The Criterion Collection

[BluProofie]

Originally Posted by KJones77

They have posted posters and screenshots from Written on the Wind for years unfortunately. It's one of the social media managers favorites.

Well, we’ve known they’ve had it for a few years now. It’s only a matter of time.

[DaBargainHunta]

Starring and directed by Sidney Poitier, I've always been curious about Uptown Saturday Night because it seems like such a different role for him - and it is. He and an almost unrecognizable Bill Cosby play more streetwise characters. (Cliff Huxtable this ain't!) This is a generally light, fun comedy about two friends chasing criminals to retrieve a stolen lottery ticket.

Sidney and Cosby honestly seem like odd fits for material like this. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to find out that this was actually written with Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor in mind (Pryor does appear in a cameo), and I think it would've been a much better movie with them in the lead roles. Sidney tried, but this was probably outside his wheelhouse, and I've never, ever found Cosby funny. Harry Belafonte doesn't help matters either by spoofing Don Corleone from The Godfather. His character was jarring, distracting, and completely took me out of the movie. It also would've been better if 20 minutes had been shaven off the running time (and it's not a long movie to begin with!) - particularly those never-ending church scenes with Flip Wilson that kept going and going and going...

Still, despite many flaws, I ultimately liked Uptown Saturday Night. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It has its charms.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: As usual with The Criterion Channel, 99% of the content is at least "good."

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by DandyDancing

Guys it’s promoting the channel. There are Jean Arthur and Douglas Sirk collections that were just uploaded.

I watched If Only You Could Cook with Arthur and Herbert Marshall last night. Marshall usually played stuffed shirt characters, but here he displays some great comic chops, as does gravel-voiced Lionel Stander. Great screwball comedy that will probably never see a blu ray release.

[CelestialAgent]

Pennebaker Hegedus Films have announced via Facebook that Company will be joining the Collection. Amazing news!

https://www.facebook.com/PHFilms/

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

THE BAD SLEEP WELL is right up there in my all time favorite Kurosawa titles. It’s unique and certainly not as heralded as his other masterpieces, but it’s an absolutely riveting film on every level with Kurosawa and Mifune both masters at the top of their game. Still waiting for a Blu on this one and hoping when it makes its debut it’s in a massive Kurosawa box set from Criterion.

Red Beard for me is his unsung masterpiece out of all his many masterpieces.

ps The Bad Sleep Well’s opening sequence had to have inspired The Godfather’s, too many structural similarities to be coincidental.

[BamaDullard]

Originally Posted by nitin

ps The Bad Sleep Well’s opening sequence had to have inspired The Godfather’s, too many structural similarities to be coincidental.

Coppola placed The Bad Sleep Well on his top 10 all-time favorite films for Sight & Sound in 2012, so that’s a pretty safe bet.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by BamaDullard

Coppola placed The Bad Sleep Well on his top 10 all-time favorite films for Sight & Sound in 2012, so that’s a pretty safe bet.

Unless there's some stylistic similarities between the two openings, wouldn't Mario Puzo be the one that would have been inspired by Kurosawa's film moreso than Coppola? It's been a long time since I've seen The Godfather, and a couple years for The Bad Sleep Well, but the main similarities are that both open with a wedding, and there are members of the press/police on the fringe, with cameras, etc.Is there more to it than that?

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Starring and directed by Sidney Poitier, I've always been curious about Uptown Saturday Night because it seems like such a different role for him - and it is. He and an almost unrecognizable Bill Cosby play more streetwise characters. (Cliff Huxtable this ain't!) This is a generally light, fun comedy about two friends chasing criminals to retrieve a stolen lottery ticket.

Sidney and Cosby honestly seem like odd fits for material like this. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to find out that this was actually written with Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor in mind (Pryor does appear in a cameo), and I think it would've been a much better movie with them in the lead roles. Sidney tried, but this was probably outside his wheelhouse, and I've never, ever found Cosby funny. Harry Belafonte doesn't help matters either by spoofing Don Corleone from The Godfather. His character was jarring, distracting, and completely took me out of the movie. It also would've been better if 20 minutes had been shaven off the running time (and it's not a long movie to begin with!) - particularly those never-ending church scenes with Flip Wilson that kept going and going and going...

