The Criterion Collection

[brandon_260]

Originally Posted by jw007

Just curious, was Criterion supposedly going to release an updated edition of that film with supplements? It seems like they rushed out to get this in their collection in time for the 2014 Academy Awards this year so people could purchase this. Any idea Criterion is going to re-release this with more extras? It's an anomaly of a release in my opinion, but then again there are plenty of Criterion titles with zero supplements.

Speaking of which, I might as well ask everyone: what is your favorite bare-bones Criterion release that comes without any supplements?

Mine would have to be: Letter Never Sent

Summer Interlude.

[Snicket]

I watched my copy of George Washington that I have had for a few months.

At the end, I was left feeling slightly underwhelmed, but I do think there is something to admire about this coming of age story. David Gordon Green sets the pace of the film as borderline meandering, even things like car crashes, a near drowning and a fall on a slippery bathroom floor as handled with the same pace as someone walking down a sidewalk on a summer day. It's a choice that's instantly going to draw many comparisons to Malick, but it lacks the consistency. The segments most Malick like of narration played over b-roll seemed shoved in, and lack the organic feel the real thing so masterfully does.

There is something to be said of the cast, for mostly first timers they handle some really raw material, only a few times did I get the impression that "oh yeah, this is you reading lines you memorized now".

While the story of children coming into a world of harsh realities of choice and consequence is not new by any means, George Washington does try it's best to be honest, and that's admirable. It just lacked that special something to elevate the material.

[BobbyMcGee]

Originally Posted by jw007

Then I'll be sure to watch this while fasting, if such a day ever comes.

I would recommend reading up on the film prior to watching it. I think it will help provide context for the disturbing imagery you encounter within the film. Criterion has a number of essays about the film on their website and it is a decent start: http://www.criterion.com/films/532-s...q=autocomplete

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I really do not know what I would do if I had the opportunity to see it on the big screen.

Here is the re-release trailer for those who have not yet seen it (goosebumps).

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey Trailer - In cinemas 28 Nov | BFI release - YouTube

If you ever get the chance to see it on a big screen, jump at the chance! I got to see it quite a few times, at different theaters, when it first came out and also during it's re-releases. My favorite was at the Uptown Theater in D.C. Just an amazing experience.

[pro-bassoonist]

Sundays and Cybele Blu-ray REVIEW



Little by little we are getting all of the great Decaë films on Blu-ray. This film was a dream project, really, with Jarre on board as well.

Arguably the year's best exclusive interview is on this disc. Hardy Krüger, always a gentleman.

This is one of the Top 5 Criterion releases in 2014.

Pro-B

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

This is one of the Top 5 Criterion releases in 2014.

Would love to know what your current top 5 for the year is?

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

So, they're re-rrleasing 2001:A Space Odyssey in the UK. I think its the new 4k res version. It doesn't look like we Americans are getting it but I would sure pay the 18 dollars to watch it in IMAX.

I wouldn't be surprised if it got a release here in the States as a "Fathom Event" screening. I'd be thrilled to see it in a theater again. I saw it twice back in 1968 in Boston's Cinerama Theater on the big, curved Cinerama screen. It's never looked that good since.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by RojD

It played in a theater here one night last year, and I saw it for the first time since I was too little in 1968. I was awed at the sheer power of the cinema in this film. I'm not one to throw around the work "masterpiece" too liberally (I do toss out the occasional "classic"), but 2001 really is a masterpiece. A life experience on the big screen. What is wrong with the business model here in the US that keeps 4K restorations of films like this out of cinemas when the Brits and other Europeans get to see them?

2001: A Space Odyssey was a transcendental experience for me back in 1968. It changed forever the way I looked at movies.

[pro-bassoonist]

Originally Posted by Edward J Grug III

Would love to know what your current top 5 for the year is?

Hello Ed,

These are my favorite releases thus far:

1. Bay of Angels
2. Il Sorpasso
3. Persona
4. The Big Chill
5. Sundays and Cybele

Some of these releases I like a lot because of the supplemental features. For example, Risi's conversation, now Krüger's fantastic interview, etc.

The only reason I've excluded the likes of La Dolce Vita, Jules and Jim, and The Great Beauty is because I already had them earlier. But Criterion's releases are outstanding, really. (The Great Beauty, I think, is their most beautifully designed package as well).

Pro-B

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Hello Ed,

These are my favorite releases thus far:

1. Bay of Angels
2. Il Sorpasso
3. Persona
4. The Big Chill
5. Sundays and Cybele

Some of these releases I like a lot because of the supplemental features. For example, Risi's conversation, now Krüger's fantastic interview, etc.

The only reason I've excluded the likes of La Dolce Vita, Jules and Jim, and The Great Beauty is because I already had them earlier. But Criterion's releases are outstanding, really. (The Great Beauty, I think, is their most beautifully designed package as well).

