The Criterion Collection

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by amputd

So do you guys think Criterion will release a box set of the early Fellini films? I’ve had them in my U.K. Amazon shopping cart for awhile but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

It's likely they're releasing a complete (or at worst, near-complete) box set a la Ingmar Bergman's Cinema. Obviously, with the pandemic, this could be delayed. On the other hand, it seems that all the restorations have been done for some time and only packaging would be a concern.

[Shanghai Express]

Do pre-orders from Criterion’s website normally ship before or on the street date?

[Egbert Souse]

Originally Posted by mrmikefern

Do pre-orders from Criterion’s website normally ship before or on the street date?

My order of Leave Her to Heaven and Show Boat shipped this morning and I assume will arrive Saturday or Monday.

[mja345]

I watched the Criterion disc of "Kicking and Screaming" fairly recently and, during this pandemic, it occurred to me that, without BDs and other forms of home entertainment, this period of isolation and social distancing would feel something like this scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwSzGlkgvNc

[ravenus]

I'm not generally interested in political films for their politics alone. I appreciate when they are part of another genre (like with the thriller overtones in John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate or contain a more personal viewpoint like with Indian auteur Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Mukhamukham aka Face to Face). I was primarily interested in Memories of Underdevelopment (MoD) because the stated premise "A Cuban man cycles through his repressed opinions and memories as the threat of foreign invasion intensifies and the rest of his family retreats to Miami" suggested an individual perspective, one that possibly gives an insight into what was happening with the common man in Cuba in the volatile period between the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

My expectation wasn't directly addressed because the protagonist of MoD, Sergio (Sergio Corrieri) is far from the average Cuban. He is an intellectual and a man of comfortable means. When the film begins, Sergio sees off his parents and wife at the airport where they are fleeing towards the United States. Our man has decided to stay back in Havana, because he feels that while he knows his future in the US, it is a time of unknown fate in Cuba and therefore more interesting to him.

The rest of the film sees Sergio carry on his existence (he gets a comfortable living off the rent from his family properties and does not have to earn a living, which puts him at a massive distance from the average citizen). We are privy to his monologues in which he often makes radical criticisms of the post-revolution scenario (He refers to Havana a cardboard cutout city). Middle-aged Sergio is also a hedonist who lives by his fancies. He fantasizes about sleeping with his Catholic housemaid, and has multiple trysts with much younger women.

Sergio's behavior with women appears caddish, even cruel. He pokes fun at his neurotic wife before she leaves him for America. He prefers to break off an entanglement with another woman he claims to truly love, because it would involve moving to the US, and he prefers to stay back with the family business. His most prominent affair in the film is with Elena (Daisy Granados), a 17-year old ingenue he shamelessly pursues, and after she gives herself up, tires of her lack of sophistication and dumps her (The film might be hinting at seeing this as a reflection of the treatment of the Cuban people post-revolution).

All of Sergio's decisions appear to stem from a self-centered comfort zone. While he is a highly developed intellectual his interest in people's movements in politics or literature seem only the hobby of a dilettante. I personally felt his decision to remain in Cuba comes from a feeling of knowing his position there, unlike the US where he will be a nobody that has to take employment and work his way up the system. While not a villain, Sergio is hard to sympathize with, even when we see the screws being slowly tightened around his like. Perhaps it is a deliberate design that the protagonist remain remote or unsympathetic so we engage with the film purely in the realm of ideas.

Apparently Corriera, who was committed to the cause of the Cuban revolution, hated the character of Sergio. That said, he portrays him brilliantly, carrying the casual charm and self-deprecation of a Marcello Mastroanni. Strong credit is also due Granados, who very convincingly passes for the not-yet adult Elena when she was actually 25 at the time, only 3 years younger than Corriera.

MoD's strongest point is in its brilliant execution, which is never less than worthy of admiration. Inspired by the French New Wave, director Tomás Gutiérrez aka Titón and editor Nelson Rodríguez deftly present a mixture of narrative and archival / documentary footage, often building up a scene as a collage of contrasting images. There are even some clever fourth wall addressing in-jokes with appearances by the director and the writer (Edmundo Desnoes) in wholly appropriate contexts. While I did feel removed from its protagonist, MoD is still recommended for an imaginatively conceived and skillfully executed construction that stands with the best of its ilk.