Still, despite many flaws, I ultimately liked Uptown Saturday Night. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It has its charms.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: As usual with The Criterion Channel, 99% of the content is at least "good."

I watched Blackboard Jungle over the weekend which is also part of the Poitier playlist. It's too bad that there have been so many films of its ilk that have come out over the years that have diluted the formula because I bet that movie had such an explosive impact when it first came out. So as a film I thought it was flawed but good, but it was fascinating to watch and appreciate for its influence on pop culture, particularly with the use of Rock Around the Clock during the credits.

I was most impressed by Vic Morrow in the film because he was so good at playing a sleazy little shit that you just wanted to punch over and over.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Starring and directed by Sidney Poitier, I've always been curious about Uptown Saturday Night because it seems like such a different role for him - and it is. He and an almost unrecognizable Bill Cosby play more streetwise characters. (Cliff Huxtable this ain't!) This is a generally light, fun comedy about two friends chasing criminals to retrieve a stolen lottery ticket.

Sidney and Cosby honestly seem like odd fits for material like this. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to find out that this was actually written with Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor in mind (Pryor does appear in a cameo), and I think it would've been a much better movie with them in the lead roles. Sidney tried, but this was probably outside his wheelhouse, and I've never, ever found Cosby funny. Harry Belafonte doesn't help matters either by spoofing Don Corleone from The Godfather. His character was jarring, distracting, and completely took me out of the movie. It also would've been better if 20 minutes had been shaven off the running time (and it's not a long movie to begin with!) - particularly those never-ending church scenes with Flip Wilson that kept going and going and going...

Still, despite many flaws, I ultimately liked Uptown Saturday Night. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It has its charms.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: As usual with The Criterion Channel, 99% of the content is at least "good."

These types of movies don’t often get reviewed much (especially in the Criterion thread!) so it’s really nice to hear a take on it. I have to admit that whenever a review mentions bits that go on for too long I tend to shy away from watching the movie. Nothing drags a film down, particularly a comedy, more than ill advised extended scenes which completely exhaust any potential they might have had in the first place. I love Poitier and when I was a kid I loved Cosby too, but it sounds like a bad fit for the former and outside of I SPY, I can’t stomach Cosby in anything anymore.

So an easy pass for me thanks to your enlightening review, Hunta. Keep ‘em coming!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Starring and directed by Sidney Poitier, I've always been curious about Uptown Saturday Night because it seems like such a different role for him - and it is. He and an almost unrecognizable Bill Cosby play more streetwise characters. (Cliff Huxtable this ain't!) This is a generally light, fun comedy about two friends chasing criminals to retrieve a stolen lottery ticket.

Sidney and Cosby honestly seem like odd fits for material like this. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to find out that this was actually written with Redd Foxx and Richard Pryor in mind (Pryor does appear in a cameo), and I think it would've been a much better movie with them in the lead roles. Sidney tried, but this was probably outside his wheelhouse, and I've never, ever found Cosby funny. Harry Belafonte doesn't help matters either by spoofing Don Corleone from The Godfather. His character was jarring, distracting, and completely took me out of the movie. It also would've been better if 20 minutes had been shaven off the running time (and it's not a long movie to begin with!) - particularly those never-ending church scenes with Flip Wilson that kept going and going and going...

Still, despite many flaws, I ultimately liked Uptown Saturday Night. I didn't love it, but I liked it. It has its charms.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: As usual with The Criterion Channel, 99% of the content is at least "good."

I enjoyed Uptown Saturday Night quite a bit, though it's been quite a while since I've watched it -- back when it and its two not-really-sequels (Let's Do It Again and A Piece of the Action) came out on DVD. They are definitely a product of their time. They're something I'd like to see come out on Blu from Warner Archive, but Cosby's status of persona non grata these days would probably nix that idea.

