Criterion News and Discussion

[Neil]

I'm sure most of you are aware of this, but for V-day Hulu plus is free until the 18th (i think). I'm not entirely sure if you have to enter a card or anything because I've had hulu+ for a little bit, but anyhow, the 800+ Criterion films are free to view, so it's at least worth looking into..

[tpfkabi]

I'm sure most of you are aware of this, but for V-day Hulu plus is free until the 18th (i think). I'm not entirely sure if you have to enter a card or anything because I've had hulu+ for a little bit, but anyhow, the 800+ Criterion films are free to view, so it's at least worth looking into..

You don't need anything for a lot of them. I've taken advantage of it to finally see an Ophuls film (La Ronde), L'Atalante, Tokyo Story, and a Kurosawa crime film (Stray Dog). Everything doesn't appear to be on there though. After watching all these black and white films I wanted a color action film to watch late and keep me awake. Browsing through the titles I came across The Hit and it looked interesting. Either I am unable to find it or it's not there.

[jenkins]

which, by the way, only recently did i browse the criterion titles on hulu

holy shit

like, how long have they been stockpiling these fuckers? i was blown away. like they got

a movie that's apparently about a dude who can't choose between two women but definitely loves his cat, titled, yes, a cat, two women, and one man
shôhei imamura's first movie stolen desire, which "alternates highlights of kabuki theatre with strip shows."
a keisuke kinoshita delinquent youth movie named the rose on his arm
a kon ichikawa movie about an older dude married to a younger girl, and he can't get hard unless he watches his wife fuck another younger dude, or at least that's what it sounds like happens in odd obsession
an eric rohmer documentary about female coeds called a modern coed
a robert rossellini movie called the machine that kills bad people about a photographer whose camera is gifted powers by a demon
masahiro shinoda's debut movie one way ticket to love that's romances set in a nightclub --- shinoda's movies sound sweet (killers on parade, youth in fury)
a movie about a painter who sells his soul for success, from 1943 and called la main du diable
a fucking movie about a 13yo girl who becomes obsessed with godard's vivre se vie!!, emporte-moi

just examples.
maybe all you people knew this and i just wasted my time.
i'm really excited,
will be visiting this friend more often. yesterday we watched beware of a holy whore (i didn't even mentioned all the fassbinders they have!) and roger vadim's don juan (or if don juan were a woman) and the strip scenes from plucking the daisy and about thirty amazing minutes of hollis frampton's zorns lemma

anyway,
excited

[Pubrick]

fucking hell you just made me excited about discovering old movies again.

i was in a rut of watching my favourites.

time to replenish!

[MacGuffin]

Criterion Brings 'Shoah,' Classic Silent 'Safety Last!,' Sci-Fi 'Things To Come' & More In June
Source: Playlist

While the summer season for movie buffs generally means sitting down with a giant bucket of popcorn and preparing your eyeballs and eardrums to pushed to their human limits and beyond, The Criterion Collection is banking that folks might want a little more substance. Okay, a lot more substance.

The boutique label dropped their slate for June today and standing tall among them is Claude Lanzmann's epic, nine-hour-plus Holocaust documentary "Shoah." Remarkable not just for its length, the film is built solely on survivor testimony, utilizing absolutely zero archival footage, but it's no less powerful in its document of that horrific time. Criterion's set will be generous as well, including three more of Lanzmann's films -- "A Visitor from the Living" (1999), "Sobibor, October 14, 1943, 4 p.m." (2001) and "The Karski Report" (2010) -- among the extras that will feature interviews, conversations and more.

But if you need pure escape, it doesn't get much better than silent comedian Harold Lloyd and his seminal "Safety Last!" (aka the one where that guy hangs off the clock). The classic will be coming packed with extras including the shorts "Take a Chance" (1918), "Young Mr. Jazz" (1919), and "His Royal Slyness" (1920) -- when commentaries for these as well as the feature presentation -- optional soundtrack options, full length documentary "Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius," and much more.

