The Criterion Collection

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I concur. I actually did make a double feature of these a couple years back when I owned both on DVD.

On a different note...

Since you're a Billy Wilder fan, have you seen Wilder's 1945 short film, Death Mills, which is included as an extra on the Kino Blu-ray of The Stranger? I watched this last night and was quite unsettled. It's the most unflinchingly graphic footage of the Nazi concentration camps that I have ever seen. It's an important inclusion on this particular Blu-ray, since it emphasizes the seriousness of the atmosphere in the immediate postwar era with context to the Orson Welles fictional film, but I will likely not be revisiting this particular supplement anytime soon.

I've heard of it once or twice but haven't seen it. I don't recall BW mentioning it in the book with Cameron Crowe (though it's been several years since I read it). I do know Wilder almost directed Schindler's List.

I'm excited about Fedora in 2014 as it's one of the few Wilder films I haven't seen (mainly because it's been unavailable).

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

I'm excited about Fedora in 2014 as it's one of the few Wilder films I haven't seen (mainly because it's been unavailable).

I stumbled across Fedora on some television channel back in the 1980s when I was a kid. I do not remember a lot about the film, except for the title and the scenes of the woman with the sunglasses and hat, but I do seem to recall that the story had a dark edge to it that surprised me at the time.

Olive Films is going to be making some serious bank from me in 2014, just as they have this year.

[Cinemach]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Today's good news is TT has confirmed they do NOT have rights to release The Lady from Shanghai or Gilda.

I had thought that this was a mild certainty before, but I can practically see The Lady from Shanghai with a 'C' on the case corner right now.

For some reason, Gilda doesn't strike me immediately as a Criterion acquisition - I'd welcome it of course but it's so Hollywood, which doesn't preclude a Criterion release but makes it a candidate for release through other channels.

Originally Posted by FaceInTheLeaves

[...]
If I hadn't found a multi-region player I don't know if I'd have bothered with blu-ray. Criterion and David Lynch were 80% of the reason I moved from DVD to blu-ray. The big studios weren't important.

Blu-ray still hasn't got a proper foothold in the UK. I was in HMV yesterday, in the midst of a Christmas shopping riot, and I heard someone looking for the "proper" DVD of Cinderella rather than the presumably improper blu-ray. I was the only person in the (long) queue buying blu-rays.

David Lynch/Mulholland Dr is a principle reason I'm region-free (if you're a Lynch fan in America, it's up to now practically mandated).

When investigating players a few years back I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the cheap Best Buy Insignia player I then primarily used was code-hackable. Needless to say, with the addition of the cheap Sears Seiki player for redundancy, I couldn't imagine something as pithy as "region" keeping me from a release now.

Originally Posted by octagon

Speaking of which, have they had a direct sale recently? I know they still discount individual titles from time to time but I can't remember the last time they had a site-wide sale.

Quite a few of their older blus have been reduced in the past few weeks. They had a great staggered reduction during Black Friday week (where I finally picked up Die Nibelungen for 7.99 GBP, one of the best deals I've taken advantage of recently).

I really liked Testament and I even thought the steelbook was surprisingly cool. The Gambler will definitely be in my next order.

I settled for the amaray release of Dr. Mabuse: der Spieler, but in either form it gets a high, high recommendation. It's probably my favorite of Lang's silents, one of my favorite silents period, and the presentation is fantastic.

[bwdowiak]

I saw A Man Escaped yesterday. This isn't much of a spoiler at all, but I'll tag it for those who don't like to read reviews prior to seeing a movie (like myself). This is from Owl's review. He saved me from having to articulate on one aspect of the film that I found to be utterly fantastic. :

[Show spoiler]"The Nazi enemies are usually confined to outside of the picture frame and presented as a faceless force of evil, but the danger is always lurking just outside the edge of our field of vision by way of sounds. The use of implied events to generate suspense has rarely, if ever, been put to better use in a film."

Well said, Owl. The amount of detail that is conveyed by off screen sounds is amazing. As a viewer, we know as much about those sounds as Fontaine does and we have to interpret and process them just as he does. Couple that with the meticulous details in which he plans and prepares for his escape and you cannot help but feel his claustrophobic plight.

Great film! One of the best Criterion releases I've seen!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I saw A Man Escaped yesterday. This isn't much of a spoiler at all, but I'll tag it for those who don't like to read reviews prior to seeing a movie (like myself). This is from Owl's review. He saved me from having to articulate on one aspect of the film that I found to be utterly fantastic. :

[Show spoiler]"The Nazi enemies are usually confined to outside of the picture frame and presented as a faceless force of evil, but the danger is always lurking just outside the edge of our field of vision by way of sounds. The use of implied events to generate suspense has rarely, if ever, been put to better use in a film."

