The Criterion Collection Thread 2.0

[skycracksopen]

every July and November, yes

Are you sure that's not the Barnes & Noble sale? The last 50% off sale I saw on Criterion was on Valentine's Day.

[BostonMA]

Are you sure that's not the Barnes & Noble sale? The last 50% off sale I saw on Criterion was on Valentine's Day.

B&N puts on a 50% sale for Criterion titles every July and November. i believe Valentine's Day was by CC, and it was only for a one day exception this past year.

[Pioneer14]

Barnes and Noble just started a Buy 2 get 3rd Free on select Criterion Titles. Started 9/4 and will end early October.

[Super-VHS]

December 4:


Purple Noon
René Clément

France l 1960 l 118 minutes l Color l 1.66:1 l French l Spine #637

Alain Delon was at his most impossibly beautiful when Purple Noon (Plein soleil) was released and made him an instant star. This ripe, colorful adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s vicious novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, directed by the versatile René Clément, stars Delon as Tom Ripley, a duplicitous American charmer in Rome on a mission to bring his privileged, devil-may-care acquaintance Philippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet) back to the United States; what initially seems to be a carefree tale of friendship soon morphs into a thrilling saga of seduction, identity theft, and murder. Featuring gorgeous on-location photography in coastal Italy, Purple Noon is crafted with a light touch that allows it to be suspenseful and erotic at once, while giving Delon the role of a lifetime.

Disc Features:

• New digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• New video interview with René Clément scholar Denitza Bantcheva
• Archival interviews with actor Alain Delon and novelist Patricia Highsmith, on whose book The Talented Mr. Ripley the film was based
• Original English-language trailer
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Geoffrey O’Brien and a reprinted interview with Clément

Brazil
Terry Gilliam

United Kingdom l 1985 l 142 minutes l Color l 1.85:1 l English l Spine #51

In the dystopic masterpiece Brazil, Jonathan Pryce plays a daydreaming everyman who finds himself caught in the soul-crushing gears of a nightmarish bureaucracy. This cautionary tale by Terry Gilliam, one of the great films of the 1980s, now ranks alongside antitotalitarian works by the likes of George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and Kurt Vonnegut Jr. And in terms of set design, cinematography, music, and effects, Brazil, a nonstop dazzler, stands alone.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Restored high-definition digital transfer of Terry Gilliam’s 142-minute director’s cut, supervised by Gilliam, with DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 surround soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Audio commentary by Terry Gilliam
• What Is “Brazil”?, a thirty-minute on-set documentary by Rob Hedden
• The Battle of “Brazil”: A Video History, a sixty-minute documentary by author and film writer Jack Mathews about the controversy surrounding the film’s release
• The “Love Conquers All” version of Brazil, a ninety-four-minute cut of the film produced by the studio in an attempt to make it more commercial, with commentary by Brazil expert David Morgan
• The Production Notebook, a collection of supplements featuring a trove of Brazil-iana from Gilliam’s personal collection: a short documentary on the screenplay, featuring interviews with screenwriters Gilliam, Charles McKeown, and Tom Stoppard; Gilliam’s storyboards for unfilmed dream sequences, animated and narrated by Morgan; visual essays on the film’s production design and special effects; a visual essay on Brazil’s costumes, narrated by costume designer James Acheson; and interviews with Gilliam and composer Michael Kamen on the score
• Trailer
• PLUS: An essay by Jack Matthews on the DVD edition and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic David Sterritt on the Blu-ray edition

December 11:


The Qatsi Trilogy
Godfrey Reggio

Spine #639 l 3 Discs

A singular artist and activist, Godfrey Reggio is best known for his galvanizing trio of films The Qatsi Trilogy. Astonishingly photographed, and featuring unforgettable, cascading scores by Philip Glass, these are immersive sensory experiences that meditate on the havoc humankind’s fascination with technology has wreaked on our world. From 1983’s Koyaanisqatsi (the title is a Hopi word that means “life out of balance”) to 1988’s Powaqqatsi (“life in transformation) to 2002’s Naqoyqatsi (“life as war”), Reggio takes us on an edifying journey from the ancient to the contemporary, from nature to industry and back again, all the while keeping our eyes wide with wonder.

