The Criterion Collection

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

So I know this is not Criterion related, but thought this might be of interest to a few here. One of today's Amazon Black Friday Week deals is the Ford At Fox Collection. It contains The Frontier Marshall / My Darling Clementine / Drums Along the Mohawk / How Green Was My Valley / The Grapes of Wrath / Becoming John Ford. It starts at 11:24am EST, but is DVD.

I have the Twilight Time Blu-ray of Drums Along the Mohawk, and I think that it is an exceptional disc, considering the source material.

I bought The Grapes of Wrath during the recent 50% off sale at FoxConnect, but I'm going to read the Steinbeck novel before I watch the Blu-ray.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I have the Twilight Time Blu-ray of Drums Along the Mohawk, and I think that it is an exceptional disc, considering the source material.

I bought The Grapes of Wrath during the recent 50% off sale at FoxConnect, but I'm going to read the Steinbeck novel before I watch the Blu-ray.

My Western collection is limited to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, so I'm thinking about grabbing this later today... depending on price. I actually have The Searchers at home from Netflix, it's been on my list to watch for quite a while and finally sitting down to watch.

[lordmorpheus72]

Random question... is there a Region Free Player forum? Did a quick search, but seemed to have over looked it. I'd like to pick up some of the MoC releases, as well as others, but only have a region free dvd player. Or if anyone has a suggestion for a region free player, I'd greatly appreciate the info!

Thanks for the info!

[CoenP]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

Random question... is there a Region Free Player forum? Did a quick search, but seemed to have over looked it. I'd like to pick up some of the MoC releases, as well as others, but only have a region free (or hacked) dvd player. Or if anyone has a suggestion for a region free player, I'd greatly appreciate the info!

Thanks for the info!

It's not on this site, but http://www.videohelp.com is pretty useful

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by CoenP

It's not on this site, but http://www.videohelp.com is pretty useful

Thanks! Appreciate the link!

[Joe Dalek]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

It's not a perfect film. Brad Pitt is commendable in his small role, but his comparable star power makes him stand out like a cockroach on a wedding cake, and the scenes took my mind out of the story and into the fact that I was watching a movie after all. Other than that small flaw, though, I do not have any complaints, and I was drawn back into the fold quite easily.

I had similar reservations at first, but in a way it mirrors modern power structures; how someone like Brad Pitt, a rich white man, and his every move and utterance gets attention paid to while the bulk of society doesn't have that sort of platform

[Show spoiler](and indeed Solomon needs that platform that Bass provides in order to be heard; without it he is completely powerless, "less than a person" even)

. Pitt's appearance does take you out of the picture at first, but when you consider his character's importance in the story I think it's forgivable. (Plan B co-produced the film...that's one way to get plum roles, I suppose!)

Most of the black people in the film are anonymous, in the background, almost invisible. Solomon is almost constantly (and silently) surrounded by white people who are speaking at him, and all of them hold power over him regardless of their standing in the hierarchy of "white society".

I had similar feelings about the appearance of Paul Giamatti and even Alfre Woodard, whose character is not a slave and has status, but in a way our familiarity with them makes their characters stand out as people of power.

[Thebunk]

Originally Posted by RiFiFi1955

Quick thought on Paris, Texas here. I want some opinions on this.

[Show spoiler]I think the film is remarkable in almost every way except for one aspect of the film, and that is Travis's evolution throughout the film, the 180 he makes from the beginning to end just seems very far fetched to me. I know all the key elements in that Wenders wanted to show a man lost and finding his way again but when we first meet Travis he is more than just a lost soul. Frankly for the first hour of the film he is far from being in any so-called right state of mind. I just think the switch was flipped too quick for me in how his character evolved. It was almost like overnight he made this magical recovery. I think it is the film's only real flaw but a big one it be. I think we should have met Travis, a down on his luck loner who lost his way instead of the mentally unstable, unpredictable Travis we do first meet in the film or if not that more time should have been spent on him heeling and recovering to get back to a functional member of society(this option would have made the film longer which would have been ok or they could have used editing and tricks with time to convey his progress too). Also not to say Travis was back to his old self by the end of the film because he was obviously still overwhelmed with issues and emotions but compared to the beginning of the film...well it is like a complete 180. I never really hear anyone talking about this, did anyone else get this same impression to any degree?

I agree and felt the same about the ending for Frances Ha. Only difference is Parix, Texas was still a great film.

[bwdowiak]

all this talk about Kurosawa and 'rewatchability'... I'll be giving Ikiru a spin in my DVD player some time within the next few days. I've only seen (and liked) Rashomon, so Kurosawa is still pretty new to me.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

all this talk about Kurosawa and 'rewatchability'... I'll be giving Ikiru a spin in my DVD player some time within the next few days. I've only seen (and liked) Rashomon, so Kurosawa is still pretty new to me.

What do you know! The only Kurosawa that I've seen has been Rashômon, too.

In fact the only other Asian films from Criterion that I have seen are The Ballad of Narayama, Pale Flower, and Tokyo Drifter.

