The Criterion Collection

[bright75]

I know I'm late to the party, but I finally watched my first film by Kenji Mizoguchi the other day - Criterion's blu ray of Sansho The Bailiff. The next night I watched Ugetsu. Tonight Life of Oharu. Somewhere in the near future Story of the Last Chrysanthemum. I'm already addicted to his work. This is what is so great about the Criterion collection, it introduces you to directors, national cinemas, actors, time periods you might not otherwise being exposed to or consider watching. It's awesome to get Criterion releases of films you already know and love (I'm looking at you Barry Lyndon) but even more than that, the exploration of new (for me) films via their releases is just so rewarding.

[SammyJankis]

Alicia Malone’s Closet Picks - YouTube

[Scottie]

I now understand why everyone hates DigiPacks.

[jbieste]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I now understand why everyone hates DigiPacks.

The physical world does not ultimately matter.
Physical suffering does not matter either.
Cultivate an attitude of detachment, indifference.
Leave hate behind.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I now understand why everyone hates DigiPacks.

I know now why you cry.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by iScottie

I now understand why everyone hates DigiPacks.

I hate them.

Because DigiBooks are so much better.

[CRM 114]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I hate them.



Because DigiBooks are so much better.

I hate both of them. How difficult is it to just use a normal case?

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by CRM 114

I hate both of them. How difficult is it to just use a normal case?

It's not difficult at all, if that's all you want. But for example, the last two DigiBooks I've received -- Logan and Alien: Covenant are just freakin' gorgeous (both Target exclusives). And I love the book content.

Now would I have paid extra for a DigiBook copy of something like Coyote Ugly or Drinking Buddies? Probably not. But when it's something where the film means something special to me then I am excited for those. And I'm sort of getting addicted to these Target exclusives. The one for Wonder Woman looks beautiful, for instance.

ETA: Oh, and 17 of the 18 DigiPaks I have are Criterion, and I really like those too. For example, the one for The New World is really nice, very pretty.

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by CRM 114

I hate both of them. How difficult is it to just use a normal case?

I imagine it's much less difficult to use a normal case, but the sacrifice is design options and creative ability to make the release unique.

[Reddington]

Originally Posted by shadedpain4

I imagine it's much less difficult to use a normal case, but the sacrifice is design options and creative ability to make the release unique.

Exactly. DigiBooks are the BD equivalent of vinyl. There was nothing quite like going to a record shop to buy a new release - hoping for a gatefold sleeve with a cool design and printed lyrics, and maybe a poster or some stickers inside.

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by Reddington

Exactly. DigiBooks are the BD equivalent of vinyl. There was nothing quite like going to a record shop to buy a new release - hoping for a gatefold sleeve with a cool design and printed lyrics, and maybe a poster or some stickers inside.

Until you open it and it's damaged.

[rodie]

Originally Posted by italy12

I know now why you cry.

But it's something I can never do.

[theater dreamer]

I don't doubt that the coupons were abused. But they knew all this before the coupons were issued. And then to retroactively nerf them after they were printed and sent out, that's my biggest beef. The consumer is told "get a membership, get these kinds of coupons." Membership bought, and then they pull the football away like Lucy. I'm left feeling like Charlie Brown.

Originally Posted by italy12

While you make a good argument about the coupons vs. membership thing, you have to realize that for YEARS, B&N was getting taken advantage of on so many levels with people abusing these coupons on Criterion 50% off sales. I'm sure they had to crack down or risk losing any profit from those sales that they were receiving. I'm not sure how it works, but when people are walking out the door with a stack of $10 Criterions several times a year, it can't be good. Need proof? Scroll through this forum during sales in the past and see what kind of bragging went on about how much someone saved!

It was bound to happen, I'm just surprised it took this long! Don't blame B&N, blame the consumer! They don't depend on their Criterion sales to keep them in business, so if they eliminate coupons for those items, they still do well in other areas. Now they're not getting taken advantage of in, what was, a very vulnerable area.

[Meek12345]

Originally Posted by ravenus

During the weekend I watched Tampopo TWICE. Juzo Itami's film is a sweet, funny, romantic sometimes bizarre but always delectable ode to the multi-layered and multi-flavored relationship between man (or woman) and food.

