Go Back  DVD Talk Forum > DVD Discussions > DVD Talk
Reload this Page >

September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

DVD Talk Talk about DVDs and Movies on DVD including Covers and Cases

September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

Old 08-22-11, 06:59 PM
  #1  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
CardiffGiant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 755
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread



LIST THREAD - 30 Days of Criterion
September 1st - September 30th, 2011

This thread is for LISTS ONLY. Discussion of films, questions about the challenge, etc., should be directed to the Discussion Thread. You are; however, encouraged to provide reviews and comments within your list.

Challenge Rules: Watch current or past media from the Criterion Collection. See the Discussion Thread for complete details of what counts this year as we've expanded to Criterion's entire Hulu Plus catalog.

There is no number goal, no prizes, no winners, no losers. Counting is not necessary, but feel free to format your lists any way you want, including counting titles or even minutes if you are so inclined.

Many people put their checklists in spoiler tags, to allow easier browsing of the list thread by others.

Also, if you are planning to reveal key plots points/endings in your mini reviews, you should put them in spoiler tags. To apply spoiler tags, you can click the spoiler button on the toolbar or use the text below:

[ spoiler] Remove the spaces to really hide something, like this
Spoiler:
The Criterion Collection is a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films on home video.
[ /spoiler]

The challenge officially begins September 1, 2011 at midnight of whatever time zone you are in at the time, and ends on October 1st, 2011 at dawn.

Last edited by CardiffGiant; 08-24-11 at 01:49 AM.
Old 08-22-11, 07:00 PM
  #2  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
CardiffGiant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 755
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

Optional Checklist


The checklist is completely optional. It is just a "fun" inclusion to give one a sense of accomplishment, to help one diversify viewing, or to use as a guide on what to watch next.

Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 - (insert film title here)
--- 1940 - (insert film title here)
--- 1950 - (insert film title here)
--- 1960 - (insert film title here)
--- 1970 - (insert film title here)
--- 1980 - (insert film title here)
--- 1990 - (insert film title here)
--- 2000 -(insert film title here)
--- 2010 - (optional), (insert film title here)

Watch films in at least five languages.
--- First language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Second language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Third language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fourth language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fifth language, (insert language), (insert title).

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
--- First director, (insert director), (insert title)
--- Second director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Third director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Fourth director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Fifth director, (insert director),(insert title)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

--- First theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Second theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Third theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Fourth theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Fifth theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)

Watch something from spine number range:
--- 001-050 -
--- 051-100 -
--- 101-150 -
--- 151-200 -
--- 201-250 -
--- 251-300 -
--- 301-350 -
--- 351-400 -
--- 401-450 -
--- 451-500 -
--- 500-550 –
--- 551-600 -
--- an Eclipse title -
--- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion (laserdisc or hulu offering, any format acceptable) -

--- Watch a film which won an Academy Award -
--- Watch a film with commentary –
--- Read an essay -
--- Watch a short -
--- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it (photo stills, essays, commentary, booklets, etc). -
--- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set -

(One item can fill multiple items. Example: Fanny & Alexander could qualify for a decade, language, spine number range, theme (Blue Christmases), director, Academy Award, commentary, essay, entire set, and possibly short.)

(Change "---" to "-X-" or some similar mark when you have completed that line item.)

Linkifications

Criterion.com
Twitter - @Criterion
Flickchart - The Best Criterion Collection Films
Flickchart: The Blog - Criterion Commentaries
ICheckMovies.com - The Criterion Collection

Last edited by CardiffGiant; 08-24-11 at 04:44 PM.
Old 08-22-11, 07:00 PM
  #3  
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
CardiffGiant's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 755
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread



1. Rashomon (1950): This is my second viewing of Rashomon and I came into it knowing the story (ha!) fairly well. This time, I was able to focus on the mise-en-scene. Kurosawa talks in his essay about being inspired by silent film and wanting the forest to seem to consume the woodcutter. This is certainly achieved early in the film and it sets the tone for our ultimate trust of the stories until, of course, those start to unravel. I've found very little in the way of analysis on the final scene with the woodcutter:
Spoiler:
There's a look on his face that could represent that he is stealing the child. Ultimately, I think we are left deciding if we live like the priest and "believe again in human nature" or if we are more like the passerby and know that people are essentially hostile towards one another. What you think the woodcutter's intentions are at the conclusion probably have a good deal to say about yourself. For me, I'm not so sure either way, and I think that's the beauty of the film.

Supplemental Material:

a. I read the Stephen Prince and Akira Kurosawa essays in the booklet that I have (this is a disc I own). Both are essential companion pieces.

b. I read "Rashomon" and "In a Grove." These two short stories are included in the booklet and inspired the film in different ways. You can see some of the language in each is reused and the film follows "In a Grove" quite well (not that it's a requirement for a successful adaptation). "In a Grove" works well as a short story, but perhaps only because the film is so vivid in my mind. I think Kurosawa takes a good story and turns it into a great film.

c. I listened to the commentary track. It's one of the better ones that I've listened to; not because it reveals so much greatness or is hilarious (it's neither of those), but because I feel like I'm having a conversation with the presenter. He walks us through the film, but he takes time to tell necessary stories about production. Really a good balance and a lot of things to ponder after viewing the film.

d. I watched the Altman introduction to the film. It was interesting to hear his take on the influences that Kurosawa had for himself and for other filmmakers during the time. Specifically, Altman says that seeing Kurosawa film the sun made him go out on a swing and film the sun as well.

e. I also watched the "Excerpts from The World of Kazuo Miyagawa, a documentary film about Rashomon’s cinematographer" and it was awesome to see that Miyagawa still had the sign that says Rashomon from the opening sequence of the film. Awesome conversation piece. Seeing how they filmed the first woodcutter's story was worth the price of admission alone. Truly great cinematography.

f. Watched the trailer. A joke. No other way to explain it. Why is there a snake? Why is there a cat? Why are there all of these scenes that have nothing to do with the film. So glad that Criterion included it because it was laughable. If you watched that trailer in 1951, and then went and saw Rashomon because it looked like a good film, you experienced a massive letdown.


2. Easy Rider (1969): This is my second viewing of this film as well and it's been a good 10-12 years since I last watched it. The most amazing thing for me was that I could still remember shots that were coming up and songs that were on the horizon. The film has so much confidence in what it is. American films are rarely made like this anymore. I may not love every scene of the film, but it gives us such a great vision of the American landscape that it's hard to ignore. Great performances all around.

a. I watched the documentary titled, "Born to Be Wild." While the transitions and on-screen text show it's age (mid-90s), the information and debates still raging about the film were informative. I haven't checked out the other materials, yet, but this was a worthwhile viewing for anyone with more interest in production, development, and writing of the film.

3. Mala Noche (1985): First time viewing. I think the film itself (technique and story) got better as it moved along, but I was interested to read so much about this as a Portland film. Maybe I'm the only one to view it this way, but I didn't feel that I knew Portland when the film was over. To me, this could have been any other American city.

4. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1985): First time viewing.

Spoiler:
Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 -
--- 1940 -
-X- 1950 - Rashomon (1950)
-X- 1960 - Easy Rider (1969)
-X- 1970 - Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
-X- 1980 - Mala Noche (1985)
--- 1990 -
--- 2000 -

Watch films in at least five languages.
-X- First language, Japanese, Rashomon (1950).
-X- Second language, English, Easy Rider (1969).
--- Third language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fourth language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fifth language, (insert language), (insert title).

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
-X- Akira Kurosawa, Rashomon
--- Second Director, (insert title)
--- Third Director, (insert title)
--- Fourth Director, (insert title)
--- Fifth Director, (insert title)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

-X- Samurai Cinema: Rashomon (1950)
-X- America, America/Great Soundtracks: Easy Rider (1969)
-X- First Films, Mala Noche (1985)
--- Fourth Theme name, (insert title)
--- Fifth Theme name, (insert title)

Watch something from spine number range:
-X- 001-050 - Picnic at Hanging Rock (#29)
--- 051-100 -
-X- 101-150 - Rashomon (#138)
--- 151-200 -
--- 201-250 -
--- 251-300 -
--- 301-350 -
--- 351-400 -
-X- 401-450 - Mala Noche (#407)
--- 451-500 -
-X- 500-550 – Easy Rider (#545)
--- 551-600 -
--- an Eclipse title -
--- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion -

-X- Watch a film which won an Academy Award - Rashomon (1950)
-X- Watch a film with commentary – Rashomon (1950)
-X- Read an Essay - Stephen Prince/Akira Kurosawa on Rashomon
--- Watch a short -
-X- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it. - Rashomon (1950)
--- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set -



Last edited by CardiffGiant; 10-01-11 at 01:19 AM.
Old 08-22-11, 07:08 PM
  #4  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Chad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Somewhere Hot Scoville Units: 9,999,999 Zodiac Sign: Capricorn
Posts: 12,258
Received 811 Likes on 316 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread





= First Time Viewing
BD = Blu-ray
NWI = Netflix Watch Instantly
PDD = Public Domain Download
TCM = Turner Classic Movies
HD = HD DVD
RC = Roku Channel
OV = Online Viewing
No Symbol = DVD


Other films viewed during the month:
Spoiler:
The Good, The Bad, The Weird (2008)


Friday, September 2nd
1. The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
_____________________________________________



Last edited by Chad; 09-04-11 at 07:28 PM.
Old 08-22-11, 07:16 PM
  #5  
DVD Talk Limited Edition
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Raleighwood
Posts: 6,643
Likes: 0
Received 3 Likes on 3 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

Old 08-22-11, 07:23 PM
  #6  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
The Man with the Golden Doujinshi's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Mister Peepers
Posts: 7,882
Likes: 0
Received 5 Likes on 5 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

1. Taste of Cherry
2. For All Mankind
3. Vagabond
4. And God Created Woman
5. The Element of Crime
6. The Harder They Come
7. Fishing With John
8. Ivan The Terrible Part II
9. The Horse's Mouth
10. Ratcatcher
11. Down By Law
12. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
13. I Am Curious (Yellow)
14. I Am Curious (Blue)
15. Les dames du Bois de Boulogne
16. Stolen Kisses
17. Carlos
18. Double Suicide
19. Bed and Board
20. Love on the Run
21. Winter Light
22. The Silence
23. Tunes of Glory
24. El Norte
25. House

Spoiler:

Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 - (insert film title here)
-X- 1940 - Les dames du Bois de Boulogne
-X- 1950 - And God Created Woman
-X- 1960 - I Am Curious (Yellow)
-X- 1970 - The Harder They Come
-X- 1980 - For All Mankind
-X- 1990 - Taste of Cherry
--- 2000 -(insert film title here)
-X- 2010 - Carlos

Watch films in at least five languages.
-X- Persian - Taste of Cherry
-X- English - For All Mankind
-X- French - Vagabond
-X- Russian - Ivan the Terrible Part II
-X- German - The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
-X- First director,Bergman, Winter Light
--- Second director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Third director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Fourth director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Fifth director, (insert director),(insert title)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

-X- Cannes’s Big Winners - Taste of Cherry
-X- Documentaries - For All Mankind
-X- Independent American Cinema - For All Mankind
-X- Cult - And God Created Woman
-X- First Films - And God Created Woman

Watch something from spine number range:
-X- 001-050 - Taste of Cherry
-X- 051-100 - For All Mankind
--- 101-150 -
-X- 151-200 - The Horse's Mouth
-X- 201-250 - Winter Light
--- 251-300 -
--- 301-350 -
--- 351-400 -
--- 401-450 -
-X- 451-500 - El Norte
-X- 500-550 – House
-X- 551-600 - Carlos
--- an Eclipse title -
--- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion (laserdisc or hulu offering, any format acceptable) -

--- Watch a film which won an Academy Award -
--- Watch a film with commentary –
--- Read an essay -
--- Watch a short -
--- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it (photo stills, essays, commentary, booklets, etc). -
-X- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set - I Am Curious . . .



Last edited by The Man with the Golden Doujinshi; 10-01-11 at 09:41 AM.
Old 08-22-11, 07:44 PM
  #7  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Ash Ketchum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 12,617
Received 275 Likes on 210 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

Ash Ketchum’s Criterion Challenge September 2011


From Zatoichi to Akira (Kurosawa)


Sept. 1, 2011
1. THE BANK DICK (1940/U.S., 72 min., b&w, comedy/Universal) VHS.
Dir.: Edward Cline. Star: W.C. Fields.
I needed some laughs so I decided to start with a comedy. And they don’t get much funnier than this.

Sept. 2, 2011
2. THE TALE OF ZATOICHI (1962/Japan, 96 min., b&w, samurai drama/Daiei)
DVD (#1 in the HVE Zatoichi series) In Japanese with English subs.
Dir.: Kenji Misumi. Star: Shintaro Katsu. The first Zatoichi film—and it’s in b&w. The blacks are very black on this DVD and since 80% of the film takes place at night, it means we can hardly see anything. The first fight scene comes 51 minutes in and we can only hear it because the image is pitch-black. I strongly doubt that this was what the theatrical print looked like.

Sept. 3, 2011
3. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1940/England-U.S., 106 min., color, Arabian Nights fantasy/UA) VHS.
Directors: Michael Powell, Tim Whelan, Ludwig Berger. Prod.: Alexander Korda. Stars: Sabu, Conrad Veidt, June Duprez. Timeless Technicolor fantasy with an engaging Sabu, beautiful sets, locations and cinematography, imaginative effects and a lush, wall-to-wall score by Miklos Rozsa.

Sept. 4, 2011
4. I AM WAITING (1957/Japan, 91 min., b&w, drama) DVD, part of the Nikkatsu Noir Eclipse set. In Japanese with English subs.
Dir.: Koreyoshi Kurehara. Stars: Yujiro Ishihara, Mie Kitahara. Ex-boxer takes up with nightclub singer who’s on the run from the mob. Well, not quite as exciting as that sounds, but it’s still very much a Japanese take on a typical film noir plot. And quite enjoyable in its own way.

