The Criterion Collection

[dynel]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

Incredible set. I can't believe the widespread distaste for Tati here, but alas, comedy is very subjective.

Me neither! Personally I think his films are works of art. But watching it solely for the comedy wouldn't do it justice.

Take Playtime & Mon Oncle for instance, the amount of planning & details to put that on screen would've been nightmarish, instead Tati pulls it off. I think you can watch his movies again and again and be surprised by the new things you see every time.

And behind all those jokes is a simple, but meaningful message. They both show that a 'perfect' world can be just a facade (doorman trying to keep a nonexistent door open) while a chaotic society is a lot more pleasant/warmer to live in.

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by dynel

Me neither! Personally I think his films are works of art. But watching it solely for the comedy wouldn't do it justice.

I agree that they are works of art visually.
Beautiful sets, colors, shots, etc.
But the one I saw at least (Mr. Hulot's Holiday) didn't do anything to me.
The exceptional technical merits of a film, aren't enough for me to be engaged in it.

[dynel]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

I agree that they are works of art visually.
Beautiful sets, colors, shots, etc.
But the one I saw at least (Mr. Hulot's Holiday) didn't do anything to me.
The exceptional technical merits of a film, aren't enough for me to be engaged in it.

I see what you mean, technically/visually it's all there. But plotwise, there isn't much going on.

[ijustblumyself]

Originally Posted by dynel

I see what you mean, technically/visually it's all there. But plotwise, there isn't much going on.

Tati is a formalist; just because his plots are rather simple doesn't mean there isn't a lot going on thematically.

[shadedpain4]

As I was leaving work last night I randomly discovered that a local theatre was showing a subtitled version of When Marnie Was There followed by the 4k restoration of Pather Panchali. Needless to say I dropped all my other plans and headed out for a long evening of cinema. Loved Marnie, and if what I saw last night is any indication, we're all in for a treat with the eventual Apu Trilogy box set.

[obscurelabel]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

I agree that they are works of art visually.
Beautiful sets, colors, shots, etc.
But the one I saw at least (Mr. Hulot's Holiday) didn't do anything to me.
The exceptional technical merits of a film, aren't enough for me to be engaged in it.

I have only seen MHH, Mon Oncle, and Play Time, and MHH is my least favorite of the three. I feel that a lot of the gags fall surprisingly flat. For example, the one with the kid with the ice cream cones trying to turn the door handle, it was so obvious that

[Show spoiler]the cones were fakes made of plastic or something similar

it took me right out of it. I remember being annoyed also at the instances where Tati pulled frames from critical moments in several shots, a technique that he seemed to fall in love with for this film but didn't use in the later two. This particular trope can be effective if used sparingly (I just watched Truffault's Two English Girls and there is a great use of it in a crucial scene near the end) but more than once is too much.

That said, I found Mon Oncle to be much better, and my favorite of the three, probably at least partly because there is more of a plot (various conflicts between M. Hulot and his sister's family, getting a job, having romance/marriage pushed on him, etc.) as well as the theme of the old, traditional France changing into something more modern but more cold and impersonal. This last of course was taken to extremes in Play Time. Like a lot of people I admire PT a lot but don't enjoy it so much. A lot of the gags are brilliant, but some of them just don't work at all, and when a film is walking such a conceptual tightrope, there isn't any room for misfires.

I said all that to say that you might want to give Mon Oncle a try, as I think MHH is the weakest of these three films.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

If you enjoy those you can check out Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo.

That was probably the one Zatôichi film that I was looking forward to the most, but the one I was probably most disappointed with.

They ruined the Yojimbo character, in my opinion.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by iScottie

That was probably the one Zatôichi film that I was looking forward to the most, but the one I was probably most disappointed with.

They ruined the Yojimbo character, in my opinion.

They at least succeeded in

[Show spoiler]not upsetting fans of Yojimbo and Zotoichi

.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by iScottie

The Apu Trilogy poster is now available to order from Criterion.com

http://www.criterion.com/shop_produc...trilogy-poster

I'd love to have that poster. If I were to buy it though, it'd have to get the "proper" treatment (professional framing, that is.) For a poster that size, it'd cost a fortune.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Jr7936

tomorrow my Jacques Tati collection is coming from the price mistake at amazon.ca
each movie is going to be a blind watch since I have never seen any of Tati's films before this so hopefully they are as amazing as I have heard

I hope so, too. For you. I'm hoping that they are not as bad as you've heard, too, because there are a lot of us who have expressed distaste for Tati.

