The Criterion Collection

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

I agree that there is little better than the ToB cover, badass isn't even a strong enough description. I think that's why I ended up being so much more disappointed when I finally saw it.

I on the other hand was wholly blown away when I saw it. It is so relentlessly doomy, and for me the last few scenes were unforgettable in their intensity. Also love Polanski's Macbeth and a contemporary but poetic gangster film version of the play by Indian director Vishal Bharadwaj - it's called Maqbool.

[NoirFan]

Originally Posted by joie

A Panorama of American Film Noir, with an introduction by James Naremore, translated from the French of Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton by Paul Hammond -- City Lights Books, ISBN 9780872864122.

Also Silver/Ursini's Film Noir Encyclopedia.

A few other genre books: The Films of Tod Browning, Nightmare USA, Keep Watching The Skies!, Incredibly Strange Movies (the book that got me into cult films as a kid).

[IronWaffle]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A few random musings about The Tree of Life...

1. This movie has the best depiction of childhood that I've seen in any movie, except for, perhaps, Stand By Me. I love how the "highlight reel" of memorable instances from childhood that we can all relate to.

[Show spoiler]- first experience dealing with death
- defying one's parents for the first time
- moving to a new house and seeing the old house grow smaller in the back window of the car
- doing something *really bad* (stealing from someone's house, in the movie's case) and having that ominous "Uh-oh, I've really done it now." feeling where you want to turn back the clock and erase the deed, but cannot.
- the idle childhood summers of playing aimlessly.
- being a kid and doing kid stuff, then hearing your parents argue about an Important Issue (finances, etc.) from the corner of your ear, then ignoring it and going back to doing kid stuff.
- that gradual shift when your parents stop being your Heroes and you begin to grow rebellious.

2. Brad Pitt's character is priceless. He wanted to be a musician. He ended up turning to a more "practical" job that put food on the table, but it was also a soulless job that slowly sucked the life out of him. His anger at himself was sometimes directed externally at others. Sad to say, but I identify with his character in quite a few ways.
This made me think of my own father, because, when I was a very young boy, my father seemed like The Boss, The Toughest Man In The World, The Man Who Knew Everything, and so on. In truth, my father was a coach and schoolteacher whose superiors sometimes walked all over him and who was passed over for a couple of promotions because he did not have the political clout of others.

3. I first saw The Tree of Life on the big screen at an indie theater here in Atlanta. If you're a fan, and you get a chance to see this at the theater, take advantage.

4.

[Show spoiler] I've seen this movie several times now, but I have never really tried to analyze the final scenes. I simply become immersed and let the ending wash over me every time. For me, there's an ultimate serenity and acceptance portrayed in the scenes, and that's good enough. Crossing through a doorway (literally, a doorway) into the next world, with the joys, fears, insecurities, regrets, and love of the former world all interweaving together.

Thanks for this thoughtful post. Almost everything you cite is among what has drawn me back to this film.

While the depiction of childhood has little parallel to my own, there is an indelible truth in its portrayal. I believe it, recognize it and despite the differences I relate to it.

Elements of the father echo my own father, but more in circumstance than in behavior. Once again, the verisimilitude of the performance, production design and the synthesis of Malick's vision and execution by his team allowed me to intuitively relate to something somewhat alien to me.

The only place he lost me was in the ending, which has left me cold each time. It could be that my own religious upbringing and perspectives are a barrier. This doesn't detract from the film, though, rather drawing me back to it as I chip away at that barrier. I suspect this film is one that will continue to evolve in my eyes as the years pass.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

[Show spoiler]I think it could be Jack's point of view just before taking his own life. Thus explaining the fragmented editing, the early phonecall, and the final image of a bridge. He is reconciling with his past before he moves on to the afterlife. We witness not only his most cherished and pained memories but also his pleas with God.

The book of Job is about trials and tribulations, so the film is certainly details Jack trying to some sort of solace, although, I hope this interpretation is not centered around suicide, but rather a more peaceful reunion for the family.

Some of these details are left enigmatic, so we can connect with the sounds and images on our own level. The second viewing had me in tears as I related the themes to my relationships.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A few random musings about The Tree of Life...

1. This movie has the best depiction of childhood that I've seen in any movie, except for, perhaps, Stand By Me. I love how the "highlight reel" of memorable instances from childhood that we can all relate to.

[Show spoiler]- first experience dealing with death
- defying one's parents for the first time
- moving to a new house and seeing the old house grow smaller in the back window of the car
- doing something *really bad* (stealing from someone's house, in the movie's case) and having that ominous "Uh-oh, I've really done it now." feeling where you want to turn back the clock and erase the deed, but cannot.
- the idle childhood summers of playing aimlessly.
- being a kid and doing kid stuff, then hearing your parents argue about an Important Issue (finances, etc.) from the corner of your ear, then ignoring it and going back to doing kid stuff.
- that gradual shift when your parents stop being your Heroes and you begin to grow rebellious.

