The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by aes3728

You have excellent taste. This is roughly my list as well. Add Life Aquatic and Red River and Picnic.

(Psst...it's everything that comes out June 17 and beyond, minus Picnic)

[ultlife2013]

My list for the upcoming criterion site sale is pretty extensive!

[RandyK]

I'm having a hard time deciding between 8 1/2 and Vivre Sa Vie. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get both so I need to decide which one to get. I loved Breathless and Vivre sounds good but I know 8 1/2 is one of Fellini's most known works and it too sounds great. Any thoughts?

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by RandyK

I'm having a hard time deciding between 8 1/2 and Vivre Sa Vie. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get both so I need to decide which one to get. I loved Breathless and Vivre sounds good but I know 8 1/2 is one of Fellini's most known works and it too sounds great. Any thoughts?

It's a really tough call as both are essential films, in my opinion. Vivre Sa Vie is worth it for the philosophical discussion that the film raises and 8 1/2 is worth it for Mastroianni's performance alone.

The easiest way would be to bribe a relative for one of them and you buy the other (). But really, if you had to go with one, I'd probably recommend 8 1/2 over Vivre Sa Vie.

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by RandyK

I'm having a hard time deciding between 8 1/2 and Vivre Sa Vie. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get both so I need to decide which one to get. I loved Breathless and Vivre sounds good but I know 8 1/2 is one of Fellini's most known works and it too sounds great. Any thoughts?

I think Vivre sa vie is a better film than Breathless. I also enjoy it more than any Fellini I've seen.

[Fellini912]

Originally Posted by RandyK

I'm having a hard time deciding between 8 1/2 and Vivre Sa Vie. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get both so I need to decide which one to get. I loved Breathless and Vivre sounds good but I know 8 1/2 is one of Fellini's most known works and it too sounds great. Any thoughts?

I love both films, but I would pick 8 1/2 if I had to decide.

That is my unbiased opinion.

[RandyK]

Originally Posted by iScottie

It's a really tough call as both are essential films, in my opinion. Vivre Sa Vie is worth it for the philosophical discussion that the film raises and 8 1/2 is worth it for Mastroianni's performance alone.

The easiest way would be to bribe a relative for one of them and you buy the other (). But really, if you had to go with one, I'd probably recommend 8 1/2 over Vivre Sa Vie.

Originally Posted by brandon_260

I think Vivre sa vie is a better film than Breathless. I also enjoy it more than any Fellini I've seen.

Thanks. The bribing angle is a good idea.

I might have to either flip a coin or kick a title off my list. Did someone here say TCM is airing World on a Wire next month? I thought about getting that but if it's airing I won't.

[jrsl76]

Originally Posted by iScottie

(Psst...it's everything that comes out June 17 and beyond, minus Picnic)

Yep, lol.

[wickedmiranda]

My wishlist for B&N sale:

All that Heaven Allows
3 Women
The Naked Kiss
Shock Corridor
Rosemary's Baby
The Blob
Videodrome
Scanners

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by RandyK

I might have to either flip a coin or kick a title off my list. Did someone here say TCM is airing World on a Wire next month? I thought about getting that but if it's airing I won't.

Monday July 21 2am EDT.

[Scottie]

I just finished The Moment of Truth and I don't even know what to say.

I really liked the film in the sense that we learn a lot about the art of bullfighting. Early on in the film, we meet the main character of Miguel. He's a poor young man who takes on an incredibly dangerous career in order to make ends meet for both himself and his family. The part that really got to me and the part that I ultimately hated was the actual bullfighting. I am not an animal activist in the absolute extreme sense, but I think animal cruelty, especially for entertainment purposes, is absolutely terrible. Why on earth anyone would want to pay money to see men dancing around with a cape before ultimately slaughtering an innocent, defenseless animal to death is beyond my understanding.

I don't want to make this into a debate on animal rights, but I do not doubt that anyone who sees this film will have a very similar reaction to myself. There were moments when I was in tears and moments when I was on the verge of throwing up as a result of seeing the reaction on the bulls' faces to knowing that they were on their last breaths and were about to die. Furthermore, seeing the blood dripping from their backs and their nostrils was honestly way too much to handle.

Overall, the film exceeded my expectations, while simultaneously leaving me very cold and withdrawn. I also think the film did a good job at raising the question about when is enough ultimately enough.

I would not recommend this film as a blind buy. It's a really hard thing to sit through.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I just finished The Moment of Truth and I don't even know what to say.

I really liked the film in the sense that we learn a lot about the art of bullfighting. Early on in the film, we meet the main character of Miguel. He's a poor young man who takes on an incredibly dangerous career in order to make ends meet for both himself and his family. The part that really got to me and the part that I ultimately hated was the actual bullfighting. I am not an animal activist in the absolute extreme sense, but I think animal cruelty, especially for entertainment purposes, is absolutely terrible. Why on earth anyone would want to pay money to see men dancing around with a cape before ultimately slaughtering an innocent, defenseless animal to death is beyond my understanding.

