The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

And here is the blog post with the (long) story about my Criterion adventure, and a couple of other tidbits.

http://criterionblues.com/2015/06/06...al-excursions/

Off topic, but I'm glad that you had a chance to see Ride in concert as well. I saw them about a month ago here in Atlanta, and I was really blown away. It was fun to be in the company of fellow like-minded fans, and we were all happy that the band still held on to their 1990s intensity.

It stands to reason that someone at the Criterion office would be familiar with Ride.

[The Great Owl]

On the subject of Criterion movies and music...

Last night, some friends and I went to see an Atlanta-based band called Algiers, at the release party show for their debut album.

Algiers are unique, to say the least. Their songs feature vocals in the style of old Southern gospel, combined with post-punk guitar, in the vein of bands like Gang of Four, electronic hip-hop/industrial percussion, and live drumming. The lyrics are highly political with regard to race issues and such, and there's a hint of Marxism as well. The band members met here in Atlanta, but they now make their home in London, and the drummer from Bloc Party has joined the band for their tour.

The whole approach of the band leads me to wonder if they based their name off of the Criterion film, The Battle of Algiers.

Here are some Algiers songs. The first one, "Blood", in particular, has a style reminiscent of The Battle of Algiers film.

[Show spoiler]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3L0NI8vcMg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpLMc6nWtJw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiBlH8YZyIA

Here are some less-than-perfect iPhone pics that I took at last night's show...

[Show spoiler]

[PipesDonatello]

I just recently watched Shallow Grave and Something Wild. Both are titles I'll be getting during the July B&N sale. I can't believe how far under the radar Something Wild is. Its such a great movie from a well known director and also has Ray Liotta's breakout role.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Off topic, but I'm glad that you had a chance to see Ride in concert as well. I saw them about a month ago here in Atlanta, and I was really blown away. It was fun to be in the company of fellow like-minded fans, and we were all happy that the band still held on to their 1990s intensity.

It stands to reason that someone at the Criterion office would be familiar with Ride.

Off-topic, that is very cool! The Shaky Knees show was not announced when we bought the NYC tickets, but we live about 3-hour drive from Atlanta (and I went to high school there). Still glad we came up here for obvious reasons.

Back on topic: I think the Criterion guy was initially as excited to talk about music than I was movies. Again, cannot say this enough, the Criterion people were so amazing. I was expecting them to be bothered.

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by PipesDonatello

I can't believe how far under the radar Something Wild is. Its such a great movie from a well known director and also has Ray Liotta's breakout role.

It's #13 on my top 100 movies of all time IMDB.com list.

The 80s nostalgia factor alone should make this movie more popular than it is. The soundtrack is amazing, I wish all the songs from the movie are available. I've been trying to find one song that isn't on the official soundtrack forever, but without luck.

The greatest road movie of all time as far as I'm concerned. I think the reason why it might not be so popular is because all the 80s popular movies are aimed towards teens, whereas this was for more for people in the mid and late 20s.

[monorail91]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

And here is the blog post with the (long) story about my Criterion adventure, and a couple of other tidbits.

http://criterionblues.com/2015/06/06...al-excursions/

What an amazing experience! Next time I'm in New York I will have to try to fit that into my agenda. Thanks for sharing.

[Ray Jackson]

My Costco had about ten Criterions for sale, but no Seven Samurai.

...I was devastated.

[atlantajoseph]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

...I was devastated.

We're here for you man.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by atlantajoseph

We're here for you man.

[RojD]

Originally Posted by gates70

Anybody see The Leopard ? I love Burt Lancaster movies but this goes against his typical roles.

I'm a huge fan of The Leopard, but I like sprawling historical epic with compelling characters anyway. Think Lean at his best (Lawrence, Bridge) but less formally disciplined.

It's Visconti, so the visuals are gorgeous, and I would have been happy to sit in front of my screen for its 3+ hours just looking at patinas on walls and rich decor. And the movie also manages to track the important turning point in Italian history when democratic institutions began to replace the aristocracy. And it follows a chunk of the life of the main character, who is not only complex but that also ties up a lot of the themes. There's more: This is the most complete, wide-ranging character I've seen Lancaster give. I think Lancaster is nearly always great in a scene, but for whatever reason, I often feel his scenes in a movie often don't add up a character. That's really not the case here. He's terrific.

And one more thing before I shut up -- the last 40 minutes of the movie is a a single, long, party sequence that's bravura film-making at its most successful. It's practically a movie in itself with its own plot and character development, and it centers on the Lancaster character but draws all the themes of the film together for what is, to me, a rewarding emotional payoff. It reminds me a little of Friends of Eddie Coyle, another film I enjoy, but the end of The Leopard has a lot more nuance, depth and implication since it's the end of a 3+ hour movie.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Not really. They don't really have a tourist facility or anything open to the public. It was really hard to find, and once there, you had to get through two security guards with your photo ID.

There is no big Criterion sign anywhere, which is probably because they specifically don't want to invite people. There were three people up near the front area. The guy that made the "film buff" quip was a younger guy, probably in the lower 20s and he served as the receptionist. There was also a lady up front mailing stuff. So these were the lower level employes.

