LJG765

Okay, this is the second time in about a week, someone's mentioned Harold & Maude that I've come across. I may have to watch it this month.

Meanwhile, I wanted to watch something but wasn't sure what I wanted to watch so I threw a challenge over to Travis to pick a title for me. He chose 1933's King Kong. I swear I have watched it before, but nothing is really familiar. I'm enjoying it and it's a fun romp.

Trevor

Wow. Yeah, I think you're right. Haven't listened to him speak much, or read analysis of his work, but it wouldn't surprise me if H&M is a key inspiration.
I think most people here would like it. It's a fun film with some serious issues put out there, and some delicious acting.

And a sorta first time viewing of King Kong?! I'm jealous!

LJG765

Good to know. It's been on my radar for quite a while but just haven't felt the need to follow through and watch it. Thinking this month might be it.

I did start to remember parts, pretty much at the end of the movie starting at the stage. I have a feeling that I have seen the end 15-20 minutes before and thought I had watched the full movie instead. So, sorta first time viewing indeed!

While watching the movie now, in this period of extreme CGI, it still is amazing at what they managed to do with puppets and stop motion. Weeks and months to get just a few shoots. And it really doesn't look too bad!

shadokitty

I might watch King Kong sometime this month myself. Lately I haven't been motivated to watch anything for the Challenge, so right now I'm sitting at one movie.

LJG765

It's an easy watch, that's for sure. But as Travis says, it's not the number of watches this month, it's all about the quality of the watch! I'm only at 3 myself, one of which was a crossover with animation, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Another easy watch. I'm a huge Roald Dahl fan (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) but only a so-so Wes Anderson fan. I can appreciate his sense of aesthetics, but not a huge fan of the actual movie. I do enjoy Fox and Moonlight Kingdom, though!

popcorn

Oh definitely! Anderson's writing style is very reminiscent of early Hal Ashby comedies (also see Being There). His directorial style/symmetrical framing also borrows from Stanley Kubrick (especially Paths of Glory and Dr. Strangelove).

shadokitty

I agree about this Challenge being about quality, not quantity. Being my viewing was not only a first time view, but it had been on my radar for a long time, and I enjoyed Rosemary's Baby, I would say that so far, it has been a successful challenge. Another movie I am thinking of watching is George Bernard Shaw's Caesar And Cleopatra, which I have found on OVGuide, on Roku. That movie interests me because Ancient Egypt is one of my favorite historical periods.

LJG765

I've been watching almost nothing but Hurricane Irma reports today and needed something else to do, so I decided to watch Harold and Maude.

First three impressions: 1. Huh, starts like it's in the middle of the movie rather than a beginning. This first scene really feels like a transition shot as it focuses on the door, feet and stairs. 2. Love the music! Cat Stevens! 3. Grr...insert swearing...as my Roku keeps on buffering and I put up with it for 10 minutes before I unplug it and reboot the player.

*sigh* Hoping it fixes the problem as I'm enjoying it so far.

pacaway

Watched Punch Drunk Love and all its features today. It's not the first time I've watched it, but, man, I really like that movie! Querky, funny, sweet, unnerving, unsettling, strange... Really keeps my interest, and it's nice to see Philip Seymour Hoffman. Some neat little features too, like a short film made of alternate takes and deleted scenes. Glad I picked it up when I saw it in the library.

LJG765

Just finished Harold and Maude. That was well worth the watch. I really enjoyed it. Very black humor at times, of course. Loved the music. Never knew that I Want to Sing Out was written for this movie. One of my favorite songs, and I listen to it often. This movie is why I participate in challenges. Every once in a while I discover a gem of a film that justifies watching many others that stink.

pacaway

Well, looks like I'm going to have to look for that one now too.

Pulled out my copy of The Honeymoon Killers that I finally bought at some point this past year. It was pretty cool. Didn't realise it was based on a real life story from the 40s. Some really good interviews on the disc too.

Travis McClain

Deep Discount has a Criterion 45% sale going on right now. You can also add the promo code AUTUMN (good across the entire website) to then take off a further 15%. A regularly priced $39.95 Blu-ray goes down to $18.99.

Travis McClain

Wednesday night, I revisited Koyaanisqatsi. I saw it in 2013 and hated it. Decided to watch it with friends this time, to see if it may resonate differently with me this time or if maybe their insights could unlock something.

Nope. Still hate it.

pacaway

I had checked out a copy from the library, but just returned it unwatched. I wasn't going to have time for it and was pretty sure I would feel the same way as you.

On the other hand, I enjoyed Punch-Drunk Love so much, after watching the DVD copy from the library, I ordered a Blu-ray copy from Amazon yesterday and it arrives today! Can I count it twice for watching it on another format? Wish it had a commentary track.

While I was at it, I also ordered Lost In America, one of my wife and my favorites! I'm looking forward to watching that one with her this month.

Unfortunately, the last 10 days of this month will be taken up attending the Calgary International Film Festival, so I don't have much more Criterion time left.

davidh777

Cat Stevens was music of my childhood.

LJG765

Unfortunately?! Sounds like you're embracing the spirit of the challenge to me!

I have to admit, I didn't really listen to him until a few years ago-kind of embarrassing but I discovered him via a commercial! I knew who he was...just never really listened to him until then.

Travis McClain

You should retroactively update your list should anything you see at the festival later be added to the collection.

Trevor

Wow. You've opened up a can of worms/whoopass on my OCD!

davidh777

Nah, he's not exactly a mainstream artist like, say, Billy Joel and Elton John. And his personally dropping out of popular culture gave him further distance. My parents were big on the folk-rock sounds of the '70s and had a lot of his albums.

Now you've done it, Travis.

pacaway

I'm not above doing that, that's for sure! I still update my Oscar lists and even added a couple new years recently.

They certainly show a lot of Criterion kind of movies. Those are the ones I kind of look for when I'm scheduling my viewings. In fact, The Lure comes out in October and I original saw that at last year's Calgary Underground Film Festival.

shadokitty

I felt like watching a movie for the Challenge earlier tonight, so I looked through my DVDs, and decided on the original Halloween. John Carpenter is a great director, and an essay I read about Halloween, on the Criterion Collection website, placed it among the horror classics, such as Psycho, and the original Night Of The Living Dead. It also mentioned how in one minute of the movie, John Carpenter elevated Michael Myers to an antagonist of mythic proportions.

shadokitty

While I won't be updating my lists, I revisit past challenges too. Felt like working on Make Your Own Challenge viewing today.

popcorn

I've gone stagnant. Too many screeners. Coco over the weekend, Kingsman 2 tonight, and I have a 20+ stack of borrowed Criterions to get to before the end of the month. *sigh*

mrcellophane

I've been so busy this month that I haven't been able to watch as much as I would like. However, I was able to see a special theatrical presentation of Stalker last Friday. I'd not seen it before, and it absolutely blew me away.

shadokitty

I didn't count it, being it wasn't an official Criterion feature, but I just finished watching the making of documentary for Halloween, Halloween Unmasked 2000. I think it actually was an official documentary, as I seem to remember seeing it listed on a website somewhere, I think IMDB. I did list it, just as an uncounted bonus feature.