5. EARLY SPRING (1956/Japan, 145 min., b&w, drama) DVD, part of the Late Ozu Eclipse set. In Japanese with English subs.
Dir.: Yasujiro Ozu. Stars: Ryo Ikebe, Chikage Awashima. Marital drama from one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. A married salaryman has a fling with a needy, if very cute, co-worker and then has to suffer his wife’s wrath. At least a dozen supporting characters pop up to put their two cents in, which is why the running time is so long for this kind of story. Despite the title, it takes place entirely in the summer.

Sept. 5, 2011
6. ZATOICHI CHALLENGED (1967/Japan, 86 min., color, widescreen, samurai adventure)
DVD (#17 in the HVE Zatoichi series) In Japanese with English subtitles.
Dir.: Kenji Misumi. Star: Shintaro Katsu. Zatoichi has to take a small boy to find his absent father, who turns out to be an artist of “forbidden pictures” forced to work for a corrupt town boss. Beautifully shot and staged. I have something like 18 Zatoichi films in my collection and every time I see one, I want to get all the rest in the series.

Sept. 6, 2011
7. FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998/U.S., 118 min., color, psychedelic comedy) VHS
Dir.: Terry Gilliam. Stars: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro. Based on the book by Hunter S. Thompson.
I read the book years ago and found Thompson's drug-fueled antics with his attorney in Las Vegas fun to read about. Watching a dramatization of these antics decades later is not so much fun. Why was this movie made during the Clinton Administration and not 25 years earlier when it would have been relevant? As movies about Thompson go, WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM (1980) was much, much better.

Sept. 7, 2011
8. I MARRIED A WITCH (1942/U.S., 76 min., b&w, supernatural comedy) VHS.
Dir.: Rene Clair. Stars: Frederic March, Veronica Lake. Based on a book by Thorne Smith. I’ve always enjoyed this comedy, but seeing it now for the first time in two decades or so, I found Veronica Lake, as the title witch, more awesome than ever, but Frederic March was pretty tiresome. It definitely needed a younger, more exciting male lead. This was the inspiration for TV’s “Bewitched,” which came 22 years later.

Sept. 8, 2011
9. TAKE AIM AT THE POLICE VAN (1960/Japan, 79 min., b&w, crime drama) DVD, part of the Nikkatsu Noir Eclipse set. In Japanese with English subs.
Dir.: Seijun Suzuki. Star: Michitaro Mizushima. Suzuki’s unconventional approach to a routine crime story serves to distance me rather than engage me. I’ve seen three other Suzuki films, but the only one I found even moderately interesting was TOKYO DRIFTER. I’ll take Kinji Fukasaku anyday over Suzuki. Too bad no Fukasaku films are eligible for this challenge.

Sept. 10, 2011
10. RUSTY KNIFE (1958/Japan, 90 min., b&w, crime drama) DVD, part of the Nikkatsu Noir Eclipse set. In Japanese with English subs.
Dir.: Toshio Masuda. Star: Yujiro Ishihara. Written by Shintaro Ishihara. Another noir-ish crime drama, like I AM WAITING, from the pen of the current Governor of Tokyo and starring his brother. An ex-con gets caught between the police and a local crime boss that the ex-con can testify against. Set in an industrial town called Udaka City. Contrived plotting and a slow pace keeps this from being a classic, but it very much recalls Hollywood noir of a decade earlier.

Sept. 11, 2011
11. NIGHT AND THE CITY (1950/U.S., 95 min., b&w, film noir/drama, 20th Century Fox) VHS.
Dir.: Jules Dassin. Stars: Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney. Overwrought melodrama about a small-time American grifter in London who tries to break into wrestling promotion and gets in over his head. For a character like this pathetic loser to engage me, there has to be some wit or charm in play, but Widmark’s too desperate and I lost interest pretty quickly. Couldn't wait for him to get what's coming to him, which made 95 minutes seem very long indeed.

Sept. 13, 2011
12. CRUEL GUN STORY (1964/Japan, 87 min., b&w, crime drama, Nikkatsu) DVD, part of the Nikkatsu Noir Eclipse set. In Japanese with English subs.
Dir.: Takumi Furukawa. Star: Joe Shishido. Lean, mean, down and dirty, just the way I like them. Racetrack/armored car robbery: recruiting, planning, execution and aftermath—the whole shebang in one tidy package. Lots of action, too. This and I AM WAITING are the standouts in the Nikkatsu Noir set.

Sept. 15, 2011
13. THE KILLING (1956/U.S., 83 min., b&w, crime drama, UA) VHS
Dir.: Stanley Kubrick. Star: Sterling Hayden. Dialogue by Jim Thompson. One of the best caper movies ever made. What really struck me this time were the scenes between Elisha Cook, as the cuckolded husband, and Marie Windsor as his two-timing, money-grubbing wife. They're so beautifully acted and played that they elevate the movie to a work of art, rather than just a well-crafted genre piece. They're the only characters given any extended characterization.


Sept. 16, 2011
14. F FOR FAKE (1973/France-Germany, 88 min., color, documentary) VHS (Home Vision)
Dir.: Orson Welles. Wellesian fluff—but even fluff by Welles is enjoyable. I’ve read the book, “Fake,” by Clifford Irving, which is about art forger Elmyr de Hory, both of whom figure prominently in this film, so I went in prepared. And I’ve seen the film four times now. But I still don’t get its point. However, that doesn’t make it any less entertaining.

Sept. 17, 2011
15. KISS ME DEADLY (1955/U.S., 105 min., b&w, crime drama, UA) VHS.
Dir.: Robert Aldrich. Star: Ralph Meeker. Based on the novel by Mickey Spillane. Aldrich completely subverts Spillane’s unabashedly sexist and racist Mike Hammer novel and turns it into an anti-McCarthyist critique of the Hammer machismo. The private eye, once the lone knight of the “mean streets,” has now been dwarfed by forces unleashed by the atomic age. Sharp, mesmerizing and brutal.

16. NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH (1940/England, 93 min., b&w, spy thriller) VHS.
Dir.: Carol Reed. Stars: Rex Harrison, Margaret Lockwood. Harrison is an unlikely British agent who improbably impersonates a Nazi officer to get a Czech scientist and his daughter out of Germany. More humor than action and far less suspense than we need in a film like this. There’s a good finale, though, involving those mountain-traveling cable car/tram things that looks forward to WHERE EAGLES DARE. A pre-CASABLANCA Paul Henreid plays a Gestapo officer.

17. THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE (1973/U.S., 102 min., color, crime drama, Paramount) VHS.
Dir.: Peter Yates. Star: Robert Mitchum. From the novel by George V. Higgins. Although there are two bank robberies, this isn’t a caper film or an action film. It’s a morality tale charting the intertwining maneuvers of assorted Boston career criminals and how the Feds manipulate them into various betrayals. While we feel some sympathy for Mitchum, as Eddie Coyle, he’s really not a good guy, nor is anybody else in the film. Spare and clipped, like the novel it’s based on, which I highly recommend also.

Sept. 18, 2011
18. LE PLAISIR (1952/France, 97 min., b&w, drama) VHS (in French with English subtitles, with English narration)
Dir.: Max Ophuls. All-star French cast. Even though it’s in French with English subs., the U.S. release version included narration in English provided by Peter Ustinov—with a French accent! Even though the director was German, this film, based on three stories by Guy de Maupassant, is the Frenchest film I’ve ever seen. The reason to watch any Ophuls film, though, is the movement of the camera, which goes through all doors, up floors, through room after room after room and sometimes out the window!

19. A COLT IS MY PASSPORT (1967/Japan, 85 min., b&w, crime drama) ) DVD, part of the Nikkatsu Noir Eclipse set. In Japanese with English subs.
Dir.: Takashi Nomura. Star: Joe Shishido. A hitman kills a rival boss, but then his own boss makes peace with the rival’s son, launching a pursuit of the hitman that culminates first on the Yokohama waterfront and then on a sprawling desert-like landfill. The first 75 minutes are taut, suspenseful and plausible. But then it gets really contrived in the Spaghetti western-like shootout finale. I've now completed the five-film Nikkatsu Noir set.

Sept. 23, 2011
20. REBECCA (1940/U.S., 130 min., b&w, gothic drama/Selznick-UA) VHS
Dir.: Alfred Hitchcock. Stars: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine. Based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier. Sweeping gothic romance about a new bride living in the shadow of her husband’s late first wife is just a beautifully made drama with elements of suspense and it won Best Picture of 1940. It was Hitchcock’s first American film and the cast is virtually all British.

21. THE RAZOR: SWORD OF JUSTICE (1972/Japan, 90 min., color, historical drama) VHS (in Japanese with English subtitles)
Dir.: Kenji Misumi. Star: Shintaro Katsu. Katsu (star of the Zatoichi series) plays a no-nonsense investigator in 19th-century Edo (Tokyo) who uses his “sword of justice” (hint, hint) on female suspects in sessions that give new meaning to the term, “enhanced interrogation.” Forgive me if I prefer the Zatoichi and Lone Wolf and Cub films.

Sept. 24, 2011
22. MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS (1985/U.S.-Japan, 120 min., color and b&w, drama-biopic/Warner Bros.) DVD (in Japanese with English subtitles)
Dir.: Paul Schrader. Star: Ken Ogata. Biopic of Japanese author Yukio Mishima (1925-1970). I just started reading Mishima (finished one novel and am in the middle of another) and I find him to be a superb writer. He’s not a particularly compelling figure in the movie, though. Its stylized dramatizations of scenes from his novels just didn’t work for me. And the actor playing Mishima is all wrong. A huge disappointment.

Sept. 29, 2011
23. THE X FROM OUTER SPACE (1967/Japan, 88 min., color, giant monster sci-fi/Shochiku) VHS (dubbed in English)
Dir: Kazui Nihonmatsu. Stars: Eiji Okada, Peggy Neal. Easily the worst Japanese kaiju movie I’ve ever seen. Makes the worst Godzilla movie look like the best Godzilla movie. I couldn’t even begin to describe the plot. At least the second half has lots of (unconvincing) destruction of miniature sets by a guy in a rubber reptile chicken suit. How did this become a Criterion title?

Sept. 30, 2011
24. HOOP DREAMS (1994/U.S., 171 min., color, documentary) DVD (Criterion Collection)
Dir.: Steve James. Epic documentary about two poor black high school students in Chicago with great promise as basketball players and it follows them through their high school years through various triumphs, failures and obstacles. Sad and depressing, but what a document of the pressures on these kids and the utter failure of the educational system. It really broke my heart.

25. THE MEN WHO TREAD ON THE TIGER’S TAIL (1945/Japan, 59 min., b&w, historical drama/Toho) DVD (Eclipse Series 23: The First Films of Akira Kurosawa)
Dir.: Akira Kurosawa. Stars: Denjiro Ookouchi, Susumu Fujita, Kenichi Enomoto. An odd but still compelling piece made during the final days of the war about a famous 12th Century incident in which Lord Yoshitsune had to flee to a neutral province with six retainers disguised as monks. Shot mostly in the studio. Banned in Japan, because of a bureaucratic dispute, until 1952. I had to pick the shortest Kurosawa I could find to fit in at the very end of the challenge.

Last edited by Ash Ketchum; 10-04-11 at 03:29 PM.
Old 08-22-11, 07:48 PM
  #8  
DVD Talk Limited Edition
 
Dimension X's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2002
Location: The unknown world of the future
Posts: 5,523
Received 461 Likes on 275 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

'09 List
'10 list


Not one of my busy Challenges, but I'm in again for a fewcouple.


9/28/11

Tokyo Drifter (1966) - Spine #39 - Watched feature and Seijun Suzuki interview.

9/30/11

Branded to Kill (1967) - Spine #38 - Watched feature and Seijun Suzuki interview and looked at Joe Shishido poster gallery.

Last edited by Dimension X; 09-30-11 at 08:49 PM.
Old 08-22-11, 08:03 PM
  #9  
DVD Talk Godfather
 
davidh777's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Home of 2013 NFL champion Seahawks
Posts: 52,462
Received 987 Likes on 818 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread



*First-time viewification

September 3:

1. Straw Dogs (1971), spine 182*: I knew the premise years ago and got a little impatient waiting for them to get there, and things developed a little differently from how I imagined they would, but it was a very interesting film that delivered.

September 4:

2. The Rock (1996), spine 108: Still an enjoyable popcorn flick

September 10:

3. Blow-Out (1981), spine 562*

September 11:

4. The Silence of the Lambs (1990), spine 13

September 23:

5. Broadcast News (1987), spine 552: I really enjoyed it back in the day and am enjoying now. Was too cheap to spring for the BD so am watching Qwikster's crappy non-anamorphic DVD. As noted earlier, an interesting period study of media, fun dialogue, and great cast. I got very smitten with Holly Hunter at the time, and Joan Cusack was way young.

Checklist spoilerified:

Spoiler:
Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 -
--- 1940 -
--- 1950 -
--- 1960 -
--- 1970 - Straw Dogs (1971)
--- 1980 - Blow-Out (1981)
--- 1990 - The Rock (1996)
--- 2000 -

Watch films in at least five languages.
--- First language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Second language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Third language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fourth language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fifth language, (insert language), (insert title).

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
--- First Director, (insert title)
--- Second Director, (insert title)
--- Third Director, (insert title)
--- Fourth Director, (insert title)
--- Fifth Director, (insert title)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

--- First Theme name, (insert title)
--- Second Theme name, (insert title)
--- Third Theme name, (insert title)
--- Fourth Theme name, (insert title)
--- Fifth Theme name, (insert title)

Watch something from spine number range:
--- 001-050 - The Silence of the Lambs (1990), spine 13
--- 051-100 -
--- 101-150 - The Rock (1996), spine 108
--- 151-200 - Straw Dogs (1971), spine 182
--- 201-250 -
--- 251-300 -
--- 301-350 -
--- 351-400 -
--- 401-450 -
--- 451-500 -
--- 500-550 –
--- 551-600 - Blow-Out (1981), spine 562*
--- an Eclipse title -
--- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion -

--- Watch a film which won an Academy Award -
--- Watch a film with commentary –
--- Read an Essay -
--- Watch a short -
--- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it. -
--- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set -

(One film could fill multiple items. Example: Fanny & Alexander would qualify for a decade, language, spine number range, theme (Blue Christmases), Academy Award, and possibly more.)

