The Criterion Collection

[Jexes23]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Another viewing of Only Angels Have Wings last night has its position as one of my all-time favorites feeling more secure. From the infectious chemistry between Cary Grant and Jean Arthur (she is pitch perfect in the role) to the sense of environment that has the kind of detail and production design that makes you want to live there to those amazing effects. Even the character resolutions, of which there are several, all hit just right. And that final moment just turns me into mush in the best sense. It's the kind of communal hangout movie, with that stubborn protagonist code known from Hawks, that makes me eager to revisit again and again.

Excellent movie, and one of my favorites in the collection.

[jlk5844]

Feel like I've seen Marienbad pop up in a couple hauls now. Are people getting it on eBay while the sale is going on?

[jlk5844]

Since Criterion may never rerelease Sex, Lies, and Videotape in a case, or at least not for a long while, I decided to pick out a copy at B&N (out of like six or seven there, they must've expected this to be a hot seller). The digipack slipped out of the slipcover easily enough.

Now, putting it back in. Yes, it was tricky. It is a tight fit.

Took a few tries, but I stuck the bottom spine corner into the top of the slipcover first, then aligned the two as parallel as possible to get the other corner (where it opens) in, so a sliver of the bottom of the digipack was inside the slipcover. Then, rather than slide it in laying horizontally or flat on a surface, I sat it up vertically and let gravity help ease it in. You have to go semi-slow, but it worked. No damage that I could see.

The digipack did have a couple tiny nicks on the right edge of the front showing white underneath, instead of the artwork, before I did anything. I'm assuming these had to be hand-assembled, so those employees must've had some difficulty as well, but not to the degree of some horror stories on this forum. Cool concept, and it looks cool in hand and on the shelf (the slip is matte on the front and glossy on the spine and back), but the slip could've been a smidge wider.

Looking forward to watching Soderbergh's debut for the first time!

[javy]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Feel like I've seen Marienbad pop up in a couple hauls now. Are people getting it on eBay while the sale is going on?

If folks are unloading it on eBay my guess is it would be in anticipation of the new Studio Canal transfer coming out in the U.K. next month.

I have the old Studio Canal release and I do have my preorder in for the new one.

[diskspinner]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Feel like I've seen Marienbad pop up in a couple hauls now. Are people getting it on eBay while the sale is going on?

I got it from a blu-ray.com forum member ($45 shipped).

Originally Posted by Ruined

Just need a smattering of 20s in the lower right to signify the emptying of your wallet

It's funny but every time after B&N sale my paypal balance reduces from 500 ish to 300 ish. This time it increased from 300 ish to 500 ish. Off course I use both paypal balance & credit card to buy discounted GCs + I sold a few things + Did not buy much from other places. I also used about $150 B&N GCs from swagbucks, so it did not hurt that much.

[trentdiesel]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Same here, trentdiesel. It's one I really wanna grab, but it always gets pushed out for other stuff. I read the back of it one visit, having never heard of it, and thought it sounded like an excellent blind buy. With how much research I do, I rarely get to "discover" movies or stumble upon great ones like that anymore, in the store, so I wish I had just bought it then, gone home, popped it in, and been surprised. Now, it's a title that I keep trying to squeeze in, and I'm aware of its critical reception. The story sounds interesting, you've got Grant, Hawks, Rita Hayworth, and the cover art drew me to it. Sounds up my alley.

The cover art is one of the best I've ever seen, I love it. As I said, I'm not sure why I never pulled the trigger before

[BluRayBuddy98]

Is the reissue of Ace in the Hole just to put it in a standard case instead of the digipak?

[diskspinner]

Originally Posted by BluRayBuddy98

Is the reissue of Ace in the Hole just to put it in a standard case instead of the digipak?

Yes + it probably won't be dual format (blu-ray only).

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by javy

If folks are unloading it on eBay my guess is it would be in anticipation of the new Studio Canal transfer coming out in the U.K. next month.

I have the old Studio Canal release and I do have my preorder in for the new one.

Oh, that's right! Is the Criterion worth getting for the extras?

[javy]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

Oh, that's right! Is the Criterion worth getting for the extras?

I don't know, I don't have it. Its oop anyways.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by javy

I don't know, I don't have it. Its oop anyways.

Wouldn't stop me from grabbing it. Looks like there's some great stuff on there. I'd consider paying sub-$50 for it. But I'd get the remaster first. Hopefully the new edition will drive the price of the Criterion down (yeah right).

[jlk5844]

It's crazy that Criterion haven't released any Varda on Blu-ray yet. Where's Cléo from 5 to 7? I found out about Vagabond early on in the sale and I really wanna check that out.

