The Criterion Collection

[Al_The_Strange]

I would love a Criterion release for THX1138, especially if it includes the original unaltered version (although I was never quite that bothered by the changes made to the current home video editions). Hasn't Criterion done some WB titles before? All the Kubrick ones, for example?

American Graffiti seems more unlikely, but that movie does need a better Blu-Ray, as I recall.

Never heard of this Tucker movie until now. Adding it to my ever-growing list of stuff to rent.

[BagheeraMcGee]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

I would love a Criterion release for THX1138, especially if it includes the original unaltered version (although I was never quite that bothered by the changes made to the current home video editions). Hasn't Criterion done some WB titles before? All the Kubrick ones, for example?

American Graffiti seems more unlikely, but that movie does need a better Blu-Ray, as I recall.

Never heard of this Tucker movie until now. Adding it to my ever-growing list of stuff to rent.

I'd love to see them release "THX 1138", especially if both versions are included. And, yes, they do have a deal with WB, so it's not out of the question.

And "Tucker: The Man And His Dream" is terrific. By all means, check it out.

[The Sovereign]

Originally Posted by BagheeraMcGee

And come to think of it, "Tucker" would be a great title for Criterion to release. It would be a day-one buy for me, that's for sure.

Same here. It also seemed to re-launch the second half of Jeff Bridges’ career as a serious actor. Besides Starman and maybe another one or two, his career had been fairly void of any substantive work since the mid 70s. Tucker ushered in better films and performances such as The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Fisher King, and Fearless. He’s always been up and down, but when he’s up, he’s fantastic.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

• Darren Aronofsky
• Denis Villeneuve
• JJ Abrams
• Rian Johnson
• Edgar Wright
• Alex Garland (predicting that Annihilation and future works will be awesome)
• Christopher Nolan. *turns and runs before everybody throws tomatoes*

I like all those choices.

I'd have to add these people, though I'm not sure how we're defining "for this age" really.

Sofia Coppola
David Fincher
Olivier Assayas
Lars von Trier
NWR
Steve McQueen
Stephen Soderbergh
Quentin Tarantino
Derek Cianfrance
Spike Jonze

I know I'm forgetting some. But it's 9pm on Tuesday night and I haven't slept since about ... honestly don't remember. I think it was Sunday afternoon. I might not be exactly "with it."

[mja345]

Originally Posted by The Sovereign

Same here. It also seemed to re-launch the second half of Jeff Bridges’ career as a serious actor. Besides Starman and maybe another one or two, his career had been fairly void of any substantive work since the mid 70s. Tucker ushered in better films and performances such as The Fabulous Baker Boys, The Fisher King, and Fearless. He’s always been up and down, but when he’s up, he’s fantastic.

Gotta check out "Cutter's Way" (1981). It's one of Bridges' best films IMO.

[The Sovereign]

Originally Posted by mja345

Gotta check out "Cutter's Way" (1981). It's one of Bridges' best films IMO.

Yes, thank you - I knew I was leaving one or two out. I watched that one about 30 years ago on HBO or something, and remember it being good. Fairly safe to say that one was a sleeper. I need to dig it up somewhere.

[Al_The_Strange]

Originally Posted by AaronJ

I like all those choices.

I'd have to add these people, though I'm not sure how we're defining "for this age" really.

Sofia Coppola
David Fincher
Olivier Assayas
Lars von Trier
NWR
Steve McQueen
Stephen Soderbergh
Quentin Tarantino
Derek Cianfrance
Spike Jonze

I know I'm forgetting some. But it's 9pm on Tuesday night and I haven't slept since about ... honestly don't remember. I think it was Sunday afternoon. I might not be exactly "with it."

Oh yeah, I thought about name-dropping NWR and Fincher too. Lots of good names there.

[mja345]

Originally Posted by The Sovereign

Yes, thank you - I knew I was leaving one or two out. I watched that one about 30 years ago on HBO or something, and remember it being good. Fairly safe to say that one was a sleeper. I need to dig it up somewhere.

It's on sale for $14.95 during the current Twilight Time sale. Definitely worth picking up.

[AaronJ]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

Oh yeah, I thought about name-dropping NWR and Fincher too. Lots of good names there.

NWR and I connect on some twisted level. The Neon Demon is one of my favorite movies of recent times, for instance.

And Fincher, well, the man doesn't let me down. The only film of his I'm not that big a fan of -- and it's been ages since I saw it -- is Panic Room. It's also the only one I don't own, though I would change that were it available on Blu-ray.

[Ray Jackson]

As much as I hate to say it, the Le Samourai release is a bit of a disappointment.

I think it represents the absolute bare minimum that Criterion will invest in any upgrade.

The transfer is not a massive improvement over the dvd version--which may not be Criterion's fault, but never the less.

The artwork is unchanged. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I always thought the dvd art was pretty good, but hardly top tier in the Criterion catalogue. Not like, "Just keep the original cover art...it's perfect!" Certainly I'm of the opinion that a better design could've been made if the company was willing to take the time.

And finally the special features really signify how small of an investment the company was willing to make on this one. Basically just ported over the dvd features, which weren't that great imo. No commentary track...no new interviews. Did they even attempt to persuade Alain Delon to sit down for an hour?

I don't know if in our little geeky bubble here we were under the impression that this release had wider appeal than it really does.

...but this is a pretty half-assed effort by Mulvaney and Co.

[SeanJoyce]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

[Show spoiler]As much as I hate to say it, the Le Samourai release is a bit of a disappointment.

I think it represents the absolute bare minimum that Criterion will invest in any upgrade.

The transfer is not a massive improvement over the dvd version--which may not be Criterion's fault, but never the less.