Last edited by davidh777; 09-24-11 at 08:44 AM.
Old 08-22-11, 08:06 PM
  #10  
Challenge Guru & Comic Nerd
 
Trevor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: spiritually, Minnesota
Posts: 36,866
Received 670 Likes on 448 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

Alphabet Game
Spoiler:

A - A Kid for Two Farthings (1955) - English, Reed, Hulu - Hulu streaming at home -
B - The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) - Spanish, Erice, #351 - Hulu streaming at work -
C - W.C. Fields - Six Short Films (2000) - English, Brice/Middleton/Ripley/Bruckman/Pearce, #79 - DVD at home -
D - Umberto D. (1952) - Italian, De Sica, #201 - Hulu streaming at home -
E -
F - F for Fake (1973) - English/French/Spanish, Welles, #288 -
G -
H - Visions in Meditation #4: D.H. Lawrence (1990) - Silent, Brakhage, #
I - I Married a Witch (1942) - English, Clair, Hulu -
J - Three MCs and One DJ (1999) - English, Hornblower, #100 - youtube at home -
K -
L - L'Argent (1983) - French, Bresson, Hulu - Hulu streaming at home -
M - M (1931) - German, Lang, #30 - Blu-ray at home -
N -
O -
P -
Q - Q Planes (1939) - English, Whelan/Woods, Hulu - Hulu streaming at work -
R - WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971) - English/Serbian/Russian/German, Makavejev, #389 - DVD at home -
S -
T -
U -
V -
W - WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971) - English/Serbian/Russian/German, Makavejev, #389 - DVD at home -
X - The X From Outer Space (1967) - Japanese, Nihonmatsu, Hulu - Hulu streaming at home -
Y -
Z - Z (19) - DVD at home -


Eye Myth (1967) - Silent, Brakhage, #518 - Youtube at home - Criterion animation in the By Brakhage set.

Rage Net (1988) - Silent, Brakhage, #518 - Youtube at home - Criterion animation in the By Brakhage set.

The Garden of Earthly Delights (1981)- Silent, Brakhage, #518 - Youtube at home - Criterion animation in the By Brakhage set.

Bluebeard (1936) - French, Painleve, #468 - DVD at home - Criterion animation from the Science is Fiction set.

The Ruling Class (1972) - English, Medak, #132 - DVD at home - Completely consumed all the special features and text.

Cronos (1993) - Spanish, del Toro, #551 - Blu-ray at home -

Bigger Than Life (1956) - English, Ray, #507 - Blu-ray at home -

The Ascent (1977) - Russian, Shepitko, Eclipse - DVD at home - One of the best movies I've seen in a long time.

Wings (1966) - Russian, Shepitko, Eclipse - DVD at home -

Shoot the Piano Player (1960) - French, Truffaut, #315 - DVD at home -

Straw Dogs (1971) - English, Peckinpah, #182 - DVD at home w/ Lyle -

My Dinner With Andre (1981) - English, Malle, #479 - DVD at home -

Through a Glass Darkly (1961) - Swedish, Bergman, #209 - DVD at home - Fantastic.

Life During Wartime (2010) - English, Solondz, #574 - - Amazon Instant Video at home -

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) - English, Gilliam, #175 - DVD at home -

The Lower Depths (1936) - French, Renoir, #239 - DVD at home -

The Lower Depths (1957) - Japanese, Kurosawa, #239 - DVD at home -

Underworld (1927) - Silent, von Sternberg, #529 - DVD at home -

The Red Balloon (1956) - French, Lamorisse, unnumbered - DVD at home -

Variety Lights (1950) - French, Fellini/Lattuada, Essential Art House - DVD at home -

An Autumn Afternoon (1962) - Japanese, Ozu, #446 - Hulu at home -

Pierrot le fou (1965) - French, Godard, #421 -

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) - DVD at home -

House

Cat People

Checklist spoilered.
Spoiler:
Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
-X- 1910 - Pool Sharks (1915)
-X- 1920 - (multiple)
-X- 1930 - (multiple)
-X- 1940 - (multiple)
-X- 1950 - (multiple)
-X- 1960 - (multiple)
-X- 1970 - (insert film title here)
-X- 1980 - (insert film title here)
-X- 1990 - (multiple)
-X- 2000 -(The Royal Tenenbaums)
-X- 2010 - (optional), (Life During Wartime)

Watch films in at least five languages.
-X- First language, (German), (M).
-X- Second language, (Spanish), (The Spirit of the Beehive).
-X- Third language, (Japanese), (Sing a Song of Sex).
-X- Fourth language, (Swedish), (Through A Glass Darkly).
-X- Fifth language, (English), (multiple).
-X- Sixth language, (French), ( ).
-X- Seventh language, (Italian), ( ).
-X- Eighth language, (Russian), ( ).

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
-X- First director, (Truffaut), (Shoot the Piano Player)
-X- Second director, (Bergman),(Through A Glass Darkly)
-X- Third director, (Renoir),(The Lower Depths)
-X- Fourth director, (Kurosawa),(The Lower Depths)
-X- Fifth director, (Malle),(My Dinner With Andre)
-X- Sixth director, (Ozu),()
-X- Seventh director, (Fellini),(Variety Lights)
-X- Eighth director, (Godard),()

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

-X- First theme name, (Comedies), (The Ruling Class)
-X- Second theme name, (Cult Movies), (Cronos)
-X- Third theme name, (First Films), (multiple)
-X- Fourth theme name, (Growing Pains), (The Spirit of the Beehive)
-X- Fifth theme name, (Italian Neorealism), (Umberto D.)
-X- Sixth theme name, (Japanese New Wave), (Sing a Song of Sex)
-X- Seventh theme name, (Compare and Contrast), (The Lower Depths)
-X- Eighth theme name, (Dysfunctional Families), (Bigger Than Life)
-X- Ninth theme name, (Documentaries), (F for Fake)
-X- Tenth theme name, (Animals!), ( )
-X- Eleventh theme name, (Amour Fou), ( )
-X- Twelfth theme name, (Avant-Garde), (multiple)
-X- Thirteenth theme name, (America, America), (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas)
-X- Fourteenth theme name, (Faith on Film), (multiple)
-X- Fifteenth theme name, (Food on Film), (My Dinner With Andre)
-X- Sixteenth theme name, (French New Wave), ( )
-X- Seventeenth theme name, (Great Soundtracks), (multiple)
-X- Eighteenth theme name, (Independent American Cinema), (By Brakhage)
-X- Nineteenth theme name, (Little Something Extra), (multiple)
-X- Twentieth theme name, (Melodrama), (Bigger Than Life)
-X- Twenty-first theme name, (New American Cinema), (Straw Dogs)
-X- Twenty-second theme name, (New York Stories), (My Dinner With Andre)
-X- Twenty-third theme name, (Noir and Neonoir), (Shoot the Piano Player)
-X- Twenty-fourth theme name, (Originals), (M)
-X- Twenty-fifth theme name, (Oscar Winners), (multiple)
-X- Twenty-sixth theme name, (Poetic Realism), (The Lower Depths)
-X- Twenty-seventh theme name, (Scary Movies), (multiple)
-X- Twenty-eighth theme name, (Silent Cinema), (Underworld)
-X- Twenty-ninth theme name, (Stage to Screen), (multiple)
-X- Thirty-first theme name, (Suspense), (M)
-X- Thirty-second theme name, (Tearjerkers), (multiple)
-X- Thirty-third theme name, (Technicolor), (Bigger Than Life)
-X- Thirty-fourth theme name, (Virtually Reality), (multiple)
-X- Thirty-fifth theme name, (War Films), (The Ascent)


Watch something from spine number range:
-X- 001-050 - 30, M
-X- 051-100 - 79, W.C. Fields - Six Short Films
-X- 101-150 - 132, The Ruling Class
-X- 151-200 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
-X- 201-250 - 201, Umberto D.
-X- 251-300 - 288, F For Fake
-X- 301-350 - 315, Shoot the Piano Player
-X- 351-400 - 351, The Spirit of the Beehive
-X- 401-450 - 421, Pierrot le fou
-X- 451-500 - My Dinner With Andre
-X- 500-550 – 507, Bigger Than Life
-X- 551-600 - 551, Cronos
-X- non-numbered - The Red Balloon
-X- Essential Arts Series Disc - Variety Lights
-X- an Eclipse title - multiple
-X- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion ( hulu offering, any format acceptable) - Q Planes
-X- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion (laserdisc, any format acceptable) - Cat People
-X- Watch a film which won an Academy Award - multiple
-X- Watch a film with commentary – The Ruling Class
-X- Read an essay - multiple
-X- Watch a short - multiple
-X- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it (photo stills, essays, commentary, booklets, etc). - multiple
-X- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set - Eclipse Series 11: Larisa Shepitko

(One item can fill multiple items. Example: Fanny & Alexander could qualify for a decade, language, spine number range, theme (Blue Christmases), director, Academy Award, commentary, essay, entire set, and possibly short.)

(Change "---" to "-X-" or some similar mark when you have completed that line item.)

Linkifications

Criterion.com
Twitter - @Criterion
Flickchart - The Best Criterion Collection Films
Flickchart: The Blog - Criterion Commentaries
ICheckMovies.com - The Criterion Collection

Last edited by Trevor; 10-01-11 at 07:23 AM.
Old 08-22-11, 08:45 PM
  #11  
DVD Talk Gold Edition
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,290
Received 208 Likes on 130 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

Green Font=First Time Viewing
T=Television
H=Hulu
N=Netflix Streaming
D=DVD
B=Blu-ray

September 1
1. The Scarlet Empress (1934) --T--Not so much a movie as it is a shrine to the angles of Marlene Dietrich's face, The Scarlet Empress does not hold back on excess.
2. The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)--H--Laughton really brings Henry VIII to life in this Oscar-winning biopic of the Tudor monarch, in a performance that rivals Keith Michell's in the BBC TV series 40 years later.

September 2
3. The River--T. Phenomenally beautiful film, although I was more interested in the Technicolor scenes of rural life in India before everyone started working in customer support than I was in the story.
4. Help--D--Perhaps it's heretical, but I prefer Help over A Hard Day's Night.

September 3
5. Throne of Blood--D--Perhaps the eeriest adaptation of Macbeth ever filmed.

September 4
6. The Threepenny Opera--D--Terrific film with a theme of banking as just another form of crime is as relevant today as it was in 1931.

September 5
7. This is Spinal Tap--D--This movie goes to 11.

September 6
8. Orpheus--H--What an amazing, haunting, beautiful film! Filmmakers seem to see themselves in the myth of Orpheus, and so there seem to be more film versions of that myth than any other. And Jean Marais was one extraordinarily gorgeous man!
9. My Dinner with Andre--D--I always find something new when I watch this.

September 7
10. Hobson's Choice--T--Laughton is great, but over all the film didn't reach me.

September 8
11. The Last Wave--T--appropriate viewing, given the torrential rains the DC area has been getting this week.
12. Seance on a Wet Afternoon---H--continuing a theme and to complete the checklist (Title not released on DVD by Criterion)

September 9
13. The Naked City--N=Netflix Streaming--An OK police procedural whose most interesting aspect is its snapshot of NYC in the late 40s. As I watched it, I would pull up Google Earth street views of locations in the movie to see how much had changed in 63 years.
14. Late Chrysanthemums--H- I'm just discovering Mikio Naruse's films, and I really enjoyed this story of a hard-hearted ex-geisha turned landlady in post-war Japan.

September 11
15. Blow Out--T--I haven't watched Blow Out since I saw it in the theater during its initial release 30 years ago. DePalma has predicated his career on ripping off Hitchcock's style, and this is a prime example. It's definitely an entertaining movie, but you can see the welds where DePalma assembled this from Hitchcock motifs.

September 12
16. Kind Hearts and Coronets--D--in an age of fart jokes and Friedman and Seltzer catering to the LCD, watching this sly, erudite comedy is like sipping vintage champagne. One of my all-time favorites. Glad I bought it before it went OOP.

September 13
17. Ace in the Hole--D--I can see why this film bombed on its 1951 release; Americans just can't withstand a deep look into the rotten core of our national character. Brilliant, bitter and dark.
18. Blood Wedding--D--another Criterion set I'm glad I bought before Studio Canal stole it away from Criterion. Carlos Saura's flamenco trilogy interested me in exploring Spain's theatrical heritage, which served me well on my trip to Barcelona last spring.

September 14
19. The Only Son--D--No other director can paint the colors of familial relationships like Ozu

September 15
20. Gimme Shelter--B--It's disturbing to think that the young kids grooving to the music and the 60s counterculture scene (when they weren't being clubbed by the Hells Angels) are the Republicans of today.

September 16
21. The Leopard--D--Masterful rendering of the Lampedusa novel featuring Burt Lancaster's magisterial performance as the nobleman unable to cope with a changing world, although the effect is lessened with the Italian dubbing.

September 17
22. The Third Shadow Warrior--H--Very striking chambara film that obviously inspired Kurosawa.

September 18
23. Annie Hall--D--Not my favorite Allen film, but worth watching if only for the Marshall McCluhan scene.

September 21
24. Hearts & Minds--D--Too heavy on the anti-war propaganda; H&M reveals raw emotions on all sides on the Vietnam War.
25. The Last Emperor--D--The beginning of the film set in the Forbidden City is fascinating, but the film loses steam once Pu Yi grows up and becomes a puppet of Japan.

September 22
26. Pink Flamingos--D--No longer shocking, more sort of adorable.

