The Criterion Collection

[wolvereign]

Originally Posted by Kevtronn

Plus its going to be nice for us to watch House for Halloween...

What is House. A horror movie?

[greekak229]

Originally Posted by wolvereign

What is House. A horror movie?

It's more of a comedy because of how bizarre it is. It's actually quite funny, so if you watch it, don't go expecting a hardcore horror flick. But it would be a fun film to watch on Halloween with a bunch of friends.

[jhiggy23]

Originally Posted by Kinsella5

I am looking forward to Criterion's announcement of David Fincher's "The Game" hopefully soon.

Hopefully they don't completely waste a Criterion selection on that film, but it does seem relatively likely. There are an infinite amount of more deserving films.

[pro-bassoonist]

small update:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/1409768-post1.html

Pro-B

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by pro-bassoonist

small update:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/1409768-post1.html

Pro-B

Very nice, pro-b! Much better than that second post by Beta.

CC

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by wolvereign

What is House. A horror movie?

From Criterion's site:

SYNOPSIS: How to describe Nobuhiko Obayashi’s indescribable 1977 movie House (Hausu)? As a psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of Scooby-Doo as directed by Mario Bava? Any of the above will do for this hallucinatory head trip about a schoolgirl who travels with six classmates to her ailing aunt’s creaky country home and comes face-to-face with evil spirits, a demonic house cat, a bloodthirsty piano, and other ghoulish visions, all realized by Obayashi via mattes, animation, and collage effects. Equally absurd and nightmarish, House might have been beamed to Earth from some other planet. Never before available on home video in the United States, it’s one of the most exciting cult discoveries in years.

Only reason I canceled Paths of Glory instead of this, was the fact that I have Paths of Glory on DVD, and have never seen this film yet, so I wanted it first........ Paths of Glory will be ordered during the sale for sure though!

[Old Geezer]

Concerning the B&N sale; I'm a semi-completest so I'd like the board's recommendations on the following Criterion blu's that I don't own.

1. By Brakhage Not much chance I'll be buying this one. I'v seen several clips on youtube and they have all bored me to death. At even half price I'm not interested.

2. Breathless The only reason I don't already own this is because I have the DVD. During the sale this one will be mine.

3. Night of the Hunter Already own the DVD - I will buy the blu on sale.

4. Lola Montes This looks like there is no replay value at all - really boring. I'm open to suggestions on this one.

5. Close-Up Another one that I'm undecided on. Looks very dry and boring also.

so I guess I'm really looking for comments on Lola Montes and Close-Up. Thanks in advance.

[Beta Man]

I think Lola Montes and Close Up are both great films...... but I certainly understand your concerns about the replay value.....

If you were to get only one, I would probably get "Close Up" based on replay value, although I think Lola Montes is a better film.

[Beta Man]

Quick question to those who have seen Hausu.......

I realize it is most likely a "psychedelic era" inspired film..... and may have bad themes etc...... but is there any graphic violence, sex, etc? or is just "campy"

UPS should be bringing this to me soon, and I'm not sure if I can view it with my 3 year old son playing in the same room, or whether it's one of those "Wait until he is asleep" films.

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Quick question to those who have seen Hausu.......

I realize it is most likely a "psychedelic era" inspired film..... and may have bad themes etc...... but is there any graphic violence, sex, etc? or is just "campy"

UPS should be bringing this to me soon, and I'm not sure if I can view it with my 3 year old son playing in the same room, or whether it's one of those "Wait until he is asleep" films.

If you've watched the trailer or any of the other clips on YouTube, Beta, I'm pretty sure you have a good idea of the film. It's very 'campy' and cartoonish, I think.

CC

[ccfixx]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I think Lola Montes and Close Up are both great films...... but I certainly understand your concerns about the replay value.....

If you were to get only one, I would probably get "Close Up" based on replay value, although I think Lola Montes is a better film.

As far as replay goes, I would agree with Beta and personally choose "Close-Up." For me, it's just so great because just about every bit of it is truthful and reenacted with the same people involved in the story.

And, as much as I love Max Ophüls, "Lola Montès" isn't the film of his that I'm going to gravitate toward when I want to watch one. Instead, I'll leave that for "Letter From An Unknown Woman," "The Reckless Moment," or "The Earrings Of Madame de...".

CC

[italy12]

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

Concerning the B&N sale; I'm a semi-completest so I'd like the board's recommendations on the following Criterion blu's that I don't own.

1. By Brakhage Not much chance I'll be buying this one. I'v seen several clips on youtube and they have all bored me to death. At even half price I'm not interested.

2. Breathless The only reason I don't already own this is because I have the DVD. During the sale this one will be mine.

3. Night of the Hunter Already own the DVD - I will buy the blu on sale.

4. Lola Montes This looks like there is no replay value at all - really boring. I'm open to suggestions on this one.

5. Close-Up Another one that I'm undecided on. Looks very dry and boring also.

so I guess I'm really looking for comments on Lola Montes and Close-Up. Thanks in advance.

Well, it seems your mind is made up about #'s 1-3, however, I do love my By Brakhage set just because of it's artistic value, in addition to the wonderful job Criterion did putting everything together and the quality of the overall product.

Now, whether or not you should go with Lola or Close-Up...I have never seen Lola Montes, but I did thoroughly enjoy Close-Up. I went in expecting it to be this brilliant documentary style film about a man who pretends to be someone else and the trial surrounding it. After watching it, I can honestly say that my expectations were definitely surpassed! I thought Close-Up to be superb!

