Your favourite Criterion?

[charlie angel]

Criterion have produced some fine discs over the years - so pick your favourite, the one you'd have to keep hold of over all of the others.

Mine was always Brazil, but that's now been surpassed by Straw Dogs - it's a top notch film with a top notch package to go with it.

It's on it's way to me as we speak, but that may well be replaced by In The Mood For Love when it arrives.

[Twistingginger]

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas & The Rock (for the DTS 'track)

[brunny78]

probably 'Do the Right Thing', followed by either the 'Antoine Donnel' boxset, 'Le Cercle Rouge' or possibly 'Down by Law'

[mattwakeman]

Brazil.

[cm-9]

Tricky one. Seems to me that picture quality must be a consideration, so I can't really understand the votes for Brazil. Probably 'Cet Obscur Objet de Desir' out of the 10 or so Criterions that I have seen.

[Hardbattle]

Hard Boiled or Brazil.

[jimto]

Do the Right Thing, 8 1/2, or All That Heaven Allows for its beauty.

but it does change every week!

[buffyangel108]

Solyaris :thumbs:

(it's the only one I've yet seen :( )

[The Bear]

Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas.

[gZa]

<I>Seven Samurai</i>

T'was my first Criterion bought in 1998. It felt like I was joining a special club. :dork:

Note: I'd spent the previous year reading/lusting over the Criterion Laserdisc and others (<i>The Killer</i>, <i>Robocop</i> to name but two) on their website...

So to finally own a Criterion! :clap: :notworthy :luv:

"I remember my first Criterion. That rich creamy taste!" :nuts:

[DeadKenny]

Brazil (even if it is non-anmorphic).

[SimonI]

A toss up between Contempt and Discrete charm of the bourgeoisie (sp?), though I know where I'm going! and Black Narcissus run them close... and so many others!

[Esteban - CotS]

i really like The Royal Tenenbaums edition, but then again the only other one i have is Seven Samurai.

[thescrounger]

I only have Robocop and Chasing Amy, and from a technical standpoint neither releases are particularly good. Chasing Amy has been misframed badly. I suppose if you stick the Criterion name on any slapdash transfer it sells:searchme:

[earl_roberts2002]

Without doubt Do The Right Thing! Probably the best single film release there is [excluding sets like The Godfather Colletion, etc.]
Other worthy Criterions are Ernest Hemmingway's The Killers and Sullivan's Travels.

[earl_roberts2002]

I too felt special when I got my first Criterion :lol:. I was going through my 'Woo' period and my first Criterion was the OOP Hard Boiled for £60!! Been hooked ever since!

[Ed Parsons]

My favourite is I Know Where I'm Going! mainly for the film but the DVD also has some nice extras.

Also worthy of mention:
Gimme Shelter
Monterey Pop
Peeping Tom

[EgonSpengler]

I only have The Royal Tenenbaums & Rushmore, so i'll say the former.

[dangermouse]

If it wasn't for the Anchor Bay re-release, mine would be Time Bandits :)

[Mike]

Probably "Wild Strawberries" for the transfer, the excellent documentary and commentary, although "Royal Tenenbaums" is a lovely disc too.

[saviola]

Brazil. Love the film, Love the package. Might say love Gillian ;)

[Reedo]

Carnival of Souls, The Blob & Wages of Fear.:thumbs:

[kfung]

Brazil

Withnail and I

The Killer (1st Criterion I've bought after lusting over the laserdisc editions for years).

[robbiez666]

a bought a standard version (according to box) of Chasing Amy in a 5 for £30 thing at Virgin. Ends up Its the Criterion version. shame that:clap:

[karellen]

I will 2nd Rushmore

Those "Max Fischer Players Present" segments from the MTV Movie Awards are one of my all time favourite DVD extras.

[mjb1975]

Fear & Loathing for me - I've got about 6 or 7 Criterion's, but I'm very much a mainstream kinda guy. Just the usual suspects - Robocop, F&L, Beastie Boys, Traffic, Life of Brian, etc....

[Butch Coolidge]

For the ones I have it is
Children of Paradise as there is no other decent version.
Plus the discs got very interesting commentaries.

