The Criterion Collection

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by the sordid sentinel

Kim Basinger was INSANELY hot in L.A. Confidential. The scene where she leads Bud to her bedroom and stands in that peach colored light looking all vulnerable..primo ]

Yup. Kim Basinger's looks go a long way towards making a film great. 9 1/2 Weeks sits proudly on my shelf next to 8 1/2.

[smoss469]

Does anyone know if Best Buy will ever price match a site other than that small list on their site? I know they only list a few but has anyone had luck calling them and getting them to do it for someone like Deepdiscount or ImportCDs?

[bwdowiak]

I watched Last Year at Marienbad tonight. Loved it! I've been ranking every Criterion film I have seen since hanging out around here and I have a habit of contemplating where I will place a movie even if the movie is only 15 minutes in. I was afraid that the entire film would be like the first 15 minutes, so LYaM moved from last place into a spot (probably) in my top 5 after I gave my wife a synopsis of what I was watching. Once you see where the film is going, even that beginning seems perfect in retrospect. It is the type of film that, for me, will have replay value like a great song. I guess that it isn't for everybody, but I really dug it! Poetic, creepy, romantic, a total mind f**k... good stuff!

Question about OOP Criterions... would you say that the price of the OOP titles is dictated by popularity of the film? Or does it have to do with increasingly limited availability? I would think that it has to do with popularity (The Third Man most expensive, Leon Morin, least expensive,) but that doesn't seem entirely true being that you can snag a copy of Army of Shadows for less than $40.

Final thing.. Out of the Past is playing on TCM right now. I've heard enough good things about it to merit a blind buy when we get a Blu-ray release! Until then.. Robert Mitchum will have to wait!

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I watched Last Year at Marienbad tonight. Loved it! I've been ranking every Criterion film I have seen since hanging out around here and I have a habit of contemplating where I will place a movie even if the movie is only 15 minutes in. I was afraid that the entire film would be like the first 15 minutes, so LYaM moved from last place into a spot (probably) in my top 5 after I gave my wife a synopsis of what I was watching. Once you see where the film is going, even that beginning seems perfect in retrospect. It is the type of film that, for me, will have replay value like a great song. I guess that it isn't for everybody, but I really dug it! Poetic, creepy, romantic, a total mind f**k... good stuff!

You talk about the intro of Marienbad like it's a bad thing. It's one of the best intros to a film ever, whether you're seeing it for the first time or the tenth time.

[jw007]

I just got back from the movie theater and saw The Wolf of Wall Street and I have to say its Scorcese's best film since Casino. I think it is on par with Goodfellas actually. What an intense experience this was! Wow...I'm still digesting this thing. In many ways this film is actually better than Casino in fact but I can't fully say much more for now since I'm still processing what I just witnessed. This film is definitely more effective than the original Wall Street in my opinion. Gordon Gekko is actually mentioned in the film too. Just WOW. This movie blew me away. It's truly about greed, excess and decadence, but its also about adventure and how some people really "live" despite how corrupt they are. Money, it seems, sure can make life more fun, but ultimately the fun doesn't last forever. It's one gigantic joyride that has to come to a crashing halt and that's how certain people like Bernie Madoff met his destiny. But wow, what a ride. This film surely captures this maddening money-infused maelstrom of men.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Final thing.. Out of the Past is playing on TCM right now. I've heard enough good things about it to merit a blind buy when we get a Blu-ray release! Until then.. Robert Mitchum will have to wait!

You won't regret waiting. It's a great movie, a very safe blind buy and if gets a good transfer it should look absolute fantastic. Hell, I caught a few minutes tonight and it looked pretty damn good on TCM.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Rich Pure Doom

You talk about the intro of Marienbad like it's a bad thing. It's one of the best intros to a film ever, whether you're seeing it for the first time or the tenth time.

Depends on your perspective. When you're watching for the FIRST time, the intro may give you to wonder if you'll be able to connect with the film or whether it will be a pompous, cold "art for art's sake" piece. That's what happened with me, but as the film progressed I connected with it and loved it.

