The Criterion Collection

[CriterionBlues]

This is my Holy Grail. Now I can live in peace having completed my quest.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by llj

Still waiting for a movement out there to extol the comedic genius of Adam Sandler. Not seeing one yet.

Give them time. They're not quite done with Nicolas Cage yet.

Originally Posted by jmclick

I agree with everything you said except for one small point. I don't want the Warner Archive to release anything. I either want Warners to give the major films in their library full-blown, bona fide blu-ray releases, or to license them out to other specialized labels like Criterion who will treat them properly. I'm appalled that The World According to Garp, for instance, was siphoned off to the Archive and is being issued on MOD. That's ridiculous.

Now please, help me down from my soapbox. I'm getting dizzy up here.

Warner Archive BDs are pressed discs and based on my small sample they're very nice pressed discs to boot. I've been whinging for The Hunger about as long as I've been a member here and I'm more than happy WA is releasing it.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by Russ103

Sword of Doom is fantastic. Even with the somewhat non-conclusive ending, it's still one of the better Samurai films. The sword-fight choreography is gorgeous, and still holds up against today's films with their reliance on over-use edit cuts. You can see where the better of today's Samurai films (13 Assassins, Rurouni Kenshin) get their inspiration from.

I just watched it again this past weekend. The scene in the snow, where Nakadai sees Mifune's swordfighting skill and begins to doubt his own... perfect. It's also fun to watch Nakadai go all crazy-eyes on that ass.

I also watched Badlands. I think I enjoyed Fujimoto's cinematography even more than Almendros's in Days of Heaven. What really impressed me was his use of "static" shots, where the subject is in the exact middle of the frame. Most photographers try to avoid perfectly-centered shots, but he made it work extremely well because of the symmetry in his compositions. The narrative was a bit more engaging than Days of Heaven as well, but the narratives in these films are an afterthought (for me, anyway) when compared to the cinematography.

[SkyAntoine]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

This is my Holy Grail. Now I can live in peace having completed my quest.

Nice looking copy.
My copy of The Man Who Fell to Earth is unopened, but the old digipack is not the best shape. I was very happy the copy I purchased of The Third Man was pristine. eBay is a scary thing when you're paying way too much for pieces of plastic and cardboard.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by SkyAntoine

Nice looking copy.
My copy of The Man Who Fell to Earth is unopened, but the old digipack is not the best shape. I was very happy the copy I purchased of The Third Man was pristine. eBay is a scary thing when you're paying way too much for pieces of plastic and cardboard.

You're telling me.

I honestly didn't know if it was digi or not. I'm not a huge fan of these thin digis and this one is slanted slightly probably from the way it was packed. But it was totally worth it!

My copy of The Man Who Fell to Earth is opened and not in the best shape, which is why I'm glad I got the replacement case for it. One day I might be looking for one of those for The Third Man.

[joie]

A real hipster might say that Kurosawa, Kubrick and Hitchcock are all hacks. Oh! and Bergman, too.

[JoelGoodsen]

Criterion, any chance of Richard Linklater's SubUrbia (1996) please?

[CriterionBlues]

So we just announced this: Criterion Blogathon.

If you have a blog and want to celebrate Criterion with us, please participate. We've been planning this for awhile to happen during the week of the Apu Trilogy release. It would be great if even Pro-B or other writers here participated.

We expect it to be huge, probably 150-200 blogs and a lot of traffic.

[Fabs]

Originally Posted by jw007

You're into Hong Kong/Taiwanese cinema, eh? Good picks (because of the birthday themes in those).

Speaking of Taiwanese cinema, I've been getting into it a bit more and it's fantastic. Watched Rebels of the Neon God last night and loved it. I also put Dust in the Wind on my watchlist as well. So far nothing from that country has disappointed.

[llj]

Originally Posted by octagon

Give them time. They're not quite done with Nicolas Cage yet.
.

I was always under the impression that Cage used to be liked and respected by most before the internet geeks tore him apart and ridiculed his campy acting style. Any movement praising him now seems intent on placing him back where he used to be. If it was hipsters who tore him down, is it hipsters who are trying to put him back up again? Interesting.

