The Criterion Collection

[theater dreamer]

Originally Posted by Reddington

I like Moonraker more than most, although I freely admit some of that is for nostalgic reasons as it was the first Bond I saw in the cinema. Objectively, and largely based on Lonsdale's performance, Drax might just be my favourite Bond villain; a shade ahead of Joseph Wiseman in Dr. No, and behind Robert Shaw in From Russia With Love - who whilst not the central villain, is the epitome of a Bond baddie.

I watched The Day of the Jackal for the umpteenth time just a couple of weeks before he died. It's one of my favourite films, and still thrills me every time. As is often said, Fred Zinnemann's genius is to focus on the procedural aspects of both the assassination and the manhunt, rendering the fact that the outcome is already a known to even the first-time viewer almost completely irrelevant.

I've not yet had time to watch my Lonsdale "tribute" film, but I've lined up The Name of the Rose for when I do.

I still enjoy Moonraker, cheese and all. Jaws finding his true love. Space shuttles armed with "freaking laser beams". It's still fun. It's about as far as one can get from the Connery flicks, but anytime I see it on MGM HD, I'll still watch it (and I own the Bond blu-ray box set).

And The Day of the Jackal was just riveting, the camerawork glorious. There's not a single element of the film I would change.

When it was completed, I immediately ordered the Arrow UK release.

[Cremildo]

From Reddit:

I haven't seen it, but Alex Cox let slip on a podcast that he was working on something for a Criterion release of The Parallax View (1974).

[DaBargainHunta]

Exporting Raymond (2010) - Expiring from The Criterion Channel!



Exporting Raymond is a documentary about bringing the TV show Everybody Loves Raymond to Russia. I've watched probably one episode of Raymond in my life, and maybe not even the whole thing, so trust me when I say that isn't a prerequisite for viewing this fascinating doc. It has been on my mind since I foolishly passed on buying the Blu-ray for $5 years ago, so when it showed up on The Criterion Channel, I jumped at the chance to finally watch it.

This is a really cool look the country of Russia (it's definitely fun to "sightsee" through this movie), the entertainment industry there, the process of porting a successful show from one country to another, and all the ways in which the acting and writing can get "lost in translation" during that transition.

The director/showrunner Phil Rosenthal (who looks kind of like Jason Segel to me) makes for a very engaging "host." He can't help but wear his heart on his sleeve, so you can plainly see what he's thinking and feeling at all times during the many challenges and setbacks the production experiences.

I recently finished the Danish show Rita on Netflix, which has already been adapted in others countries - with the U.S. up next - to varying results. It was quite interesting to see the process that entails with Raymond.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: This is much better than I thought it was going to be. I highly recommend it, even if you've never seen the show and only know Ray Romano as the guy in Gene Hackman's final film or the butt of the shocking 9/11 joke in The Big Sick. (Captions/Subtitles: Yes!)

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I highly recommend it, even if you've never seen the show and only know Ray Romano as the guy in Gene Hackman's final film or the butt of the shocking 9/11 joke in The Big Sick. (Captions/Subtitles: Yes!)

Or the unsung hero of Criterion's upcoming release of The Irishman.

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Yeah, Visconti’s THE LEOPARD is a particular dilemma. I don’t really like the Italian language version because it’s disconcerting hearing Burt Lancaster dubbed by someone else. But in the English language version, I believe Claudia Cardinale is dubbed by another. Her English language skills were fine so I’m not sure why she didn’t do her own dub. I choose to hear Lancaster in his own voice, but neither choice between the versions is ideal.

With Giallos, a lot of them are dubbed later even if they speak the language. The cast are acting in different languages. In an interview on the Amuck blu, Barbara Bouchet was told just to count from 1 to 10 & that on set planes were flying overhead all the time but it didn't matter because it was all done later
Still, I prefer to watch them in the country they are originally from because the English versions are normally terrible. With the exception of Phenomena because of Jennifer Connelly (the knly reason I bought the film) & Donald Pleasance)

FYI for me, the original/Italian version of The Leopard is the only way to watch it. Same with 99.99% of any subtitled film
And the BFI version is the best

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by joy-division

With Giallos, a lot of them are dubbed later even if they speak the language. The cast are acting in different languages. In an interview on the Amuck blu, Barbara Bouchet was told just to count from 1 to 10 & that on set planes were flying overhead all the time but it didn't matter because it was all done later

This was standard practice for all movies made in Italy at the time, not just gialli. Truffaut even make a joke about it in Day for Night.

[UnionJackMix]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

This was standard practice for all movies made in Italy at the time, not just gialli. Truffaut even make a joke about it in Day for Night.

How very Singin' In The Rain of them!

[BenOswald]

Originally Posted by Cremildo

From Reddit:

This would be amazing & benefit enormously from a re-transfer, maybe even more than Klute did.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

How very Singin' In The Rain of them!

Well I cayn’t make love to a BUSH!

[Scottie]

Janus Films update

#2008's page does not exist.

The Hand (2004, Wong Kar-wai)
https://www.janusfilms.com/films/2009

Like In the Mood for Love, The Hand is set in the hazy Hong Kong of the 1960s, but its characters couldn’t be more different from the earlier film’s restrained, haunted lovers. Originally conceived for the omnibus film Eros, the film—presented in this retrospective for the first time in its extended cut—tells the tale of Zhang (Chang Chen), a shy tailor’s assistant enraptured by a mysterious client, Miss Hua (Gong Li). A hypnotic tale of obsession, repression, and class divisions, The Hand finds Wong Kar Wai continuing to transition from the frenetic, energized style of his earlier films into a register that is lush with romantic grandeur.