Criterion's blu-ray gives an excellent presentation of this brilliantly captured B&W film (1.66:1 ratio) with strong contrast and healthy appearance (except in obvious archival footage of variable quality). The monaural soundtrack has good presence, especially for the interesting music score (there is a very familiar classical theme that plays even over the main menu, which right now I can't place, I'd be grateful if someone can tell me which one it is). The extras are excellent - several interviews with people that worked on the film (editor Nelson Rodriguez has several entertaining anecdotes to relate) and a feature length docu on the director's career by his wife, with a lot of personal insight. This is a terrific package on the whole.

[nitin]

I hope with Criterion putting out some of Noah Baumbach’s filmography that they get around to Margot at the Wedding (assuming Paramount lets them).

Even though it’s not as polished as his more recent Marriage Story, I prefer its rawness and Baumbach seems much more comfortable with letting the bitterness linger in the air, rather than cut it from becoming too uncomfortable (which I personally found Marriage Story to do quite a few times). Although that means a lot of the characters are much more unlikeable, it also means some of it is more hilarious if you like comedy that bleeds.

And there’s a scene with Nicole Kidman (absolutely superb) and John Torturro that is absolutely heartbreaking, which is quite an achievement considering that in the scene itself, Kidman’s Margot basically goes past the point of no return in terms of likeability.

Paramount’s DVD does an adequate job of conveying Harris Savides’ Rohmer/Almendros inspired cinematography but it really needs a new scan and blu treatment to properly reflected.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by amputd

So do you guys think Criterion will release a box set of the early Fellini films? I’ve had them in my U.K. Amazon shopping cart for awhile but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

Originally Posted by jshaide

I wouldn't do it if I were you. Not just yet.

No! No! Do it! Do it!

We want Criterion to announce their box set sooner rather than later!

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by ravenus

I'm not generally interested in political films for their politics alone. I appreciate when they are part of another genre (like with the thriller overtones in John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate or contain a more personal viewpoint like with Indian auteur Adoor Gopalakrishnan's Mukhamukham aka Face to Face). I was primarily interested in Memories of Underdevelopment (MoD) because the stated premise "A Cuban man cycles through his repressed opinions and memories as the threat of foreign invasion intensifies and the rest of his family retreats to Miami" suggested an individual perspective, one that possibly gives an insight into what was happening with the common man in Cuba in the volatile period between the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

[Show spoiler]My expectation wasn't directly addressed because the protagonist of MoD, Sergio (Sergio Corrieri) is far from the average Cuban. He is an intellectual and a man of comfortable means. When the film begins, Sergio sees off his parents and wife at the airport where they are fleeing towards the United States. Our man has decided to stay back in Havana, because he feels that while he knows his future in the US, it is a time of unknown fate in Cuba and therefore more interesting to him.

The rest of the film sees Sergio carry on his existence (he gets a comfortable living off the rent from his family properties and does not have to earn a living, which puts him at a massive distance from the average citizen). We are privy to his monologues in which he often makes radical criticisms of the post-revolution scenario (He refers to Havana a cardboard cutout city). Middle-aged Sergio is also a hedonist who lives by his fancies. He fantasizes about sleeping with his Catholic housemaid, and has multiple trysts with much younger women.

Sergio's behavior with women appears caddish, even cruel. He pokes fun at his neurotic wife before she leaves him for America. He prefers to break off an entanglement with another woman he claims to truly love, because it would involve moving to the US, and he prefers to stay back with the family business. His most prominent affair in the film is with Elena (Daisy Granados), a 17-year old ingenue he shamelessly pursues, and after she gives herself up, tires of her lack of sophistication and dumps her (The film might be hinting at seeing this as a reflection of the treatment of the Cuban people post-revolution).

All of Sergio's decisions appear to stem from a self-centered comfort zone. While he is a highly developed intellectual his interest in people's movements in politics or literature seem only the hobby of a dilettante. I personally felt his decision to remain in Cuba comes from a feeling of knowing his position there, unlike the US where he will be a nobody that has to take employment and work his way up the system. While not a villain, Sergio is hard to sympathize with, even when we see the screws being slowly tightened around his like. Perhaps it is a deliberate design that the protagonist remain remote or unsympathetic so we engage with the film purely in the realm of ideas.