With that said, though, the rationale for liking him expressed on the last page or two has piqued my desire to give him another look. Which should I see? I saw Mr. Hulot's Holiday as the one and only Tati I've seen.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by bdmartin134

I finally just caved in and had to buy The Cranes Are Flying. I watched it sometime time after blind-buying Letter Never Sent a couple of years ago, and fell absolutely in love with all aspects of this movie,, the story, cinematography, Tatyana Samoilova. I decided to just wait til the Blu comes out before buying, but I just can't take it anymore... "oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling. I can't take this no more" (Squints).
Any projections on when they'll upgrade? Post some thoughts on how you feel about Cranes or Letter Never Sent, would love to hear.

since you asked for it...

The Cranes Are Flying – This is a very accessible film in which its only real fault is in the incessant close-up shots of the main actress Tatiana Yevgenyevna Samoilova who plays Veronika. During the first 15 minutes or so, I thought, “oh, cute actress!”

[Show spoiler]but then to see her mope and pout for the last ¾ of the movie was enough to make me puke. (Ok, Slight exaggeration).

Her pet nickname given to her by her boyfriend in the film is “squirrel.” Maybe that sounds cute in Russian… ?! idk. I don’t have to explain to anyone how much that can potentially grate after a while. The film features some nifty camerawork and some clever shots to convey some crucial moments during the lives of the characters. This one, however, is miles behind Ivan’s Childhood.

[Namuhana]

I got an email from Amazon stating that my Apu Trilogy Blu-ray set pre-order was cancelled. I hoping we'll still be seeing the set later this year.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I'd love to have that poster. If I were to buy it though, it'd have to get the "proper" treatment (professional framing, that is.) For a poster that size, it'd cost a fortune.

Ha, I'm trying to find a 20x62 frame for an Avengers poster that I have and the cheapest appears to be $130. Unbelievable.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I hope so, too. For you. I'm hoping that they are not as bad as you've heard, too, because there are a lot of us who have expressed distaste for Tati.

With that said, though, the rationale for liking him expressed on the last page or two has piqued my desire to give him another look. Which should I see? I saw Mr. Hulot's Holiday as the one and only Tati I've seen.

Dive right in, give Playtime a go. I love all of his work, but it's with Mon Oncle and Playtime that you really get to absorb the unfiltered vision.

[Polaroid]

Seriously!?

I can get professional framing for like £60 inc the frame! and it looks great (the 2001 pic I showed before was professionally done)

Tbh it may seem like a lot but to get poster framed well for $130 is a bargain lol, something u can treasure!

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by bdmartin134

I finally just caved in and had to buy The Cranes Are Flying. I watched it sometime time after blind-buying Letter Never Sent a couple of years ago, and fell absolutely in love with all aspects of this movie,, the story, cinematography, Tatyana Samoilova. I decided to just wait til the Blu comes out before buying, but I just can't take it anymore... "oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling. I can't take this no more" (Squints).
Any projections on when they'll upgrade? Post some thoughts on how you feel about Cranes or Letter Never Sent, would love to hear.

Considering there's about 20-25 films in the CC that already have HD masters already in other regions (and therefore are more likely to be released first), I'd say an upgrade is a while off. But there's always surprises.

[buffetfroid]

Originally Posted by bdmartin134

I finally just caved in and had to buy The Cranes Are Flying. I watched it sometime time after blind-buying Letter Never Sent a couple of years ago, and fell absolutely in love with all aspects of this movie,, the story, cinematography, Tatyana Samoilova. I decided to just wait til the Blu comes out before buying, but I just can't take it anymore... "oiling and lotioning, lotioning and oiling. I can't take this no more" (Squints).
Any projections on when they'll upgrade? Post some thoughts on how you feel about Cranes or Letter Never Sent, would love to hear.

We also need Soy Cuba

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Seriously!?

I can get professional framing for like £60 inc the frame! and it looks great (the 2001 pic I showed before was professionally done)

Tbh it may seem like a lot but to get poster framed well for $130 is a bargain lol, something u can treasure!

You can also treasure 5-6 blu-rays for that cost.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Seriously!?

I can get professional framing for like £60 inc the frame! and it looks great (the 2001 pic I showed before was professionally done)

Tbh it may seem like a lot but to get poster framed well for $130 is a bargain lol, something u can treasure!

I paid $118 to have my Breathless poster done and that one was 11 by 17 w/o the frame. I posted a few weeks ago, but since we are talking about it, here it is again.

For a large poster like the Apu poster, it will cost probably around $250... maybe more. For whatever reason, poster framing is expensive here in the U.S.

On a somewhat related note, you can get auto body work done in India for like $20 or so.. same work in the States costs around $700. Eyeglasses, too. Frames and lenses can be had for like $20. Here they will cost you a few hundred.

[LPMA]

Originally Posted by Namuhana

I got an email from Amazon stating that my Apu Trilogy Blu-ray set pre-order was cancelled. I hoping we'll still be seeing the set later this year.

I'm pretty confident it will be one of the 'big' November titles.