Poitier's career as a director was a mixed bag, seemingly declining from one to the next, other than Stir Crazy -- the only directorial effort of his to be released on Blu-ray -- being a definite step up from the USN/LDIA/APOTA threesome. But his first, Buck and the Preacher, was an underrated bit of entertainment, while his last, Ghost Dad was deservedly reviled.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

I love Poitier and when I was a kid I loved Cosby too, but it sounds like a bad fit for the former and outside of I SPY, I can’t stomach Cosby in anything anymore.

I Spy was definitely Cosby's high point as an actor. But I still enjoy his 60s comedy records, which are filled wall to wall with hilarious routines. I need to dig out the CDs I have of his two best, Why Is There Air? and Wonderfulness, and give them another listen. It's been a while.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

These types of movies don’t often get reviewed much (especially in the Criterion thread!) so it’s really nice to hear a take on it. I have to admit that whenever a review mentions bits that go on for too long I tend to shy away from watching the movie. Nothing drags a film down, particularly a comedy, more than ill advised extended scenes which completely exhaust any potential they might have had in the first place. I love Poitier and when I was a kid I loved Cosby too, but it sounds like a bad fit for the former and outside of I SPY, I can’t stomach Cosby in anything anymore.

So an easy pass for me thanks to your enlightening review, Hunta. Keep ‘em coming!

I watched Uptown Saturday Night a couple months ago when it first came on the Criterion Channel, it was the first time I'd seen it and it seems like I probably enjoyed it more than DaBargainHunter did because I don't really remember any specific points that slowed it down. I'm sure I posted my comments on it somewhere in one of these threads. I wished Richard Pryor had more than just a cameo in it, but I thought Cosby was fine in it. I enjoyed watching the Cosby Show as a kid but I've never been a fan of what I call that "flizzim-flozzum" schtick he often does and he does a bit of that in USN but not a whole lot.

I would really like to see the two pseudo-sequels to this though, too bad they couldn't have included those as well on the playlist.

Another first-time viewing that I enjoyed watching was the western Buck and the Preacher, again with Poitier and Belafonte.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

I have to admit that whenever a review mentions bits that go on for too long I tend to shy away from watching the movie. Nothing drags a film down, particularly a comedy, more than ill advised extended scenes which completely exhaust any potential they might have had in the first place.

The movie itself isn't very long - under two hours - so if it's something you wanted to see anyway, don't let me stop you. But if you had no interest before, and you are already turned off by Cosby (like most of us are), then you can probably safely skip this.

I watched What's Up, Doc? last night, which was a somewhat similar type of movie, but the execution was a million times better. I'll post my thoughts in a bit...

[DaBargainHunta]

Ever since seeing The Main Event with Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal a few years ago, I've wanted to go back and watch their earlier pairing, What's Up, Doc? I was not disappointed. This is pure absurdity from beginning to end, and I loved every minute of it.

I've never considered Ryan O'Neal a particularly great actor - when I first saw Barry Lyndon, I honestly confused him with Buddy Lembeck from Charles in Charge (the acting was about equivalent!) - but I can't deny that he picks his roles well and is somehow appealing in them despite not being all that appealing himself. In this movie, he plays an uncharismatic bore, which suits him perfectly. Meanwhile, Babs is at her cutest and pitch-perfect as the character who sets all of these events into motion.

It's probably pointless to describe the premise for something so zany and madcap, but I'll try anyway: At a San Francisco hotel, Babs's character takes an unusual interest in Ryan O'Neal, while several guests travel with the same suitcase - and mix-ups and switcheroos ensue all around.

Unless I missed something, Babs's motivations are never explained - she remains a cipher throughout the film - but that ultimately doesn't matter. What really drives the movie are the characters and situations - such as an absolutely amazing chase scene near the end and the hilariously winking final line of dialogue.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: What's Up, Doc? is pure joyful zaniness from beginning to end and an absolute blast to watch.