Apparently Corriera, who was committed to the cause of the Cuban revolution, hated the character of Sergio. That said, he portrays him brilliantly, carrying the casual charm and self-deprecation of a Marcello Mastroanni. Strong credit is also due Granados, who very convincingly passes for the not-yet adult Elena when she was actually 25 at the time, only 3 years younger than Corriera.

MoD's strongest point is in its brilliant execution, which is never less than worthy of admiration. Inspired by the French New Wave, director Tomás Gutiérrez aka Titón and editor Nelson Rodríguez deftly present a mixture of narrative and archival / documentary footage, often building up a scene as a collage of contrasting images. There are even some clever fourth wall addressing in-jokes with appearances by the director and the writer (Edmundo Desnoes) in wholly appropriate contexts. While I did feel removed from its protagonist, MoD is still recommended for an imaginatively conceived and skillfully executed construction that stands with the best of its ilk.

Criterion's blu-ray gives an excellent presentation of this brilliantly captured B&W film (1.66:1 ratio) with strong contrast and healthy appearance (except in obvious archival footage of variable quality). The monaural soundtrack has good presence, especially for the interesting music score (there is a very familiar classical theme that plays even over the main menu, which right now I can't place, I'd be grateful if someone can tell me which one it is). The extras are excellent - several interviews with people that worked on the film (editor Nelson Rodriguez has several entertaining anecdotes to relate) and a feature length docu on the director's career by his wife, with a lot of personal insight. This is a terrific package on the whole.

Good read. Thanks for that. I've almost bought this a number of times since release, but always opted for another title from my wish list in its place. I think I know what I'm going to use my $10 coupon on...

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by nitin

I hope with Criterion putting out some of Noah Baumbach’s filmography that they get around to Margot at the Wedding (assuming Paramount lets them).


Paramount’s DVD does an adequate job of conveying Harris Savides’ Rohmer/Almendros inspired cinematography but it really needs a new scan and blu treatment to properly reflected.

I'm pretty hit and miss with Baumbach, and Margot is a big miss for me, BUT, I do love Harris Savides' work and would probably revisit this if it comes to light. If I could choose, would prefer a good release of Birth (2004) or his Gus Van Sant trilogy: Elephant, Last Days, + Gerry

[Xtempo]

Order:
Koko
Canterbury tale
The pornographers
Haven't in a long time. Pretty excited. Now to wait

[moviebuffed]

Originally Posted by mrmikefern

Do pre-orders from Criterion’s website normally ship before or on the street date?

With my current shipment arriving tomorrow, I'm receiving a March 31st release date title in that batch. It didn't get a lot of love in this forum but it is Prince Of Tides along with Holiday and Leave Her To Heaven.

[MifuneFan]

Figured I should be the one to post this ..The Criterion Channel will be honoring Toshiro Mifune in April, celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth (April 1, 1920).

Toshiro Mifune Turns 100

Featuring a new introduction by critic Imogen Sara Smith and the 2015 documentary Mifune: The Last Samurai

Akira Kurosawa once said, “The ordinary Japanese actor might need ten feet of film to get across an impression. Toshiro Mifune needed only three feet.” However, the filmmaker certainly gave Mifune—born on April 1, 1920—a lot of space: over the course of sixteen indelible collaborations, the actor and the director created some of the most dynamic characters ever put on-screen, all marked by an explosive physicality, live-wire intensity, and surprising tenderness. Discovered by Kurosawa during an open audition at Toho Studios, Mifune would go on to inhabit a wide variety of roles—from gangsters to samurai to salarymen—in the director’s greatest films, masterpieces like Stray Dog, Rashomon, Seven Samurai, The Bad Sleep Well, and High and Low. Further cementing his status as an icon of Japanese cinema with his commanding turns in classics by Kenji Mizoguchi, Keisuke Kinoshita, and Hiroshi Inagaki, Mifune left behind a formidable legacy as one of the most electrifying performers of the twentieth century.

