The Criterion Collection

[pro-bassoonist]

Playtime Blu-ray REVIEW



Pro-B

[monorail91]

My review of Assayas's Carlos: http://sjreviewseverything.tumblr.com/post/100218266648/carlos-2010

[jw007]

Originally Posted by iScottie

That is the beauty of Chaplin's films. He was a master of comedy, using it in such tasteful manner to examine the problems of the world.

I personally think his silent films pack a harder punch than his talkies as they are more concentrated on the everyday issues of the world. Furthermore, they require more inferences due to the lack of dialogue. That being said, I have always admired The Great Dictator since I first saw it a few years ago. It is easily my favorite of his talkies, with the closing speech being one of the realest things to ever be spoken on film.

That final scene in The Great Dictator is a thing of wonder. It makes me possibly prefer that film over Modern Times for my favorite Chaplin film, mainly because of the honesty and emotion of that moment. I have to admit that Monsieur Verdoux isn't my favorite Chaplin film but I'll probably rank it a bit higher than The Gold Rush, The Circus or even The Kid because its a lot more mature than his earlier films but not nearly as resonating as his core 3 classics of City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator. Just my 2 cents.

[jayj15]

Sorry if this has been posted already, but "Brute Force" and "Naked City" have been added to itunes in HD. A couple of Jules Dassin bluray upgrades in the future perhaps?

[pro-bassoonist]

The final press sheet came very late today. I am reposting it here for the members that might need the info:

THE SWORD OF DOOM – Blu-ray Edition

Tatsuya Nakadai (Harakiri) and Toshiro Mifune (Yojimbo) star in the story of a wandering samurai who exists in a maelstrom of violence. A gifted swordsman plying his craft during the turbulent final days of shogunate rule in Japan, Ryunosuke (Nakadai) kills without remorse or mercy. It is a way of life that ultimately leads to madness. Kihachi Okamoto’s swordplay classic is the thrilling tale of a man who chooses to devote his life to evil.

1966 • 120 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • In Japanese with English subtitles • 2.35:1 aspect ratio

BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack
• Audio commentary featuring film historian Stephen Prince
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by critic Geoffrey O’Brien

TITLE: THE SWORD OF DOOM (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2430BD
UPC: 7-15515-13541-2
ISBN: 978-1-60465-938-2
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 1/6/15


THE BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT - Blu-ray Edition

In the early 1970s, Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Berlin Alexanderplatz) discovered the American melodramas of Douglas Sirk and was inspired by them to begin working in a new, more intensely emotional register. One of the earliest and best-loved films of this period in his career is The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, which balances a realistic depiction of tormented romance with staging that remains true to the director’s roots in experimental theater. This unforgettable, unforgiving dissection of the imbalanced relationship between a haughty fashion designer (Margit Carstensen) and a beautiful but icy ingenue (Hanna Schygulla)—based, in a sly gender reversal, on the writer-director’s own desperate obsession with a young actor—is a fully Fassbinder affair, featuring exquisitely claustrophobic cinematography by Michael Ballhaus (The Last Temptation of Christ) and full-throttle performances by an all-female cast.

1972 • 124 minutes • Color • Monaural • In German with English subtitles • 1.37:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director of photography Michael Ballhaus, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interviews with Ballhaus and actors Margit Carstensen, Eva Mattes, Katrin Schaake, and Hanna Schygulla
• New interview with film scholar Jane Shattuc about director Rainer Werner Fassbinder and the film
• Role Play: Women on Fassbinder, a 1992 German television documentary by Thomas Honickel featuring interviews with Carstensen, Schygulla, and actors Irm Hermann and Rosel Zech
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: An essay by critic Peter Matthews

TITLE: THE BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2431BD
UPC: 7-15515-13551-1
ISBN: 978-1-60465-939-9
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 1/13/15

MY WINNIPEG - Blu-ray Edition

The geographical dead center of North America and the beloved birthplace of Guy Maddin (Brand Upon the Brain), Winnipeg is the frosty and mysterious star of Maddin’s “docu-fantasia.” A work of memory and imagination, Maddin’s film burrows into what the filmmaker calls “the heart of the heart” of the continent, conjuring a city as delightful as it is fearsome, populated by sleepwalkers and hockey aficionados. Take part in Winnipeg’s annual epic scavenger hunt! Pay your respects to the racehorses forever frozen in the river! Help judge the yearly homoerotic Golden Boy pageant! What is real and what is fantasy is left up to the viewer to sort out in Maddin’s hypnotic, expertly conceived paean to that wonderful and terrifying place known as My Hometown.