2. Brad Pitt's character is priceless. He wanted to be a musician. He ended up turning to a more "practical" job that put food on the table, but it was also a soulless job that slowly sucked the life out of him. His anger at himself was sometimes directed externally at others. Sad to say, but I identify with his character in quite a few ways.
This made me think of my own father, because, when I was a very young boy, my father seemed like The Boss, The Toughest Man In The World, The Man Who Knew Everything, and so on. In truth, my father was a coach and schoolteacher whose superiors sometimes walked all over him and who was passed over for a couple of promotions because he did not have the political clout of others.

3. I first saw The Tree of Life on the big screen at an indie theater here in Atlanta. If you're a fan, and you get a chance to see this at the theater, take advantage.

4.

[Show spoiler] I've seen this movie several times now, but I have never really tried to analyze the final scenes. I simply become immersed and let the ending wash over me every time. For me, there's an ultimate serenity and acceptance portrayed in the scenes, and that's good enough. Crossing through a doorway (literally, a doorway) into the next world, with the joys, fears, insecurities, regrets, and love of the former world all interweaving together.

Both of these make a lot of sense. I never really thought about it like that.

Thanks, guys!

[The Great Owl]

I happened to watch my Blu-rays of The Tree of Life and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner over the past two weeks.

When I watched Rutger Hauer's character musing about how, upon his death, all his memories would disappear "like tears in the rain", I thought about The Tree of Life. Malick's movie, for me, drives home a point that, in a way, each person creates a complete universe in his or her psyche. When an individual person dies, therefore, an entire universe is destroyed.

[Tin Drum]

I watched 12 Angry Men over the weekend and, wow, what an awesome film. I also watched Week End and, wow, what the hell? Ha. I was not only mesmerized, but I also got a serious headache from watching.

[SammyJankis]

Damn, now I feel like watching The Tree of Life for.. god knows how many times.

My copy autographed by Jessica Chastain is one of my most prized possessions.

[Show spoiler]

Okay, sorry for changing the subject. Just had to show it off.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by Tin Drum

I watched 12 Angry Men over the weekend and, wow, what an awesome film. I also watched Week End and, wow, what the hell? Ha. I was not only mesmerized, but I also got a serious headache from watching.

I watched 12 Angry Men a few weeks ago, and I was somewhat disappointed with the transfer, honestly. The blacks were so strong that it became distracting. Still one of the tightest, most rewatchable films I've ever seen.

[Nielsb90]

Bought Yojimbo and The Killing used locally.. Now I have something to watch when/if my TV gets fixed

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Damn, now I feel like watching The Tree of Life for.. god knows how many times.

My copy autographed by Jessica Chastain is one of my most prized possessions.

[Show spoiler]

Okay, sorry for changing the subject. Just had to show it off.

That is indeed pretty neat man.

[Grethiwha]

High praise on Ballad of Narayama. I don't like blind-buying, but it's not one I can find easily to try before I buy, and so as a fan of classic Japanese cinema, and at the lower price, I'm pretty tempted.

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

And mostly, I am always blown away when a criterion movie releases with such scant extras. Especially when the films are so well regarded. These films have the potential to bring so much knowledge, so much history and so much awesomeness to the who, what, why and how... Does nothing else exist out there? Did criterion try, but fail, to get anything? Did they not feel this would be a substantial release?

I, sadly, first judge whether the extras are substantial before purchasing something. Commentaries, for me, are the most important. Having a good commentary is like giving me an extra film, and I would pay a decent chunk of change for that alone. Other extras are less important, though the amount of insight I've gotten through reading the booklets Criterion includes is stunning. I've yet to read one and say "Meh..."

Anyway, TL;DR - criterion, the company that DEFINED "Extras", should never show up to the table without at least a couple more things than this.


On another note, am I the only one who believes that the fact that there are Kurosawa films still not on blu ray is a travesty?

And while I know it is not nearly as popular, I'd kill to see Red Beard in HD.

Even more than that, Ikiru as a previous poster mentioned. The quality of the cut on Hulu was so terrible it made it hard to watch. It's far worse than many of his earlier films were, it seems. Was the DVD that bad? Was it released on DVD? Why am I asking here and not searching?

The lack of extras on stuff like this doesn't bother me too much - it's a lesser known film, the price is lower, fine, I'm happy it's getting the blu-ray treatment. But I've been watching my first films of Akira Kurosawa Eclipse set, and it's amazing that they seem to have no extras on these sets as a rule. I found out after watching Sanshiro Sugata that other DVDs exist, and apparently the missing scenes from that film have been found in low quality and included as deleted scenes on those DVDs, but you'd never know it from the Criterion disc. I understand not going out of their way to produce new special features for their lower-priced Eclipse releases and whatnot, but if they have them, and there's space on the disc, can't they throw us a bone? I mean, these DVDs are still more expensive than most DVDs, which nowadays generally include something-or-other as extras. So yeah, that's been bugging me about Criterion.

And yes, I want all of Kurosawa's films to be on blu-ray naow. Some of those I would blind buy.