• Snow Trail, Senkichi Taniguchi, 1947
• Drunken Angel, Akira Kurosawa, 1948
• Stray Dog, Akira Kurosawa, 1949
• Rashomon, Akira Kurosawa, 1950
• Wedding Ring, Keisuke Kinoshita, 1950
• Scandal, Akira Kurosawa, 1950
• The Idiot, Akira Kurosawa, 1951
• The Life of Oharu, Kenji Mizoguchi, 1952
• Seven Samurai, Akira Kurosawa, 1954
• Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto, Hiroshi Inagaki, 1954
• Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple, Hiroshi Inagaki, 1955
• I Live in Fear, Akira Kurosawa, 1955
• Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island, Hiroshi Inagaki, 1956
• The Lower Depths, Akira Kurosawa, 1957
• Throne of Blood, Akira Kurosawa, 1957
• The Hidden Fortress, Akira Kurosawa, 1958
• Muhomatsu, the Rickshaw Man, Hiroshi Inagaki, 1958
• The Bad Sleep Well, Akira Kurosawa, 1960
• Yojimbo, Akira Kurosawa, 1961
• Sanjuro, Akira Kurosawa, 1962
• High and Low, Akira Kurosawa, 1963
• Red Beard, Akira Kurosawa, 1965
• The Sword of Doom, Kihachi Okamoto, 1966
• Samurai Rebellion, Masaki Kobayashi, 1967
• Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo, Kihachi Okamoto, 1970
• Red Sun, Terence Young, 1971
• Mifune: The Last Samurai, Steven Okazaki, 2015

[jw007]

I'm too lazy to open my sealed Criterions to watch so I decided to sign up for a free month of CBS All Access to watch "Picard" finally... gotta take advantage of the free streaming offers these days!

[alull]

I want to do a double feature of A Hard Day's Night and I Wanna Hold your Hand. Any suggestion as to the order? Thanks

[DaBargainHunta]

Not a movie, but movie-related: I used my no-rush credit to pick up up the Kindle version of Pan's Labyrinth for 99 cents. Who knew there was a book? Not I. You lose the illustrations of the hardcover, but at this price, I can live with that. The hardcover is pretty cheap too though ($9.99) if you really need the art.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by alull

I want to do a double feature of A Hard Day's Night and I Wanna Hold your Hand. Any suggestion as to the order? Thanks

I would watch them in chronological order. But that's just me. Enjoy.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by BenOswald

I'm pretty hit and miss with Baumbach, and Margot is a big miss for me, BUT, I do love Harris Savides' work and would probably revisit this if it comes to light. If I could choose, would prefer a good release of Birth (2004) or his Gus Van Sant trilogy: Elephant, Last Days, + Gerry

Yeah Birth is another favourite that needs an upgrade. Not that much into Van Sant’s stuff personally but also Shout has just released Gerry so that boxset is unlikely atm.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

The Burt Lancaster playlist expires at the end of the month and I've been catching up on a few that I had never seen before ... if you (or anyone else) hasn't seen Sorry, Wrong Number yet, that is a great movie, one of the best noirs I've ever seen.

Originally Posted by Hoke Moseley

Sorry, Wrong Number had a convoluted plot full of lame flashback scenes. Though the ending was fantastic.

Finally watched this... Once again I'm in the middle of both of your opinions. While I enjoyed Sorry, Wrong Number, I didn't think it was quite as good as the other Stanwycks I've seen.

My quick review from the Criterion Channel thread:

Starring my girl Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster, Sorry, Wrong Number is about a housewife and drugstore heiress who is accidentally connected to a wrong number and overhears a murder plot.

The rest of the film unfolds with a series of phone calls, which lead to flashbacks giving us more information about the characters and mystery. It's hard to say more without spoiling it.

Stanwyck is mostly confined to bed and the phone but still manages to deliver a larger-than-life performance. She was deservedly nominated for an Oscar.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: I enjoyed Baby Face, Night Nurse, and the legendary Double Indemnity more, but this is still a nice little gem worth seeking out.

[koberulz]

It's getting a Blu-ray release in Australia at the end of May.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by koberulz

It's getting a Blu-ray release in Australia at the end of May.

That’s another title that Paramount should be releasing as part of its Presents line.