The artwork is unchanged. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I always thought the dvd art was pretty good, but hardly top tier in the Criterion catalogue. Not like, "Just keep the original cover art...it's perfect!" Certainly I'm of the opinion that a better design could've been made if the company was willing to take the time.

And finally the special features really signify how small of an investment the company was willing to make on this one. Basically just ported over the dvd features, which weren't that great imo. No commentary track...no new interviews. Did they even attempt to persuade Alain Delon to sit down for an hour?

I don't know if in our little geeky bubble here we were under the impression that this release had wider appeal than it really does.

...but this is a pretty half-assed effort by Mulvaney and Co.

I can't agree with you about the artwork; that $hit is iconic and if changed would have met with some fierce (to put it mildly) pushback.

I agree though about this release. As I said in its thread, it's bittersweet...it'll be nice to finally hold a Le Samourai Blu-ray in my hands, but very anti-climactic after all that time. Disappointing release considering the almost negligible uptick in quality and sparseness in extras.

[Ray Jackson]

Originally Posted by SeanJoyce

I can't agree with you about the artwork; that $hit is iconic and if changed would have met with some fierce (to put it mildly) pushback.

[Show spoiler]I agree though about this release. As I said in its thread, it's bittersweet...it'll be nice to finally hold a Le Samourai Blu-ray in my hands, but very anti-climactic after all that time. Disappointing release considering the almost negligible uptick in quality and sparseness in extras.

Eh...that's a perfectly reasonable opinion, but not one that I share.

The Le Samourai cover is basically just a generic photoshop job with a fairly dull, grayish color scheme imo.

I think Criterion got it right with their upgrade of Kwaidan.

The dvd cover was pretty good, but the blu-ray cover is a work of art.

...I would've preferred the same for Le Samourai.

[Show spoiler]

vs.

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

As much as I hate to say it, the Le Samourai release is a bit of a disappointment.

I think it represents the absolute bare minimum that Criterion will invest in any upgrade.

The transfer is not a massive improvement over the dvd version--which may not be Criterion's fault, but never the less.

The artwork is unchanged. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I always thought the dvd art was pretty good, but hardly top tier in the Criterion catalogue. Not like, "Just keep the original cover art...it's perfect!" Certainly I'm of the opinion that a better design could've been made if the company was willing to take the time.

And finally the special features really signify how small of an investment the company was willing to make on this one. Basically just ported over the dvd features, which weren't that great imo. No commentary track...no new interviews. Did they even attempt to persuade Alain Delon to sit down for an hour?

I don't know if in our little geeky bubble here we were under the impression that this release had wider appeal than it really does.

...but this is a pretty half-assed effort by Mulvaney and Co.

I don't know man, that artwork is really really good. I haven't seen the transfer but it doesn't surprise me it doesn't look much better. That dvd looked pretty phenomenal (for a dvd).

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by Al_The_Strange

• Darren Aronofsky
• Denis Villeneuve
• JJ Abrams
• Rian Johnson
• Edgar Wright
• Alex Garland (predicting that Annihilation and future works will be awesome)
• Christopher Nolan. *turns and runs before everybody throws tomatoes*

Seems borderline disrespectful to put jj abrams on that list. Compared to Scorsese? Yikes. No pta?

[bwdowiak]

talking about a film that stylistically pre-dates The Godfather... How about Bertolucci's The Conformist?

[mja345]

Originally Posted by Ray Jackson

Eh...that's a perfectly reasonable opinion, but not one that I share.

The Le Samourai cover is basically just a generic photoshop job with a fairly dull, grayish color scheme imo.

I think Criterion got it right with their upgrade of Kwaidan.

The dvd cover was pretty good, but the blu-ray cover is a work of art.

...I would've preferred the same for Le Samourai.

[Show spoiler]

vs.

I always thought this was a badass image from the film that would work as a cover. Kind of captures the essence of the character and the film.



And I definitely think we overestimate the popularity of "Le Samourai" to the public at large. Most people haven't even heard of "8 1/2" or "The 400 Blows", which are far more famous films than "Le Samourai".

[malakaheso]

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

talking about a film that stylistically pre-dates The Godfather... How about Bertolucci's The Conformist?

Sure him and Visconti. The Italians, as I said before ;-)

[hoytereden]

Hopefully, some good new titles and an upgrade or two in the announcements tomorrow. (or the next day or whenever)

[Hazel Motes]

Originally Posted by mja345

I think a great way to view filmmakers is to look at what you view as their top 10 films. I'll take five filmmakers. Scorsese, Coppola, Altman, Lumet, and De Palma.



Coppola
1. The Godfather
2. Apocalypse Now
3. The Godfather Part 2
4. The Conversation
5. Dracula
6. Rumble Fish
7. You're a Big Boy Now
8. The Outsiders
9. The Godfather Part 3
10. Peggy Sue Got Married



Coppola arguably has the best top 4 of the five directors. But his 5-10 are markedly worse than the 5-10 of the other four directors IMO. That's why I would choose Coppola as #5 out of the five filmmakers that I listed. To me, Coppola is similar to an athlete who has an incredible, short peak, but then fizzles out. That's just my take on it.

Have you even seen Youth Without Youth, Tetro or Twixt?

Tetro is a near masterpiece and Twixt and Youth Without Youth are both very good.

Also The Rain People and One From the Heart are both better than 7-10 on that list.

[malakaheso]

Youth Without Youth was rubbish imo. He was in way over his head with that one. I'm not a fan of You're a Big Boy Now either. To me it's like those early De Palma 'comedies' (Hi Mom and Greetings): a dated, rather poor imitation of the French New Wave.

I really like The Rain People though.