I’m becoming a Criterion junkie, especially of the OOP ones, I have several of the hardest to find, all of them are original, although, let me tell you, it cost me a lot of time and money to find’ em, but they’re worth it.
You guys shop at dvd planet? The place for criterion junkies:)
alonso -
i too am strangely attracted to the OOP titles. at the moment i have dead ringers, robocop and the unbearable lightness of being, which i paid a ridiculous amount of money for.
Still trying to find a decent copy of Straw Dogs. Bought the cheap-o MGM release to tide me over.
Junkie, but strapped for cash. When I buy any other dvd, I feel like I’m wasting my money.
I’ve decided from now on to only get ’em straight from the source.
When you look at OOP titles, you really should consider how long ago the dvd was produced.
^Damn, I would have sold you my copy of Straw Dogs but it just sold on Amazon this morning (for about $33).
In general, I don’t really buy Criterions. And when I use the word “buy” there, I don’t mean “purchase.” I mean “understand the fuss over.” There have been relatively few movies I’ve ever seen in their collection that I have deemed worth spending $20 on. These are basically the only Criterion films I’ve ever seen (of which I’ve seen probably about 125-150) that I thought I’d go out of my way to re-watch. I never blind-buy criterions.
Rushmore (1998) – my absolute favorite movie in the CC and probably my most watched movie ever
Ace in the Hole (1951)
Blast of Silence (1961)
La Haine (1995)
Youth of the Beast (1963)
Rashomon/Drunken Angel/Throne of Blood — only Kurosawas worth owning. Drunken Angel is best.
Charade (1963)
Rebecca/Spellbound/Notorious — Rebecca is a top three Hitchcock film
Brute Force (1947)
Umberto D — cheaper than and liked more than Bicycle Thieves (which I also liked)
Band of Outsiders/Alphaville — I also own Pierrot Le Fou, but I like it less
Wages of Fear (195x)
The Red Shoes (1948)
The Browning Version (1951) — actually blind-bought this because I want to be a teacher
Le Samourai (1966)
I used to own more, but I sold several hundred dollars worth of them because I find these films have limited replayability (when am I ever going to reach for that copy of Bicycle Thieves to show to other people?) and are worth $20-30 used.
Fellini might be the worst director I’ve ever had the displeasure of pursuing, and Bergman would probably be #2 right behind him if not for the truly miraculous Persona (1966) which is not part of the CC. Generally, all Kurosawa films have the same problem: each movie takes so long getting to where it intends to go that it severely waters down the film’s themes. Recent forays into Antonioni seem to indicate that he’s not for my collection, either.
The comments about Bergman, Fellini and Antonioni I can take in stride, but Kurosawa-
“Generally, all Kurosawa films have the same problem: each movie takes so long getting to where it intends to go that it severely waters down the film’s themes.”
I am so gape jawed at that, you have no idea. Kurosawa works on both subtle and obvious levels, his films are layered, complex pieces of art that can be enjoyed both on an intellectual level, and on an entertainment level. I’ve never found Kurosawa’s films to be any longer than necessary, and the fact that they aren’t rushed is an asset rather than something that could be detracted from them.
Almost every Kurosawa film I’ve ever watched I thought was 30 minutes too long. “Stray Dog” and “High and Low” are probably the two biggest offenders of this, but even “Ikiru” (a film I rather enjoyed — enough to get an 8/10 rating out of me if we’re gonna put a numerical value on it) is a film I don’t see myself re-watching due to its slow pacing. Kurosawa films move entirely too slowly. I didn’t even finish “Ran” I found it so arduous.
My favorite Kurosawa film, as I mentioned, is Drunken Angel (1948), his “first” film. At 90 minutes, he accomplishes more here than in any other work. The plot is taut, the lighting is brilliantly used, the commentary on contemporary and historical Japanese society is thought-provoking, the symbolism is thick, the story has layers of thematic depth and receives two stellar acting performances from his favorite players (particularly the restrained performance given by Takashi), and the ending is delicate, phenomenal.
re: Wilky61 –
the ending of Drunken Angel was forced upon Kurosawa by the film censors in Japan. Had he been able to do the ending he wanted, the film may have gone on too long for your tastes. For me, the ending completely negated the impact of the film up to the final 2 or 3 minutes. You can actually feel the momentum coming to a crashing halt, and it really speaks loudly about the ineffectiveness of censorship.
as for being a Criterion junkie, i find i purchase more than i can find time to watch. Even now, i’ve got 10 or 15 in a stack waiting to view, and more on the way. If i find a killer deal on a title or find a used copy of one for cheap, i’ll blind buy. I even found an OOP copy of Robocop at a used/trade media place with a price tag of $21. i made sure to check that it was authentic. score.
ACE IN THE HOLE !!! ……Truly great Criterion release (and masterpiece by Billy Wilder).
’Nuff Said.