[Martin_31]

Originally Posted by jmclick

I agree with everything you said except for one small point. I don't want the Warner Archive to release anything. I either want Warners to give the major films in their library full-blown, bona fide blu-ray releases, or to license them out to other specialized labels like Criterion who will treat them properly. I'm appalled that The World According to Garp, for instance, was siphoned off to the Archive and is being issued on MOD. That's ridiculous.

Now please, help me down from my soapbox. I'm getting dizzy up here.

I don't think they're MOD.

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by adamhopelies

If you want to avoid the French writing you can just buy the UK edition. They're the same discs and it's actually a bit cheaper (and even moreso if you ignore the deluxe 4-disc set in favour of the regular 1-disc release).

Thank you for the "heads up". I went ahead and ordered the 4-disc edition (I wanted the CD soundtrack) and the total cost was $36, including shipping. Since I was placing an order, I did a search for "region free blu-rays" and also picked up The Boys from Brazil (for a pittance - less than $6.00 US), the remake of Little Shop of Horrors, Doctor Zhivago and the double feature of Fantasia / Fantasia 2000.

These titles will undoubtedly be among Criterion's December announcements. You're welcome!

[jmclick]

Originally Posted by Martin_31

I don't think they're MOD.

You may be right. But their own website says they are MODs:

Warner Archive Blu-rays

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by Banned User

Kind Hearts and Coronets is one of my favorite movies all around. The film is littered with sly, witty dialog and within the character interactions and dialog most of the humor comes out. A really dark sense of humor permeates the whole film. David Price does a wonderful job and Alec Guinness is just simply amazing in all his roles. Really one of the best films to come out of Ealing Studios. While Arsenic and Old Lace is a favorite of mine it is a little too fast and corny sometimes while Kind Hearts is subtle and darker. Sorry you didn't like it, though is it possible you had heard so many good things your expectations were unreal? The film is really not that long, but it sounds like you were bored before it reached its end.

It's entirely possible, though, to be honest, Ealing Studios films usually feel just a little bit off in pace to me, and even my favourites usually feel just a little bit off.

I wouldn't say I was bored, but I also feel like the movie could have been 20 minutes shorter...

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by llj

Apparently this is just about the same reaction that Rock Hudson had when he went to see 2001.

Do I know you from another forum? This is the same response I got elsewhere...

[Edward J Grug III]

Originally Posted by Marlow27

Haha, I actually was, yes! Definitely a mixed bunch, audience wise, it's astonishing how clueless some people are when in a cinema; the one that absolutely gets me the most is when two people are chatting, and then when there's music or an increase in the sound…they start to chat louder. Mind-boggling.

Yeah, they were pretty awful in most of the screenings I was at. Because they were so old, I also didn't feel right shushing them either. :P

[darkness2918]

Just finished watching Ace in the Hole for the first time, such a great film. The best part for me about starting my CC kind of late is discovering great films like this for the first time.

[CriterionBlues]

Originally Posted by darkness2918

Just finished watching Ace in the Hole for the first time, such a great film. The best part for me about starting my CC kind of late is discovering great films like this for the first time.

That's what I love about Criterion is that I'm always discovering films I never knew were so great. I'd seen many Wilders before Ace in the Hole and never expected such a brilliantly cynical portrait of the media -- which is as true today as it was then.

[darkness2918]

Originally Posted by CriterionBlues

That's what I love about Criterion is that I'm always discovering films I never knew were so great. I'd seen many Wilders before Ace in the Hole and never expected such a brilliantly cynical portrait of the media -- which is as true today as it was then.

So very true. I look forward to discovering many more great films as I go.

[Andrew1987]

Finally saw Le Samourai on DVD tonight, what a fantastic film. Also blew through the supplements which featured outstanding archival interviews. Was trying to wait until Criterion upgraded it to Blu but the film still looked pretty good on DVD and I only paid $12 so I'll just resell it when it happens.