Criterion Collection

[cinemabon]

Just as a side note. The following week, that same group played "Citizen Kane", which I had also never seen before. I won't even go into what happened to me that night. I only know I ended up in the Student Commons, eating Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream, and mumbling into my bowl that my dream of becoming a filmmaker was just shattered... because I could never make any thing that ever came close to that.

[Johann]

The special features on the Criterion edition of IKIRU are music to the ears of a Kurosawa fan such as I:

-A 41 minute documentary on Ikiru with interviews with Kurosawa and Shimura.

-A 90 minute documentary on Kurosawa produced by his production company in 2000.

-commentary by the author of The Warrior's Camera- a great book on Kurosawa. (It's right up there with Donald Ritchie's The Films of Akira Kurosawa and "Something Like An Autobiography").

-the original theatrical trailer

[Johann]

Peter Cowie is getting a lot of work these days doing commentaries for Criterion releases.

Diary of a Country Priest has just been announced as a new release (along with Olivier's Richard III) and ole Peter is lending his boring voice talents to the experience of seeing Bresson's 4th film.

I guess I'll have to live with it. This DVD is a must-own.
I think it's Bresson's best film.

[Johann]

The Criterion Collection are doing God's work.


Ingmar Bergman's epic FIVE HOUR TV Movie SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE is getting released for the first time in North America.

I gotta do what Tarantino's doing:
making films so he can write off DVD's and books as tax-deductable.

[oscar jubis]

I just took the time to watch Agnes Varda's Vagabond, a film as accomplished as Ms. Varda's New Wave classic Cleo from 5 to 7. The Criterion edition features a flawless transfer but regrettably lacks any extra features. The film is better than I thought when I saw it during the 80s. It's based on the true story of a teenage girl found dead of natural causes on a ditch in rural southern France. It's a character study that incorporates a cross-section of French society. It uses the framework of Citizen Kane, a portrait of an enigmatic character drawn by those who knew him. It's also influenced by Homer's Odyssey. Varda interviews those who met the girl during the nomadic last months of her life. The girl is played by the great Sandrine Bonnaire. By this time(1987), Ms. Bonnaire had already won a Cesar for her alluring performance in Maurice Pialat's A Nos Amours, a film that won the French Academy award for best film of 1983. This very sexy film is only available on vhs. Mr. Pialat died a year ago. He also directed Loulou, Under Satan's Sun, Police, and the best film about Van Gogh.

[Johann]

Someone said in a book I read that Cleo from 5 to 7 will always be Varda's masterpiece. Maybe, but Vagabond (which I have only seen once) could very well be.

Agnes could be called the originator of the french new wave if you wanna get technical. She is as brilliant as Godard or Truffaut, Chabrol or Rohmer.
But who knows who she is?
Ask regular movie-goers who Agnes Varda is and I guarantee you'll get a slew of blank stares. Idiots. She's a major female figure in film history (a la Riefenstahl).

Thanks oscar for telling readers about Vagabond- a film that had me in tears and a film I'll never forget. (Even if I never see it again).

[Johann]

oscar jubis should be glad to know the 2-DVD set of Ozu's masterpiece will hit shelves in April, bearing the spine #232.

Two commentaries: Donald Ritchie & Roger Ebert

visit the website to check out the astounding cover art!

www.criterioncollection.com

[oscar jubis]

Looks great. I'm specially happy about the inclusion of the silent, early version I've never seen and the commentaries. I'm equally excited about Renoir's The Rules of the Game, which I am buying soon. Have you guys seen it? It's Top 10 all-time for me!

Another exciting dvd release is the first from Chinese "indie" director Jia Zhangke. His award-winning films have never received wide release. Unknown Pleasures comes out on 3/16/04. Hope Platform follows.

[HorseradishTree]

Hmm...

Just watched Brazil on Criterion in film class. It was really interesting to see the results of the controversy over editing the film.

That was the best part. Otherwise I didn't think the film was that admirable.

[oscar jubis]

Was it "somewhat" admirable then?

[HorseradishTree]

Well, I just think things were too hectic for my tastes. And the "sad" ending didn't really seem that important or impacting. Oh well, I still love Terry Gilliam. Long live Time Bandits!!!

[oscar jubis]

Originally posted by HorseradishTree
Well, I just think things were too hectic for my tastes.

It's a lot to absorb in one viewing. The shifts to dream sequences can be disorienting at first.

And the "sad" ending didn't really seem that important or impacting.

Universal's Sheinberg insisted on a shorter cut with a happy ending until the Los Angeles Critics Asso. named it Best Film of 1985. Apparently crits crashed studio screenings or watched in Europe, where the film was first released.

[Johann]

More new releases:

Films fans rejoice!

1. Fritz Lang's The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (2-disc set)
2. Kurosawa's Stray Dog
3. Schlondorff's The Tin Drum- Palm D'or winner 1979

Thanks, Criterion. I pine for every release...

[oscar jubis]

J, do you know the date of release of The Tin Drum? I'm selling my vhs copy before it loses value as vhs copies do invariably when they come out on digital disc. (This is how I finance this obsession for cinema.)

Is Floating Weeds out?

My brother has been trying to rent us Tokyo Story at Netflix. He is on a very looong waiting list. The public is thirsty for great cinema. Someone tell the movie distributors.

[Johann]

No release dates for these titles, but it'll be this year for sure. You can see the cover art and special features, tho. Floating Weeds is not out yet.

What's the story behind Netflix? I've heard of it (is it an on-line rental system?) but I still go to the video store. (Old fashioned, I guess)