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 Every July and November, film buffs engage in an orgy of capitalism like no other - the Barnes & Noble 50%-off Criterion sale. Guess what? Some end up gorging on such releases to take advantage of the price where they sit on a shelf while other stuff happens in the world. I mean, who doesn't love seeing all those matching spines lined up on a shelf? One of my movie goals this year was to catch up on unseen films. I've also had crazy hectic work schedules, meaning I'd be lucky to catch a movie or two during the weekend. There's a bunch of releases I haven't watched yet or it's been forever since I've seen them. So this is the time, just as many of us are about to engage in that bi-annual video orgy. Most of these are ones I haven't gotten around to seeing on the particular edition, but have seen the movie or owned a previous disc. Some are just alternate cuts or bonus films I haven't watched yet. Some are films I haven't seen in literally years or even decades. My goal is to eradicate my backlog and scratch that itch on some of my favorite films by the end of the month. June 30 - Seven Samurai / Brazil July 1 - Rebecca July 3 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas July 4 - King of Jazz July 8 - Brand Upon the Brain! July 9 - The Innocents July 10 - Persona July 11 - Breathless July 13 - Stagecoach July 14 - Blow-Up / Wild Strawberries / Foreign Correspondent Feel free to join in on the fun. I'm hoping to get at least one or two each night on days I'm not travelling. I'll also muse upon some of my favorite releases and what they mean to me. Feel free to encourage certain titles for me to cover sooner than later, too. 
Egbert Souse fucked around with this message at 00:18 on Jul 15, 2018 |
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Jun 29, 2018 02:04
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I'm a bit disappointed you didn't name the thread IN JULY, Egbert's Criterion Vacation.
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Jun 29, 2018 11:51
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Samuel Clemens posted:I'm a bit disappointed you didn't name the thread IN JULY, Egbert's Criterion Vacation. Lol
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Jun 29, 2018 18:56
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Watching film #1 right now... #2 if you go by spine numbers.Samuel Clemens posted:I'm a bit disappointed you didn't name the thread IN JULY, Egbert's Criterion Vacation. That's just bad copy!
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Jun 30, 2018 22:10
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 #2 - Seven Samurai (1954, Akira Kurosawa) Blu-ray Edition One of the crown jewels of Japanese cinema. Countlessly imitated, but never surpassed. It's not surprising that Kurosawa's films were often inspiring to western filmmakers as the "Emperor" himself was a devotee to American director John Ford. Ford's influence is particularly obvious in the structure of Seven Samurai, most specifically Stagecoach. Both films spend the first half letting us get to know the characters, while the second half is packed with action. It's an amazing way to trust the audience to really take in what the stakes are.  A lot of people probably wonder what the heck "mise-en-scene" is. This is a prime example of that. Kurosawa often uses deep focus to put primary focus in the foreground, with secondary characters farther off - both sharply in view. There's also these wonderful moments with all seven lined up, almost like a painting. There's also the battle at the end in the rain that's like moving charcoal drawings. Kurosawa edited most of his films himself and it's astonishing how a 3 1/2 hour film barely feels like anything longer than two hours. There's also a fantastic cast with his regulars Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune. While I think a lot of people remember them mainly for this film, it's worth noting both starred together in Kurosawa's earlier films Drunken Angel and Stray Dog. Also worth saying that Shimura starred in Toho's other big movie of 1954, Gojira. There's so many great scenes in this. Shimura's introduction is amazing, but nearly any moment with Mifune is gold, especially when he sneaks up on one of the bandits. It's not surprising he became a mega-star in Japan since he owns the screen every time he's on. I've actually never seen John Sturges' 1960 American remake The Magnificent Seven, which I hope to amend sometime. Though, I've seen plenty of other derivatives from both Seven Samurai and The Magnificent Seven like A Bug's Life, Three Amigos, and I guess Galaxy Quest to an extent. From what I can find, this was first released by Criterion on laserdisc in 1988 (Spine #67), their third DVD release in 1998, a remastered 3-disc DVD in 2006, and a Blu-ray edition in 2010. The remastered DVD and Blu-ray utilize a 2K restoration from a then-new 35mm duplicate negative created from a fine-grain master positive (high quality element made from the camera negative meant for making duplicate negatives for prints). There's two commentaries - one from their original laserdisc and another with several participants. There's also an extra disc just for additional documentaries/interviews totaling almost four hours (including an interview with Kurosawa by Nagisa Oshima). They also included one of their thick booklets with almost a dozen essays and other information. The 2006 DVD edition was actually my first exposure to the film in full, though I may have seen bits on Turner Classic Movies. Overall, I'd say this is one video release that absolutely essential for any film buff worth their salt. Egbert Souse fucked around with this message at 02:00 on Jul 1, 2018 |