Pro-B

Thanks!

Il Sorpaso would be my favourite so far. Persona is right up there too.

[BohemianGraham]

Originally Posted by jw007

This is still the only movie I'm afraid to watch.

I've been stigmatized by the horrors and disgust behind this film.

How can a movie have such great powers that we fear it!

Well, I fear Salò.

Should I face my fears like The Great Owl did and suffer the consequences or avoid being traumatized and damaged for life?

This is the great question in life.

I did. I was still shocked, grossed out, horrified, and will never watch the film again, but, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, and is "tame," for lack of a better word, in comparison to other movies such as The Human Centipede or the uncut version of Caligula. I think the difference was that the horrible things were done with a purpose, and not just at random, and for the sake of shock.

I wouldn't rank it as one of the greatest films ever, but I don't regret watching it.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Well, well... Curiosity killed the cat, or, in this case, the Great Owl.

I found out that the full version of Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom is streaming on YouTube (in 720p), so I decided to see for myself what all of the fuss is about by watching the film earlier this evening.

I understood the general gist of Salò, and I get what might have been going through Pasolini's head while he made the film, but my name will be added to the list of those who have no desire ever to watch the movie again, let alone purchase it. I'm surprised that I even made it through this first and only viewing.

Aside from the allegories about fascism and the ability of unlimited power to corrupt, I found myself drawing parallels between the events depicted in Salò and present-day phenomenons in the good old U.S.A., particularly the "Bum Fights" videos that made the news about a decade ago, and the disturbing news reports about the illegal sex trade crimes that go on in cities that host the Super Bowl games. They say that it takes all kinds for the world to go 'round, but I'm pretty sure that the world could go 'round just fine on its own without certain types of people.

I was taken aback and disturbed by what I saw in the movie, but, more than anything, it left me with a overbearing feeling of sadness.

Although I did not personally find it to be enjoyable, I can understand why many fans of cinema hold Salò in such high regard. The movie had some artistic heavyweights at the helm, including the great Ennio Morricone.

It took me a while to realize it, but Paolo Bonacelli, who played The Duke in the film, recently starred as a priest in my favorite film of 2010, Anton Corbijn's The American.

I'm not particularly thrilled that I chose to venture down this particular Criterion side road, but I've got that experience behind me, and I can now close the door on the curiosity for good.

Since I happen to be having fun revisiting the Friday the 13th films in the box set this week (I'm about to watch Part VII later tonight), it did cross my mind that Salò could serve as an indictment of those of us who enjoy simple films like that by presenting us with a vision of what violence-as-entertainment is really like. I'll conveniently pretend that this never crossed my mind, though, and I'll go back to enjoying the Jason Voorhees campfire stories.

I believe Salo was also inspired by The Divine Comedy, Dantes Inferno :-) superb read if you ever get the chance!

I adore Salo, I think it's an incredible film, and the criterion packaging is divine, it's shocking, yes, but I love when cinema pushes it and plays with the audience - I could watch salo on repeat for days haha - and the set designs are gorgeous!

[jw007]

I just finished watching All That Jazz for the 2nd time last night and tonight I watched all 4 hours of supplements. All That Jazz is one amazing experience and I personally learned a great deal about director Bob Fosse (Cabaret, Lenny, Star 80). For anyone attempting to make a musical comedy about open heart surgery is nothing short of brilliant and Fosse was an absolute genius. This film is one a person could re-watch numerous times and maybe infinitely in terms of re-watchability. Everything Bob Fosse creates here is executed with purpose and perfection. The choreography is stunning and basically was a game changer in musicals at the time, and as Sam Wasson, the Fosse scholar/author said, it hasn't been changed or revolutionized since this 1979 film. The opening six minute sequence depicting the dancers' "cattle call" with George Benson's hit song "On Broadway" playing the entire time, could have been the best and earliest music video made in the 1970s. Fosse also greatly influenced hip hop dance with his "scary and sexy" dance choreography that started with his 1969 film Sweet Charity. Michael Jackson even approached him to direct his music video for "Thriller" in 1983.

The great choreographer, Agnes de Mille, basically sums it up that Fosse "took the erotica out of sex", in that one "Airotica" sequence in All That Jazz, where a whole new level of cinematic-dance-storytelling takes place. It reaches a level that goes beyond comedy and into those uncomfortable, taboo-like places where people fear to tread and where the human form is both celebrated and mortified. Death and sex, two dominant themes, are injected into the dance sequences and especially in the hallucinatory dance scenes in the second half of the film with an ailing Roy Scheider playing Joe Gideon as Bob Fosse himself. And those Vivaldi musical sequences scattered through the film showing Gideon starting his day on uppers (Dexedrine) and Visine eye drops in the bathroom are just lurid and lucid as can be. Amongst the female dancers, one Ann Reinking who plays Katie is truly mesmerizing at times, and its no wonder that director Rob Marshall who himself was influenced by Fosse (Chicago) ranks her as one of the best dancers he's seen. Her performances are enhanced here because Fosse purposefully framed the choreography for the film itself as opposed to loosely capturing dance sequences with the camera as a lesser-minded director might have done. For every 1 minute of choreography, Bob Fosse spent 1 full day to shoot it, so an 8 minute dance sequence took 8 days to capture, and that doesn't include the many days of rehearsal/repetition preceding that.

