The Criterion Collection

[Mr. Chaverria]

This B&N sale reminds me that I hate. Absolutely hate that spider wire that B&N uses.

Just put the sets behind a glass door for ****'s sake.

[koberulz]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

The most constant criticism I've encountered about Barry Lyndon over the years is that it's "boring" and for the life of me I can't even begin to comprehend that.

I mean, different strokes and everything, but I find it to be one of the engrossing and transfixing cinematic experiences there is every time I allow myself the privilege of watching it.

Just unabashed bliss.

I love Barry Lyndon as well, but it's also pretty obvious to me why a lot of people would find it boring.

[Egbert Souse]

With each new sale, I try to catch up on stuff I got in the last sale as to keep the backlog down a bit. Here's some of my catch-up stuff:

Sisters - Been getting into DePalma lately. Fun, creepy film that takes a lot of left turns and a great Bernard Herrmann score.

Dressed to Kill - Didn't really like, just a bit too lurid and skeezy for me, plus some gross sexual/racial attitudes (makes William Castle's Homicidal look trans-positive).

Night of the Living Dead - Was saving for Halloween. Great to see such a beautiful restoration and I forgot how effective it is as conveying this constant dread. A true masterpiece of horror. Great extras, too!

Haxan - Watched almost immediately after picking up in the flash sale. Fun, often hilarious and spooky "mockumentary" that's ahead of its time. Kind of reminded me of the way F for Fake plays around with fact and fiction. The new restoration looks amazing.

Solaris - I'm slowly getting into Tarkovsky, having loved Ivan's Childhood, Andrei Rublev, and Stalker. This is a bit more obscure, but I really owe it another viewing to soak in all the detail.

A Brighter Summer Day - I want to see more Edward Yang. It's incredible how a 4-hour film with virtually no plot is so completely involving.

Short Cuts - Also been getting into more Altman and really enjoyed this. Even at three hours long, doesn't seem long and just has so much fun characterization.

Night and the City - I've enjoyed all the Dassin I've seen lately (Topkapi, Uptight, and Rififi) and this is another great noir. Richard Widmark could do weasely like no one else.

Le silence de le mer - Jean-Pierre Melville's debut film is simplistic and stylish, with no punches pulled. Perhaps not as polished and exciting as his later work, but an excellent debut film.

[nitin]

Tonight I chose to see Vagabond.

The power of this unassuming film is in how it build and builds until it feels like you really are basically on the main character’s drifting road journey with her. Sandrine Bonaire is astonishing and the film is splendidly made, it really caught me off guard with how powerful it is by the end.

I saw it via the Artificial Eye blu which is from a recent 2k restoration that leans a little on the blue side, but generally looks stunning. Hopefully Criterion upgrade their Varda set soon.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by dwk

Scorsese confirmed that Criterion is going to release Italianamerican. I imagine that it'll be a part of a set with some of his other early short works (American Boy and Big Shave, most likely.)

Maybe as part of a Mean Streets package? Would love to see American Boy on there as well.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

Maybe as part of a Mean Streets package? Would love to see American Boy on there as well.

Or After Hours, or a box set with all of them

[postmodel]

A Scorsese set would be a beautiful thing. I feel like they could include Who’s That Knocking At My Door and maybe Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore as well...if rights allow.

[hariseldon]

Twice is a week Criterion gets a Nationwide mention on TV

1) As reported the earlier Jeopardy question

2) Last night on Seth Myers - the guys from Roots Tonight Show Band were two of the guests, and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson mentioned going on Bus Trips and being on the Dweeb/non-party bus was just a bunch of folks watching their Criterion Collection. I think he also said his had a 130K LP Collection part his own, part obtained from his father if I heard the story correctly.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by dwk

Scorsese confirmed that Criterion is going to release Italianamerican. I imagine that it'll be a part of a set with some of his other early short works (American Boy and Big Shave, most likely.)

That would be reasonable. In fact, one of Criterion's original parent companies, Voyager, released an LD Three by Scorsese that was comprised of exactly those three films.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Flapperdame16

Anyone wanna talk me into giving Night and the City a 4th chance at liking it? (Although at this point, I'd say Its a no from me)

Not every film is for everyone. I love Night and the City, myself, but if you've already given it three honest tries and don't care for it, you're not likely to change your mind.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

The most constant criticism I've encountered about Barry Lyndon over the years is that it's "boring" and for the life of me I can't even begin to comprehend that.

I mean, different strokes and everything, but I find it to be one of the engrossing and transfixing cinematic experiences there is every time I allow myself the privilege of watching it.

Just unabashed bliss.

Back when the film was originally released, a work friend who insisted that he never saw the point of watching a movie more than once went to see Barry Lyndon at least three times.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Alan Clarke

Thank you my friend, I will try Berlin Alexanderplatz as I am a big fan of Rainer Werner Fassbinder. I am concerned as to how it stacks up against his other work, however?

You'll have your own opinion about how it compares to Fassbinder's other work, but don't think about that too much. Just go ahead and watch it. It's wonderful.

[dbhl3000]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Do you prefer Gilliam's 12 Monkeys, which is just a bloated version of La Jetée? Personally, I prefer the Marker film, which at the very least has the virtue of being unlike pretty much any film that came before it. Gilliam took over two hours to tell a story that Marker told in ¼ of the time.

I should have been more clear. My negative comments were pertaining to Sans Soliel, not La Jetee.

[ilenewoodsfan99]

Just came back from Barnes and Noble and picked up the following:

Black Narcissus, Cluny Brown, The Night of the Hunter, Rebecca, and Valley of the Dolls. All big favorites of mine.

[Gacivory]

Originally Posted by dwk

Scorsese confirmed that Criterion is going to release Italianamerican. I imagine that it'll be a part of a set with some of his other early short works (American Boy and Big Shave, most likely.)

I would like those, I would also like a release of his movie, My Voyage to Italy!

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by postmodel

A Scorsese set would be a beautiful thing.

They could call it "The Martin Scorsese Cinematic Universe".

[dwk]

Originally Posted by jayembee

That would be reasonable. In fact, one of Criterion's original parent companies, Voyager, released an LD Three by Scorsese that was comprised of exactly those three films.

Yeah, that is why I mentioned those specific titles. In fact American Boy played pretty recently on TCM and it opened with the Janus Films logo.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by dbhl3000

I should have been more clear. My negative comments were pertaining to Sans Soliel, not La Jetee.

Ah. When you said "the nature of time", I assumed you were talking La Jetée, given that it involves time travel.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Gacivory

I would like those, I would also like a release of his movie, My Voyage to Italy!

I would love it if they released a BD of A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies.

[Ray Jackson]

Anyone here have strong feelings about The Cloud-Capped Star?

I blind bought it tonight without knowing anything about it...not one thing. I hadn’t even heard of it before seeing it on the shelves. But being a big Satyajit Ray fan, it seemed like something I might like.

Plus I love the cover art.

...very warm color pattern.