The Criterion Collection

[CQD84]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Roma

That would be incredible.

(I'm predicting it'll be The Grand Budapest Hotel though)

[thebratpackwrangler]

Originally Posted by CQD84

That would be incredible.

(I'm predicting it'll be The Grand Budapest Hotel though)

I think it’ll be Grand Budapest as well but if it is Roma I’ll pass out from excitement.

[Xtempo]

noticing the sex lies and videotape did not have any Video 8 on the package like they did with Videodrome. It seems a lost opportunity I think.

[yoloswegmaster420]

Originally Posted by kwillard37

Realized recently that One Sings, the Other Doesn’t puts us at spine #978, so #1000 is for sure gonna be this year, any ideas on what it could be? I guess Grand Budapest Hotel could be a safe bet since #300 was Life Aquatic and #700 was Fantastic Mr. Fox, but who knows. Any guesses?

Pretty sure it's going to be Citizen Kane.

[Trace17]

Originally Posted by kwillard37

Realized recently that One Sings, the Other Doesn’t puts us at spine #978, so #1000 is for sure gonna be this year, any ideas on what it could be? I guess Grand Budapest Hotel could be a safe bet since #300 was Life Aquatic and #700 was Fantastic Mr. Fox, but who knows. Any guesses?

If I had my way it would be Kurosawa boxset.

[mande2013]

How would they even secure the rights to Roma considering Netflix has proven rather reluctant to release their original content on disc and the fact that a Criterion release would undermine the concept of exclusive content?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by mande2013

How would they even secure the rights to Roma considering Netflix has proven rather reluctant to release their original content on disc and the fact that a Criterion release would undermine the concept of exclusive content?

With the insistence of a director like Cuarón. He confirmed a BD release is coming later this year, but not who was releasing it. There's been some strong speculation that Criterion has it, but nothing is confirmed.

It would no doubt be groundbreaking for it to happen. I actually emailed Criterion to request it soon after seeing it in theaters because It'd just be a dream release.

edit: I didn't realize it was this quickly after seeing it that I emailed them. I saw it on 12/17, and emailed them the next morning lol. If it happens, maybe I helped, who knows

[jcs913]

Just throwing my .02 in here. Got to my copy of La Vérité last night and was blown away. First of all, if you have never seen the film, IMO it's one of the best. I love Clouzot and really admire his flow and character development in his films and this is no slouch in the overall scheme of films in totality. As I think many have also mentioned, Bardot was really seen as basically a sex symbol back in these times. This film really brings to light her ability to act, which you unfortunately do not see much of in her career onward. A fantastic performance that needs to be seen to appreciate. As for the 'guts', another 5 star Criterion transfer. They drop the ball on a few, but this one is not in that crowd. Audio is crystal clear at all times and, there are not many B/W films that give you that 'almost 3D effect,' but this transfer has it. Grain is very well resolved with resolution that almost puts you in the scene. evry scene really looks fantastic, especially the detail in the courtroom scenes. If you are on the fence, pick up this release, as it is fantastic!!

[Gacivory]

My delivery was running late, so my Criterion watching is delayed.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by mande2013

How would they even secure the rights to Roma considering Netflix has proven rather reluctant to release their original content on disc and the fact that a Criterion release would undermine the concept of exclusive content?

Netflix didnt produce the film, so it is possible that the production company retained the disc rights.

[The Great Owl]

Maria Vial, a white French woman played by Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher, Greta), persistently continues to run a coffee plantation in an unnamed African country that is in the midst of a civil war between government troops and rebels, many of whom are children armed with rifles or machetes. As a French military helicopter flies overhead, soldiers call out to her with loudspeakers, urging her and her family to evacuate the country along with the other colonists before it is too late. Her employees quit their jobs and leave the plantation, despite her pleas for them to continue working on the harvest. When she ventures outside the plantation to seek replacement workers, she is held at gunpoint by bandits at a roadblock and forced to give them money. Her ex-husband, played by Christopher Lambert (Highlander), has agreed, without her consent, to sell off the property after his father signs the rights off to him, so that he will be able to flee from the area before danger arrives. Meanwhile, a radio DJ encourages the violent insurgency, calling for a reckoning against “white material” who have thrived while others toil in poverty.