Fear and Loathing got the German one. Far cheaper and PAL.
Bob Le Flambeur. Again no other version available (French R2 exists now though)
Cercle Rouge. 2nd DVD is the only disc for now that won't play :mad: on my LG.
Rushmore. Definitly worth the cash. Anamorphic, commentary and interesting bonus.

[cm-9]

mjb1975 - if you don't mind me saying this, one thing I'm discovering after watching a few of the older classics on Criterion and other labels is that they are mainstream. By that I mean that those so-called "great" films are not weird or eclectic or difficult to follow, instead they are masterpieces which also make a thoroughly enjoyable night's viewing - more enjoyable than most &7^%%% recent Hollywood trash. Criterion usually manage to give them a picture quality and freshness which rivals most recent releases. And in some cases they star babes who would give SMG a good run for her money ... e.g. Carole Bouquet in That Obscure Object of Desire mentioned above :luv: :luv:, Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief (not Criterion but there's a good R2 release) :luv: :luv: :luv:

[Peter Griffin]

Sorry for sounding like an idiot but whats a criterion?

:o

[spearce8]

Spartacus for me :thumbs:

[DeadKenny]

Originally posted by Peter Griffin
Sorry for sounding like an idiot but whats a criterion?


Expensive DVD :D

[SimonI]

Originally posted by Peter Griffin
Sorry for sounding like an idiot but whats a criterion? Oooh, I got such a thrill of nostalgia when I read that :nuts:

I haven't heard that one since the halcyon days of Michael Brooke :D

[SimonI]

Who's Michael Brooke?

Sorry, couldn't resist!

[Peter Griffin]

Originally posted by SimonI
Oooh, I got such a thrill of nostalgia when I read that :nuts:

I haven't heard that one since the halcyon days of Michael Brooke :D

So what is it except for being more expensive?

[charlie angel]

Originally posted by Peter Griffin
So what is it except for being more expensive?

Criterion are an American company that licence the rights to various films & produce their own DVD packages (used to be laserdisc too) - have a look here www.criterionco.com for the range.

They number their releases so they're a bit of a collector's wet dream - some of the licences have expired, meaning the discs are no longer produced & can fetch huge sums on Ebay - The Killer, Spinal Tap, Robocop, Salo are a few of the out of print titles :)

[Peter Griffin]

Whoa they're expensive! To collect them all youd have to spend an awful lot.

[charlie angel]

Originally posted by Peter Griffin
Whoa they're expensive! To collect them all youd have to spend an awful lot.

Too true - I don't know how much The Killer goes for now, but Salo can sell for well in excess of £200 :brickwall

[Nathan-Wind]

I love my copy of Spinal Tap. I just adore the film and as funny as the in character commentary on the regular release. Its a joy to have some real commentaries by all involved.

Other mentions to Rushmore and Fear and loathing.

[DeadKenny]

Originally posted by Peter Griffin
Whoa they're expensive! To collect them all youd have to spend an awful lot.

In my opinion there are three kinds of Criterion buyers...

1. Those who like particular films a lot and will buy the Criterion for (in theory) the ultimate version (not all of them are the best version).

2. Those who like the status and image of buying Criterion discs as a collectors item (this is especially a hangover from laserdisc days where Criterion were the main "special edition" producer of discs, and they reached a sort of elitist status)

3. Those who are out to make a profit by thinking that if a disc goes out-of-print it will fetch a nice price on ebay.

I find Criterion is often way overhyped given the quality of competition these days, but there are some cracking discs in the collection (Brazil, Spartacus, Last Temptation of Christ, Life of Brian, Robocopu, For All Mankind, to name a few). I have no interest in collecting them all and using the discs as "Coffee Table" items to exhibit to friends ;)

It should be noted that some Criterion's have been turning up elsewhere complete with the same content (R2 of Time Bandits which is better for being anamorphic and containing more content). They're usually much cheaper elsewhere when this happens. Another is Armaggedon, which is anamorphic elsewhere though loses a few extas, and also Spinal Tap SE, though that lost most of the Criterion extras but gained a whole load of others.


