I generally blind buy most of my Criterions, too. Not to say that I tend to judge a book by its cover, but that is how I’ve stumbled upon a bunch of films that I ended up loving. A few of these include Good Morning, Tokyo Drifter, George Washington, Written on the Wind, and even Videodrome. I agree with the others that you’re generally pretty safe doing a blind buy with Criterion. I have a stack of about 10 that I blind bought during their big moving sale a little while back that I haven’t even checked out yet, but I’m not all that concerned that I won’t like them.
I think I got mine through one of those awful Columbia House DVD club kind of things. I get a lot of crap for saying that I like that movie for some reason, even though I think it’s a damn-fine movie.
I do thoroughly enjoy a good comedy when they roll around, but I do tend to gravitate towards drama. It feels more, real, I guess, to me. I’d take something like Little Children over Knocked Up any day of the week, not to say that I don’t like Knocked Up. The amount of quality comedy out there seems to be so thin that I regularly end up in the situation where I’m sitting there identifying the points that are engineered to make the audience laugh, but it’s just not happening. That doesn’t go to say that the same type of thing doesn’t happen in dramatic films, too, though; there are those times where you can tell that the director is just shooting for an Oscar instead of trying to make something worthwhile. That’s my bit.
Having just watched it the other day, I’d say that Suzuki’s Branded to Kill would be a good place to look. It can provide a little bit of contrast to the others in that it illustrates the challenges that a hitman could encounter by giving in to the many temptations, such as relationships, booze, etc. It’d probably be pretty easy to integrate into a paper and it’s still free to watch here.
How about Rossellini’s “Viaggio in Italia” or a better version of “Kiss Me Deadly?” I know that Kiss Me Deadly is available for $5 used on amazon, but I’d like a version with a little more substance to accompany the film that I haven’t been able to get out of my head since I saw it in film school a few years back.
In reference to 2 Inches, there are documentaries about both Don Quixote and Apocalypse Now that are fantastically entertaining that show how those films went down in films (or almost did). The one for Don Quixote was Lost in La Mancha and the one for Apocalypse Now was Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, both of which I’d recommend checking out.
I really, really enjoyed Good Morning by Ozu. It paints a wonderful picture of childhood, and I’d definitely recommend watching it. http://www.criterion.com/films/624
Historically, Bridget Bardot (Contempt), Ingrid Bergman, and Sophia Loren (lining the walls of every Buca in the country, which only adds to the dining experience).
Also, more recently a fan of Evan Rachel Wood (after Across the Universe), Natalie Portman, and that girl that was in CQ. The last one might be that CQ just had that 60’s French Sci-Fi vibe to it. She hasn’t impressed me that much in her other roles.
re Johnh
I was unaware of the existence of the New York Film Annex, so they might be getting an order pretty soon. I fell in love with Viaggio when I saw it in an Italian film class a while back and have been crossing my fingers for a Criterion treatment at some point.
Also, I think that version of Kiss Me Deadly might have been the one that I saw originally, but I feel like it might not have been, because I don’t remember there being much of an ending. Thanks for the links.
I’ve got a few under my belt here that I would like to do something with at some point. Nothing parallels that point where you get into the zone and the words are just flowing and you don’t even know where it’s coming from. Everyone might want to check out Script Frenzy, an offshoot of National Novel Writing Month that involves throwing together a screenplay from scratch for fun in a month. There aren’t any prizes or anything involved, but you get to meet some like-minded people and it gives you a bit of masochistic self motivation.
Apparently it starts April 1st. If anyone wants to get involved, send me a message for some much-needed peer pressure. My wife will hate you.
I also have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. I’m pretty stoked about the whole Friday the 13th thing. Even my wife has talked herself into thinking that she wants to go, which is pretty rare.
On a related note, did anyone else see the Halloween remake? I have to say that I want to like Rob Zombie so much (no good reason) and he seems to come close every once and while, but I was really at odds with Halloween. I mean, I can appreciate the whole re-imagining thing, but I was definitely left wanting more. Of course, I think it was a Blockbuster Exclusive, which I don’t know if anyone else has also equated to the kiss of death for a movie.
