The Criterion Collection

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by I KEEL YOU

What are your early predictions for the hints in Criterion's New Year's drawing? I'm guessing that there are going to be a ton of Warner titles. My predictions for hints and their 2017 releases:

-After Hours
-Blow-Up
-Barry Lyndon
-Barton Fink
-Scarecrow
-The Virgin Spring
-Stalker
-One or more of the recently OOP MGM Hitchcock blu rays

My guesses / wishes:

Night of the Living Dead
Call Northside 777
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Floating Weeds (or any other Ozu)
Roman Holiday
Blow Up
Klute
Pink Panther films

[ajburke]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

[Show spoiler]
A rather restrained order for me, but lots of goodies!

I almost ran clear over my UPS delivery girl when she pulled up to my house. I couldn't contain my excitement. The only question is, now, what do I watch first?

I highly recommend Don't Look Now. No better time of year for it!

[EricTheDerek]

I've got my fingers crossed for another David Lynch. The Elephant Man, in particular. But that's just because it's the only one of his I don't own in any format. I'd be happy with anything, though.

[Disturbed Blu 1]

Okay, guys. My second FS order was delivered yesterday (originally scheduled for tomorrow), but it's not at my house. Do I contact Criterion or USPS? Or both?

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Disturbed Blu 1

Okay, guys. My second FS order was delivered yesterday (originally scheduled for tomorrow), but it's not at my house. Do I contact Criterion or USPS? Or both?

USPS. Sometimes they say delivered for me, but then it's at post office. They have geo tracking too, so they can see exsctly where the status was changed to delivered.

[I KEEL YOU]

Originally Posted by ddxanh2613

If you've read this, I really appreciate it.

I've read it! Rock on, man!

[benbess]

Well, I guess I'm a sucker for melodrama, because I really enjoyed All That Heaven Allows, which is now one of my favorites from 1955. Got it recently on sale from Criterion.

Beautiful pq on this blu-ray. Sirk is quite a one for colors. It weaves a web of cinematic fantasy even at it critiques the narrow-mindedness of the upper middle class of the time.

Highly recommended.

It's impressive how many good films from 1955 now have beautiful blu-ray releases.

My favorite list as of today from 1955: 1. Lady and the Tramp 2. To Catch a Thief 3. East of Eden 4. All that Heaven Allows 4. Bad Day at Black Rock 5. Oklahoma! 6. Kiss Me Deadly 7. The Trouble with Harry 8. Richard III 9. This Island Earth 10. Picnic 11. The Man From Laramie 12. House of Bamboo 13. Artists and Models 14. The Desperate Hours 15. Lucy Gallant 16. Rebel Without a Cause 17. The Kentuckian 18. Daddy Long Legs 19. We're No Angels 20. A Man Called Peter

I know I'm missing something, and there are several notable movies from 1955 I still haven't seen....

[belcherman]

Originally Posted by benbess

Well, I guess I'm a sucker for melodrama, because I really enjoyed All That Heaven Allows, which is now one of my favorites from 1955. Got it recently on sale from Criterion.

Beautiful pq on this blu-ray. Sirk is quite a one for colors. It weaves a web of cinematic fantasy even at it critiques the narrow-mindedness of the upper middle class of the time.

Highly recommended.

It's impressive how many good films from 1955 now have beautiful blu-ray releases.

My favorite list as of today from 1955: 1. Lady and the Tramp 2. To Catch a Thief 3. East of Eden 4. All that Heaven Allows 4. Bad Day at Black Rock 5. Oklahoma! 6. Kiss Me Deadly 7. The Trouble with Harry 8. Richard III 9. This Island Earth 10. Picnic 11. The Man From Laramie 12. House of Bamboo 13. Artists and Models 14. The Desperate Hours 15. Lucy Gallant 16. Rebel Without a Cause 17. The Kentuckian 18. Daddy Long Legs 19. We're No Angels 20. A Man Called Peter

I know I'm missing something, and there are several notable movies from 1955 I still haven't seen....

I would add Mister Roberts. That, and Bad Day at Black Rock are two of my most-wanted blus. You're right, though. 1955 was a fantastic year for Hollywood movies.

[DaBargainHunta]

In case no one has mentioned this here:

Criterion Halloween sale at Amazon

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

This deal is not quite as good as the previous Criterion flash sale or upcoming B&N sale, but it's not bad.

