I really didn’t like Eyes Without A Face, but I’m interested in seeing the special feature Blood of Beasts… using horror techniques to expose the injustice of a meat plant sounds really interesting!
How about the Three Colors Trilogy? Worth the $40? I’ve only seen one of his films (Veronique) and I didn’t care for it. Could I still love Three Colors in spite of not like Veronique?
Two of the Three Colors (Blue and Red) are better than Veronique. If the tone and look of Veronique bothered you, you might have the same problem, but I’d rate the trilogy far higher.
Hmmm…yeah, this might be a risky blind buy then. It’s been a couple years since I saw Veronique but I recall just not being able to get into the film. Maybe I should wait and rent the Three Colors and if I like them, buy the set next summer when BN has their next sale.
Eyes Without a Face was ok. It will not spook you, though.
Barnes and Noble have all their Criterion DVD’s/Blu Rays on sale for half price….that’s a good deal for cinephiles.
That being said…is La Heine worth owning? I’ve picked it up more than once and looked at it….but can’t quite plop down the money.
Wanna get something worth owning?
La Jetee / Sans Soleil
Sansho the Bailiff
Scenes from a Marriage
The Complete Mr. Arkadin
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgoisie or Belle de Jour
Well….I went with Seven Samurai….
1. I love Kurosawa
2. I never saw it…(believe it or not)
3. It’s one of the most influential films ever made….and I know I’ll love it.
Seven Samurai is an easy pleaser,.
Fanny and Alexander Blu Ray you can’t go wrong
I’ll start off with Eyes Without a Face. Worth it? I’m a horror fan, and I know this is supposed to be a horror movie, but I don’t know, it’s just never grabbed me. Thoughts?
Eyes without a Face is beautiful and haunting, but the thing about being a “horror fan” is that that could mean a lot of different things, not a whole lot of which Eyes without a Face fit into. It is very much worth the watch but don’t go into it as a horror fan.
I’m interested in seeing the special feature Blood of Beasts… using horror techniques to expose the injustice of a meat plant sounds really interesting!
It’s not all horror techniques and injustice. Like Eyes without a Face, Franju is more looking into it with an interest and fascination. It’s abject art, to be sure, but it is not necessarily for the same purpose as, say, The Jungle by Upton Sinclair. Blood of Beasts makes slaughter as compelling and beautiful to half the audience as it does revulse and disturb the other half. From my experience, that half and half is not correlated to the impressions or beliefs people have going in. You are as likely to be compelled as revolted if you are a meat-eater or a vegetarian, is what I mean.
How about the Three Colors Trilogy? Worth the $40? I’ve only seen one of his films (Veronique) and I didn’t care for it.
Santino, your opinions on things are so strong I wouldn’t recommend blind buying anything at all for you. You should stick to renting and theatre outings and save your DVD purchasing money for the things you know for sure you want.
That being said…is La Heine worth owning?
My personal opinion… no. No it is not.
However, it is worth the watch since it is still important to a lot of people. I just don’t think it really does anything that Spike Lee didn’t already do, with better cinematography and thematic results.
Wanna get something worth owning?
La Jetee / Sans Soleil
Sansho the Bailiff
Scenes from a Marriage
The Complete Mr. Arkadin
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgoisie or Belle de Jour
Scenes from a Marriage is definitely not for everyone. It is good, but it is not going to attract people who prefer visual storytelling over dialog and stuff like that. I mean, the DVD cover of the two in bed as a flat composition with muted color is basically the deal with the entire six hour piece. It’s not essential.
I for one absolutely positively 100% adore La Jetee and Sans Soleil, but again, not for everybody.
That said, I do think that Bunuel is essential viewing and you can’t go wrong with Sansho the Bailiff.
—PolarisDiB
“. It is very much worth the watch but don’t go into it as a horror fan.”
good advice. I’ve recommended it to a few people, and generally speaking, the people that went in expecting a horror film in the conventional sense were much less likely to respond to it.
as for Scenes From A Marriage, i love Bergman but that never really grabbed me like most of his other great films.
La Haine was awesome in the mid 90’s. probably hasn’t stood up as well over time but i still think it’s quite worthy. it felt more ‘brutal’ than Spike’s films at the time too, but again, i saw it at the theatres, in 1995. maybe if i saw it years later i’d have felt differently about it.
Spike Lee got a lot of crap for making his movies look pretty, while La Haine got a lot of praise for being gritty. I think that’s a little superficial, don’t you think? Speaking as to the craft of cinematography, La Haine also is poorly composed. I think it is a little perturbing that a movie on racism isn’t considered proper unless its shot on cheap film stock.
But I guess brutal is something. I didn’t see it, quite so much.
La Haine does offer something that Lee, of course, doesn’t, and that is a French perspective. With all the goings-on about racism in the United States, it’s valuable to have movies like La Haine to counterpoint Spike Lee and This is England to counterpoint American History X.
