The Criterion Channel

[tjritter79]

Originally Posted by DaBargainHunta

In the section with Continue Watching and My List, is anyone seeing a third category for Purchases?

That showed me up for me last night (Roku app).

Of course, there's nothing under Purchases.

I wonder what this is, and how it will work.

My hope is that it will be like VUDU's M2D program, where we can scan our Criterion discs and get permanent copies in the Channel for free or a small fee, but that is probably too much to wish for!

Perhaps Criterion is going the "Kino Now" route? Experimenting with "purchases/rentals" of certain titles for view only on TCC. Could be a closed beta or internally restricted use right now until they decide to go public? If it is a mirror of Kino, their titles would be available digitally for $9.99 for sale, but I imagine that price point would impact the storefronts like Amazon & iTunes whose regular price is $14.99 and rarely (once a year) go on sale. Though to be fair, iTunes had an awesome sale on Criterion titles early in Jan. I picked up 5 titles for $9.99 and the Samurai Trilogy parts were $6.99 each. If and when this happens again, I'm mass-buying the more obscure Godzilla titles like the Kraken BD releases and the original of course.

[RCRochester]

Originally Posted by postmodel

I wish I paid more attention to King of the Hill leaving the Channel! Despite owning the Blu-Ray (which is packed away as we are moving) I never took the time to watch The Underneath. Finally pulled the trigger on January 31, but had to stop it with 20 minutes left cause I started it way too late when I had to be up early the next day. I go back to the Channel on February 1 and can't find it! So hopefully soon I can grab my Blu and finish it haha.

The Underneath was a great. If you haven't seen Criss Cross with Burt Lancaster, you should check that out as well as The Underneath is a remake of it.

I recently watched Ghost Dog for the first time on Criterion. Damn, that was a great film. I'll be adding that one to my wishlist for blu-ray purchasing. Can't believe I never saw it back in the 90s, even though people told me it was good.

I'm probably going to revisit House of Games tonight as it's expiring at the end of the month. Haven't seen that one in ages, but it's one I'd definitely recommend to anyone with an interest in films about criminals/con artists, etc.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

I'm probably going to revisit House of Games tonight as it's expiring at the end of the month. Haven't seen that one in ages, but it's one I'd definitely recommend to anyone with an interest in films about criminals/con artists, etc.

I haven't seen it in ages either, but I remember it being pretty incredible.

[fdm]

I watched The Loveless last night. Glad I saw it, glad I didn't purchase it.

I was looking at what else is expiring and not a whole lot I need to look at this month...

I believe I mentioned these before, but now these Volker Schlöndorff films are expiring (the non Criterion ones I imagine): Circle of Deceit, Voyager, Diplomacy, Death Of A Salesman, The Ogre are all worth a watch.

I decided to skip Legend Of Rita for now as I have the dvd and I'm guessing the PQ is probably the same (though I guess I will make sure as it doesn't say it's anamorphic), but at least it's dolby digital (stereo).

I might check out a few of the Mae West films if I get a chance and feel up to it. Maybe something(s) else as well. TBD.

[DaBargainHunta]

Expiring from The Criterion Channel - The Night of the Hunter (1955)



I could spend paragraphs on Robert Mitchum's masterful one of a kind character and performance, several more paragraphs on the film's utterly unforgettable imagery, and yet another series of paragraphs waxing poetic about what a haunting masterpiece this is overall. But words really cannot do justice to the experience of watching this. (Note: The Richard Chamberlain remake is on YouTube, if you're so inclined. But please trust me and avoid it like the plague.)

DaBargainHunta's Decree: Even after my second viewing, I've still never seen anything else quite like it. An absolutely essential film. (Subtitles/Captions: Yes!)


Expiring from The Criterion Channel - Western (2015)



After watching and liking another Turner Ross and Bill Ross IV documentary - Tchoupitoulas - on the Channel a few months ago before it expired, I decided to check this one out before it also expired.

Like Tchoupitoulas, this is not what you want to watch if your heart is pumping and your mind is racing - but if you want to relax, chill, and be taken on a tour of a small Texas town, this is the movie for you. (Caution: There are a couple instances of of graphic and potentially disturbing imagery.)

DaBargainHunta's Decree: The kind of movie that makes me want to move to Texas, grow a bushy Hulk Hogan mustache, and wear a cowboy hat. (Subtitles/Captions: Yes!)

[RCRochester]

I just watched the Night of the Hunter too. It was also my second time watching it. It seems to me to be a twisted fairy tale and the expressionist imagery adds to the off-kilter mood.

For a change of pace, I also watched the Tony Curtis-Cary Grant comedy Operation Petticoat which was breezy, fluffy fun. Nothing too demanding but entertaining none the less.

