The Criterion Channel

[fdm]

I was scrolling through this month's last chance videos a couple days ago and came to the end where Mirage resides. Not the one with Gregory Peck and Diane Baker, but rather one from Hungary and/or Slovakia directed by Hadju. This (along with a few other expiring ones) was part of the category International Football Films: The Beautiful Game. Quite good, recommend checking it out. (See its synopsis if you need a little persuasion…)

I'll may also try out (without having read their synopses yet) some others from this category that are also going away, namely The Cup, The Second Game and Freedom Fields.

I've already seen Diamantino (see above somewhere), which well you just have to watch it to really see what's up with it. It's pretty interesting.

And Bill Forsyth's Gregory's Girl which I finally watched a few years ago, after being bombarded (back when it came out in the early '80s) for months and months with its trailer at the local repertory cinemas we'd frequent ("You know how they make veal?"). It was about what one would expect after seeing its trailer a couple dozen times.

Also likely will get to The Middleman episodes, and a few of the pre-codes (tbd) I haven't seen yet. Good times.

[fdm]

After reading the synopses of the other International Football Films decided to hold off on those, and prioritize some of the other stuff first.

Which landed me at The Middleman tv mini-series. I've watched the first 2 of 4 episodes and it's great. If I'd started a little earlier I would have finished it off, but the other 2 episodes will just have to wait until tonight. My kind of good fun.

[DaBargainHunta]

Expiring movies I've watched so far:

(Most of them in the past)

• Forty Guns
• Freedom Fields
• Merrily We Go to Hell
• Shanghai Express
• Touch of Evil

No strong recommendations here.

I watched Touch of Evil years ago, and much to my surprise, I didn't really like it. It's probably worth revisiting because of its reputation, but I doubt I'll do it at this time. It's hardly a "rare" movie, so I'm in no real rush.

This is the second time Forty Guns, Freedom Fields, and Shanghai Express have been on the Channel.

I adore Barbara Stanwyck, but Forty Guns is kind of a mess. I still liked it, but if you have other more pressing priorities, I think you can safely skip it.

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Forty Guns (1957): Too many unnecessary characters and subplots. Too much going on in too short a time for no reason. Barbara Stanwyck is always worth watching though. Flawed but fun - thanks mainly to Babs' smoldering screen presence, even in her late-40s.

Re: International Football

Originally Posted by fdm

After reading the synopses of the other International Football Films decided to hold off on those, and prioritize some of the other stuff first.

My thoughts from last year:

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I finished Freedom Fields. Not bad but very slow and somewhat uneventful at times.

Merrily We Go to Hell is decent but depressing. I liked it, but it's not something I'd tell people they need to rush out to see.

If you're at all interested in any of them, I'd probably give Shanghai Express the edge. It has some pacing issues, even though it's short, but Marlene Dietrich and Anna Mae Wong are great.

[fdm]

Finished up The Middleman French mini-series (it was all good, though

[Show spoiler]more or less peaked at the end of the second episode (or maybe I did )

) and then proceeded to The Wayward Bus a pretty good flick actually, given the stars (Jayne Mansfield, Joan Collins, Dan Daily) and some of the special effects and the era in which it took place (and surprise I have the blu-ray, thought the name sounded familiar ). Both worthwhile (as was Mirage from the other day). So far so good.

[fdm]

So made a list so nothing unintentionally gets watched that should be watched elseways…

Ended up watching Honor Among Lovers last night. Pretty good pre-code with Claudette Colbert.

The only other pre-code I will be checking out is If I Had A Million.

Two others I will be checking out are Stunt Woman and Spoor.

The rest is tbd, but I at least know which ones not to watch now.

[Cpt. Feeney]

There's nothing leaving the channel this month that I'm chasing. I watched Days of Heaven, first time in HD. I've grown to love the voice-over narration, and I really like how brutal the farm machinery is made to look, but overall the film doesn't hit me on the level that Thin Red Line does.

