The Criterion Collection

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by joie

For example, Criterion has two releases for 8 1/2 -- the Canadian release: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/8-Blu-ray/8505/
and
the U.S. release: https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/8-Blu-ray/7731/

Not all U.S. Criterion releases have a Canadian release.

There's no difference. Some people feel there's a difference just because it's sold in Canada. The database is editable by anyone, so anyone can add entries. I find it to be largely inaccurate this way, as everyone has different opinions as to what belongs in the database, and how the entries should be presented.

[*DrStrangelove*]

So what will all you be getting out of the upcoming Criterion releases?
So far what I know I want for sure is:

Three Outlaw Samarai (blind buy)
World on a Wire
Anatomy of a Murder (blind buy)
The Last Temptation of Christ (blind buy)
Letter Never Sent

The ones I'm still not sure but want to check out are:

David Lean boxset
Harold and Maude
Late Spring

[oildude]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

So glad the recommendation panned out well for you
You're actually ahead of me on this set - Thirst For Love will be watched very soon though. Unlike yourself and others, I wasn't as much a fan of Black Sun. However, the others are amazing and as you say, the camera work is truly great.
I've actually still got one film still to watch in the Oshima and Shimizu sets, which I'm really looking forward to.
What about Pale Flower and the Suzuki films - have you seen them yet?
And don't forget the Teshigahara set. Easily one of my favourite purchases

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

So, I hadn't seen Thirst For Love, but I had some time tonight and this post gave me the push to finish the Kurahara set.
WOW! Talk about saving the best for last!
Like you say, it is difficult to describe, but the camera work and editing in this film was exciting and dramatic (even more so than in his other films). Also, the use of sound is fascinating; diegetic sounds suddenly becoming expressionistic as the main character's mental state changes.
Ruriko Asaoka is mesmerising and extraordinarily beautiful.
It's based on a Mishima novel, so I wonder if there are readily available translations of his work...
If anyone else is considering the Kurahara set at the next sale, I definitely recommend it

Hey, drbikeshorts, glad you had a chance to finally finish the Kurahara set and that you found Thirst for Love so enjoyable. As I said in my post from a couple of days ago describing my thoughts on this set, I think Thirst for Love is the most memorable and complex of the five films. It has stuck with me since watching it, the way a great film will do. What impresses me most is how it snuck up on me as I watched it, and only after it was over did I realize I had just watched something extraordinary and unexpected. I realized I had just watched a well crafted horror film when for most of the movie I thought I was watching something else.

Kurahara’s camera work, his use of light and weather to create mood, and the importance played by music in each film, all contribute to make this Eclipse set something special. I am glad I picked this set up, and that I was able to experience all five films back to back to better appreciate a body of work from 1960-1967 from a director with whom I was previously unfamiliar (only afterward did I google Kurahara to discover he was the director of the early 1980s Antarctica, the haunting Japanese hit film with a mesmerizing Vangelis film score recently re-imagined by Disney as Eight Below). The film elements used for this set are in great shape, and the DVDs look very good. Each of these movies could easily have been a main line release, and I cannot help but wish these had been released in a Kurahara box set on blu-ray. But I suppose we can say that about most of the Eclipse sets.

To answer your earlier questions, I watched Tokyo Drifter a couple of weeks ago and loved it. Branded to Kill is on my shelf; waiting to be watched. Trying to pace myself, as dumb as that sounds, so I don't race through all my Japanese films while I have other genres also waiting to be watched. Branded to Kill will be soon, though.

Pale Flower is another extraordinary film (I seem to be using that word a lot lately to describe Japanese cinema). The opening scenes with their chaotic Japanese percussion mixed with jazz riffs hooked me in, the stylish visuals, the cool menace of the main character Muraki, the self-destructive thrill junkie Saeko and the effect she has on Muraki, the slow building suspense culminating in operatic violence. Just a very well done noir film. The ending is perfect. Pale Flower is the only Shinoda I have ever seen, so I need to explore more of his work.

As for the Teshigahara set, it is on my wish list (thanks for the recommendation). I doubt I will be able to hold out until it gets a blu-ray upgrade, so I may rent it or watch it streaming if it is available on hulu plus. I am trying not to buy any more DVDs where there exists the possibility of an upgrade. Still, the Eclipse sets are so very good, so who knows, if time goes by and Criterion continues to release blu-rays that don’t hold much interest for me, I may reconsider and go the DVD route.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

So what will all you be getting out of the upcoming Criterion releases?