Talk about slacking.

[Ctzalman]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

all this talk about Kurosawa and 'rewatchability'... I'll be giving Ikiru a spin in my DVD player some time within the next few days. I've only seen (and liked) Rashomon, so Kurosawa is still pretty new to me.

there was a kurosawa retrospective at the local art museum a few years back, and i was able to catch some of his more celebrated works: ikiru, rashoman, and, of course, seven samurai.

ikiru, while it is a great film, was my least favorite of the group. i think what bothered me most about the film was the last 30 or so minutes. it was essentially a recap of the main character's friends/business associates explaining the rationale behind his actions. i just thought that it made the film drag and dumbed it down. i think that most astute viewers would be able to pick up on the protagonist's motivations without having a 30 minute explanation rammed down their throats.

[anthonyls]

Does anyone know how I can sell my DVD versions of Frances Ha and City Lights?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by anthonyls

Does anyone know how I can sell my DVD versions of Frances Ha and City Lights?

eBay or the Trading Forum on this website.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/forumdisplay.php?f=48

[drawohua]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

All of the Kurosawa films have extensive replay value for me. The obvious highlights for me are Yojimbo, Sanjuro, Seven Samurai, my two Eclipse Kurosawa sets, Ikiru, Drunken Angel, The Bad Sleep Well, and Stray Dog.

Stray Dog, in particular, gives American film noir a run for its money. The more I watch it, the closer it edges to being my favorite Kurosawa film.

That said, I have not exactly been in a frantic rush to upgrade my old Kurosawa DVDs to Blu-ray, save for the Yojimbo/Sanjuro set and Seven Samurai.

I saw Kagemusha on a used Blu-ray rack for $15 the other day, but I just picked it up, looked over it, and put it back on the shelf. I'll upgrade this movie one day, but I'm just in a different headspace right now.

In my opinion, High and Low is the best among all the Akira Kurosawa's BD released by CC, I love Seven Samurai and basically all Akira Kurosawa's film too, but I just can't forget how stunning is the first 45-50 minutes from High and Low. The tension created by the performances of actors and the mise en scene is incredible. no other film can compare with that

[Tin Drum]

Speaking of Kurosawa - any other love for High and Low? Of the Kurosawa films that I've seen it has the highest rewatchability factor.

I loved the two distinct acts in this film - the family crisis up close and personal and then the cat and mouse game that finishes out the film. So, so excellent.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by drawohua

In my opinion, High and Low is the best among all the Akira Kurosawa's BD released by CC, I love Seven Samurai and basically all Akira Kurosawa's film too, but I just can't forget how stunning is the first 45-50 minutes from High and Low. The tension created by the performances of actors and the mise en scene is incredible. no other film can compare with that

Originally Posted by Tin Drum

Speaking of Kurosawa - any other love for High and Low? Of the Kurosawa films that I've seen it has the highest rewatchability factor.

I loved the two distinct acts in this film - the family crisis up close and personal and then the cat and mouse game that finishes out the film. So, so excellent.

I was thinking of trying that, but I've been seeing so many French noirs recently that I figured I'd give it a break... at least for a little while, anyway. High and Low is considered noir, yes?

[TJS_Blu]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

So I know this is not Criterion related, but thought this might be of interest to a few here. One of today's Amazon Black Friday Week deals is the Ford At Fox Collection. It contains The Frontier Marshall / My Darling Clementine / Drums Along the Mohawk / How Green Was My Valley / The Grapes of Wrath / Becoming John Ford. It starts at 11:24am EST, but is DVD.

Just thought I'd post since I know there are Ford fans in here.

FYI - Its the Ford At Fox Collection:Essential John Ford Collection not the 21 disc uber set.

[Tin Drum]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I was thinking of trying that, but I've been seeing so many French noirs recently that I figured I'd give it a break... at least for a little while, anyway. High and Low is considered noir, yes?

It definitely fits the bill of a film noir - it's based on a crime novel by Ed McBain (Evan Hunter). The film is also a play on the social and economic inequalities between classes of Japanese citizens during the time as well.

[the sordid sentinel]

Originally Posted by Tin Drum

Speaking of Kurosawa - any other love for High and Low? Of the Kurosawa films that I've seen it has the highest rewatchability factor.

I loved the two distinct acts in this film - the family crisis up close and personal and then the cat and mouse game that finishes out the film. So, so excellent.

Yeah..I love High and Low (obviously). I've stated here before that Kurosawa's contemporary stuff is my favorite. Kurosawa was a genius with scope framing, don't know why he went away from that later on. Ran and Kagemusha, great as they are, would have benefited from it IMO.

[Cvalda]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

No extras but a nice print.

http://www.yesasia.com/us/ran-blu-ra...0-en/info.html

Hmm, interesting! Do you know of any screenshots available?

[BruceWayneMartin]

I'm going to watch On the Waterfront tonight and was just curious, which ratio should I watch first?