September 24
27. Trainspotting--D--The Miramax 2-disc is brilliant, but I'd love to have Criterion port over its laserdisc release to Blu-Ray.

September 25
28. Nights of Cabiria--N--Giulietta Masina absolutely shines in this film; I'm kicking myself for not buying the DVD when before it went OOP.

September 28
29. The Long Good Friday--D--One of the best crime films ever made.
30. The Passion of Joan of Arc--D--Desperately in need of a Blu upgrade. Maria Falconetti's performance makes this atheist tear up every. damn. time.

September 29
31. Peeping Tom--N--Quite far from the elegant, highbrow product one expects from The Archers, Peeping Tom is a wonderful bit of psychosexual nastiness that Hitchcock was probably kicking himself for not having made.
32. Touchez Pas au Grisbi---D--This is the film that turned me on to Jean Gabin, whose performance as Max, a gangster at middle age who just wants to rest, is one I identify with.
33. The Darjeeling Limited---D--Wes Anderson's films, more than those of any other director except maybe Woody Allen, have a unified look and feel that mark them as a single body of work. I liked this one better than Steve Zissou, but Rushmore is still Anderson's best film.
34. Carmen---D-- Probably the most "movie movie" film in the Saura box, Antonio Gades and Laura de Sol burn up the screen!

September 30
35. El Amor Brujo---D-- Probably the sexiest film in the series, although it looks more like a ballet recorded for film than a dance movie.
36. Cronos--N-- I remember being knocked out by Cronos when I first saw it at a private showing in a bar in Seoul, South Korea. Even then it was clear that this Del Toro kid was going places.

October 1
37. Hausu--B--Strange doesn't even begin to describe Hausu. Evil cats, killer pianos, it's like a candy-colored nightmare with the same illogic you find in bad dreams.


Spoiler:

Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
-X- 1920 - The Passion of Joan of Arc
-X- 1930 -The Scarlet Empress
-X- 1940 - Kind Hearts and Coronets
-X- 1950 - Orpheus
-X- 1960 - Seance on a Wet Afternoon
-X- 1970 - The Last Wave
-X- 1980 -Spinal Tap
-X- 1990 - Trainspotting
-X- 2000 - The Darjeeling Limited

Watch films in at least five languages.
-X- German, (The Threepenny Opera).
-X- French, (Orpheus).
-X- English, (My Dinner with Andre).
-X- Japanese, (Throne of Blood).
-X- Spanish, (Blood Wedding).

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
-X- Akira Kurosawa, (Throne of Blood)
-X- Jean Renoir, (The River)
-X- Louis Malle, (My Dinner with Andre)
-X- Yasujiro Ozu, (The Only Son)
-X- Michael Powell, (Peeping Tom)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

-X- Food on Film, (My Dinner with Andre)
-X- Great Performances, (Gimme Shelter)
-X- Noir and Neonoir, (The Long Good Friday)
-X- Originals, (Nights of Cabiria)
-X- Oscar Winners, (The Last Emperor)

Watch something from spine number range:
-X- 001-050 - #12 This is Spinal Tap
-X- 051-100 - #62 The Passion of Joan of Arc
-X- 101-150 - #109 The Scarlet Empress
-X- 151-200 - #190 Throne of Blood
-X- 201-250 - #235 The Leopard
-X- 251-300 - #276 The River
-X- 301-350 - #325 Kind Hearts and Coronets
-X- 351-400 - #380 The Naked City
-X- 401-450 - #476 The Threepenny Opera
-x- 451-500 - #479 My Dinner with Andre
-X- 500-550 – #525 The Only Son
-X- 551-600 - #562 Blow Out
-X- an Eclipse title -The Private Life of Henry VIII
-X- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion - Seance on a Wet Afternoon

-X- Watch a film which won an Academy Award -Hearts and Minds
-X- Watch a film with commentary – Gimme Shelter
-X- Read an Essay - The Naked City-New York Plays Itself
-X- Watch a short - Hotel Chevalier
-X- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it. -Gimme Shelter
—Audio commentary featuring directors Albert Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin and collaborator Stanley Goldstein
—Performances by the Rolling Stones at Madison Square Garden in 1969, including “Oh Carol” and “Prodigal Son," plus backstage outtakes and footage of the band mixing “Little Queenie"
—Audio excerpts from KSAN Radio’s Altamont wrap-up, recorded December 7, 1969, with introductions by then DJ Stefan Ponek
—Altamont stills gallery, featuring the work of renowned photographers Bill Owens and Beth Sunflower
—Theatrical trailer 1
—Theatrical trailer 2
—Re-release trailer 1
—Booklet
-X- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set - Eclipse Series 6: Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy



Last edited by Gobear; 10-01-11 at 02:01 AM.
Old 08-22-11, 10:01 PM
  #12  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 830
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

September 2 - Rashomon - MOMA Screening

Spoiler:

Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 - (insert film title here)
--- 1940 - (insert film title here)
-X- 1950 - (insert film title here)
--- 1960 - (insert film title here)
--- 1970 - (insert film title here)
--- 1980 - (insert film title here)
--- 1990 - (insert film title here)
--- 2000 -(insert film title here)
--- 2010 - (optional), (insert film title here)

Watch films in at least five languages.
-X- First language, Japanese, Rashomon.
--- Second language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Third language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fourth language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fifth language, (insert language), (insert title).

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
-X- First director, Kurosawa, Rashomon
--- Second director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Third director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Fourth director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Fifth director, (insert director),(insert title)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

--- First theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Second theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Third theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Fourth theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Fifth theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)

Watch something from spine number range:
--- 001-050 -
--- 051-100 -
-X- 101-150 - Rashomon
--- 151-200 -
--- 201-250 -
--- 251-300 -
--- 301-350 -
--- 351-400 -
--- 401-450 -
--- 451-500 -
--- 500-550 –
--- 551-600 -
--- an Eclipse title -
--- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion (laserdisc or hulu offering, any format acceptable) -

--- Watch a film which won an Academy Award -
--- Watch a film with commentary –
--- Read an essay -
--- Watch a short -
--- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it (photo stills, essays, commentary, booklets, etc). -
--- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set -


(Change "---" to "-X-" or some similar mark when you have completed that line item.)

Last edited by excom101; 09-02-11 at 10:00 PM.
Old 08-22-11, 11:06 PM
  #13  
DVD Talk Special Edition
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,238
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

i couldnt get into the animation challenge like i wanted to but definetely have some criterions to watch i been hang out to for this challenge

1. The great Dictator

  • The clown turns prophet
  • trailer
  • King, Queen, Joker
  • Charlier the barber
  • Sydney Chaplin's footage
  • Chaplin's Napolean

2. The Magician

  • 1967 video interview with director Ingmar Bergman

3. Black Moon

  • interview with director Louis Malle
  • BTS photos
  • original trailer

4.Cronos
5. Robocop
6. GoodBurger
7, Brazil
8. Grey Gardens
9. Repulsion

  • Audio commentary featuring Polanski and actress Catherine Deneuve

10. Sanjuro
11. Two-Lane Blacktop
12. Seven Samurai

  • Fifty-minute documentary on the making of Seven Samurai
  • y Life in Cinema
    </ul
    13.Salo
    Spoiler:
    Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
    --- 1920 - (insert film title here)
    --- 1930 - (insert film title here)
    -X- 1940 - The Great Dictator
    -X- 1950 - The magician
    -X- 1960 - Repulsion
    -X- 1970 - black moon
    -X- 1980 - Brazil
    -X- 1990 - Cronos
    --- 2000 -(insert film title here)
    --- 2010 - (optional), (insert film title here)

    Watch films in at least five languages.
    -X- First language, Spanish, Cronos
    -X- Second language, Swedish, the magician
    -X- Third language, japanese, Sanjuro.
    -X- Fourth language,italian, SALO
    --- Fifth language, (insert language), (insert title).

    Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
    -X- First director, bergam, magician
    -X- Second director, Malle, Black Moon
    -X- Third director,Kurosawa,(Sanjuro)
    --- Fourth director, (insert director),(insert title)
    --- Fifth director, (insert director),(insert title)

    Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

    -X- First theme name, Comedy, The great dictator
    -X- Second theme name, Cult, Black Moon
    -X- Third theme name, Scary movies, Cronos
    -X- Fourth theme name, America, America, Robocop
    -X- Fifth theme name, Documentaries, Grey Gardens

    Watch something from spine number range:
    -X- 001-050 -Robocop
    -X- 051-100 -Brazil
    -X- 101-150 -Grey Garden
    --- 151-200 -
    --- 201-250 -
    --- 251-300 -
    --- 301-350 -
    --- 351-400 -
    -X- 401-450 -Two Lane Blacktop
    -X- 451-500 -Repulsion
    -X- 500-550 – Black Moon
    -X- 551-600 -The great dictator
    --- an Eclipse title -
    --- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion (laserdisc or hulu offering, any format acceptable) -

    --- Watch a film which won an Academy Award -
    --- Watch a film with commentary –
    --- Read an essay -
    --- Watch a short -
    --- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it (photo stills, essays, commentary, booklets, etc). -
    --- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set -

    QUE
    Spoiler:

    Seven Samaria
    Sanjuro
    Yojimbo
    Two lane blacktop
    Cronos
    Black Moon
    Repulsion
    Antichrist
    The Great Dictator
    Vampyr
    videodrome
    haxen
    house


    Bluray
    DVD
    Netflix
    DVR

Last edited by terrycloth; 09-19-11 at 11:24 AM.
Old 08-22-11, 11:26 PM
  #14  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Ga
Posts: 592
Received 10 Likes on 6 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

MrTerrific Watches Art House Films Criterion List


*First Time Viewing

September 1
1. Slacker - Netflix Streaming - Love this view of twentysomething slackers in early 90's Austin, Texas. No real plot, but the dialogue is brilliant.

2. Dazed and Confused - Netflix Streaming - A day in the life of high school teenagers in the late 70's. Love the lines of this movie. Superbly acted.

3. Alphaville* - Netflix Streaming - I thought the first few minutes were good. After that it just got boring.

September 6
4. Vampyr* - Netflix Streaming - Eerily done. Much credit for the making of the film. Loved the editing. Creepy shots.

September 8
5. Modern Times - Blu-Ray - Brilliant film! Chaplin's last "silent" film.
6. The Great Dictator - Blu-Ray - Worth the price of admission for the speeches as Hynkel. Very moving speech at the end. LOVED this one.

September 9
7. The Times of Harvey Milk* - DVR - Wonderful documentary. Had to get over the fact that Harvey Fierstein was the narrator. Not a fan of his voice.
8. Grey Gardens* - Hulu Plus - These ladies are cut off from reality. Little Edie is a s-t-a-u-n-c-h character indeed. Kinda sad, but they don't seem to be, so I'm just happy for them.
9. Paris, Texas* - Blu-Ray

September 10
10. Monsoon Wedding* - Blu-Ray
11. Sweet Smell of Success* - Blu-Ray
12. Orpheus* - Blu-Ray

September 11
13. This is Spinal Tap - Blu-Ray

September 12
14. Blow Out* - Blu-Ray

September 13
15. A Night at the Opera - DVD

September 14
16. Jimi Plays Monterey / Shake! Otis at Monterey - Blu-Ray - The two most brilliant performances at the one concert I wish I could have attended. Goosebumps watching these performances.
17. Divorce Italian Style* - Hulu Plus

September 15
18. Repulsion* - Blu-Ray
19. Hopscotch* - Hulu Plus
20. The Naked City* - Netflix Streaming

September 16
21. The Hit* - Netflix Streaming

September 18
22. 3 Women* - Blu-Ray
23. Le Beau Serge* - Blu-Ray

September 20
24. Seven Samurai - Blu-Ray - A masterpiece. One of the finest films I've ever seen.

September 21
25. Yojimbo - Blu-Ray
26. Sanjuro - Blu-Ray

September 22
27. Chasing Amy - DVD

September 30/October1
28. House* - Blu-Ray

Spoiler:
Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 -
--- 1940 -
X 1950 - Le Beau Serge
X 1960 - Yojimbo
X 1970 - 3 Women
X 1980 - Hopscotch
X 1990 - Chasing Amy
--- 2000 -

Watch films in at least five languages.
X - Japanese / House
--- Second language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Third language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fourth language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fifth language, (insert language), (insert title).

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
X First Director, Jean-Luc Godard (Alphaville)
X Second Director, Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samurai)
--- Third Director, (insert title)
--- Fourth Director, (insert title)
--- Fifth Director, (insert title)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

X New York Stories (Sweet Smell of Success)
X Suspense (Blow Out)
X Scary Movies (Repulsion)
X Noir and NeoNoir (The Hit)
X Samurai Cinema (Sanjuro)

Watch something from spine number range:
X 001-050 - (12) This is Spinal Tap
X 051-100 - (68) Orpheus
X 101-150 - (123) Grey Gardens
X 151-200 - (169) Jimi Plays Monterey / Shake! Otis at Monterey
X 201-250 - (247) Slacker
X 251-300 - (286) Divorce Italian Style
X 301-350 - (336) Dazed and Confused
X 351-400 - (380) The Naked City
X 401-450 - (437) Vampyr
X 451-500 - (489) Monsoon Wedding
X 500-550 – (501) Paris, Texas
X 551-600 - (565) The Great Dictator
--- an Eclipse title -
X Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion - A Night at the Opera

X Watch a film which won an Academy Award - The Times of Harvey Milk
--- Watch a film with commentary –
X Read an Essay - Orpheus: Through a Glass, Amorously
--- Watch a short -
X Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it. - Modern Times
--- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set -

(One film could fill multiple items. Example: Fanny & Alexander would qualify for a decade, language, spine number range, theme (Blue Christmases), Academy Award, and possibly more.)

Last edited by MrTerrific; 10-01-11 at 10:23 AM.
Old 08-23-11, 12:27 AM
  #15  
DVD Talk Special Edition
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Near the Great Salt Lake
Posts: 1,400
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

I'm totally gonna complete the checklist this year.