Pre-Ordered:
Anatomy of a Murder
Harold and Maude
The Organizer

I organise my wishlist of Criterions in 3 tiers, in order of ones I have to get during a sale, or if there's nothing going on in a certain month, to stuff I can wait on for a bit.

Wishlist Tier 1:
Letter Never Sent
Late Spring
Three Outlaw Samurai
World on a Wire

Nothing in tier 2

Wishlist Tier 3:
A Night to Remember
Alambrista

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by zeroman987

I can't agree enough with your assessment of Thirst for Love. I bought the set because I liked the Warped Ones/Black Sun. However, after watching all of the films in the set, I found that I liked Thirst for Love the best. I loved it so much that I bought a copy of Confessions of a Mask! (I believe that all of Mishima's books are translated and available in the US). I have to finish another book first (Maggie Cassidy), but it is next in my book list. If you want, I can report back with my thoughts on the book.

Please do!
Just make sure to mention at the end of your post that it's time for an upgrade of Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters so that we're still on topic *

* I'm no longer sure what that actually means here

[Dustin Putman]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

So what will all you be getting out of the upcoming Criterion releases?

I started buying Criterion BDs when they began, and just kept getting them as they were released. Can't very well stop now, and don't want to. I adore everything Criterion stands for and the love and care that they put into their releases; it makes me happy to support them.

Here they are:

[octagon]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

So what will all you be getting out of the upcoming Criterion releases?

Preordered
Anatomy of a Murder
World on a Wire
Letter Never Sent

Definites
Godzilla (tried to grab it today, actually)
Belle de Jour
A Night to Remember

Interested
Lean/Coward
Branded to Kill/Tokyo Drifter
Late Spring

[*DrStrangelove*]

Originally Posted by Dustin Putman

I started buying Criterion BDs when they began, and just kept getting them as they were released. Can't very well stop now, and don't want to. I adore everything Criterion stands for and the love and care that they put into their releases; it makes me happy to support them.

Here they are:

Thats awesome. Have you ever baught a Criterion you didn't like? More importantly, will you be purchasing Tiny Furniture?

[*DrStrangelove*]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

• World On A Wire (pre-ordered)
• Pearls of the Czech New Wave Eclipse set (pre-ordered)
• Letter Never Sent

La Jetée/Sans Soleil upgrade and Three Outlaw Samurai are also on my wishlist, but no rush. There are a couple of others I need to see first. Meanwhile I haven't even picked up Belle de jour or the Gorin Eclipse set yet.

Yea I also still have to pick up Belle De Jour. Also Tokyo Drifter and I'm on the fence with Godzilla (never seen it )

[Darkcritic]

Will buy in the next couple of days...
- Belle de Jour by Luis Buñuel
- La Jetee/Sans Soleil by Chris Marker
- World on a Wire by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
- Letter Never Sent by Mikhail Kalatozov
- Eclipse Series 31: Three Popular Films by Jean-Pierre Gorin
- Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave
- Les 400 Coups by Francois Truffaut (This is a MUST buy right now for me, absolutely loved the film when I saw it for the first time yesterday).

Will probably get it down the line...
- Anatomy of a Murder by Otto Preminger
- The Moment of Truth by Francesco Rosi
- Godzilla by Ishiro Honda
- A Hollis Frampton Odyssey by Hollis Frampton

[*DrStrangelove*]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

Pre-Ordered:
Anatomy of a Murder
Harold and Maude
The Organizer

I organise my wishlist of Criterions in 3 tiers, in order of ones I have to get during a sale, or if there's nothing going on in a certain month, to stuff I can wait on for a bit.

Wishlist Tier 1:
Letter Never Sent
Late Spring
Three Outlaw Samurai
World on a Wire

Nothing in tier 2

Wishlist Tier 3:
A Night to Remember
Alambrista

Why not make your tier 3 tier 2?

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Why not make your tier 3 tier 2?

If you check out my collection, tier 2is made up of older releases such as Last Year at Marinbad and so on. To count tier 3as tier 2 screws up my order of preference.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Dustin Putman

I started buying Criterion BDs when they began, and just kept getting them as they were released. Can't very well stop now, and don't want to. I adore everything Criterion stands for and the love and care that they put into their releases; it makes me happy to support them.