Also, how about Le Crime de Monsieur Lange by Renoir? I haven’t seen it anywhere without asian characters on the cover. That’s one that I’ve always wanted to watch again, but didn’t ever see it on DVD. I remember getting really excited when I heard there was going to be a Renoir box set from Criterion, but it didn’t really fit in that set.
North by Northwest would definitely be my favorite. It’s got spies, it’s got Hitchcock, it’s got a blonde, it’s got the always wonderful Cary Grant, great color, great shots, you name it. It’s just a fun movie.
*I agree with the person that said Requiem for a Dream blew them away.
I’m a big fan of these guys, as well. I’ve got to admit, though, that I was a little put off by the fact that the ticket prices to see them for an upcoming show were over $100 for crap seats. This might not seem too crazy, but in Austin, that kind of price for a ticket is pretty ridiculous. It’s too bad, too, because I would have really liked to go. I just can’t rationalize paying that much to be so far out that I can’t see them anyway. That’s my rant.
Also, my coworker and I break into Foux du Fafa on a regular basis.
If you’re interested in reading some of what sounds more like intelligent conversation, I suggest picking up some books by Sam Rhodie. His books are very easy to comprehend because of their conversational tone, even if they do double back on themselves at times. The information and conclusions drawn about different directors are very interesting. I don’t know if you’d say he was writing “theory” per se, but they’re interesting just the same. One of his essays was published with the recent Criterion release of Salo.
Mifune definitely wins out in my book. His presence on screen just makes the samurai seem that much more passionate and intimidating. He’s just got that look of power. Maybe I just like him because my American mind leads me to favor the badass persona that dominates the screen, the guy that’s the loudest, the most confident, or the most drunk, in some cases. Maybe I’m just blowing smoke here.
Also not in any particular order:
Johnny Guitar
The Searchers
Unforgiven
Tombstone
and this Randolph Scott movie I saw on Encore Westerns a few weeks ago that I can’t figure out the name of since all of the names of these movies are so similar.
Am I seriously the only one here that likes Tombstone? Also, Johnny Guitar is the one that I can attribute to my getting back into westerns after having been burned out on them from overexposure as a kid.
I got totally addicted to this show last year and blew through the first couple of seasons in the week before the third started. It really draws you in. I picked up the first book and it doesn’t seem to be quite as interesting, which really puts the camerawork and so forth from the show into perspective.
As far as I can tell from Bergman and a lot of other people from across the sea, incest doesn’t seem to be quite as big of a taboo as it is in America. This isn’t going to say that I’m down with the incest. It just seems to be something that comes up a lot of stuff from Europe/Scandinavia in general. So what I’m saying is that I don’t really have an answer.
I agree with the Suit that Salesman is phenomenal. Also, I am instantly mesmerized by any of the BBC nature docs. You just can’t look away. What’s weird about it is that I can watch the same episode on TV 20 times and still be amazed, but I fall asleep watching that very same episode on dvd.
You know, I guess I’d have to agree with Troy about the Tom Green thing.
Still, I think I’d rather hire someone to punch me in the face for two hours than ever sit through that movie again.
To Evan, Blair Witch borrows a ton from The Last Broadcast, which is essentially the same movie, but about the Jersey Devil, if I remember correctly.
I’d like to see another box set along the lines of that Monsters & Madmen box, but more focused on campy horror.
Also, has anyone seen They? It wasn’t really a phenomenal movie, but it had some really creepy imagery in it. It’s one that I saw a while back and kept trying to think of the name of it because I could only remember bits and pieces about people being scared of the dark.
I’ve bought a lot from Criterion itself, as they’re not horribly priced there. I’ve also picked up some from DVDPlanet, but their shipping seems to take forever.
Something that I stumbled across today was the warehouse section of amazon, which has a rolling catalog of used/returned Criterion DVDs that are still backed by amazon’s return policies. When I looked at it today, they had some that were only $5 or $10 off, but then there were others that were more than half off. This has resulted in yet another blind buy for me, this time Le Trou, which sounds interesting.
The one that came to mind when I read the title of this topic was The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. When I saw that for the first time in one of my film classes, I was blown away that a musical could have some heavy stuff in it and not just be all light hearted an goofy (not to knock the musical).