[Old Geezer]

Thank you all for your comments. I will probably end up buying Close-up and passing on Lola Montes. By Brakhage just isn't my cup of tea. I like to watch movies - not flickering images flashing across the screen for a few minutes. Someone feel free to tell me if I've completely mis-judged By Brakhage.

[tfunk]

Not to derail anything, but I've been blind buying a lot of Criterions off of eBay lately, and I'm finally getting around to watching some of them (full time jobs at radio stations during tournament season REALLY cuts down on that ability).

In the last 2 days, I've watched Revanche and Wings of Desire. Revanche was very riveting, and there were 2 different twists in that I honestly didn't see coming, one MUCH more so than the other. Wings of Desire started out stupendously slow, but then a really entertaining Peter Falk scene came on and I was suddenly into it, and by the end all I could think about was how great the movie was. If anyone is on the fence about getting those, I recommend them both, particularly Revanche. That movie was very gripping.

[italy12]

For tfunk: Revanche was incredible!! Just about every Criterion film I own has been blind bought. So far, I have not been heavily disappointed by any. As a matter of fact, the majority of those that I had seen were simply breathtaking: Bigger Than Life, M, Revanche, Stagecoach, Gomorrah, The Secret of the Grain, The Magician, Black Narcissus, and Walkabout...just to name a few.

Edit: Almost forgot El Norte, Che, and Everlasting Moments as some of my favs!

@ Old Geezer: whether or not we think you're misjudging By Brakhage is one thing, but what is important is whether or not you want to sit and watch flickering images. That being said, I do think that the set is more than just flickering images, especially his earlier works, like Dog Star Man, or The Act of Seeing With One's Own Eyes. Give it a rent first and sample some of it. Or, see if you can pull up some more on YouTube or something.

[tfunk]

Originally Posted by italy12

For tfunk: Revanche was incredible!! Just about every Criterion film I own has been blind bought. So far, I have not been heavily disappointed by any. As a matter of fact, the majority of those that I had seen were simply breathtaking: Bigger Than Life, M, Revanche, Stagecoach, Gomorrah, The Secret of the Grain, The Magician, Black Narcissus, and Walkabout...just to name a few.

Good to hear, because I also blind bought a few of those (Gomorrah, Black Narcissus), and I watched Stagecoach on Netflix and thought that was incredible. A few of those are already in my cart for the B&N sale, and I own a few as well. I'm debating what I want to watch next, and it's between The 400 Blows, Paris, Texas, and Gomorrah.

[italy12]

Originally Posted by tfunk

Good to hear, because I also blind bought a few of those (Gomorrah, Black Narcissus), and I watched Stagecoach on Netflix and thought that was incredible. A few of those are already in my cart for the B&N sale, and I own a few as well. I'm debating what I want to watch next, and it's between The 400 Blows, Paris, Texas, and Gomorrah.

The 400 Blows was great too, but it is very different from Gomorrah. Gomorrah I liked because it was based on reality in the country where my family is originally from. I was intrigued by the story.

The 400 Blows follows a young boy and the trouble which seems to follow him. I believe it was based partially on the director's own childhood, which makes it even more interesting.

You will probably enjoy both...

I also need to plug one of my favs...one title I was tickled to death about coming to Blu...Charade!! If you haven't seen it, see it soon! If you like Hitchcock films, you'll love Charade. If you like Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, you'll love Charade. If you love mystery, intrigue, twists & turns, you'll love Charade!

Have I mentioned you'll love Charade?

[tfunk]

Originally Posted by italy12

The 400 Blows was great too, but it is very different from Gomorrah. Gomorrah I liked because it was based on reality in the country where my family is originally from. I was intrigued by the story.

The 400 Blows follows a young boy and the trouble which seems to follow him. I believe it was based partially on the director's own childhood, which makes it even more interesting.

You will probably enjoy both...

I also need to plug one of my favs...one title I was tickled to death about coming to Blu...Charade!! If you haven't seen it, see it soon! If you like Hitchcock films, you'll love Charade. If you like Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn, you'll love Charade. If you love mystery, intrigue, twists & turns, you'll love Charade!

Have I mentioned you'll love Charade?

Haha, the only thing that has kept me from buying that so far is that the Bluray is SO bare bones compared to most other Criterion releases, but I do love me some Hitchcock style movies.

[keldons]

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

Thank you all for your comments. I will probably end up buying Close-up and passing on Lola Montes. By Brakhage just isn't my cup of tea. I like to watch movies - not flickering images flashing across the screen for a few minutes. Someone feel free to tell me if I've completely mis-judged By Brakhage.

If you can't at least appreciate Window Water Baby Moving or Wedlock House, I don't get you.

Do you like anything else from Avant-Garde film? Brakhage is relatively easy to get into.

But good choice with Close-Up.

[SpiderBaby]

Originally Posted by Old Geezer

By Brakhage just isn't my cup of tea. I like to watch movies - not flickering images flashing across the screen for a few minutes.

Come on now! That sounds like it's coming from someone that is half open-minded towards films and half into Transformers. It's like the type of people that says "I like to watch movies, not read them" when talking about subtitles.


All films are just a bunch of images anyways.

Brakhage - images? check. story? check. freedom? check.

other "movies" - images? check. story? check. freedom? sometimes. Brad Pitt? check.

I know now, Brad Pitt isn't in Brakhage films.


Flickering images is the best kinds of movies. The best kinds.