EDIT: And I just so happened to stumble upon this.

https://www.janusfilms.com/film-sets/6

[UnionJackMix]

Guys I want to thank you for those who create specific thread for Criterion releases. I am making my way through the DeepDiscount sale for the nth time buying more and more titles, and often there is no special features listing on sites, and there is no scan of the back of the insert here, so in all occasions I found the thread for that title here that begins with the copy and paste of the special features: thank you, it helped a lot and so far I have ordered all titles I looked up.
Just wanted to say, people appreciate it even though they might not say so.
Have a nice day!

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Yeah, Visconti’s THE LEOPARD is a particular dilemma. I don’t really like the Italian language version because it’s disconcerting hearing Burt Lancaster dubbed by someone else. But in the English language version, I believe Claudia Cardinale is dubbed by another. Her English language skills were fine so I’m not sure why she didn’t do her own dub. I choose to hear Lancaster in his own voice, but neither choice between the versions is ideal.

She might not have been available when it came time to do the dubbing for the English-language version.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by BenOswald

This would be amazing & benefit enormously from a re-transfer, maybe even more than Klute did.

It’s about time. I always thought Parallax View would get a release one day

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by jayembee

She might not have been available when it came time to do the dubbing for the English-language version.

Yes, that's the logical conclusion, but it's disappointing that with a movie of such magnitude more of an effort wasn't made to keep the English version as authentic as possible. Of course, it was a different time and likely such things were of little concern for import films back then.

I nearly always watch films in their original language and use subs, but many European productions from those days can be a bit confusing when navigating languages given the mixed casts. I saw the Italian language version of THE LEOPARD in a beautiful print at the Cinematheque in LA years ago and I loved it, but I still had a hard time with Lancaster's dubbing. Now I enjoy the English language edition more, Claudia's absence notwithstanding.

I also choose to watch most Bava films in English because it's clear that many of them were shot that way. Being a purist is fine, but I find that as with a lot of things in life, it doesn't always apply. YMMV.

[happydood]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Yes, that's the logical conclusion, but it's disappointing that with a movie of such magnitude more of an effort wasn't made to keep the English version as authentic as possible. Of course, it was a different time and likely such things were of little concern for import films back then.

I nearly always watch films in their original language and use subs, but many European productions from those days can be a bit confusing when navigating languages given the mixed casts. I saw the Italian language version of THE LEOPARD in a beautiful print at the Cinematheque in LA years ago and I loved it, but I still had a hard time with Lancaster's dubbing. Now I enjoy the English language edition more, Claudia's absence notwithstanding.

I also choose to watch most Bava films in English because it's clear that many of them were shot that way. Being a purist is fine, but I find that as with a lot of things in life, it doesn't always apply. YMMV.

Re: Bava. Me too, except for Black Sabbath. Much as I miss Boris' actual voice, the American edit pretty much destroys that movie and I can't go back.

[joy-division]

Originally Posted by UnionJackMix

Guys I want to thank you for those who create specific thread for Criterion releases. I am making my way through the DeepDiscount sale for the nth time buying more and more titles, and often there is no special features listing on sites, and there is no scan of the back of the insert here, so in all occasions I found the thread for that title here that begins with the copy and paste of the special features: thank you, it helped a lot and so far I have ordered all titles I looked up.
Just wanted to say, people appreciate it even though they might not say so.
Have a nice day!

Why not just go to the criterion site & also look at the reviews on here & go to the extras?

I skip the rest of the review on virtually all blus & just head to the exteas 😄

[UnionJackMix]

Because I'm happy that I don't have to open yet another tab to do research, also I don't expect there to be too much bias on their site, if ever I needed an opinion.
So far I already have to juggle deepdiscount, bluray forum, bluray site, wiki. If I don't have to add another one I'm more than happy. You'd think, that's not too much - except that this is not the only activity I do so I have already enough tabs open and tasks to do.
So again, thank you to the forumers.

[Psychosmeg]

Does anyone know as to when the Criterion sale begins, as I have my eyes on the Essential Fellini collection.

[dkelly26666]

Originally Posted by Professor Echo

Yeah, Visconti’s THE LEOPARD is a particular dilemma. I don’t really like the Italian language version because it’s disconcerting hearing Burt Lancaster dubbed by someone else. But in the English language version, I believe Claudia Cardinale is dubbed by another. Her English language skills were fine so I’m not sure why she didn’t do her own dub. I choose to hear Lancaster in his own voice, but neither choice between the versions is ideal.

Often with those kinds of films, a compromise must be made somewhere when choosing which dub to go to.

Just like with Bertolucci's "1900". I by far prefer the English dub on that one. You get De Niro, Lancaster, Donald Sutherland, and even Italian actors like Alida Valli and Laura Betti all using their real voices, but then Depardieu is some gravelly American actor's voice. Still, it's the best choice. In the Italian, Depardieu is then dubbed by an Italian, as is De Niro, Lancaster, et. al. .

[NeoNical]

Originally Posted by Psychosmeg

Does anyone know as to when the Criterion sale begins, as I have my eyes on the Essential Fellini collection.

Flash sale will begin real soon in a week or two I bet. NOTE: 24 hour sale!

Criterion B&N sale won't be until another month on the beginning of November and ends on December. I think B&N Sale would be the best bet to get Fellini since that's when the boxset comes out. I'm guessing you want to preorder it so I guess flash sale should be the choice and that will happen real soon so don't worry.