The Criterion Collection

[Tae]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Tae, if you've yet to discover it, I've been spending a lot of time on pre-code.com, and highly recommend checking it out. I've found it an invaluable resource. The site is addictive, and there's some real tongue-in-cheek humor that my semi-warped sense of humor appreciates.

I've been utilizing their recommended viewing list, and going through TCM's upcoming schedule with a fine-toothed comb looking for airings. I've found Jean Harlow's Red-Headed Woman (1932), and Norma Shearer's The Divorcee (1930) both coming up, on January 5th and February 21st, respectively. My DVR is going to be bursting at the seams soon.

I'm almost to the point where I'm ready to start buying films on DVD again. While new blu-ray releases of the classics do come to fruition, so many of the movies I want to watch just aren't coming down the pipe fast enough. The "Forbidden Hollywood" collection seems right up my alley.

I will check out Sin in Soft Focus. I'm sure that would be on Amazon. Thanks for the recommendation.

And thank you for the well-wishes. I'm sure you can empathize-the sheer scale of what I'm trying to accomplish is daunting, to put it mildly. There are so many films, and so much has been written about these great works. I'm just going to keep chugging away, try to find my own niche, and if I can turn some people on to the movies I've come to love in the process, all the better!

Here's hoping Criterion will release some more films from the era. I'm just dying to get Hell's Angels on blu-ray.

I absolutely love pre-code.com! It's one of my favorite film sites, I love how detailed the reviews are even for the most obscure films; it really is a great resource for learning more about the period.

Yes, checking the schedule for pre-codes has become a habit of mine as well. You can't go wrong with The Divorcee and Red-Headed Woman, they're the ultimate showcases for Norma Shearer and Jean Harlow Another I would recommend is Safe in Hell coming up on January 22nd. I myself haven't actually seen it, but it's one of the more infamous pre-codes and TCM hasn't aired it in several years. I'm very excited to finally see it!

I feel the same way. Too many wonderful classic films and not enough interest and resources to get them all properly restored I am thankful at how plentiful the DVD releases for classics have been, though. Those Forbidden Hollywood sets are a goldmine, I also hope to pick up some of them.

It really is quite overwhelming! It's amazing how much has already been written, and the sheer number of approaches one can choose from in writing about film. There's certainly an endless number of things to learn about

I too hope that Criterion starts showing more interest in this period, it's an era that I feel is particularly underrepresented in the collection. I haven't yet seen Hell's Angels, but I know of it, and it would definitely make for a great Criterion release.

Originally Posted by senseabove

This sounds great! Thanks for mentioning it.

A theater near me did a Warner Bros. retrospective over the summer, starting with The Jazz Singer and going through Bonnie & Clyde, and a lot of it was pre-Code. That was the first time I'd seen any, and I'm absolutely fascinated by them. I find myself wishing there were as rabid a fanbase for pre-Codes as there are for 80s slashers and horror—imagine what we'd have on blu!

No problem

That's so great that you were able to see them on the big screen like that! A lot of the best pre-Codes come from Warner so they definitely would have had a lot to work with for a retrospective. I too wish the fanbase was bigger, it's honestly a travesty how many classics from the era have not yet been released on Blu-Ray. The most frustrating to me are the remaining Busby Berkeley backstage musicals, because 42nd Street just looks so wonderful on Blu and they make such a great set of films, and The Black Cat, because it would have fit in much better in the Essential Universal Monsters set than The Phantom of the Opera

[jonmayo15]

Any reason to think the Fox/Disney deal could put the Fox licensed Criterion titles out of print?

[dwk]

Originally Posted by jonmayo15

Any reason to think the Fox/Disney deal could put the Fox licensed Criterion titles out of print?

Who knows. The current deals will still be in place, it is just a question of if Disney renews them when they expire.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by jonmayo15

Any reason to think the Fox/Disney deal could put the Fox licensed Criterion titles out of print?

That's a good question. Is there a list of them somewhere? I might snag any I care about on the next sale just in case.

[dwk]

Here is a list of the Fox titles
220 Naked Lunch
224 Pickup on South Street (DVD only)
230 3 Women
235 The Leopard
267 Kagemusha
273 Thieves Highway (DVD only)
274 Night and the City
291 Heaven Can Wait (DVD only)
292 Unfaithfully Yours (DVD only)
320 Young Mr. Lincoln
426 The Ice Storm
507 Bigger Than Life
523 Night Train to Munich
536 The Thin Red Line
540 The Darjeeling Limited
552 Broadcast News
700 Fantastic Mr. Fox
724 All That Jazz
727 The Innocents
732 My Darling Clementine
757 The Rose
835 Valley of the Dolls
836 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

[bwdowiak]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Oh, Jesus, if they've all been restored, my poor pocket book.

