The Criterion Collection

[Deja 101]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Videodrome is my favorite David Cronenberg film, and I have strong nostalgic ties to it, because I grew up in the 1980s. It's an eerily prophetic film about the psychology (and physiology, to an extent) of our relationship with technology and media.

A heads-up not to let the images in the title menu scare you away. It will make sense once you watch the film.

Thanks so much for the response! I will be watching it tonight then. Very excited

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by UNCMT9

I may blind buy this at the next sale. I loved the Three Colors. Thanks for the recommendation, Scottie!

Not a problem.

I'm sort of obsessed with the film (hence my avatar of Irene Jacob). It's such a deep and unique film and ahh...soooo good.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Deja 101

Thanks so much for the response! I will be watching it tonight then. Very excited

You'll definitely have strong feelings for it one way or another. It also has my favorite scene involving a whip and a Televidion set

[rybev]

Life Is Sweet screenshots http://blushots.weebly.com/life-is-sweet.html

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Sure, the soundtrack is comprised of distinctly 1980's artists: Talking Head's frontman David Byrne; experimental artists, John Cale and Laurie Anderson; New Wave and Post-Punk artists, The Feelies, UB40, Fine Young Cannibals and New Order

Now, that's what I'm talkin' about!

Johnathan Demme also directed the Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense, which is a marvel to behold, since audience reaction shots are absent from the film, and the band seems to be in their own world.

I have not seen Something Wild, but I will.

Demme is an interesting director. I revisited The Silence of the Lambs not long ago, and noted how most of the film consists of extreme facial close ups. This accentuates the movie's undercurrent of unwelcome intimate attention on the characters.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Now, that's what I'm talkin' about!

Johnathan Demme also directed the Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense, which is a marvel to behold, since audience reaction shots are absent from the film, and the band seems to be in their own world.

I have not seen Something Wild, but I will.

Demme is an interesting director. I revisited The Silence of the Lambs not long ago, and noted how most of the film consists of extreme facial close ups. This accentuates the movie's undercurrent of unwelcome intimate attention with the characters.

Yes! The greatest concert film! I can't get enough of Stop making Sense.

I also consider Beloved not only the better Oprah slavery movie, but the definitive slavery movie. No other film comes close in portraying the horror.

[lastemp3ror]

Originally Posted by iScottie

That definitely is a good attitude towards it. I always go into a horror film hoping for the shit to get scared out of me, but that always never happens lol.



I think I used to own The Innkeepers on DVD, but I don't recall. Sounds like it has some potential.



I'd definitely have to be in the mood to see it. Once I finish watching my regular films in alphabetical order, I'm going to watch all of my Criterions and when I get to the S's...



There's definitely SO MANY good titles in The Criterion Collection, but since you want film-noir / mysteries, I'd recommend these:

• Diabolique
• Double Life of Veronique (because it's the best film ever made)
• Game
• Killing
• Kiss Me Deadly
• Lady Vanishes
• Last Year at Marienbad
• M
• Man Escaped
• Man Who Knew Too Much
• Ministry of Fear
• Night of the Hunter
• On The Waterfront
• Repulsion
• Revanche (because it's also one of the best films ever made)
• Sweet Smell of Success
• Three Colors Trilogy (because it's one of the best sets since sliced bread)

Thanks for that. I added most of those to my hulu list of movies to play.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by sc1957

There are certainly films that I'll never watch. Salo, The Human Centipede, and the Saw films being examples. But then, I'll never watch the Twilight or Transformer films, either.

I don't care how essential or groundbreaking a film is, if it doesn't interest me, or the idea of it disgusts me, I won't watch it. There are a lot more films that don't interest me than there are films that disgust me. And there are more films that DO interest me, that I may never have the time or opportunity to see. So it's easy to let those non-interesting/disgusting films fall by the wayside.

On the other hand, when you start talking about "films that never should be made," where do you stop (and where do you start)? If we outlaw The Human Centipede because it's disgusting, why don't we outlaw Transformers because it's stupid. Of course, your idea of stupid may not match mine. So then you run into the problem of who gets to decide.

I'm with you on the stupidity of Transformers for example. I recently feel that most big blockbuster films these days are just becoming more dumbed down for the masses. Take for example the new Star Trek Into Darkness film. It was dreadful and I can say this because I personally am a Star Trek scholar. I loved all of the original series and "TNG" (as they were about the human condition and morality stories) as well as the earlier films, but nowadays I wonder just how brainless more and more of these mindless action films can become. Though Criterion had released a few gaffes (Armageddon, RoboCop, The Rock) in terms of big brainless Hollywood blockbusters, they've done a great job choosing contemporary classics over contemporary hits.

Originally Posted by Sigma

Never gonna watch Salo or Cannibal Holocaust. Life is too short and I'd rather play with my puppy instead. She's so cute.

I have In the Realm of the Senses queued up on Netflix but not quite sure if I want to check it out. The Criterion essays I read were very interesting but ultimately it depends on my mood in the next week or so.

I have never seen Salo or Cannibal Holocaust either and don't plan on to until the right mood hits (and I'm not sure when that will come). In the Realm of the Senses is indeed more of a ghost story/horror film than an erotic movie if you remove all of the nudity and sex in the film.

Originally Posted by FaceInTheLeaves

I'm with iScottie. There's no force on earth could compel me to watch Salo.

Likewise...for now.

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Now, that's what I'm talkin' about!

Johnathan Demme also directed the Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense, which is a marvel to behold, since audience reaction shots are absent from the film, and the band seems to be in their own world.

I have not seen Something Wild, but I will.

