The Criterion Collection

[metaridley]

Originally Posted by andsoitgoes

My advice, try Yojimbo and Sanjuro first if you can. They're moreainstream/accessible.

Rashomon is a weird duck for a newcomer, it has a different beat and is a bit more artsy.

There's a reason Yojimbo and Seven Samurai are so highly regarded, but I think Yojimbo will be less likely to outstay its welcome until you can get more into earlier Japanese cinema.

Does that help?

Originally Posted by octagon

You should definitely give Seven Samurai a chance. If you're not put off by the three hours (and it's really no exaggeration to say it flies by) there's absolutely no reason to avoid it. It's a very straight-forward, linear story with easily reconginzable characters and conflicts. I'm not a big Rashomon fan either (at least not yet, anyway) but I love Seven Samurai.

Originally Posted by Grethiwha

Um... I dunno! When I first watched Seven Samurai I kind of loved it, but I've only grown to truly love it and regard it as one of my favourite films on repeat viewings. It's a film that invites you into it's world so, and when I watch it now for the second, third, fourth, fifth time, it feels like I'm visiting a place I just like being in. It's the only film that gives me that feeling.

Whereas Yojimbo and Rashomon I thought were kind of great the first time I watched them, but I liked them too more on a repeat viewing, and now I've come to kind of love them.

So if Rashomon was really that bad for you, maybe you won't like Seven Samurai much better either? I dunno! I say watch Ran or Ikiru. Those are my favourite Kurosawa films and they're ones I loved as much as I do right from the start. And they're long films, but not Seven Samurai long!

Thanks for the replies guys!

I'll check out Yojimbo and Sanjuro as well as Seven Samurai. For all the hype Kurosawa gets I think he deserves more than just a 2-film viewing. I'll let you know if your recommendations end up serving me well, hehe.

[JHas]

The Hidden Fortress and RAN are also great Samurai films he did.

Don't forget Kurosawa also made a lot of awesome non-samurai films like: Drunken Angel, High and Low, The Bad Sleep Well, and Dersu Uzala.

[hotbeef]

YMMV but I picked up The Game and Following at Costco today for 19.99. They also had Rosemary's baby and I think one or two others

[Abdrewes]

New Monsoon Wedding (bluray) 12.99 + 2.98 shipping: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B002I...727646&sr=1-19

I'd jump on this deal, it's a great film!

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by metaridley

Thanks for the replies guys!

I'll check out Yojimbo and Sanjuro as well as Seven Samurai. For all the hype Kurosawa gets I think he deserves more than just a 2-film viewing. I'll let you know if your recommendations end up serving me well, hehe.

If you decide you like Kurosawa, you should also try HIGH AND LOW, a slow and deliberate but often intense modern (1960s) police procedural, also with Mifune and B&W CinemaScope. His earlier films are also worth checking out, but sadly are DVD-only at this point.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

New Monsoon Wedding (bluray) 12.99 + 2.98 shipping: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/ol/B002I...727646&sr=1-19

I'd jump on this deal, it's a great film!

I had it ordered since Thursday

[georgec]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

They didn't do one when they hit 100k did they?

Originally Posted by Snicket

No.

Yea they did, however because they hit 100k likes during the BN July sale, they didn't actually do the flash sale on their site until September.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I had it ordered since Thursday

Awesome. It's the most crowd pleasing (in a good way) film in the collection. There's something for everybody.

[drbikeshorts]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

I'm not sure how one could find Drive to be audience friendly. Long moments of silence, a head being blown into bits in slowmotion, a head getting smashed in by someone's foot - these are not qualities that appease to the moviegoing public. This is obvious by the film's reaction.