Collector’s Set Includes:


KOYAANISQATSI (1983)
Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi is an astonishing collage; the film shuttles the viewer from one jaw-dropping vision to the next, moving from images of untouched nature to others depicting human beings’ increasing reliance on technology.


POWAQQATSI (1988)
Five years after Godfrey Reggio stunned audiences with Koyaanisqatsi, he joined forces again with composer Philip Glass and other collaborators for a second chapter. Here, Reggio turns his sights on third world nations in the southern hemisphere.


NAQOYQATSI (2002)
With a variety of cinematic techniques, including slow motion, time-lapse, and computer-generated imagery, the film tells of a world that has completely transitioned from a natural environment to a human-made one.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION COLLECTOR’S SET:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfers of all three films, approved by director Godfrey Reggio, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks on the Blu-ray editions
• Essence of Life, an interview program with Reggio and composer Philip Glass on Koyaanisqatsi
• New interview with cinematographer Ron Fricke about Koyaanisqatsi
• Early forty-minute demo version of Koyaanisqatsi with a scratch soundtrack by Allen Ginsberg, along with a new introduction by Reggio
• New interview with Reggio about Koyaanisqatsi’s original visual concept, with behind-the-scenes footage
• Impact of Progress, an interview program with Reggio and Glass on their collaboration
• Inspiration and Ideas, an interview with Reggio about his greatest influences and teachers
• Anima Mundi (1992), Reggio’s twenty-eight-minute montage of images of over seventy animal species, scored by Glass
• Video afterword by Reggio on the trilogy
• The Making of “Naqoyqatsi,” a brief documentary featuring interviews with the production crew
• Panel discussion on Naqoyqatsi from 2003, with Reggio, Glass, editor Jon Kane, and music critic John Rockwell
• Music of “Naqoyqatsi,” an interview with Glass and cellist Yo-Yo Ma
• Television spots and an interview with Reggio relating to his 1970s multimedia privacy campaign in New Mexico
• Trailers
• PLUS: A booklet featuring essays on the trilogy by film scholar Scott MacDonald, Rockwell, and author and environmentalist Bill McKibben

Following
Christopher Nolan

United Kingdom l 1999 l 70 minutes l Black and White l 1.33:1 l English l Spine #638

Before he became a sensation with the twisty revenge story Memento, Christopher Nolan fashioned this low-budget, black-and-white, 16 mm neonoir with comparable precision and cunning. Supplying irrefutable evidence of Nolan’s directorial bravura, Following is the fragmented tale of an unemployed young writer who trails strangers through London, hoping that they will provide inspiration for his first novel. He gets more than he bargained for with one of his unwitting subjects, who leads him down a dark, criminal path. With gritty aesthetics and a made-on-the-fly vibe (many shots were simply stolen on the streets, unbeknownst to passersby), Following is a mind-bending psychological journey that shows the remarkable beginnings of one of today’s most acclaimed filmmakers.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION:

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Christopher Nolan, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the
• Blu-ray edition
• New 5.1 surround sound mix by sound editor Gary Rizzo, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition
• Audio commentary by Nolan
• New interview with Nolan
• Chronological rendering of the story
• Side-by-side comparison of three scenes in the film with the shooting script
• Doodlebug (1997), a three-minute film by Nolan, starring Jeremy Theobald
• Trailers
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic and programmer Scott Foundas

[cheez avenger]

Brazil and Following!

[Boston007]

Brazil and Following!

YES!!!! Cant wait!

[BostonMA]

FOLLOWING! WOW!!!

I never thought this would actually happen. Awesome.

I've been meaning to see Purple Noon for nearly 2 years now. Here's a better reason than ever to do so.

[Pioneer14]

TODAY ONLY at Criterion website up to tomorrow at noon 9/25/2012. Use CODE FLASH to get 50% of all Bluray /DVDs in stock. Got The Game and Eating Raoul!

[Whirlygig]

Just got a loyalty $50 code from Criterion, but all my "wants" are purchased. So I either save it until the next flash sale, or take a look at my "do not wants" and see if I've changed my mind.

Here are some I'm starting to think I might want to give a shot...anybody have input? If you could pick 3, which would you pick?

- Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
- The Secret of the Grain
- Everlasting Moments
- Hunger
- Secret Sunshine
- The Moment of Truth
- The Organizer

Also I don't have these, but Godard has left me lukewarm in the past so I have been avoiding them:

- Breathless
- Vivre sa Vie

Here are some others that I really still don't think I'd like, anybody want to put in a huge recommendation for any of them?

Spoiler:

- The Times of Harvey Milk
- Close-Up
- By Brakhage
- Summer Hours
- Lola Montes
- A Christmas Tale
- Bottle Rocket
- Charade
- Pale Flower
- The Music Room
- Leon Morin, Priest
- Vigo collection
- Les cousins
- Le Beau Serge
- The Phantom Carriage
- Zazie dans le metro
- The Makioka Sisters
- Kuroneko
- Design for Living
- Branded to Kill
- Still Walking
- Identification of a Woman
- Three Outlaw Samurai
- Vanya on 42nd Street
- Late Spring
- Hollis Frampton
- Les visiteurs de soir
- Gray's Anatomy
- In the Mood for Love

[Super-VHS]

Criterion just shared this on their facebook page. pretty cool.

[ATLFalconsFAN]

I picked up The Game, Cul-de-sac and The Royal Tenenbaums in the sale. Up to 50 Criterion blus in my collection now.

[cupboy]

Also I don't have these, but Godard has left me lukewarm in the past so I have been avoiding them:

- Breathless

Definitely avoid that one. Cardboard + bad movie.

[Whirlygig]

Definitely avoid that one. Cardboard + bad movie.

Heh. I decided to go for Secret Sunshine, Hunger, Moment of Truth, and Everlasting Moments (yea, I know I said 3, but can't help it).

[Super-VHS]

Jan 8:


Two-Lane Blacktop
Monte Hellman

United States l 1971 l 103 minutes l Color l 2.35:1 l English l Spine #414

Drag racing east from L.A. in a souped-up ’55 Chevy are the wayward Driver and Mechanic (singer/songwriter James Taylor and the Beach Boys’ Dennis Wilson, in their only acting roles), accompanied by a tagalong Girl (Laurie Bird). Along the way, they meet Warren Oates’s Pontiac GTO–driving wanderer and challenge him to a cross-country race—the prize: their cars’ pink slips. But no summary can do justice to the existential punch of Two-Lane Blacktop. With its gorgeous widescreen compositions and sophisticated look at American male obsession, this stripped-down narrative from maverick director Monte Hellman is one of the artistic high points of 1970s cinema, and possibly the greatest road movie ever made.

Disc Features (DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION):

• Restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised by director Monte Hellman, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, supervised by Hellman, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition
• Two audio commentaries: one by Hellman and filmmaker Allison Anders and one by screenwriter Rudolph Wurlitzer and author David N. Meyer
• Interviews with Hellman, actor James Taylor, musician Kris Kristofferson, producer Michael Laughlin, and production manager Walter Coblenz
• Screen test outtakes
• Performance and Image, a look at the restoration of a ’55 Chevy used in the movie and the film’s locations today
• Color Me Gone, photos and publicity from Two-Lane Blacktop
• Trailer
• PLUS: Rudy Wurlitzer’s screenplay, reprinted specially for this release; new essay by Kent Jones, appreciations by Richard Linklater and Tom Waits; and a reprint of the 1970 Rolling Stone article “On Route 66, Filming Two-Lane Blacktop”; ; the DVD edition also features Wurlitzer’s screenplay

Jan 15:


The Tin Drum
Volker Schlöndorff

Germany l 1979 l 163 minutes l Color l 1.77:1 l German l Spine #234

Oskar is born in Germany in 1924 with an advanced intellect. Repulsed by the hypocrisy of adults and the irresponsibility of society, he refuses to grow older after his third birthday. While the chaotic world around him careers toward the madness and folly of World War II, Oskar pounds incessantly on his beloved tin drum and perfects his uncannily piercing shrieks. The Tin Drum, which earned the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Academy Award for best foreign-language film, is a visionary adaptation from Volker Schlöndorff of Nobel laureate Günter Grass’s acclaimed novel, characterized by surreal imagery, arresting eroticism, and clear-eyed satire.