List, with reductive star evaluations:

September 1st

1. Miss Julie (Sjoberg, 1951, #416) ***
2. Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962, Laserdisc) ****
3. Pigs and Battleships (Imamura, 1962, #472) ***+

September 2

4. Quai des Orfèvres (Clouzot, 1947, #193) ****
5. Ivan's Childhood (Tarkovsky, 1962, #397) ***+
6. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Powell & Pressburger, 1943, #173) ***+

September 3

7. Yi Yi (Yang, 2000, #339) **+

September 4

8. Beauty and the Beast (Cocteau, 1946, #6) ***+
9. The King of Kings (Demille, 1928, #266) **+
10. The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (Kurosawa, 1945, Eclipse) **+
11. The 39 Steps (Hitchcock, 1935, #56) ****

September 5

12. Ballad of a Soldier (Chukhrai, 1959, #148) ***+

September 6

13. The Leopard (Visconti, 1963, #235) ***

September 7

14. Walkabout (Roeg, 1971, #10) ***+
15. Intentions of Murder (Imamura, 1964, #474) ****

September 8

16. By Brakhage: Vol. 1, Program 1 (Desistfilm, Wedlock House: An Intercourse, Dog Star Man)
17. The Horse's Mouth (Neame, 1958, #154) ***
18. Vengeance Is Mine (Imamura, 1979, #384) **+

September 9

19. No Regrets for Our Youth (Kurosawa, 1946, Eclipse) **+
20. Paisan (Rossellini, 1946, #498) ***
21. Ratcatcher (Ramsay, 1999, #162) **

September 10

22. To Joy (Bergman, 1950, Eclipse) **+

September 11

23. The Pornographers (Imamura, 1966, #207) **+
24. Red Desert (Antonioni, 1964, #522) ****
25. 49th Parallel (Powell, 1941, #376) **

September 12

26. Z (Costa-Gavras, 1969, #491) ****
27. if.... (Anderson, 1969, #391) ****
28. Do the Right Thing (Lee, 1989, #97) ****

September 14

29. W.C. Fields - Six Short Films (entire disc: "Pool Sharks," "The Golf Specialist," "The Dentist," "The Fatal Glass of Beer," "The Pharmacist," "The Barbershop") (Various, 1915-1933, #79)

September 15

30. My Man Godfrey (La Cava, 1936, #114) ***

September 18

31. I Know Where I'm Going! (Powell & Pressburger, 1945, #94) ****

September 19

32. A Night to Remember (Baker, 1958, #7) **

September 20

33. This Is Spinal Tap (Reiner, 1984, #12) ***
34. Sid & Nancy (Cox, 1986, #20) **+
35. Closely Watched Trains (Menzel, 1966, #131) ***

September 21

36. The Importance of Being Earnest (Asquith, 1952, #158) ***+

September 22

37. The Insect Woman (Imamura, 1963, #473) **
38. The Bank Dick (Cline, 1940, #78) ***
39. Zazie dans le métro (Malle, 1960, #570) ****

September 23

40. The Cranes Are Flying (Kalatozov, 1957, #146) ***
41. Wild Strawberries (Bergman, 1957, #139) ***

September 24

42. The White Sheik (Fellini, 1952, #189) ***
43. Breathless (Godard, 1960, #408) ****
44. Time Bandits (Gilliam, 1981, #37) ***

September 25

45. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (Inagaki, 1954, #14) **+
46. Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (Inagaki, 1955, #15) **+
47. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (Inagaki, 1956, #16) **+
48. All That Heaven Allows (Sirk, 1955, #95) ****

September 26

49. Summertime (Lean, 1955, #22) **+
50. The Harder They Come (Henzell, 1973, #83) **+

September 28

51. And God Created Woman (Vadim, 1956, #77) **
52. Written on the Wind (Sirk, 1956, #96) **+
53. Smiles of a Summer Night (Bergman, 1955, #237) ***
54. A Canterbury Tale (Powell & Pressburger, 1944, #341) ***+

September 29

55. The Wages of Fear (Clouzot, 1953, #36) ****
56. Pygmalion (Asquith, 1938, #85) ***
57. The Lady Vanishes (Hitchcock, 1938, #3) ***+

List, with comments:

Spoiler:
September 1st

1. Miss Julie (Sjoberg, 1951, #416) *** - A 1950s Swedish film not directed by Ingmar Bergman. I can't say that I was completely won over by the film (I just didn't find a lot of the story particularly engaging), but it was quite a beautiful looking film. Much of the film consists of flashbacks, and I loved how the filmmakers handled them - instead of a traditional dissolve or whatever, the camera would often just pan over from where the "present-day" characters are standing or sitting to versions of their younger selves, in the same setting, re-enacting previous events. Many films with a story that relies on multiple flashbacks often seem a bit contrived, with the parts in the "present" taking a backseat and seeming less relevant than the story in the flashbacks. This film avoided that trap, and felt more organic and "of a whole" as a result.

2. Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962, Laserdisc) **** - I also watched "Lawrence of Arabia" (one of their laserdisc releases) this morning, and don't have much to say about it that hasn't already been said. It's all sorts of epic, and Lawrence is a fascinating character that I want to learn more about. It does seem just a tad long, but I was very rarely ever less than enthralled by the film.

3. Pigs and Battleships (Imamura, 1962, #472) ***+ - It took me a while to get used to this, but I was eventually won over by the pathetic/endearing characters and by Imamura's "loose" style of filmmaking - it ends up being quite fun, and features an unexpected and darkly humorous ending.

September 2

4. Quai des Orfèvres (Clouzot, 1947, #193) **** - This was fantastic. It's a surprisingly suspenseful "wrong man" police procedural, and one that actually makes you care about the characters (including the police chief doing much of the investigating.) My only complaint, though pretty minor:
Spoiler:
The ending, with the fortuitous appearance of the carjacker/real murderer made it all a bit too tidy, with the wife as a result apparently getting off completely free
I've only seen the four Clouzot films that are in the collection, but based on those four alone he's become one of my favorite filmmakers.

5. Ivan's Childhood (Tarkovsky, 1962, #397) ***+ - It doesn't reach the heights of Tarkovsky's next film, "Andrei Rublev" (my favorite of his films, and my favorite film of all time), but there's still a lot of incredible stuff going on. The visuals, as one would expect, are wonderful, and the various characters that the young Ivan encounters as he embarks on dangerous missions for the Russians are sympathetic and memorable. A lovely little film.

6. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Powell & Pressburger, 1943, #173) ***+ - I hate and love this film. The technicolor cinematography is really beautiful, and the filmmakers' compassionate treatment of the main characters is wonderful. I especially love the way it handles the German officer that Candy forms a lifelong friendship with - though apparently they caused a bit of controversy by treating a German military man in such a sympathetic way. The film is solid from start to finish, and the nearly three hours of its run time flew by for me, even on a second watch.

However, with that said, some of the values the filmmakers seem to be trying to instill are rather ugly to me. Obviously a film of this sort created during the War is going to have some propagandistic elements - and I can usually accept that - but in this case I found those elements a bit too much in what they seem to be implying about morality in wartime. I'm going to get kind of preachy here, and others may not agree, so:
Spoiler:
Even as the film treats Candy sympathetically, it also denigrates him for refusing to change as the era changes. The value that he refuses to alter: The idea that ones side in wartime should adhere to some rules, regardless of what the other side is doing. Essentially the film wants us to think "if the enemy does it, so can we" - it used to be all right to have all those "old fashioned" values of adhering to certain standards of warfare, but nowadays anything goes. One speech strongly implies that things like bombing hospitals and killing civilians are fine, "because the Germans do it." Of course war is ugly, and there's always going to be some "tragic necessities" - but I found the film's treatment of those sensitive, deeply troublesome topics rather unsubtle and ugly - which is unfortunate for a film that's so subtle in many of its character portraits.
So yeah, even as I was mostly enjoying the more than solid storytelling and filmmaking, I was yelling at some of the speeches made by various characters that we were clearly supposed to be agreeing with.

Of course other people may have no problem with those things, so maybe I'm just being too much of a hippie here or something.

September 3

7. Yi Yi (Yang, 2000, #339) **+ - A decent family "epic" that had almost no impact on me.

September 4

8. Beauty and the Beast (Cocteau, 1946, #6) ***+
9. The King of Kings (Demille, 1928, #266) **+
10. The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (Kurosawa, 1945, Eclipse) **+
11. The 39 Steps (Hitchcock, 1935, #56) **** - One of my favorite Hitchcocks. A perfect combination of humor and suspense, and at 88 minutes it's just the right length. It's a delight to spend time with these characters.

September 5

12. Ballad of a Soldier (Chukhrai, 1959, #148) ***+

September 6

13. The Leopard (Visconti, 1963, #235) ***

September 7

14. Walkabout (Roeg, 1971, #10) ***+
15. Intentions of Murder (Imamura, 1964, #474) ****

September 8

16. By Brakhage: Vol. 1, Program 1 (Desistfilm, Wedlock House: An Intercourse, Dog Star Man) - I like some "avant-garde" art (Norman McLaren is one of my favorite filmmakers ever) but this was a bit hard for me to take. I'm still going to try to get through the entire "By Brakhage" set during the challenge, but I'm really hoping that some of his other films are a bit more... Coherent.

17. The Horse's Mouth (Neame, 1958, #154) *** - I had heard very little about this film, but I ended up liking it quite a lot. During the first ten minutes I was afraid it was going to be a bit of a chore to sit through, as the humor seemed forced and Guinness' acting (though he's usually one of my favorite actors) seemed overly mannerized. But the film eventually won me over - I got some good laughs out of it, and its treatment of the somewhat crazy artist was actually a bit touching. The D.A. Pennebaker short, "Daybreak Express," included as an extra on the disc is wonderful.

18. Vengeance Is Mine (Imamura, 1979, #384) **+

September 9

19. No Regrets for Our Youth (Kurosawa, 1946, Eclipse) **+
20. Paisan (Rossellini, 1946, #498) ***
21. Ratcatcher (Ramsay, 1999, #162) **

September 10

22. To Joy (Bergman, 1950, Eclipse) **+

September 11

23. The Pornographers (Imamura, 1966, #207) **+
24. Red Desert (Antonioni, 1964, #522) ****
25. 49th Parallel (Powell, 1941, #376) **

September 12

26. Z (Costa-Gavras, 1969, #491) ****
27. if.... (Anderson, 1969, #391) ****
28. Do the Right Thing (Lee, 1989, #97) ****

September 14

29. W.C. Fields - Six Short Films (entire disc: "Pool Sharks," "The Golf Specialist," "The Dentist," "The Fatal Glass of Beer," "The Pharmacist," "The Barbershop") (Various, 1915-1933, #79)

September 15

30. My Man Godfrey (La Cava, 1936, #114) ***

September 18

31. I Know Where I'm Going! (Powell & Pressburger, 1945, #94) ****

September 19

32. A Night to Remember (Baker, 1958, #7) **

September 20

33. This Is Spinal Tap (Reiner, 1984, #12) ***
34. Sid & Nancy (Cox, 1986, #20) **+ - Effective - the problem being that it's really hard (painful) to watch two characters in a mutually destructive relationship.
35. Closely Watched Trains (Menzel, 1966, #131) ***

September 21

36. The Importance of Being Earnest (Asquith, 1952, #158) ***+

September 22

37. The Insect Woman (Imamura, 1963, #473) **
38. The Bank Dick (Cline, 1940, #78) ***
39. Zazie dans le métro (Malle, 1960, #570) ****

September 23

40. The Cranes Are Flying (Kalatozov, 1957, #146) ***
41. Wild Strawberries (Bergman, 1957, #139) ***

September 24

42. The White Sheik (Fellini, 1952, #189) ***
43. Breathless (Godard, 1960, #408) ****
44. Time Bandits (Gilliam, 1981, #37) ***

September 25

45. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (Inagaki, 1954, #14) **+
46. Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (Inagaki, 1955, #15) **+
47. Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (Inagaki, 1956, #16) **+
48. All That Heaven Allows (Sirk, 1955, #95) ****

September 26

49. Summertime (Lean, 1955, #22)
50. The Harder They Come (Henzell, 1973, #83) **+

September 28

51. And God Created Woman (Vadim, 1956, #77) **
52. Written on the Wind (Sirk, 1956, #96) **+
53. Smiles of a Summer Night (Bergman, 1955, #237) ***
54. A Canterbury Tale (Powell & Pressburger, 1944, #341) ***+

September 29

55. The Wages of Fear (Clouzot, 1953, #36) ****
56. Pygmalion (Asquith, 1938, #85) ***
57. The Lady Vanishes (Hitchcock, 1938, #3) ***+


Checklist:

Spoiler:
Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
-X- 1920 - The King of Kings (1928)
-X- 1930 - The 39 Steps (1935)
-X- 1940 - Quai des Orfèvres (1947)
-X- 1950 - Miss Julie (1951)
-X- 1960 - Pigs and Battleships (1962)
-X- 1970 - Walkabout (1971)
-X- 1980 - Do the Right Thing (1989)
-X- 1990 - Ratcatcher (1999)
-X- 2000 - Yi Yi (2000)
--- 2010 - (optional), (insert film title here)

Watch films in at least five languages.
-X- Mandarin, Yi Yi.
-X- Swedish, Miss Julie.
-X- Japanese, Pigs and Battleships.
-X- French, Quai des Orfèvres.
-X- Russian, Ivan's Childhood

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
-X- Michael Powell, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
-X- Akira Kurosawa, The Men Who Tread On the Tiger's Tail
-X- Roberto Rossellini, Paisan
-X- Ingmar Bergman, Wild Strawberries
-X- Louis Malle, Zazie dans le métro

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

-X- Amour Fou, Miss Julie
-X- Animals, Pigs and Battleships
-X- First Films, Ivan's Childhood
-X- Made During World War II, Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
-X- Growing Pains, Yi Yi

Watch something from spine number range:
-X- 001-050 - Beauty and the Beast (6)
-X- 051-100 - The 39 Steps (56)
-X- 101-150 - Ballad of a Soldier (148)
-X- 151-200 - Quai des Orfèvres (193)
-X- 201-250 - The Leopard (235)
-X- 251-300 - The King of Kings (266)
-X- 301-350 - Yi Yi (339)
-X- 351-400 - Ivan's Childhood (397)
-X- 401-450 - Miss Julie (416)
-X- 451-500 - Pigs and Battleships (472)
-X- 500-550 – Red Desert (522)
-X- 551-600 - Zazie dans le métro (570)
-X- an Eclipse title - The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail
-X- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion (laserdisc or hulu offering, any format acceptable) - Lawrence of Arabia

-X- Watch a film which won an Academy Award - Lawrence of Arabia (won: Best Picture, etc.)
-X- Watch a film with commentary – Peter Cowie on Hiroshima mon amour
-X- Read an essay - "Ballad of a Soldier," by Vida Johnson
-X- Watch a short - "Daybreak Express" (on The Horse's Mouth disc)
-X- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it (photo stills, essays, commentary, booklets, etc). - Ratcatcher (3x short films, director interview, stills gallery, trailer)
-X- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set - "Pigs, Pimps, and Prostitutes: 3 Films by Shohei Imamura"

Last edited by Sondheim; 10-03-11 at 12:06 PM.
Old 08-23-11, 05:10 AM
  #16  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Travis McClain's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Western Hemisphere
Posts: 7,758
Received 176 Likes on 116 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

List of Stuff I Watchified - With Commentationism [1] indicates First Time Viewing
  1. Dazed and Confused [1] - 2 September
    Spoiler:


    I liked it alright, but it never really seemed to build to any kind of payoff for most of the plot threads. It just kind of ran out the clock instead.

