The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Mansinthe

the Italian disc is around 10€ ..

I'm purposely region-limited so that I won't spend too much money on Blu-rays.

Notwithstanding today's purchase decision, of course.

[Jett Rink]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Oh man...

I just paid more than most sane people would for a "Used - Very Good" copy of the Criterion Blu-ray of The Man Who Fell to Earth.

I've been rediscovering my collection of David Bowie CDs, and I recently purchased his new three-disc anthology, Nothing Has Changed. The new anthology is pretty sharp, because the songs are in reverse chronological order, and, as such, it presents a surprisingly fresh way to look at his career output.

I've seen the Criterion DVD of this Nicholas Roeg movie, and I liked it quite a bit, but found the upgrade costs too much for the Blu-ray, since I started collecting the new format after it had already gone out of print.

$80 after all of the associated costs. That's the most that I've ever spent on a single movie (five dollars more than I spent on the Criterion Blu-ray of The Third Man). The third-party seller has perfect sale ratings across the board, though, so that's cool, and I know that I'll be satisfied.

Rad! I wish Criterion would release this again. You got it for a deal at $80, I have seen it go as high as $300.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Jett Rink

Rad! I wish Criterion would release this again. You got it for a deal at $80, I have seen it go as high as $300.

I think the rumours of re-release scared people and made price drop - I was worried, but I don't regret there purchase :P

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

No news other than it's still coming eventually.

At this point, I'm not very optimistic unfortunately. I've held off buying it despite it being my most wanted CC that I don't own.

[dressedtokill]

Originally Posted by tisdivine

Just watched Sword of Doom and all I can say is WOW! Ill admit I love samurai films but this was just beautiful. Without giving spoilers the snow fight and the final twenty minutes will be with me for quite awhile. Should be required viewing.

It's terrific and definitely worth a watch, too bad the edition is terrible.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Would you recommend it to people who are newish or not a HUGE fan of samurai films?

I didn't care much for SoD. The lead character was a little too faceless in his amorality, and I felt the movie to be a slog. The fight scene at the end is brilliantly shot, no doubt. I prefer Kihachi Okamoto's other films like Samurai Assassin or Kill!

[Scottie]

For what it's worth, I wasn't a particularly big fan of The Sword of Doom either. In fact, I've yet to be impressed by any samurai films other than the ones that Kurosawa made.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by iScottie

For what it's worth, I wasn't a particularly big fan of The Sword of Doom either. In fact, I've yet to be impressed by any samurai films other than the ones that Kurosawa made.

You didn't enjoy Zatoichi either?

[jayj15]

Originally Posted by iScottie

For what it's worth, I wasn't a particularly big fan of The Sword of Doom either. In fact, I've yet to be impressed by any samurai films other than the ones that Kurosawa made.

What about Harakiri?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

You didn't enjoy Zatoichi either?

I've only watched the first three films. They're pretty entertaining.

Originally Posted by jayj15

What about Harakiri?

Eh, it was alright. I can identify the message and respect it, but I wasn't too engrossed with the story.

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye.

Since I recently read the Raymond Chandler source novel, I was taken aback by the changes to the story, but I settled into a groove once I figured out Altman's intent of comparing Marlowe's older values with 1970s post-hippie culture. Elliott Gould is no Humphrey Bogart, but he does effectively convey the notion of Marlowe as an outsider.

I like this interpretation of The Long Goodbye a lot better than I liked Altman's Nashville. The jury is still out on whether or not I was put on Earth to watch Altman's films, but I get his mindset when it comes to this particular courageously offbeat adaptation of a great great novel.

[SlickDamian]

I'm loving all of the noir that Criterion has coming up.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by jayj15

What about Harakiri?

Harakiri is excellent. So, btw, is Three Outlaw Samurai (though in a much lighter vein).

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

The jury is still out on whether or not I was put on Earth to watch Altman's films,...

I can't remember (and I'm too lazy to search), have you seen 3 Women yet?

The Long Goodbye is a really good movie that I really, really liked but I don't remember it really changing my view of Altman at all. It's almost like it wasn't artsy enough for me to count it as a 'real' Altman so I didn't really give him full credit or something.

3 Women definitely made me see Altman differently though. I don't know that I'm going to like The Player or Short Cuts or Godford Park any better the next time around but I now plan for there to be a next time and that alone is a major inroad.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by octagon

I can't remember (and I'm too lazy to search), have you seen 3 Women yet?

The Long Goodbye is a really good movie that I really, really liked but I don't remember it really changing my view of Altman at all. It's almost like it wasn't artsy enough for me to count it as a 'real' Altman so I didn't really give him full credit or something.

3 Women definitely made me see Altman differently though. I don't know that I'm going to like The Player or Short Cuts or Godford Park any better the next time around but I plan for there to be a next time and that alone is a major inroad.

I have not seen 3 Women yet. It's a candidate for a later Barnes & Noble sale or something of the sort.

I'll probably give Nashville another chance in the not-too-distant future, but it's probably tied with Lynch's Eraserhead as my least favorite Criterion title in my collection. I mean, I get why both films are highly acclaimed, and I love how Criterion makes a case for both of them, but I'll be revisiting them less often than I revisit the other titles on my shelf.