Continuing with some escapism is H. G. Wells, producer Alexander Korda, and designer and director William Cameron Menzies' "Things To Come." The 1936 sci-fi film presents a terrifying vision of the future in an ambitious and audacious picture for the time. Extras include a commentary, interviews and more. You can grab the disc or just watch the movie on Hulu Plus.

But if you want to get back to the serious, Czeck filmmaker František Vlácil's "Marketa Lazarová" should fit the bill. Considered one of the best films the country has ever produced, the tale of the battle between two rival clans is used to explore a variety of social and religious issues. It will come with a handful of interviews to give some bang for the buck.

Lastly, Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" will go Blu, so save up your pennies guys 'n gals.

[MacGuffin]

Dear Criterion collectors,

We wanted to let you know that the following titles are going out of print effective March 31:

Army of Shadows

Le cercle rouge

Le doulos

Last Year at Marienbad

Léon Morin, Priest

Mafioso

We have limited stock on hand, and will be selling copies through the 31st, while supplies last. As in the past, we hope to relicense the films so that they can rejoin the collection sometime in the future.

Sincerely,
The Criterion Collection

[MacGuffin]

Lubitsch's 'To Be Or Not To Be,' Frankenheimer's 'Seconds,' Early Fassbinder Lead Awesome August Criterion Line Up

It's that time of the month again: the time when I have to be locked in the padded room of the Playlist offices for fear of what the moon might turn me into. But also, it's time for Criterion to unveil their latest month of releases -- in this case for August. And boy, have they got some treats in store.

Headlining the releases: the Criterion Collection debut of Ernst Lubitsch's solid-gold classic "To Be Or Not To Be." The unfathomably great comedy, starring Jack Benny and Carole Lombard as actors in occupied Warsaw, is hitting on both DVD & Blu-Ray with a new 2K trasnfer, an audio commentary, a French-made documentary on Lubitsch, and two radio episodes. It'll be hitting your doormats on August 27th. Because you've already ordered it, right?

Also big, exciting news, and also new to the Collection, is John Frankenheimer's unsettling sci-fi mindbender "Seconds," starring Rock Hudson, the release will feature a 4K restoration, John Frankenheimer's commentary, a tribute to the film by Alec Baldwin (?!), a new documentary, a visual essay, and an interview with Frankenheimer from 1971. Shut up and take my money, Criterion. It lands on August 13th.

We're also getting two Satyajit Ray pictures to add to the ever-growing number of the Indian master's pictures in the collections: 1963's "The Big City," and 1964's "Charulata." Both films are loaded with extras, with the former even including a bonus feature film, 1965's "The Coward." They're released on August 20th.

The last brand new release comes on August 27th; a box set of early films by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, including "Love Is Colder Than Death," "Katzelmacher," "Gods of the Plague," "The American Soldier," and "Beware Of A Holy Whore." Want to know more about them? Check out our extensive Fassbinder retrospective right here. And finally, Max Ophuls' "The Earrings of Madame de..." gets an overdue upgrade to Blu-Ray, featuring an introduction by Paul Thomas Anderson. Awesome. Order them all over at the Criterion site.

[MacGuffin]

September Criterion Titles Include 3 Films By Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman & 'La Cage Aux Folles'

It's that time of year again, where weekend after weekend brings more cities being destroyed in louder and louder fashion on the big screen. But fret not, Criterion has just the sustenance you need to survive. The famed distribution label has released their schedule for September and it includes some new additions and a few reissues.

On the new front is a set of three films by Italian neorealist Roberto Rossellini that all star Ingrid Bergman. Included in the set are "Stromboli," "Europe '51" and "Journey To Italy." All three films of course will feature extensive bonus features including a short film Rossellini completed with Bergman between "Stromboli" and "Europe '51" called "The Chicken."

Also new to the Criterion Collection is the 1978 French comedy, "La Cage Aux Folles." It's perhaps most famous at this point for spawning both a Broadway musical and the Mike Nichols-helmed 1996 remake "The Birdcage." Don't let that scare you away though, the original is still just as funny and potent as it was when it became an arthouse hit in 1978.

