The Criterion Collection

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by octagon

Twisted Sister -- We're Not Gonna Take it [Extended Version] OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO - YouTube

Mark Metcalf's scene chewing is far more grotesque than I remembered.

EDIT: And he somehow manages to top himself with I Wanna Rock.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Mark Metcalf's scene chewing is far more grotesque than I remembered.

Heh, definitely. And when I saw Dee Snyder on Celebrity Apprentice a few years ago I thought 'damn, he hasn't exactly aged well' but looking at that clip again I'm thinking age didn't really have a lot to work with

He's still pretty funny, though.

[theater dreamer]

Well-played, Octagon.

[octagon]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Well-played, Octagon.

Not that well-played: I can't get the freaking song out of my head now

[jw007]

Originally Posted by zoodermin

I agree. I did the mistake of buying it without seeing it first and it's the only film I regret having in my collection.

But its so bad its good!

[Abdrewes]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

Wow. If Russ Meyer can get people riled up like this, what are we going to see when John Waters joins the Collection..!?

Gulp. There will be so many "Worst Blind Buy" posts it'll give Salo a run for its money.

W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism. Now that's another title that'll stir the pot.

[ThisKid]

Originally Posted by Knaldskalle

Wow. If Russ Meyer can get people riled up like this, what are we going to see when John Waters joins the Collection..!?

Criterion would be sent tons upon tons of dog poop in the mail.

[MeMynonsense]

Saw Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages last night.
It's a docu-drama that charts the evolution of witchcraft from medieval ages to the early 1920’s via dramatic recreations, slide-shows, pictorial analysis and animation. The outcome is an extremely unsettling historical piece that’s bizarre and silly in equal measures.
The film is divided into 7 chapters which are further fragmented into vignettes capturing various necromantic activities like devil-worshipping, satanic orgies, grave-robbing, witch-burnings, inquisition torture etc. and shows that blind superstition only breeds mass-hysteria and cataclysmic-paranoia.
There’s some starling raw/explicit imagery: like of a woman birthing dog-demons, sorceresses urinating or of a naked Lucifer (played by the director btw ) luring damsels.
My favourite moments include a mesmerising sequence of witches flying on broomsticks and the weirdest initiating ceremony ever put on celluloid - kissing the devil's ass!
The color-tinted photography is a surrealistic tour de force that inventively generates contrasting moods like reddish-orange for daytime scenes or bluish-hues for night sequences.
Häxan is an intriguing film loaded with exquisite and grotesque visuals that promises to be unique experience.

[ravenus]

^Yeah, Haxan is a real trip. I didn't care so much for the contemporary interpretations / attempts at rationalization, but that's a minor quibble in the face of the tremendous visual craft on show here.

[ShellOilJunior]

This thread is tame compared to the 'other site' where I recently posted my thoughts on a television series. Since the respondents haven't even seen the show they took to dissecting the semantics of my post calling it a "grammar error". That other site has a wealth of knowledge but is often dragged down by the snobs that frequent its boards. 'Snob' is a dirty word over there.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by MeMynonsense

Saw Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages last night.
It's a docu-drama that charts the evolution of witchcraft from medieval ages to the early 1920’s via dramatic recreations, slide-shows, pictorial analysis and animation. The outcome is an extremely unsettling historical piece that’s bizarre and silly in equal measures.
The film is divided into 7 chapters which are further fragmented into vignettes capturing various necromantic activities like devil-worshipping, satanic orgies, grave-robbing, witch-burnings, inquisition torture etc. and shows that blind superstition only breeds mass-hysteria and cataclysmic-paranoia.
There’s some starling raw/explicit imagery: like of a woman birthing dog-demons, sorceresses urinating or of a naked Lucifer (played by the director btw luring damsels.
My favourite moments include a mesmerising sequence of witches flying on broomsticks and the weirdest initiating ceremony ever put on celluloid - kissing the devil's ass!
The color-tinted photography is a surrealistic tour de force that inventively generates contrasting moods like reddish-orange for daytime scenes or bluish-hues for night sequences.
Häxan is an intriguing film loaded with exquisite and grotesque visuals that promises to be unique experience.

I borrowed the Criterion DVD of Häxan from a friend several years ago, and I was taken aback at how disturbing some of the imagery was for a film of that age. It's really something else.

Like Murnau's Nosferatu, I get the feeling that the filmmakers of Häxan really believed in the supernatural while they were creating the movie, because there's an uncanny sort of reverent awe throughout.

