Buildin the Criterion collection...

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Thu Oct 20, 2011 2:11 pm

I just signed up for a free 2 month trial of BN's membership club.

Free shipping and discounted member prices. Hoping I'll be able to use that in-store, too. Haven't been able to find if it's online only.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 2:58 pm

We're a week away from the big sale. I'm starting to put together a a want list. Recommendations are appreciated.

Dazed and Confused - Never saw it, but heard it's great.
Kuroneko - Loved Onibaba, so expecting this to be just as great.
Island of Lost Souls - I've always loved The Island of Dr. Moreau with Val Kilmer. not even knowing there was a version made in the 70s (which I still haven't seen), now I discover there's an even older version. Have a feeling I am going to hate the Kilmer version, but I'm perfectly okay with that.
My Life as a Dog - The first foreign film I ever saw, so it has a special connection for me, plus it's a great film.
Night of the Hunter - Saw it on TCM not too long ago and loved it.

I'm willing to spend about $150 on this sale, so I could probably squeeze in 2 more discs. What else do I get?

drizzle · Post by **drizzle** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 3:08 pm

dazed and confused and night of the hunter are both essential must see before you die kind of things

the other 3 are cool but not on the same canonical level

Panama · Post by **Panama** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:38 pm

Films that I'm definitely copping during the sale

The Double Life of Veronique (Blind buy)

Three Colors Trilogy (Blind buy....seen "Red")

Harakiri

Dazed and Confused

Carlos

Films that I'm considering

Kuroneko

The Thin Red Line

High and Low (Blind buy)

Blow Out (Blind buy)

Kes

Night of the Hunter (Blind buy)

Beauty and the Beast (Blind buy)

Cronos

My Life as a Dog

Bottle Rocket

The Darjeeling Limited

citizen · Post by **citizen** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 6:50 pm

Dan wrote:I'm willing to spend about $150 on this sale, so I could probably squeeze in 2 more discs. What else do I get?

do you have wings of desire or the seventh seal, those are 2 criterion movies i really enjoyed

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:11 pm

citizen wrote:
Dan wrote:I'm willing to spend about $150 on this sale, so I could probably squeeze in 2 more discs. What else do I get?
do you have wings of desire or the seventh seal, those are 2 criterion movies i really enjoyed

Never saw Wings, loved Seventh Seal, but only saw it on TCM.

For those with Blu-ray players, do you completely pass on DVDs and wait for films to be upgraded?

There's still several Criterion's that haven't made it to Blu that I want, but I just don't want to buy DVDs anymore.

I mentioned Onibaba earlier. I would love to own that, but it's DVD only and there's no news on an upcoming upgrade. I'll just keep holding out I guess.

Ramen · Post by **Ramen** » Tue Oct 25, 2011 9:19 pm

Just remember that they don't own the rights forever so some stuff will only be available on the DVD that's already out.

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 10:09 am

You're right in that they don't hold rights forever and in addition to that, blu-ray and dvd rights are negotiated separately so for a lot of older titles they have to go back and acquire BR rights. Regardless, they have shown that they intend to keep as much of their catalog in print as long as they can. Most of the stuff they lost rights to was due to studios thinking they could make more money releasing the movies on their own (think The Third Man, Ran, Spartacus, Time Bandits, etc).
I think eventually they will try to rerelease all of it on bluray, but at the pace they are going, as good as it is, it could be 5 years til a specific title you want will get re-issued.

Giving recommendations for criterions is a bit of a crapshoot without specific guidelines. Almost all of the movies are fantastic in some way and out of the 100+ that I've purchased, I think I've only regretted two of them (Summertime and M. Hulot's Holiday). That being said, here's a quick top-of-the-head top ten of some of my favorite, lower profile releases they've done.

Samurai Rebellion
The Hit
Clean, Shaven
Friends of Eddie Coyle
Classe Tous Risques
Fighting Elegy
Dillinger is Dead
Quai Des Orfevres
Brute Force
The Naked Prey
Sword of Doom

ok that's 11.

Really would recommend The Samurai Trilogy but the dvds aren't that great of quality and I have a hunch they are going to put out new editions soon. Same with the Element of Crime as there's a new HD master floating around on the movie channels.

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 3:45 pm

Reminder that the B&N 50% off sale started today and runs for the next 3 weeks

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 4:43 pm

I went this morning and picked up several. Even took a pic and formed them in the Criterion logo.