2007 • 80 minutes • Black & White • 2.0 surround • 1.33:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New high-definition digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Conversation between director Guy Maddin and art critic Robert Enright
• “My Winnipeg” Live in Toronto, a 2008 featurette
• Various cine-essays by Maddin on Winnipegiana
• Three Maddin shorts, with introductions by the director: Spanky: To the Pier and Back (2008), Sinclair (2010), and Only Dream Things (2012)
• Deleted scene
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by critic Wayne Koestenbaum

TITLE: MY WINNIPEG (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2437BD
UPC: 7-15515-13611-2
ISBN: 978-1-60465-945-0
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 1/20/15

THE PALM BEACH STORY - Blu-ray Edition

This wild tale of wacky wedlock from Preston Sturges (The Lady Eve) takes off like a rocket and never lets up. Joel McCrea (Sullivan’s Travels) and Claudette Colbert (It Happened One Night) play Tom and Gerry, a married New York couple on the skids, financially and romantically. With Tom hot on her trail, Gerry takes off for Florida on a mission to solve the pair’s money troubles, which she accomplishes in a highly unorthodox manner. A mix of the witty and the utterly absurd, The Palm Beach Story is a high watermark of Sturges’s brand of physical comedy and verbal repartee, featuring sparkling performances from its leads as well as hilarious supporting turns from Rudy Vallee and Mary Astor as a brother and a sister ensnared in Tom and Gerry’s high jinks.

1942 • 88 minutes • Black & White • Monaural • 1.37:1 aspect ratio

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interview with writer and film historian James Harvey about director Preston Sturges
• New interview with actor and comedian Bill Hader about Sturges
• Safeguarding Military Information, a 1942 World War II propaganda short written by Sturges
• Screen Guild Theater radio adaptation of the film from March 1943
• PLUS: An essay by critic Stephanie Zacharek

TITLE: THE PALM BEACH STORY (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2435BD
UPC: 7-15515-13591-7
ISBN: 978-1-60465-943-6
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 1/20/15


LA CIÉNAGA - Blu-ray Edition

The release of Lucrecia Martel’s La ciénaga heralded the arrival of an astonishingly vital and original voice in Argentine cinema. With a radical take on narrative, disturbing yet beautiful cinematography, and a highly sophisticated use of on- and offscreen sound, Martel turns her tale of a decaying bourgeois clan, whiling away the hours of one sweaty, sticky summer, into a cinematic marvel. This visceral take on class, nature, sexuality, and the ways political turmoil and social stagnation can manifest in human relationships is a drama of amazing tactility and one of the great contemporary film debuts.

2001 • 102 minutes • Color • 2.0 surround • In Spanish with English subtitles • 1.85:1 aspect ratio

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
• New 4K digital film transfer, approved by director Lucrecia Martel, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• New interview with filmmaker Andrés di Tella about Martel and the film
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation
• More!
• PLUS: An essay by critic David Oubiña

TITLE: LA CIÉNAGA (BLU-RAY EDITION)
CAT. NO: CC2433BD
UPC: 7-15515-13741-6
ISBN: 978-1-60465-941-2
SRP: $39.95
STREET: 1/27/15


Attention Canada: THE SWORD OF DOOM and THE BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT are available in English-Speaking Canada only. THE PALM BEACH STORY and LA CIÉNAGA are available in all Canada. MY WINNIPEG is a US-only release.

Pro-B

[Blu-Velvet]

Originally Posted by jw007

That final scene in The Great Dictator is a thing of wonder. It makes me possibly prefer that film over Modern Times for my favorite Chaplin film, mainly because of the honesty and emotion of that moment. I have to admit that Monsieur Verdoux isn't my favorite Chaplin film but I'll probably rank it a bit higher than The Gold Rush, The Circus or even The Kid because its a lot more mature than his earlier films but not nearly as resonating as his core 3 classics of City Lights, Modern Times and The Great Dictator. Just my 2 cents.

I actually find the closing speech in THE GREAT DICTATOR to be its weak point, as is the closing speech in MONSIEUR VERDOUX, although both are wonderful films. My favorite Chaplin talkie is LIMELIGHT, followed a bit by THE GREAT DICTATOR and MONSIEUR VERDOUX, both of those slightly below the semi-talkie/semi-silent MODERN TIMES. I don't really mind A KING IN NEW YORK, but it's a bit too heavy-handed and contrived, and I'd put it at the bottom of all the Chaplin features. A COUNTESS FROM HONG KONG is by no means a great film, but remains entertaining and is much better than its critical reputation. Mediocre Chaplin is still way better than average Hollywood fare then or now.

That said, my all-time favorite Chaplins are THE KID, THE GOLD RUSH, and CITY LIGHTS, pretty much tied for first, or trading places depending upon which I've seen most recently. Then, of course, there are the Mutual shorts, especially the last five mini-masterpieces that easily rank with any of his features and above many and with certain reservations look mostly spectacular on the new Flicker Alley Blu-ray collection!

