The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

I had to visit a couple of stores to find an undamaged copy of The Night of The Hunter. The same with Repo Man. A digipak is a shoddy way to treat a masterpiece. It's practical for multidisc Criterions, but it's sometimes tough to find a copy in acceptable condition.

[UNCMT9]

Ordered Night of the Hunter with a $25 BB gift card today. Can't wait to receive my damaged copy!!

[abuba]

One more question.

I finished purchasing/ordering all Criterions movies I know and love.

I'll be starting blind buys on B&N 50% sale.

I noticed that some titles went OOP and I'd want to get the titles that might go OOP in the near future.

I made a list sorted by releasing order from 2009 to 2011.

Should I start buying from the older ones to the newer ones or this has nothing to do with the titles going OOP?

I don't know if I made myself clear. I want to know if the first titles that were released in Blu-ray have more chance of going OOP.

Thanks again for the information.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

My favorite part of Prometheus is the opening, where David (Michael Fassbender) is alone and trying to emulate Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia.

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

My favorite part is the actual beginning. Scotland is a gorgeous place.

My favorite part is

[Show spoiler]at the end where she comes back to get David and his headless body isn't working properly and is reaching into nothing. I found that cute.

I'm not kidding

[Abdrewes]

Abuba, I would definitely start from buying the older releases first. They have a better chance of going OOP.

Right now you should be searching for deals on alast Tear at Zmarienbad and the Jean Pierre Melville releases....they are about to go...

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

My favorite part is

[Show spoiler]at the end where she comes back to get David and his headless body isn't working properly and is reaching into nothing. I found that cute.

I'm not kidding

I actually really like the conversation thèy have at that point too, however heavy handed.

[UNCMT9]

Has anyone printed a custom cover and used a new case to house damaged digibook Criterions? (Night of the Hunter, etc) I may try it if it is damaged when it arrives.

[Edward J Grug III]

Anyone here using Letterboxd?

Here's mine: http://letterboxd.com/tedprior/

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

My favorite part is

[Show spoiler]at the end where she comes back to get David and his headless body isn't working properly and is reaching into nothing. I found that cute.

I'm not kidding

I just watched it and I don't think it's as bad as everybody is making it out to be. I didn't really find it making too much sense, but it was visually impressive.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just watched it and I don't think it's as bad as everybody is making it out to be. I didn't really find it making too much sense, but it was visually impressive.

The lack of common sense is by far my main problem with it. That's what drags the film down for me. The visuals completely save it though, no way I'm going to disagree with that... what I like most about the film is the production design (and Fassbender's face )

Totally been off-topic today..

[lastemp3ror]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

Anyone here using Letterboxd?

Here's mine: http://letterboxd.com/tedprior/

Just started using it.

Here is mine

http://letterboxd.com/lastemp3ror/

[SiqMachine]

Originally Posted by lastemp3ror

Just started using it.

Here is mine

http://letterboxd.com/lastemp3ror/

Holler

http://letterboxd.com/siqmachine

[the sordid sentinel]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

My favorite part of Prometheus is the opening, where David (Michael Fassbender) is alone and trying to emulate Peter O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia.

I liked Prometheus alright, but not enough to spend money on a Blu-ray. The movie was a fun "adaptation" of H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness, and it did look great.

Agree as usual. The movie isn't a total train wreck by any stretch, there were a lot of cool moments to geek out on. Like you I just don't feel compelled to own it.

Finally saw Le Cercle Rouge and all I can say is wow. Again, the influence on Mann/Friedkin is palpable. I felt like Fernando Rey was going to step out from behind a corner at any moment and join the heist. Glad I was able to find a copy. Worth every penny. I can't imagine how may times I will be revisiting this title.

[RandyK]

So On the Waterfront is a big deal huh? May have to pick that up with the B&N sale going on. I like the fact that they give you the choice of the three different aspect ratios.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Randyman94

So On the Waterfront is a big deal huh?