    I also never had a sense of who half the characters even were. There was a moment near the end where a boy and a girl slipped off into the woods and started kissing, and then the girl asked about his girlfriend. He was almost as surprised as I was, because I had no idea who the hell she was talking about or that it was even an issue.

    Still, it's one more off my To See list and and an alright way to inaugurate this year's challenge.
  2. The Naked City [1] - 6 September
    Spoiler:


    As a story, it's much more a "police procedural" than "crime noir," and from a production perspective it's more a guerrilla film than studio piece. New York City homicide detectives work the case of a young woman found murdered, and each step of legwork in their investigation is shown leading them across the city. Shot entirely on location, we get a strong feeling of what late 40s New York was really like and it's this atmosphere that makes The Naked City interesting to behold 63 years later.

    It's easy to see The Naked City as a precursor to Law & Order. Dragnet also comes to mind, of course, largely due to the omniscient narrator (film producer Mark Hellinger). Though, it's worth noting, the narration I found detracted from the film--chiefly the instances where the narrator addressed characters on screen. For instance, he says as we see beat cops take their orders, "Go get 'im, boys; there's only half a million big guys in the city!" It's rather silly, and this MST3K-style running commentary sanitizes the film.
  3. Dr. No with LaserDisc #124 Commentary Track - 8 September
    Spoiler:

    Commentary Track hosted by journalist Bruce Eder; featuring director Terence Young, editor Peter Hunt, production designer Ken Adam and screenwriter Richard Maibaum

    I've seen Dr. No countless times over the years, but I recently got hold of the banned/recalled Criterion Commentary track from the LaserDisc release of the early 90s. I was rather keen to hear the frank remarks that so incensed "Cubby" Broccoli. There were two specific statements that I suspect were the offenders of this track--though it may well be that what angered him were comments in the From Russia with Love or Goldfinger tracks. At one point, Peter Hunt describes being a gopher for the producers, assigned an endless series of menial tasks. His point is that these chores prepared him to become a director, but it certainly feels like a jab at exploitation on first listen. I doubt this was particularly bothersome, though.

    Terence Young, however, pointblank calls producer Harry Saltzman a "pain in the ass" and describes having Broccoli remove him from the set after Saltzman insisted on having Connery remark to the stolen painting of Wellington, "Oh, so that's where it ended up." Young thought the line stupid and needless; that the painting itself was sufficient as a punch line. Personally, I agree with Young.

    Not a lot of new material here for a Bond fan like myself, but I was interested to hear about Zena Marshall's life--new to me--and in any case, Peter Hunt's comments about editing are well worth the time for anyone with even a passing interest in how movies are made.
  4. Otto e mezzo [8 1/2] Supplements - 12 September
    Spoiler:

    "The Janus Films Director Introduction Series presents Terry Gilliam on Federico Fellini's 8 /12" (7:30) ***

    The nature of this introduction is too brief to allow for much substance, though it's interesting to hear Gilliam cite specific parts of 8 1/2 that influenced him as a storyteller. I suspect this is more appealing to fans of Gilliam than to fans of Fellini or this film.

    "Fellini: A Director's Notebook" (51:16) **

    A TV special depicts the process of preparing and casting for a film. The A/V quality would be fine if I was fluent in Italian and/or Latin, but I'm not and so it was difficult for me to follow some of the nuances. My initial reaction is that the concept was more interesting than the actual product of this piece.

    Fellini Letter ****

    Text translation of a letter sent by Fellini to producer Peter Goldfarb in which he describes his idea for the TV special, inspired by the various larger-than-life people he had met and experiences he had in preparing his films. Verbose, certainly, but it makes clear his enthusiasm for such interactions. If I had received such a letter, I too would have wanted to produce the TV special.

    "The Last Sequence" (50:24) *****

    A documentary produced in 2003 to explore what is or was known about a different ending for the film, set aboard a train. The footage is lost (likely destroyed by Fellini himself), and not every participant even recalls filming it. It's as interesting a study of Fellini as it is of film-making in general. A brief passage dedicated to the sound design of the excised train alone was worth the time of viewing.

    "Zwischen Kino und Konzert: Der Komonist Nino Rota" ["Nino Rota: Between Cinema and Concert"] (47:28) *****

    This 1993 German documentary that explores the professional career of composer Nina Rota is absolutely terrific. His legacy of work stands as evidence to support his thesis that there is dignity in all works of art, and I found this particularly engaging. A must for anyone interested in music of any style, genre or medium.

    Sandra Milo (26:37) ****

    Milo's reminisces as an actress aren't terribly important, but her perspective on Fellini as his mistress of 17 years are quite engaging and touching. One gets the sense that she has romanticized Fellini after all these years, but there's an emotional vulnerability that makes this interview captivating.

    Lina Wertmuller (17:28) ***

    Wertmuller shares her recollection of working with Fellini on 8 1/2, mostly in the context of being a peer. Nothing particularly stood out here, perhaps because Wertmuller shares more nuggets in other bonus content elsewhere.

    Vittorio Storaro (17:24) ****

    Cinematographer Storaro breaks down the evolution of the use of light in film, and touches on 8 1/2 largely as it relates to the craft of film-making. He speaks English, so there are no subtitles but his accent is strong enough that I wish there were subtitles anyway. Still, these are the kinds of things you need to pay attention to if you're interested in learning about film-making and if you can overcome the accent you'll find he does a great job being accessible.

    Trailer (3:09) *** 1/2

    Wow. Just...wow. The trailer makes it look like a sexploitation movie, but also like a chaotic train wreck on the order of, say, the 1967 Casino Royale. I'd love to hear what people who saw the trailer before seeing the movie felt about it. Incidentally, the finale of the film was originally shot to be the trailer, until Fellini decided instead to make it the ending and abort the aforementioned originally planned and shot conclusion.

    Photographs by Gideon Bachmann ****

    There are only about a dozen photos, and frankly I'm not a fan of viewing stills on a TV screen, but they're gorgeous photos nonetheless. I'd love to see a coffee table-sized book of Bachmann's work (which I suspect exists).

    Stills Gallery ****

    More photos, not attributed to Bachmann but just as interesting to view.
  5. För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor [All These Women] [1]- 14 September
    Spoiler:

    My sixth Ingmar Bergman film, and the first of this year's challenge, I have to say I was a bit disappointed by this sex farce. Maybe it's the fact it was produced in color, maybe it's the slapstick and frequent winks through the fourth wall. It doesn't feel as clever as, say, Smiles of a Summer Night.

    The premise is that a music critic, Cornelius (Jarl Kulle) has come to visit a famous cellist whose biography he is writing. Distractions and obstacles abound for the writer as he discovers that the grand estate includes a harem of devoted mistresses. Kulle does a fine Peter Sellers act throughout, and strikes the right tone for the film (I confess, I kept thinking they ought to remake this with Paul Reubens in his role), and the harem includes Bergman regulars Bibi Andersson, Harriet Andersson and Gertrud Fridh so the cast is certainly talented. The film's 76 minute run time is brief enough, but even that felt a bit overlong to me.

    Still, with my vitamin D deficiency out of sorts at the present, it was nice to find something lightweight enough that I was able to follow along easily. Those looking for a reprieve from the more taxing, highbrow works of art in the Criterion Collection ought to consider taking the time to flake out with this one.

    NOTE: This is part of the HuluPlus exclusive sub-collection.
  6. From Russia with Love with LaserDisc #131 Commentary - 15 September
    Spoiler:

    Commentary Track hosted by film historian Steve Rubin; featuring director Terence Young, editor Peter Hunt and screenwriter Richard Maibaum

    Like Dr. No, I've seen the film countless times over the years but this was the first I've heard the recalled/banned Criterion LaserDisc commentary track. Again, Peter Hunt essentially offers a workshop in film-making throughout, and I was struck this time by how much screenwriter Richard Maibaum got to say about his work (my admiration for the craft of writing being what it is, I was particularly eager to hear his remarks).

    I did learn a few new things, for instance Daniela Bianchi's legs and walk were apparently not very attractive so Hunt cut them out whenever possible and in the scene where Bond spies Tatiana walking into the Russian conference room, that was a hired model rather than Bianchi.

    Terence Young's anecdote about dying his hair was almost certainly one of the offending bits that incensed "Cubby" Broccoli, as he used a homophobic slur in the course of the story (accidentally dying his hair with his wife's hair product, he reassured Robert Shaw that the color of his hair was not an indication he was gay, to be polite about it). It's a needless anecdote, really, and one wonders why--in the course of a compilation commentary such as this--Criterion felt it worthy of inclusion except possibly to allow Young to embarrass himself.

    That unnecessary unpleasantness aside, it's a terrific commentary track and one I'm glad I finally got to hear.
  7. Ansiktet [The Magician] [1] - 15 September
    Spoiler:

    Being one of the higher ranked Bergman films, there's not much left for me to see or say that hasn't already been articulated elsewhere. Through the situation of a ragtag group of a traveling illusionist and his troupe, Bergman explores such themes as mysticism vs. science as well as duality. Shades of Smiles of a Summer Night can be found in the subplots of supporting characters and I found the balance between poignant and irreverent was nicely handled.

    Supplement
    Visual Essay on The Magician (14:56)

    Peter Cowie narrates this featurette in which he dissects some of the allegories of this film in specific, and Bergman's body of work in general. It's a pretty thorough survey of the themes and well worth the 15 minutes. Also, I wonder how one goes about becoming a "Bergman scholar" as Cowie is credited. I would totally go back to school for that degree.
  8. Otto e mezzo [8 1/2] Commentary Track - 16 September
    Spoiler:
    Audio essay read by actress Tanya Zaicon; interviews with Gideon Bachmann and NYU film professor Antonio Monda. Recorded in 2001. *****

    It's always nice when a commentary track goes beyond idle praise for those on screen and haphazard recollections of what took place behind the scenes. This commentary track is devoted to a scholarly interpretation of the film's surreal narrative, relying partly on several primary sources to help place the production in the context of Federico Fellini's life and state of mind at the time of production. Maybe it's just that I'm at a point in my life where I feel as clueless and as overwhelmed as I'm told Fellini felt throughout the production of 8 1/2, but this commentary track greatly endeared me to the movie.
  9. L'heure d'été [Summer Hours] [1] - 17 September
    Spoiler:

    In this 2008 French film, the matriarch of a family dies shortly after her 75th birthday, leaving behind an estate of valuable art created and collected by her uncle. Frédéric (Charles Berling) wishes to preserve it for his children and their cousins to inherit, just as it was preserved by his mother for he and his siblings...but Adrienne (Juliette Binoche) and Jérémie (Jérémie Renier) have different priorities.

    It's a thoughtful dissection of the nature of inheritance; the value of sentiment vs. practicality; the tendency to wish to preserve; being left with things that mean little beyond their resale value. With a lot of stories of this nature, the subject of inheriting works of art would seem fanciful but peripheral. Here, however, the message is clear: the value of art is, of course, subjective as is the value of anything inherited. Does the vase matter because it was crafted by a specific artisan, or does it mean something else because of its association with the person who used to own it?

    Psychologically, of course, most of us know that "they're just things," but the truth is that when you're face to face with just those things as the totality of the legacy of someone you knew and loved, it can evoke a compulsion to become their new custodian. Frédéric feels that desire and is wounded to discover his brother and sister do not share his values. As they look to their lives and careers in China and America, respectively, they feel freer to discard the remnants of their family history. It is Frédéric alone who is deflated to realize that his children will be the last generation of his family to have ever been to the home.

    My family owned a business for twenty years. I grew up there, helping from time to time after school and in my early 20s I began working there myself while going to college. I became increasingly involved as my mother's health declined, but then when I developed Crohn's disease I, too, became increasingly unreliable. It was supposed to be for my brother and I to one day inherit, and when our cousins were born they, too, were supposed to have a claim on it. Instead, there came a day in 2007 when an unceremonious auction found a new owner for the property. In the span of two days, we emptied the building of all remaining inventory, donated to charity. Then, it was over.

    The new owner has allowed the place to sit these past four years, and the only attention paid to it has been by vandals. Sometimes it angers me; sometimes I'm just grateful I'm no longer responsible for it. But I'm always acutely aware that the closing of the business and the sale of the property was more or less forced by my inability to take the reins. So as I watched Frédéric frustrated at not being able to buy out both his siblings and ensure that the family home stayed in the family, I found a specific kinship with the character.