[K1NG J0RDAN]

Originally Posted by jw007

I just got back from the movie theater and saw The Wolf of Wall Street and I have to say its Scorcese's best film since Casino. I think it is on par with Goodfellas actually. What an intense experience this was! Wow...I'm still digesting this thing. In many ways this film is actually better than Casino in fact but I can't fully say much more for now since I'm still processing what I just witnessed. This film is definitely more effective than the original Wall Street in my opinion. Gordon Gekko is actually mentioned in the film too. Just WOW. This movie blew me away. It's truly about greed, excess and decadence, but its also about adventure and how some people really "live" despite how corrupt they are. Money, it seems, sure can make life more fun, but ultimately the fun doesn't last forever. It's one gigantic joyride that has to come to a crashing halt and that's how certain people like Bernie Madoff met his destiny. But wow, what a ride. This film surely captures this maddening money-infused maelstrom of men.

I agree 100%!! Such a CRAZY film, and I absolutely cannot wait to see it again. Possibly Leo's best acting/ best film! Of course it's all personal opinions when it comes to that, but damn his performance was flawless. I couldn't help but smile throughout the film (even during parts that were yelling and fighting), because he just did it all so well. The whole cast did. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I saw it Christmas night! This is like what 12 Years A Slave did to me.

I actually just finished watching Goodfellas. Having Scorsese fever!

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by jw007

I just got back from the movie theater and saw The Wolf of Wall Street and I have to say its Scorcese's best film since Casino.

Casino wasn't even Scorcese's best film since Casino. ;D

[joie]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I watched Last Year at Marienbad tonight. Loved it! I've been ranking every Criterion film I have seen since hanging out around here and I have a habit of contemplating where I will place a movie even if the movie is only 15 minutes in. I was afraid that the entire film would be like the first 15 minutes, so LYaM moved from last place into a spot (probably) in my top 5 after I gave my wife a synopsis of what I was watching. Once you see where the film is going, even that beginning seems perfect in retrospect. It is the type of film that, for me, will have replay value like a great song. I guess that it isn't for everybody, but I really dug it! Poetic, creepy, romantic, a total mind f**k... good stuff!

Question about OOP Criterions... would you say that the price of the OOP titles is dictated by popularity of the film? Or does it have to do with increasingly limited availability? I would think that it has to do with popularity (The Third Man most expensive, Leon Morin, least expensive,) but that doesn't seem entirely true being that you can snag a copy of Army of Shadows for less than $40.

Final thing.. Out of the Past is playing on TCM right now. I've heard enough good things about it to merit a blind buy when we get a Blu-ray release! Until then.. Robert Mitchum will have to wait!

I watched it in the afternoon, for the third time, I think, and it gets better each time.

I now have the Studio Canal release and it, like the Criterion, has an intro with Ginette Vincendeau. She's very good at contextualizing a film and talks about the opening's importance. This site's reviewer knocked down that edition's video (from 5 to 4), because "Finally, I am going to grade this transfer as a 4 instead of 5 only because I spotted a few minor flecks popping up here and there that I did not see on the Criterion release ... ." I didn't notice the "flecks."

As far as out-of-print movies go, I think "Last Year ..." is worth more because it's genuinely "important" compared with some of the "popcorn" and "cult" flicks that have gone out-of-print. Studio Canal's UK release works in regions 'A' and 'B'.

edit: In one of the extras (may not be on the Criterion - I don't remember), a guy talks about what the film may mean, and one thing he brings up is that "The Shining" may be an unacknowledged remake. There is the repetitiveness. An interesting idea about "Marienbad" is that it's about a character, "X," trying to escape a film, and he's directing the woman, "A," trying to get her to leave with him. Next time, I'll listen to find out whether some of that "direction" is past tense and some is present, like, "You were afraid" and "You are afraid."