All That Jazz is about narcissism and ego too, and the great fine line where stage and theater directors can be consumed by their own art and where one's own health takes a back seat in favor of a full throttle adrenaline rush. And its all about meaning in the end, no matter what happens to the main character of Roy Scheider's Joe Gideon, because it goes beyond hypocrisy and into the human condition itself. It's only more amazing how Joe Gideon is such an addict, whether its alcohol, cigarettes, drugs, women or work because Fosse himself is that character and he himself is revealed through Gideon. It's a truly brilliant film and this Criterion edition is everything its cracked up to be plus thousands of times more. The video and audio transfer is spectacular and the amount of supplements excel in both quality and quantity. It's one of the year's best releases in my honest opinion.

**** 3/4 stars out of 5 stars overall.

[Polaroid]

Trilogy of Life Bluray came so happy I have finally upgraded it !

Also Metropolis came - came from UK and booklet is all smashed up and the artwork on the inner case looks like its been cropped poorly - and its got the ugly blue cases - wish I had got the steelbook now, so much nicer looking but expensive

Guess I should be happy I have the film now and the books contents is really nice just a tad of a let down at the moment, and fact Trilogy of Life (digipak!) came from USA in PERFECT condition even though packaging was very pathetic and slightly torn!

Definitely not as exciting as getting a Criterion release to be perfectly honest but was only £13 (was free with my voucher) so can't complain, going to try exchange for better version though.

[adamhopelies]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

Looking at videos every Master of Cinema Metropolis has a special case like Criterion - not the normal blue bluray case - GRRRRRRRRRR

Metropolis is an anomaly within the MoC collection. Like you say, every MoC release has a special case, like Criterion, with the exception of Metropolis, which comes in a slip case. Did yours not come with the slipcase?

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

Metropolis is an anomaly within the MoC collection. Like you say, every MoC release has a special case, like Criterion, with the exception of Metropolis, which comes in a slip case. Did yours not come with the slipcase?

Ah I deleted this, it had slip case but I was watching some reviews and there case looked like Criterions style (so the artwork is full), but I think that was the DVD edition? it was in another language so couldn't understand lol

Still looks ghastly in a bluray case with blue bar! lol - I got the Steelbook on watch on Ebay 9 days left but currently at £70 :/

I love the artwork though! so incredible!

[Sifox211]

When I was looking for the steelbook it went for anything between £22 and £60 - ended up paying £40 for mine, having missed the £22 one the day before. If you're not in a hurry, might be worth watching a few go through before committing.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Sifox211

When I was looking for the steelbook it went for anything between £22 and £60 - ended up paying £40 for mine, having missed the £22 one the day before. If you're not in a hurry, might be worth watching a few go through before committing.

Wasn't there a fire at one of the factories doing print run and destroyed all the stock? hence its so hard to get now?

I mean £70 is worth it for the film alone - its incredible!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jw007

This is still the only movie I'm afraid to watch.

I've been stigmatized by the horrors and disgust behind this film.

How can a movie have such great powers that we fear it!

Well, I fear Salò.

Should I face my fears like The Great Owl did and suffer the consequences or avoid being traumatized and damaged for life?

This is the great question in life.

I will not go so far as to say that Salò damaged me for life. The movie is actually not as graphic as I had feared, but the depictions of sadism and the ick factor of a few key scenes disturbed me to the point that I'll never sit through the movie again.

I cannot say outright that Salò is a bad movie, because it certainly achieved its purpose of eliciting a reaction from me. It simply was not an enjoyable movie for me in the slightest.

There are a couple of films in my collection that I revisit on occasion although they disturb me. Sam Peckinpah's Straw Dogs is one such example. Salò, however, adds a gross-out factor to the equation that will keep the movie from belonging on my shelf. Bodily function stuff is pretty much where I draw the line, and Salò crossed that line a few times. The final 10 minutes of the film really got under my skin as well.

My advice for newcomers is not to feel as though you're "missing out" by not seeing Salò. If you think that the movie will freak you out, then you're probably right.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

Sundays and Cybele Blu-ray REVIEW

Thanks for the review, Pro-B!

I saw Sundays and Cybele a couple of weeks ago, and it was one of the best surprises of the year for me.