I also saw that people mentioned Weekend, which is another one that kind of blew me away. I can tell you, too, that the first time I saw it, it was in an early class after a long night of no sleep, so I dozed a bit in the middle, which made the movie just seem totally nuts by the end. When I watched it again later, it made more sense. A little, at least.
I’m a big fan of non-hollywood endings. It generally irritates me that they feel the need to slap a happy ending on almost everything, even if the lead up is somewhat far fetched and drawn out.
So I watched Jubilee last night and was kind of curious as to what other people thought about it. Really, I was looking for a non-American perspective. I was getting that whole “I don’t get why Criterion felt the need to tackle this project” while watching the film. It was interesting and all, but I feel like I might have missed some sort of cultural significance or something. Feel free to enlighten me.
Well it’s definitely good to see additional viewpoints here. That’s why this site is great.
I might have to give it another viewing when I’m a little less sleepy and a little less watching it with my wife. It definitely has an interesting look, but I feel like I might be missing something having grown up after most of the real punk scene died. I did enjoy Nitrate’s dance number.
Blind buys over 3 years ago
I generally blind buy most of my Criterions, too. Not to say that I tend to judge a book by its cover, but that is how I’ve stumbled upon a bunch of films that I ended up loving. A few of these include Good Morning, Tokyo Drifter, George Washington, Written on the Wind, and even Videodrome. I agree with the others that you’re generally pretty safe doing a blind buy with Criterion. I have a stack of about 10 that I blind bought during their big moving sale a little while back that I haven’t even checked out yet, but I’m not all that concerned that I won’t like them.
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Last movie you saw and rate it over 3 years ago
The Wrestler : 9/10
- The performances were all great. The whole thing was pure Aronofsky, the rise and fall of individuals, Jersey, great music, etc.
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Magnolia DVD over 3 years ago
I think I got mine through one of those awful Columbia House DVD club kind of things. I get a lot of crap for saying that I like that movie for some reason, even though I think it’s a damn-fine movie.
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Except for the acknowledged classics, I am finding that most people in these forums prefer dramas over comedies. Why is that so? over 3 years ago
I do thoroughly enjoy a good comedy when they roll around, but I do tend to gravitate towards drama. It feels more, real, I guess, to me. I’d take something like Little Children over Knocked Up any day of the week, not to say that I don’t like Knocked Up. The amount of quality comedy out there seems to be so thin that I regularly end up in the situation where I’m sitting there identifying the points that are engineered to make the audience laugh, but it’s just not happening. That doesn’t go to say that the same type of thing doesn’t happen in dramatic films, too, though; there are those times where you can tell that the director is just shooting for an Oscar instead of trying to make something worthwhile. That’s my bit.
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MOVIES ABOUT HITMEN over 3 years ago
Having just watched it the other day, I’d say that Suzuki’s Branded to Kill would be a good place to look. It can provide a little bit of contrast to the others in that it illustrates the challenges that a hitman could encounter by giving in to the many temptations, such as relationships, booze, etc. It’d probably be pretty easy to integrate into a paper and it’s still free to watch here.
Go to Comment
too obscure for dvd? over 3 years ago
How about Rossellini’s “Viaggio in Italia” or a better version of “Kiss Me Deadly?” I know that Kiss Me Deadly is available for $5 used on amazon, but I’d like a version with a little more substance to accompany the film that I haven’t been able to get out of my head since I saw it in film school a few years back.
Go to Comment
Other movies in situations similar to Brazil over 3 years ago
In reference to 2 Inches, there are documentaries about both Don Quixote and Apocalypse Now that are fantastically entertaining that show how those films went down in films (or almost did). The one for Don Quixote was Lost in La Mancha and the one for Apocalypse Now was Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, both of which I’d recommend checking out.
Go to Comment
Recommend some Light Hearted/Uplifting/Feel Good FOREIGN Movies over 3 years ago
I really, really enjoyed Good Morning by Ozu. It paints a wonderful picture of childhood, and I’d definitely recommend watching it. http://www.criterion.com/films/624
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WHO IS / WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FILM ACTRESS EVER? over 3 years ago
Historically, Bridget Bardot (Contempt), Ingrid Bergman, and Sophia Loren (lining the walls of every Buca in the country, which only adds to the dining experience).
