hello everybody, im new here having been made aware of the existance of theauteurs.com via the criterion rebranding. apologies if this isnt the right place to introduce myself, but im still working out where everything is! my names adam, im just getting ready to start my masters degree in film theory and screenwriting, live in leeds in the UK with a dog named after jack nicholson and adore almost all areas of film. i wrote my dissertation on john cassavetes, have issues with capital letters and am currently attempting to research “novi film – the yugoslav new-wave”, which is proving mightily difficult due to the incredibly limited range of work available (so if anyone out there is a fan or knows anything on the subject feel free to help me out!). anyway, thats enough babble, good day to you all.
i have only ever walked out of one film, and that film was transformers. we made the mistake of going to a midnight screening of it, post-drinks of the alcoholic variety, so it never stood a chance really.
on a related note i just dont understand the popularity of shia lebouef. hes like a poor mans screech powers.
its a crying shame that the 40% sale wasnt valid to people outside of the states. if you guys think criterions are expensive then spare a thought for us poor sods in the uk that are paying £22 or so for a disc.
indeed, ‘black wave’ is a very cool term. the main film text is dušan makavejev’s ’’the switchboard operator", alas i can not find it for love nor money. i have managed to pick up a few other makavejev flicks, in the shape of “wr. mysteries of the organism” and “sweet movie”, both through criterion. do you know if any cengic or pavlovic films are easily available on dvd T??
i think were in a very similiar position actually, this aspect of european cinema is one that i have never actually considered in the past, but as its one of the few areas on the MA where my knowledge is completely lacking i decided to have a read about and prepare myself!
hey ryan, i too was 12 when i became obsessed with film, i just wish that i had had a resource like this when your age! with regards to kurosawa i tend to have a rather controversial stance, in that i adore his “melodramatic” drama’s, wonderful films like ‘scandal’ or ‘the idiot, yet really cant get into the samurai flicks. i cant recomend ’scandal’ highly enough, its probably in my top 20 of all time and is just majestic.
the best starting point for fellini is 8.1/2. with his oeuvre being fairly straight forward its easy enough to navigate yur way through the rest of his material using 8.1/2 as a starting point. im not the biggest fan of fellini myself.
antonioni – i would recommend the passenger, although it may be a bit mature for a 12 year old.
truffaut – the 400 blows really is the best place to start.
ryan’s post raises a really good point about world cinema, with the concept that a lot of the films, or at least a lot of the filmmakers have at least a portion their body of work that is accessible to those of all ages.
john cassavetes is my favourite aspect of cinema full stop. i wrote my dissertation on him, and you wouldnt believe how difficult it was finding research matter on the guy. granted this was three years ago now, and an official (of sorts) biography has finally been published, but his recognition is still ridiculously low.
i saw blindness yesterday and actually really enjoyed it, in spite of the fairly mediocre press the film has been getting. it was pretty damn harrowing tho, genuinely a difficult watch.
when i refered to “the switchboard operator” being the main text, i was referring to my course specifically. are many black wave films available on dvd in belgrade? im in the uk so would import them if so.
my course is just a regular post-graduate masters degree, here in the uk. the guy (mainly) teaching it is an expert on hungarian cinema (another area i have zero knowledge of, but look forward to exploring it) named john cunningham. basically i was given the viewing list for the subject last week and decided to brush up on the areas i lack in before i sit the actual MA.
i would love to see criterion pick up the newly found cut of metropolis, when its eventually restored and ready for release, although the part that kino are playing in co-financing the restoration means this will never happen!
the only kubrick that genuinely needs a criterion release is barry lyndon. warner brothers have been so negligent with this title.
i second the call for more cassavetes. husbands is a particularly strange missing title.
a matter of life and death is a favourite of mine that still suffers from a poor release.
someone told me that the african queen still isnt available in the US, is that true? if so criterion would be the perfect outlet for it.
oh and finally, more black wave. i need to see more!
sight and sound is the offical magazine of the british film institute, and today their annual essay of the years top dvd’s has popped up on their website here-
http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49501
as the UK’s foremost magazine on serious film discussion and world cinema i find it to be an interesting list, not least when considering picking up a few missed gems over the christmas period.
its nice to see the masters of cinema release of maurice pialat’s “l’enfance nue” feature so heavily. its a wonderful film, genuinely a hidden gem that i wouldnt have heard about were it not for MOC’s release, and the supplements are wonderful. duly noted for their release of dreyer’s “vampyr”, a release that actually put the criterion release to shame. “pierrot le fou” was probably my favourite release of the year, so its great to see that feature too, in spite of the fact that the list is british and tends to shy away from US releases historically.