Another film I watched recently that's expiring was My Little Chickadee. Sorry to say I was very disappointed by this. I haven't seen much Mae West or W.C. Fields but I'm somewhat familiar with their comedic personas. Going by her 70s films, I thought her stilted, awkward shuffling about while spouting off her double-entendres was due to her advanced age but, no, she comes across that way in MLC too. It's just Mae West doing Mae West but it turns out, she's not that funny. And W.C. Fields' humour is a little more interesting but he and West have no chemistry and they don't blend at all. It didn't surprise me to learn they didn't get along while filming.

[DaBargainHunta]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

For a change of pace, I also watched the Tony Curtis-Cary Grant comedy Operation Petticoat which was breezy, fluffy fun. Nothing too demanding but entertaining none the less..

I might watch Archibald Leach and Doris Day in That Touch of Mink and/or Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novac in, not Vertigo, but Bell Book and Candle (which makes me wonder if it inspired Bewitched based on how similar they sound) - hopefully I'll get to both, but possibly neither.

[fdm]

Yesterday night I watched Leadbelly. Pretty engaging in terms of never a dull moment, or at least it felt that way. Worth a watch if you're at all curious.

Tonite I just finished watching a blu-ray, released around the same time (King Kong).

Not sure what today will bring, but there's a few expiring things on the Channel I will likely check out. Like Leadbelly it will probably be chosen on the fly, though likely at least one will be one of Volker's films.

[Lorenzol]

Complete list of films premiering on the Criterion Channel on March 2021:

• The Adventurer, Charles Chaplin, 1917
• Bandini, Bimal Roy, 1963
• Behind the Screen, Charles Chaplin, 1916
• Black Jack, Ken Loach, 1979
• Black Rodeo, Jeff Kanew, 1972
• Blood Simple, Joel and Ethan Coen, 1984
• Boat People, Ann Hui, 1982
• Boneshaker, Nuotama Frances Bodomo, 2013
• Brother to Brother, Rodney Evans, 2004
• Buffalo Soldiers, Charles Haid, 1997 *
• Cast a Dark Shadow, Lewis Gilbert, 1955
• Charles and Lucie, Nelly Kaplan, 1979
• Christmas in July, Preston Sturges, 1940
• City of Women, Federico Fellini, 1980
• Cooley High, Michael Schultz, 1975
• The Count, Charles Chaplin, 1916
• The Cure, Charles Chaplin, 1917
• The Damned, Luchino Visconti, 1969
• Darling, John Schlesinger, 1965
• Death in Venice, Luchino Visconti, 1971
• Dementia, John Parker, 1955
• Despair, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1978
• Devdas, Bimal Roy, 1955
• The Diabolic Tenant, Georges Méliès, 1909
• Do bigha zamin, Bimal Roy, 1953
• Don’t Blink – Robert Frank, Laura Israel, 2015
• Down on the Sidewalk in Waikīkī, Justyn Ah Chong, 2019
• Duel at Diablo, Ralph Nelson, 1966
• Easy Street, Charles Chaplin, 1917
• Edge of the City, Martin Ritt, 1957
• Everybody Dies!, Nuotama Bodomo, 2016
• The Fireman, Charles Chaplin, 1916
• The Floorwalker, Charles Chaplin, 1916
• Giuseppe Makes a Movie, Adam Rifkin, 2014
• Good Bye, Lenin!, Wolfgang Becker, 2003
• Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami, Sophie Fiennes, 2017
• The Great McGinty, Preston Sturges, 1940
• Gun Crazy, Joseph H. Lewis, 1950
• Hail the Conquering Hero, Preston Sturges, 1944
• Home, Ursula Meier, 2008 *
• The Immigrant, Charles Chaplin, 1917
• The Impossible Voyage, Georges Méliès, 1904
• The In-Laws, Arthur Hiller, 1979
• The Infernal Cauldron, Georges Méliès, 1903
• Intervista, Federico Fellini, 1987
• The Inventor Crazybrains and His Wonderful Airship, Georges Méliès, 1906
• Joan of Arc, Georges Méliès, 1900
• Kalewa, Mitchel Viernes, 2018
• The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, John Cassavetes, 1976
• The Kingdom of the Fairies, Georges Méliès, 1903
• The Lady Eve, Preston Sturges, 1941
• Lāhainā Noon, Christopher Kahunahana, 2014
• The Last Tree, Shola Amoo, 2019
• The Legend of Black Charley, Martin Goldman, 1972
• Let the Sunshine In, Claire Denis, 2017 *
• Madhumati, Bimal Roy, 1958
• Mandabi, Ousmane Sembène, 1968
• Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember, Anna Maria Tatò, 1997
• Mary Last Seen, Sean Durkin, 2010
• The Merry Frolics of Satan, Georges Méliès, 1906
• Miracle of Morgan’s Creek, Preston Sturges, 1943
• Moloka‘i Bound, Alika Maikau, 2019
• The Moon and the Night, Erin Lau, 2018
• Naal, Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti, 2018
• A New Leaf, Elaine May, 1971
• Nights of Cabiria, Federico Fellini, 1957
• One A.M., Charles Chaplin, 1916
• Opening Night, John Cassavetes, 1977
• Other People, Bryson Chun, 2018
• Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, Albert Lewin, 1951
• Papa the Little Boats, Nelly Kaplan, 1971
• The Palm Beach Story, Preston Sturges, 1942
• The Pawnshop, Charles Chaplin, 1916
• The Pillar of Fire, Georges Méliès, 1899
• The Pit Where We Were Born, Alexander Bocchieri, 2018
• The Pleasure of Love, Nelly Kaplan, 1991
• Posse, Mario Van Peebles, 1993
• Relic 0, Larry Achiampong, 2017
• Relic 1, Larry Achiampong, 2017
• Relic 2, Larry Achiampong, 2019
• Relic 3, Larry Achiampong, 2019
• Rip’s Dream, Georges Méliès, 1905
• Robinson Crusoe, Georges Méliès, 1903
• Rock ’n’ Roll High School, Allan Arkush, 1979
• Rosewood, John Singleton, 1997
• The Sea Shall Not Have Them, Lewis Gilbert, 1954
• Sergeant Rutledge, John Ford, 1960
• Shane, George Stevens, 1953
• Sister, Ursula Meier, 2012 *
• Skin Game, Paul Bogart and Gordon Douglas, 1971
• Song of Freedom, J. Elder Wills, 1936
• Sujata, Bimal Roy, 1959
• Sullivan’s Travels, Preston Sturges, 1941
• A Trip to the Moon, Georges Méliès, 1902
• The Twentieth Century, Matthew Rankin, 2019 *
• Unfaithfully Yours, Preston Sturges, 1948
• The Vagabond, Charles Chaplin, 1916
• Variety Lights, Federico Fellini, 1950
• A Very Curious Girl, Nelly Kaplan, 1969
• Vision Portraits, Rodney Evans, 2019
• The Visitor, Antonio Pietrangeli, 1965
• The White Sheik, Federico Fellini, 1952
• Whimsical Illusions, Georges Méliès, 1910
• The Witch, Georges Méliès, 1906
• Women Make Film, Mark Cousins, 2018

