Vanishing Point and the Killer
I nominate the following:
The French Connection — The Traffic before Traffic with one of the most well edited/directed chase sequences of all time
Minority Report — Both intelligent and visually distinctive, it’s smartly written, even if it’s nowhere near the last word on predestination, fate, etc…
Three Kings — A great example of the driving action in the film emerges from the characters. The innovative use of “internal shots” and the murky moral environment (as mirrored with the gray, bleach-bypassed color of the film) make it worthy of the Collection.
Collateral — One of Mann’s most polished and distinctive works, and the first to employ the use of HD DV to make a highly aesthetic set-piece based action film. The Fever Nightclub scene is, I think, one of the most well shot, well choreographed action scenes within the last decade.
Good choices Matthias. I would also go with The Killers and Hard Boiled both of which look pretty poor in their current releases. Also Michael Mann’s Heat and The Last of the Mohicans.
@Matthias
Agreed about THREE KINGS. What a brilliant, mismarketed, underviewed Hollywood film!
James Cameron’s Terminator and T2
Terminator introduced us to 2 of hollywoods biggest stars and movie makers James Cameron and Arnold Shwarzenegger (although Conan shares the place with bringing arnold to popular opinion but terminator made him a super star) and James Cameron who went on to direct two of the 90’s biggest and most expensive films made by Hollywood its sequel T2 and Titanic (i’m sure many many many people will chastise me for including Titanic but it is important and secures its place in history because of all the money it made) then onto Aliens that influenced a host of video games (related to the series or not).
T2 Should be included for its importance in what it brought to computer generated imagery (the liquid metal effects of the T1000 in some parts still hold up today much less in ’91) It was also one of the most expensive movies every made (an uprecedented buget of over 100 million) and its influence is still felt today.
i’ll second the vote for “T2”. that’s a masterpiece to me. cameron’s best. i like it way more than the original. the only other sequels i can say that for are “godfather 2” and “empire strikes back”.
but i’d nominate “die hard”. that’s a perfect hollywood action film for me. it’s timeless.
I second Vanishing Point and Three Kings.
I also would like to nominate The Original “Gone In 60 Seconds” The DVD has new music that really sucks and I would love for Criterion to restore the original music to it. Not only that but it is a true champion of Gurella Filmaking.
Also Zulu…Never seen it but I hear that it is fantastic.
King Hu’s 1966 martial arts masterpiece Dragon Gate Inn.
if we’re talking martial arts films getting the treatment, i have to say “master of the flying guillotine”. and i’d like tarantino to do the commentary track. i love that film. i’ll never forget the tension it created when i first saw it. pure cinema.
If martial arts can count then a criterion release of Enter The Dragon would be fantastic. Bruce Lee’s last film ( I don’t count the almost completely unfinished game of death ) and most certainly his biggest in scope that made him a star here in the west and cementing him into pop culture for all time.
in martial arts after “enter the dragon” comes the monumental “the 36th chambers of shaolin”.
and thinking about this post i just couldn´t shake two movies that can be be viewed as weaknesses in certain cinefiles circles: “roadhouse” and “hudson hawk”, but maybe they are closer to being comedies, with or without the intention of their makers…
Most action movies don’t require to be promoted by the Criterion Collection because they have plenty of studio backing. That is probably why the action movies that have been on the list of Criterion titles are out of print. I see some suggestions that I haven’t heard of like ‘Zulu’ and ‘Dragon Gate Inn’
I started this thread so that I could mention ‘CONTOUR’ again. It is an independent film and is notable because it is a perfect display of 21st century film making technology has freed individuals to explore a genera previously not possible to independent filmmakers. And by being professional martial artists they know how to choreograph and photograph an action sequence.
If action films need backing, how come for long extended periods of time, John Woo’s The Killer has been out of print in Region 1?
Ray-I have seen Contour and was not impressed. Some interesting action scenes but nothing interesting in the way of story or acting.
I would like to see Die Hard in the collection at some point as Bobby noted. It was before its time in the fact that it took the cheesy late-70’s and early 80’s action dramedies, and gave the genre a boost- a thump to the nervous system that not only wowed everyone that saw it, but catapulted Moonlighting star Bruce Willis to superstardom.
