The Criterion Channel

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by alull

We need a recommendation! We can only watch one film before thd month is out. Which one of the following would be your top choice?

Broadway of Melody (Norman Taurog, 1940)
Easter Parade (Charles Walters, 1948)
The Barkleys of Broadway (Charles Walters, 1949)
On the Town (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1949)

Thanks!

Man, I wish I could have seen this post earlier. It's too late now, obviously, but just for the hell of it, my recommendation would have been On The Town, followed by Easter Parade. Which one did you end up going with?

[Lorenzol]

I'm loving this month theme of 70's Sci-Fi.

I watched Clockwork Orange and will be watching Demon Seed and Soylent Green. I also have Rollerball and Death Race 2000 on my watchlist.

[DaBargainHunta]

I watched Ken Loach's Black Jack last night on The Criterion Channel since it's expiring at the end of the month. It's more famous now for being the inspiration for Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom. While there are certainly superficial similarities, they're two very different movies.

A French giant (I wonder if they wanted Andre for the role but had to settle on Le Cercle Rouge's Jean Franval) kidnaps a young teen boy and they rescue a "mad" little girl and get mixed up with a questionable circus troupe. That description makes it sound a lot more whimsical that it actually is. Unlike Wes Anderson's film, there's no whimsy whatsoever - Black Jack is darker in tone, has a bleaker color palate, and is somewhat more grounded in reality. It's very engaging in its own right though.

The movie looks a bit rough on The Criterion Channel, but the reviewer on this site mentions the exact same issues on the Blu-ray, so I assume they're both using the same print (Cohen Media Group put out the Blu-ray, and its logo appears before the movie on the Channel).

DaBargainHunta's Decree: Very interesting odd little movie. Worth a watch!

[bokes]

Is anyone here still seeing frame skip issues while using the Apple TV?
Any update on a fix?

[VincentVendetta]

Is it me or a bunch of Werner Herzog movies just vanished without warning? (I'm in Canada.)

[cheez avenger]

Originally Posted by VincentVendetta

Is it me or a bunch of Werner Herzog movies just vanished without warning? (I'm in Canada.)

Most of his films were never part of Criterion. Shout Factory has the licenses in the states, and Arrow has some in the UK. I'm not sure if Criterion still has just a couple here though -- in the USA

[VincentVendetta]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

Most of his films were never part of Criterion. Shout Factory has the licenses in the states, and Arrow has some in the UK. I'm not sure if Criterion still has just a couple here though -- in the USA

I know, but they did have a few Herzog movies in the streaming service. I still had one I wanted to watch, Stroszek, in my list, and it was still here yesterday night. Then I come back tonight, and all of them, all except Aguire: The Wrath of God, are gone, without any warning that they would be leaving soon. And when movies leave the service, they do in the very first day of that month, but not before appearing in the "Leaving this month" section.

I just searched through Twitter, and someone seemed to have the same problem as me, only a week earlier. Don't know how.

[easydreamer]

Ouch. It's the same in the US Criterion Channel. Only Aguirre is available now.

It may be a temporal issue since no announcement was made as far as I know. Anyway, I'm pretty sure his films will come back to the service sooner or later, even if it's not. There are tons of films to watch in the meantime.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by bokes

Is anyone here still seeing frame skip issues while using the Apple TV?
Any update on a fix?

Ive seen people say this, but I’ve never had a problem. Are you using the 4K ATV?

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by VincentVendetta

Is it me or a bunch of Werner Herzog movies just vanished without warning? (I'm in Canada.)

It’s not without warning. They let you know what’s leaving at the beginning of the month

[erlinmeyer]

Originally Posted by FragnitoM

It’s not without warning. They let you know what’s leaving at the beginning of the month

Mine has a section currently labelled "Leaving February 29"

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by erlinmeyer

Mine has a section currently labelled "Leaving February 29"

My wording could be confusing, but I meant at the beginning of the month they let you know what’s leaving at the end of the month—it’s what I look at the first of the month to prioritize what I want to watch

[bokes]

Originally Posted by FragnitoM

Ive seen people say this, but I’ve never had a problem. Are you using the 4K ATV?

yes.

[klauswhereareyou]

Any word on if there will ever be a Criterion Channel app for the PS4?

[regeyer]

I'm looking to watch a comedy tonight on The Criterion Channel. If you had to pick one, what would it be and why?

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by regeyer

I'm looking to watch a comedy tonight on The Criterion Channel. If you had to pick one, what would it be and why?

Local Hero because it’s charming, funny, and well made

[erlinmeyer]

Originally Posted by regeyer

I'm looking to watch a comedy tonight on The Criterion Channel. If you had to pick one, what would it be and why?

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - quite humorous scenes and missteps with Antonio Banderas and the channel has several extras to watch after

[regeyer]

I actually went with Police Academy 2. Not a Criterion, but I was in the mood for some laughs.

Thanks for all the recommendations. I placed those on my watch list.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by regeyer

I'm looking to watch a comedy tonight on The Criterion Channel. If you had to pick one, what would it be and why?

Originally Posted by RCRochester

If you’re looking for something low brow, I’d suggest Honkytonk Freeway. It’s a film by John Schlesinger and it’s a typical early 80s comedy in the vein of Used Cars, Cannonball Run, Thank God It’s Friday, etc., with several wacky characters with their own plot threads and the obligatory gratuitous car crashes. It was a huge flop but it has a stellar cast and I actually thought it was kind of fun. They’re pulling it from the rotation at the end of the month so if you’re interested, catch it before it’s gone.

Originally Posted by regeyer

I actually went with Police Academy 2. Not a Criterion, but I was in the mood for some laughs.

As tempting as Police Academy 2 always is, I went with RCRochester's advice (I'm not the OP, BTW) and watched Honky Tonk Freeway.

HOLY CRAP! How have I never heard of this before???

The cast is loaded! Everyone you can think of shows up here: Beau Bridges and Beverly D'Angelo, Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy, Howard Hesseman and Teri Garr, Daniel Stern pre-Home Alone and Peter Billingsley before A Christmas Story, and William Devane as the mayor who is also the minister and who knows what else.

If you're like me and this is one of the few '80s movies you've never seen (and/or heard of), do yourself a favor and track it down (or watch it on The Criterion Channel).

Thanks, RC!

[DaBargainHunta]

I watched Kid Galahad last night because it's expiring from The Criterion Channel... With Edward G. Robinson, Bette Davis, and Humphrey Bogart in the cast, how could I resist? This is definitely a b-level picture for all involved, but it's still fun.

Edward G. and Bette Davis play a boxing manager and his main squeeze, respectively. They discover the next great heavyweight fighter, whom they dub Kid Galahad (Wayne Morris). Bogey gets involved as a "heavy" type because boxing was fixed and corrupt, payments were made under the table, that sort of thing.

For those who claim Bette Davis was "homely" and stern, they need to see this movie - she's super cute and sweet here, which is definitely not the impression I had of her, so this must've been early in his career.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: Considering the talent involved, Kid Galahad is not a great movie - there's a reason why it's relatively obscure despite the stellar cast - but it's still enjoyable and worth watching.

Elvis remade it in the '60s, but I haven't seen that version.