Also I own the Ikiru Essential Art House disc to hold me over for Blu, that being one of my very favourite films. I have no problem with the quality there.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Damn, now I feel like watching The Tree of Life for.. god knows how many times.

My copy autographed by Jessica Chastain is one of my most prized possessions.

[Show spoiler]

Okay, sorry for changing the subject. Just had to show it off.

No apologies needed. This is great!

[the sordid sentinel]

Need a little help from those who received the corrected Thee Colors White disc. I mailed mine in December and it was received at the Criterion HQ on 12/20. I have yet to receive my replacement. Does the process take this long? I e-mailed Mulvaney last Fri. about this, but no response so far. Is he usually slow about answering help questions?

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Damn, now I feel like watching The Tree of Life for.. god knows how many times.

My copy autographed by Jessica Chastain is one of my most prized possessions.

[Show spoiler]

Okay, sorry for changing the subject. Just had to show it off.

Pfft...I want to see a copy autographed by Terrence Malick, then you've got something

[Show spoiler]jk, that's very cool

[retablo]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A few random musings about The Tree of Life...

1. This movie has the best depiction of childhood that I've seen in any movie, except for, perhaps, Stand By Me. I love how the "highlight reel" of memorable instances from childhood that we can all relate to.

[Show spoiler]- first experience dealing with death
- defying one's parents for the first time
- moving to a new house and seeing the old house grow smaller in the back window of the car
- doing something *really bad* (stealing from someone's house, in the movie's case) and having that ominous "Uh-oh, I've really done it now." feeling where you want to turn back the clock and erase the deed, but cannot.
- the idle childhood summers of playing aimlessly.
- being a kid and doing kid stuff, then hearing your parents argue about an Important Issue (finances, etc.) from the corner of your ear, then ignoring it and going back to doing kid stuff.
- that gradual shift when your parents stop being your Heroes and you begin to grow rebellious.

2. Brad Pitt's character is priceless. He wanted to be a musician. He ended up turning to a more "practical" job that put food on the table, but it was also a soulless job that slowly sucked the life out of him. His anger at himself was sometimes directed externally at others. Sad to say, but I identify with his character in quite a few ways.
This made me think of my own father, because, when I was a very young boy, my father seemed like The Boss, The Toughest Man In The World, The Man Who Knew Everything, and so on. In truth, my father was a coach and schoolteacher whose superiors sometimes walked all over him and who was passed over for a couple of promotions because he did not have the political clout of others.

3. I first saw The Tree of Life on the big screen at an indie theater here in Atlanta. If you're a fan, and you get a chance to see this at the theater, take advantage.

4.

[Show spoiler] I've seen this movie several times now, but I have never really tried to analyze the final scenes. I simply become immersed and let the ending wash over me every time. For me, there's an ultimate serenity and acceptance portrayed in the scenes, and that's good enough. Crossing through a doorway (literally, a doorway) into the next world, with the joys, fears, insecurities, regrets, and love of the former world all interweaving together.

Have you read the script? It's really like no other script I've ever seen... and surprisingly, the film follows the script in many ways (as opposed to all the rumors of it just being shot on the fly). I have a copy if you're interested.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by retablo

Have you read the script? It's really like no other script I've ever seen... and surprisingly, the film follows the script in many ways (as opposed to all the rumors of it just being shot on the fly). I have a copy if you're interested.

I've never read the script, and I would be interested to see it. I learn new things (or perceive new things, to be honest) every subsequent time that I watch the film, but would not mind seeing the original intent.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by Cinemach

...except that David Lynch - inarguably one of the most important directors around right now (even if he's 'retired') - only has two of his films released on bluray in his own country. Doesn't seem like any 'major' distributor is in a rush to release his films.

Heck, La Dolce Vita will have more interest from a 'major' distributor to release than it appears Lynch's films do. Once the legal problems with that film are cleared up you can be damn sure a blu release will be imminent, as it was just recently restored.

I love Lynch, but I don't think he's "one of the most important directors around right now". He was, but his time has passed IMO. The problem is, he seems to have a huge fanbase online, yet when his movies open, no one goes to see them. Lost highway almost sank October after they acquired it for $7 million and it grossed around $3.5. Mulholland Drive I believe barely broke even at $7 mil domestic, but scored twice as much overseas... which is why you have overseas releases and not US ones.

If I was a major distributor, I wouldn't be in a rush to release his films, either, from a profit standpoint. As a film lover and fan, however, he'd be one of the first I'd release, along with Herzog. But no one is lining up to put money into releasing films that will most likely barely sell, and that's the sad truth.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've never read the script, and I would be interested to see it. I learn new things (or perceive new things, to be honest) every subsequent time that I watch the film, but would not mind seeing the original intent.

Tree Of Life script

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by retablo

Tree Of Life script

Thanks! I look forward to reading through this.

[retablo]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Thanks! I look forward to reading through this.

You're welcome, sir. It reads like a novel, which scripts never do, so it's interesting to see how the words translate into his visuals.

Anyway, back to Criterion I guess, lol...