In general Criterion's aim is to produce a faithful and restored (where necessary) transfer of the film. Usually this means as close to the theatrical or director's preferred version as possible. This can mean the transfers are less "glossy" than some studio remasters, which can be a good thing. It used to mean getting the original audio too, but now they've been doing 5.1 remasters. The extras are often good but sometimes can be just pages of text. Commentaries are often where they shine the most.

[Madm@tt]

A vote for Rebecca here, an almost perfect DVD. :)

EDIT - And I'm in that first category, by the way. :suspect:

[charlie angel]

Criterions can be quite habit-forming - but as DeadKenny points out, some of the discs have now been surpassed in terms of quality, so it's worth checking first. Bear in mind that some of the films aren't very good as well :lol:

Having said all that, I think the Criterions I've bought are lush.

[Narshty]

For me, it's the recently-released The Rules of the Game. It's an embarrassment of riches for one of the cleverest, most enjoyable and phenomenally brilliant movies of all time.

[brunny78]

how could i overlook Robocop, Gimme Shelter and Rashomon

[aprout]

my vote goes to The Most Dangerous Game

There's not much on the disc, just the film & a commentary, but it's one of my favourite films & the commentary is superb :)

[Toothy]

Tunes Of Glory - when it`s released later this month. :D

[Charles Bronson]

Got to be the Seven Laserdisc. That thing was mammoth.

Cost me a freakin fortune though (100 quid)

[Shakey21]

I think they have gone off the boil over the last 18 months and released a whole host of run of the mill foreign drivel and talked it up as something special. Until about number 120 or so I would buy 2 out of 3 releases as many of the films were excellent but now more and more are obscure and wouldn't get a release if it wasn't for criterion, which is mainly my point, they wouldn't get a release because they are crap.

I hope criterion are listening, more killer and less filler.

The last release that was made post 1981 was Lola - spine 206 (I think) and the last one made in the 1990's was Schizopolis, spine 199, I think they need to release some more up to date movies as many have a wealth of extras unlike the 1950's french pap they keep pumping out.

Having said that however I am looking forward to the rumoured On the buses box set from criterion, should be something really special that...:norty:

[brunny78]

Originally posted by Shakey21
now more and more are obscure and wouldn't get a release if it wasn't for criterion, which is mainly my point, they wouldn't get a release because they are crap.


what, abit like:

The Rules of the Game

Ikiru

Le Cercle Rouge

La Strada

Le Corbeau

The Adventures of Antoine Doinel

to name a few,

agreed....they really have let it slip haven't they

:D :brickwall :cuckoo:

[John Hodson]

I think they need to release some more up to date movies as many have a wealth of extras unlike the 1950's french pap they keep pumping out.

That's patently absurd isn't it? A great film is a great film it doesn't matter when, or where, it was made?

One of the joys of Criterion is releasing movies the major studios wouldn't even bother with (that's one of the reasons they exist); would Trouble in Paradise have been given the red carpet treatment by anyone else? Or do you think that the genius that was Ernst Lubitsch isn't worth the bother because (a) he's dead (b) his films belonged to an era my kids referred to as 'black and white times'.

And I assume that you think that The Rules of the Game is a film Criterion have produced because it is 'run of the mill foreign drivel and talked it up as something special.' Oh dear.

Open your eyes Shakey21, and your mind.

---
So many films, so little time...

[Grumpy]

Any of the Akira Kurosawa ones

[Tristan H]

L 'Avventura - absolutely stunning. :thumbs:

[Ghost Dog]

I'm rather partial to the Beastie Boys collection, a great set of videos and some fine extras.

An other favourite is Lynne Ramsey's Ratcatcher, an amazing film with worthwhile extras (director interview, 2 short films), that are worth watching for once.

[kerbcrawler]

While I'm very fond of my Brazil, Robocop and Deadringers I would have to say that the Criterion edition of Spartacus is (IMHO) a flawless DVD closely followed by Carnival Of Souls and Haxan. I'm sure there's more but I just haven't seen them yet.

kc

[Shakey21]

Originally posted by John Hodson
That's patently absurd isn't it? A great film is a great film it doesn't matter when, or where, it was made?



I don't remember saying it was, I was talking from a personal point of view that when I got into criterion (and have over 100 now) there were a lot of contemporary releases such as the John Woo films and the likes of Robocop, the point I was clearly making was that of personal preference that in order to retain my interest I would like to see some more up to date films release, such as the excellent Royal Tannenbaums (sp?).

