20 would you pick?

Rule: you can only keep five box sets and none that contain more than five titles.

No Bergman set, no Zatoichi, no World Cinema Project.

...all the rest have to be individual titles.

In terms of CCs, my 20:

[Show spoiler]1. Ace in The Hole
2. All That Jazz
3. Badlands
4. Bottle Rocket
5. The Darjeeling Limited
6. Days of Heaven
7. The Killing
8. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
9. Medium Cool
10. Midnight Cowboy
11. The Night of The Hunter
12. On the Waterfront
13. Punch-Drunk Love
14. Red River
15. The Royal Tenenbaums
16. Rushmore
17. Seconds
18. Stagecoach
19. Sweet Smell of Success
20. Wild Strawberries

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

If you had to pare your collection down to 20 titles, which 20 would you pick?

Rule: you can only keep five box sets and none that contain more than five titles.

No Bergman set, no Zatoichi, no World Cinema Project.

...all the rest have to be individual titles.

Can we allow The Complete Jacques Tati - I consider Parade to be a "bonus" film since it's nothing like the other five features.

1. The Complete Jacques Tati
2. F for Fake
3. 8 1/2
4. The Third Man
5. Dekalog
6. Barry Lyndon
7. Safety Last!
8. City Lights
9. Seven Samurai
10. A Hard Day's Night
11. King of Jazz
12. The Royal Tenenbaums
13. The Night of the Hunter
14. Pierre Etaix
15. Army of Shadows
16. Chimes at Midnight
17. Day for Night
18. Dr. Strangelove
19. The Passion of Joan of Arc
20. Lonesome

...in addition to Ingmar Bergman's Cinema.

[Old Geezer]

I'll play (I'm sure I'll regret some choices later).

Three Colors
Complete Jean Vigo
Dekalog
Andrei Rublev
Belle de Jour
Breathless
Charade
Double Life of Veronique
The Emigrants
Gilda
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Night of the Hunter
Passion of Joan of Arc
Persona
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Seven Samurai
Third Man
To Be or Not to Be
Wild Strawberries
Wings of Desire

If I could I would trade the whole batch for Bergman's Cinema.

[themp3000]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

If you had to pare your collection down to 20 titles, which 20 would you pick?

Rule: you can only keep five box sets and none that contain more than five titles.

No Bergman set, no Zatoichi, no World Cinema Project.

...all the rest have to be individual titles.

[Show spoiler]
1. Certified Copy
2. The Tree of Life
3. Antichrist
4. Mulholland Drive
5. Punch Drunk Love
6. The Piano Teacher
7. Breaking The Waves
8. La Haine
9. Three Colors Trilogy Box Set (3 Films)
10. Broadcast News
11. Fanny and Alexander
12. Love Streams
13. Wings of Desire
14. Don’t Look Now
15. Eraserhead
16. House
17. Nashville
18. Salo
19. Stalker
20. John Cassavetes Box Set (5 Films)

Absolutely impossible... I’d need another 20 to be truly on fire from all the sparks of joy. And even then, I’m happy right where it’s at. It’s all good yo.

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Last night I watched a doc on Netflix called Minimalism.

It changed me.

I looked deep into the abyss of my so-called, middle-aged life and found a giant, 10,000 pound pile of clutter staring back at me. I keep things I don’t really need. I collect things I don’t really use. I shoplift ladies underwear that I only wear occasionally.


...it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

To be clear, you watched a movie that made you get rid of your movies.

[kvnbhovis]

There is no way I could reduce my collection to only 20 titles. Putting DVD's and Blu rays together. I have roughly 10,000 movies. There are some double dips and triple dips in there. So maybe take it down to 8000. If I had to weed out movies though, I'd get rid of a lot of the newer flicks and stick to classic sound, silent and rare titles.

[kvnbhovis]

So is there going to be a criterion flash sale? February is about over.

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

Great lists so far and I appreciate Ray's sentiment about minimalism; I struggle with guilt myself for owning too many objects and occasionally go through "purges".

Anyway, my list would be:

Branded to Kill
Lone Wolf and Cub set
Eraserhead
Mulholland Drive
The Complete Jacques Tati
Blow Out
Dressed to Kill
House
The Seventh Seal
The Killing
The 39 Steps
Sword of Doom
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
Island of Lost Souls
Passion of Joan of Arc
Qatsi Trilogy
Rashomon
Silence of the Lambs
Day of Wrath (DVD)
Youth of the Beast (DVD)

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

Originally Posted by kvnbhovis

So is there going to be a criterion flash sale? February is about over.

Probably tomorrow.

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by SuperFlyHighGuy

Probably tomorrow.

As in probably Tuesday in 10 hrs starting around Noon ET

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by kvnbhovis

There is no way I could reduce my collection to only 20 titles. Putting DVD's and Blu rays together. I have roughly 10,000 movies. There are some double dips and triple dips in there. So maybe take it down to 8000. If I had to weed out movies though, I'd get rid of a lot of the newer flicks and stick to classic sound, silent and rare titles.

You’re lost in the capitalist vortex of 21st century materialism.

Free yourself brother.

There’s another world out there.

...a life of inner peace and minimalism awaits you.

[Show spoiler]

[JEDGAR1000]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Last night I watched a doc on Netflix called Minimalism.

It changed me.

I looked deep into the abyss of my so-called, middle-aged life and found a giant, 10,000 pound pile of clutter staring back at me. I keep things I don’t really need. I collect things I don’t really use. I shoplift ladies underwear that I only wear occasionally.

It all ends NOW.

I’m getting rid of everything and only keeping the bare essentials—starting with my Criterion collection. Only 20 will remain after i’m finished with the purge.

It was difficult and painful, but here are the 20:

[Show spoiler]1. Badlands
2. Days of Heaven
3. The Thin Red Line
4. The Tree of Life
5. High and Low
6. Ikiru
7. Harakiri
8. Picnic at Hanging Rock
9. Hiroshima Mon Amour
10. The Apu Trilogy
11. The Road Trilogy
12. Three colors Trilogy
13. World on a Wire
14. For All Mankind
15. Eraserhead
16. Mulholland Drive
17. Sans Soleil
18. Repo Man
19. Le Samourai
20. The Before Trilogy

...it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.

Total respect for that, though if that is how you feel, why not throw out cases for some of the other films and keep the discs in a binder? Of course you can still get rid of that which you don't want anyone, but you could keep maybe 1 or 2 hundred for now and massively cut down on space without being such a painful/massive change. Then later cut down more if you want.

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

[Show spoiler]

I can't be that strong. That would be tearing me apart.

[Show spoiler]

[AaronJ]

There is no way I could rid myself of my discs, even those I don't watch. I NEED them. I may not have a lot, but my discs and my comics and my books, I could never get rid of. Not possible.

I'd rather get rid of my house (which I'm actually thinking of doing -- and moving into a condo) than get rid of those things.