The Criterion Collection

[The Stick]

Originally Posted by Clare2904

Umberto D & The Bicycle Thieves (needs an upgrade)

Criterion has a blu ray of Umberto D.
My copy still unopened but I'll watch it soon.
One of my favorite Italian neo-realist fims.

[Infernal King]

The original Showa era of Godzilla films is also my favorite. I really enjoy

Mothra vs. Godzilla (a great "gate key" to the franchise)

Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster (my absolute favorite monster battle of all: Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra vs. King Ghidorah!)

and Terror of Mechagodzilla, which is probably the darkest of the films after the original. Despite the alien invaders and their goofy helmets, the movie is played deadly serious and it works. Plus, it's the last Godzilla film directed by Ishiro Honda.

Oh, and if you want to watch one of the weirdest and most surreal movies of all time, I recommend Godzilla vs. Hedorah. Its uniqueness has helped elevate it to my favorites list.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Stick

Criterion has a blu ray of Umberto D.
My copy still unopened but I'll watch it soon.
One of my favorite Italian neo-realist fims.

I wish Shoeshine was available on Blu-ray.

[The Great Owl]

I stopped by a used store on the way from work today, and found mint condition copy of The Samurai Trilogy for $25, so I pulled the trigger.

I have been wanting to upgrade my old Criterion DVDs of the Samurai Trilogy for a long time, since I had the old 2004 edition, and have heard that the new remaster is so much better. Over the past year and half, though, I've always somehow had higher purchase priorities, even during the Barnes & Noble sales. This time around, I was selling off my DVDs of Superman II and Gilda, since I recently upgraded both movies to Blu-ray, so that took the price down even more. It's good to have this Blu-ray set in my possession at last.

I'm expecting the colors on these three movies to be spectacular in high definition. It's also good to see my Toshiro Mifune collection growing.

[poppunklovebaby]

Does anyone know when there is going to be another 50% off Amazon or Barnes and Noble sale on the Criterion Collection? What about a flash sale?

Thanks

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Shout Factory is putting out a big Herzog set at the end of July:

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Herzo...lu-ray/100833/

After some serious thought, I've decided that I'm just going to buy the Scream Factory Blu-ray of Herzog's Nosferatu instead of buying the Herzog: The Collection set in its entirety.

I've seen most of the movies in Herzog: The Collection before on DVD, and, although I have the utmost respect and admiration for the director's artistry, there are several movies in the set that I simply have no desire ever to watch again. I don't see myself ever bothering to revisit Even Dwarfs Started Small, Fata Morgana, Heart of Glass, or Lessons of Darkness. I appreciated Strozsek in terms of the story, but it's too much of a bummer for me to sit through again.

For me, Herzog's Nosferatu is the main attraction, and the availability of it on an individual Blu-ray is a great thing.
I'd like to see Aguirre: The Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo again, but I'll hold out for individual Blu-ray releases of those movies.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by poppunklovebaby

Does anyone know when there is going to be another 50% off Amazon or Barnes and Noble sale on the Criterion Collection? What about a flash sale?

The Barnes & Noble 50% off sale will probably take place in July, as it has every year.

[pro-bassoonist]

Ace in the Hole Blu-ray REVIEW



PACKAGING

(More photos in the review). The 'booklet' is a newspaper





Pro-B

[pro-bassoonist]

Overlord Blu-ray REVIEW



PACKAGING





Pro-B

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

In my opinion, there's the original 1954 Japanese version of Godzilla and the 1956 Godzilla, King of the Monsters!, and then there's everything else.

All of the sequels that I've seen (and I've seen most of them) are fun, and worth watching, but none of them stand up to the original film when it comes to the menacing presence of Godzilla. Nothing that I've seen in the sequels stands up to Godzilla's rampage through Tokyo in that original film. I've always liked how the crude sequences of Godzilla in the first film resemble actual black-and-white postwar news footage.

That said, some sequels are worth a mention. My preferences are strong for the Shōwa series (1954–1975), which is the original run of the franchise.

Of all of the Godzilla sequels, I'm partial to Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964). Ghidorah is a total sociopath, and it's fun to watch him wreak havoc everywhere.

Destroy All Monsters (1968) is another fun one, just for the sheer spectacle.

Godzilla 2000 is good, because the special effects are masterful, and because it's cool to see how the film makes fun of American movies like Jurassic Park, Twister, and, of course, the 1998 American version of Godzilla.

I really wish that the Criterion Collection would release the original 1956 movie, Rodan. Rodan eventually crossed over into the Godzilla franchise, but the first movie is a stand-alone story and it is marvelous.

I am looking forward to the 2014 American version of Godzilla that comes out in a couple of weeks. I do not expect the digital effects to stand up to the brilliant vibe of the 1954 film, but I am expecting a fun popcorn movie.

When I was a kid I remember seeing King Kong vs Godzilla and Godzilla vs The Thing? (which was actually Mothra but that's how they marketed it) in the theater. Another early Japanese Sci-Fi film I saw in the theater was The Mysterians which I fondly remember for the giant robot that was in it. Good memories.

Of course I didn't know it at the time but it's fun to listen for actors who voiced the dubs like Keye Luke, George Takai, etc.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by The Stick

Criterion has a blu ray of Umberto D.
My copy still unopened but I'll watch it soon.
One of my favorite Italian neo-realist fims.