$20.99

- Cat People
- Carnival of Souls
- Eraserhead
- The Brood
- Don't Look Now
- The Uninvited
- Kwaidan
- Scanners (the Blu-ray-only version is slightly cheaper)
- Dressed to Kill

https://www.amazon.com/s?rh=i:movies...=ATVPDKIKX0DER

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Popcorn_Bliss

How many of your "ten greatest films" are on Criterion? Or have been on Criterion? And what are the odds of seeing them on Criterion at some point in the future?

Here's my Top 10 All-Time Favorite Movies list, off the top of my head, with the current Criterion titles in bold...

1. Out of the Past (1947)
2. Dr. No (1962)
3. Le Samouraï (1967)
4. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
5. North by Northwest (1959)
6. From Russia with Love (1963)
7. Double Indemnity (1944)
8. Army of Shadows (1969)
9. Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
10. Casino Royale (2006)

Dr. No and From Russia with Love were also Criterion titles, but on only on laserdisc.

The other movies will all be Criterion titles someday, because they're all classics.

[Popcorn_Bliss]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Here's my Top 10 All-Time Favorite Movies list, off the top of my head, with the current Criterion titles in bold...

1. Out of the Past (1947)
2. Dr. No (1962)
3. Le Samouraï (1967)
4. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
5. North by Northwest (1959)
6. From Russia with Love (1963)
7. Double Indemnity (1944)
8. Army of Shadows (1969)
9. Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
10. Casino Royale (2006)

Dr. No and From Russia with Love were also Criterion titles, but on only on laserdisc.

The other movies will all be Criterion titles someday, because they're all classics.

Those are some good ones. I'd definitely jump at the chance to get "From Russia With Love" on Criterion! And "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"...and...

[benbess]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Here's my Top 10 All-Time Favorite Movies list, off the top of my head, with the current Criterion titles in bold...

1. Out of the Past (1947)
2. Dr. No (1962)
3. Le Samouraï (1967)
4. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
5. North by Northwest (1959)
6. From Russia with Love (1963)
7. Double Indemnity (1944)
8. Army of Shadows (1969)
9. Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
10. Casino Royale (2006)

Dr. No and From Russia with Love were also Criterion titles, but on only on laserdisc.

The other movies will all be Criterion titles someday, because they're all classics.

Nice list.++

I like Out of the Past a lot, but would you be willing to say a little more about why it's your favorite film?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by benbess

I like Out of the Past a lot, but would you be willing to say a little more about why it's your favorite film?

Here's an excerpt from my sprawling User Review of the Out of the Past Blu-ray...

[Show spoiler]I first saw Jacques Tourneur's 1947 masterpiece, Out of the Past, several years ago, after I was introduced to the director by way of his incredible horror films that were produced by Val Lewton during the 1940s, namely Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie. Over the years, this film noir has worked its dark charm on me with each subsequent viewing, and it eventually dethroned Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï as my number one all-time favorite movie after I watched the excellent 2004 DVD on a high definition television for the first time instead of watching it on the tube television that I had previously owned. Out of the Past is, quite simply, one of the best-looking movies that Hollywood ever produced. Nicholas Musuraca's cinematography lends immediacy to visual film noir conventions, namely dark hallways, men in overcoats and fedora hats, seductively-dressed dames, and striking contrasts of darkness and light in every still frame. The story bears the mark of traditional noir bleakness, and one can sense the death clock ticking during every sequence, but Out of the Past still puts a smile on my face with its snappy dialogue and its ability to push portrayals of immoral behavior past the censors with visual symbolism, where cigarettes and other props stand in as sexual innuendos and supposedly innocuous sentences have double meanings.

The endearingly nonchalant Robert Mitchum plays Jeff Bailey, a former private eye who has supposedly closed the door on earlier deceptions and heartbreak by moving to the small town of Bridgeport, California, and operating a gas station with idyllic mountains in the background. A movie title like Out of the Past does not convey the idea of buried lives remaining forgotten, however, and Bailey's new leaf is torn apart the moment that the henchman of a former associate pulls in at the station. An extended flashback, a fixture of film noir, shows us how Bailey was hired by a notorious thug, Whit Sterling, played with a perfect mix of charisma and menace by Kirk Douglas, to find his runaway wife, Kathie Moffat, played by the gorgeous Jane Greer. The story quickly takes us to present day San Francisco, with Bailey struggling to come to terms with the doomed love affair that resulted from the old job and frantically trying to escape becoming the victim of an elaborate frame set-up. Chaos ensues in the form of intricate betrayals, seduction, and an offbeat resignation as flawed characters who cannot escape their fates scratch at the figurative walls closing in around them.

