The Criterion Collection

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jw007

I think About Schmidt would make for a perfect Criterion Blu-ray release, don't you?

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Sideways is my favorite Payne film. The Descendents is excellent, too. Shailene Woodley is going places.

The Sideways blu-ray features a very entertaining commentary with Giamatti and Haden Church. They certainly didn't mail it in!

I'm with SO Jr. on this one...

Sideways is actually one of my favorite all-time films... and yes, I was moved by The Descendants... loved it! Election w/ Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon is seriously under-appreciated.

About Schmidt.. I definitely liked, but I'd put it 4th (and probably destined to be 5th after I see Nebraska).
I think Election would make the best A.P. Criterion release as it is closer to his earlier work and deserves a bigger audience. Oh, and the BD out now is kinda lousy from what I understand.

I saw Shailene Woodley at last year's EbertFest after a screening of The Spectacular Now. Pretty classy young lady. Count me as a fan.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

I think Election would make the best A.P. Criterion release as it is closer to his earlier work and deserves a bigger audience. Oh, and the BD out now is kinda lousy from what I understand.

Personally, I think Election is by far his best film and I would love to see it get a better release.

[Ausjdm]

Criterion I couldn't wait any longer, plus I needed the space on my dvr I saw Eraserhead finally last night. Damn brilliant Lynch movie! One of my new favs of his. Totally Deserves a home with CC, hope it happens.

Also has anyone seen/recommend; Ivan's Childhood??? I liked Solaris and the screen shots caught my eye this morning randomly.

[KRW1]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Criterion I couldn't wait any longer, plus I needed the space on my dvr I saw Eraserhead finally last night. Damn brilliant Lynch movie! One of my new favs of his. Totally Deserves a home with CC, hope it happens.

Also has anyone seen/recommend; Ivan's Childhood??? I liked Solaris and the screen shots caught my eye this morning randomly.

It's nothing like Solaris on the whole, (there are perhaps one or two stylistic similarities) but it's a wonderful film. One of my all time favourites.

[Mansinthe]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Also has anyone seen/recommend; Ivan's Childhood??? I liked Solaris and the screen shots caught my eye this morning randomly.

yeah nothing like solaris , more like "sacrifice" if you know that one. still a awesome movie.

[natureboy]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

The 4K scan of Robocop is good along with many extras. No need for a CC issue with so many other films that need upgrading.

Yeah, I think some people just want Criterion to release something because of the name. I'm a huge fan of Criterion and think they do a great job on almost everything they work on, but that mentality drives me nuts.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Also has anyone seen/recommend; Ivan's Childhood??? I liked Solaris and the screen shots caught my eye this morning randomly.

I have watched the film, actually, this was my first ever Criterion viewing and I sure picked a masterpiece. Highly emotive but beautiful. The cinematography alone makes this a A Grade film.

I would highly recommend it

[bwdowiak]

so what will be the announcements tomorrow? (or Monday? whichever)

for me anyway, it seems like it has been slow going from other distributors. every time I read news about new releases, it seems to be some obscure horror film or a crappy PQ release of some mid level film that might have gotten nominated for an Oscar or two, but has probably since lost its audience.

must rely on Criterion to keep things exciting, I guess.

btw... Ivan's Childhood? perhaps up until now, I'd say it is one of the most severely under talked about films in the collection. It was a very nice surprise for me. Got it ranked at #11 out of 48

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Ausjdm

Also has anyone seen/recommend; Ivan's Childhood??? I liked Solaris and the screen shots caught my eye this morning randomly.

Put it this way: Ivan's Childhood is one of my favorite Tarkovsky films; Solaris is one of my least favorite Tarkovsky films.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by natureboy

Yeah, I think some people just want Criterion to release something because of the name. I'm a huge fan of Criterion and think they do a great job on almost everything they work on, but that mentality drives me nuts.

Drives me nuts, too. It's almost as if every really good film should come out from Criterion, and not from anyone else. It's not like Criterion isn't releasing a half-dozen pretty-much-exceptional (depending on personal taste) titles each month.

Now the title I'd like to see Criterion do, because it's exactly the kind of thing they do well, is Bahman Ghobadi's No One Knows About Persian Cats, which I just saw on Netflix. Astonishing look at the underground music scene in Tehran. Then again, maybe they don't want to jinx their relationship with Abbas Kiarostami, who apparently has "issues" with Ghobadi.

Anyway, the film is apparently on DVD in the US, but at 16x9 "full screen" instead of the proper 2.35:1 ratio.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

so what will be the announcements tomorrow? (or Monday? whichever)

If we knew what the announcements would be ahead of time, Criterion wouldn't need to make the announcements.

for me anyway, it seems like it has been slow going from other distributors. every time I read news about new releases, it seems to be some obscure horror film or a crappy PQ release of some mid level film that might have gotten nominated for an Oscar or two, but has probably since lost its audience.

must rely on Criterion to keep things exciting, I guess.

