The Criterion Collection

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by NeoNical

Ah! I found someone who saw the Criterion Club on r/Criterion! I haven't joined in any of these discussions (I wrote something for Viridiana but deleted it I think) but I think it was a wonderful idea.

You should join in!

Why did you delete your Viridiana post? I would've enjoyed reading it.

Sadly, it's not being too well recognized by the community as it disappears after a while and the collection posts pile up on top of it, making it hard to find the post.

I think that's just the nature of Reddit - new posts usurp older ones, etc. - more than a lack of interest by the community.

I wonder what next week's going to be...

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, as voted by the members. It wasn't the one I voted for, but it would've been a close second choice for me, so I'm looking forward to it.

(I don't think I'll join in the conversation but it's certainly much better than the What Films Have You Watched Lately thread which consists mostly of upvotes. I'm hoping that one day, r/Criterion will become a discussion thread and less of a collection thread!

Again, why not join? I see no reason for you not to!

[disco1979]

Maybe something Criterion could release and untangle it from legal limbo is Prince's Sign O' The Times.

I'm sure they could give it a beautiful transfer. And it's never been released on Blu-Ray in North America.

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

You should join in!

Why did you delete your Viridiana post? I would've enjoyed reading it.

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, as voted by the members. It wasn't the one I voted for, but it would've been a close second choice for me, so I'm looking forward to it.


Again, why not join? I see no reason for you not to!

I'll join in the next week which I saw Mishima luckily and I loved it. Very excited to hear some of your comments and others on this as I never really talked or cared much about it but enjoyed it when I first watched it a few months ago.

It took me some time to find my comment on Viridiana (1961) but here it is:

Not gonna lie, Viridiana (1961) is one of those films that everyone liked it when they first saw it but not me. I still do think it's a great film and I actually appreciate it more (Now that I read the essay for it from 1001 Movies list) but god that third act really hit me hard and I was expecting it to be more of a comedy rather than a serious drama (With little satire hinted here and there). I would definitely like to hear some of the people's opinions on this film though. Maybe I'll watch it again but wow, Bunuel is fearless with his works

The original post was deleted but the comment is still available it seems. I just read the screenplay for Viridiana last night (Bought it alongside the screenplay for If... and Exterminating Angel/Simon of the Desert screenplays) and I think after a while, Viridiana is growing onto me but even if it's not as bold and dark as it was back then, I am very disturbed (And still am scarred) by that third act and I never have seen anything as shocking and cynical as Viridiana. It's a bit too shocking for me (Even though I like disturbing movies ironically) but I think it's worth revisiting in the future.

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I think that's just the nature of Reddit - new posts usurp older ones, etc. - more than a lack of interest by the community.

I guess that's true. I've been on Reddit for about three to four years and I never really liked the social media app. The memes are extremely repetitive after a while (They follow as a text, most of the time starting with, "When..." or "Nobody:" or a character like, "Mom:" and then an image with a quote meme like, "Well yes but actually no"), the questions aren't new or creative (Often ones like why can't "the title that everyone asked before like Amores Perros, After Hours, etc." be in the collection?), and of course (As a person who never learns his lesson for years and most likely never will), opinions which I have a lot to share for films but always get downvoted. I really hate their memes so much but am still surprised by their Drake meme which has been there ever since I first joined. r/Criterion is a meme subreddit also (Partially) so that's another reason for me to not like the subreddit even more (r/Criterion really is the only subreddit I use now but I'm trying to find other sites that talks about films seriously and not collecting stuff even though I am a collector type person myself). I mean all social media apps and sites have their own share of bad stuff that nobody or some picky people like me don't like. But that's life, you can't always live it the way you want to and people will always stick to their opinion and feelings to the point they won't care for your opinion of course (Which is basically the entire Cancel Criterion drama in a nutshell and every single other drama that has existed in the world. From my personal experience, all drama have two things in common: The denial of accepting one's ideas or opinions and the fear/hate for a future that they do not agree to). Another reason why I get into fights because of my opinion just may be because the way I write it out on this computer doesn't accurately translate to how I feel to the idea of course. I can say something but try my best to keep it nice but always comes off as sassy or rude (Which is more of my fault) so I have to keep myself from expressing too much of an opinion (I sadly do so with this post lol. Or you can call it a rant since that is much more fitting due to the duration and expressive feelings).

Even if I hate this app, I still use it, hoping somebody may bring a good conversation and the Criterion Film Club is one of the only few things I ever go onto the internet for other than reading news. To sum it up, I hate myself for still making myself post opinions that get downvoted and hated by but still post them, hoping for a fruitful discussion (Even though I may act immature at times). I don't have anyone else to talk about movies with (The area I live in is very quiet and no film lovers around).

Anyways, it's always a pleasure talking to people about movies even though I don't know anyone personally in this community or on Reddit and I'm glad that wonderful discussions and feelings can sometimes be shared (Not always) and accepted by others. At least my parents still enjoy reading my letters to them about food and books since they have nothing to do. It's always great having someone close by in life!

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by disco1979

Maybe something Criterion could release and untangle it from legal limbo is Prince's Sign O' The Times.

I'm sure they could give it a beautiful transfer. And it's never been released on Blu-Ray in North America.

It's available in the UK.
And if you are a fan of the album....

https://store.hmv.com/store/music/cd...o-the-times-(3)

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

The Times article, for all its flaws (perceived and otherwise), was a perfect opportunity for us to have an interesting discussion on which black filmmakers and movies we'd want to see in the Collection. I tried to get that going. I'm sure a couple of others did too.