Despite the impending threats, Maria remains stubborn, feeling a natural bond to this unforgiving landscape. She struggles to look after her teenage son, played by Nicolas Duvauchelle, but steadfastly refuses to leave even when he is brutalized by rebel boys and even when he shows signs of trauma and insanity. She also shelters “The Boxer”, a wounded rebel leader played by Isaach De Bankolé (Casino Royale, Black Panther), as troops roam the land searching for him. The figurative walls close in around her, by way of dwindling supplies, disappearing helpers, increasingly standoffish townspeople, and explicit warnings, but the rail-thin and impassive Maria is not going anywhere.

The first image that we see in White Material, a critically acclaimed 2009 wartime drama directed by Claire Denis (Chocolat), is the sight of wild dogs silently running across a nighttime road. This subdued vision of feral disorder in a desolate landscape pervades throughout the narrative, which brings us into the fold by way of cryptic flashbacks that refuse to offer a clear-cut backstory for Maria, her family, or even the political specifics behind the local rebellion. A distinct “This will not end well.” aura hangs over the proceedings, but, like the lead character clinging to the back ladder of a bus in an early scene, we are just along for the ride.

Denis, who spent her childhood in colonial French Africa, immerses us into the setting, with its dust-covered dirt roads, its ever-present sound of engines in the distance, and its ramshackle building structures, with an visual matter-of-factness that is just as sparse as the music score by Stuart Staples. In turn, Huppert's Maria is no vainly charismatic Scarlett O’Hara antihero standing at a beautifully-lit camera angle to stand up against the odds, and she never really cues us in to what drives her to remain on the plantation despite mortal danger. She simply exudes a physically fragile, yet inwardly unyielding and oblivious presence in a world gone mad, and she demonstrates a refusal to care about how she is perceived by those around her who constantly act as the voice of the audience.

White Material is a puzzling movie that really should not work. The filmmakers never overtly take sides with any of the characters. Huppert's Maria and the others around her do not cry out for any sympathy. The African setting, while resembling a desolate Mad Max territory with an ever-present threat of unimaginable violence, never fully explodes into mayhem, even during the most jarring moments of implied bloodshed. Somehow, though, everything does work wonderfully well simply on account of the efforts of all involved to convey no remote hint of reassurance or order. A lyric from the song, “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”, by The Smiths comes to mind. “It's not my home, it's their home and I'm welcome no more.” In this instance, however, we know from the beginning that the light is going to go out for all of these characters.

This is a tremendously affecting work of cinema.

The Criterion Blu-ray of White Material is a thing of beauty, with a filmic transfer and an audio presentation that are practically beyond reproach. Interviews with Claire Denis, Isabelle Huppert, and Isaach De Bankolé shed illumination on the tale at hand without over-explaining or diminishing our own sense of discovery.

[ravenus]

^one of your best reviews, Owl

[Gacivory]

Secrets and Lies screening from Janus

http://americancinemathequecalendar....ies-vera-drake

Chocolat screening from Janus

http://americancinemathequecalendar....white-material

Beau Travail from Janus

http://americancinemathequecalendar....beau-travail-0

[gbm82]

My flash sale purchase was waiting in my mailbox tonight! Island of Lost Souls, Eating Raoul and Diabolique. All are blind buys but seem right up my alley (at the least Clouzot hasn't let me down)

[evilive]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

[Show spoiler]Maria Vial, a white French woman played by Isabelle Huppert (The Piano Teacher, Greta), persistently continues to run a coffee plantation in an unnamed African country that is in the midst of a civil war between government troops and rebels, many of whom are children armed with rifles or machetes. As a French military helicopter flies overhead, soldiers call out to her with loudspeakers, urging her and her family to evacuate the country along with the other colonists before it is too late. Her employees quit their jobs and leave the plantation, despite her pleas for them to continue working on the harvest. When she ventures outside the plantation to seek replacement workers, she is held at gunpoint by bandits at a roadblock and forced to give them money. Her ex-husband, played by Christopher Lambert (Highlander), has agreed, without her consent, to sell off the property after his father signs the rights off to him, so that he will be able to flee from the area before danger arrives. Meanwhile, a radio DJ encourages the violent insurgency, calling for a reckoning against “white material” who have thrived while others toil in poverty.