My Life as a Dog
Dazed and Confused
Kuroneko
The Night of the Hunter
The Phantom Carriage
Island of Lost Souls
The Killing
Repulsion

Since I'm a BN member, all discs were 60% off, plus I had 3 coupons ($8 off $40 and 2 $5 off $50's) which the cashier let me use, though he had to make them 3 different transactions.

Also, pre-orders are eligible for the sale.

Panama · Post by **Panama** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 6:49 pm

Going back on the 15th

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 9:03 pm

Nice pickups. Pre-orders aren't supposed to be part of the promotion. They aren't online. Dan if your local branch is letting you do that, that's pretty sweet though.

I went and grabbed a completely different set of movies than I intended to when I walked into the door:
Black Moon (BR)
Walkabout (BR)
Something Wild (BR)
Talented Mr. Arkadin (DVD)
Nikkatsu Noir - Eclipse set

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Tue Nov 01, 2011 9:13 pm

Tommy Bunz wrote:Nice pickups. Pre-orders aren't supposed to be part of the promotion. They aren't online. Dan if your local branch is letting you do that, that's pretty sweet though.

I went and grabbed a completely different set of movies than I intended to when I walked into the door:
Black Moon (BR)
Walkabout (BR)
Something Wild (BR)
Talented Mr. Arkadin (DVD)
Nikkatsu Noir - Eclipse set

I asked the cashier and he said they were, but if you do it in-store they have to mail it to you. Didn't make sense, but when I had mentioned something about wanting 12 Angry Men and Rushmore and how they come out the day after the sale, he said I could pre-order them now at the half-off price. I declined, but said I'd probably be back to pick up more and maybe do it then.

jamrage · Post by **jamrage** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 12:28 am

Here's a link to the coupons Dan was using.

You HAVE to be a member to use them though.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/email/nav ... Hvk-_-10:1

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Wed Nov 02, 2011 8:28 am

jamrage wrote:Here's a link to the coupons Dan was using.

You HAVE to be a member to use them though.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/email/nav ... Hvk-_-10:1

Here's a list of every current B&N coupon, including ones for non-members.

http://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-bargains/5 ... t-2-a.html

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 12:53 pm

Added 1 more. Just ordered Onibaba on DVD. The store didn't have it in stock when I went last week. Found a 20% off coupon that expires today, so ordered it online.

Reading threads over at blu-ray.com about this sale; some people are able to use their $8 off $40 coupons repeatedly for each disc, but the cashier has to ring each up as their own transaction. So people are basically paying $10 for a Criterion Blu-ray.

darkwingduck · Post by **darkwingduck** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 11:29 am

CYE, i need some help. planning on goin in on the B&N sale again. Only copping BR. Which are essential? I need a comprehensive list?

didnt someone say the sale is good on pre-orders as well?

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 2:30 pm

You're not supposed to be able to pre-order with sale prices unless you can talk your local brick and mortar into letting you like Dan.
I have no idea what BR releases you have already. Post em, then get recs.

darkwingduck · Post by **darkwingduck** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 3:04 pm

Tommy Bunz wrote:I have no idea what BR releases you have already. Post em, then get recs.

Army of Shadows
Le Cercle rouge
Days of Heaven
The Four Feathers
Harakiri
House
Island of Lost
Kagemusha
The Killing
Kiss Me Deadly
The Night of the Hunter
Paths of Glory
Seven Samurai
Stagecoach
The Thin Red Line
The Wages of Fear
Yojimbo/Sanjuro

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 3:54 pm

Well judging from your list, get Videodrone definitely. If you have the dvd already I probably wouldn't upgrade though.

All these fit the types of movies you have already and are highly recommended.

Repulsion
Shock Corridor
The Naked Kiss
Blow Out
Diabolique
Battle of Algiers
M
High & Low
Cronos
Gomorrah
The Lady Vanishes

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 10:00 pm

I went back again and bought 3 more. So, my total is 11 Blu-rays and 1 DVD.

I tried to pre-order 12 Angry Men and Rushmore but was denied. Unfortunately the cashier who said I could last week wasn't in. Perhaps it was a temporary loophole, though on the Criterion thread on blu-ray.com people are still saying it's possible, so for now it's a ymmv type deal.

The cashier was cool though. She let me stack coupons, even though 2 of them were just pics on my phone, but she said as long as she could read the bar code it would work. I ended up using an $8 off $40, $5 off $50, and 25% off. Spent $43 for 3 titles.

Day 1 of the sale:

My Life as a Dog
Dazed and Confused
Kuroneko
The Night of the Hunter
The Phantom Carriage
Island of Lost Souls
The Killing
Repulsion

Ordered online:

Onibaba (DVD)

Picked up today:

Seven Samurai
Harakiri
Charade

10 days left, but I think I'm done. 7 blind buys and 5 I've seen and really enjoyed. Pretty happy with my selections.

