The Criterion Collection

[Gusto-Guus]

Watched Interstellar today and I'll say this. Visually, it's amazing. I was reading how the scientist who helped work with the vfx crew ended up writing more theories based on what he saw in this and it is really amazing. An experience.

Narratively, it fails a bit. Performances from the actors were fine, but the story doesn't work as a whole.

Solid flick. 7/10 for me, no where near films like Solaris or 2001.

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by Gusto-Guus

Watched Interstellar today and I'll say this. Visually, it's amazing. I was reading how the scientist who helped work with the vfx crew ended up writing more theories based on what he saw in this and it is really amazing. An experience.

Narratively, it fails a bit. Performances from the actors were fine, but the story doesn't work as a whole.

Solid flick. 7/10 for me, no where near films like Solaris or 2001.

The soundtrack though... Blew me away.

[RojD]

Originally Posted by octagon

I was totally floored by The Ice Storm. I wasn't surprised that I liked it (okay, well, maybe a little...while I'm pretty much over my Toby McGuire hate there's still some lingering apprehension when I see his name in a cast) but I absolutely did not expect to walk away with that 'omg, best movie ever' feeling.

I dunno, maybe I just in the exact right frame of mind but I absolutely loved it.

Ice Storm may be my favorite Ang Lee. The guy works in so many genres that I think people's responses to individual films might be colored by how they feel about certain genres. I like intense drama, and I think that's what gets to me in Ice Storm. I had the same response to Brokeback Mountain.

But Lee needs a really good script to work from. I think Eat Drink Man Woman and Lust, Caution are perfectly good dramatic films, but they don't have the emotional gut punch of Ice Storm and Brokeback.

I can't say I'm a super fan of kung fu or superhero genres, so I don't appreciate Crouching Tiger or Hulk as much as some might, but I think Lee having a good script is important in those genres, too. By all accounts, CTHD's script if great, while Hulk's isn't. And I definitely respond to CTHD more than Hulk. It feels like there's more investment in CTHD than in Hulk.

[The Great Owl]

Off topic, but some of you may be interested...

FoxConnect is having one of their rare 50% off sales on their website. Use the code word "PUMPKIN" to get the discount.

I ordered a few classic titles that I've been saving for such a sale on this site. I had to use two accounts to order, since the PUMPKIN code is only good for one order of less than $100 pre-discount price.

Kazan at Fox Volume 2 (Man on a Tightrope / A Tree Grows in Brooklyn / Viva Zapata! / Wild River)
Dressed to Kill
Duck, You Sucker (A Fistful of Dynamite)
Big Trouble in Little China
The Return of the Living Dead
There's No Business Like Show Business
Bus Stop
Cleopatra
Road House

All of these for less than $75 total. It's all good.

I already own the first Kazan at Fox collection, and I had been waiting for another sale on this site to order the second box. It'll be nice to fill in the gaps on my Kazan collection.

When this shipment arrives, I'll also have all of the Marilyn Monroe films that are currently available on Blu-ray.

There are a lot of classic films available on FoxConnect that are landmarks in my collection. Laura, for example, was my favorite Blu-ray release of 2013. Those of you who are interested in purchasing some of the Billy Wilder classics (The Seven Year Itch, The Apartment, Some Like It Hot, etc.), are advised to take advantage of this sale.

[SlickDamian]

Since there was an Ang Lee discussion going, what do you all think of Ride With the Devil? Another one of those films that I've been thinking about buying for years now but haven't pulled the trigger. I think the B&N sale in November will be my time to get those films that I've been holding off on for so long. Gonna limit it to five. So far I have preliminarily chosen Close-up, Certified Copy, In the Mood For Love and Red Desert. Thinking about Ride with the Devil, Summer Hours, A Christmas Tale, Naked Lunch, Wild Strawberries, Something Wild, City Lights, Purple Moon, and All that Heaven Allows. Can someone please help me chose from that list? Is there a disc there that in your opinion should absolutely be in my collection? I appreciate the help and comments.

[StLouisRibs]

I mean, you don't really get a more essential film than Wild Strawberries or City Lights. The rest all have debatable places in it, but those two are pretty firm members of the canon of cinema.

I'm very fond of Purple Noon too, but I bought it thinking it was an adaptation of the Incredible Mr. Limpet so was very surprised at the dark turn it took.