[MifuneFan]

A little bit after seeing The Witch in theaters, I started watching Häxan via Hulu, and I got a little weirded out. I'll give it another go this month

[kuro_sawa]

Filmstruck updates -

Officially launches October 19th. 14 day trials for all plans will be offered. The Criterion Collection is separated into 'The Criterion Channel' and is an 'add-on' to the service at a $3 up charge. You can pay yearly ($99 per year) as well as monthly.

Read more/see pricing -

https://www.turner.com/pressroom/fil...-launch-oct-19
http://www.turner.com/pressroom/filmstruck-plan-offers


Additionally, based off of the closing email I received, those of us who were given access to the beta and submitted survey/feedback will be offered some sort of free incentive at launch.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

A little bit after seeing The Witch in theaters, I started watching Häxan via Hulu, and I got a little weirded out. I'll give it another go this month

Yeah, Häxan would definitely be a tough pill to swallow right after seeing The Witch. Can't say that I blame you for being weirded out.

[Polaroid]

I wish there were more decent witch films... very lacking tbh, would love to see Haxan upgraded...

The Witch for me was a huge let down....

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by kuro_sawa

Filmstruck updates -

Officially launches October 19th. 14 day trials for all plans will be offered. The Criterion Collection is separated into 'The Criterion Channel' and is an 'add-on' to the service at a $3 up charge. You can pay yearly ($99 per year) as well as monthly.

Read more/see pricing -

https://www.turner.com/pressroom/fil...-launch-oct-19
http://www.turner.com/pressroom/filmstruck-plan-offers


Additionally, based off of the closing email I received, those of us who were given access to the beta and submitted survey/feedback will be offered some sort of free incentive at launch.

It appears to be $4 extra, which is still better than I imagined. The yearly subscription puts it at just about the same price as a standard subscription to Hulu Plus. Their launch device support could be better, so hopefully it's not too long before they add more.

[Banned User]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Just catching up on recent posts and can only echo the positive sentiments about going region-free - both in terms of adding titles not available here to ones collection, and value (especially post-Brexit).

I've bought a few "Criterion" upgrades at great prices; Rossellini: The War Trilogy, Tales of Hoffmann, Billy Liar, The Fallen Idol, and Hobson's Choice. I've found that prices on amazon.co.uk fluctuate more frequently than on the US site and a little patience is often rewarded. For example, I was able to get the Rossellini set for 20GBP, which is almost half of what it can go for.

I've also been able to pick up some great blind-buys for less than 10GBP (or about $13) shipped, like Hitchcock's Lifeboat, Visconti's Rocco and his Brothers, and the MoC release of Anthony Mann's Man of the West.

Don't forget all the wonderful Ealing Studio's films released on Bluray in the UK. All worth owning IMO especially Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Man in the White Suit, Whiskey Galore and Lavender Hill Mob. Between those, Masters of Cinema and BFI there are a ton of titles worth owning. Plus a ton of great sets have been released like The Shōhei Imamura Collection, the Murnau and Dreyer collections, Even the early Mizoguchi collection since the other MOC Mizoguchi collection is impossible to get at a decent price..

I'd definitely recommend a few like Ruggles of Red Gap, School for Scoundrels, The Belles of St Trininan's. The last two are hilarious. Of course I absolutely love Alastair Sim and Terry Thomas. Brighton Rock and An Inspector Calls are also great moves worth seeing. Also if you got Billy Liar and like Julie Christie Darling is a must own.

For Halloween Onibaba and Dead of Night are must owns IMO.

Region Free is amazing and opens up so many options. IMO I see more releases I want overseas then here and in some cases like The Train I can get a movie with more extras at a cheaper price then through labels like Twilight Time.

Here in Region A Criterion and Arrow tend to release the most movies I'm interested in. While Kino and Olive are hit or miss with me. Especially since Masters Of Cinema's releases usually trump Kinos in the case of most of the silent films like Murnau and Lang films.

[kuro_sawa]

Originally Posted by MifuneFan

It appears to be $4 extra, which is still better than I imagined. The yearly subscription puts it at just about the same price as a standard subscription to Hulu Plus. Their launch device support could be better, so hopefully it's not too long before they add more.

Oops, you're right, the Criterion Channel adds $4 to the price not $3. This is still cheaper than I had feared though.

[ShellOilJunior]

Another delay?

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by Polaroid

I wish there were more decent witch films... very lacking tbh, would love to see Haxan upgraded...

The Witch for me was a huge let down....