Well said, Owl. The amount of detail that is conveyed by off screen sounds is amazing. As a viewer, we know as much about those sounds as Fontaine does and we have to interpret and process them just as he does. Couple that with the meticulous details in which he plans and prepares for his escape and you cannot help but feel his claustrophobic plight.

Great film! One of the best Criterion releases I've seen!

Thanks for the kind words!

I really need to revisit A Man Escaped. I was obsessed with this Blu-ray for a couple of weeks after I bought it upon its release early this year, but it has since become lost in the shuffle behind subsequent impressive Criterion releases. When I was voting for films on the "Best New Spine" poll a few days ago, I hovered over the check box for this title for a short while. It did not quite make my top three on that poll, but it is a fantastic release.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Thanks for the kind words!

I really need to revisit A Man Escaped. I was obsessed with this Blu-ray for a couple of weeks after I bought it upon its release early this year, but it has since become lost in the shuffle behind subsequent impressive Criterion releases. When I was voting for films on the "Best New Spine" poll a few days ago, I hovered over the check box for this title for a short while. It did not quite make my top three on that poll, but it is a fantastic release.

It is, without a doubt, a masterful piece of cinema. I wonder, too, how I will regard the film given the passing of a little bit of time. Ranking my favorite Criterions has been an interesting task.. there are films that I have ranked extremely high that I don't feel I need to own (e.g. Rosemary's Baby) and a few others that I would place lower, but would like to have in my collection. A Man Escaped is by no means, a wild entertainment. I don't know if that fact will limit the length of my buzz for it. It does seem, at this point however, an essential film to own.

Don't know if that makes sense, but anyway...

[Judex]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Today's good news is TT has confirmed they do NOT have rights to release The Lady from Shanghai or Gilda.

Excellent news. Hopefully Criterion get their hands on them.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by octagon

Yeah, it's hard to see Sony releasing either of them directly. But you never know. I was kind of surprised when they didn't license From Here to Eternity or Ishtar.

Or Matilda. I was amazed that of all the titles Sony decides to actually release themselves, they opted for Matilda. That wasn't even a hit when it came out!

[tama]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Today's good news is TT has confirmed they do NOT have rights to release The Lady from Shanghai or Gilda.

It looks like either TT is shying away from Fox/Sony titles or vice versa. Looks like they're focusing more on MGM titles they've recently licensed. The also made it obvious elsewhere that they took a hit with 40,50,60s titles and are moving up more towards 70,80s titles.

Personally I find the news very exciting. Glad to see both Fox and Sony releasing some of there catalogue titles directly (Or possibly being licensed to CC).

[TheMollusc]

I have a question to ask and I hope it's okay to ask here. I've been following this thread for quite a while and you all seem very informative.

I recently bought a region free blu ray player and have been acquiring criterions to enjoy over the christmas period, a few of these blind buys. One of the blind buys is Fanny and Alexander. The question I have is whether to watch the theatrical version or the television version first?

Thanks.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by TheMollusc

I recently bought a region free blu ray player and have been acquiring criterions to enjoy over the christmas period, a few of these blind buys. One of the blind buys is Fanny and Alexander. The question I have is whether to watch the theatrical version or the television version first?

I would go with the television version first. This way, you'll be in suspense for the entirety of the 5+ hours, and the novelty of every scene will enhance your enjoyment.

However...

Here's a fun fact. I've watched the television version of Fanny and Alexander several times, but I have never bothered to watch the shortened theatrical version. I guess that this is one potential downside to watching the television version first. Every time I decide to satisfy my curiosity and watch the shortened theatrical version, I remember how awesome the television version is, and I play it again instead.

[TheMollusc]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I would go with the television version first. This way, you'll be in suspense for the entirety of the 5+ hours, and the novelty of every scene will enhance your enjoyment.

Thanks very much! I was leaning towards that but I wanted to make sure. Hopefully I'll be able to find the time to watch it this weekend.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by TheMollusc

I have a question to ask and I hope it's okay to ask here. I've been following this thread for quite a while and you all seem very informative.

I recently bought a region free blu ray player and have been acquiring criterions to enjoy over the christmas period, a few of these blind buys. One of the blind buys is Fanny and Alexander. The question I have is whether to watch the theatrical version or the television version first?

Thanks.