    I really liked the documentary style production values; only some minor source music is heard in the course of the entire film, for instance, which has the effect of amplifying the sense of reality. Artistically, I understand and even respect the choice to restrict our access to just the part of the narrative concerned with the inheritance--it keeps the film focused on an often overlooked part of the aftermath of death. The problem is that there are some stray threads that feel forced when introduced (such as a minor subplot involving Frédéric's daughter, Sylvie [Alice de Lencquesaing]). In theory, that scene sets up the final scene of the film but I honestly can't envision how excising that scene would affect the final scene or the rest of the film.
  10. Premiers Désirs [First Desires] [1] - 18 September
    Spoiler:

    All I knew about this one going into it was that the cover art showing two mostly nude girls lying together was plastered all over the HuluPlus Criterion page every time I signed in and that was, eventually, enough to get me to take a chance on it. The premise sounds like it should have been a letter to Penthouse: three teen girls sneak away from their boarding school/summer camp/it doesn't matter in a boat and head to an island. They're caught in a storm and separated, and Caroline (Monica Broeke) is rescued by Etienne (Bruno Guillain). She awakens in a hut, nude and infatuated with having been rescued. Caroline mistakenly assumes that wealthy, wedded Jordan (Patrick Bauchau) was her savior and inserts herself into a sort of love triangle with him--egged on by his pianist wife, Julienne (Inge Maria Granzow, credited as Inger).

    Caroline is reunited with the other girls, by the end of the third scene of the movie--but then spends most of the time ditching them, leaving them to their own coming of age story with some islander boys. There are plenty of threads that could have become interesting character developments, but they all come and go abruptly and it becomes obvious after a while that the film was largely just a pretext for photographer-cum-director David Hamilton to get young women naked on camera. It's a shame the story is so disjointed and thin, because the cast is fine and the Mediterranean environment is inviting. I really wanted to get lost in this movie, and instead I discovered that it was the movie itself that got lost.
  11. Kris [Crisis] [1] - 22 September
    Spoiler:

    The first film directed by Ingmar Bergman, Kris [Crisis] is clearly the product of a playwright. It's a rather primitive story by Bergman standards, though even with this early work he's engaging some of the themes that would be explored more artfully throughout his filmography. 18 year old Nelly (Inga Landre) dreams of city life when her long absent mother, Jenny (Marianne Löfgren) drops in to retrieve the girl. Accompanying Jenny is fanciful scoundrel Jack (Stig Olin), who quickly sets about seducing his lover's daughter. Resistant, but powerless, is Ingeborg (Dagny Lind), the woman who has raised Nelly and fears how she will fare in her mother's seedy world.

    The "pure rural" vs. "corrupt city" theme is the most obvious, though in Crisis Bergman makes a point of showing us how silly and self-important small towns can be as the town elders freak out when Jack, Nelly and some of the other youth begin playing jazz music during a town ball. Nelly is clearly the prodigal daughter whose return to her small town is inevitable. We understand why she elects to go with her mother--to whom she is never close, or even affectionate--and we see what she endures while away, but it's rather perfunctory and we're left to connect the dots ourselves, rather than watch Nelly process her life. Indeed, she rarely articulates anything herself, other than frustration.

    The subplot of Ingeborg, whose only real reason for living is Nelly, was vintage Bergman and foreshadowed Wild Strawberries in its way, but it never quite coalesced for me. The nature of selfishness and contemplation of mortality are major themes of his filmography, but here they are sign posts along the road, rather than destinations unto themselves.

    The early works of any artist are always curious in retrospect. They were just taking their first steps down a road whose direction we already know, and Crisis is no different. I found Crisis comparable to a distant relative; surely there are resemblances, but it's not quite familiar to me.
  12. Hamnstad [Port of Call] [1] - 23 September
    Spoiler:

    Not much to say about this early Bergman melodrama, really. Like Crisis, it bears the voice of a playwright rather than film-maker. The story centers on frequent runaway and self-destructive juvenile delinquent Berit (Nine-Christine Jönsson) and Gösta (Bengt Eklund), a young man who has come to find work in the port city where she lives. Gösta takes menial work unloading freight with roughnecks, but in his off time he wears nice suits, reads books and is generally a misfit in his part of the world. Cliches over Berit's checkered past drive the conflict between the two star-crossed lovers, which reaches a predictable crescendo when one of Berit's fellow delinquents, Gertrud (Mimi Nelson) experiences tragedy.

    ***ACTUAL SPOILERS***

    Most of Port of Call is familiar material; the kind of stuff that happens between the second and third commercial breaks of an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The only real glimmer of Bergman comes in the final act, in the aftermath of Gertrud's botched abortion and death, in which Berit resists identifying the abortionist because she knows how valuable the service has been for less fortunate girls. That scene feels incongruous with the rest of the film, but the light is quickly extinguished. In some ways, the subplot between Berit and Gertrud foreshadows Persona. Otherwise, this is a rather perfunctory, somewhat clumsy and likely forgettable early effort.
  13. Törst [Thirst] - 27 September
    Spoiler:

    The fourth title in the Early Bergman Eclipse box, Törst [Thirst] is the third in the collection directed by Bergman, but not written by him. It's hard to improve on the Criterion.com synopsis, so I'll let them establish the nature of Thirst:

    A couple traveling across a war-ravaged Europe. A disintegrating marriage. A ballet dancer’s scarred past. Her friend’s psychological agony. Elliptically told in flashbacks and multiple narrative threads, Ingmar Bergman’s Thirst shows people enslaved to memory and united in isolation.
    It is in this film that I think this collection begins to really take shape. Themes such as abortion and failed relationships take center stage here after being teased in the previous films, Crisis and Port of Call. There's even a dash of commentary on religious themes, as some clergy discuss the nature of marriage in one minor scene. The character stuff is captivating and I found myself more invested in these people than I had in those other two films. Particularly engaging is Eva Henning as Rut [Ruth in the English subtitles], whose flawed, narcissistic sexpot evoked Louise Brooks in Pandora's Box, though perhaps it was as much the bob haircut as her performance.

    I was also fascinated by the unexpected attempted seduction of Viola (Birgit Tengoth) by ballerina Valborg (Mimmi Nelson), though this segment offers a microcosm of where the film falls flat for me in that by itself it's great stuff to watch--ripe atmosphere, fascinating characters, solid performances--but in the grand scheme of the film, it only leaves me with questions. For instance, we were not actually following either of the two women in the present day, so for what possible reason were we occasioned to flashback to their story? What bearing did it really have on anything?

    Thirst works best as a collection of vignettes, most of which are genuinely engrossing. As a comprehensive film, though, it has too many loose plot threads and it feels disjointed and haphazard in its construction. Still, there's no question in my mind that we're seeing Bergman discover his film voice independent of his stage voice.
  14. Till glädje [To Joy] - 29 September
    Spoiler:

    Concert violinist Stig (Stig Olin) is unhappy. It's his default emotional state, made no easier by the fact he's not a particularly good violinist. His relationship with Marta (Maj-Britt Nilsson) is recapped through a series of memories and flashbacks, and Marta herself seems to suffer from some modicum of impostor syndrome. Naturally, they're destined for anguish together.

    I really connected with these two characters; my wife could recount numerous instances in which I have been patently immune to happiness. I was eager to see what twists and turns Stig and Marta would take, but unfortunately I feel like the well developed characters fell into a somewhat unimaginative story. In some ways, To Joy is a step forward in the Bergman filmography over Thirst but in other ways, it's a step backward in that the payoff here is lacking. It's not that it's a downer; Bergman films often end on a down note, or are emotionally ambiguous at best. It's that it feels obvious. It's the ending I would have expected after the first five minutes of the movie, and that disappoints me.

List of Checkifications
Spoiler:

Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 -
-X- 1940 - The Naked City (1948)
-X- 1950 - Ansiktet [The Magician] (1958)
-X- 1960 - Dr. No with LaserDisc commentary (1962)
--- 1970 -
-X- 1980 - Premiers Désirs [First Desires]
-X- 1990 - Dazed and Confused (1993)
-X- 2000 - L'heure d'été [Summer Hours] (2008)

Watch films in at least five languages.
-X- För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor [All These Women] (Swedish)
-X- Otto e mezzo [8 1/2] (Italian) - with commentary track
-X- L'heure d'été [Summer Hours] (French)
--- Fourth language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fifth language, (insert language), (insert title).

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
-X- Ingmar Bergman, För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor [All These Women]
-X- Federico Fellini, Otto e mezzo [8 1/2] - with commentary
--- Third Director, (insert title)
--- Fourth Director, (insert title)
--- Fifth Director, (insert title)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website

-X- "America, America", Dazed and Confused
-X- "New York Stories," The Naked City
-X- "Tearjerkers," L'heure d'été [Summer Hours]
-X- "Oscar Winners," Otto e mezzo [8 1/2]
-X- "First Films," Kris [Crisis]

Watch something from spine number range:
--- 001-050 -
--- 051-100 -
-X- 101-150 - Otto e mezzo [8 1/2]
--- 151-200 -
--- 201-250 -
--- 251-300 -
-X- 301-350 - Dazed and Confused (#336)
-X- 351-400 - The Naked City (#380)
--- 401-450 -
--- 451-500 -
-X- 500-550 – Ansiktet [The Magician] (#537)
--- 551-600 -
--- an Eclipse title -
-X- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion - Dr. No with LaserDisc commentary

-X- Watch a film which won an Academy Award - Otto e mezzo [8 1/2]
-X- Watch a film with commentary – Dr. No with LaserDisc commentary
-X- Read an Essay - "When 'He' Became 'I'" by Tullio Kezich
--- Watch a short -
-X- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it. - Otto e mezzo [8 1/2]
--- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set -

Looking Back
Spoiler:

I knew that Netflix's failure to keep The Criterion Collection in their streaming library was going to be a hindrance, and I was right. I relied on it heavily last year; sixteen of my twenty seven entries last year were streamed. This year, I managed a paltry fourteen entries total. The HuluPlus trial was nice, but as I predicted, not being able to conveniently stream directly to my TV was a major minus. Maybe by next September I'll have a Roku or I'll be able to stream via the Wii like I can with Netflix. I came within a hair of completing the checklist last year; this year I wasn't even close. That's enough about what didn't occur for me this year. Here's what I did manage to see.

My Continued Love Affair with Ingmar Bergman
Of the remaining eleven entries, six were from the filmography of Ingmar Bergman. I saw my first Bergman movies last year and fell in love, so I went back to the well this year. The four selections from the Early Bergman box that I streamed via Hulu were "average" for me, but collectively I enjoyed them as I was able to see early evidence of the kinds of character-driven stories that he would later master, as well as his early flirtation with some of the themes that are better explored in later works. The two later Bergmans I saw were Ansiktet [The Magician], which I loved and would place on par with the Ingmar Bergman: Four Masterworks collection whose contents I streamed last year. Small wonder; it was made during the same stretch of his career as those (released between Smultronstället [Wild Strawberries] and Jungfrukällan [The Virgin Spring]). It shows. The remaining Bergman of my 2011 challenge was För att inte tala om alla dessa kvinnor [All These Women]. I found it amusing, but on the whole a bit subpar. Maybe because it was in color; maybe because I'd already seen Sommarnattens leende [Smiles of a Summer Night], a more satisfying ensemble sex comedy from his filmography.

I Wasn't Entirely Monogamous
My challenge began with a pair of atmospheric selections (Dazed and Confused and The Naked City). I enjoyed the settings quite a lot, but the stories were rather "meh" and little else stood out. The same can be said of Premiers Désirs [First Desires], an erotic coming-of-age story set on a Mediterranean island that I streamed from the HuluPlus exclusive digital Criterion catalog. They all three established a specific setting--in large part by shooting on location--but while I enjoyed going there, I found little of actual interest in any of the three.

That leaves me with L'heure d'été [Summer Hours], a 2008 French film that explores the nature of inheritance. I found its thesis specific and focused; perhaps a shade too much, as the narrative never really expanded to allow us much in the way of insight into the characters. Ultimately, though, I think this was a wise storytelling choice; just about every scene is specifically connected to the principle theme of how the middle aged children react when their matriarch dies. Reaction to this generated an interesting side discussion, and it became an instant favorite of mine.

Re-visitations
I got hold of the recalled LaserDisc commentary tracks for the first three Bond movies and I watched the first two with the commentaries synced from my iPod (synced as well as I could manage; they were spliced from the various disc sides, so every ~30 minutes I had to play the pause-and-catch-up game). I learned a few nuggets along the way, and only an off-topic homophobic anecdote from Terence Young in From Russia with Love seemed objectionable to me. Peter Hunt's enthusiastic dissection of editing was a treat and I'd highly recommend for anyone interested in the craft of filmmaking to give these commentaries a listen just for his remarks.

8 1/2
Aside from Bergman, my 2011 challenge was dominated by Federico Fellini's Otto e mezzo [8 1/2], which I first saw in February for the Academy Awards Challenge. I processed it intellectually then, admiring it but not quite falling in love with it. Over the summer, I snagged the Blu-ray at Half Price Books for $12.00, though, so I gorged on its content. The more I learned of it, the more powerfully I felt the film resonate with me. It caught me at just the right time. I wrote about depression for my blog earlier this year, and during this challenge, Jeri Ryan was kind enough to tweet a link to it. I have been overwhelmed by the response I've had to that post, and I was able to greatly empathize with Guido, the director who must make something, but he has no idea what and is surrounded by myriad people looking to him for answers of some kind. Guido wants to have answers, but simply doesn't. He searches through every part of life, from his past to his fantasies, in an effort to find a direction for himself and something from which he can build. That resonated powerfully with me during this past month.