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Jul 1, 2018 01:57
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 #51 - Brazil (1985, Terry Gilliam) Blu-ray Edition Very few times have there been made where a filmmaker had unlimited creative control and a blank check. Citizen Kane is the best known one, but Brazil started out as that. It's also probably known more for the studio battle surrounding the movie than anything else. But I think it's a classic of the 80s and one of the great films of that decade. The first time I saw this was on cable in the middle of the night. That ending left me slack jawed.  I recently saw Michael Radford's 1984 adaptation of... 1984. One thing that I found remarkable was that it seemed to share a lot with Brazil. While 1984 is serious and bleak, Gilliam's films takes the themes of Orwell and adds in loads of irony and satire. More so that it's every bit as relevant today as it was in 1985. Audiences could laugh at the absurdity of someone being hauled off for interrogation due to a clerical error. Today, not so much, though perhaps all we can do is laugh at this point. Like Citizen Kane, Gilliam manages an incredible "running start" with the first hour being more or less breathless. Rewatching it after many years, I was struck by how obsessive the film is with continuity. Though, I most of all love Jonathan Pryce's performance. Apparently, Sam Lowry was written as a younger character, but I can't imagine anyone else playing the part. Also some atypical casting with Robert DeNiro and Michael Palin. There's also some familiar faces in British cinema like Katherine Helmond, Ian Holm, Peter Vaughan, and Ian Richardson. What really ties together the film is Michael Kamen's score, whether it's quirky "pop" sounds or soaring passages. Is it a perfect film? Nah, but Gilliam doesn't make perfect films. I've found that he'd rather do something messy and dirty. Think along the lines of thick outlines in El Greco's work. As anyone familiar with the film knows, the studio head of Universal didn't like Gilliam's cut and wanted him to make extensive changes. Gilliam refused, thus the film stayed on the shelf while it had a release in Europe. Eventually, Gilliam caved slightly and made a shorter cut (by 10 minutes) and it was released. That studio edit ended up getting some syndicated TV play and has to be seen to be believed. This "Love Conquers All" cut goes against everything the film is about in favor of making a more "audience-friendly" film. It's missing nearly an hour of footage, has absurd edits to hide missing scenes like freeze-frames, and ruins the ending. That version would be at home on MST3K. This is probably one of the most important home video releases. Originally released by Criterion on laserdisc in 1996, upgraded to DVD in 1999, remastered in 2006, then brought to Blu-ray in 2012. I think this is one of the few times where all incarnations were identical, even including laserdisc. The centerpiece is the director's cut of the film, which is basically the longer European version with a few bits of the American cut. There's also a commentary by Gilliam, several short video pieces, an hour-long program on the studio battle, and the aforementioned "Love Conquers All" cut. Egbert Souse fucked around with this message at 05:46 on Jul 1, 2018 |
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Jul 1, 2018 05:32
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 #135 - Rebecca (1940, Alfred Hitchcock) Blu-ray Edition  After a decade and a half as director in his native England, Alfred Hitchcock was wooed over to the United States by David O. Selznick to adapt Daphne duMaurier's Rebecca for the screen. Selznick also produced three other films with Hitchcock directing - Spellbound, Notorious, and The Paradine Case. Rebecca was a popular and critical hit, ultimately winning Selznick his second Best Picture Oscar in a row (right after Gone with the Wind), though started the trend of Hitchcock repeatedly being snubbed. While Selznick reportedly interfered with Hitchcock's autonomy as director (as he did with nearly anything he produced), his style is quite clearly present. Close-ups of objects, brisk plotting, shadows, and just the right amount of humor. It's been a while since I've seen this - while I didn't own the Criterion DVD, I had seen it on TCM and via MGM's Hitchcock DVD set. For some reason, I recalled it being boring, but I guess I was just used to his later films. It may not be Vertigo, Rear Window, or Psycho, but it's still quite brilliant. The Criterion Blu-ray is one of the rare long out of print titles to come back. This time with a 4K restoration off the original nitrate camera negative, so the image looks absolutely gorgeous and amazingly pristine. There's also a ton of extras including another piece on effects by Craig Barron and an episode of Tomorrow with Hitchcock speaking to Tom Snyder about stuff (though, more about stories and theories rather than just on film).
