The Criterion Channel

[DaBargainHunta]

Too many movies are leaving this month!

These are the ones I've already seen, either on the Channel or elsewhere. As always, my top recommendations are in bold.

• The Babadook
• Collateral
• The Conversation
• Glory
• Heat
• The Hours
• It Could Happen to You
• The Lawnmower Man
• Melting Snow
• Once Upon a Time in the West
• The Truman Show
• The Wailing

I have no idea where to begin to even chisel away at all of the movies I want to watch.

The good news is that a lot of them are mainstream and/or available on other services, but there's still a ton.

I'll likely only get to 2-3, if that, and maybe some shorts.

[DaBargainHunta]

I started out with The Princess Comes Across because I really like Fred MacMurray.

It's tons of fun with a nice mix of genres - comedy, romance, thriller, and mystery.

After that, I decided to do a princess double feature because fdm's post convinced me.

Originally Posted by fdm

So I started out this month with the expiring Thirty Day Princess which I found funny and pretty well done. Starring Sylvia Syndey, Cary Grant and Edward Arnold primarily. Recommended a lot.

Thanks! I probably would have skipped Thirty Day Princess otherwise. I'm glad I didn't. I really liked it.

[apricissimus]

I really enjoyed The Major and the Minor (leaving this month). Totally nuts premise, and at points it really teeters on the edge of being too cringey to stand, but it all works due to the strength of the writing and the charisma of Ginger Rogers.

I recommend it if you haven't seen it before.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by Cpt. Feeney

the Otto Preminger Angel Face.

I caught this last night. Very good noir, even if the pacing seems somewhat erratic in the second half. Robert Mitchum is calm, cool, and collected, as usual, while Jean Simmons has the showier role.

[Cpt. Feeney]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

I caught this last night. Very good noir, even if the pacing seems somewhat erratic in the second half. Robert Mitchum is calm, cool, and collected, as usual, while Jean Simmons has the showier role.

Yeah I watched it yesterday. Good range of characters. I thought Jean Simmons was well suited as the unhinged obsessive. Also liked the lawyer who had no use for the truth whatsoever, and Mona Freeman as Mitchum's level-headed first love.
Both of the car-in-reverse sequences caught me completely off guard.

[DaBargainHunta]

I took a brief break from expiring Channel movies to watch Burning (on the Channel, but NOT EXPIRING) and Short Sharp Shock (expiring on MUBI). Both are well worth watching - especially the latter, since it disappears from MUBI in a couple of days.

Tonight, I'll go back to expiring Channel picks - probably with the documentary Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb for a nice change of pace.

[fdm]

I watched two more.

The other day I watched Full Moon In New York which was pretty okay. I try not to pass up a Maggie Cheung option when I have a chance and it was an interesting enough story. One of Stanley Kwan's films (his other film I've seen was Rouge, maybe his first.

Speaking of change of pace, last night I decided to bother with Sabrina The Teenage Witch. It was about what I expected having likely flipped past the tv show many times when it was on, though this was the Showtime movie which apparently became its pilot. 7 seasons, sheesh.

Probably will try Frenchman's Creek next…

[Cpt. Feeney]

I watched Frenchman's Creek, perfect for a Sunday afternoon.
PQ is great, the design is lush, from the sailors' songs to the maps laid out on galley tables.
Joan Fontaine has a lot of fun with the role, and she is very much the hero of the tale.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

Tonight, I'll go back to expiring Channel picks - probably with the documentary Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb for a nice change of pace.

This is a very good doc about the unique relationship between a writer and an editor.

Originally Posted by apricissimus

I really enjoyed The Major and the Minor (leaving this month). Totally nuts premise, and at points it really teeters on the edge of being too cringey to stand, but it all works due to the strength of the writing and the charisma of Ginger Rogers.

I recommend it if you haven't seen it before.

I was strongly considering this, but then I realized I have it on DVD. (Good ol' Big Lots!) You're right that the premise sounds nuts. That must have been what made me pick it up in the first place.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by Cpt. Feeney

I watched Frenchman's Creek, perfect for a Sunday afternoon.
PQ is great, the design is lush, from the sailors' songs to the maps laid out on galley tables.
Joan Fontaine has a lot of fun with the role, and she is very much the hero of the tale.

The PQ is pretty good, but a Technicolor movie from 1944 should have brighter colors imho. I’ll bet the colors popped out a bit more when the movie first came out. I’m thinking probably 10-20% more color saturation at the time…

[fdm]

Didn't quite make it to Frenchman's Creek, well I did but it was a bit too late and I decided I wanted to crank it up a bit more, so decided to do it today during the day while the wife's off to work.

