The Criterion Collection

[Ausjdm]

Any Jean-Pierre Melville movie collectors here? Love army of shadows, le samourai & have le circle rouge coming from eBay.

Just wandering how are his supposed "lesser movies"? I may bite the bullet and buy them:

Le deuxième souffle?
Le Doulos?

Anyone like them???

Also, Thanks for posting the link about CC releasing, the great beauty! Looks so sick can't wait to see it.

[joie]

Originally Posted by jw007

Thanks for all the feedback...sounds like mixed reviews to me. I intend to watch this in the near future. As a fan of Nietzsche, I was intrigued into buying this movie.

The subtitles didn't translate Nietzsche's last words, "Mutter, ich bin dumm."

[KRW1]

Originally Posted by jw007

I just bought The Turin Horse a few weeks ago on Blu-ray! I have yet to watch this. The Blu-ray got a very favorable review on here. I have to be ready to watch this very long-winded film though (from what I've read). Who else has seen this? And is it worth a blind buy? Because I blind-bought it. (I know this isn't a Criterion film, but this film could probably have easily been put out by Criterion).

It's a brilliant film but my favourite is Werckmeister Harmonies. I've not seen anything like that, such an oddly emotional movie. Heartbreaking but I can't put my finger on why. Satantango is his masterpiece but its long, seven hours, so only really for die hard fans. If you like Turin Horse and Harmonies, then definitely see it.

Turin Horse is his last movie. My dream is a Criterion boxset of all his films, he's only made around six or seven and each one a little triumph.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by jw007

I love Paths of Glory. For all those people who always thought Kubrick was a "cold" director (as in lacking emotion and human compassion in his films), then they are in for a rude awakening if they've never seen Paths of Glory. It is a very emotional film. Sometimes I wish Kubrick could have made more movies like that, before he was able to hone his craft and make the future masterpieces we all know.

I wholeheartedly agree with the above statement, Paths of Glory is one of the most emotional films I have ever seen. I also hate it when people say that Kubrick was cold/sterile in his tone, I always find very complex feelings and themes present throughout his filmography. Just because a film isn't particularly sentimental doesn't mean that it's free of emotion.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by The Bronx Bull

Do the French really have their blu-ray spines going in the opposite direction?

Originally Posted by jayembee

Yes. Their books are that way as well. It's common in Europe.

Originally Posted by prior

No. Hardly any of my European releases have their spines that way around.

Hunh. OK, I suppose I shouldn't have answered "yes" to a question about "blu-ray spines", since I have no French (or any European) Blu-rays. But I've got a number of French DVDs, German DVDs, and even a Russian DVD, and all of them but one have the spine reading bottom to top (the one exception being my French DVD of La mort en direct). I've also got a number of German and Spanish (and some French) paperbacks, and they all read from bottom to top as well.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by 14728

It's Playing on TCM tonight at 8:00. I'm definitely gonna watch it tonight

Have you seen it before? If you haven't, you are in for a treat.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by KRW1

It's a brilliant film but my favourite is Werckmeister Harmonies. I've not seen anything like that, such an oddly emotional movie. Heartbreaking but I can't put my finger on why. Satantango is his masterpiece but its long, seven hours, so only really for die hard fans. If you like Turin Horse and Harmonies, then definitely see it.

Turin Horse is his last movie. My dream is a Criterion boxset of all his films, he's only made around six or seven and each one a little triumph.

Nice... I am not familiar at all with the director's work. I am actually amazed that I never had seen any of his films before, especially since I was a Film Studies major in college. I guess this isn't the most accessible film from Bela Tarr's canon, but seeing his last film can't be the worst move I'll ever make in life. I did the same thing with Tarkovsky. The first movie I ever saw of his was the last movie he ever made (The Sacrifice).

[jw007]

Originally Posted by SilentxStatik24

I wholeheartedly agree with the above statement, Paths of Glory is one of the most emotional films I have ever seen. I also hate it when people say that Kubrick was cold/sterile in his tone, I always find very complex feelings and themes present throughout his filmography. Just because a film isn't particularly sentimental doesn't mean that it's free of emotion.

Yes yes!

Name the most emotional film Kubrick made after Paths of Glory.

Anyone?

I'm going to guess Barry Lyndon. But even that wasn't too emotional. No, maybe Full Metal Jacket is a better candidate.

The least emotional film Kubrick made? 2001. That is obvious though.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Any Jean-Pierre Melville movie collectors here? Love army of shadows, le samourai & have le circle rouge coming from eBay.