*Available in the U.S. only

https://criterioncast.com/news/march...nnel-announced

[tjritter79]

Originally Posted by RCRochester

I just watched the Night of the Hunter too. It was also my second time watching it. It seems to me to be a twisted fairy tale and the expressionist imagery adds to the off-kilter mood.

For a change of pace, I also watched the Tony Curtis-Cary Grant comedy Operation Petticoat which was breezy, fluffy fun. Nothing too demanding but entertaining none the less.

Another film I watched recently that's expiring was My Little Chickadee. Sorry to say I was very disappointed by this. I haven't seen much Mae West or W.C. Fields but I'm somewhat familiar with their comedic personas. Going by her 70s films, I thought her stilted, awkward shuffling about while spouting off her double-entendres was due to her advanced age but, no, she comes across that way in MLC too. It's just Mae West doing Mae West but it turns out, she's not that funny. And W.C. Fields' humour is a little more interesting but he and West have no chemistry and they don't blend at all. It didn't surprise me to learn they didn't get along while filming.

A personal note if I may, I still find W.C. Fields "The Bank Dick" as one of his most entertaining films. Featuring a pre-Stooges Shemp Howard, Fields has a running gag as a drunk reminding everyone his last name is pronounced Souse'.

[DaBargainHunta]

Expiring from The Criterion Channel TONIGHT - Bell, Book and Candle (1958)



Fun at first but quickly became plodding and charmless. If you really want to see Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak in the same movie, I'm sure it won't take you long to find a much better alternative. Whatever chemistry they showed in their more famous film was completely lacking here. Jimmy Stewart reminded me so much of Tom Hanks in this, which I have never gotten out of anything else I've seen him in (even though those comparisons have been made). Jack Lemmon and Ernie Kovacs are good in their roles, and there are some enjoyable moments, but it's pretty dull and irritating overall.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: I'm not sure even diehard fans of Bewitched (which seemed to take its cues from this) should bother. (Subtitles/Captions: Yes!)


Expiring from The Criterion Channel TONIGHT - That Touch of Mink (1962)



Directed by Marty's Delbert Mann, Cary Grant is effortlessly charming and Doris Day is beautiful and sassy in That Touch of Mink. This is the epitome of a rom-com/chick flick, so your mileage will vary depending on how much you like those. Its zany antics feel very modern compared to other movies of the time, but there are still certain quaint moments - such as Doris Day being embarrassed to vacation with Cary Grant without a wedding ring on. No one is that prim and proper anymore.