Also, more recently a fan of Evan Rachel Wood (after Across the Universe), Natalie Portman, and that girl that was in CQ. The last one might be that CQ just had that 60’s French Sci-Fi vibe to it. She hasn’t impressed me that much in her other roles.
Go to Comment
too obscure for dvd? over 3 years ago
re Johnh
I was unaware of the existence of the New York Film Annex, so they might be getting an order pretty soon. I fell in love with Viaggio when I saw it in an Italian film class a while back and have been crossing my fingers for a Criterion treatment at some point.
Also, I think that version of Kiss Me Deadly might have been the one that I saw originally, but I feel like it might not have been, because I don’t remember there being much of an ending. Thanks for the links.
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screenplays over 3 years ago
I’ve got a few under my belt here that I would like to do something with at some point. Nothing parallels that point where you get into the zone and the words are just flowing and you don’t even know where it’s coming from. Everyone might want to check out Script Frenzy, an offshoot of National Novel Writing Month that involves throwing together a screenplay from scratch for fun in a month. There aren’t any prizes or anything involved, but you get to meet some like-minded people and it gives you a bit of masochistic self motivation.
Apparently it starts April 1st. If anyone wants to get involved, send me a message for some much-needed peer pressure. My wife will hate you.
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/
Also, http://www.nanowrimo.org/
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Friday The 13th over 3 years ago
I also have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. I’m pretty stoked about the whole Friday the 13th thing. Even my wife has talked herself into thinking that she wants to go, which is pretty rare.
On a related note, did anyone else see the Halloween remake? I have to say that I want to like Rob Zombie so much (no good reason) and he seems to come close every once and while, but I was really at odds with Halloween. I mean, I can appreciate the whole re-imagining thing, but I was definitely left wanting more. Of course, I think it was a Blockbuster Exclusive, which I don’t know if anyone else has also equated to the kiss of death for a movie.
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too obscure for dvd? over 3 years ago
Also, how about Le Crime de Monsieur Lange by Renoir? I haven’t seen it anywhere without asian characters on the cover. That’s one that I’ve always wanted to watch again, but didn’t ever see it on DVD. I remember getting really excited when I heard there was going to be a Renoir box set from Criterion, but it didn’t really fit in that set.
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If you had to pick ONE film as your favorite... over 3 years ago
North by Northwest would definitely be my favorite. It’s got spies, it’s got Hitchcock, it’s got a blonde, it’s got the always wonderful Cary Grant, great color, great shots, you name it. It’s just a fun movie.
*I agree with the person that said Requiem for a Dream blew them away.
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Foux du Fafa over 3 years ago
I’m a big fan of these guys, as well. I’ve got to admit, though, that I was a little put off by the fact that the ticket prices to see them for an upcoming show were over $100 for crap seats. This might not seem too crazy, but in Austin, that kind of price for a ticket is pretty ridiculous. It’s too bad, too, because I would have really liked to go. I just can’t rationalize paying that much to be so far out that I can’t see them anyway. That’s my rant.
Also, my coworker and I break into Foux du Fafa on a regular basis.
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Film Theory Books over 3 years ago
If you’re interested in reading some of what sounds more like intelligent conversation, I suggest picking up some books by Sam Rhodie. His books are very easy to comprehend because of their conversational tone, even if they do double back on themselves at times. The information and conclusions drawn about different directors are very interesting. I don’t know if you’d say he was writing “theory” per se, but they’re interesting just the same. One of his essays was published with the recent Criterion release of Salo.
Go to Comment
Favorite Kurosawa lead actor? over 3 years ago
Mifune definitely wins out in my book. His presence on screen just makes the samurai seem that much more passionate and intimidating. He’s just got that look of power. Maybe I just like him because my American mind leads me to favor the badass persona that dominates the screen, the guy that’s the loudest, the most confident, or the most drunk, in some cases. Maybe I’m just blowing smoke here.
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Best Westerns over 3 years ago
Also not in any particular order:
Johnny Guitar
The Searchers
Unforgiven
Tombstone
and this Randolph Scott movie I saw on Encore Westerns a few weeks ago that I can’t figure out the name of since all of the names of these movies are so similar.
Am I seriously the only one here that likes Tombstone? Also, Johnny Guitar is the one that I can attribute to my getting back into westerns after having been burned out on them from overexposure as a kid.