[I KEEL YOU]

I see that they have re-released Playtime with a new transfer. Have there been other cases where this happened with a Criterion blu ray?

And about this months announcements, pretty rare that they have two post-2000 titles in a lineup.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by jw007

I can vouch for this. Maddin is truly a director with films I can never ever say are blind-buy material. If there is any director out there who is an acquired taste, Guy Maddin is a big one that comes to mind.

I wouldn't write off blind-buying completely, that's how I "discovered" Maddin myself, via the Brand Upon The Brain! disc.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

need your help...

which is the "essential" or preferred version of The Complete Mr. Arkadin that I should watch? I know next to nothing about this film other than that it is Orson Welles and that I can recall a few people around here buzzing about it.

Rather than recommending a single cut I'd recommend spending the weekend with the box-set and going thru every iteration of the story (inc. the radio plays and novel). As with many Welles productions there sadly isn't a definitive cut of the film, given that he never got to sign off on any version.

[Polaroid]

Whats the best Charlie Chaplin film for a newbie - never seen his stuff and have avoided as I'm not big on the comedy side and the silliness - but feel like I'm missing out on an important part of cinema and would like to give it a try - even if I watch on netflix or wherever lol

[filmmusic]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Whats the best Charlie Chaplin film for a newbie - never seen his stuff and have avoided as I'm not big on the comedy side and the silliness - but feel like I'm missing out on an important part of cinema and would like to give it a try - even if I watch on netflix or wherever lol

Have seen one myself: The Gold Rush.
Maybe you should try the 3 that are included in AFI's 100 best American films ever?
City Lights
The Gold Rush
Modern Times

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Whats the best Charlie Chaplin film for a newbie - never seen his stuff and have avoided as I'm not big on the comedy side and the silliness - but feel like I'm missing out on an important part of cinema and would like to give it a try - even if I watch on netflix or wherever lol

Modern Times, IMO.

[filmmusic]

Maybe someone is interested in this:

Scorsese's 39 Essential Foreign Films for a Young filmmaker
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=250293

Some of them have been released by Criterion.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Whats the best Charlie Chaplin film for a newbie - never seen his stuff and have avoided as I'm not big on the comedy side and the silliness - but feel like I'm missing out on an important part of cinema and would like to give it a try - even if I watch on netflix or wherever lol

I'm not a big Chaplin fan but I would say City Lights is very accessible. There's plenty of physical humor but it's more Buster Keaton than Marx Brothers/Stooges. I've seen City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator and Monsieur Verdoux and The Gold Rush and to me City Lights was the most enjoyable.

[ShellOilJunior]

I like this design. Very clean:

[Show spoiler]

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

Have seen one myself: The Gold Rush.
Maybe you should try the 3 that are included in AFI's 100 best American films ever?
City Lights
The Gold Rush
Modern Times

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

Modern Times, IMO.

Originally Posted by octagon

I'm not a big Chaplin fan but I would say City Lights is very accessible. There's plenty of physical humor but it's more Buster Keaton than Marx Brothers/Stooges. I've seen City Lights, Modern Times, The Great Dictator and Monsieur Verdoux and The Gold Rush and to me City Lights was the most enjoyable.

Thanks - guess I will start with City lights or Modern Times ^-^

[JJJ225]

Slightly off-topic, but I saw Birdman last night and, save for one AWFUL scene that sticks out like a sore thumb, I adored it.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by JJJ225

Slightly off-topic, but I saw Birdman last night and, save for one AWFUL scene that sticks out like a sore thumb, I adored it.

Im excited about this film - my only worry was the special effect which he's ever really used in his films - does he stay true to his other films an his style? 21 Grams and Babel are incredible!

What scene stuck out? (put in spoilers :P)?

Also who did it look, I know its made to look like one take, is it obvious where they cut and merge scenes?

[JJJ225]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Im excited about this film - my only worry was the special effect which he's ever really used in his films - does he stay true to his other films an his style? 21 Grams and Babel are incredible!

What scene stuck out? (put in spoilers :P)?

Also who did it look, I know its made to look like one take, is it obvious where they cut and merge scenes?

The special effects are minimal, but mostly very good. It's a bit of a stylistic departure from his previous films. I don't love 21 Grams or Babel; I thought this was far better. It's also hilarious.

It is made to look like one take, and it's mostly pretty obvious where the cut is. That said, I'm sure there were several cuts that weren't obvious and I didn't even notice.

[deepbreathsanddeath]

Hmm, in that press sheet I'm seeing that every movie has "PLUS: An Essay by...". There's no mention of any booklets. It seems Criterion really have canned booklets in favour of what I presume is all fold-out pamphlets. I hope I'm wrong though.

I'd like to re-mention that I love booklets and enjoy taking them with me on travels as quality reading material. That won't be happening anymore. I'll have to stick to MoC's booklets (which are usually very meaty).