I did ask a ton of questions and some of them were a bit loaded and calculated because I wanted to get an idea what was on the horizon. I was careful to be chatty, but not make it an interview. So I tried to relate to them on a personal level, and we had some things in common that I'll get into in the blog. I think if I just showered them with the questions I really wanted to ask, that I would have politely been asked to leave. The whole visit was no more than 15 minutes and they even took my picture.

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

And here is the blog post with the (long) story about my Criterion adventure, and a couple of other tidbits.

http://criterionblues.com/2015/06/06...al-excursions/

Aaron,
What an awesome experience. Even more awesome is you're a fan of Ride and probably other shoegaze bands. I absolutely love Slowdive and MBV as well as Ride. I totally want to see them perform later this year (the closest they're playing to my city is Cleveland, about 2 hours northwest of here). I was bummed I didn't go to see the Jesus and Mary Chain a few years back when they played there so I'm not going to make the same mistake with Ride. As for the Criterion HQ, you're very brave to pay them a visit. Though you're not the "guinea pig" as I'm sure others have done this, as you mentioned in your blog post (from the people working there), I might try doing the exact same thing the next time I'm in NYC. I'm sure others will attempt this too (possibly from this thread/forum). The question I have is how did you manage to guess the right floor (out of 20 floors) the HQ was on? This will be the final hurdle to tackle once I get past the first level of security... but I won't bring a cane (being a tall man, they might be intimidated).

Great job man... a totally "non-touristy" experience in the big apple.

J

PS. great shots of Ride too!

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by jw007

Aaron,
What an awesome experience. Even more awesome is you're a fan of Ride and probably other shoegaze bands. I absolutely love Slowdive and MBV as well as Ride. I totally want to see them perform later this year (the closest they're playing to my city is Cleveland, about 2 hours northwest of here). I was bummed I didn't go to see the Jesus and Mary Chain a few years back when they played there so I'm not going to make the same mistake with Ride. As for the Criterion HQ, you're very brave to pay them a visit. Though you're not the "guinea pig" as I'm sure others have done this, as you mentioned in your blog post (from the people working there), I might try doing the exact same thing the next time I'm in NYC. I'm sure others will attempt this too (possibly from this thread/forum). The question I have is how did you manage to guess the right floor (out of 20 floors) the HQ was on? This will be the final hurdle to tackle once I get past the first level of security... but I won't bring a cane (being a tall man, they might be intimidated).

Great job man... a totally "non-touristy" experience in the big apple.

J

PS. great shots of Ride too!

Thank you!

I'm learning that there's a correlation to being a Ride / Shoegaze and Criterion fan. As far as I'm concerned, it just means we all have good taste.
If any Criterion fans want a music suggestion, well then Ride might be the way to go.

They are so worth the 2-hour drive. Even without the Criterion and other experiences, the show alone was worth the time and expense of getting out here (I love 700 miles away). They sound absolutely amazing now. I didn't see them back in the early 90s, but I've heard a lot of their performances and the live album, and they were a little dicey back then. They have never played better than they are playing now.

I'm also a fan of Slowdive, MBV, J&MC, and a whole lot of others -- shoegaze or otherwise. I just love artistic music of all genres.

Back on topic: As for the floor, it was an educated guess based on some detective work. Even though the post is lengthy, I kept some information to myself. The post is getting more attention than I expected, which is why I put that disclaimer up.

The Criterion folks were happy to see me, but if this keeps spreading and hordes start showing up, then they might shut the door to visitors.

That said, if anyone is serious about making a trip, PM me and I'll help if I can.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Thank you!

I'm learning that there's a correlation to being a Ride / Shoegaze and Criterion fan. As far as I'm concerned, it just means we all have good taste.
If any Criterion fans want a music suggestion, well then Ride might be the way to go.

I'm also a fan of Slowdive, MBV, J&MC, and a whole lot of others -- shoegaze or otherwise. I just love artistic music of all genres.

Here's my review of the Ride concert here in Atlanta, complete with some photos.

I did see The Jesus and Mary Chain a couple of years ago. That was a great show.

I need to bring this full circle back to Criterion topics, so let's just say that you can add my name to the list of people here who would love to see Lost in Translation here in the collection.

[oildude]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Here's my review of the Ride concert here in Atlanta, complete with some photos.

I did see The Jesus and Mary Chain a couple of years ago. That was a great show.

I need to bring this full circle back to Criterion topics, so let's just say that you can add my name to the list of people here who would love to see Lost in Translation here in the collection.

I had no idea that subforum even existed here. Now yet another reason to spend way too much time on this website.

[RojD]

Originally Posted by belcherman

There are so many great Huston films, all different but many dealing with the same theme: men following their own code of honor in fulfillment of some kind of doomed quest. Ultimately it comes down to preference. I think I'd choose The Maltese Falcon, for many reasons, but Huston, Bogart and Hammett are three that come to mind.

obCriterion: I'd really like to see them upgrade Wise Blood and Under the Volcano. If they could also do a release of The Dead, that would be cool, too, but I'm not sure where the rights stand for that one.