anyway its an interesting enough list, check it out if you get chance.
ed is dead – i think it was aronofsky himself that inadvertantly started the rumour of a criterion edition of the fountain, when he mentioned in an interview that he would like for someone to take the film off of universal and do it justice. he DID release an audio commentary for the film via his own website at -
punishment park and edvard munch are both available through the wonderful masters of cinema dvd label here in the uk. both are great films, its just a shame that the war game is unavailable here.
wall-e was probably the best blockbuster-style film of the summer, but part of me really adored hellboy2, and in terms of managing spectacle with independent values it really impressed. the dark knight was a great film too, although the over-exposure of the brand just killed the post-film experience for me. the 14 year old in me enjoyed iron man and the incredible hulk too. i like the contrast between the serious-fare of the winter months and the blockbuster period over the summer.
i would recommend punishment park too bobby. theres a really nice european edition of the film available on dvd too-
http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/693826/Punishment-Park/Product.html
edvard munch is perhaps his masterpiece, but punishment park is much more accessible.
pierrot le fou is my favourite film of all time, with breathless a close second, so obviously my list of favourite godard would flow in the same order.
has anyone else on here seen l’histoire(s) du cinema? i used an old vhs copy as a study aid years ago, but finally managed to pick up an official copy whilst in paris over the cinema. the subtitles on the release arent great, but with so much going on it would be impossible to get it perfect without destroying a lot of the subtle nuances and image-based musings that were never intended to be viewed as vocal (a lot of the american film clips didnt carry french subtitles upon its original release in france), but its an incredible experience. its just been released in the UK so a US release surely cant be far off. i would love to see it in a cinema, the whole way through.
im 25 (26 next week), have a BA in media art, within which i focussed on film and wrote my dissertation on john cassavetes, entitled “the answer must come from the artist himself”. i made a few short films, including one that was featured in art forum magazine (an avant-garde war epic based on a talking heads song), but have since decided that rather than take the film production route i would rather do my MA in film theory and screenwriting whilst working independently on my own short films. i start my MA next year and cant wait, literally, so have gotten hold of a copy of last years course breakdown and decided to work my way through the modules that im not too clued up on prior to starting my studies. eventually i would like to be in a position work on my own films, or lecture, seeing as production is a bitch to get into and i dont really like the idea of working within the film industry.
rushmore. at the time dvd was in its relative infancy here and criterion were the stuff of legend. the day i bought my multi-region player in the summer of 2000 i ordered rushmore alongside fight club on region 1 dvd, incidently my first online purchases too.
my least favourite, of the ones i own at least, is the beastie boys anthology. i just dont like them musically very much. robocop is not as bad as i expected, i only picked it up originally as it was out of print and i found it cheap, but fully enjoyed it.
i too was slightly dissapointed that the spine numbers werent restarted with the blu-rays, but thats nowhere near as annoying as the fact that the blu-rays are region encoded, meaning that, with blu-ray’s more stringent region coding i cant watch any of the discs unless i buy a US player. needless to say, should blu-ray take off and subsequently become the primary format i will probably pick up a US blu-ray player.
Criterion junkies here? over 3 years ago
the criterion collection is what brought me here, im a big fan. just picked up the bottle rocket release, its rather wonderful.
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hi over 3 years ago
hello everybody, im new here having been made aware of the existance of theauteurs.com via the criterion rebranding. apologies if this isnt the right place to introduce myself, but im still working out where everything is! my names adam, im just getting ready to start my masters degree in film theory and screenwriting, live in leeds in the UK with a dog named after jack nicholson and adore almost all areas of film. i wrote my dissertation on john cassavetes, have issues with capital letters and am currently attempting to research “novi film – the yugoslav new-wave”, which is proving mightily difficult due to the incredibly limited range of work available (so if anyone out there is a fan or knows anything on the subject feel free to help me out!). anyway, thats enough babble, good day to you all.
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Criterion junkies here? over 3 years ago
pierrot le fou is my favourite film of all time, so seeing it in the CC is a big deal for me.
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novi film - the yugoslav new wave over 3 years ago
edited beyond recognition.
please see the most recent post.
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the hate corner over 3 years ago
i have only ever walked out of one film, and that film was transformers. we made the mistake of going to a midnight screening of it, post-drinks of the alcoholic variety, so it never stood a chance really.
on a related note i just dont understand the popularity of shia lebouef. hes like a poor mans screech powers.