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Jul 1, 2018 21:17
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It's weird to hear that Rebecca was such a hit at the time of its release, because it always seemed like one of the more overlooked Hitchcock titles to me. Maybe I just hang around with the wrong people.
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Jul 2, 2018 13:56
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Alright, I'm joining you on this journey because I have a whole lot of Criterions, and I ought not buy any more until I watch some of my previous purchases. (y'know, after the ones I bought yesterday) Last night I did a double feature.  This one felt like something I should have watched at a different time in my life. It was well made, really atmospheric, and had a great soundtrack, but i was never able to completely give my self over to it. I remember how it felt to be 15 and completely baffled by women. It's a wonderful illustration of that feeling, and the imagination you dive into. I just wasn't engaged like I should have been.  This, on the other hand, is extremely my poo poo. It's moody, it's dramatic, it has a bunch of adorable cats in it, and it's a fun little allegory for mental illness. I see many more Lewton/Tourner horrors in my future. (I listened to the Val Lewton episode of You Must Remember This ages ago and never watched anything and I'm now regretting that; if you have any interest in film history you should give it a listen)
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Jul 4, 2018 05:32
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Tonight's double feature:  Valley of the Dolls is better than I expected, and Patty Duke is a one woman wrecking crew in this one. It's a fun melodrama with a hint of style, but I suppose I could understand why it was disliked on release, especially in years after due to Tate's death. It does drag a bit though, especially when Duke isn't on screen. Beyond, on the other hand, is a trip all the way through. Tits galore, great music, the single worst accent ever committed to celluloid, and i'm still not 100% sure I get everything there is to get here. It feels like a pastiche of something I've never actually seen or even a parody of something from an alternate dimension. It's funny and well written but it feels like for every thing I find funny there are 2 things that seem to be funny that I don't really get. It doesn't help that most of the actors are people I've never seen before (and most will likely never see again). Mad props to the guy playing Harris, who seems committed in a way different from everyone else, and it's really weird that he's in basically nothing aside from this movie. some very incredible tits though. A+ tits.
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Jul 4, 2018 09:00
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 #175 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998, Terry Gilliam) Blu-ray Edition Full disclosure: I've never taken drugs and the only time I've had anything resembling a bad trip was taking some severe cold medicine on an empty stomach. This adaptation of Hunter S. Thompson's novel affirms my aversion to drugs (though, never say never). I've also not yet read the novel.  This is one of those films that's a confirmed cult classic, even if it sort of tanked upon its original release. I guess that seems to happen a lot with Terry Gilliam's films. This has grown on me a lot over the years. I think the first time I saw it, I thought it was too goofy. Having seen it again, it's funny and disturbing. I guess Johnny Depp's goofiness has become one of his trademarks, but the feeling of a drug-induced mania is palpable. Gilliam opts to bathe the film in intense colors, wide-angle distortion, and strange angles. All while layering classic 60s and early 70s rock into the soundscape. Apparently, this was Criterion's best-selling release on DVD back in 2003 (and was later re-issued on Blu-ray in 2011). And what a release! I haven't even dived into the extras yet, but there's three commentaries (Gilliam; Depp and Benicio Del Toro; and Thompson, himself), hours of documentaries and interviews, and even some extensive galleries (even on the Blu-ray). I'm almost scared to watch the film with HST's commentary. I don't remember how I saw the film before, but the transfer looks great - even if it's supposed to look a little ugly.
