The Criterion Collection

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by blkhrt

I don't think this has been mentioned, but it looks like there will not be a Before Trilogy box set. Sony just announced they are releasing Before Midnight:

https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=12002

Well that stinks... was hoping for some kind of blu-ray release.

[lordmorpheus72]

So this was my birthday present from the wife today... she's the best!!



Can't wait to watch The Thin Red Line. And I haven't seen The Last Emperor since I was teenager. What a great set of discs! My weekend is set!

[SidneyFalco]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

So this was my birthday present from the wife today... she's the best!!

Can't wait to watch The Thin Red Line. And I haven't seen The Last Emperor since I was teenager. What a great set of discs! My weekend is set!

Nice! No one's every bought me a DVD or blu-ray, because they're always afraid I'll buy it in the interim, or when there's a sale. And I probably would, lol.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by SidneyFalco

Nice! No one's every bought me a DVD or blu-ray, because they're always afraid I'll buy it in the interim, or when there's a sale. And I probably would, lol.

I usually have that problem as well, but the wife instructed me not to buy anything.

[madmojo]

Does anyone know if Criterion ever tried to get the rights to release Jan Svankmajer's Alice? I think it'd be right up their alley, but don't know how the rights issues are. I'd love to finally be able to own the film, but it's never been released on DVD or blu in America. I think BFI released it in Britain, though.

[SidneyFalco]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hello zoodermin,

I will watch the entire film tonight, all extras tomorrow, and post the review on Monday. Tomorrow is reserved for MOC releases/reviews.

Pro-B

Whatever happened to the Autumn Sonata review?

Originally Posted by madmojo

Does anyone know if Criterion ever tried to get the rights to release Jan Svankmajer's Alice? I think it'd be right up their alley, but don't know how the rights issues are. I'd love to finally be able to own the film, but it's never been released on DVD or blu in America. I think BFI released it in Britain, though.

The BFI is region-free, and a nice disc.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Been a while since I have had time to sit and watch a film, but I did catch To The Wonder (finally...)

To The Wonder

[Show spoiler]
At around the half way point while watching the film I had a surprising thought pop into my head, I thought that the film I was watching was shockingly...coherent. If you are familiar with Malick's preferences you know being straight forward is not something he is interested in, ambiguity is the name of his game. Yet something about To The Wonder makes it stand out as a very understandable film, perhaps I could find some relation to it's narrative that would not be obvious to the average viewer.

At it's core, To The Wonder is a film about detachment and longing for something more, nothing more or less. A couple longing for a deeper connection, a man looking for a change, a priest drifting away from God, a daughter wanting more love. For a film that dwells so much on the environment and emotions of the subject matter, and less on the characters the narrative comes across strongly, unexpected for this director. The performances were all top notch, even though Malick seems to dwell on the footage taken in between takes, nobody seems like they are acting for an extended period of time. As you could expect the cinematography was equally impressive, the fact that only natural lighting was used still boggles my mind and inspires awe with every frame.

Malick remains one director who's status will be debated endlessly, is he a master of the art? He is certainly a master of his art. And I will look forward to every film he crafts.

Thanks for sharing! I'm probably going to watch To the Wonder for a third time this week.

I revisited The Thin Red Line Blu-ray last week. So, so awesome. It still gets better every time after all these years.

[The Great Owl]

Earlier this evening, I revisited my Blu-ray of The Lives of Others. I always get emotional during the bookstore scene, and I guess I'm a softie like that. Anyway, this movie should have been a Criterion release. File this under: "The current Blu-ray is great, but Criterion should grab this in ten years or so."

I remember being upset that Pan's Labyrinth did not win the Foreign Language Academy Award that year. A few months after the ceremony, though, I watched The Lives of Others and instantly concurred with the Academy vote.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by Snicket

Been a while since I have had time to sit and watch a film, but I did catch To The Wonder (finally...)

To The Wonder

Just got the email saying Netflix is sending this to me for tomorrow. I can't wait to see this, very excited! Had to stop reading your post just in case

[Snicket]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

Just got the email saying Netflix is sending this to me for tomorrow. I can't wait to see this, very excited! Had to stop reading your post just in case

It's spoiler free, but I support going into films with zero expectations.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Snicket

It's spoiler free, but I support going into films with zero expectations.

Go into Pain & Gain (directed by Criterion's own Michael Bay) with zero expectations and you will be pleasantly surprised. Definitely one of the best movies of the year so far.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Go into Pain & Gain (directed by Criterion's own Michael Bay) with zero expectations and you will be pleasantly surprised. Definitely one of the best movies of the year so far.

+ 1 quadrillion.

[jw007]

I watched On the Waterfront for the first time last night (!) and was blown away.

On the supplements there is a 17 minute interview with Martin Scorcese and he says that this film is more than just a movie, its a phenomenon. I think I understand what he means. There are certain films that just transcend cinema itself. I felt the same way with a film such as The Pianist, where it was beyond just a movie to me.