Nonsense. There are more than enough really good films, with really good PQ (and AQ) coming out from other labels. There are at least two dozen non-Criterion releases out this month that I've either already gotten or want to get.

[TylerScruggs]

p sure June's announcements will be on the 15th (that's what I read on reddit), but it may be monday the 16th.

Definitely soon.

[BladeRunner2007]

The Hidden Fortress was in the mail today. Just finished watching it for the first time. I absolutely loved it. Every minute of it. You can easily see how it influenced Star Wars. This film is a great adventure movie with many great and charming characters. I loved the humor in this so much. Cinematography was also breathtaking. I had a total blast watching it. The duel is one of the best fight scenes of all time. So intense! After Seven Samurai, this is definitely my favorite Kurosawa film. Because it is so damn entertaining. But I have only seen Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ran & The Hidden Fortress so far. Can't wait to see Rashomon & Throne of Blood (and others of course ) 5/5

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by TylerScruggs

p sure June's announcements will be on the 15th (that's what I read on reddit), but it may be monday the 16th.

Monday is the 17th, and it's Saint Patrick's Day, which is one of the many foreign holidays that Americans simply use as another excuse to get drunk, although most do not have any clue about the actual origins of these holidays.

I would not be surprised if Criterion held over the announcements until Tuesday.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Nonsense. There are more than enough really good films, with really good PQ (and AQ) coming out from other labels. There are at least two dozen non-Criterion releases out this month that I've either already gotten or want to get.

I'm not trying to make the pt that other labels don't put out good stuff. I'm just saying that it seems slow going with interesting titles all around.

two dozen you say?! you or anyone else.. fill me in. what looks good out there? other than double indemnity and touch of evil, what are people most excited about?

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

two dozen you say?! you or anyone else.. fill me in. what looks good out there? other than double indemnity and touch of evil, what are people most excited about?

A few cool non-Criterion releases, new or upcoming within the month, that quicken my pulse...

Cry Danger
Sleep, My Love
Stranger on the Prowl
The Swimmer
Somewhere in Time
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
All the King's Men (1949)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Sabrina
Sorcerer
Get Carter (1971)
Tourist Trap

Of course, Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil are my most eagerly awaited titles.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by BladeRunner2007

The Hidden Fortress was in the mail today. Just finished watching it for the first time. I absolutely loved it. Every minute of it. You can easily see how it influenced Star Wars. This film is a great adventure movie with many great and charming character. I loved the humor in this so much. Cinematography was also breathtaking. I had a total blast watching it. The duel is one of the best fight scenes of all time. So intense! After Seven Samurai, this is definitely my favorite Kurosawa film. Because it is so damn entertaining. But I have only Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Ran & The Hidden Fortress so far. Can't wait to see Rashomon & Throne of Blood (and others of course ) 5/5

I wasn't a fan of The Hidden Fortress unfortunately. It was my first Criterion purchase (DVD version) and my least favorite Kurosawa release. (So far). It was entertaining in parts but drug in others.

I'm a huge fan of the Red Harvest based movies, so Yojimbo is probably #1 or #2 for me. Seven Samurai was also an incredible movie. I have about 5 more Kurosawa movies to watch though, (well I mean I have 5 more than I own that I need to watch, not 5 more to complete his entire volume of work) so rankings could always change.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

A few cool non-Criterion releases, new or upcoming within the month, that quicken my pulse...

Cry Danger
Sleep, My Love
Stranger on the Prowl
The Swimmer
Somewhere in Time
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral
All the King's Men (1949)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Sabrina
Sorcerer
Get Carter (1971)
Tourist Trap

Of course, Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil are my most eagerly awaited titles.

The Swimmer did sound interesting when I looked into it briefly. (100% on RT!) ...and the T Time titles, too, although I'm reluctant to make blind buys at their going price. Sabrina will wind up in my collection eventually, I am sure.

I'll look into the other ones tomorrow while killing time at work. Thanks, Owl!

[RandyK]

What are some good starting points for Wes Anderson's films? Thinking about getting The Life Aquatic when it's released. Any others that represent his style well?

[Visco.]

Originally Posted by RandyK

What are some good starting points for Wes Anderson's films? Thinking about getting The Life Aquatic when it's released. Any others that represent his style well?

The Royal Tenenbaums is a masterpiece and very accessible if you're into the style he brings to his movies. I still haven't watched my copy of Bottle Rocket. Didn't really care for Moonrise Kingdom.