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Jul 4, 2018 16:10
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 #915 - King of Jazz (1930, John Murray Anderson)  Wow! While I'd admit that my interest in King of Jazz was more over its artifice - early sound, early color, new restoration - this surpasses all my expectations. I've seen some other musical revues from this time like Hollywood Revue of 1929 and The Show of Shows, but both of those are frankly boring outside of a few interesting bits. Hollywood Revue is notorious for having a god-awful Shakespeare skit with John Gilbert that ruined his career, though Shows has John Barrymore performing a soliloquoy from Richard III (yes, it's amazing). But both survive in crappy quality and mostly in B&W. King of Jazz is dazzling in every way. It has some of the best 2-color Technicolor photography I've seen. There's scenes in darkness with illuminated silhouettes or dances lit only by key lights (one reminds me of Norman McLaren's Pas de deux). There's plenty of music and the musical numbers are often separated by quick vaudeville style blackout gags (that is, taking up at best a minute of screen time). Highlights of the film would be the Rhapsody in Blue and Happy Feet segments, which are are dazzling as you'd expect. Universal should be praised for spending what had to be an absurd amount of time and effort for a film that isn't exactly going to sell a million copies on video. Their 4K restoration utilized what survived of the camera negative (yes, it looks incredible) while missing footage from that is filled in from a few surviving dye-transfer prints and occasionally stills and freeze-frames. The sound is also impressive for such an old film - they thankfully didn't filter it to death. I haven't gone through the extras yet, but I'll likely rewatch this just for the commentary since I'd love to know more about this. Criterion is great for putting this gem out.
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Jul 5, 2018 01:15
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Today's double feature:  What better way to share in the patriotism than a couple of decades-old thrillers that seem remarkably prescient in 2018? Manchurian Candidate is the better movie of the two, easily. The black and white is shot to really emphasize the shadows. Sinatra, Harvey and especially Angela Lansbury all kill it in their roles, and the twists and turns the story takes never feel out of the realm of possibility. Special notice for the dialogue because it doesn't feel dated at all (except for the uncomfortable asian stereotypes but it was the 60s soooo), but the parts for women who are not Angela Lansbury were really thin. Medium Cool felt more interesting as a portrait of a tumultuous time in history rather than a full blown film. The story was very light and even though the shots of the main family's life in West Virginia were gorgeous, they were kinda stale "life in the sticks" portraits. Even Robert Forester's role felt like 30 minutes of story stretched across 100 minutes. That said, the moments where you get into the reality-blurring footage of the riots and the political climate of Chicago circa 1968 you are rapt and cannot look away. It feels so cinematic that I had to occasionally remind myself of the realities that were on screen. I could have watched a full 2 hours of the woman looking for her son and being swept up among the activists and protesters, I wanted more of that and less of the lead-up.
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Jul 5, 2018 02:51
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 #440 - Brand Upon the Brain! (2006, Guy Maddin) DVD Edition via Netflix Hey, it turns out Netflix actually has a few Criterions for rental. I've only seen one other Guy Maddin film, The Forbidden Room, thanks to Secret Santa. I've been meaning to see more of his work because of the surreal, manic visuals. This film was originally toured with live narration, foley, and music - sometimes with notable actors and filmmakers narrating. In fact, the DVD has eight tracks to pick from. While I watched this with Isabella Rossellini's track, there's also tracks by Guy Maddin himself, Eli Wallach, Laurie Anderson, Crispin Glover, and others. In fact, it's inferred in some reviews there's way more recorded tracks besides the three studio-recorded and five live ones, but... as you may know, DVD only allows for a maximum of eight audio tracks. This came out a few years before Criterion started releasing Blu-rays, but an eventual upgrade would allow for up to 32!  As for the film, it's hard to describe. Seemingly shot on B&W 8mm with a few bits of color, it's extremely grainy and contrasty. But as the film is about memories, perhaps that's an accurate way to display such bizzare things. Like black masses, a mother with a telescope, stairways, and plenty of nudity. The "silent film" approach works really neat. And while live narration isn't exactly something Americans were ever used to, it's worth noting that Georges Melies intended many of his films to be shown with live narration and in China and Japan, theaters had a "benshi" who would not only narrate, but sort of do a commentary of sorts for the audience. I will say that I've never seen anything quite like a Maddin film and his style is instantly visible. Egbert Souse fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Jul 9, 2018 |
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Jul 9, 2018 01:01
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How long does this sale last?
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Jul 9, 2018 15:59
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HoneyBakedMAN posted:How long does this sale last? August 6th.