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by jw007

I just got back from the movie theater and saw The Wolf of Wall Street and I have to say its Scorcese's best film since Casino. I think it is on par with Goodfellas actually. What an intense experience this was! Wow...I'm still digesting this thing. In many ways this film is actually better than Casino in fact but I can't fully say much more for now since I'm still processing what I just witnessed. This film is definitely more effective than the original Wall Street in my opinion. Gordon Gekko is actually mentioned in the film too. Just WOW. This movie blew me away. It's truly about greed, excess and decadence, but its also about adventure and how some people really "live" despite how corrupt they are. Money, it seems, sure can make life more fun, but ultimately the fun doesn't last forever. It's one gigantic joyride that has to come to a crashing halt and that's how certain people like Bernie Madoff met his destiny. But wow, what a ride. This film surely captures this maddening money-infused maelstrom of men.

This makes me want to see the film even more! However, I believe the wife is choosing the films today which means Frozen and Saving Mr. Banks. I am excited about Saving Mr. Banks, but I'd rather wait for Frozen on blu-ray...

[14728]

Originally Posted by lordmorpheus72

This makes me want to see the film even more! However, I believe the wife is choosing the films today which means Frozen and Saving Mr. Banks. I am excited about Saving Mr. Banks, but I'd rather wait for Frozen on blu-ray...

I'm not going to watch frozen, by I probably will watch Saving Mr. Banks. Everyone is saying that it's one of the year's best, and also it looks like a very enjoyable movie.

[Polaroid]

Here is a question:

I am not big on samurai films, but would you recommend I get Seven Samurai, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, Zatoichi etc

Im all for appreciating cinema, in any form and such, but I just find the subject boring? (not actually sat through one but its just how I feel on subject). It's just I keep hearing people rave about them and feel like I am missing out, plus they do have some gorgeous packaging haha

Anyway heres my current Criterion List

http://www.criterion.com/my_criterio...obb/collection

Based on those films, do you think I could find some appreciation towards Samurai style films etc? i don't want to pay a fortune on Blus that I just won't like.

(btw not saying they are crap films, I have no idea, we all like different things :P)

[ravenus]

^Seven Samurai and Yojimbo/Sanjuro are simple and entertaining adventure films with elements similar to westerns you might have seen - in fact The Magnificent Seven was adapted from SS and A Fistful of Dollars was taken from Yojimbo.

They're definitely not self-absorbed art-house material, so if that's what you're looking for, you may want to waive on them.

[lordmorpheus72]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Here is a question:

I am not big on samurai films, but would you recommend I get Seven Samurai, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, Zatoichi etc

Im all for appreciating cinema, in any form and such, but I just find the subject boring? (not actually sat through one but its just how I feel on subject). It's just I keep hearing people rave about them and feel like I am missing out, plus they do have some gorgeous packaging haha

Anyway heres my current Criterion List

http://www.criterion.com/my_criterio...obb/collection

Based on those films, do you think I could find some appreciation towards Samurai style films etc? i don't want to pay a fortune on Blus that I just won't like.

(btw not saying they are crap films, I have no idea, we all like different things :P)

before I purchased any of them I would sign up for the free Hulu Plus trial and watch as many as you could to see how you feel about them. To me, it's not worth buying a movie because it's important, but hating it and never watching it. I know, I used to do that all the time, I'd buy just to buy or because it was cool.

Hulu Plus has a whole Criterion section that has over 800 films, including most of the ones you mention. My suggestion, check them out there first.

Originally Posted by ravenus

^Seven Samurai and Yojimbo/Sanjuro are entertaining adventure films with elements similar to westerns you might have seen - in fact The Magnificent Seven was adapted from SS and A Fistful of Dollars was taken from Yojimbo.

And ravenus is correct, a lot of the Spaghetti Westerns have these same themes running through them.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Here is a question:

I am not big on samurai films, but would you recommend I get Seven Samurai, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, Zatoichi etc

Im all for appreciating cinema, in any form and such, but I just find the subject boring? (not actually sat through one but its just how I feel on subject). It's just I keep hearing people rave about them and feel like I am missing out, plus they do have some gorgeous packaging haha

Anyway heres my current Criterion List

http://www.criterion.com/my_criterio...obb/collection

Based on those films, do you think I could find some appreciation towards Samurai style films etc? i don't want to pay a fortune on Blus that I just won't like.