[blkhrt]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

Since there was an Ang Lee discussion going, what do you all think of Ride With the Devil? Another one of those films that I've been thinking about buying for years now but haven't pulled the trigger. I think the B&N sale in November will be my time to get those films that I've been holding off on for so long. Gonna limit it to five. So far I have preliminarily chosen Close-up, Certified Copy, In the Mood For Love and Red Desert. Thinking about Ride with the Devil, Summer Hours, A Christmas Tale, Naked Lunch, Wild Strawberries, Something Wild, City Lights, Purple Moon, and All that Heaven Allows. Can someone please help me chose from that list? Is there a disc there that in your opinion should absolutely be in my collection? I appreciate the help and comments.

I really enjoy Ride With the Devil. Having said that, there are a lot of good titles on your list, and I would have a really hard time picking between them.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

I appreciate the help and comments.

Gut reaction based on your avatar: Purple Noon.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by octagon

Gut reaction based on your avatar: Purple Moon.

Purple Noon is an underrated Criterion title. It's a fun thriller with a gorgeous-looking transfer. The Mediterranean has rarely looked better on film.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

Since there was an Ang Lee discussion going, what do you all think of Ride With the Devil? Another one of those films that I've been thinking about buying for years now but haven't pulled the trigger. I think the B&N sale in November will be my time to get those films that I've been holding off on for so long. Gonna limit it to five. So far I have preliminarily chosen Close-up, Certified Copy, In the Mood For Love and Red Desert. Thinking about Ride with the Devil, Summer Hours, A Christmas Tale, Naked Lunch, Wild Strawberries, Something Wild, City Lights, Purple Moon, and All that Heaven Allows. Can someone please help me chose from that list? Is there a disc there that in your opinion should absolutely be in my collection? I appreciate the help and comments.

City Lights and Purple Noon. Then Summer Hours and A Christmas Tale.

I'd choose practically anything over Certified Copy.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by SlickDamian

Since there was an Ang Lee discussion going, what do you all think of Ride With the Devil? Another one of those films that I've been thinking about buying for years now but haven't pulled the trigger. I think the B&N sale in November will be my time to get those films that I've been holding off on for so long. Gonna limit it to five. So far I have preliminarily chosen Close-up, Certified Copy, In the Mood For Love and Red Desert. Thinking about Ride with the Devil, Summer Hours, A Christmas Tale, Naked Lunch, Wild Strawberries, Something Wild, City Lights, Purple Moon, and All that Heaven Allows. Can someone please help me chose from that list? Is there a disc there that in your opinion should absolutely be in my collection? I appreciate the help and comments.

I'd say City Lights is the most essential.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I'd choose practically anything over Certified Copy.

jhiggy, did you see Like Someone in Love? if yes, what did you think?

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

jhiggy, did you see Like Someone in Love? if yes, what did you think?

I have not. Candidly, it's not too much on my radar.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

The soundtrack though... Blew me away.

While i liked the score, i found it a bit odd, there were some calm scenes where it felt totally out of place for me, also maybe it was the mix in my theater, but it was always too loud, although there is at least one scene where it was awesome.

It also kept me reminding of the Philip Glass score for Koyaanisqatsi

About the film,

[Show spoiler]i thought it was Ok, it has all the issues present in most recent Nolan films unfortunately, the dialog with the exposition was very bad at times, and i felt the Crew didn't feel very authentic, apart from the main characters the others were just there to move the story forward, also the first half an hour for me feels like they are just trying to do everything as quick as possible to get to the main plot, and i thought it hurt the first space scenes, the movie most time is interested in explaining or going to the next plot point instead of conveying any sensation or feeling of awe.

On the good side, it delivers some amazing scenes on the second half with great visuals like most other Nolan films, and that for me are enough to give this a positive rating, not sure why but his recent films always have a lot of things i hate but in the end it convinces me that i still like the films, but the bad things keep me from loving them.

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by jhiggy23

I have not. Candidly, it's not too much on my radar.

yeah, you can skip it. since you said that you didn't like Certified Copy (which, I haven't seen) I was just curious to see if we'd agree on a different Kiarostami. Unless someone can explain to me how filming 3 minutes of an old man falling asleep while waiting for a traffic light is somehow good cinema, this is one of few CC titles that is on my 'dud' list.