I don't want to make this into a debate on animal rights, but I do not doubt that anyone who sees this film will have a very similar reaction to myself. There were moments when I was in tears and moments when I was on the verge of throwing up as a result of seeing the reaction on the bulls' faces to knowing that they were on their last breaths and were about to die. Furthermore, seeing the blood dripping from their backs and their nostrils was honestly way too much to handle.

Overall, the film exceeded my expectations, while simultaneously leaving me very cold and withdrawn. I also think the film did a good job at raising the question about when is enough ultimately enough.

I would not recommend this film as a blind buy. It's a really hard thing to sit through.

Yeah, that's while I'll never pick that one up.

[Polaroid]

To be fair - not seen the film, but they didn't set the bullfights up just for the film, didn't they film real ones or something?

Still really horrible though :/ not sure whether ill pick up or not...

[jrsl76]

It was a great surprise. Moment Of Truth is highly recommended.

[jw007]

Moments ago I just finished watching Overlord, the 1975 film directed by Stuart Cooper. I also spent another hour or so watching every supplement on the Criterion DVD that I borrowed from the library. I honestly am torn about this film. I think the editing and use of the archival footage is absolutely brilliant for its time, but I think the story and acting is just not enough. Do I sound blasphemous for saying this? This movie is nearly 40 years old and it probably helped influenced a lot of later war films. I really want to like this but it wasn't substantial enough for me. I don't think it was really pretentious either, but at around 80 or so minutes, its more or less a small story about a big event (the invasion at Normandy on D-DAY). I think the fact that it goes into the diary of soldiers is a good vehicle, but the emotion wasn't there. It was truly sad though and tragic as WW2 movies usually are. I honestly am not sure I want to buy this during the Criterion B&N 50% sale next week. I think I'm going to pass.

Does anyone out there love this movie or at least have a certain affinity to it?

[duggie walker]

I know we're all excited about the B and N sale but is there any way we can keep this thread free of endless posts listing what you're going to order and then the inevitable posts telling us you've ordered them and then posts telling us they've been dispatched and then posts complaining how long they're taking to arrive and then the posts telling us they've arrived and complaining about the packaging and then the endless posts of pictures of the discs having arrived? It's mind-numbingly dull.

There's a thread dedicated to the sale. This thread should be for the discussion of the actual films themselves and for news of upcoming releases.

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

I know we're all excited about the B and N sale but is there any way we can keep this thread free of endless posts listing what you're going to order and then the inevitable posts telling us you've ordered them and then posts telling us they've been dispatched and then posts complaining how long they're taking to arrive and then the posts telling us they've arrived and complaining about the packaging and then the endless posts of pictures of the discs having arrived? It's mind-numbingly dull.

There's a thread dedicated to the sale. This thread should be for the discussion of the actual films themselves and for news of upcoming releases.

Blech.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by jw007

Moments ago I just finished watching Overlord, the 1975 film directed by Stuart Cooper. I also spent another hour or so watching every supplement on the Criterion DVD that I borrowed from the library. I honestly am torn about this film. I think the editing and use of the archival footage is absolutely brilliant for its time, but I think the story and acting is just not enough. Do I sound blasphemous for saying this? This movie is nearly 40 years old and it probably helped influenced a lot of later war films. I really want to like this but it wasn't substantial enough for me. I don't think it was really pretentious either, but at around 80 or so minutes, its more or less a small story about a big event (the invasion at Normandy on D-DAY). I think the fact that it goes into the diary of soldiers is a good vehicle, but the emotion wasn't there. It was truly sad though and tragic as WW2 movies usually are. I honestly am not sure I want to buy this during the Criterion B&N 50% sale next week. I think I'm going to pass.


Does anyone out there love this movie or at least have a certain affinity to it?

Being a WWII buff, I really wanted to like this film but ended up feeling just meh! about it. When the real footage was onscreen I was engrossed. So much so that when the storyline came on I kept wanting it to hurry up and get done so we could get back to the next war footage sequence. I didn't find the main character all that interesting and really never connected emotionally with him. I had also been considering it as a B&N purchase but saw it on Hulu Plus first and decided to pass.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by duggie walker

I know we're all excited about the B and N sale but is there any way we can keep this thread free of endless posts listing what you're going to order and then the inevitable posts telling us you've ordered them and then posts telling us they've been dispatched and then posts complaining how long they're taking to arrive and then the posts telling us they've arrived and complaining about the packaging and then the endless posts of pictures of the discs having arrived? It's mind-numbingly dull.

There's a thread dedicated to the sale. This thread should be for the discussion of the actual films themselves and for news of upcoming releases.

Good luck with people listening to that. July is Criterion boner time.

[Helikaon]

Originally Posted by RandyK

I'm having a hard time deciding between 8 1/2 and Vivre Sa Vie. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get both so I need to decide which one to get. I loved Breathless and Vivre sounds good but I know 8 1/2 is one of Fellini's most known works and it too sounds great. Any thoughts?

8 1/2 if my favourite movie of all time, a must-see! That's my biased opinion.