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Jul 9, 2018 16:05
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Egbert Souse posted:August 6th. Awesome. I'll definitely pick up some movies and participate in this thread. Your posts reminded me that Criterion releases have amazing special features which I've been neglecting. Edit: 'Feel free to encourage certain titles for me to cover sooner than later, too.' My favorite Billy Wilder film, Ace in the Hole. Also, anything Luis Bunuel. Edit 2: What are your favorite Criterion releases that I should look for when I go to B&N? HoneyBakedMAN fucked around with this message at 03:49 on Jul 10, 2018 |
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Jul 10, 2018 03:29
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A short list of my favorites, though not including the backlog I'm trying to catch up on... The Complete Jacques Tati Pierre Etaix F for Fake Othello Chimes at Midnight The Immortal Story The Royal Tenenbaums Lubitsch Musicals The Gold Rush City Lights Safety Last! Eraserhead Tampopo Beyond the Valley of the Dolls Day for Night The Night of the Hunter All That Jazz Brazil The Killing The Double Life of Veronique Dekalog Lonesome King of Jazz The Red Shoes The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp That doesn't even include all the essential Kurosawa, Bergman, Pasolini, etc.
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Jul 10, 2018 04:13
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 #727 - The Innocents (1961, Jack Clayton) Blu-ray Edition via Netflix  A possibly haunted house, creepy children, and monochrome CinemaScope make for an effective scary movie. It's compact, with less than a dozen cast members, with the real star being Freddie Francis' photography. I did think it was effectively scary, though I couldn't help but think of parallels to The Haunting. This has to be one of the best B&W Blu-rays I've seen. It hardly looks like a 1961 film from how spotless and sharp it looks. Since this was a rental, I didn't get to watch all the extras, but there's an excellent interview with cinematographer John Bailey on the cinematography that's great.
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Jul 10, 2018 15:15
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The Innocents is one of my personal favourites from the collection. Wonderful gothic atmosphere, and Deborah Kerr is never not brilliant.
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Jul 10, 2018 15:45
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 #701 - Persona (1966, Ingmar Bergman) Blu-ray as part of Dual-Format Edition  The great filmmakers' finest works show a complete command of every shot - or every frame. Bergman is both minimalist and epic with Persona. I'm not one that could clearly describe what it's about, but rather it can work as sort of a cinematic Rorschach test. Inner fears, existential dread, the breaking of humanity. Perhaps it presents a hall of mirrors - is Vogler putting on an actor or has her soul given out? The opening of the film is breathtaking, being a montage of phobias (perhaps Bergman's?) before getting into the story proper. Liv Ulmann and Bibi Andersson are amazing in this. I wonder if Bergman had Dreyer in mind, as this focuses so much on faces. Even as Ulmann's remains blank. The cinematography is stunning (by Sven Nykvist). Stark black and white. I've felt that B&W tends to add realism to films because it's such a naked way of presenting images. If you haven't seen this, I recommend just going in blind. I'm still at a 4/4 for Bergman (having also seen The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, and Fanny and Alexander), but this is still one of the most fascinating films I've seen. Criterion's Blu-ray (one of their dual format editions) is absolutely stunning. Spotless and razor sharp, this could almost be mistaken for a brand new film other than some intentional moments of damage and blurring. Also has one of the best monaural tracks I've heard on a film. There's also a lot of extras like interviews, a visual essay by David Bordwell on the opening montage, and a feature-length documentary Liv & Ingmar (which I'll watch soon).
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Jul 11, 2018 05:12
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Wow, I assumed you had watched way more Bergman. You gotta watch more Bergman my dude!
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Jul 11, 2018 06:04
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Escobarbarian posted:Wow, I assumed you had watched way more Bergman. You gotta watch more Bergman my dude! I'm planning on spending next month catching up on my Filmstruck queue, which includes a lot of Bergman. I really want to see the "Faith Trilogy" and Cries and Whispers.
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Jul 11, 2018 13:07
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I wish Filmstruck was in Canada 
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Jul 11, 2018 17:39
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 #408 - Breathless (1960, Jean-Luc Godard) Blu-ray Edition "After all, I'm an rear end in a top hat"  I recall seeing an interview with Martin Scorsese, who said there was cinema before Breathless and cinema after. Godard's love letter and criticism of the American film noir still packs a punch nearly 60 years later. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg are electrifying on the screen, even as Belmondo plays a real jerk - despite all his idolizing of Bogart. Godard packs a lot into this film. You have jump cuts, long mobile takes, over-dramatic music, film references, and even the occasional iris. This is both hip and old-fashioned. One aspect I like is how Godard doesn't try to hide shortcomings of cinematic convention. When Michel knocks out someone in a bathroom, it looks fake as hell, but Godard revels in the falseness. At the same time, there's no rear projection or sets. It almost resembles direct cinema, just around the corner. The editing and camera work are still awesome, even if it's all pilfered by now. Apparently, Godard had Raoul Coutard holding the camera while in a wheelchair to get some of the mobile shots. You get the impression everything was caught on the fly, which wouldn't surprise me if it was. My first viewing was the Criterion DVD years ago when I was in college and it was a blast. I still find Godard to be difficult to get into (more misses than hits with me) for the most part, though. The Blu-ray looks and sounds great and has a lot of extras. This is essential for anyone into the French New Wave.