The film's title (which means Dandelion) comes from the name of the protagonist, a middle-aged widow with a bullied kid, struggling to run the Ramen restaurant left by her husband. When cowboy trucker Goro (and his buddy Gun) enter her life after having saved the kid from a beating and fended off her coercive suitor, she finds in their honest criticism of her cooking a chance to improve her skill and make a better life for herself. Goro (and a host of other people, including a band of gourmet hobos) come together to aid Tampopo in honing her craft and and push her to achieve her own holy grail of Ramen.

Intersecting this main artery are several vignettes with other characters, all of which explore the almost spiritual importance of food in our lives: In a delicious jab at the culture of subservience and lack of individuality, a junior executive embarrasses his protocol-slave bosses by ordering a stand-out lavishly flavorful meal at a company lunch after all of them have opted for identical bland fare. Another episode shows a sick woman cooking a final family dinner before she drops dead. In some we see people going to desperate, even life-threatening extents to satisfy their food indulgences. Weirdness comes in the thread where a gangster and his moll indulge in kinky food-meets-sex games, including repeatedly passing a raw egg yolk between their lips till it breaks.

With this wonderful smorgasbord, Itami, himself a gourmet, expresses his philosophy of food with an almost reverent air. The technical aspects of the film, its visuals and sounds, are dedicated to the service of this meditation. Tampopo was one of the early films to have a dedicated food stylist. Assuming you're not a vegan/vegetarian that gets offended by the very sight of animal food (and in one scene a young turtle is killed on camera), I dare you to watch it on an empty stomach without drooling. Like warm soup on a rainy day the film is very cheering, and the plot thread of the gangster with its kinky sex and weird metaphors for virginity is about the only thing that keeps it from being recommended as wholesome family fare.

Coming off a fresh 4K restoration, the film looks and sounds mouth-watering on Criterion's blu-ray (I got the region B-locked UK release). Apart from the main feature, there's a vintage 90 min making of, hosted by director Itami himself. There are also new interviews with the lead actress (his wife), the food stylist and featurettes about the legacy of the film (including one that talks to a bunch of Ramen noodle restauranters). The cover unfolds as a full-size poster on the back of which is a single decent though not very essential essay.

Thanks for that wonderful review ravenus! I hope you all don't mind me quoting all of this review, so that it's less likely anyone misses it. It has been nearly 2 weeks since I watched Tampopo for the first time, but I was unable to find the words to write an eloquent review such as yours. This film made me feel better about life for a while. It is a great little escape from reality. I rarely blind-buy films, but I knew that I would love Tampopo for some reason and luckily I was right. I need to update my signature to include it in my Criterion Top 10 alongside another great blind-buy (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion). I look forward to watching more films by Juzo Itami.

[theater dreamer]

Stop with all these glowing reviews, guys. My queue is big enough as it is without you all adding to it!

I guess I need to put Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion at the top of my list, now. I'd just sitting there staring at me on top of the mountain, er stack of movies I've got lined up for next week.

[ShellOilJunior]

Scratch one off the docket:

[Show spoiler]

[UncleBuckWild]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Scratch one off the docket:

[Show spoiler]

Sad times.

But has Criterion ever reissued or updated their Blu-ray titles with a newer/better transfer?

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by UncleBuckWild

Sad times.

But has Criterion ever reissued or updated their Blu-ray titles with a newer/better transfer?

Does Playtime count for that?

[shadedpain4]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Scratch one off the docket:

[Show spoiler]

Makes you wonder if Criterion doesn't want to open Pandora's box and have a situation where consumers start to ask "should i buy this, or is Criterion going to re-release this in a better version later like they did with XXXX".

[senseabove]

Originally Posted by ShellOilJunior

Scratch one off the docket:

[Show spoiler]

Could it just be they hired another designer, rather than canceled the release?

Janus is definitely behind the theatrical release of the 4k restoration that's touring right now. I can't imagine they'd go through the trouble of getting the rights to the restoration (or paying to restore it?), letting multiple sources announce a "special 50th-anniversary commemorative edition," and then abruptly deciding, "Oh, well, nevermind..."