Just wandering how are his supposed "lesser movies"? I may bite the bullet and buy them:

Le deuxième souffle?
Le Doulos?

Anyone like them???

Also, Thanks for posting the link about CC releasing, the great beauty! Looks so sick can't wait to see it.

I've been known to talk about Melville here from time to time.

Le Samourai is my all-time favorite movie, but Army of Shadows and Le Cercle Rouge are both in my all-time top five as well.

In fact, just last night, I received the Le Samourai Pathe Blu-ray from France and watched it. Horrible transfer and the Criterion DVD is better, but I still had a glorious time watching it.

Le Deuxième Souffle and Le Doulos are great films across the board, and many here like them just as much as the above three I've mentioned.

Bob Le Flambeur is brilliant. Leon Morin, Priest is different, but it's one of the greatest low-key Criterion releases.

I also heartily recommend Le Silence de la Mer, since it is available as a Region Free film from the UK. It's another awesome film concerning a different side of the French Resistance.

My least favorite Melville film is Les Enfants Terribles, but it's still downright good and very much worth having in the collection.

Here's looking forward to the Cohen Media release of Two Men in Manhattan next month.

Sadly, Un Flic is not yet available on Blu-ray, but the DVD is inexpensive and it's highly recommended by this fan.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yes yes!

Name the most emotional film Kubrick made after Paths of Glory.

Anyone?

I'm going to guess Barry Lyndon. But even that wasn't too emotional. No, maybe Full Metal Jacket is a better candidate.

The least emotional film Kubrick made? 2001. That is obvious though.

I had quite a bit of emotion running through me with Barry Lyndon (which I have coming in the mail today) as well as Killer's Kiss, even though it isn't a particularly good film; it does sport a strong emotional core IMO.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yes yes!

Name the most emotional film Kubrick made after Paths of Glory.

Anyone?

I'm going to guess Barry Lyndon. But even that wasn't too emotional. No, maybe Full Metal Jacket is a better candidate.

The least emotional film Kubrick made? 2001. That is obvious though.

Dr. Strangelove or A Clockwork Orange.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yes yes!

Name the most emotional film Kubrick made after Paths of Glory.

Anyone? I'm going to guess Barry Lyndon. But even that wasn't too emotional. No, maybe Full Metal Jacket is a better candidate.

Put me down for Full Metal Jacket.

R Lee Ermey is (rightly) the first thing people think of when they hear 'Full Metal Jacket' but Vincent D'Onofrio's Private Pyle was very, very well done and some of his reactions to being berated/harrassed/bullied were very subtle and very gut-wrenching.

Even a lot of the 'horrors of war' stuff in the second half is pretty unconventional and pretty effective on an emotional level. And some of it is just downright creepy and very effective on an emotional level.

Originally Posted by jw007

The least emotional film Kubrick made? 2001. That is obvious though.

I dunno, awe and dread are emotions, no? The emotions in 2001 never come to a boil but they're always simmering.

I would say Dr Strangelove is probably the least emotional. It's so simultaneously on-the-nose and over-the-top that there's very little chance of taking it seriously in a 'Fail-Safe, whoa, this could happen' sort of way.

Of course, one could argue that laughter is an emotional response and in that case, Strangelove is very emotional because it's freaking hilarious.

Edit: another candidate for least emotional is Eyes Wide Shut. I know a lot of people disagree but no matter how many times I watch it (and it's been several now) I never get any real feelings from or about Cruise or Kidman. While fascinating at times, the whole thing seems very cold and detached to me.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by jw007

Yes yes!

Name the most emotional film Kubrick made after Paths of Glory.
Anyone?
I'm going to guess Barry Lyndon. But even that wasn't too emotional.

Admittedly, when you're down to guessing Spartacus, there aren't that many choices.

The least emotional film Kubrick made? 2001. That is obvious though.

Y'know, if Eyes Wide Shut had had a plot, it might have had emotion?
(I knew there had to be one movie more sterile than The Shining, but I couldn't place it for a while.)

[Ausjdm]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I've been known to talk about Melville here from time to time.

Le Samourai is my all-time favorite movie, but Army of Shadows and Le Cercle Rouge are both in my all-time top five as well.

In fact, just last night, I received the Le Samourai Pathe Blu-ray from France and watched it. Horrible transfer and the Criterion DVD is better, but I still had a glorious time watching it.

Le Deuxième Souffle and Le Doulos are great films across the board, and many here like them just as much as the above three I've mentioned.