Otherwise I'm all caught up on the Anthony Mann's. The Westerns I would recommend across the board. The Far Country is my pick, mainly for the Alaskan backdrop.
The other three I would not recommend. The screenplays for the westerns are full of the greed and desperation and conflict you'd expect. The others are more like endorsements, selling an idea about a better life. The Glenn Miller Story is a very neat package of a warm Hollywood atmosphere, but doesn't have much to offer beyond that. Strategic Air Command is invested into America's high hopes to become the world's protector. It reminded me of Douglas Sirk's Magnificent Obsession, promising deliverance through technology rather than therapy, and like it it ends up feeling weightless and weak. Thunder Bay has the most interesting backdrop and supporting cast of the three, and it's refreshing to see a sympathetic look at an oil prospector, but ultimately it's not looking closely enough at the nitty gritty to be satisfying.

Also watched Single White Female, first time seeing it since it came out. The film really comes alive in the second half when Leigh cracks and goes all in on kidnapping. Seems a shame the whole film wasn't more focused on that, instead of making room for a sympathetic heroine and a showdown and all the other tropes of high entertainment.

[fdm]

A quick for The Stunt Woman. The video quality was not the best, but otherwise the movie was pretty entertaining. Michelle Yeoh is highlight, as so was Sammo Hung (might be the first movie I've actually seen him in), and the rest of the cast was fine too. Check it out if you get a chance.

(I see there's a Chinese blu-ray, gotta look better than the version on the channel (??), and sound better too…)

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by fdm

Finished up The Middleman French mini-series (it was all good, though

[Show spoiler]more or less peaked at the end of the second episode (or maybe I did )

I just finished The Middleman myself and would definitely recommend it.

I thought the fourth episode was the best though, so I don't think

[Show spoiler]it peaked by the end of the second episode

and I also don't think that needs to be spoiler tagged.

Definitely on the itinerary for tonight and future nights:

• The Bedroom Window (It's on Kanopy! So I might hold off on watching it.)
• The two expiring Michelle Yeoh movies

Maybe:

• If I Had a Million
• Platform
• The Wayward Bus

Not sure what else, if anything else.

[fdm]

I started to watch If I Had A Million after The Stunt Woman but was apparently done for the night before I got very far into it. Will probably get back to it. And still thinking Spoor will get its shot as well.

May squeeze in something else, but I'm feeling more inclined towards actually watching a disc(!) and/or deleting some stuff from my once again clogged up dvr.

Bedroom Window: good stuff.

I think The Middleman would just have worked out better for me had I binged the whole thing at once. It's still pretty great.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by fdm

May squeeze in something else, but I'm feeling more inclined towards actually watching a disc(!) and/or deleting some stuff from my once again clogged up dvr.

I went the same route last night - sort of.

I noticed that Paul Schrader's Hardcore is expiring on MUBI in a couple of days, so I gave that a watch. Sure glad I did! What a fantastic film.

Originally Posted by fdm

Bedroom Window: good stuff.

Turns out this is also on Kanopy, so I'm going to hold off for now since I have time.

Originally Posted by fdm

I think The Middleman would just have worked out better for me had I binged the whole thing at once. It's still pretty great.

I intended to binge most/all of it at once, but it didn't end up working out that way for me. I watched Episode 1 Friday night and was too tired to continue, 2-3 Saturday night before sleep beckoned, and 4 Sunday afternoon/evening so I'd have space in the night for a movie.

Tonight: Most likely a Michelle Yeoh double feature.

[fdm]

Hardcore is a good one too.

I did just finish up Spoor a bit ago. Another strong film directed by Agnieszka Holland (Europa Europa) worth a watch or two. I might rewatch the last half if I get a chance.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Tonight: Most likely a Michelle Yeoh double feature.

Well, this turned out to be a single feature - Yes, Madam - because I was too damn tired to continue.

Yes, Madam feels like a sister film to the Police Story series. They're unrelated, but Madam has the same combination of stunts and slapstick, and I believe a few of the same cast members. The movie comes alive when Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock are together. They're a dynamite combination!

Tonight: Part 2 of my Michelle Yeoh Double Feature - The Stunt Woman - and maybe something else after (we'll see).

I'll have to brace myself for the crappy PQ/AQ you mentioned for Stunt Woman, because Madam looked and sounded exquisite - like it was released in theaters today. Ironic when Madam is actually a decade older than Stunt.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I'll have to brace myself for the crappy PQ/AQ you mentioned for Stunt Woman, because Madam looked and sounded exquisite - like it was released in theaters today. Ironic when Madam is actually a decade older than Stunt.

