popcorn

Just got home from film class. For the third semester in a row, I have a class where the instructor shows Dr. Strangelove in its entirety during class. I looked it up and it qualified as a Criterion laserdisc. So I can cross off "Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion" from my Challenge list!

ntnon

Curious..! Three different instructors? How many films do they show overall...?

shadokitty

Just listened to the Audio Commentary on 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the ending is actually explained.

Mondo Kane

Is that the commentary with Keir & Gary? I still haven't listened to that one yet.

Undeadcow

Something Wild was much better than I expected; while not as "deep" as some other Criterion titles it was a nice energetic diversion.

mrcellophane

Something Wild surprised me too. It was a blind buy for me, and I was happy with the purchase after watching it. It made me think of After Hours, one of my favorite Scorsese films. The interviews on the disc are also worth watching.

pacaway

Finally watched Insomnia for the first time. Maybe it's because I saw it first, or that I saw it several times, but I think I prefer the American one.

I know! I find it hard to believe myself!

shadokitty

Yeah, that's the commentary.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

I watched it for the first time as well but I haven't seen the US version. That being said, I figured the US one would develop the plot more and I want to see that happen. The bad guy in this one doesn't seem like all that bad a guy compared to cops covering up things like this in nearly every other movie in the world.

shadokitty

Just watched Sans Soleil on Hulu. It was a beautiful documentary. I especially was moved by the scene of the family praying for the safety of their runaway cat at the cat temple.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

I remember that film. What I never got was all the people claiming it was so innovative when it's just a mondo film, which had been done many times over, and better IMO.

I also have one last Brakhage to watch and don't like him either.

shadokitty

I guess the reason I was touched, was I had never seen it done before.

davidh777

I really enjoy Something Wild. It really took when I first watched it.

My kids are hooked on this silly show called Hollywood Game Night, but Comcast on Demand doesn't have old episodes. (Bear with me here.) We googled and discovered that Hulu Plus has them so heck, free trial. I decided I might as well see what else they had, and you know where this is going now... Criterion!

That said, I haven't watched anything yet this month. Tons of Criterion titles on my shelves and available to stream, and this has traditionally been my worst challenge.

Ash Ketchum

They could be wrong, y'know...or deliberately misleading!

shadokitty

My month is due up on sunday, but I'm waiting on a free month of Hulu Plus to be approved on a survey for points site. So far I'm off to a stronger start this year than before, so hope to make a decent showing. It helps that I can watch Hulu on my TV this year, instead of using the computer.

The Man with the Golden Doujinshi

Oh I wasn't directing anything at you. I watched it years ago and saw tons of comments on another site just praising it as something new and unique, which made no sense to me. It's decades late to the party.

xizor42

And this is a test...

xizor42

Excellent. The last two times I tried to post it wouldn't work after I had typed a bunch out. So I am planning on getting a twofer out of this challenge. I am tailoring my list as a master clas in film curated by Martin Scorsese. I'll be watching his Top Ten and for my LD choice it will be A personal Journey through American Movies with Martin Scorsese. I will be filling out some og my selections with movies that are discussed in that film. So far I've watched Ugetsu, Touki Bouki and fell asleep on the Leopard.

I was also quite suprised by Something Wild.

xizor42

I watched it when Criterion first released it. I had never seen it p until that point. However I had the image of Melanie Griffith on the cover burned into my brain from an young age. I remember it being in the Cinemax program guide that I use to obsess over as a kid.

mrcellophane

Sounds like an excellent idea! In the past I tried to plan my watching around a larger theme, but I've realized that I usually just bumble my way through, picking and choosing as I go.

Yesterday evening, I must have consumed something bad or the wrong combination of things, cause my stomach started cramping like crazy. Thankfully, I had some sick leave to take today off. I nested on my couch with plenty of water and saltines and watched Billy Wilder's Ace in the Hole. It's a spectacular film that holds up well, though I imagine today's Chuck Tatum would be hanging around a celebrity hotspot and waiting for Justin Bieber to punch someone or Ariana Grande to go out sans underwear.

Wilder's film imagines this world where almost everyone has at least one eye out for a convenient cash grab. Even the trapped man's praying mother makes sure that everyone going to see the spectacle of her son's rescue pays their two bits for the privilege. Spectators tote their wares and pass out business cards; corrupt politicians manipulate and/or are manhandled into shirking their duty. Only Tatum's cautious boss and the trapped man's bewildered father seem above the fray, and both are easily bypassed. It's a grim view of the world, and like the later film Network is applicable to our own times.

mostaccioli

going a little bit of topic with this question. but i heard there is a big criterion sale at their website every year. when does this happen?

popcorn

Approximately 14 per semester, sans the weeks for the mid-term and final. I'll also end up watch The Graduate again for the umpteenth time. I also watched it around this time last year in class as well.

ntnon

This is all I've been able to find. Only one I could see that's on CC DVD/Blu, a dozen-or-so from the Laserdisc side, and a couple of Hulu-only ones.

There may be more - please tell me if you find some!

• Sabotage (Hitchcock)
• Secret Agent (Hitchcock)
• Young & Innocent (Hitchcock)
• A Canterbury Tale (Powell & Pressburger)
• House of Games (Mamet)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• Blade Runner
• Annie Hall
• This is Spinal Tap
• Lady For a Day (Capra)
• The Killing (Kubrick)
• Trainspotting
• In Which We Serve
• Carrie
• The Jungle Book (Korda)
• The Scarlet Pimpernel (Harold Young)
• The Divorce of Lady X (Tim Whelan)
• Q Planes (Tim Whelan)

ntnon

Not bad selections by any means, but with all the films in existence, watching the same couple three years in a row seems... a shame.

popcorn

It's a Popular Culture in the 1960's class. So I understand why Strangelove would be included. Here's the complete lineup, in case you're interested:

One, Two, Three (1961), Dr. Strangelove (1964), The Birds (1963), The Intruder (1962), Point Blank (1967), Soldier Blue (1970), Planet of the Apes (1968), Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969), Rosemary’s Baby (1968), The Graduate (1967), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Easy Rider (1969), The Strawberry Statement (1970), Monterey Pop (1967)

Should be a good semester. Wish some of those Criterions movies occurred this month!