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Jul 12, 2018 01:52
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 #516 - Stagecoach (1939, John Ford) Blu-ray Edition "I don't like westerns" I honestly used to believe that. Well, I hadn't seen any good westerns. And there's a lot of them.  This is one of those films that intersections with so much great stuff about film. It was released in 1939, often considered the finest classic Hollywood year (The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, etc). It's considered the quintessential western and rightly so. You get a first half that's nothing but getting to know the characters, then half that's nothing but action. There's no question about how influential it was with the western genre because it turned what was generally a cheap b-movie genre into something worth putting talent and money behind. And the cast! John Carradine, Andy Devine, Claire Trevor, Thomas Mitchell, George Bancroft, and of course, John Wayne. This is the movie that made him a star and boy does he shine in this. Though, if I had to pick my favorite performance of the ensemble it would be Mitchell. He's amazing in any film (especially his films with Frank Capra) and seeing his character transform is a lot of fun. You also have stunts by the legendary Yakima Canutt (including one of the best stunts ever in the history of film). And I think the first shot of Ringo is one of the best character introductions ever in cinema. I bet this was a welcomed addition to Criterion's library. While it received one of Warner's two-disc special editions on DVD, they didn't remaster the film. Which leads to the big problem with this film. Popular, shot on nitrate, and produced by an independent studio. The original negative is believed long gone and pretty much all surviving materials are in various levels of decay. Criterion found a duplicate negative with great photographic quality for the most part, but a lot of damage baked in. They even mention in the notes they opted to not apply digital cleanup to a high degree as to avoid introducing artifacts more distracting than the damage. Of the extras, there's a silent feature by Ford, but the best one is an hour-long interview. It's hilarious hearing some British interviewer ask dumb questions and seeing Ford being cranky with him. Egbert Souse fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Jul 14, 2018 |
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Jul 14, 2018 03:34
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 #865 - Blow-Up (1966, Michelangelo Antonioni)  I originally saw this in college as part of a course on film theory as applied to "crime films" which also included other great films like Get Carter and The Long Good Friday. Though, none as modern and esoteric as Antonioni's film. It's a film about perception and the art of seeing. Also, David Hemmings' character is an rear end in a top hat, which isn't something I picked up on as much before. For being a film centered around a supposed murder, this is an oddly calm and serene of a film. This was the only Antonioni film I had seen at the time, but I've since watched La Notte and Zabriskie Point (The Passenger, L'Eclisse, and L'Avventura are on my Filmstruck watchlist). I'll admit that this is a film that helped me get interested in photography. Though, it's a deceptive film as taking photographs isn't quite as sexy or fun as Hemmings makes it out to be. And the whole movie is shot in a striking way from start to finish. It looks natural, but every shot framed like a fine photograph. Criterion released this on laserdisc and it was later put on DVD by Warner Home Video. This was a welcomed title from near the start of Criterion's new WB licenses. Their 4K restoration looks and sounds incredible (Herbie Hancock did the score). I haven't gotten into the extras yet, but there's a ton on here plus the original short story the film was based upon. (Also, I'll be watching Blow Out eventually before anyone asks)
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Jul 14, 2018 19:56
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Egbert Souse posted:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJr2yTfmW0w&t=27s
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Jul 14, 2018 20:10
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 #139 - Wild Strawberries (1957, Ingmar Bergman)  For years, the only Bergman I had ever seen was The Seventh Seal. Which is one that grew on me over time and now I love it. The next one I saw was his other masterpiece from 1957. I had only seen Sjostrom's He Who Gets Slapped at the time when I saw Wild Strawberries for the first time, but later saw The Phantom Carriage, which is the film Bergman claimed to have inspired him to become a film director. The Blu-ray actually has a charming introduction by the director that culminates with him instructing a projectionist to start the film after revealing his feeling that the film is less his own, but rather Sjostrom's. Victor Sjostrom is fantastic here. Apparently, Bergman had some trouble getting him to star, whether it was the studio's concern for his age (78 years old) or Sjostrom himself hesitating. What's amazing here is that he doesn't come off as frail in the slightest, but fully in command, just as he had been when he was a silent era star. This also has one of the best dream sequences ever, which cinematographer Gunnar Fischer makes creepier by overexposing the image to make it almost look blindingly bright. Great Blu-ray, too. Apparently, Svensk Filmindustri has been doing 2K restorations from original negatives as this and Persona look fresh out of the camera (when appropriate). Be sure to watch this with Bergman's introduction.