If you like that sort of thing.

[Sigma]

Apologies is this has been asked many times before but any idea if Criterion will reacquire the rights to Chungking Express?

[The Great Owl]

I just finished watching Medium Cool and a few of the choice extra features on the Blu-ray.



Early in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, the camera passes by a poster of Michel Poiccard, the character played by Jean-Paul Belmondo in the 1960 Jean-Luc Godard film, Breathless. Later in the film, a television announcer references Godard's 1963 film, Contempt. These direct homages accentuate Godard's deeper influences on this Wexler film from a more technical level. The cinéma vérité style that Wexler employs in Medium Cool to depict fictional characters in the midst of the actual riots associated with the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago may remind one of Godard's camera lovingly following the three main characters of the movie, Band of Outsiders, through the Bastille neighborhoods of Paris. Two pivotal scenes in Medium Cool may even raise the question of whether or not Godard's apparent fascination with grisly car accidents provided additional inspiration. I cannot speculate on the full extent of Godard's influences on Haskell Wexler's brilliant 1969 film, but the explosive powder keg tension of revolutions waiting to unfold in social and artistic terms alike on both sides of the ocean during the 1960s is evident in the works of both directors during that era.

A common scientific assertion that one cannot observe something without altering what is being observed is often applicable to the world of televised news media. Every casual viewer of television news footage wonders if what he or she is watching is reality or simply a cameraman's interpretation of reality as the people who are under observation react to the sight of a news reporter in their presence. "The medium is the message.", according to communication philosopher Marshall McLuhan, and the title of Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool is taken from McLuhan's thesis that television is a "cool" medium in that it needs only minimal interaction from the viewer. Medium Cool played on the audience perception of reality by following actors through the fray of the Chicago city streets and convention centers in 1968 while historic events were actually unfolding, but one cannot help but wonder if the end result is really more fictional than what we see on nightly televised news updates.

I simply prefer to think of Medium Cool, with its combination of fictional storylines and actual news footage, as an explosive firecracker of a movie that captures the essence of 1968 America far beyond what any straightforward documentary could ever hope to match. My appreciation of Medium Cool as a historically significant work is seeded in my belief that one can learn more about history by watching or reading the fictional works from any respective era than one might learn by absorbing dry historical documents. I learned more about England's Poor Law of 1934, for instance, by reading the Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, than I may have learned by studying it in a history class. Through the microcosm of the life of fictional news reporter John Cassellis (Robert Forster) and his relationship with a mother and son who have moved to Chicago from West Virginia, the viewer is exposed to a myriad of sociopolitical 1968 issues, such as racial tensions, slum poverty, Vietnam protests, ethical dilemmas of televised news, and the aftermath of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy.

I will never truly understand the dynamics of 1968 America from the vantage point of my own generation, but I have always been fascinated with the historic events and artistic milestones of that era. Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool is an enjoyable work of cinema to my eyes for the simple reason that the Criterion Blu-ray brings the color and vivid liveliness of a past time to the screen in astonishing detail while the storyline enables me to grasp the coattails of characters about whom I care as they maneuver through the hazards and wonders of social upheaval on city streets and crowded parks.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

[Show spoiler]I just finished watching Medium Cool and a few of the choice extra features on the Blu-ray.



Early in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool, the camera passes by a poster of Michel Poiccard, the character played by Jean-Paul Belmondo in the 1960 Jean-Luc Godard film, Breathless. Later in the film, a television announcer references Godard's 1963 film, Contempt. These direct homages accentuate Godard's deeper influences on this Wexler film from a more technical level. The cinéma vérité style that Wexler employs in Medium Cool to depict fictional characters in the midst of the actual riots associated with the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago may remind one of Godard's camera lovingly following the three main characters of the movie, Band of Outsiders, through the Bastille neighborhoods of Paris. Two pivotal scenes in Medium Cool may even beg to question whether or not Godard's apparent fascination with grisly car accidents provided additional inspiration. I cannot speculate on the full extent of Godard's influences on Haskell Wexler's brilliant 1969 film, but the explosive powder keg tension of revolutions waiting to unfold in social and artistic terms alike on both sides of the ocean during the 1960s is evident in the works of both directors during that era.

