The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Incidentally, I flipped a coin to decide between the Criterion Blu-ray of Charade and the Criterion Blu-ray of Diabolique. I made the right choice, because I've been wanting to replace my old Diabolique DVD for a while now (I had the initial Criterion DVD edition of this movie with the rough transfer.). It will go well as a double-feature with Clouzot's The Wages of Fear.

Again, wait for the review of the Universal release, then make your decision. The CC release is disappointing in terms of extras, so if the transfer is comparable, go with Universal.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

The CC release is disappointing in terms of extras, so if the transfer is comparable, go with Universal.

..but what about the 'C' on the cover???

[ccg1978]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I ordered The Quiet Man from ImportCDs last week when they had the big sale, and that's what spurred my preoccupation with John Ford's films again. (I already own The Searchers on Blu-ray, and I had been wanting to upgrade my old Stagecoach DVD for a while.)

Same here regarding the Searchers. Stagecoach was the first Criterion I ever bought and I re-sold it. I may watch again through Netflix on Blu to see if I like it better now.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by CoopFilm

..but what about the 'C' on the cover???

That and the booklet make it worth $10 more

[Mansinthe]

everyone interessted in gay cinema should check out the korean movie "frozen flowers" its pretty good.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

So everyone has to want to understand every other life experience that is different from their own, be it racial, cultural, gender, orientation, etc, or you are personally insulted? I can see how that lack of desire could shortchange a person regarding knowledge or experience concerning the people and world around them, but how that lack of desire is insulting to anyone else is beyond me.

I think we are stepping into the kind of conversation that BluRay.com doesn't want.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

I think we are stepping into the kind of conversation that BluRay.com doesn't want.

Good call. Thank you.

On a more Criterion note, has anyone logged all of their watched Criterions into their letterboxd.com profile? I'm not sure I grasp all the subtleties of that site. Not sure I understand why it requires exact date of viewing in order to include tags or ratings.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

On a more Criterion note, has anyone logged all of their watched Criterions into their letterboxd.com profile? I'm not sure I grasp all the subtleties of that site. Not sure I understand why it requires exact date of viewing in order to include tags or ratings.

I do not have a letterboxd.com account. Blu-ray.com is more than enough to keep me busy. It's all in the fun, though!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

Good call. Thank you.

On a more Criterion note, has anyone logged all of their watched Criterions into their letterboxd.com profile? I'm not sure I grasp all the subtleties of that site. Not sure I understand why it requires exact date of viewing in order to include tags or ratings.

Don't want to sound like a nag, but yeah..

I'm not even using my letterboxd. Maybe I should start July 1st.

[Visco.]

I ordered Videodrome and 8 1/2 just now. I wanted to buy like 10 but I don't have the money to splurge right now even though this is a great sale.

[FaceInTheLeaves]

Originally Posted by nametag

What's a 'lifestyle', anyway?

Weekend is one of the best gay films made, and very contemporary - very glad CC got round to releasing that

I've never understood the mindset that allows "straight" people to have an identity AND a sexual preference but insists "gay" people are defined by their "lifestyle". I just incorporated my sexuality into the same personality I'd always had. Harryhausen films probably had a bigger influence on my life than my sexuality!

I love the way Weekend tackles the old cliche about gay people rubbing their sexuality in people's faces (as if we have nothing more pressing to be getting on with), and allows the characters to have depth instead of being lazy, one-dimensional stereotypes. The (understated) frailty in Weekend was a revelation. Ditto Beautiful Thing, which I adore.


I'm very impressed with the Amazon half-price sale. I've ordered The Last Temptation of Christ, Belle de Jour, My Life As A Dog, The Game, Umberto D. and Paris, Texas. I also ordered Wild Strawberries and the Night Train To Munich DVD. I ordered three of them with slow shipping and no import fee deposit as an experiment. I've realised the import fee deposit Amazon takes is a lot more money than you'd pay in VAT + courier admin charges.

[Judex]

Originally Posted by FaceInTheLeaves

I'm very impressed with the Amazon half-price sale. I've ordered The Last Temptation of Christ, Belle de Jour, My Life As A Dog, The Game, Umberto D. and Paris, Texas. I also ordered Wild Strawberries and the Night Train To Munich DVD. I ordered three of them with slow shipping and no import fee deposit as an experiment. I've realised the import fee deposit Amazon takes is a lot more money than you'd pay in VAT + courier admin charges.

You'll mostly likely incur customs and the RM fee.

Why didn't you wait until the B&N sale? you don't get hit with customs from their packages.

Beaver has Life of Oharu up. Really looking forward to getting this.

[Hawkguy]

Originally Posted by FaceInTheLeaves

I've never understood the mindset that allows "straight" people to have an identity AND a sexual preference but insists "gay" people are defined by their "lifestyle". I just incorporated my sexuality into the same personality I'd always had. Harryhausen films probably had a bigger influence on my life than my sexuality!