I thought it was popular.
I know a couple of guys that loved it.
Then again, I know a couple of guys that hated it, as well.
Oh well, we don't need to keep bashing it.
I hear a lot of praise for Gosling in Drive, but I preferred him in The Ides of March and Crazy, Stupid, Love.
It was those two films that helped me identify him. Before that, he was just one of the many Ryan actors

[mrjohnnyb]

Originally Posted by drbikeshorts

I thought it was popular.
I know a couple of guys that loved it.
Then again, I know a couple of guys that hated it, as well.
Oh well, we don't need to keep bashing it.
I hear a lot of praise for Gosling in Drive, but I preferred him in The Ides of March and Crazy, Stupid, Love.
It was those two films that helped me identify him. Before that, he was just one of the many Ryan actors

I believe that Ryan O'Neal started that trend.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Speaking of 80's/synth music, how about a CC Til Tuesday concert Blu?

I was actually thinking about a music-related flick that would fit in quite well as a Criterion title...



101 is a 1989 film by D.A. Pennebaker (director of Monterey Pop, which is a Criterion title) that documents Depeche Mode's 1988 Music for the Masses tour as the band crosses the country for the final date at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA. The film mixes band footage with the filming of a small group of handpicked fans that follow Depeche Mode along the way in a separate bus.

101 is a significant film in a historical sense because the footage of the handpicked fans was the inspiration for MTV's The Real World television show. It's not a stretch to say that this Depeche Mode 101 film, for better or worse, led to the emergence of "reality television."

For selfish reasons, I want 101 to be a Criterion title because Depeche Mode is one of my favorite bands, and 101 is one of my favorite live albums. I own the existing DVD copy of the film, and I love revisiting it for so many reasons. I was roughly the same age as the fans picked for the film (well, maybe a couple years younger, I guess), and the movie obviously clicks for nostalgic reasons. The "reality" footage of the fans is quite interesting. The live footage of Depeche Mode is majestic, especially a Rose Bowl Stadium performance of "Everything Counts", where we see the sold-out crowd throwing thousands of hands in the air.

Selfish reasons aside, though, it really would fit in well with the Criterion fare.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I was actually thinking about a music-related flick that would fit in quite well as a Criterion title...



101 is a 1989 film by D.A. Pennebaker (director of Monterey Pop, which is a Criterion title) that documents Depeche Mode's 1988 Music for the Masses tour as the band crosses the country for the final date at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA. The film mixes band footage with the filming of a small group of handpicked fans that follow Depeche Mode across the country.

101 is a significant film in a historical sense because it was the inspiration for MTV's The Real World television show. It's not a stretch to say that this Depeche Mode 101 film, for better or worse, led to the emergence of "reality television."

For selfish reasons, I want 101 to be a Criterion title because Depeche Mode is one of my favorite bands, and 101 is one of my favorite live albums. I own the existing DVD copy of the film, and I love revisiting it for so many reasons. I was roughly the same age as the fans picked for the film (well, maybe a couple years younger, I guess), and the movie obviously clicks for nostalgic reasons. The "reality" footage of the fans is quite interesting. The live footage of Depeche Mode is majestic, especially a Rose Bowl Stadium performance of "Everything Counts", where we see the sold-out crowd throwing thousands of hands in the air.

Selfish reasons aside, though, it really would fit in well with the Criterion fare.

I can't argue with that. Although I mainly listen to the two greatest hits collections (Singles), I love them too.

Wow, that Everything Counts number sounds fantastic. Maximum impact achieved with the biggest stadium possible.

[Twisted-Alien]

I didn't know Stagecoach and Videodrome were Criterion releases. I was under the misconception that Criterions were artsy films. Looks like I might have to add my first Criterion to my collection.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching my Blu-ray of Two-Lane Blacktop.

Outstanding! This Criterion Blu-ray excels in both content and picture quality. I cannot make a thorough DVD vs. Blu-ray analysis, because I traded in my old DVD a few weeks back in anticipation of this purchase, but the Blu-ray seems to be a noticeable improvement from what I remember of the DVD presentation.