Bob Le Flambeur is brilliant. Leon Morin, Priest is different, but it's one of the greatest low-key Criterion releases.

I also heartily recommend Le Silence de la Mer, since it is available as a Region Free film from the UK. It's another awesome film concerning a different side of the French Resistance.

My least favorite Melville film is Les Enfants Terribles, but it's still downright good and very much worth having in the collection.

Here's looking forward to the Cohen Media release of Two Men in Manhattan next month.

Sadly, Un Flic is not yet available on Blu-ray, but the DVD is inexpensive and it's highly recommended by this fan.

Cool man thanks for the run down on each one, ill definitly buy those two I asked about. He always seemed like a under appreciated director. You always hear about Goddard and Truffant etc...

[alien2010]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold Blu-ray REVIEW

Received my copy today (thanks DVD World USA) After reading the novel last year, I have been meaning to watch the film adaptation. I really do not know why I kept putting it off, because it is sensational. The film is a masterpiece and a milestone in the spy genre. It has been a while since I've seen a film which is just perfect (my only gripe was the fact that the Germans spoke English instead of German, but that's just my problem) I strongly recommend this film.

I found the PQ overall to be fantastic. The icy black and white photography is finally given the treatment it deserves. The only minor problem I had were the miniscule white specks popping up during the credit sequence, but that is such a minor issue that I don't know why I mentioned it. The AQ was strong and, like the reviewer mentioned, crisp. An essential buy for spy genre fans.

[The Great Owl]

People are talking about Kubrick, so I'll throw in my favorite movie of his, The Shining.

In fact, The Shining is my favorite Kubrick movie by a long mile. I'm hard-pressed to imagine a better Blu-ray transfer than the current one, but I'd love to see Criterion release the movie with bountiful extras.

I love how Kubrick uses brightly lit settings to maximize the horror, because so few horror movie directors have used that technique.

I have a lot of childhood nostalgia tied to The Shining, especially because of one incident where a friend and I visited another friend's house to watch the movie on HBO when we were 11 years old, and then walked a mile through the woods after dark on a trail back to our street. We were both scared out of our wits during that walk through the dark woods. Kubrick's fault.

Right now, I'm re-reading the Stephen King novel for the first time in a couple of decades, in anticipation of King's upcoming book, Doctor Sleep, which features the adult Danny Torrance many years after the events in The Shining.

[SilentDawn]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

People are talking about Kubrick, so I'll throw in my favorite movie of his, The Shining.

In fact, The Shining is my favorite Kubrick movie by a long mile. I'm hard-pressed to imagine a better Blu-ray transfer than the current one, but I'd love to see Criterion release the movie with bountiful extras.

I love how Kubrick uses brightly lit settings to maximize the horror, because so few horror movie directors have used that technique.

I have a lot of childhood nostalgia tied to The Shining, especially because of one incident where a friend and I visited another friend's house to watch the movie on HBO when we were 11 years old, and then walked a mile through the woods after dark on a trail back to our street. We were both scared out of our wits during that walk through the dark woods. Kubrick's fault.

Right now, I'm re-reading the Stephen King novel for the first time in a couple of decades, in anticipation of King's upcoming book, Doctor Sleep, which features the adult Danny Torrance many years after the events in The Shining.

What an awesome story Owl! I have a similar experience of seeing The Shining on TV when I was about 10 years old, it definitely scared me but not to the extent that Psycho did about 2 years earlier.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by SilentxStatik24

What an awesome story Owl! I have a similar experience of seeing The Shining on TV when I was about 10 years old, it definitely scared me but not to the extent that Psycho did about 2 years earlier.

Psycho freaked me out when I was a kid. I instantly wanted to see it again, though. I love how even kids can grasp the nuances of those films. I went into Psycho knowing absolutely nothing about the plot, so the outcome really threw me for a loop.

[The Great Owl]

All of the Bill Murray talk a few days ago made me want to revisit Stripes, so I picked it up today. It's fun to see two prominent Criterion actors, Bill Murray and Warren Oates, square off in this one. Warren Oates was such a versatile actor in those days, and this is far removed from his role in Two-Lane Blacktop.

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

All of the Bill Murray talk a few days ago made me want to revisit Stripes, so I picked it up today. It's fun to see two prominent Criterion actors, Bill Murray and Warren Oates, square off in this one. Warren Oates was such a versatile actor in those days, and this is far removed from his role in Two-Lane Blacktop.

Bill Murray film that needs to be on Criterion BluRay? Broken Flowers.