And for those of you looking to upgrade from your DVDs, Criterion is reissuing the John le Carré-adaptation "The Spy Who Came In From The Cold," Richard Linklater's seminal "Slacker," and another Ingmar Bergman title "Autumn Sonata" on fancy pants Blu-ray.

All titles will be available in September so start saving up that money. And a little tip for you readers strapped for cash, you can sell your plasma for more than regular blood donations and more often.

[classical gas]

Will these people never release 'City Lights'?  It's on hulu+, but no dvd release.  I'll be damned if I'm paying eighty bucks for a shit copy. 

[jenkins]

today began the b&n 50% criterion sale. third year for july, and no reason to think it won't come back in november again

i want to buy one. i think hulu+ members are right in the way they're thinking ~"what? just go watch that on hulu+" it's a good one i'm looking for -- the kind you can explain to yourself a good reason to buy

this is my list:

life is sweet, my constant lean, because i like mike leigh and what he does, and i haven't seen this one. but my fear is that i haven't seen this one. i've seen eight mike leigh movies and this is my list of his movies that i've watched multiple times: naked

jubal is $15. there's not even a criterion video to give me three reasons for buying this one. i think i want to buy this one. why? i don't know why

medium cool -- who here doesn't know what medium cool will be like? who here doesn't want to watch that happen? opinion survey

things to come, which a friend and i ~watched on halloween over hulu+. we got bored and fastforwarded, looking for the good spots. they totally call the prometheus helmets, btw. i still think i want it. that's wacky

marketa lazarová, which i saw for the first time today. as in today i saw the box for the first time. criterion has an essay on it but no other advertising video, and i don't understand why i'd want to watch an essay on a movie before i watch the movie. that's gonna fuck up the movie. my opinion is high because of words they used to describe the movie, like "hailed as the greatest Czech film ever made" and "re-create the textures and mentalities of a long-ago way of life" and "the result is dazzling" and "experimental action film." they include speculative words about me, in fact: "for many U.S. viewers, it will be a revelation"

these are recent ones they've released. i can't remember everyone movie that has come out between the last b&n sale in november, and this july

[samsong]

life is sweet is one of leigh's very best.

i picked up shoah today.  excited/intimidated about digging into that next week.

[wilder]

samsong you just cost me another 20

[samsong]

you can thank me later.

[jenkins]

i also appreciate hearing that. life is getting pretty sweet for life is sweet. even when i look at leigh's filmmography i see it arrived before naked, and secrets & lies followed. it's hard to imagine a problem here

edit -- i walked to the store and life is sweet

[MacGuffin]

Michelangelo Antonioni's 'La Notte' Leads Criterion's October Slate
Source: Playlist

Breaking open your piggy bank, "borrow" some money from your little brother, sell those rare baseball cards (do people still do that?) and maybe take on an extra shift at work. Criterion's October slate has been revealed and it's another bounty for cinephiles. So let's dive in.

The pick of the crop is easily the arrival of Michelangelo Antonioni's classic "La Notte." Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau and Monica Vitti steam up the screen in this long, long unavailable movie, so you should be pre-ordering this thing now, even if the extras are a bit slim, relegated to a couple of scholarly type interviews and an essay by Richard Brody. Ah well, you'll still be able to luxuriate in a new, crisp, high def 4K transfer and enjoy a movie that has not been on home video in any legit release in ages.

Going down the genre route, Criterion has a couple more interesting selections for October. First is Rene Clair's comedic fantasy "I Married A Witch," whose self-explanatory title should tell you all you need to know about this one starring Veronica Lake, Frederic March and Susan Hayward. It's barebones but does have a Guy Maddin essay and 1970 print interview with Clair. Meanwhile, Lewis Allen's cult atmospheric horror flick "The Uninvited" starring Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey gets a wacky C, but zero extras.

Getting Blu upgrades: John Cassavetes "Five Films" box featuring "Faces," "Shadows," "A Woman Under The Influence," "The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie," and "Opening Night." And George Franju's "Eyes Without A Face" also gets a high def boost.