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Dexter over 3 years ago
I got totally addicted to this show last year and blew through the first couple of seasons in the week before the third started. It really draws you in. I picked up the first book and it doesn’t seem to be quite as interesting, which really puts the camerawork and so forth from the show into perspective.
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Can someone explain to me... over 3 years ago
As far as I can tell from Bergman and a lot of other people from across the sea, incest doesn’t seem to be quite as big of a taboo as it is in America. This isn’t going to say that I’m down with the incest. It just seems to be something that comes up a lot of stuff from Europe/Scandinavia in general. So what I’m saying is that I don’t really have an answer.
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Love Themed Criterions for Valentine's Day over 3 years ago
Along the lines of Dave’s post, Divorce Italian Style…
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A Random Film You Like over 3 years ago
Better Off Dead. I mean seriously, it’s got 80’s cheese, a claymation hamburger that sings Van Halen, and John Cusack.
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Any good documentaries out there? over 3 years ago
I agree with the Suit that Salesman is phenomenal. Also, I am instantly mesmerized by any of the BBC nature docs. You just can’t look away. What’s weird about it is that I can watch the same episode on TV 20 times and still be amazed, but I fall asleep watching that very same episode on dvd.
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A Random Film You Like over 3 years ago
You know, I guess I’d have to agree with Troy about the Tom Green thing.
Still, I think I’d rather hire someone to punch me in the face for two hours than ever sit through that movie again.
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Howzabout Some Horror on Criterion? over 3 years ago
To Evan, Blair Witch borrows a ton from The Last Broadcast, which is essentially the same movie, but about the Jersey Devil, if I remember correctly.
I’d like to see another box set along the lines of that Monsters & Madmen box, but more focused on campy horror.
Also, has anyone seen They? It wasn’t really a phenomenal movie, but it had some really creepy imagery in it. It’s one that I saw a while back and kept trying to think of the name of it because I could only remember bits and pieces about people being scared of the dark.
Go to Comment
Criterion too pricey for you? over 3 years ago
I’ve bought a lot from Criterion itself, as they’re not horribly priced there. I’ve also picked up some from DVDPlanet, but their shipping seems to take forever.
Something that I stumbled across today was the warehouse section of amazon, which has a rolling catalog of used/returned Criterion DVDs that are still backed by amazon’s return policies. When I looked at it today, they had some that were only $5 or $10 off, but then there were others that were more than half off. This has resulted in yet another blind buy for me, this time Le Trou, which sounds interesting.
http://www.warehousedeals.com/search.htm?keyword=criterion&refineBy=c:2263801461
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FAVOURITE DOWNBEAT ENDING over 3 years ago
The one that came to mind when I read the title of this topic was The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. When I saw that for the first time in one of my film classes, I was blown away that a musical could have some heavy stuff in it and not just be all light hearted an goofy (not to knock the musical).
I also saw that people mentioned Weekend, which is another one that kind of blew me away. I can tell you, too, that the first time I saw it, it was in an early class after a long night of no sleep, so I dozed a bit in the middle, which made the movie just seem totally nuts by the end. When I watched it again later, it made more sense. A little, at least.
I’m a big fan of non-hollywood endings. It generally irritates me that they feel the need to slap a happy ending on almost everything, even if the lead up is somewhat far fetched and drawn out.
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Thoughts on Jubilee about 3 years ago
So I watched Jubilee last night and was kind of curious as to what other people thought about it. Really, I was looking for a non-American perspective. I was getting that whole “I don’t get why Criterion felt the need to tackle this project” while watching the film. It was interesting and all, but I feel like I might have missed some sort of cultural significance or something. Feel free to enlighten me.
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Thoughts on Jubilee about 3 years ago
Well it’s definitely good to see additional viewpoints here. That’s why this site is great.
I might have to give it another viewing when I’m a little less sleepy and a little less watching it with my wife. It definitely has an interesting look, but I feel like I might be missing something having grown up after most of the real punk scene died. I did enjoy Nitrate’s dance number.
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Where are you from? about 3 years ago
I’m a Florida boy that fled Disney to Austin, TX. Austin is great, but I do miss the swamp from time to time.
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