The Long Goodbye is a fun bit of randomness, though. I'm surprised that I even warmed up to it at all, since I consider Chandler's novel to be one of my favorite reads in recent memory, but I got into it once I settled into the vibe.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just finished watching Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye.

Since I recently read the Raymond Chandler source novel, I was taken aback by the changes to the story, but I settled into a groove once I figured out Altman's intent of comparing Marlowe's older values with 1970s post-hippie culture. Elliott Gould is no Humphrey Bogart, but he does effectively convey the notion of Marlowe as an outsider.

I like this interpretation of The Long Goodbye a lot better than I liked Altman's Nashville. The jury is still out on whether or not I was put on Earth to watch Altman's films, but I get his mindset when it comes to this particular courageously offbeat adaptation of a great great novel.

I think Nashville is a grower. Give it another shot some day.

I have a copy of The Long Goodbye ont he way, and can't wait to see it.

I'm no Altman fanboy, in fact I've seen very little of his work, and some that I started watching, I didn't make it all the way through, but in general I have enjoyed what I've seen. Having said that, I do unironically love Altman's Popeye.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just finished watching Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye.

Since I recently read the Raymond Chandler source novel, I was taken aback by the changes to the story, but I settled into a groove once I figured out Altman's intent of comparing Marlowe's older values with 1970s post-hippie culture. Elliott Gould is no Humphrey Bogart, but he does effectively convey the notion of Marlowe as an outsider.

I like this interpretation of The Long Goodbye a lot better than I liked Altman's Nashville. The jury is still out on whether or not I was put on Earth to watch Altman's films, but I get his mindset when it comes to this particular courageously offbeat adaptation of a great great novel.

What are your thoughts on the changes made to the screen adaptation of The Big Sleep? The Production Code certainly had an effect on it.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

What are your thoughts on the changes made to the screen adaptation of The Big Sleep? The Production Code certainly had an effect on it.

The Hays Code definitely had an effect on the screen adaptation of The Big Sleep. The references to the pornography book business and a homosexual relationship in the novel are buried and only referenced in vague ways in the film. More importantly, the outcome changes in the movie, because the Code would not condone a screenplay about certain characters that get away with murder and with being accessories to murder.

The general aura of seediness is present and accounted for in the Howard Hawks film, thankfully, just as these things are present in a lot of classic-era film noir movies without being overtly acknowledged.

Part of the joy of watching classic-era film noir flicks is picking out the various ways that sex, aberrant activities, and such are referenced without being specifically mentioned. Cigarettes were often used as sexual innuendo, the act of lovemaking was often symbolized by visual markers (doors blowing open in the wind and such), and characters met their just fates in odd ways.

I usually wince a little bit when I see contemporary remakes of noir classics that use explicit and visceral scenes to convey the same point.

Think about how it's more fun posting on an online forum where language and politics are strictly moderated, because people have to use creative ways to convey certain lewd or controversial subject matter. I'm often bored when browsing web forums where anything goes, because there's no real spark of originality in the interactions. Classic-era film noir movies that were strictly governed by the Hays Code draw their strengths from the same mindset.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Would you recommend it to people who are newish or not a HUGE fan of samurai films?

I started the Zatoichi set and have loved it though!

Harakiri. Simply one of the greatest films ever made.

I was not a samurai movie fan when I blind bought it, and it was viewing experiences like this that changed my perceptions. Now I love a good samurai story. Harakiri is a superb film in which the main character, a proud but poor ronin, seeks to find salvation from the pains and injustices that life circumstances - and wicked men - have done to him. Being a samurai, he chooses the warrior's ritual suicide. And that is just the beginning of the film.

The tension is ramped up so skillfully that what starts out as a slowly unwinding tale of misfortune becomes bit by bit a dark quest for redemption and revenge. The result is an edge-of-your-seat experience. The climax is unforgettable. Harakiri is done so well on so many levels, an emotionally affecting film, where the beauty in life may be found in the manner of death itself.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

I think Nashville is a grower. Give it another shot some day.

I fell in love with Nashville when I first saw it around 1978. When I went to college, it was a smash hit with the student body at the University of Texas at Austin. I know the theatre at Dobie Mall in Austin revived it two or three times for a full week engagement each time, and it played all the various student film programs on campus every year. I'm guessing I saw it on the big screen between 15 and 20 times before I graduated; my friends and I knew all the songs, and some of my best memories are of walking up Congress Avenue at night toward the Capitol building, singing as a group and making up our own harmonies. (Yes, we were always sober, but still, at that period of time and at that age ...) As a matter of fact, I still know all the songs by heart.

Maybe it was a generational thing, but we loved Altman's send-up of the country music scene, his subtle skewering of all the Bicentennial fervor, and his reflections on the counter-culture. He seemed to capture the era so brilliantly, while it was unfolding, which - given how complicated America was at that time - was no easy trick.

I still love the film, partly because I still think it's a brilliant piece of film-making and partly because of the strong nostalgia I feel towards it. If you had been around me the day it was announced that Criterion had picked it up? ... well, many of you would have thought they had announced Mulholland Drive!

[jw007]

I just got back from the movie theater and saw Selma.

Since I ought not to spoil it for anyone, esp. for the folks across the pond, I'll just say, it wasn't bad!