Despite the impending threats, Maria remains stubborn, feeling a natural bond to this unforgiving landscape. She struggles to look after her teenage son, played by Nicolas Duvauchelle, but steadfastly refuses to leave even when he is brutalized by rebel boys and even when he shows signs of trauma and insanity. She also shelters “The Boxer”, a wounded rebel leader played by Isaach De Bankolé (Casino Royale, Black Panther), as troops roam the land searching for him. The figurative walls close in around her, by way of dwindling supplies, disappearing helpers, increasingly standoffish townspeople, and explicit warnings, but the rail-thin and impassive Maria is not going anywhere.

The first image that we see in White Material, a critically acclaimed 2009 wartime drama directed by Claire Denis (Chocolat), is the sight of wild dogs silently running across a nighttime road. This subdued vision of feral disorder in a desolate landscape pervades throughout the narrative, which brings us into the fold by way of cryptic flashbacks that refuse to offer a clear-cut backstory for Maria, her family, or even the political specifics behind the local rebellion. A distinct “This will not end well.” aura hangs over the proceedings, but, like the lead character clinging to the back ladder of a bus in an early scene, we are just along for the ride.

Denis, who spent her childhood in colonial French Africa, immerses us into the setting, with its dust-covered dirt roads, its ever-present sound of engines in the distance, and its ramshackle building structures, with an visual matter-of-factness that is just as sparse as the music score by Stuart Staples. In turn, Huppert's Maria is no vainly charismatic Scarlett O’Hara antihero standing at a beautifully-lit camera angle to stand up against the odds, and she never really cues us in to what drives her to remain on the plantation despite mortal danger. She simply exudes a physically fragile, yet inwardly unyielding and oblivious presence in a world gone mad, and she demonstrates a refusal to care about how she is perceived by those around her who constantly act as the voice of the audience.

White Material is a puzzling movie that really should not work. The filmmakers never overtly take sides with any of the characters. Huppert's Maria and the others around her do not cry out for any sympathy. The African setting, while resembling a desolate Mad Max territory with an ever-present threat of unimaginable violence, never fully explodes into mayhem, even during the most jarring moments of implied bloodshed. Somehow, though, everything does work wonderfully well simply on account of the efforts of all involved to convey no remote hint of reassurance or order. A lyric from the song, “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”, by The Smiths comes to mind. “It's not my home, it's their home and I'm welcome no more.” In this instance, however, we know from the beginning that the light is going to go out for all of these characters.

This is a tremendously affecting work of cinema.

The Criterion Blu-ray of White Material is a thing of beauty, with a filmic transfer and an audio presentation that are practically beyond reproach. Interviews with Claire Denis, Isabelle Huppert, and Isaach De Bankolé shed illumination on the tale at hand without over-explaining or diminishing our own sense of discovery.

Adding this title to my wishlist.

[hockeyshark91]

A question.
If I enjoyed the quirkiness and surrealism of House, is it a given that I'd also enjoy Black Moon and Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders? Or are all three completely different tone and feel from each other? I've been eyeing these two titles for the longest time. The only movie streaming service I have access to is Netflix, and I have not been able to find either to preview.

[Xtempo]

Originally Posted by hockeyshark91

A question.
If I enjoyed the quirkiness and surrealism of House, is it a given that I'd also enjoy Black Moon and Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders? Or are all three completely different tone and feel from each other? I've been eyeing these two titles for the longest time. The only movie streaming service I have access to is Netflix, and I have not been able to find either to preview.

I also would like to know since House was highly enjoyable for me.

[rognvaldr]

looks like someone at the post stabbed my package, it went thru the packaging, case and cover. Lucky the booklet and disc are ok. Is Criterion pretty good/fast at replacing damaged goods?

[dwk]

Originally Posted by hockeyshark91

A question.
If I enjoyed the quirkiness and surrealism of House, is it a given that I'd also enjoy Black Moon and Valerie And Her Week Of Wonders? Or are all three completely different tone and feel from each other? I've been eyeing these two titles for the longest time. The only movie streaming service I have access to is Netflix, and I have not been able to find either to preview.

I think Valerie and Her Week of Wonders would be a safe blind buy, but it really isn't anywhere near the same tone/feel as House.

Black Moon is waaaay different in tone/feel as well, and I'm not sure I'd say it is a safe blind buy.

[evilive]

Originally Posted by rognvaldr

looks like someone at the post stabbed my package, it went thru the packaging, case and cover. Lucky the booklet and disc are ok. Is Criterion pretty good/fast at replacing damaged goods?

My package arrived with a big tear, but was taped up. Luckily, none of my titles were damaged.