DaBargainHunta's Decree: Not a great movie, but a great star showcase. It passes the time nicely. (Subtitles/Captions: Yes!)

[fdm]

Since it was about the only thing left I hadn't seen and wanted to, I did watch The Legend of Rita last night. Enjoyed it... figured I would. But it was obviously from a non-anamoprhic letterbox master so not sure whether the dvd would have been any different.

And that was it for the February expires. On to March...

[Lorenzol]

Complete list of films leaving March 31st, 2021

• Abuse of Weakness (2013)
• American Dream (1990)
• Back Street (1932)
• Badlands (1973)
• Barbarella (1968)
• Barefoot in the Park (1967)
• Beware! The Blob (1972)
• Black Christmas (1974)
• Bluebeard (2009)
• California Suite (1978)
• The Cameraman (1928)
• Casa de Lava (1994)
• Cat Ballou (1965)
• The Chase (1966)
• The China Syndrome (1979)
• Christine (2016)
• Crying Fist (2005)
• Daughters of Darkness (1971)
• Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
• Death Line (1972)
• The Foul King (2000)
• Fun with Dick and Jane (1977)
• Hallelujah (1929)
• Hell's Heroes (1929)
• He Who Gets Slapped (1924)
• Humanoids from the Deep (1980)
• Imitation of Life (1934)
• The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
• Joint Security Area (2000)
• Kirikou and the Sorceress (1998)
• The Last Party (1993)
• Lolita (1962)
• Magnificent Obsession (1935)
• The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
• The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
• Ministry of Fear (1944)
• Monsoon Wedding (2001)
• The Morning After (1986)
• The Mouse That Roared (1959)
• Never Let Go (1960)
• The Nightcomers (1971)
• Nosferatu (1922)
• Nowhere to Hide (1999)
• O Fantasma (2000)
• Only Two Can Play (1962)
• The Optimists of Nine Elms (1973)
• The Ornithologist (2016)
• Peeping Tom (1960)
• Posse (1993)
• The Quiet Family (1998)
• Rabid (1977)
• Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
• Romance (1999)
• Save the Green Planet! (2003)
• Shivers (1975)
• Skin Game (1971)
• The Sleeping Beauty (2010)
• The Slumber Party Massacre (1982)
• The Student Nurses (1970)
• Suburbia (1983)
• Sudden Fear (1952)
• Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)
• Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)
• A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
• To Die Like a Man (2009)
• Two Drifters (2005)
• The Velvet Vampire (1971)
• Walk on the Wild Side (1962)
• We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
• When Tomorrow Comes (1939)
• The Wicker Man (1973)

[Animatic33]

This month’s selection makes me very happy. Chaplin’s mutual comedies and Georges Méliès films from Flicker Alley! Amazing revisiting the mutual comedies in restored hd. As a kid I had a couple tapes featuring some of these (The Vegabond) and man alive, the actors actually have defined faces! LOL

Really great month! I hope Flicker Alley licenses out some more to Criterion in the future.

[RCRochester]

Watched Skin Game for the first time. It's only available for this month, probably because it's licensed from Warner. Very enjoyable film from 1971 starring James Garner and Lou Gossett.

[cicada88]

Does the Criterion Channel have (frequently?) HD copies of films they’ve only released on Eclipse Series / SD DVD?

I’m particularly interested in Japanese films such as the Akira Kurosawa Eclipse set and the Samurai Rebel boxset.

[mande2013]

Originally Posted by cicada88

Does the Criterion Channel have (frequently?) HD copies of films they’ve only released on Eclipse Series / SD DVD?

I’m particularly interested in Japanese films such as the Akira Kurosawa Eclipse set and the Samurai Rebel boxset.

Plenty of spine-numbered DVD-only films like Viridiana and so forth have HD copies on the Channel. With the Eclipse series it's more or less a crapshoot. Some do, but many don't.

[cicada88]

Appreciate the help!

[rezpeni]

Originally Posted by Animatic33

This month’s selection makes me very happy. Chaplin’s mutual comedies and Georges Méliès films from Flicker Alley! Amazing revisiting the mutual comedies in restored hd. As a kid I had a couple tapes featuring some of these (The Vegabond) and man alive, the actors actually have defined faces! LOL

Really great month! I hope Flicker Alley licenses out some more to Criterion in the future.

I watch watching some of the Chaplin Mutual's last night holy moly these new restorations from 2013 are incredible, I had not seen them. The sharpness is insane and the motion is so life-like I am really blown away how good they have a 100+ year old film looking.

[witheygull]

I just watched Kirikou and the Sorceress and found it absolutely charming. If it looks like something you might have any interest in at all, check it out before it leaves at the end of March.