Surprisingly, Takashi Miike has a trilogy of great movies about racism in Japan. Of all people…
—PolarisDiB
Days of Heaven Blu-ray? I’ve been considering buying it for awhile now, but there’s something that keeps holding me back. ‘ve already seen the movie on Blu-ray and loved it. Are the bonus features as great as people say they are? That’s probably the deciding factor.
@Spencer
I have the DVD of Days of Heaven, and I really like the special features and interviews with the film crew, and all of the others that were part of the collaborative effort that made the film. There’s no Malick interview, but there is never is any Malick interviews on any of the dvds of his films. There are interesting discussions about the filming of the locusts scenes, and the scenes with the fires, location limitations and issues, the cast, and about the film stock used, etc., but I don’t know if that’s enough to make a buy. I find all of that interesting, but that’s me.
Can you borrow a Days of Heaven dvd from your local library, and first watch the special features dvd before deciding to buy the blu-ray?
But . . . , there may be more special features on the blu-ray than on the dvd. I don’t know about that. Someone else here may be able to direct you to where to find out that information.
Here’s what to buy to add in your collection. (If you’re a huge fan of these directors.)
Oshima: EMPIRE OF PASSION, IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES, MERRY CHRISTMAS, MR. LAWRENCE, BOY, DEATH BY HANGING, and THE CEREMONY
Argento: THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, DEEP RED, SUSPIRIA, INFERNO, TENEBRE, OPERA, TWO EVIL EYES, and MOTHER OF TEARS
Roeg: PERFORMANCE, WALKABOUT, DON’T LOOK NOW, and THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH
Cassavetes: SHADOWS, FACES, and A WOMAN UNDER THE INFLUENCE
Schrader: AMERICAN GIGOLO, CAT PEOPLE, and MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS
Tarkovsky: ANDREI RUBLEV, SOLARIS, THE MIRROR, and STALKER
Cronenberg: VIDEODROME, DEAD RINGERS, and CRASH
Haneke: All of his films.
Welles: CITIZEN KANE
Fellini: LA STRADA, 8 1/2, FELLINI SATYRICON, and AMACORD
Scott: ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER
Jodorowsky: EL TOPO, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, ans SANTA SANGRE
Angelopoulos: All of his films (so far).
Kubrick: 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY and THE SHINING
Lynch: ERASERHEAD, BLUE VELVET, LOST HIGHWAY, and MULHOLLAND DRIVE
Noe: IRREVERISBLE
Bresson: AU HASARD BALTHAZAR
…just to name a few for right now
Also, a few anime to add in your collection if you’re an anime fan, too.
COWBOY BEBOP, DEATH NOTE, SAIYUKI, FRUITS BASKET, THIS UGLY YET BEAUTIFUL WORLD, THE DEVIL LADY, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, SAMURAI CHAMPLOO, BLEACH, RANMA 1/2, and PRINCESS MONONOKEKE :)
Dressed to Kill blu ray is $12.99 on Barnes and Noble right now, and I have a 30% off coupon. Would it be worth a blind buy if I love Sisters, hate Carrie (except for the first scene), and think that Blow Out is just mediocre (again, except for the first scene)?
If the bonuses stack (i.e., the coupon works with the sale), then yes, because if you don’t like it you can sell the same product on Amazon.com used for 11.99.
—DiB
SOLD!! Thanks, DiB! I hate reselling dvds and rarely get around to it, but I think I’ll like this one anyway – De Palma’s gratuitous nude scenes are the best, and I think this one’ll have a lot of them!
Really want the Fanny & Alexander blu-ray, but it’s still $40 on Amazon… which is just too much for me.
Asked for “Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000”. Getting really scarce on the secondary market.
Not a great film as I remember but one that caught a particular time and place very well.
Having it would fill a hole.
Upgraded to the Seven Samurai Blu ray earlier today. Amazon briefly had a Cyber Monday deal @ $22.49.
Doinel: I agree with you. Jonah is a wonderfully evocative film. It should sink under the weight of its eight sub-plots, but it never does (quite).
The Red Shoes on blu.. I’ve been thinking about getting this one for a while. Is it worth it?
It’s certainly a great film to see in the highest definition possible.
—DiB
Thanks. I think I’ll buy it.
Oh! what about 3 women? That looks very interesting.
3 Women is pretty good, but I would recommend seeing it before you buy. It’s really slow and atmospheric, and the atmosphere may or may not appeal to you.
EDIT: Oh wait… Just saw that it’s already in your favorite films. I guess you’re just asking about the quality of the blu ray? Here’s a review of the blu ray with comparisons to the dvd. Looks like they did a good job.
Thanks! The transfer looks really good. I can’t wait.
Viewer Ben
People post all the time asking about this or that film and whether they should buy it, so I figured I’d create a thread that could just be for that question.
I’ll start off with Eyes Without a Face. Worth it? I’m a horror fan, and I know this is supposed to be a horror movie, but I don’t know, it’s just never grabbed me. Thoughts?