I think you want to read the whole post before making rediculous statements like this.

I thought the forum was about discussion of personal opinion by those interested in film and particularly the media of DVD. I expressed an opinion that I thought some of the criterion releases would otherwise not get a release and in my opinion they may not warrant one, however you disagree and resort to what are IMHO tantermount to a personal attack because my opinion differs to yours.

Well maybe this is the reason we have so many people who are members but not regularly post?? It would seem that people can't have an opinion around here if it disagrees with others and goes against the grain.

IMO - I believe there have been many weaker releases in the criterion catalogue recently and I would like them to create more interest by putting some more contemporary titles (although not the likes of The Rock) out. At the end of the day it is sales that keeps them alive and I have not purchased many for a while, but I do have these:

The Rules of the Game
Ikiru
The Adventures of Antoine Doinel

Anyhow thanks for furthering the discussion and the personal attack, I appreciated that.

[Shakey21]

Originally posted by brunny78


agreed....they really have let it slip haven't they

:D :brickwall :cuckoo:

yeah nice post , another one who resorts to name calling when they have nothing to add, all filler no killer.

Another misquote, can't someone have an opinion around here without being name called? :help:

[Shakey21]

Originally posted by Grumpy
Any of the Akira Kurosawa ones

Can't agree more, I have all the Kurosawa releases and they are all excellent, I can't really fault any of them.

[John Hodson]

No personal attack meant or intended Shakey21; I felt you made - I still think - a couple of comments that were absurd. You're entitled to make your comments and if they elicit response it's usually called debate.

Healthy, I think.

Now tell me; 'released a whole host of run of the mill foreign drivel and talked it up as something special.' What in your opinion, and I'm interested, constitutes drivel?

---
So many films, so little time...

[Shakey21]

Well you say healthy debate but that gets stifled by marginalisation doesn't it which I think could have been (not was but could have been) the intention as it too often is on this forum when Criterion is questioned.

Poor Criterion releases IMHO:

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=191

Virtually unwatchable

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=17

IMO - films like this have no place being made and only time will tell if this remains to be so highly regarded in the future.

I think some criterion releases are more about infamy than actual cinematic value, another case in point:

http://www.criterionco.com/asp/boxed_set.asp?id=179

Of the french releases, I was not impressed by:

Le Million
Contempt
Alphaville
Vagabond

again IMO, however I have liked many of the others, maybe my point was a bit strong regarding the French releases but they do seem to outnumber (excessively IMHO) releases from other countries, which is why there seems to be more weaker films from the French directors, IMO.

[Chibouk]

My favourite must be The Seventh Seal. The picture quality for such an old film is superb!

I know where Shakey is coming from, but Criterion have put out some very good releases in the past year including The Adventures of Antoine Doinel boxset and the Ingmar Bergman Trilogy set.

I also recently bought the Carl Theodor Dreyer set, which if Criterion hadn't released his work I probably would never have seen his films.

Criterion do have some titles amongst their releases that are not really worthy of the billing of 'important classics', but they have opened up a whole new world of film experiences to people like myself who wouldn't have known where to start in the world cinema arena.

[John Hodson]

Originally posted by Chibouk
I know where Shakey is coming from...

I think I do too...

Originally posted by Chibouk
...they have opened up a whole new world of film experiences to people like myself....

Yup! Ditto.

---
So many films, so little time...

[brunny78]

Originally posted by Shakey21
yeah nice post , another one who resorts to name calling when they have nothing to add, all filler no killer.

Another misquote, can't someone have an opinion around here without being name called? :help:

sorry sharkey - i'll make a mental note not to disagree with you again.

i didn't think i name called you though, i just thought that your original post was somewhat shortsighted. :cry:

[crofter]

The recent re-release of the two Jacques Tati movies - M.Hulots Holiday & Mon Oncle - classic stuff and a superb restoration. Favourite discs of mine on this - or any other label - at the moment.

PS - Anyone want to sell me the Criterion Playtime - now out of print?

