The Criterion Collection

[Jonbaker]

Originally Posted by albabe

Do you folks know when the Criterion 1/2 Odd Sale is? I did a Search in this Thread and came-up empty.

It's June-July, and October-November right? Is it approximately the Same Time Every Year? My memory is that it's always a few weeks just before something I want is Released and I have to wait 'till the next Sale to pick it up.

Usually that's when the B&N sale takes place though I'm not sure when Criterion's own "flash" sale happens.

[zackisthewalrus]

Originally Posted by albabe

Do you folks know when the Criterion 1/2 Odd Sale is? I did a Search in this Thread and came-up empty.

It's June-July, and October-November right? Is it approximately the Same Time Every Year? My memory is that it's always a few weeks just before something I want is Released and I have to wait 'till the next Sale to pick it up.

The B&N sale usually starts the last Friday of June and goes through all of July. In the last couple of years, it's bled into the first weekend of August. The November sale, from what I remember, is usually just that - November.

[CRASHLANDING]

Originally Posted by albabe

My memory is that it's always a few weeks just before something I want is released and I have to wait 'till the next Sale to pick it up.

Whenever the sale occurs, I can always count on this being true...

[zackisthewalrus]

Originally Posted by Jonbaker

Usually that's when the B&N sale takes place though I'm not sure when Criterion's own "flash" sale happens.

There’s always a flash sale in October, and there’s always one that fluctuates between February/March

[Doc Moonlight]

Originally Posted by jayembee

(3) If the DVD is from a different region, and my usual go-to places for trade-ins won't accept them. I have a good handful of R2 and R4 DVDs simply because I can't trade them in to Bull Moose or whomever.

Declutr will buy region 2 and 4 discs.

[repulsed]

Originally Posted by JasonMichael

Whenever I see "Jon Mulvaney" mentioned in this thread, I think of this guy:

John Mulaney

Now, that's a fine, upstanding Asian American fella.

[DaBargainHunta]

I showered and got to bed late last night, so I limited myself to picking one of the shortest movie on the list (out of the ones I thought I'd enjoy). I settled on Kill the Umpire from 1950. It's about a rabid baseball fan who can't stand umpires ends up becoming one himself, and wackiness ensues...

A former Warner Bros. cartoon director helms this, and it features a lot of the same sight gags you'd see there. It's all very silly and slapstick. There's a great chase sequence at the end. Needless to say, this isn't a straightforward portrayal of baseball and umpires. The star, William Bendix, has a wonderfully goofy face that's perfect for this material. Also look for William Frawley in a supporting role (three years before becoming best known as Fred on I Love Lucy).

(The picture is plagued by a really weird screen wobble though - I've never seen anything quite like it before - but I was tired enough that I could ignore the distraction.)

This is far from a masterpiece, but it's an enjoyable time-waster that jumps from one comedic mishap to another.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: The hatred for umpires in this movie seems excessive to me. Are baseball fans really like that? I assume there's a grain of truth to it, wildly exaggerated and heightened to generate more laughs. Movies have certainly been built on flimsier premises. This one works. (Includes subtitles? Yes!)

[Scottie]

Janus Films update

1995 = N/A
1996 = N/A
1997 = N/A

Mister Johnson (1990, Bruce Beresford)
http://www.janusfilms.com/films/1998

Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980, Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
http://www.janusfilms.com/films/1999

The Ceremony (1971, Nagisa Oshima)
http://www.janusfilms.com/films/2000

[Cremildo]

Only this year did I start to get into Oshima (watched Cruel Story of Youth and Violence at Noon). The Ceremony seems to be pretty interesting; hopefully a Blu-ray will be forthcoming.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

Only this year did I start to get into Oshima (watched Cruel Story of Youth and Violence at Noon). The Ceremony seems to be pretty interesting; hopefully a Blu-ray will be forthcoming.

Death by Hanging is a pretty decent film at first. But the second half loses it so for that reason, I would probably give it a 6-7/10.