I love the way Weekend tackles the old cliche about gay people rubbing their sexuality in people's faces (as if we have nothing more pressing to be getting on with), and allows the characters to have depth instead of being lazy, one-dimensional stereotypes. The (understated) frailty in Weekend was a revelation. Ditto Beautiful Thing, which I adore.

This

[White Dang]

Originally Posted by FaceInTheLeaves

"It's a lifestyle that I'll never understand and never want to understand" is obnoxious. It reminds me of that ridiculous comment "I don't care what they get up to in the privacy of their own bedrooms but I don't want to see it" as if gay people are running amok in the streets! It's insulting and nonsensical.

LOL at you. It's my personal preference in film watching. You sound obnoxious.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Yep. I think Weekend is one of Criterion's best decisions. They've got a lot of great classics (that need to be on blu-ray already dammit!) but Weekend was one of the best films I've seen come out of the studio.

I bought the UK version for my sister and her partner (they're lesbians and they raised me) because its a great disc and they're not that into special features but I grabbed the Criterion release for myself even after watching their copy because I felt as though I watched something truly important that will likely just end up flying under the radar for a long time.

Being raised by a lesbian couple, I feel quite strongly about how gay's are perceived by others and usually wind up baffled by how they think and feel towards them. Even my old best friend was a gay man and we were like brothers so maybe I'm perfectly comfortable around them because I always have been and, well, they're just people.

Anyway, weekend was a brilliant choice for Criterion that I feel fits their theme. Importance. Genuinely moving, really accurate and amazingly acted, all handled by someone who actually has a clue. Always a plus.

I hope we see Criterion release more great contemporary cinema. There is some truly important stuff being ignored while stuff that is pretty boring gets priority. I can hope.

[Abdrewes]

Oof, I should go back to the unpopular opinions thread and continue raving about GI Jane...I liked Andrew Haig's Weekend, but I found it slightly conventional as far as romantic dramas go. I can't deny that the chemistry between the two leads and the air of naturalism gave the film a big boost.

[blackhawktraffic]

Originally Posted by deepbreathsanddeath

Yep. I think Weekend is one of Criterion's best decisions. They've got a lot of great classics (that need to be on blu-ray already dammit!) but Weekend was one of the best films I've seen come out of the studio.

I bought the UK version for my sister and her partner (they're lesbians and they raised me) because its a great disc and they're not that into special features but I grabbed the Criterion release for myself even after watching their copy because I felt as though I watched something truly important that will likely just end up flying under the radar for a long time.

Being raised by a lesbian couple, I feel quite strongly about how gay's are perceived by others and usually wind up baffled by how they think and feel towards them. Even my old best friend was a gay man and we were like brothers so maybe I'm perfectly comfortable around them because I always have been and, well, they're just people.

Anyway, weekend was a brilliant choice for Criterion that I feel fits their theme. Importance. Genuinely moving, really accurate and amazingly acted, all handled by someone who actually has a clue. Always a plus.

I hope we see Criterion release more great contemporary cinema. There is some truly important stuff being ignored while stuff that is pretty boring gets priority. I can hope.

I agree with you it as a great choice for them to make and one that surprised me to choose it, but it seems it was one that was well worth it. I hope they also do consider more contemporary films in the future there is a lot of good independent stuff they could have from the past 5 years easily but I haven't seen much.

Did you sister end up liking the film? Is that even appropriate to ask?

[brandon_260]

Things To Come is a fairly disappointing release, now I see why the discussion towards it has been pretty muted. I enjoyed the film quite a bit, but it was definitely a little messy and all over the place. Presentation is pretty subpar as well, especially by Criterion's standards. I ended up turning the subtitles on because I couldn't make out a decent amount of the dialogue.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

We can hope. I've always loved this movie.

I also love how the movie is sampled on one of my favorite albums, Ride - Going Blank Again.

That's great that you love the band Ride. Did you like their first shoegaze album "Nowhere" too? I listen to that album far more than "Going Blank Again". Speaking of shoegaze, I also love the band Slowdive as well as My Bloody Valentine. Great music!

Whenever I think of Withnail and I, for some reason I think of Naked. Maybe the former film just reminds me of a Mike Leigh movie or something to do with the Britishness.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

That's great that you love the band Ride. Did you like their first shoegaze album "Nowhere" too? I listen to that album far more than "Going Blank Again". Speaking of shoegaze, I also love the band Slowdive as well as My Bloody Valentine. Great music!

Whenever I think of Withnail and I, for some reason I think of Naked. Maybe the former film just reminds me of a Mike Leigh movie or something to do with the Britishness.

Funnily enough, Ride - Nowhere is my favorite album of the 1990s, hands down. I heard "Vapour Trail" when I was a freshman in college, and I was hooked. I never understood why those guys were not more popular back in the day. They had some cool catchy songs, they had the looks, and they were more original than most. I also love the early EPs that Ride released before Nowhere. The band went downhill after Going Blank Again, but Carnival of Light is not a bad album, and even Tarantula has a couple of cool moments.

I'm also in for My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush, and several other shoegaze bands from back in the day.