Panama · Post by **Panama** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 10:09 pm

I'm going back tomorrow to pick up one or two and then on Tuesday to buy the "Three Colors trilogy"

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:31 pm

I've only picked up one more title since the first day of the sale. Finally caved and bought The Human Condition. Finding 9 hours to watch it is going to be difficult though.

criterion posted this on twitter friday.

No one's really sure what it is other than that its obviously another samurai film.
I doubt its one of Kurosawa's since we're already probably getting Stray Dog & Drunken Angel this year.
Maybe its one or all of the Hideo Gosha films that they have the rights to.
Some people think it might be Kwaidan.
Personally hoping its a rerelease of Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy.

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:07 pm

Panama wrote:

Going back on the 15th

Carlos is ill.

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:17 pm

I'm starting a samurai steez.

Are there any good starting points that are in this collection? I'm not familiar with the genre beyond surface stuff.

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 8:38 pm

Employee wrote:I'm starting a samurai steez.

Are there any good starting points that are in this collection? I'm not familiar with the genre beyond surface stuff.

Well if you haven't seen Seven Samurai, thats the best starting point possible. Other movies with a good mix of story and action in the collection would be Rashomon, Samurai Rebellion, the Samurai Trilogy, Kagemusha, Hidden Fortress. Really anything that Criterion has put out in the genre is well worth your time.
For more action oriented stuff check out Sword of Doom and Yojimbo and Sanjuro.
For some ill horror-related samurai shit check out Onibaba. They also just put out Kuroneko but haven't seen it yet.

Outside of criterion releases there's a lot of other good shit out there. Lady Snowblood, the Hanzo the Razor movies, Lone Wolf & Cub/Shogun Assassin movies, the Zatoichi movies.
Takashii Miike's 13 Assassins that he put out this year is pretty incredible too you should watch that if you haven't yet.

There's a huge samurai thread from a few years ago that would be a much better resource than this.

Panama · Post by **Panama** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 10:46 pm

Criterion holds the rights to the the Hanzo the Razor films

btw my two fav samurai films are Samurai Rebellion and Harakiri

Employee · Post by **Employee** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 11:38 pm

Tommy Bunz wrote:
Employee wrote:I'm starting a samurai steez.

Are there any good starting points that are in this collection? I'm not familiar with the genre beyond surface stuff.
Well if you haven't seen Seven Samurai, thats the best starting point possible. Other movies with a good mix of story and action in the collection would be Rashomon, Samurai Rebellion, the Samurai Trilogy, Kagemusha, Hidden Fortress. Really anything that Criterion has put out in the genre is well worth your time.
For more action oriented stuff check out Sword of Doom and Yojimbo and Sanjuro.
For some ill horror-related samurai shit check out Onibaba. They also just put out Kuroneko but haven't seen it yet.

Outside of criterion releases there's a lot of other good shit out there. Lady Snowblood, the Hanzo the Razor movies, Lone Wolf & Cub/Shogun Assassin movies, the Zatoichi movies.
Takashii Miike's 13 Assassins that he put out this year is pretty incredible too you should watch that if you haven't yet.

There's a huge samurai thread from a few years ago that would be a much better resource than this.

, Bunz.

darkwingduck · Post by **darkwingduck** » Sat Nov 12, 2011 11:40 pm

Employee wrote:I'm starting a samurai steez.

Are there any good starting points that are in this collection? I'm not familiar with the genre beyond surface stuff.

you may wanna dig around the samurai thread...

http://www.philaflava.com/forum/viewtop ... ht=samurai

Tommy Bunz · Post by **Tommy Bunz** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 12:19 am

Panama wrote:Criterion holds the rights to the the Hanzo the Razor films

btw my two fav samurai films are Samurai Rebellion and Harakiri

It's actually Janus films that has the rights to Hanzo if I recall correctly.
The Hanzo dvds were put out by homevision which is basically criterion's parent company. Same deal as the Zatoichi movies that Janus had rights to. They've all gone out of print just this fall though so I'm not sure if their rights expired or if the dvds weren't profitable enough to keep making. Either way, chances of these ever being part of the collection seem very slim imo.
I bought the Hanzo set that Eureka put out in the UK, its the tits.

I'm with you on Samurai Rebellion, one of my favorite movies and easily on par with Kurosawa's best. I liked Hari-Kari but not nearly as much as I expected to.