Here they are:

I wonder if you'll get any flak for not having them organized by spine #

[Dr_Bedlo]

Originally Posted by *DrStrangelove*

Why not make your tier 3 tier 2?

Because these tiers go to eleven!

[bugsy_pal]

Originally Posted by BohemianGraham

I think you're letting your own prejudices against Dunham's film, and criticism of The Godfather (again, why is this film so bloody important? I can think of any number of others that are better) cloud your judgement over anything she has to say or do.

Just wanted to start flogging the horse again...

I won't weigh in to the Dunham debate re her film and its merits (or otherwise) - but I do feel quite strongly that The Godfather is worthy of her attention. I don't see why any filmmaker would exclude something like The Godfather from the viewing. By denying themselves the experience, they also deny themselves Godfather part II, which is arguably better than the first movie.

Why is The Godfather important? That's hard for me to give a definitive answer to that - but seeing the film is to be taken into an alternative world that is perfectly realised. I would suggest that it was probably one of the biggest successes for a young relatively unknown filmmaker at the time, with an extraordinary cast. Coppola turned the book into a beautifully paced drama that wasn't afraid to linger on its subject. The cinematography (by Gordon Willis, I think) is stunning and was fairly bold in its use of low-light filming. Part II has the brilliant flashback scenes of old New York with a young and charismatic Robert DeNiro, almost a movie within a movie - and is a wonderful contrast to the slick 50s Las Vegas story of the corruption of the Corleone family, and the moral slide that Michael Corleone undergoes (with a superb performance from Al Pacino).

Coppola has made some other great films, but these two are his crowning achievements. He's not the only director who peaked early. I guess these films were a product of their times, when Hollywood was taking more risks but hadn't been consumed by special effects-driven blockbusters. It's probably harder to get something like The Godfather made today than something with mass appeal in 3D.

In a sense, lena Dunham is in a similar position, in that she is young and starting out - all the more reason she should sit down in front of The Godfather (Parts I and II) and check it out.

[sskclickgeneral]

I'm still a newbie when it comes to Criterion. I still have a ton to get whenever the next sale is. I still have to get:

[Show spoiler]- 12 Angry Men
- Bottle Rocket
- The Darjeeling Limited
- The Sweet Smell of Success
- The Last Temptation of Christ
- A Night to Remember
- Fanny and Alexander
- Anatomy of a Murder
- Godzilla
- Repulsion
- A Christmas Tale
- The Magician
- Topsy-Turvy
- Paris, Texas
- Gomorrah
- Au Revoir les Enfants
- Fat Girl
- Battle of the Algiers
- The Wages of Fear
- M
- Walkabout
- The 400 Blows
- Wings of Desire
- Revanche
- The Realm of the Senses
- The Great Dictator
- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
- Che
- Playtime
- Smiles of a Summer Night
- Dazed and Confused

Also, every one of those are blind buys. I simply went on Criterion's site and watched the trailers for their movies on blu-ray. However, all 23 Criterions i've bought so far (which you can see in my movie list) were all blind buys, and I loved each one of them. So when it comes to blind buying, I put my faith in Criterion

[exolstice]

La Grande Bibliotheque in Montreal just added a Blu-ray section which is jam-packed with Criterions! Which means I can also request that they order Criterion Blu-rays from now on! Anyway, I borrowed Island of Lost Souls and By Brakhage (the former to see if I would like to buy it at some point, and the later because I was curious but would never actually buy it).

[TJS_Blu]

non-Criterion aside to my friend Joe...The Wicker Tree is scheduled to be released on blu-ray on April 24th. Back to your normal routine, carry on, etc.

[Oblivion138]

No word yet on Carlos replacement discs?

I figure I'll just ask this once every few days or so until someone looks up from the Tiny Furniture argument, notices one of my posts, and answers me.

[Guitar Joe]

Originally Posted by Oblivion138

No word yet on Carlos replacement discs?

I figure I'll just ask this once every few days or so until someone looks up from the Tiny Furniture argument, notices one of my posts, and answers me.

I noticed!


But I'm in the same boat you are, and I haven't heard anything yet.