A common scientific assertion that one cannot observe something without altering what is being observed is often applicable to the world of televised news media. Every casual viewer of television news footage wonders if what he or she is watching is reality or simply a cameraman's interpretation of reality as the people who are under observation react to the sight of a news reporter in their presence. "The medium is the message.", according to communication philosopher Marshall McLuhan, and the title of Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool is taken from McLuhan's thesis that television is a "cool" medium in that it needs only minimal interaction from the viewer. Medium Cool played on the audience perception of reality by following actors through the fray of the Chicago city streets and convention centers in 1968 while historic events were actually unfolding, but one cannot help but wonder if the end result is that really more fictional than what we see on nightly televised news updates.

I simply prefer to think of Medium Cool, with its combination of fictional storylines and actual news footage, as an explosive firecracker of a movie that captures the essence of 1968 America far beyond what any straightforward documentary could ever hope to match. My appreciation of Medium Cool as a historically significant work is seeded in my belief that one can learn more about history by watching or reading the fictional works from any respective era than one might learn by absorbing dry historical documents. I learned more about England's Poor Law of 1934, for instance, by reading the Charles Dickens novel, Oliver Twist, than I may have learned by studying it in a history class. Through the microcosm of the life of fictional news reporter John Cassellis (Robert Forster) and his relationship with a mother and son who have moved to Chicago from West Virginia, the viewer is exposed to a myriad of sociopolitical 1968 issues, such as racial tensions, slum poverty, Vietnam protests, ethical dilemmas of televised news, and the aftermath of the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy.

I will never truly understand the dynamics of 1968 America from the vantage point of my own generation, but I have always been fascinated with the historical events and artistic milestones of that era. Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool is an enjoyable work of cinema to my eyes for the simple reason that the Criterion Blu-ray brings the color and vivid liveliness of a past time to the screen in astonishing detail while the storyline enables me to grasp the coattails of characters about whom I care as they maneuver through the hazards and wonders of social upheaval on city streets and crowded parks.

Great review! I posted mine here a couple of days ago.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=72149

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by iScottie

Great review! I posted mine here a couple of days ago.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...ostcount=72149

*High five* I enjoyed reading your review the other day.

Medium Cool was actually a second choice purchase for me today, because 3:10 to Yuma was not available at the Movie Stop after I traded in some used items. As it turns out, though, I am grateful to have had the chance to catch this film at long last. Over the years, I have read several fleeting references to Medium Cool, but have not had the opportunity to acquaint myself with the movie. Cheers to Criterion for making this possible.

This movie will never be a part of my Criterion Top Ten List, but I did enjoy every moment. The disclaimers that I've read about how people on either side of the political spectrum can enjoy the film are largely unnecessary, because the issues explored in this film from decades past are now generally regarded as human issues common to all people, regardless of priorities or current political beliefs. It's just a fast-paced film with a beautiful picture quality presentation that puts me on the front row of some dangerous times from the growing pains of the United States in decades past.

After my reviews of Revanche and Medium Cool today, I now have writer's block for the indefinite future.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by the sordid sentinel

Finally saw Le Cercle Rouge and all I can say is wow. Again, the influence on Mann/Friedkin is palpable. I felt like Fernando Rey was going to step out from behind a corner at any moment and join the heist. Glad I was able to find a copy. Worth every penny. I can't imagine how may times I will be revisiting this title.

Yes! I'm glad that you enjoyed Le Cercle Rouge.

Jansen, the sharpshooter with addiction struggles, is one of my all-time favorite movie characters. I did not realize until fairly recently that this character was played by Yves Montand, the lead actor from another Criterion title, The Wages of Fear.