Disc Features (DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION):

• New, restored high-definition digital transfer of the complete version, approved by director Volker Schlöndorff
• Newly remastered 5.1 surround soundtrack, approved by Schlöndorff and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition
• New interview with Schlöndorff about the making of The Tin Drum and the creation of the 2010 restored, complete version
• New interview with film scholar Timothy Corrigan
• German audio recording from 1987 of author Günter Grass reading an excerpt from his novel The Tin Drum with musical accompaniment, illustrated with the corresponding scene from the film
• Television interview excerpts featuring Schlöndorff, Grass, actors David Bennent and Mario Adorf, and cowriter Jean-Claude Carrière reflecting on their experiences making the film
• Trailer
• New English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Atkinson and 1978 statements by Grass about the adaptation of his novel

The Man Who Knew Too Much
Alfred Hitchcock

United Kingdom l 1934 l 75 minutes l Black and White l 1.33:1 l English l Spine #643

An ordinary British couple vacationing in Switzerland suddenly find themselves embroiled in a case of international intrigue when their daughter is kidnapped by spies plotting a political assassination. This fleet and gripping early thriller from the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, was the first film the director made after signing to the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation. Besides affirming Hitchcock’s brilliance, it gave the brilliant Peter Lorre his first English-speaking role, as a slithery villain. With its tension and gallows humor, it’s pure Hitchcock, and it set the tone for films like The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes.

Disc Features:

• New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• New audio commentary featuring film historian Philip Kemp
• New interview with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro
• The Illustrated Hitchcock, an extensive interview with director Alfred Hitchcock from 1972, conducted by journalist Pia Lindstrom and film historian William Everson
• Audio excerpts from filmmaker François Truffaut’s legendary 1962 interviews with Hitchcock
• Restoration demonstration
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme

Jan 22:


Pina
Wim Wenders

Germany l 2011 l 103 minutes l Color l 1.85:1 l 3D l Multilingual l l Spine #644

The boundless imagination and physical marvels of the work of the German modern-dance pioneer Pina Bausch leap off the screen in this exuberant tribute by Wim Wenders. A long-planned film collaboration between the director and the choreographer was in preproduction when Bausch died in 2009. Two years later, Wenders decided to go ahead with the project, reconceiving it as an homage to his late friend. The result, shot in stunning 3D, is a remarkable visual experience and a vivid representation of Bausch’s art, enacted by a group of staggeringly talented dancers from her company, the Tanztheater Wuppertal. Pina is an adventurous work of cinema that highlights the bold legacy of one of the world’s true creative visionaries.

Disc Features (DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION):

• High-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Wim Wenders, presented in two editions: Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray combo, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack, and DVD
• Audio commentary featuring Wenders
• The Making of “Pina” (available in 3D)
• Deleted scenes with commentary by Wenders (available in 3D)
• Behind-the-scenes footage
• Interview with Wenders
• Trailer
• English subtitle translation
• PLUS: A booklet featuring a piece by novelist and essayist Siri Hustvedt; reprinted pieces by Wenders and choreographer Pina Bausch; information on the dances featured in the film; and portraits of the dancers

Ivan’s Childhood
Andrei Tarkovsky

Soviet Union l 1962 l 95 minutes l Black and White l 1.33:1 l Russian l Spine #397

The debut feature by the great Andrei Tarkovsky, Ivan’s Childhood is a poetic journey through the shards and shadows of one boy’s war-ravaged youth. Moving back and forth between the traumatic realities of World War II and serene moments of family life before the conflict began, Tarkovsky’s film remains one of the most jarring and unforgettable depictions of the impact of war on children.

Disc Features:

• High-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition
• Appreciation of filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky and Ivan’s Childhood featuring Vida T. Johnson, coauthor of The Films of Andrei Tarkovsky: A Visual Fugue
• Interviews with cinematographer Vadim Yusov and actor Nikolai Burlyaev
• PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film scholar Dina Iordanova; “Between Two Films,” Tarkovsky’s essay on Ivan’s Childhood; and “Ivan’s Willow,” a poem by the director’s father, Arseny Tarkovsky

[Boston007]

@Super-VHS
Man Who Knew Too Much - AWESOME

And did I miss something, which one is 3D?