In the Realm of Senses is a movie that I don't think is an essential must-watch but if you're willing to watch 100 minutes worth of you-know-what, it is a pretty interesting viewing and way more better than Death by Hanging when it comes to story structure. I'd give it a 7/10 since I wouldn't recommend everyone but 8/10 on terms of Japanese cinema and Oshima's works.

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is wonderful. Accompanied by music from Ryuichi Sakamoto who appears as the Japanese general. David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto have excellent performances in them. Sakamoto having a very sturdy and very strong characteristic on him while David Bowie is rather unexpected and complex as a character study. Kitano's early role in this is pretty ok but not my favorite role of his by a mile. The British officers in this film are pretty fine and they at least do the job but they're not in any way superb. I would give this film an 8/10 and it perhaps is Oshima's most beautiful work.

Other films I will consider watching from him would be Boy (1969), Empire of Passion (1978, that is if you're willing to watch In the Realm of the Senses first), Night and Fog in Japan (1960), and Taboo (1999, should get a Blu-ray release but probably won't for a while)

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by jw007

I need to say I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't keep the DVD if I've upgraded to a BD. However, faced with replacing my remote control for my 10 year old Sony blu-ray player or just shelling out money for a whole new player, I decided to just spend $15 to get a replacement remote control (the down arrow doesn't work anymore), cause this blu-ray player still is fine! (yeah, I know, obsolescence is pretty trendy these last few decades). Hell, I still am watching movies on my 48 inch Phillips HDTV (and its 13 years old now)! Still looks great... plus I have yet to purchase a 4K UHD release, so I guess I'm not as up to date as everyone out there. I don't care, I love my 1080p like you wouldn't believe.

Just curious myself, what does the Qriocity button do? Does it kill cats?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by belcherman

Just curious myself, what does the Qriocity button do? Does it kill cats?

HA HA HA!

Honestly... I don't know either! I haven't pressed that button yet.

If someone wants to push my buttons (pun intended), please do though.

[b_squared]

Received my copy of Great Escape and Wildlife today. The Great Escape has a pretty large and noticeable scratch along almost the entire radius of the disc. This is about the fifth or sixth criterion disc I've noticed this on in the past year or so, though none quite this large. I know some people have mentioned the same thing in previous sale threads for the bi annual B&N sales. I've only really noticed this on Criterion discs recently.

[Luke B.]

Does someone know if the UK version of The Before Trilogy is region B locked? Or I can play it in my PS4 and my blu-ray player?

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Luke B.

Does someone know if the UK version of The Before Trilogy is region B locked? Or I can play it in my PS4 and my blu-ray player?

The UK version is Region B locked.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by jw007

HA HA HA!

Honestly... I don't know either! I haven't pressed that button yet.

If someone wants to push my buttons (pun intended), please do though.

Funny, I have a later model of Sony blu ray player. The remote is RMT-B118A (no Qriocity button, alas). My TV and player are both circa 2008. For a while, I was hoping they would die so I could justify new equipment. Now, I don’t care so much. 1080p is good enough for me.

[Luke B.]

Originally Posted by Dailyan

The UK version is Region B locked.

So... I'm only able to watch it in region B players right?
No PS4?

[Dailyan]

Originally Posted by Luke B.

So... I'm only able to watch it in region B players right?
No PS4?

Correct.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by jw007

HA HA HA!

Honestly... I don't know either! I haven't pressed that button yet.

If someone wants to push my buttons (pun intended), please do though.

Well, my curiosity (groan...) was piqued, so I Googled it.

It was the original name for a now-defunct Sony digital media "delivery service" that ultimately became part of the PlayStation Network. Assume younger members here understand what that means...

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by BluLobsta

Tokyo Story is now my favorite foreign film. Screened it on the Channel the other night. Picked up the physical copy the next day. 4K transfer, uncompressed audio, cemmentaries. I can't wait. Also watched Late Spring the next night. Very human stories. I own The Seven Samurai and Yojimbo but I ilke Tokyo Story more. Not sure why. Just like Ozu's style I guess. Of course, that doesn't diminish my opinion of Kurosawa in any way, obviously.

Of the cast & crew?