I suggest we can start a new thread focused on what non-White (not just Afro-origin) film-makers people would like to see introduced into or better represented in the Criterion Collection (but not makers whose films are already well-represented on other labels, like Spike Lee). We could encourage members to talk about their suggestions, as to why they feel X or Y maker would be an interesting addition. I think we should see some interesting discussions there, what say?

[Bn43]

Originally Posted by disco1979

Maybe something Criterion could release and untangle it from legal limbo is Prince's Sign O' The Times.

I'm sure they could give it a beautiful transfer. And it's never been released on Blu-Ray in North America.

So then go region free. I imported it blind. One of my favorite concert films.

https://101-films-store.myshopify.co...the-times-1987

[robtadrian]

Congrats to the private company New York Times for highlighting Criterion's arrogance and cluelessness. Places such as the Museum of the Moving Image have been showcasing Charles Burnett's works for decades yet it takes running into him on a forum on another filmmaker to discover a film he did that's almost 30 years old?

And funny how they decided to release Do The Right Thing around the time Kino announced the acquisition of several Lee titles.

[yoloswegmaster420]

Originally Posted by robtadrian

And funny how they decided to release Do The Right Thing around the time Kino announced the acquisition of several Lee titles.

They totally knew that Kino was going to annoince their acquisiitions, so that's why they decided to quickly perform a 4K restoration.

[UnionJackMix]

I would love to see Criterion do The Monte Carlo Story with Marlene Dietrich and Vittorio De Sica

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

Two quick questions and a couple of idle thoughts:

1. How long is this discussion going to go on for?

2. Where is the moderator?

During the decade that I've been enjoying this forum I've been aware that one of the key principles that has contributed to its success is the stated objective of avoiding the introduction of political issues and discourse into a venue devoted solely to the enjoyment and discussion of cinema. And I've seen that guideline enforced on any number of occasions.

The current discussion, continuing now for over a dozen pages, dealing with such loaded social issues as 'cancel culture', the imposition of cultural quotas, and the current racialization of everything American is, I believe, in conflict with the guidelines.

The discussion, with everyone tip-toeing daintily about whatever 'issues' have been presented, for days on end, has in any case produced not a lot, apart from some virtue-signaling. The bottom line seems to be that people will buy what they want to buy and producers will produce whatever they can sell, whether it be widgets or art. So, has anyone seen a good movie lately?

Well, the title of this thread is "The Criterion Collection", and regardless of how charged this issue may be, it still is relevant to the topic of this thread. While "political discussion" is discouraged in this forum, what we're seeing here is (largely) relevant to the topic. It's not like the discussion has drifted into talking about BLM protests or removal of Confederate statues.

On the other hand, the question "has anyone seen a good movie lately?" seems to have largely generated a number of responses about films that are not part of The Criterion Collection. Which is fine -- off-topic tangents happen all the time here -- but it's interesting that you seem upset about a discussion that is definitely on-topic while suggesting one that isn't.

[MifuneFan]

I think the discussion has been surprisingly civil, and for the most part productive. There's usually a lull between announcements, so it's not like this thread would be jumping with content otherwise.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Yes, I did see that post. Apparently, though, you didn't, even though you quoted it thus:



I didn't see bergman864 claim anything regarding African-American films with respect to Cohen.

Well he was responding to a post about Kino's Pioneers of African American Cinema set not selling well, but whatever. Even in general, I dont believe he is correct. Cohen is a pretty terrible company that puts minimum effort into their releases and is owned by a billionaire ******* that laid off nearly everyone at the label at the start of the pandemic.

[dwk]

Somehow I never considered this, but it was pointed out at the Criterion Forum that the screening of Chaplin's The Great Dictator at this year's Il Cinema Ritrovato festival is from a new restoration from Criterion.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

I think the discussion has been surprisingly civil, and for the most part productive. There's usually a lull between announcements, so it's not like this thread would be jumping with content otherwise.

Considering that these types of political discussions usually explode (especially online) I am very positively surprised at how civil this has been. I did notice one early post swiftly go missing but that was clearly a troll post, so it practically doesn't count.

Quality people around here, even when we disagree with each other.

[ToonySpoonGoon]

Originally Posted by dwk

Somehow I never considered this, but it was pointed out at the Criterion Forum that the screening of Chaplin's [b]The Great Dictator[b] at this year's Il Cinema Ritrovato festival is from a new restoration from Criterion.

Chaplin boxset please!! all they'd need to get rights to is A Countess from Hong Kong, everything else is released or on the channel

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by ToonySpoonGoon

Chaplin boxset please!! all they'd need to get rights to is A Countess from Hong Kong, everything else is released or on the channel

Uncut 1921 version of The Kid as an extra, please! The Criterion release is missing 15 minutes compared to the original (they put out Chaplin's 1971 re-release which he cut dramatically).

[cgpublic]

Originally Posted by ElliesDad

Where is the moderator?

Not a clue but I'm over here now if you need to find me:

[dwk]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

Uncut 1921 version of The Kid as an extra, please! The Criterion release is missing 15 minutes compared to the original (they put out Chaplin's 1971 re-release which he cut dramatically).

If they could only convince the estate.

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

Uncut 1921 version of The Kid as an extra, please! The Criterion release is missing 15 minutes compared to the original (they put out Chaplin's 1971 re-release which he cut dramatically).

Is that original release available anywhere? I'd love to see it just for comparison.

[Knaldskalle]

Originally Posted by dwk

If they could only convince the estate.

The 1921 version is public domain. They only way the estate would have a say is if they conditioned the licensing of the cut version on Criterion specifically not including the 1921 version. I guess anything's possible, but it strikes me as odd since the estate would get paid either way and including both versions should make the release more attractive, not less.

Perhaps Criterion couldn't find a good enough copy of the public domain cut and so decided against including it...?