I'd say go for the theatrical cut first for the exact point Great Owl brought up. The TV version of course is the best cut but its frustrating to waych a shorter version when you know all the things that are missing.
At least that's how I did it and was happy with my decision. Hard to go wrong with anything related to Fanny and Alexander really.

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by TheMollusc

I have a question to ask and I hope it's okay to ask here. I've been following this thread for quite a while and you all seem very informative.

I recently bought a region free blu ray player and have been acquiring criterions to enjoy over the christmas period, a few of these blind buys. One of the blind buys is Fanny and Alexander. The question I have is whether to watch the theatrical version or the television version first?

Thanks.

TV version. No doubt about it. There's so many memorable scenes in the film.

[Judex]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I would go with the television version first. This way, you'll be in suspense for the entirety of the 5+ hours, and the novelty of every scene will enhance your enjoyment.

[Show spoiler]
However...

Here's a fun fact. I've watched the television version of Fanny and Alexander several times, but I have never bothered to watch the shortened theatrical version. I guess that this is one potential downside to watching the television version first. Every time I decide to satisfy my curiosity and watch the shortened theatrical version, I remember how awesome the television version is, and I play it again instead.

+1

I watched it in one sitting, loved it.

[TheMollusc]

Originally Posted by JoeBuck

I'd say go for the theatrical cut first for the exact point Great Owl brought up. The TV version of course is the best cut but its frustrating to waych a shorter version when you know all the things that are missing.
At least that's how I did it and was happy with my decision. Hard to go wrong with anything related to Fanny and Alexander really.

Thanks for your input and I can see your point but I do think I'll watch the television cut first even if it leads to frustration with the shorter version. I'd rather my first time be the better cut.

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

TV version. No doubt about it. There's so many memorable scenes in the film.

My mind is made up, thank you.

[jw007]

I have a MAJOR QUESTION here if anyone can answer this!

I am trying to buy the World Cinema Project box set (from Martin Scorcese) at Barnes & Noble during this 40% off sale but it seems that they do not carry this release ANYWHERE! It's not available on the website either! The release came out on December 10, so I assumed it would be out by now.

Is Barnes & Noble not offering this for sale?

If someone can confirm if this is true, I would be really happy.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by jw007

I feel like I'm not the only one who has been inspired to buy Pale Flower after The Great Owl posted his raving review about this film. I was at B&N yesterday and picked up the title only to put it back down again and purchased Grey Gardens (blu-ray) and TSWCIFTC using the $8/40 coupon (rare for me) and paying an average of $14 per movie. The 40% sale is going to lure me back to B&N for sure now.

After reading about it many times over the years (in this very same thread), Owl's review just happened to appear at the right time and I finally unwrapped and watched Pale Flower a few days ago. It's quite good, glad I got to it "sooner" rather than putting it off for a likely much longer "later".

It's also old enough that I could easily find it in my collection, not an easy task with the last couple years worth scattered in other much more disorganized and inaccessible nooks and crannies (mostly boxes). Near the top of my to do list is to rectify that situation.

In the meantime, started watching Zatoichi box set. 1 down, 24 to go. (Watched the first 3 a few years back, but once Criterion was mentioned in the same breath as Zatoichi, pretty much decided to hold off and wait it out for the rest.) [I hate slots . E tu, Criterion?]

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by jw007

I have a MAJOR QUESTION here if anyone can answer this!

I am trying to buy the World Cinema Project box set (from Martin Scorcese) at Barnes & Noble during this 40% off sale but it seems that they do not carry this release ANYWHERE! It's not available on the website either! The release came out on December 10, so I assumed it would be out by now.

Is Barnes & Noble not offering this for sale?

If someone can confirm if this is true, I would be really happy.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-...n=715515112314

My local store has a bunch.

[jw007]

Originally Posted by fdm

After reading about it many times over the years (in this very same thread), Owl's review just happened to appear at the right time and I finally unwrapped and watched Pale Flower a few days ago. It's quite good, glad I got to it "sooner" rather than putting it off for a likely much longer "later".

It's also old enough that I could easily find it in my collection, not an easy task with the last couple years worth scattered in other much more disorganized and inaccessible nooks and crannies (mostly boxes). Near the top of my to do list is to rectify that situation.

In the meantime, started watching Zatoichi box set. 1 down, 24 to go. (Watched the first 3 a few years back, but once Criterion was mentioned in the same breath as Zatoichi, pretty much decided to hold off and wait it out for the rest.) [I hate slots . E tu, Criterion?]

Are you a collector of older films? To me, anything before 1967 is considered "old" in my collection. I like that Pale Flower falls right in between old and contemporary cinema.