Demme is an interesting director. I revisited The Silence of the Lambs not long ago, and noted how most of the film consists of extreme facial close ups. This accentuates the movie's undercurrent of unwelcome intimate attention on the characters.

Something Wild is a kinky and very entertaining film. As for Stop Making Sense, I wish more films like that could be made with minimal cutting and editing. The whole point of a concert film should be in the vein of the 2006 Neil Young documentary Heart of Gold where Jonathan Demme shot and cut minimally making the film viewing experience far more watchable than today's ADHD-induced concert films where the longest shot lasts 2 seconds! When I go to a real concert, I have one single shot! One shot of the stage and whatever happens, not tens of thousands of shots! I am not saying we should only have one long shot of a band performing, but in order to catch the nuances and subtle expressions, you need to hold the camera on the musicians longer so you can catch these signals and not cut so often! Who else here doesn't like hyper editing?

[bdmartin134]

What is everyone's impression on The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp? I just picked it up from B&N while this 40% sale is going on. I did a little bit of reading up on it before pulling the trigger, but just wanted to get others opinions. Thanks

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by bdmartin134

What is everyone's impression on The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp? I just picked it up from B&N while this 40% sale is going on. I did a little bit of reading up on it before pulling the trigger, but just wanted to get others opinions. Thanks

It's a terrific war drama about friendship and every bit as visually stunning as A Matter of Life and Death, Black Natcissus & The Red Shoes.

You will be paying $2 more by buying it today, but considering Memorial Day is right around the corner...It may make for splendid viewing on Monday.

-Enjoy

[pro-bassoonist]

Life Is Sweet Blu-ray REVIEW

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Life Is Sweet Blu-ray REVIEW

Thanks for a great write-up. This particular film does not quicken my pulse at the moment, but I am glad to know that the presentation is solid, in case I find myself interested in months or years to come (as often happens with Criterion titles).

A belated thanks as well for your review of The Cure - Trilogy concert Blu-ray, which I read the other day. The Cure is my all-time favorite band, and I would enjoy upgrading my old Trilogy DVD.

[Scottie]

My copy of Life is Sweet shipped a few hours ago. Here's to hoping I receive it Monday!

[pro-bassoonist]

You are very welcome, The Great Owl.

The Cure - Now, this is a great, great release. If you have a solid audio system, this release will test its muscles (96KHz/24-Bit!). It sounds incredible! The two encore tracks are my favorite. Perfect show

The Cure - If Only Tonight We Could Sleep (Trilogy) - YouTube

The Cure - The Kiss (Live) - 2002 - YouTube

Enjoy the long weekend, The Great Owl

Pro-B

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Life Is Sweet Blu-ray REVIEW

Thanks for the review, Leigh's later films are probably more notable than Life is Sweet, but I am still curious to finally check this out later this year.

[Ctzalman]

Went to local B&N today to pick up the etaix set. 40% off in conjunction with 15% coupon and member discount.... Not too bad.

Anyway, they had a copy of last year at marienbad. Anybody out there dying to get a copy of this? [edit: sorry folks, I now have a commitment to pick this up for a fellow forum user.]

[Page14]

Originally Posted by jw007

<snip>

Something Wild is a kinky and very entertaining film. As for Stop Making Sense, I wish more films like that could be made with minimal cutting and editing. The whole point of a concert film should be in the vein of the 2006 Neil Young documentary Heart of Gold where Jonathan Demme shot and cut minimally making the film viewing experience far more watchable than today's ADHD-induced concert films where the longest shot lasts 2 seconds! When I go to a real concert, I have one single shot! One shot of the stage and whatever happens, not tens of thousands of shots! I am not saying we should only have one long shot of a band performing, but in order to catch the nuances and subtle expressions, you need to hold the camera on the musicians longer so you can catch these signals and not cut so often! Who else here doesn't like hyper editing?

You commented on 2 of my all-time favorite concert films ... if not *the* top 2. With that in mind, and with what I read about Something Wild, there's a good chance I'll be picking it up in the July B&N 50% off sale. I like Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith (and Ray Liotta in a creepy kind of way) too.

EDIT: I take back what I said about the 2 concert films mentioned above as being my top 2 ... because there are so many good concert films out there. But I think it's safe to say that I can't think of any that I like better. (In other words, there are a lot of concert films that "might" tie for the top spot ... to me).

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by Ctzalman

Went to local B&N today to pick up the etaix set. 40% off in conjunction with 15% coupon and member discount.... Not too bad.

Anyway, they had a copy of last year at marienbad. Anybody out there dying to get a copy of this?

PM'd

[glenn-bob]

Any word on Sid and Nancy getting a criterion Blu release?

[jw007]

Originally Posted by Page14

You commented on 2 of my all-time favorite concert films ... if not *the* top 2. With that in mind, and with what I read about Something Wild, there's a good chance I'll be picking it up in the July B&N 50% off sale. I like Jeff Daniels and Melanie Griffith (and Ray Liotta in a creepy kind of way) too.

EDIT: I take back what I said about the 2 concert films mentioned above as being my top 2 ... because there are so many good concert films out there. But I think it's safe to say that I can't think of any that I like better. (In other words, there are a lot of concert films that tie for the top spot ... to me).

Very good! I also love Martin Scorcese's The Last Waltz as well as the Maysles' Gimme' Shelter. There just aren't enough great music concert documentaries out there! I have to say though that Rattle & Hum is also not a bad one either, even though U2 was at their most self-righteous/pretentious at the time. Heima (Sigur Ros) is also another good one. All of these are in my collection.

You'll quite enjoy Something Wild. It's Ray Liotta's first major movie role!