I think Persona looks pretty damned good. But would I jump all over a new restoration that further improves on the PQ? Oh hell, yes. Not a lot of directors I'd double dip on. Ingmar Bergman is one of those select few.

"Best of! Most of!
Satiate the need
Slip them into different sleeves!
Buy both, and feel deceived"

The transfer for Persona is pristine. A double dip on an "improved" transfer would be throwing your money away.

[cakefactory]

Originally Posted by dwk

Here is a list of the Fox titles
220 Naked Lunch
224 Pickup on South Street (DVD only)
230 3 Women
235 The Leopard
267 Kagemusha
273 Thieves Highway (DVD only)
274 Night and the City
291 Heaven Can Wait (DVD only)
292 Unfaithfully Yours (DVD only)
320 Young Mr. Lincoln
426 The Ice Storm
507 Bigger Than Life
523 Night Train to Munich
536 The Thin Red Line
540 The Darjeeling Limited
552 Broadcast News
700 Fantastic Mr. Fox
724 All That Jazz
727 The Innocents
732 My Darling Clementine
757 The Rose
835 Valley of the Dolls
836 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

That was quick, thanks. Glad it's short. Much to my surprise, I already have half of the blu-rays. Guess I should get on The Ice Storm, All that Jazz, maybe The Rose, and look up the handful I am not familiar with (235, 274, 320, 507, 523). I am pretty sure I don't want Valley of the Dolls!!

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by Tae

Since you mentioned Pre-Code, I just wanted to throw out a recommendation for Mark Vieira's Sin in Soft Focus. I'm very interested in Pre-Code Hollywood and sampled several books on the subject earlier this year, and this is definitely the one I found most informative and engaging. There isn't a lot of technical/filmmaking information here, but it's essentially a complete history of Pre-Code Hollywood and the rise of the Production Code, covering hundreds of films across all of the major studios. It also contains hundreds of film stills, on-set photos and other rare images from the period--it's a coffee table sized book so they really are a sight to behold! I borrowed it from the library but I hope to acquire a copy of my own at some point, it really is a gorgeous book Since you have TCM, it makes a great companion to their programming, as many of the more rare and obscure films discussed in the book do appear occasionally on the channel.

I also want to wish you luck in your film criticism pursuits. This is a field that interests me greatly as well, and I'm basically in the same boat, as I've seen many films but have not yet delved very deep into the reading side of film appreciation. I'll definitely have to look into some of the other books that have been recommended to you

theater dreamer:
Since my favorite era is the Pre-Code years I can also recommend Complicated Women to go along with Sin in Soft Focus. I'm also interested in the technical innovations of early cinema and there's a fantastic book called The Dawn of Technicolor.

[Gerby]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

Tae, if you've yet to discover it, I've been spending a lot of time on pre-code.com, and highly recommend checking it out. I've found it an invaluable resource. The site is addictive, and there's some real tongue-in-cheek humor that my semi-warped sense of humor appreciates.

I've been utilizing their recommended viewing list, and going through TCM's upcoming schedule with a fine-toothed comb looking for airings. I've found Jean Harlow's Red-Headed Woman (1932), and Norma Shearer's The Divorcee (1930) both coming up, on January 5th and February 21st, respectively. My DVR is going to be bursting at the seams soon.

Being a huge Pre-code fan myself i've been using that site too for a number of years now & have managed to amass a nice collection. As we all like lists & just for a bit of fun here is my 12 favourite pre-coders i have found (not in any order):
I'm A Fugitive From A Chain Gang
Baby Face
Diplomaniacs
Madam Satan
Safe In Hell
The Beast Of The City
Night World
The Story Of Temple Drake
Three On A Match
Wild Boys Of The Road
Gold Diggers Of 1933
Waterloo Bridge

[theater dreamer]

Thank you both for your input. I'm going to be a busy boy after Christmas!

Have a happy and safe Christmas and New Year's Day!

Originally Posted by hoytereden

theater dreamer:
Since my favorite era is the Pre-Code years I can also recommend Complicated Women to go along with Sin in Soft Focus. I'm also interested in the technical innovations of early cinema and there's a fantastic book called The Dawn of Technicolor.

Originally Posted by Gerby

Being a huge Pre-code fan myself i've been using that site too for a number of years now & have managed to amass a nice collection. As we all like lists & just for a bit of fun here is my 12 favourite pre-coders i have found (not in any order):
I'm A Fugitive From A Chain Gang
Baby Face
Diplomaniacs
Madam Satan
Safe In Hell
The Beast Of The City
Night World
The Story Of Temple Drake
Three On A Match
Wild Boys Of The Road
Gold Diggers Of 1933
Waterloo Bridge

[dwk]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

That was quick, thanks. Glad it's short. Much to my surprise, I already have half of the blu-rays. Guess I should get on The Ice Storm, All that Jazz, maybe The Rose, and look up the handful I am not familiar with (235, 274, 320, 507, 523). I am pretty sure I don't want Valley of the Dolls!!