The sound wasn't terrible or anything, just CC's typical limited audio. The worst part of the video was some significant jerkiness primarily with movements across the screen. I've seen it elsewhere, e.g., sometimes on TCM and Sony Movie Channel (the latter especially with some of their awful standard definition up-converts), and maybe once in a while on prime. Just about always I turn that sort of thing off, unless it's something I really wanted to see.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by fdm

The sound wasn't terrible or anything, just CC's typical limited audio. The worst part of the video was some significant jerkiness primarily with movements across the screen. I've seen it elsewhere, e.g., sometimes on TCM and Sony Movie Channel (the latter especially with some of their awful standard definition up-converts), and maybe once in a while on prime. Just about always I turn that sort of thing off, unless it's something I really wanted to see.

I just finished The Stunt Woman. The choppiness you mention is hideous at the beginning, but it improves somewhat after that - although it never entirely goes away. There's a YouTube version (not in English) that looks worse but plays smoothly, so I don't know what's going on with this title. Still, despite the technical issues, I enjoyed it.

Not sure if I'll get to anything else before the month is up. I wanted to see the documentary Platform, but I may have to miss it.

I'll probably try to squeeze in the 30-minute Bong Joon-ho short Incoherence on the final day. I've somehow never seen any of his films, so I may as well start at the beginning.

I would have watched more expiring Channel picks, but Disney+ yanking a bunch of content with very little warning made me split my focus this month (along with taking a detour to MUBI to watch the awesome Hardcore before it goes).

[fdm]

I did watch Incoherence a week or two ago. Good a place as any to start. (I think my first and maybe only other film of his I've watched so far is Barking Dogs Never Bite, which I really enjoyed. I mentioned it earlier in this thread just before it expired. Need to watch more!)

Nodded off to If I Had A Million again, so tomorrow maybe.

So watched a Steven Seagal movie on prime instead. (Dolby Digital+ audio.) Ah those guilty pleasures.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by fdm

So watched a Steven Seagal movie on prime instead. (Dolby Digital+ audio.) Ah those guilty pleasures.

Which one?

[fdm]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Which one?

The Perfect Weapon. It was a sci-fi one, Seagal's not really in it a whole lot unlike most of the other ones I've seen.

Most/all of his other ones that show up on the Sony Movie Channel (SMC) I've apparently seen (over the past year (or two?)). There's a few others "free" on prime, this one didn't have the ads mixed in (for now), while others do… I'll probably get around to them eventually.

(Late last year I finally watched a number of the Sniper films (on SMC), I'll probably be looking for more of them before too long too. )

[fdm]

I ended up watching If I Had A Million after all. Once the millions started getting distributed, it was a pretty fun watch and went by pretty quickly.

After that I decided to rewatch a couple of the more intricate titles to go back and see them from a different perspective, now knowing how they turned out:

First was Incoherence, I wanted to watch it in one fell swoop this time. Plus also there is an interview with Bong Joon-ho about it buried elsewhere on the channel which added some context to the film. (I since remembered that I'd also seen his film Memories Of Murder several years ago on TCM, my first one of his. Need to get around to some of the others pronto.)

And also gave Spoor another watch. Seemed to be the only way to pick up on a few things that I didn't quite catch the first time around (though I realized most of them had been hiding there somewhere or other after watching it the first time). Liked it a lot again.

[DaBargainHunta]

I watched Incoherence last night too. My first Bong Joon-ho film, and his first.

Originally Posted by fdm

Plus also there is an interview with Bong Joon-ho about it buried elsewhere on the channel which added some context to the film.

Do you have a link for this? Unlike expiring movies, sometimes these stick around.

Now you're making me wish I had gotten around to If I Had A Million - especially since I like Gary Cooper - but I was too tired for anything else.

Because it's Cooper and Ernst Lubitsch (among others), hopefully it won't be "rare" and will show up elsewhere eventually.

[dkelly26666]

With all the new stuff added to the channel, I see they've added "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore". Now, I hope with some degree of confidence that they'll release it physically into the collection in the near future. (It's been rumored for years; but this is the first solid evidence of their interest).