Actually just got back from WVA and picked up six titles that someone traded in. The very kind store manager told me that there are basically a group of four guys that trade Criterions and what she deemed “odd films” in and another of the group buys them, thus the circle of life continues. I mentioned to her that it would be better served if the group just went to McDs and traded but then she looked sad so I said “sorry” as I bought a copy of Flesh for Frankenstein.
I would love to see Criterion release Toni by Jean Renoir because I don’t know how else to see it.
Truly addicted. My collection surpasses 300 Criterion titles. Not sure if my upcoming purchases will be new titles to fill the holes in my collection or the blu ray versions of titles I already own (The Third Man, Contempt).
how about eclipse? i find of recent titles i buy more eclipse than criterion i have every single eclipse. and my most recent criterion is the last emperor, maybe its just i like having actually started collecting as they came out so its a lot easier for me to have every single one wheras criterion there are so many older releases i lack and new ones ever month that it is a impossible task for someone on my budget, or the cheaper per film price but i love eclipse.
I blind-buy ’em all the time; am rarely let down. I usually get several when I find a sale.
They sometimes sit on the shelf for months, mocking me.
I am a Criterion Whore. Hopefully they’ll release the films of Jean Eustache. The Eclipse Kaurismaki box set is great. I am eagerly awaiting the release of Chungking Express. The cover art is gorgeous.
I got the Criterion edition of Breathless for $20 due to a labelling error at the store I bought it from.
I’m a Criterion admirer; I’d be a full-blown junkie if I had the money. I’ve been trying to get Sweet Movie all semester, but it’s been kind of hard on me financially. Maybe next month.
I love Criterion. In my opinion, they release the best DVDs, but I would like to see a lot of other movies from them, but who doesn’t?
I’m able to get them at Barnes and Noble for about 28 dollars each. 10% off automatically, plus another 10% because I’m a member, and a 20% off coupon adds up to 40% off.
I’m a Criterion junkie, and there isn’t a soul I know that isn’t aware of it. Because of the expense, I’ve viewed most through Netflix, although I own a few of my faves. I hope to purchase more as time goes on…though it sure would be nice to get some for the upcoming holiday. My friends never get my dropped hints!
lars von trier’s “europa” arrived on my doorstep this morning, thus being the final new release that interests me this year. its been a great 12 months, roll on 2009.
I recently picked up the Bottle Rocket criterion. Awesome dvd.
I only own the Wes Anderson Criterions but I’m slowly picking up a list of more and more I want.
Seriously, mommy that’s all I’m gonna want for my birthday.
i definately sent a few “helpful” emails to my friends and family about the criterion sale and the fact that christmas is coming ho;efully we see some results!
Wilky61, while I don’t agree with what you said about Fellini, Bergman, and Kurosawa, I do agree with you when you say they have limited replayability. Stuff like 8 1/2, Bicycle Thieves, Breathless, Citizen Kane…They’re great films, but not the kind that you would watch like, say, The Godfather or Casablanca. I’ve owned a DVD of Citizen Kane for about a year, and watched it twice (the second time with Roger Ebert’s commentary). That’s the only thing that bothers me about buying Criterions. Because they’re so expensive, and some of them I won’t watch all that often (not all of them, I’ve already watched Bottle Rocket like ten times), I feel that it would be better to just rent them.
I still like to have them in my collection, though. I usually buy them anyway. :p
A junkie yes, but I stopped buying them ever since I started working for places where I can take them home and watch them for free. That, and the ones I’d like to own I buy (pretty rare, I don’t have a lot of money and only buy the ones that fall into my top films), or they are gifted to me, sometimes. Ahh…. Criterion.
Criterion DVD’s are the only thing, other than food and cigarettes, that I spend my minor wages on… I’m still at under 50 releases, but I work for a place where I get a little discount on them so as soon as I graduate and get a “real” job my personal criterion collection will grown by leaps and bounds… I’ve never been disappointed (I definitely like some of the films much more than others, but never disappointed)!
Any other Criterion fans from back in the laserdisc days besides me?
I still have my laserdisc collection and my Pioneer DVL-909 LD/DVD combo unit, and my shelf includes the Criterion releases of King Kong, Ghostbusters, Taxi Driver, Sanjuro, and others. Once I started buying DVDs, Criterion’s Spinal Tap and Seven Samurai were a couple of my very first DVD purchases.
It’s so odd that I’ve never actually met anyone in my real life who enjoys CC. I live in NYC, I just don’t really get out much due to work. When I’m off…being that I own everything…I spend a good deal of my time watching movies. So yeah, I don’t ever meet many other CC fans.
Where do all you hardcore junkies live? I have to rent a 2br apartment just so I can have the extra storage space for DVDs…it’s a problem. :-)
I own every Criterion DVDs ever released as well as the Eclipse series but no laserdiscs nor BLU-RAYS.
I could be wrong, but I don’t think the Criterion Collection is meant to be consumed this way. They offer a wide selection so that everyone will find some things to get, but not everyone will need to get everything. That’s just me, though, I guess. I know there’s some criterions I probably would never buy.
andrew kay
I have 300 of the collection. It’s like crack…..