This is one of the ultimate road trip movies, but the story is told in a subtle way that neglects "obvious" highlights (outcomes of the car races in the film, potential drama-heavy moments, etc.) in favor of a more laid-back everyday-interaction vibe as the characters cross the country.

I had a blast revisiting this one. This movie ranks highly on the "frequent re-watch" list in my collection, but I cannot readily explain why I love watching it repeatedly.

Two-Lane Blacktop also has the "Harry Dean Stanton Coolness Factor" that I've discussed before in this thread, although his brief role in the film...may not quite be for everyone.

[Spire]

Originally Posted by KRW1

Yeah, a few times. Salo is a case in point. I sold my DVD for £100 or so, but then it came back in print about two months later.

Thanks for the reply.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Joe Dalek

The preview screening I attended was composed of about 80% young women there for one reason, and it wasn't the cars or the ultraviolence.

Bryan Cranston? Is that a thing now? Young women and middle-aged guys?

Please tell me that's a thing now.

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

[Show spoiler]I disagree. The main complaint the movie gets is that it's too slow and a glorified arthouse movie. When you say "teenage boys and young men" you make it sound like Drive only appeals to audiences who love fast and the furious and other dumb driving movies which clearly isn't the case. That type of audience were bored out of their mind and didn't get the point of it at all.

I don't recall him saying he had something to say in Drive and quite frankly I think it's fair to say that the story in Drive isn't really that important. It's an intentional cliche of all those other gangster, crime, heist movies etc and he shamelessly uses that to put his own personal touch on something that's been done to dust BUT

Drive, according to Nicolas Winding Refn, is a modern fairy tale of sorts and The Driver is like a mysterious cowboy who strolls into town on his horse and even though nobody knows anything about him other than he does some shady things, they know he's a good person. Said cowboy makes it his mission to protect a beautiful woman with a child and he doesn't expect sex, money or anything in return, infact the most they ever share is the touch of hands and a kiss on the lips.

Drive doesn't have much to say, sure, but that was never the intention. What it does have is atmosphere, fantastic music, cinematography and a fascinating leading man who is played perfectly by Gosling.

[Show spoiler] The fact that he hardly speaks bothers a lot of people but I loved that. He only speaks when it's necessary, other than that he just gives them that piercing stare that tells them to back off and that he prefers to be left alone unless he says so or actually comes with you.

My only complaint is not enough Christina Hendricks so I definitely agree with you there. It's cruel haha :P

Anyway, to each their own. I know a lot of people hate Drive and I know a lot of people love drive, myself included. I can definitely understand why anyone would despise it so I'll never hold that against someone but it's not without a point. It's a very enjoyable experience and that's how I feel about Drive is that it's less of a traditional movie and more of an experience. My god that sounds pretentious. You'd think I'm talking about 2001: A Space Odyssey hahaha! but that's how I feel about Drive

.

What he said! Sadly I'm well-past young male-hood and I'm not much into violence but I thoroughly enjoyed Drive (despite the elevator scene which simply wasn't needed) for the atmospherics and for Ryan Gosling's cool performance. But Wow, how can a Drive conversation take place without any reference to Carey Mulligan!!

[metaridley]

Originally Posted by Blu-Velvet

If you decide you like Kurosawa, you should also try HIGH AND LOW, a slow and deliberate but often intense modern (1960s) police procedural, also with Mifune and B&W CinemaScope. His earlier films are also worth checking out, but sadly are DVD-only at this point.

I'll keep that in mind!

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

By the way Coop, I saw Santa Sangre over the weekend and was quite stricken. Explaining the plot would make one sound like a madman, but oh do many images stick in the mind. My favorite Jodorowski by far.

Yay! They really do--some very lasting images there.

[ElliesDad]

Originally Posted by octagon

Bryan Cranston? Is that a thing now? Young women and middle-aged guys?

Please tell me that's a thing now.

Absolutely that's a thing! An unlikely thing, but a thing nevertheless...