[bwdowiak]

busy, busy week at work...

briefly, just wanted to share that I watched two films from the Eclipse: Late Ray collection. I thought about blind buying the set as my curiosity piqued recently. I decided against it because reading a bit about the films made me think that they were overly political (which they might be) difficult to understand, and as a result boring and somehow inaccessible.

well... not so! I first watched Ray's last film The Stranger. its graceful, occasionally funny, well written, and deep... very, very deep. although the Eclipse set has no supplements, I read a wonderful analysis for the film that I found online. the film tells a very simple story, but the themes and Ray's ideas are very rich. highly recommended!

usually, I'll get a set like this from the library and watch only one film, but The Stranger left me wanting more. So, I watched The Home And The World. it is a "talky" period drama that is surprisingly engaging. politics are front and center in the story, but it is NEVER difficult to follow. there are a lot of scenes that are filmed at night. the use of greens and the way the sets were expertly lit made me think of The Double Life of Veronique.

I'm sure that this set is probably not on many people's radar, but it should be. These 2 films were very worthwhile.

[pedromvu]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

busy, busy week at work...

briefly, just wanted to share that I watched two films from the Eclipse: Late Ray collection. I thought about blind buying the set as my curiosity piqued recently. I decided against it because reading a bit about the films made me think that they were overly political (which they might be) difficult to understand, and as a result boring and somehow inaccessible.

well... not so! I first watched Ray's last film The Stranger. its graceful, occasionally funny, well written, and deep... very, very deep. although the Eclipse set has no supplements, I read a wonderful analysis for the film that I found online. the film tells a very simple story, but the themes and Ray's ideas are very rich. highly recommended!

usually, I'll get a set like this from the library and watch only one film, but The Stranger left me wanting more. So, I watched The Home And The World. it is a "talky" period drama that is surprisingly engaging. politics are front and center in the story, but it is NEVER difficult to follow. there are a lot of scenes that are filmed at night. the use of greens and the way the sets were expertly lit made me think of The Double Life of Veronique.

I'm sure that this set is probably not on many people's radar, but it should be. These 2 films were very worthwhile.

I Really enjoyed the 3 films from the Eclipse set, watched them on hulu, the one you haven't seen An Enemy of the People was very good, and as for The Stranger(Ray's last film) i think it is a shame it is released via the Eclipse set, i'd say it is good enough to warrant it's own spine, since i want it on blu

[jw007]

Originally Posted by RojD

Ice Storm may be my favorite Ang Lee. The guy works in so many genres that I think people's responses to individual films might be colored by how they feel about certain genres. I like intense drama, and I think that's what gets to me in Ice Storm. I had the same response to Brokeback Mountain.

But Lee needs a really good script to work from. I think Eat Drink Man Woman and Lust, Caution are perfectly good dramatic films, but they don't have the emotional gut punch of Ice Storm and Brokeback.

I can't say I'm a super fan of kung fu or superhero genres, so I don't appreciate Crouching Tiger or Hulk as much as some might, but I think Lee having a good script is important in those genres, too. By all accounts, CTHD's script if great, while Hulk's isn't. And I definitely respond to CTHD more than Hulk. It feels like there's more investment in CTHD than in Hulk.

Great post. I personally love Eat Drink Man Woman quite a lot. I first watched it about 15 years ago when I was in college taking film classes and bought the DVD many many years ago. It's just an awesome film overall and I love the scenes with the food preparation...those opening scenes just make your mouth water. In terms of mouthwatering movies, I'd say this even tops Babette's Feast. Heck, I'm not even hungry right now and I'm already thinking about food just thinking about Eat Drink Man Woman! Yummy!

[mande2013]

Hello:

I'm new to the forum, and I was wondering if someone here had advice regarding replacement Criterion discs. I live overseas, and a while back I got some Criterion blus with small scratches, but it was too late to get replacements from the online retailer by the time they actually made it into my hands. And the obsessive in me would have preferred scratchless discs, so should I take my chances and just mail them in with the discs I plan on sending in from that *bronzed* list? And just see what happens? I guess I have nothing to lose by doing so...

-mande2013

[Polaroid]

Originally Posted by mande2013

Hello:

I'm new to the forum, and I was wondering if someone here had advice regarding replacement Criterion discs. I live overseas, and a while back I got some Criterion blus with small scratches, but it was too late to get replacements from the online retailer by the time they actually made it into my hands. And the obsessive in me would have preferred scratchless discs, so should I take my chances and just mail them in with the discs I plan on sending in from that *bronzed* list? And just see what happens? I guess I have nothing to lose by doing so...

-mande2013

Speak to Criterion via Email and see what they suggest - I don't know where you stand as the scratching to them is your fault (even if its not) wheres the bronzing of the discs was their fault (well on their end anyway).

Just give them an email and see what they say - they are happy to replace packaging but its trickier with discs due to the rights.