I look forward to watching this in 1:85 next. The 1:66 aspect ratio was good though, but I believe The Great Owl mentioned that the 1:85 ratio was the best. I can't wait.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Just mentioned this in the arrow thread but figured I would post it here too.

I'm watching a special feature on Spider Baby and someone involved in the restoration of Spider Baby mentioned that along with showing the audience the new restored print for Spider Baby they were also showing the restored print for Carnival of Souls and that they both look gorgeous and that they were very fortunate to of gotten the original negatives which were both in excellent shape.

Spider Baby does indeed look beautiful so we can expect Carnival of Souls to look wonderful too. Funnily enough, one of the Jack mentions that Tarantino and Weinstein are responsible for getting the original negative out of the lab vault where it was locked away for many many years.

Apparently Miramax were putting other movies in there and if not for them, we wouldn't have the beautiful restored print today. I'm not sure who owned the rights to Carnival of Souls but I wonder if Tarantino had anything to do with getting the restoration pushed along faster.

Anyway, very exciting news. A blu-ray from SOMEONE shouldn't be too far away.

[Oblivion138]

Originally Posted by Rizor

Shit. I'm still trying to figure out how only 4 of his pre-2005 films are available on BD in the US. MGM/Fox should really be releasing 4-5 films per year in a box set instead of only 2 titles each January. And why hasn't Mill Creek or Echo Bridge released all of his 90's Disney-owned titles on BD yet? I'd rather not import the foreign BDs for $20-something each. Then there are the Dreamworks titles.

I'd love it if someone like Criterion just picked up the rights to them all and put out a big box set. The releases will all undoubtedly be barebones. I just want them released on Blu-ray!

Very true. For such a prolific and respected filmmaker, he is sadly underrepresented on BD.

[14728]

Originally Posted by jw007

I watched On the Waterfront for the first time last night (!) and was blown away.

On the supplements there is a 17 minute interview with Martin Scorcese and he says that this film is more than just a movie, its a phenomenon. I think I understand what he means. There are certain films that just transcend cinema itself. I felt the same way with a film such as The Pianist, where it was beyond just a movie to me.

I look forward to watching this in 1:85 next. The 1:66 aspect ratio was good though, but I believe The Great Owl mentioned that the 1:85 ratio was the best. I can't wait.

I'm gonna get On the Waterfront very, very soon on Criterion. It looks great.
The Pianist on the other hand, I refuse to watch, because I don't want to support Roman Polanski, for obvious reasons.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

So this was my birthday present from the wife today... she's the best!!

[Show spoiler]

Can't wait to watch The Thin Red Line. And I haven't seen The Last Emperor since I was teenager. What a great set of discs! My weekend is set!

You have a wonderful wife, I especially appreciate that she got you 4 very different movies, so you're set for a varied experience.

Originally Posted by pedromvu

Hi, I am looking for 2 more $29 titles for the B2GO sale from B&N and was wondering if anyone has seen and could recommend Charulata and Big City? The only other Ray film i have seen is The Music Room and i loved that one, too bad Big City still doesn't have a review here..

I have seen and would recommend them. Charulata is one of the most wonderfully shot Ray films. The sophistication of the lensing here is applause-worthy. It's a melodrama, but done with immense skill and restraint.
The Big City is a lesser film, but still very good, with a strong lead performance by Madhabi Mukherjee, who is also the lead of Charulata, so a lovely double-deal there. The theme of a woman breaking tradition by stepping out of the house to do a job may be more identifiable to Indian audiences, but the concept of a society learning to adjust to changing times is universal.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

I watched On the Waterfront for the first time last night (!) and was blown away.

On the supplements there is a 17 minute interview with Martin Scorcese and he says that this film is more than just a movie, its a phenomenon. I think I understand what he means. There are certain films that just transcend cinema itself. I felt the same way with a film such as The Pianist, where it was beyond just a movie to me.

I look forward to watching this in 1:85 next. The 1:66 aspect ratio was good though, but I believe The Great Owl mentioned that the 1:85 ratio was the best. I can't wait.

I'm glad that you enjoyed this movie. I had heard great things about On the Waterfront for ages, but was never able to see the film until the Criterion release. It's a pricey package, but it's worth every penny.

The 1.85:1 is my favorite aspect ratio, but I think it's a good idea to see the 1.66:1 first. With the 1.85:1, the information takes up the whole screen, and it's easier for me to lose myself in the experience, so that makes for a beautiful second viewing.

[Abdrewes]

Curious Case of Benjamin Button is still selling for $5. Totally worth getting.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-C.../61962/#Review

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by Abdrewes

Curious Case of Benjamin Button is still selling for $5. Totally worth getting.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-C.../61962/#Review

I'm not sure if I could sit through it again.