I agree with the Terminator vote I saw higher on the list. Also, I would like to see Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels in the Criterion Collection. I feel it has a great balance of action, drama, and comedy. The characters are all fantastically drawn out, and each one is interesting in some way. It was one of Guy Ritchie’s first films, and it was Jason Statham’s breakthrough film, one of today’s biggest action stars.
I wouldn’t mind seeing THE DEPARTED entered or THE BANK JOB
Snakes on a Plane! No I’m just joking. See ya.
While the sequels weren’t much good, Mission Impossible is one of the best crafted action films in a long time. You could do a lot on the shots of that opening suspense section, as well as the break-in.
Die Hard is the same in its brilliant visual and story structuring, as is Raiders Of The Lost Ark.
For innovation, recently, Speed Racer. It and Ang Lee’s Hulk are two of the most arty, innovative, under-rated films in years and seem suited to Criterion and its interesting imports. Streets Of Fire also has fascinating action stylisation.
Predator. An egoless and perfectly made piece of sci-fi action trash. Right after this, Arnold stopped doing Conan and started doing “Twins.” John McTiernan had one last great moment in him with “Die Hard” and then became in love with himself. But “Predator”…. just perfect in its casting, pacing and attitude.
i think most of the films listed are very good, but Criterion seems to typically go for films that havne’t had the release on DVD that they deserve, and as someone already stated most big action films, especially in the last 20 years, get some good DVD life.
can anyone think of any classic action films, from the late 60s and early 70s for instance, that are being overlooked and forgotten as the years go on? i know The French Connection usually gets re-issued every five years or so with new “Special Editions” and fancy box covers, so i don’t think that necessarily needs the Criterion touch. someone mentioned Vanishing Point, which is a good choice. what about more classic Australian action films from the 70s? i don’t know of any myself, but people constantly talk about them, especially when car-chases are mentioned.
“Enter the Dragon’s” sequel “Return of the Dragon”
I’ll third Vanishing Point and Terminator. I would prefer Michael Mann’s Heat over Collateral just for the epic scope and breadth of characterizations. Then there’s Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi, which showed just how much one can do with $7,000.
Assault On Precint 13- the original. That’s an artistic independent film from John Carpenter.
Not an action film but what about Bogdanovich’s Targets. Its a terrific, unseen film with a thriller element.
Ida Lupino’s The Hitch-hiker.
(haven’t checked Criterion full range recently so hopefully some of these haven’t been put out by Criterion)
i’ll put in another vote for “predator”. as said, that’s a very pure and effective action film.
Total Recall
Predator
Road Warrior
Escape from New York
The Fifth Element
Kiss of the Dragon
Point Break
The Warriors
@BOBBYWISE – Awesome pick on “Master of the Flying Guillotine”.
@MARQ “…most of the films listed are very good, but Criterion seems to typically go for films that havne’t had the release on DVD that they deserve, and as someone already stated most big action films, especially in the last 20 years, get some good DVD life.”
Good point. The titles mentioned on above postings are all great action flicks but most of them have been released already with enough features/ behind the scene specials, and it would be hard to see Criterion making any more improvements. I’d prefer to see them release rare classic martial arts, like some from the early Shaw Brothers canon. Or some good ‘70s crime action like “The Seven Ups” or “Black Sunday”. One film that I think deserves a treatment is “Dark of the Sun” by Jack Cardiff. It’s from MGM but currently not on dvd. The subject is, unfortunately timeless, while it could be a good companion piece to “Idi Amin Dada”, or "Naked Prey, both Criterion releases. Perhaps Rod Taylor and Jim Brown, or Martin Scorsese (who listed the film as one of his top guilty pleasures) can provide the commentaries. Just a thought…
I do think Master of Flying Guillotine is a good one. While we’re on the subject of decent martial arts and samurai films, how about Lone Wolf and Cub and Zatoichi?
RaySquirrel
There is really a lack of action movies in the Criterion Collection. There was first Hard Boiled and The Killer, but those discs are out of print. The Rock and Armageddon have a lot of detractors. Robocop, out of print too.
Are there any really great action movies that should be in the Criterion Collection?