Every time I watch Under the Volcano, I like it more. Albert Finney is great in this role, maybe his best, and I always connect with Huston's world view.

Recently saw a documentary Huston did during WW II, San Pietro, and it's no wonder the DoD deep-sixed it. Put Huston's view of human nature together with a world war, and you don't get propaganda.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

Thank you!

I'm learning that there's a correlation to being a Ride / Shoegaze and Criterion fan. As far as I'm concerned, it just means we all have good taste.
If any Criterion fans want a music suggestion, well then Ride might be the way to go.

They are so worth the 2-hour drive. Even without the Criterion and other experiences, the show alone was worth the time and expense of getting out here (I love 700 miles away). They sound absolutely amazing now. I didn't see them back in the early 90s, but I've heard a lot of their performances and the live album, and they were a little dicey back then. They have never played better than they are playing now.

I'm also a fan of Slowdive, MBV, J&MC, and a whole lot of others -- shoegaze or otherwise. I just love artistic music of all genres.

Back on topic: As for the floor, it was an educated guess based on some detective work. Even though the post is lengthy, I kept some information to myself. The post is getting more attention than I expected, which is why I put that disclaimer up.

The Criterion folks were happy to see me, but if this keeps spreading and hordes start showing up, then they might shut the door to visitors.

That said, if anyone is serious about making a trip, PM me and I'll help if I can.

I am definitely making a trip to NYC later this year, possibly in July even. I will for sure PM you...I just befriended you on here by the way and sent you a contact invite. Every time I visit NYC, I always strive to try discovering something new that I haven't seen before...the Criterion HQ is on my bucket list now! (Never really thought of visiting but now you've inspired me and legions of others).

And yes, there must be something about Criterion + shoegaze/space rock that ='s good taste in life. Are you a vinyl collector too? I just scored a first pressing of Spiritualized's first album "Lazer Guided Melodies" (1992) for $110 or so online on this website called eil.com . The big vinyl record I still want is "Loveless" of course. The newer pressings are just lousy compared to the original from 1991 on the Creation label. They are going for $250-300 in near mint condition online. I intend to collect some of my favorite albums by shoegaze bands in vinyl format now. (Last weekend I went to a record show here and bought a 7" Creation pressing of The Telescopes "Celeste" single!).

Originally Posted by oildude

I had no idea that subforum even existed here. Now yet another reason to spend way too much time on this website.

Ditto! I never even knew about this. Darn it, just when I thought of signing up for the Steve Hoffman forum since I'm into vinyl now, I learn about the music/audio section on blu-ray.com. Go figure.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Here's my review of the Ride concert here in Atlanta, complete with some photos.

I did see The Jesus and Mary Chain a couple of years ago. That was a great show.

I need to bring this full circle back to Criterion topics, so let's just say that you can add my name to the list of people here who would love to see Lost in Translation here in the collection.

You took some great shots...I can't believe we all love the same music here! This is amazing.

[GentleGiant]

Rewatched Sundays and Cybele last night, and this second viewing solidified my opinion of it as an underrated gem. Everything about this film is near perfect but what stands out to me the most is the cinematography by Henry Decae which is absolutely brilliant. It's a quietly desperate and deeply moving story of individual alienation that captivated me right from the beginning and made me care about the characters, never veering too far into sentimentality or cheap melodrama to get its point across. Great, great film.

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by RojD

I'm a huge fan of The Leopard, but I like sprawling historical epic with compelling characters anyway. Think Lean at his best (Lawrence, Bridge) but less formally disciplined.

Less formally disciplined? In what sense?

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by jw007

Ditto! I never even knew about this. Darn it, just when I thought of signing up for the Steve Hoffman forum since I'm into vinyl now, I learn about the music/audio section on blu-ray.com. Go figure.

You took some great shots...I can't believe we all love the same music here! This is amazing.

Given the conversation we're having here, I went ahead and started a Shoegaze Thread in that subform and answered you there. Hope you guys participate. Agreed that it is super cool that there are so many other fans.

Back to Criterion stuff, remember how I was at the 4k restoration of Pickup on South Street? Well the guys over at Criterion Forum have found a Phantom page for Samantha Fuller. She made a documentary about her dad called A Fuller Life. Good chance that we'll be seeing a reissue upgrade with new features including this film.

[RojD]

Originally Posted by malakaheso

Less formally disciplined? In what sense?

I think of Lean's best work as having a lot of control. Details dovetail, and characters have a smooth arc. (I say "best" work because there's always Dr. Zhivago).

Visconti paints with bigger strokes. While the Prince(?) is the titular focus of The Leopard, he falls out of chunks of the narrative as Visconti develops characters like the nephew and builds the historical context of the action. But with that looseness, Visconti gives us a character that's an individual, a emblem of a historical moment and an observation on aging.

No denying both approaches have their strengths. Both show us truth -- I swear I used to work for a female Colonel Nicholson, and the decline of the Prince as he ages is something I've seen in my own family. But I'm sure people respond to the different styles differently.