[IHATELIFE]

Down by Law :thumbs:

[SimonI]

Originally posted by crofter
The recent re-release of the two Jacques Tati movies - M.Hulots Holiday & Mon Oncle - classic stuff and a superb restoration. Favourite discs of mine on this - or any other label - at the moment.

PS - Anyone want to sell me the Criterion Playtime - now out of print? Playtime is being re-release in a better edition later this year, along with Jour de Fête.

See here:

http://www.dvdtimes.org.uk/content.php?contentid=5908

[Shakey21]

Originally posted by brunny78
sorry sharkey - i'll make a mental note not to disagree with you again.

i didn't think i name called you though, i just thought that your original post was somewhat shortsighted. :cry:

Aimed at me?? At least get the name right when having another dig, but I see again nothing to add. Look forward to seeing your next pad, er I mean post.

[RichDB10]

. oops!

[RichDB10]

Originally posted by RichDB10
The Fassbinder BRD Trilogy would be high on my list.
However if i had to choose one then it would be :

by Brakhage

A lovingly crafted release which whilst only highlighting a small portion of the work of Stan Brakhage...is nonetheless a fitting tribute to his talents.

[KeyserSoze]

how many movies were in the Criterion Laserdisc collection ?

[SimonI]

Try here (http://www.criterionco.com/asp/laserdisc_browse.asp)

[cm-9]

Originally posted by Shakey21
I think they have gone off the boil over the last 18 months and released a whole host of run of the mill foreign drivel and talked it up as something special. Until about number 120 or so I would buy 2 out of 3 releases as many of the films were excellent

I would not rate most of Criterions early DVD releases as most of them were non-anamorphic and many of them had distinctly average transfers, being simply ports of Criterion's earlier laserdisc catalogue - Brazil being a case in point. With the exception of The Unbearable Lightness of Being and a couple of others, it was not until around spine number 90 that Criterion really took a proper approach to DVD, putting out stellar quality, anamorphic transfers. I don't think you can rationally say that there was any change in the quality of the films at spine number 120 - there are some very dodgy selections in the first 120, and very many superb choices in the latter half of the list.

Personally I prefer the second half of the list - I've just noticed that the spine numbers that I own are: 1, 3, 55, 56, 106, 135, 136, 137, 143, 164, 216, 218. (No, I don't keep them on my shelf in that order, in fact I arrange my DVDs by director :dork: )

They are expensive, and it seems to me that unless you are planning on selling it in future, there is no good reason not to buy the cheaper Criterion ports from other countries as the DVD content is exactly the same:
Armageddon (R2)
Chasing Amy (R2)
Truffaut box set (from Korea - very good value)
Fellini box set (ditto)
(you can also buy some others of the Criterion French films on the MK2 label in France, although the Korean versions tend to be less expensive).

DVDBeaver (http://www.criterion.dvdbeaver.com/) does a nice job indexing the reviews to all Criterion releases (and they review many of them themselves).

[Shakey21]

Originally posted by cm-9
I don't think you can rationally say that there was any change in the quality of the films at spine number 120

No offence but you have clearly either not read or understood my post fully as you have not interpreted what I have said correctly.

I didn't say there had been a quality change from spine 120 onwards all I said was that I purchased 2 out of 3 to that point.

Also the last 18 months only covers from about Hopscotch (163) onwards, maybe even spine 165 onwards, so you seem to be heavily weighted in this first half (ie 18 months ago or more, pre spine 163/4/5) as are most of my purchases.

My reference to spine 120 was an arbitrary selection (or guestimate) defining the 18 months or so ago reference (ie I was guessing that spine 120 was released about 18 months ago), I couldn't remember exactly what spine number 18 months ago was. However, this is not to say that everything released in the last 18 months was rubbish just that I have purchased less of the releases in the last 18 months as the films do not appeal to me or I do not like the ones I have seen.

I believe my post was quite rational, unlike those of some other members who taske delight in trying to make someones words apprear to mean something that they do not.

[crofter]

"Playtime is being re-release in a better edition later this year, along with Jour de Fête"

:thumbs: Cheers for that Simon1 - you've made an old man very happy!!

[agnetha]

Favourites:

Gimme Shelter
Monterey Pop

http://members.lycos.co.uk/agnetha666/rocker.gif