Go to Comment
the hate corner over 3 years ago
nawid – no i havent. im a big downey jr fan so have always intended to, im sure i will eventually.
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the hate corner over 3 years ago
in related news i adore paul thomas anderson. i genuinely think that “there will be blood” is the best film iv ever seen upon its theatrical release.
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Criterion junkies here? over 3 years ago
its a crying shame that the 40% sale wasnt valid to people outside of the states. if you guys think criterions are expensive then spare a thought for us poor sods in the uk that are paying £22 or so for a disc.
Go to Comment
novi film - the yugoslav new wave over 3 years ago
indeed, ‘black wave’ is a very cool term. the main film text is dušan makavejev’s ’’the switchboard operator", alas i can not find it for love nor money. i have managed to pick up a few other makavejev flicks, in the shape of “wr. mysteries of the organism” and “sweet movie”, both through criterion. do you know if any cengic or pavlovic films are easily available on dvd T??
Go to Comment
novi film - the yugoslav new wave over 3 years ago
i think were in a very similiar position actually, this aspect of european cinema is one that i have never actually considered in the past, but as its one of the few areas on the MA where my knowledge is completely lacking i decided to have a read about and prepare myself!
Go to Comment
12-year old asking... over 3 years ago
hey ryan, i too was 12 when i became obsessed with film, i just wish that i had had a resource like this when your age! with regards to kurosawa i tend to have a rather controversial stance, in that i adore his “melodramatic” drama’s, wonderful films like ‘scandal’ or ‘the idiot, yet really cant get into the samurai flicks. i cant recomend ’scandal’ highly enough, its probably in my top 20 of all time and is just majestic.
the best starting point for fellini is 8.1/2. with his oeuvre being fairly straight forward its easy enough to navigate yur way through the rest of his material using 8.1/2 as a starting point. im not the biggest fan of fellini myself.
antonioni – i would recommend the passenger, although it may be a bit mature for a 12 year old.
truffaut – the 400 blows really is the best place to start.
ryan’s post raises a really good point about world cinema, with the concept that a lot of the films, or at least a lot of the filmmakers have at least a portion their body of work that is accessible to those of all ages.
Go to Comment
JOHN CASSAVETES over 3 years ago
john cassavetes is my favourite aspect of cinema full stop. i wrote my dissertation on him, and you wouldnt believe how difficult it was finding research matter on the guy. granted this was three years ago now, and an official (of sorts) biography has finally been published, but his recognition is still ridiculously low.
Go to Comment
now playing in a theatre near you over 3 years ago
i saw blindness yesterday and actually really enjoyed it, in spite of the fairly mediocre press the film has been getting. it was pretty damn harrowing tho, genuinely a difficult watch.
Go to Comment
novi film - the yugoslav new wave over 3 years ago
when i refered to “the switchboard operator” being the main text, i was referring to my course specifically. are many black wave films available on dvd in belgrade? im in the uk so would import them if so.
Go to Comment
novi film - the yugoslav new wave over 3 years ago
my course is just a regular post-graduate masters degree, here in the uk. the guy (mainly) teaching it is an expert on hungarian cinema (another area i have zero knowledge of, but look forward to exploring it) named john cunningham. basically i was given the viewing list for the subject last week and decided to brush up on the areas i lack in before i sit the actual MA.
Go to Comment
Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection over 3 years ago
i would love to see criterion pick up the newly found cut of metropolis, when its eventually restored and ready for release, although the part that kino are playing in co-financing the restoration means this will never happen!
the only kubrick that genuinely needs a criterion release is barry lyndon. warner brothers have been so negligent with this title.
i second the call for more cassavetes. husbands is a particularly strange missing title.
a matter of life and death is a favourite of mine that still suffers from a poor release.
someone told me that the african queen still isnt available in the US, is that true? if so criterion would be the perfect outlet for it.
oh and finally, more black wave. i need to see more!
Go to Comment
the sight and sound top dvds of 2008. over 3 years ago
sight and sound is the offical magazine of the british film institute, and today their annual essay of the years top dvd’s has popped up on their website here-
http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/feature/49501
as the UK’s foremost magazine on serious film discussion and world cinema i find it to be an interesting list, not least when considering picking up a few missed gems over the christmas period.
its nice to see the masters of cinema release of maurice pialat’s “l’enfance nue” feature so heavily. its a wonderful film, genuinely a hidden gem that i wouldnt have heard about were it not for MOC’s release, and the supplements are wonderful. duly noted for their release of dreyer’s “vampyr”, a release that actually put the criterion release to shame. “pierrot le fou” was probably my favourite release of the year, so its great to see that feature too, in spite of the fact that the list is british and tends to shy away from US releases historically.
anyway its an interesting enough list, check it out if you get chance.