(btw not saying they are crap films, I have no idea, we all like different things :P)

Rent the films first. I don't see how you could even think of spending $$$ on a genre you have no interest in.

If by watching you pick up a liking then look at buying during a sale.

[Rich Pure Doom]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Here is a question:

I am not big on samurai films, but would you recommend I get Seven Samurai, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, Zatoichi etc

Im all for appreciating cinema, in any form and such, but I just find the subject boring? (not actually sat through one but its just how I feel on subject). It's just I keep hearing people rave about them and feel like I am missing out, plus they do have some gorgeous packaging haha

Anyway heres my current Criterion List

http://www.criterion.com/my_criterio...obb/collection

Based on those films, do you think I could find some appreciation towards Samurai style films etc? i don't want to pay a fortune on Blus that I just won't like.

(btw not saying they are crap films, I have no idea, we all like different things :P)

I think Yojimbo is the best start. If you don't like that, you can try Seven Samurai. If you don't like either, then you are probably just bored by the genre. Honestly though, don't think of them as "samurai" films, just think of them as you would any other film, with characters, and a story, and human emotions. Just because they are samurai doesn't remove storytelling or humanity.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Final thing.. Out of the Past is playing on TCM right now. I've heard enough good things about it to merit a blind buy when we get a Blu-ray release! Until then.. Robert Mitchum will have to wait!

I love Out of the Past. I used to watch this one all of the time a few years back.

In fact, I've had a hankering to revisit this movie and The Asphalt Jungle lately, so I found the Film Noir Classics Collection DVD set for cheap on Amazon and placed an order a few days back. This is the first time that I've purchased a DVD of any sort since I bought a Blu-ray player. Here's hoping that my purchase will result in Blu-ray announcements for these films right away (since that always seems to happen around here).

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Im all for appreciating cinema, in any form and such, but I just find the subject boring? (not actually sat through one but its just how I feel on subject). It's just I keep hearing people rave about them and feel like I am missing out, plus they do have some gorgeous packaging haha

Originally Posted by Clare2904

Rent the films first. I don't see how you could even think of spending $$$ on a genre you have no interest in.

Good question, why ARE you feeling such pressure to buy things you say you don't like?
(holds out B&N certificate: C'mon, do it, man, it's cool stuff and all your friends are doing it, don't wanna wuss out, do ya?...Isn't this right about the point where Shazam! or some Saturday-morning cartoon star would come out and tell him not to fall to peer pressure? )

That said, in at least renting the films, do what everyone else does their first time:
Pretend you're watching Magnificent Seven or Fistful of Dollars, or Star Wars while watching Hidden Fortress--
There's a reason why everyone kept making Westerns out of samurai films, and why most of them took place at a time when the feudal wars were coming to an end, and a lot of swords-for-hire found themselves needing work.

Originally Posted by ravenus

in fact The Magnificent Seven was adapted from SS and A Fistful of Dollars was taken from Yojimbo.

And not just "resembled", either--When they offered James Coburn the part of the cool knife-thrower in Magnificent Seven, he'd already seen 7S and said, "Wait, am I playing that silent best-sword-in-Japan character? I'm in!"
Better yet, by watching a "real" samurai film, just tell yourself you're helping stick it to "47 Ronin".

[Ausjdm]

Originally Posted by 14728

I'm not going to watch frozen, by I probably will watch Saving Mr. Banks. Everyone is saying that it's one of the year's best, and also it looks like a very enjoyable movie.

I saw saving mr. Banks on Xmas. It was really good! A depressing disney flick lol? Very good acting, but I was surprised Colin Farrell was in it half the movie. I sware he wasn't even in the trailer or poster...

Off top my head top 2013 in order movies.
12 years a slave
American Hustle
Wolf of wall st.
Gravity
Dallas Buyers Club
Saving mr. Banks
Francis Ha
Place beyond the pines