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Jul 14, 2018 21:33
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Egbert Souse posted:A short list of my favorites, though not including the backlog I'm trying to catch up on... Hot drat I love your taste in movies.
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Jul 14, 2018 23:43
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 #696 - Foreign Correspondent (1940, Alfred Hitchcock) Blu-ray Edition  Hitchcock made quite an audacious debut in the United States - both Rebecca and Foreign Correspondent were popular and critical hits. In fact, both were nominated for Best Picture that year (Rebecca won). While this film had a tinge of propaganda to it (especially the ending), this is still prime and essential Hitchcock. There's a lot of great setpieces, but I really like the element of misdirection. There's a wonderful "fake out" halfway into the film, there's mistaken identity, double-crosses, and aliases. One of the more amusing ones is the presence of George Sanders, who isn't a vile cad for once. It's interesting how it seems to call back to The Lady Vanishes, but also anticipating other films. Joel McCrea's escape is clearly the inspiration for a similar scene in North by Northwest. One interview with Hitchcock, though, revealed that he was disturbed by a supposed gunman killing someone after being inspired by a scene in this film. The Blu-ray has to be one of the best-looking classic B&W films I've seen. It's spotless, razor sharp, with gorgeous clarity. According to the liner notes, they actually utilized the nitrate camera negative for the transfer, which explains why it looks so beautiful. Even transitions and effects shots look startlingly clear. There's also another one of Craig Barron's visual effects pieces, which are among my favorite recurring extras Criterion includes on their releases. If that's not enough, an hour-long Dick Cavett Show episode with Alfred Hitchcock is included, plus some other visual essays. I'd be perfectly happy with them trying to include Cavett/Snyder episodes whenever possible because they're always gold. (This particular episode has Cavett disappear between ad breaks and Hitchcock standing alone with a knife!) Velcro Crucifix posted:Hot drat I love your taste in movies. Thanks!
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Jul 15, 2018 00:13
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I'm too tired to do any serious write ups, but I watched Forbidden Games (on rental) and Ghost World. Not sure what to make of Forbidden Games. It's blisteringly sad in parts, but I couldn't help but wonder if the intended short form would have served it better. Ghost World is even funnier now than when I saw it 17 years ago. Though, I was laughing nervously at Seymour because I can identify with a character that gets mail from a W.C. Fields fan club and psoriasis foundation. (Insert Dangerfield collar pull here)
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Jul 16, 2018 04:33
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Just watched Insignificance. Not especially great, but holy poo poo that ending
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Jul 17, 2018 04:44
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 #872 - Ghost World (2001, Terry Zwigoff) Blu-ray Edition  One of the best comic book movies.  I originally saw this back in 2002 when it came out on DVD and I thought it was funny. Years later, it's kind of scary how on-point this film is. I now identify with both Seymour in Enid in a way. Though, I'll admit that I had kind of a crush on Thora Birch in this movie when I was a teenager. But I'm one of those guys who would get mailers from both the National Psoriasis Foundation and W.C. Fields Fan Club. Great that Criterion finally got this since they did a fantastic job with Louie Bluie and Crumb (both are essential documentaries) and Zwigoff is underappreciated as a director. It's a crime he hasn't made more movies. Also, this has a reproduction of one of the source comic books.