[demonknight]

Originally Posted by jlk5844

It's crazy that Criterion haven't released any Varda on Blu-ray yet. Where's Cléo from 5 to 7? I found out about Vagabond early on in the sale and I really wanna check that out.

Varda’s One Sings, the Other Doesn’t should be coming in the next couple months. As for Cléo, I’d say it’ll come with an upgrade of the 4 by Agnes Varda set, which seems some time away, since there’s been no talk of it, whereas we’ve had soft announcements for upgrades of Notorious, The Magic Flute, Fists in the Pocket, & the A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman set.

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Claire Denis’s Closet Picks - YouTube

Hope we see more Denis in the future.

Wouldn’t be surprised to see Chocolat appear in the line, since it’s MGM.

[SammyJankis]

Originally Posted by demonknight

Wouldn’t be surprised to see Chocolat appear in the line, since it’s MGM.

I really hope so. It's my favorite of hers.

[jlk5844]

Originally Posted by demonknight

Varda’s One Sings, the Other Doesn’t should be coming in the next couple months. As for Cléo, I’d say it’ll come with an upgrade of the 4 by Agnes Varda set, which seems some time away, since there’s been no talk of it, whereas we’ve had soft announcements for upgrades of Notorious, The Magic Flute, Fists in the Pocket, & the A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman set.

Interesting that one will get a single release, out of all of her films. As for the box set, it may have to do with poor timing. That set released less than a year before they started releasing Blu-rays, the same year actually. I'm sure they didn't want to revisit the same titles so soon, and perhaps there isn't a ton of demand for an upgrade of that set, or her films in general. If anyone can point out a short time gap between DVD release and Blu-ray upgrade I'd be interested to know what the fastest upgrades were.

As for the others, excited for the Bergman trilogy and Notorious, and I'll take The Magic Flute too. I'm pumped to revisit the first two, if they're both announced for November, those are automatic pickups during the sale. I've been showing the Bergman films I own to my brother (two in so far).

[jlk5844]

Slow day. I wonder why.

Here's my total haul from the sale:




These were birthday gifts from my brother:



For my initial trip to B&N, I tried to focus on grabbing films that are regarded as the greatest ever made (i.e. Sight & Sound critics' poll). Some have intimidated me over the years, but I decided I can't go through life without seeing the cream of the crop that cinema has to offer. At the end of the day, they're movies, and they're considered great for a reason.

I did see The Rules of the Game a few years ago in college, and liked it, but the subject matter didn't interest me at the time (the rabbits scene shocked the hell out of me, though). Given its immense reputation, I am eager to revisit it.

I finally watched my first Bresson a few months ago with A Man Escaped, and now I wanna see the rest of his filmography. It's an incredible work, absolutely essential, doubly so if you like prison-break films (and who doesn't?). I love its simplicity and the way it makes seemingly dull details like its protagonist chipping away at a door with a spoon subtly compelling. I'm fascinated by his dry, minimalist style, and look forward to more (Balthazar will be a treat, that was one of my must-grabs). I can see his films becoming better with repeat viewings.

Ugetsu I watched early in the sale and thought was amazing, but I didn't fully realize its brilliance while watching it. I could watch it again very soon. It's genius filmmaking from beginning to end, but the scene of the boat in the fog and the last 10-15 minutes linger most for me. I'm now turned on to seeking out more Mizoguchi. It'll be fun to check out the extras for all of these.

Had to get another Chaplin, another Bergman (TVS) that I meant to watch years ago and almost became my first of his films (and can pair it with Craven's remake)...Naked I remember seeing the cover of once and thinking "What's that?" Finally read the synopsis and saw David Thewlis was the lead and had to get it.

[rognvaldr]

Prior to the sale I had 15, during the sale I added 18 and was able to double my collection. Next sale I'll probably buy less, maybe get 6-10.

[repulsed]

[Show spoiler]

Originally Posted by rognvaldr

Prior to the sale I had 15, during the sale I added 18 and was able to double my collection. Next sale I'll probably buy less, maybe get 6-10.

Nice pickups!

You're supposed to say you'll get 1 or 2 then you will get 6 to 10 like planned.

[THE TUNNEL]

Does anybody know if there's a chance that Criterion might come out with a Blu-ray release of "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" ?

Warner Brothers is REALLY dragging their feet on it, and I'd much rather have a Criterion release anyways.

Any help would be appreciated !!

[ShellOilJunior]

Robert Rossen's Alexander the Great (1956) and Arturo Ripstein's Deep Crimson (1996) now have pages on Criterion.com. Additionally, the acclaimed Test Film (2010) has a page.