I know, hence the () around Bicycle Thieves. I recommend you watch your copy ASAP and if you want another De Sica may I suggest Shoeshine

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

I wish Shoeshine was available on Blu-ray.

Me too

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by hoytereden

When I was a kid I remember seeing King Kong vs Godzilla and Godzilla vs The Thing? (which was actually Mothra but that's how they marketed it) in the theater. Another early Japanese Sci-Fi film I saw in the theater was The Mysterians which I fondly remember for the giant robot that was in it. Good memories.

Of course I didn't know it at the time but it's fun to listen for actors who voiced the dubs like Keye Luke, George Takai, etc.

Have you seen the Criterion Eclipse set, When Horror Came to Shochiku, before?

The X from Outer Space is such a fun movie, and I'd sincerely love to see it upgraded to Blu-ray someday.

I'm actually in love with all four of those movies in that Eclipse set.

[Clare2904]

Originally Posted by Roninblues

To what, 3-D?

Again, the () around bicycle thieves and my wording meant I was talking about that film only, but yes, a 3D copy of Umberto D would be very nice thank you

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by demonknight

It begins... Review Time.

The Royal Tenenbaums- Spine #157 4/5
Wow. I went into this thinking I would either like it or hate it. I loved it. As of yesterday, it is my second favorite Anderson film, behind Life Aquatic.

Sid and Nancy- Spine #020- 2.5/5
I really thought I would love this one and... Gary Oldman was really good in it. Webb was so goddamn annoying in it that it often ruined my enjoyment of the film though. The first act was fantastic. That was it. That said, Cox's direction was beautiful.

Originally Posted by demonknight

Cronos- Spine #551- 5/5
This was my second del Toro film (after Pacific Rim), and my first full-length foreign language film (yeah, yeah two characters occasionally speak English, as does the narrator), and it tells me I need to watch more of both. This was such a great character piece; I loved the character of Jesús and the story of his downfall. I did not plan on watching The Devil's Backbone as part of Criterion Month, but it is now on the list. Also on my list is We Are What We Are because of the reoccurrence of the Tito character.

The Brood- Spine #TBA- 3.5/5
This was a really good Cronenberg film. Not his best (for me, either The Fly or Videodrome), but damn good. It has a genuinely creepy atmosphere and I dug the uneasiness of the thing. I patiently await its impending Criterion release; I may not buy it for a while, but I will get it eventually.

Blow Out- Spine #562- 4/5
Not too bad. I saw half of this before and didn't entirely care for it. I decided to give it another go, and I really liked it. Definitely not my favorite De Palma (that is Phantom of the Paradise), nor my favorite Travolta, but it was really cool.

Naked Lunch- Spine #220- 4/5
This was really something. It's one of those "Stuff happens for no particular reason in no particular context for two hours" movies, which I can either love or hate. I dug it; probably because I really like Cronenberg as a director and Weller as an actor. Going on my Amazon Wishlist immediately.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I stopped by a used store on the way from work today, and found mint condition copy of The Samurai Trilogy for $25, so I pulled the trigger.

I have been wanting to upgrade my old Criterion DVDs of the Samurai Trilogy for a long time, since I had the old 2004 edition, and have heard that the new remaster is so much better. Over the past year and half, though, I've always somehow had higher purchase priorities, even during the Barnes & Noble sales. This time around, I was selling off my DVDs of Superman II and Gilda, since I recently upgraded both movies to Blu-ray, so that took the price down even more. It's good to have this Blu-ray set in my possession at last.

I'm expecting the colors on these three movies to be spectacular in high definition. It's also good to see my Toshiro Mifune collection growing.

The Samurai Trilogy is one of my favorite Criterion blus. You are in for a real treat, the colors definitely pop much more than they did on the DVD.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Have you seen the Criterion Eclipse set, When Horror Came to Shochiku, before?

The X from Outer Space is such a fun movie, and I'd sincerely love to see it upgraded to Blu-ray someday.

I'm actually in love with all four of those movies in that Eclipse set.

I have seen The X From Outer Space and it's a hoot! I haven't seen the others on that set.

[fdm]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

Yeah, I suppose the nature of what art house is has changed . I imagine this was shown there because of the nature of the movie, leading to it having a limited distribution. I wouldn't consider it art house personally, it's just a very dark satirical comedy to me. You do get my drift though as far as the type of films that are often associated with Criterion.

At that same theater around the same timeframe, I recall seeing Ran and Koyaanisqatsi. (Can't think offhand of too many others, but there were a significant number of good films I saw there... La Cage Aux Folles, Das Boot, were a couple more.) And that's just one of a good handful of art house theaters that were around at the time. (Lots of incredible stuff showing, usually just a short drive away.)

Now I live too far away from what's left of them to do much more than think about going once in a while. Plus now there's also home theater and big screen tvs and more films than I'll ever be able to watch.

[BLUgrass]

Just blind bought/ordered 12 Angry Men. Really looking forward to watching this. My modest Criterion collection is slowly beginning to expand

[ShellOilJunior]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

[Show spoiler]Ace in the Hole Blu-ray REVIEW



PACKAGING

(More photos in the review). The 'booklet' is a newspaper





Pro-B

For anyone contemplating a blind buy - this is as close to a sure thing as it gets. For my money it's Wilder's best drama (It has a great sense of cynical humor, too. I always get a kick out of Tatum suggesting to an old lady that she get involved in a trunk murder because nothing ever happens in Albuquerque.)

Amazon's $24.99 is a good price.