I love film noir movies that showcase a variety of location sets. Out of the Past excels here as it rushes us from rural Sierra countryside to New York City, Acapulco, San Francisco, and back again to the mountains. The visual splendor is matched by dialogue that is laced with wit and nuances that bring life to the characters. During the concluding scene, when one person does a final favor for a friend, we have grasped the various subtleties enough to enjoy the moment as a touching reward.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Here's my Top 10 All-Time Favorite Movies list, off the top of my head, with the current Criterion titles in bold...

1. Out of the Past (1947)
2. Dr. No (1962)
3. Le Samouraï (1967)
4. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
5. North by Northwest (1959)
6. From Russia with Love (1963)
7. Double Indemnity (1944)
8. Army of Shadows (1969)
9. Le Cercle Rouge (1970)
10. Casino Royale (2006)

I'll also note that North by Northwest, Psycho, Rear Window, and Vertigo are all interchangeable for the fifth spot on my above list, and that I could easily substitute any of these films for the other on any given day, depending on my mood.

I'm such a big fan of horror movies that it's somewhat odd to see no movies from that genre on my all-time top 10 movies list, so I tend to lean more toward Psycho as I grow older. Today, though, North by Northwest was the one that I wrote down.

[Hoke Moseley]

Originally Posted by Popcorn_Bliss

This is purely random as a "Criterion topic" but...

How many of your "ten greatest films" are on Criterion? Or have been on Criterion? And what are the odds of seeing them on Criterion at some point in the future?

Great question, even if it's an impossible one!

1. Heat
2. The Godfather: Part II/The Godfather
3. Blue Velvet
4. Goodfellas
5. Rushmore
6. The Night of the Hunter
7. The Big Lebowski
8. The Graduate
9. Gladiator
10. Le Trou

So, 4/10 for now.

[jbieste]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

USPS. Sometimes they say delivered for me, but then it's at post office. They have geo tracking too, so they can see exsctly where the status was changed to delivered.

I'll second this. With USPS geo tracking they can eliminate that it was delivered to your address within a few minutes of talking to someone at the counter. They will also be able tell if it's still on postal property or exactly at what address the status was changed. While they won't give you the address (to prevent any possible violence), it will make it much easier to get something re-shipped. I'd also say it's quicker to go to your local post office to get this information, they will probably want to talk with the carrier if the scan says it was delivered somewhere else (which takes a day), but you will leave knowing if it was misdirected giving you the option of seeing if they can retrieve it or calling Criterion and getting a re-ship.

[Popcorn_Bliss]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'll also note that North by Northwest, Psycho, Rear Window, and Vertigo are all interchangeable for the fifth spot on my above list, and that I could easily substitute any of these films for the other on any given day, depending on my mood.

I'm such a big fan of horror movies that it's somewhat odd to see no movies from that genre on my all-time top 10 movies list, so I tend to lean more toward Psycho as I grow older. Today, though, North by Northwest was the one that I wrote down.

I was the same way with the Hitchcock selection in doing my Top Ten. One can essentially flip a coin. You could almost do a top ten all-time films list and they could all be Hitchcock!

[Doc Moonlight]

On my proverbial Top 10 list, 3 have been released by Criterion

1. THE WILD BUNCH
2. THE SEARCHERS
3. BONNIE AND CLYDE
4. DUCK SOUP
5. THE APARTMENT
6. TO BE OR NOT TO BE
7. KAGEMUSHA
8. THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
9. THE QUIET MAN
10. THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM

Most of the others already have special editions.

There are a couple of things from Criterion's laserdisc days that I would like to resurface:
Janine Basinger's great commentary for IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, and David Cronnenberg's commentary for CRASH.

[Popcorn_Bliss]

Originally Posted by Doc Moonlight

On my proverbial Top 10 list, 3 have been released by Criterion

1. THE WILD BUNCH
2. THE SEARCHERS
3. BONNIE AND CLYDE
4. DUCK SOUP
5. THE APARTMENT
6. TO BE OR NOT TO BE
7. KAGEMUSHA
8. THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
9. THE QUIET MAN
10. THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM

Most of the others already have special editions.

There are a couple of things from Criterion's laserdisc days that I would like to resurface:
Janine Basinger's great commentary for IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, and David Cronnenberg's commentary for CRASH.

"The Last Picture Show" is a favorite of mine and one I still need to get. I do have the old DVD, but I think it's time for the Criterion copy...

[StingingVelvet]

I think Videodrome and Brazil are the only Criterions that could possibly be in my top ten or twenty. I could be forgetting some Criterions though, I can't look over my shelves at the moment.