[stvn1974]

Just helped stimulate the economy with my stimulus check. Picked up the following.

Repo Man (upgrade)
Videodrome (upgrade
Naked Lunch
Some Like It Hot
I Married A Witch
Sullivan's Travels
Seven Samurai
Time Bandits
Until The End Of The World (purchased before but returned it)

[dressedtokill]

The Lady Eve special features have been updated:

*This:
Interview from 2020 with writer-director Preston Sturges's biographer and son Tom Sturges and friends

has been updated to let you know who Tom Sturges' friends are:

*New conversation among writer-director Preston Sturges’s biographer and son Tom Sturges; Bogdanovich; filmmakers James L. Brooks and Ron Shelton; and critics Susan King, Leonard Maltin, and Kenneth Turan

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by jayembee

I Spy was definitely Cosby's high point as an actor. But I still enjoy his 60s comedy records, which are filled wall to wall with hilarious routines. I need to dig out the CDs I have of his two best, Why Is There Air? and Wonderfulness, and give them another listen. It's been a while.

Just a quick off topic reply and then back to Criterion business lest the subject of Cosby get rolling here, which none of us need. I simply wanted to agree with you about Cosby as a performer and actor in the 60's. The reason I can still enjoy I SPY without too much baggage is because that was made before any of his reprehensible behavior started. At least as far as the allegations have so far concluded.

Onto more Criterion talk.... I was a charter subscriber to the Channel and I love it, but I have to admit that since the lockdown started I've been popping in one disc after another and really not streaming anything at all. Streaming has its good points and having more viewing choices is a great thing, but I've found that catching up with my Disc collection is pure incomparable Heaven.

[the sordid sentinel]

Just got done with my initial viewing of War and Peace. Took me 3 nights and this is coming from someone who has never read the book..but here goes.

I was NOT feeling it the first 40 minutes of so..the constant voice over plus characters repeatedly talking off screen took some getting used to. Plus names and characters were coming fast and furious. However, once some character motivations became clear it wasn't hard to settle in.

The scope and execution of all battle scenes is pretty bewildering. I can not imagine how that many extras were organized and their roles executed. I've truly never seen anything on camera at quite that scale that I can remember off hand. Truly impressive.

The 3 central performances are fantastic. I did not realize until watching some bonus material that the director also played Pierre. He gives a truly affecting performance..dude should have

[Show spoiler]told Natasha how he felt

. And the transformation of Natasha from beginning until end is really something. The Prince's ruminations on life and death are extremely thought provoking.

Lot of camera tricks but it never seems showy. Always seemed to serve the story. Don't know what is more impressive..Bondarchuk's acting or direction. I lean toward direction..don't know how they pulled this off. I've never seen the Hepburn version, but can't imagine it holding a candle to this epic.

In short, I started out looking at my watch and wondering if I wanted to invest 7 hours in this. I ended looking forward to my next viewing. Lastly, picture quality seems much better on disc 2.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by the sordid sentinel

Just got done with my initial viewing of War and Peace.

It's a terrific, and truly epic, movie. I just today got my order from Criterion with it, and I'm looking forward to giving it a fresh watch. The only disappointment is that the restoration for it was done at the 2.35:1 A.R. instead of the original's 70mm A.R. of 2.20:1. I'll have to go hunting for the RusCiCo DVD, which is allegedly at the 2.20:1 ratio, in order to compare the framing.

[Scholer]

Originally Posted by jayembee

It's a terrific, and truly epic, movie. I just today got my order from Criterion with it, and I'm looking forward to giving it a fresh watch. The only disappointment is that the restoration for it was done at the 2.35:1 A.R. instead of the original's 70mm A.R. of 2.20:1. I'll have to go hunting for the RusCiCo DVD, which is allegedly at the 2.20:1 ratio, in order to compare the framing.

No use really, the RuSCiCo dvd was stretched to 2:20:1 if I recall right, which is what made the long since OOP Artificial Eye 5 disc set the best release worldwide as it had the unstretched 2:35:1 AR.