Probably will also hit another expiring prime or two while I'm at it…

[Cpt. Feeney]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

The PQ is pretty good, but a Technicolor movie from 1944 should have brighter colors imho. I’ll bet the colors popped out a bit more when the movie first came out. I’m thinking probably 10-20% more color saturation at the time…

That I would like to see.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by fdm

The other day I watched Full Moon In New York which was pretty okay. I try not to pass up a Maggie Cheung option when I have a chance and it was an interesting enough story. One of Stanley Kwan's films (his other film I've seen was Rouge, maybe his first.

I ended up watching this last night. It wasn't my original plan, but something decided to make me go for it.

I echo your sentiments about it being "pretty okay" and "an interesting enough story." It doesn't quite come together the way it should. It's at its best when the three leads are together. Their separate arcs aren't quite as interesting. Still, it's an enjoyable slice of life movie and a revealing glimpse into Chinese culture.

I skipped Desire and Down with Love. I'm hoping they're mainstream enough to show up elsewhere eventually or return to the Channel down the line.

Tonight? Probably some short films.

I've made it a habit of checking YouTube first because these shorts are often there too.

Expiring Channel Shorts also on YouTube:

• Sangam
• Windowbreaker

Only two of the many I want to watch this month. Usually, there's a better ratio.

I don't want to link them in case they get pulled.

[b00gie]

Anyone else get an email with a $25 voucher code yesterday as a "thank you for being a Charter Subscriber" on the 6th year anniversary of the channel?

Voucher expires on 31/10/25.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by b00gie

Anyone else get an email with a $25 voucher code yesterday as a "thank you for being a Charter Subscriber" on the 6th year anniversary of the channel?

Voucher expires on 31/10/25.

Yes, sucks they started doing expiration dates, but this one should be valid through the October flash sale.

[spf781]

Originally Posted by b00gie

Anyone else get an email with a $25 voucher code yesterday as a "thank you for being a Charter Subscriber" on the 6th year anniversary of the channel?

Voucher expires on 31/10/25.

I've been with them since day one and the only thing I got was a code for one free month for family/friends.

[fdm]

Started off this end of month with two of the Claudette Colbert going away films, the first about a week ago, it being I Met Him In Paris which also starred Robert Young and Melvyn Douglas. It was fairly good all in all, a little annoying at times, but may be worth a watch.

And a little bit ago I watched Skylark which worked better for me all in all.

The last one for me will be Maid Of Salem. The rest I've seen or can check out some other time.

Same applies to all those Tavernier films going away this month, but I will soon tackle the other two I can't say that about, namely Spoiled Children and Mississippi Blues. I'd recommend checking out as many of them as you can, but that's probably just me.

Likely will also watch Frankie And Johnny. Probably saw it a long time ago, but time for a refresher.

And who knows what else…

[apricissimus]

I watched The Bad and the Beautiful last night (leaving at the end of the month). It was fine, but I was a little disappointed. I think my expectations were too high. I thought it was trying too hard to be like All About Eve.

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by apricissimus

I watched The Bad and the Beautiful last night (leaving at the end of the month). It was fine, but I was a little disappointed. I think my expectations were too high. I thought it was trying too hard to be like All About Eve.

That's like saying you didn't enjoy Star Trek: TMP because you thought it was trying too hard to be like Star Wars.

Ironically the setting was changed from Broadway to Hollywood precisely to set it apart from All About Eve.

Dore Schary offered the project to John Houseman; it was to be called Memo to a Bad Man. Houseman decided to change the milieu from New York theatre to Hollywood because he felt after All About Eve that a Hollywood setting would have more novelty.

"I liked it", said Houseman. "I said, 'I'll do it, but not as a Broadway picture.' I was sick to death of Broadway pictures. I said, 'I wouldn't know how to add anything to the stuff that's been done, but if you'll let me do it as a Hollywood picture, I'd love to make it.' "

+

[apricissimus]

Originally Posted by BluBonnet

That's like saying you didn't enjoy Star Trek: TMP because you thought it was trying too hard to be like Star Wars.

Ironically the setting was changed from Broadway to Hollywood precisely to set it apart from All About Eve.

Without knowing any of that, it reminded me a lot of All About Eve, in subject matter and tone. But it came up short on all counts.

So maybe they didn't try hard enough to set themselves apart?