When the first batch of StudioCanal titles went OOP, I started keeping a list of all of Criterion's titles separated by licensor for reference in case such an event occurs again.

I suspect that the four DVD only will get Blu-ray upgrades over the next year or so.

[MeMynonsense]

Originally Posted by dwk

Here is a list of the Fox titles
220 Naked Lunch
224 Pickup on South Street (DVD only)

[Show spoiler]230 3 Women
235 The Leopard
267 Kagemusha
273 Thieves Highway (DVD only)
274 Night and the City
291 Heaven Can Wait (DVD only)
292 Unfaithfully Yours (DVD only)
320 Young Mr. Lincoln
426 The Ice Storm
507 Bigger Than Life
523 Night Train to Munich
536 The Thin Red Line
540 The Darjeeling Limited
552 Broadcast News
700 Fantastic Mr. Fox
724 All That Jazz
727 The Innocents
732 My Darling Clementine
757 The Rose
835 Valley of the Dolls
836 Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

Hope they can at least license A Fuller Life for their WAY overdue Pickup on South Street release.

[senseabove]

Originally Posted by Gerby

Being a huge Pre-code fan myself i've been using that site too for a number of years now & have managed to amass a nice collection. As we all like lists & just for a bit of fun here is my 12 favourite pre-coders i have found (not in any order):
I'm A Fugitive From A Chain Gang
Baby Face
Diplomaniacs
Madam Satan
Safe In Hell
The Beast Of The City
Night World
The Story Of Temple Drake
Three On A Match
Wild Boys Of The Road
Gold Diggers Of 1933
Waterloo Bridge

Fugitive, Baby Face, Wild Boys, and Gold Diggers of 1933, plus Footlight Parade are my most wanted. All great, and all movies I would watch repeatedly. I'll hope I can catch the other ones some time!

[StarDestroyer52]

Originally Posted by senseabove

Fugitive, Baby Face, Wild Boys, and Gold Diggers of 1933, plus Footlight Parade are my most wanted. All great, and all movies I would watch repeatedly. I'll hope I can catch the other ones some time!

I broke down and got most of these on eBay for bargain prices including "Dames", bought the recently released WAC DVD of Gold Diggers of 33. Also grabbed up Gold Diggers of 35, yeah not pre-Code but I've wanted to see it for a long time. Fugitive on BluRay would be a dream come true, that is a movie that screams for a Criterion release. I also love to see Criterion release the 1931 Maltese Falcon, IMO its as good as the 41 version and it has Ricardo Cortez, Bebe Daniels, Una Merkel, and Thelma Todd.

[Forneverland]

Originally Posted by cakefactory

That was quick, thanks. Glad it's short. Much to my surprise, I already have half of the blu-rays. Guess I should get on The Ice Storm, All that Jazz, maybe The Rose, and look up the handful I am not familiar with (235, 274, 320, 507, 523). I am pretty sure I don't want Valley of the Dolls!!

I highly recommend 'The Rose', it's a pretty good film-probably Middler's best IMO. It's a pretty sad film, but the soundtrack is good and the transfer is stunning. VOTD is a campy film, it's not for everyone-but it's decent enough.

[dwk]

Originally Posted by MeMynonsense

Hope they can at least license A Fuller Life for their WAY overdue Pickup on South Street release.

I believe Criterion actually has the home video rights to A Fuller Life. Don't know why they haven't released it.

[ShellOilJunior]

Film and theater critic Betty French preceded Pauline Kael by a decade. French got her start at the Beacon newspaper as the religion editor, fresh out of the University of Akron. She had won a writing contest while working at the school paper.

French interviewed stars like Ginger Rogers, Wallace Beery and Boris Karloff. In a March 1948 review of A Streetcar Named Desire she recognized a young Marlon Brando as a "sensational new actor" full of "animal spirits". She covered Bogart and Bacall's wedding at Malabar Farm in 1945.

French lived to be 95. She is survived by her children Tom, Jim and Ann.

Perhaps you'd recognize Betty French by her married name - Jarmusch.

[theater dreamer]

I grabbed Design for Living at Barnes & Noble today. Looking forward to seeing that.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I grabbed Design for Living at Barnes & Noble today. Looking forward to seeing that.

It's good fun. Miriam Hopkins was so good in Pre-Codes.

[WonderWeasel]

Originally Posted by theater dreamer

I grabbed Design for Living at Barnes & Noble today. Looking forward to seeing that.

Excellent choice. I certainly wouldn't mind seeing more Lubitsch in the collection.