Go to Comment
Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection over 3 years ago
ed is dead – i think it was aronofsky himself that inadvertantly started the rumour of a criterion edition of the fountain, when he mentioned in an interview that he would like for someone to take the film off of universal and do it justice. he DID release an audio commentary for the film via his own website at -
http://www.darrenaronofsky.com/DA.html
enjoy.
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Peter Watkins over 3 years ago
punishment park and edvard munch are both available through the wonderful masters of cinema dvd label here in the uk. both are great films, its just a shame that the war game is unavailable here.
Go to Comment
Your Favorite Films of This Summer 2008 over 3 years ago
wall-e was probably the best blockbuster-style film of the summer, but part of me really adored hellboy2, and in terms of managing spectacle with independent values it really impressed. the dark knight was a great film too, although the over-exposure of the brand just killed the post-film experience for me. the 14 year old in me enjoyed iron man and the incredible hulk too. i like the contrast between the serious-fare of the winter months and the blockbuster period over the summer.
Go to Comment
Peter Watkins over 3 years ago
i would recommend punishment park too bobby. theres a really nice european edition of the film available on dvd too-
http://www.play.com/DVD/DVD/4-/693826/Punishment-Park/Product.html
edvard munch is perhaps his masterpiece, but punishment park is much more accessible.
Go to Comment
the hate corner over 3 years ago
i found paul haggis’ crash to be the most patronising piece of rubbish.
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Is it in his head or has Sam been Big Brothered..? over 3 years ago
i believe that the third act is all a dream, a climx of sorts that has been hinted/building throughout the film with the earlier fantasy sequences.
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Your Favorite Godard Film? over 3 years ago
pierrot le fou is my favourite film of all time, with breathless a close second, so obviously my list of favourite godard would flow in the same order.
has anyone else on here seen l’histoire(s) du cinema? i used an old vhs copy as a study aid years ago, but finally managed to pick up an official copy whilst in paris over the cinema. the subtitles on the release arent great, but with so much going on it would be impossible to get it perfect without destroying a lot of the subtle nuances and image-based musings that were never intended to be viewed as vocal (a lot of the american film clips didnt carry french subtitles upon its original release in france), but its an incredible experience. its just been released in the UK so a US release surely cant be far off. i would love to see it in a cinema, the whole way through.
Go to Comment
Age / Level of education? (An informal poll) over 3 years ago
im 25 (26 next week), have a BA in media art, within which i focussed on film and wrote my dissertation on john cassavetes, entitled “the answer must come from the artist himself”. i made a few short films, including one that was featured in art forum magazine (an avant-garde war epic based on a talking heads song), but have since decided that rather than take the film production route i would rather do my MA in film theory and screenwriting whilst working independently on my own short films. i start my MA next year and cant wait, literally, so have gotten hold of a copy of last years course breakdown and decided to work my way through the modules that im not too clued up on prior to starting my studies. eventually i would like to be in a position work on my own films, or lecture, seeing as production is a bitch to get into and i dont really like the idea of working within the film industry.
Go to Comment
Movies That Should Be In the Criterion Collection over 3 years ago
A Man Escaped.
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What was the first Criterion movie you watched? over 3 years ago
rushmore. at the time dvd was in its relative infancy here and criterion were the stuff of legend. the day i bought my multi-region player in the summer of 2000 i ordered rushmore alongside fight club on region 1 dvd, incidently my first online purchases too.
Go to Comment
Worst Criterion DVDs over 3 years ago
my least favourite, of the ones i own at least, is the beastie boys anthology. i just dont like them musically very much. robocop is not as bad as i expected, i only picked it up originally as it was out of print and i found it cheap, but fully enjoyed it.
Go to Comment
Criterion Blu(e)s over 3 years ago
i too was slightly dissapointed that the spine numbers werent restarted with the blu-rays, but thats nowhere near as annoying as the fact that the blu-rays are region encoded, meaning that, with blu-ray’s more stringent region coding i cant watch any of the discs unless i buy a US player. needless to say, should blu-ray take off and subsequently become the primary format i will probably pick up a US blu-ray player.
Go to Comment
12-year old asking... over 3 years ago
i always forget about fahrenheit 451, but it is a genuinely great piece of cinema.
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