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Jul 18, 2018 03:41
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The right answer is always House (1977, Obayashi) I don't think this was really available in the US until Criterion released the restoration on DVD/Blu-ray, and the main reaction can be summed up as JAPAN SO WEIRD LOL. I'm not sure I've even seen a single review that was able to get past the "acid trip" visual style. Which is certainly understandable - it makes most "crazy" horror films look boringly obvious by comparison. Anybody can be dismembered by a chainsaw, but why not a clock, or a piano? Why not, indeed? The thing about it is that it's only really crazy in terms of how it's realized visually. Obayashi said his intent was to make the most completely offensive thing possible to the Japanese film establishment. Not in terms of vulgarity, but just in how the film was crafted. He said he tried to imagine how Kurosawa would do a thing and tried to do the polar opposite. Structurally, though, it's just "teenage girls go to haunted house and the get bumped off one by one." There's really nothing about the plot that's hard to follow or willfully "weird" at all. Thematically it's about intergenerational conflict in postwar Japan. Our only on-screen representative of the wartime generation is so warped by grief that they become a monster that consumes the younger generation, which regards the horrors of WWII with complete incomprehension. At one point, as the girls ride the train taking them to their doom, they squee over the tragic wartime experience of their host as if it was a YA romantic tragedy, while at the same time we watch a series of increasingly grim wartime images that end in an atomic bomb explosion. I'd say it's not subtle, but then again nobody seems to pick up on it because of madness involving watermelons and bananas and disintegrations. There is definitely more to it than  LOLRANDOM GJ JAPAN and I like it.
sean10mm fucked around with this message at 21:27 on Jul 24, 2018 |
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Jul 24, 2018 21:23
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I really should see House again. My reaction was basically  but in a good way.Ended up watching In Cold Blood on rental from Netflix. It's a chilling account of a grisly murder and events leading up to it and after. Shot by Conrad Hall in B&W Panavision, so it looks like something between a horror movie and a documentary. Worth seeing, but I was surprised how disturbing the actual murder scene was, not expecting a 1967 studio film to go that far. I'll probably continue this through August. It's been busy because of work and I simply haven't had enough time to watch much.
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Jul 25, 2018 04:19
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I completely adore House. I've gotten a group of people together to watch it just about every year since I first saw it. I (& everybody I saw it with the first time) didn't pick up the WWII subtext until we saw the special feature where Obyashi discusses his reasons for making the movie. I think the placement of the WWII sequence near the beginning causes most people to forget about it by the time a lot of the insanity rolls around near the end. The short vampire film by Obayashi included as an extra is also great. Really makes me wish more of his movies made it to the US.
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Jul 25, 2018 05:07
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I once suggested a double bill of Hausu and Zardoz and it was swiftly rejected by the programmer.
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Jul 25, 2018 21:18
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Ended up watching Naked Lunch via the Criterion edition. I liked how weird it got, though I haven't read the Burroughs novel yet. Really nicely shot and I liked the jazz-influenced score. The Blu-ray has a really good making-of and also excerpts of Burroughs reading his novel. I'll say that as weird as Cronenberg's film is, a faithful adaptation would likely get banned in every country except France. Hopefully watching A Matter of Life and Death tonight since I know I can write a lot about it since it's one of my favorites.
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Jul 27, 2018 18:17
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| # ? May 3, 2024 07:03 |
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I've decided to begin working my way through the Criterion films I haven't seen. Since I'm also working on the TSPDT list, I'll start by watching the films that overlap the two lists. There are a lot. I figure this is a good thread to post my reviews. Sans Soleil - Chris Marker, 1983, spine #387 It's not that the concept of the film isn't interesting - it is. But without a through-line of any kind unifying the parts together, there's nothing for my mind to grab hold of. It's a series of disparate images and musings with seemingly no, or very little, connection with each other. Or maybe my philistine brain just isn't "getting" it. Either way, I can't think of another film that's had this much difficulty maintaining both my attention and my interest. 1/5 A Day in the Country - Jean Renoir, 1936, spine #746 So much is said here by such simple means. In a brief 40 minutes Renoir is able to cut down to an emotional core, and he cuts hard. It's a moving film, due in large part to its lyrical, almost poetic, tone. It's a testament to the truth that film language, when executed with skill and precision, does more to stir the emotions than complexities of plot or character ever could. 4/5 My Darling Clementine - John Ford, 1946, spine #732 Henry Fonda is one of the only actors who can convincingly play a menacing badass in one scene and a shy nice guy in the next. I can't think of a better fit for this role. The film's gorgeously shot. I love the dramatic nighttime shots of Monument Valley, and the wonderful high contrast atmosphere. The story is strong, the characters are real, the music is minimal but effective and the action is solid. There's not much to dislike here. 4.5/5 Spatulater bro! fucked around with this message at 20:39 on Jul 27, 2018 |
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Jul 27, 2018 20:37
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