Linkifications
2010 List
Criterion.com
Twitter - @Criterion
Flickchart - The Best Criterion Collection Films
Flickchart: The Blog - Criterion Commentaries
ICheckMovies.com - The Criterion Collection

Discussion Thread

minlshaw's iCheckMovies.com Criterion Collection widget

DVD: 2 | Blu-ray Disc: 1 | Netflix Watch Instantly: 3 | Theatrical Exhibition: 0 | TV Broadcast: 0 | iTunes Digital Download: 0 | Podcast/Streaming: 0 | HuluPlus: 7

Last edited by Travis McClain; 10-01-11 at 07:25 AM.
Old 08-23-11, 10:04 AM
  #17  
DVD Talk Platinum Edition
 
Greg MacGuffin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Formerly known as "Jeffy Pop"/Denver
Posts: 3,038
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

The September 2011 Criterion Challenge


September 2
Throne of Blood

September 3
Taxi Driver

September 4
Taxi Driver (with Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader Criterion Laserdisc commentary)

September 5
The Killer
"A Sense of Carol Reed" (The Fallen Idol)

September 7
Rashomon

September 8
Samurai Trilogy I: Musashi Miyamoto

September 10
The Fallen Idol

September 11
Sweet Smell of Success
"Mackendrick: The Man Who Walked Away" (Sweet Smell of Success)

September 13
Samurai Trilogy II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple
"James Wong Howe: Cinematographer" (Sweet Smell of Success)
"Gabler on Winchell" (Sweet Smell of Success)
"Interview with James Mangold" (Sweet Smell of Success)
"Sweet Smell of Success - Theatrical Trailer" (Sweet Smell of Success)


September 15
Sweet Smell of Success (with James Naremore commentary)

September 17
Samurai Trilogy III: Duel at Ganryu Island

September 18
Broadcast News
"A Modern Coed" (short) (La Collectionneusse)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Netflix streaming)

September 20
La Collectionneuse

September 22
A Night to Remember

September 24
Claire's Knee

September 25
Love in the Afternoon (1972)

September 29
Variety Lights

September 30
Nights of Cabiria


Spoiler:
Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 -
XXX 1940 - The Fallen Idol (1948)
XXX 1950 - Throne of Blood (1957)
XXX 1960 - La Collectionneuse (1967)
XXX 1970 - Taxi Driver (1976)
XXX 1980 - The Killer (1989)
XXX 1990 - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
--- 2000 -

Watch films in at least five languages.
XXX Throne of Blood (Japanese)
XXX Taxi Driver (English)
XXX The Killer (Cantonese)
XXX La Collectionneuse (French)
XXX Variety Lights (Italian)

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10 (Kurosawa, Bergman, Ozu, Malle, Fellini, Renoir, Powell, Godard, Truffaut, Rossellini)
XXX Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa)
XXX Variety Lights (Federico Fellini)
--- Third Director, (insert title)
--- Fourth Director, (insert title)
--- Fifth Director, (insert title)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website
XXX Throne of Blood (Samurai Cinema)
XXX Rashomon (Originals)
XXX The Fallen Idol (Growing Pains)
XXX Sweet Smell of Success (New York Stories)
XXX Broadcast News (Comedies)

Watch something from spine number range:
XXX 001-050 - The Killer (8)
XXX 051-100 - Variety Lights (81)
XXX 101-150 - Rashomon (138)
XXX 151-200 - Throne of Blood (191)
--- 201-250 -
--- 251-300 -
XXX 301-350 - La Collectionneuse (346)
XXX 351-400 - The Fallen Idol (357)
--- 401-450 -
--- 451-500 -
--- 500-550 –
XXX 551-600 - Sweet Smell of Success (555)
--- an Eclipse title -
XXX Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion - Taxi Driver

XXX Watch a film which won an Academy Award - Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (Best Foreign Language Film - 1955)
XXX Watch a film with commentary – Taxi Driver (with Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader Criterion Laserdisc commentary)
XXX Read an Essay - "The Fallen Idol: Through A Child's Eyes, Darkly" by Geoffrey O'Brien (The Fallen Idol)
XXX Watch a short - "A Modern Coed" (La Collectionneusse)
XXX Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it. - Sweet Smell of Success
XXX Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set - The Samurai Trilogy

Last edited by Greg MacGuffin; 10-01-11 at 01:03 AM.
Old 08-23-11, 11:43 AM
  #18  
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 8,384
Received 162 Likes on 120 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

My list

1. Robocop- Criterion Collection Edition
2. The Blob
3. Dazed and Confused
4. I Was a Teenage Zombie

Last edited by shadokitty; 09-21-11 at 12:56 PM.
Old 08-23-11, 12:29 PM
  #19  
DVD Talk Legend
 
Mondo Kane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 11,660
Received 112 Likes on 100 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

Challenge #1 Results

Challenge #2 Results


1st:
1. #7-A Night to Remember__Roy Ward Baker__1958
+
Audio Commentary

Much, much better than I was expecting. I was even more surprised by the engaging commentary (Given Criterion standards by 1995, I would've expected a dry commentary. But it turned out to be just as lively as the film itself) Only problem I seemed to have with the movie was Michael Goodliffe's performance as Andrews. He just came off as devlish and sinister to me. As if he was glad to lead so many people to their deaths.
------------------------
2nd:
2. #553-Fish Tank__Andrea Arnold__2009
I miss 90's rap I'm also surprised that this was made/released as late as 2009. Because as soon as I saw Michael Fassbender, I immediately assumed, "Oh, this is the film that must've helped him land a part in 300"....Oops!
------------------------
3rd:
3. #71-The Magic Flute__Ingmar Bergman__1975
I really have to hand it to myself. Because about 6 (Or more) years ago, I would've given up on completing this. But my respect for films has obviously risen over the years to prevent that from happening. Still can't say that I was incredibly pleased with the final results of this though.
-
4. #564-Pale Flower__Masahiro Shinoda__1964
I'm still warming up to Shinoda's stuff (I've got Double Suicide lined up to go soon) Haven't really been blown away by anything I've seen yet (This included) but quite a couple of great moments, however. Such as the dream sequence, the final hit and those nice closeups of Mariko Kaga.
------------------------
4th:
5. #238-A Woman Is a Woman__Jean-Luc Godard__1961
A classic Hollywood musical via Godard style. I thought the sound editing and all the in-jokes would become tiresome after a while, but things actually seemed to get gradually better as it went along.
------------------------
5th:
6. #375-Green for Danger__Sidney Gilliat__1946
Thought this was be a standard (And quite dull) whodunit, but this ended up being another surprise. Haven't seen Alastair Sim in very many movies, but he really elevates this into something worthwhile.
-
7. "Woodshock" (#247-Slacker___Richard Linklater___1991)
Early Linklater short documenting a popular, local music fest. I kept on hearing the music, but where were the bands?
------------------------
6th:
8. #353-Sólo con tu pareja__Alfonso Cuarón__1991
A little more juvenile than I expected. Claudia Ramirez=
-
9. #104-Double Suicide__Masahiro Shinoda__1969
Just couldn't really get into this one. I'm really afraid to dive into more of these (Non-swordplay) feudal Japanese films now.
------------------------
7th:
10. #416-The Hit__Stephen Frears__1984
A welcomed change of pace for this marathon. Kind of like an arthouse version of Rabid Dogs. Loved that actor's duel between Terence Stamp and John Hurt towards the end.
-
11. #257-Secret Honor__Robert Altman__1984
+
"President Richard M. Nixon"

First off, I always thought that was Jack Lemmon on the cover (Imagine my surprise when I started the movie and found out it was actually Philip Baker Hall) and despite dozing off a little bit there during the middle of the film, I was still very much into this. Mostly because the Nixon story is still intriguing to me---And to see Hall go absolutely ballistic with this performance doesn't hurt.
------------------------
8th:
12. #94-I Know Where I’m Going!__Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger__1945
I swear, these Powell/Pressburger films just might be my most favorite discoveries from The Criterion Collection. And even though this film wasn't as big as a winner to me as Black Narcissus or 49th Parallel, I wouldn't be surprised to see it end up in the top tier of most-favorites by the time this marathon ends.
-
13. #448-Le deuxième souffle__Jean-Pierre Melville__1966
*Sigh* Another slow, long, chatty crime film from JPM. Granted, the movie came alive at the 90-minute mark (When the heist occured) Too bad I didn't care what happened to whom afterwards. I'm still on the lookout for that other Melville film that contends with the brilliance of Le Samouraï.....
------------------------
9th:
14. #277-My Own Private Idaho__Gus Van Sant__1991
There's currently a Gus Van Sant poll going on at the movies board, which quickly caused me to give this one a look. Some cool and clever moments throughout (Magazine-cover sequence, sex scenes via still-montage) it's just that I didn't have too much invested in the "Story".
------------------------
10th:
15. #577-Cul-de-sac__Roman Polanski__1966
I was in a crummy mood earlier in the day, but this film managed to be an antidote. Despite running a tad bit long, I admired how Polanski was able to sneak in some laughable goofiness in nearly every single scene of this movie. And I've only seen Lionel Stander in a few other films, but I had no idea he was capable of being so damn funny! Kudos also goes to Don Pleasance for allowing us to see him go slowly, slowly out of his mind.
------------------------
11th:
16. #294-The Browning Version__Anthony Asquith__1951
Ehhh, I admit to doing a lot of dozing off and daydreaming while watching this one. I guess I just need to take a break from pre-60's British Cinema.
-
17. #359-The Double Life of Véronique__Krzysztof Kieślowski__1991
+
"Musicians (1959)"

I've only seen three other Kieślowski films (Red and Blue) and though I did perfer this film to those two, I still wasn't amazed by it. Though I'm sure a 2nd vewing would really help...
------------------------
12th:
18. #340-Koko: A Talking Gorilla__Barbet Schroeder__1978
+
"Barbet Schroeder" interview

I liked this despite the rather abrupt conclusion (I also would've liked to have seen how Koko interacted with other gorillas, other than Michael, with her new knowledge of language) It was also too bad (Regarding the supplements) that there wasn't any updated information on the progress of of the speaking gorillas.
------------------------
13th:
19. #189-The White Sheik__Federico Fellini__1952
+
"Remembrances"
(Some of it)
Similiar to what I said about I vitelloni (On the first challenge) it would take a few more years before Fellini would really hit his stride in really nailing the humor and drama for his future works. The elements were certainly in place with this film, but they obivously weren't utilized full enough...Although I now admit that I vitelloni was a much stronger film on 2nd viewing.
------------------------
14th:
20. #122-Salesman__Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin__1968
Not something that I could exactly watch over again and again, but I was *Surprisingly* very much into this. I wish I could've seen the supplements regarding "The Rabbit's" reaction to the film (Maybe a youtube clip might help? Hmmm...)
------------------------
15th:
21. #515-The Fugitive Kind__Sidney Lumet__1960
Probably the biggest disappointment I had with this film was that it didn't feel like a Sidney Lumet film. Great performances and moments here and there, but the storyline just seemed to always stall whenever momentum was reached. I also felt the movie needed more Carol (Joanne Woodward).
------------------------
16th:
22. #169-Jimi Plays Monterey & Shake! Otis at Monterey__D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus__1986
+
Commentaries
(Peter Guralnick-1)
"Phil Walden interview"
Ahhh, it was so rewarding in this challenge to finally play something that can blast through the sound system! Never did I know how riveting both performances were presented in their entirety (Just as long as the film didn't screw up---As it did with a few of Jimi's performances) After it was all finished, I'm now pumped to get the whole set someday.
------------------------
18th:
23. #440-Brand upon the Brain!___Guy Maddin__2006
Judging by the description (And being unfamiliar with Maddin's work) I expected another silent-style homage like Call of Cthulhu. Instead, this was like a hyperactive Maya Deren film (Which ended up being a good thing---Despite the title cards often flying by too fast) Oh, and after chapter 2, I couldn't resist not watching the film without Crispen Glover's narration: "RUMANIA!!!"
------------------------
19th:
24. #15-Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple__Hiroshi Inagaki__1955
Thought I would've made a big mistake by checking this out, even though it has been about 2 years since I last saw the previous film. Thankfully the subtitles, at the beginning, kept me up to date on where the story left off. Though I still haven't been blown away by these films, I promise to watch the 3rd and final film in shorter period of time.
------------------------
20th:
25. #204-The Marriage of Maria Braun__Rainer Werner Fassbinder__1978
Liked the first hour. Disliked the 2nd. I will say this though, I LOVED the opening & ending-credits sequences.
------------------------
21st:
26. #348-Love in the Afternoon__Eric Rohmer__1972
+
"Véronique and Her Dunce (1958)"

Surprised it took this long to run into a film that contained some inner monologues (Excluding the surreal Brand/Brain) Not only was this the first of the "Moral Tales" that I've seen from Rohmer, but (I believe) this is the first Rohmer film I've ever seen and wasn't let down one bit!
------------------------
22nd:
27. #362-Border Radio__Allison Anders,Dean Lent,Kurt (Poison Ivy 3!) Voss__1987
+
Cast Commentary
"Making of Border Radio
"The Flesh Eaters: The Wedding Dice"

This looked pretty good during the opening 10 minutes, but then it just fell into a slumber. However, I gave the cast commentary a listen afterwards and developed a slightly better reaction on 2nd viewing (I'm so not used to hearing Chris D. provide commentary for a film that he appeared in!)
------------------------
23rd:
28. #529-Underworld__ Josef von Sternberg__1927
+
"Visual Essay"

Not really as good as Last Command but still enthralling enough. The essay really made me eager to check out more of Sternberg's stuff.
------------------------
25th:
29. #574-Life During Wartime__Todd Solondz__2010
+
"Ask Todd" (Select questions)

This felt incomplete compared to other Solondz-films I've seen. Would've liked to have seen more of the Joy/Andy storyline....Oh, and Charlotte Rampling is still sexy.
------------------------
26th:
30. #377-When a Woman Ascends the Stairs__Mikio Naruse__1960
Seemed to take about an hour to get going, but it still remained quite uneventful. Surprising, given how highly acclaimed this seemed to be over at icheckmovies.
------------------------
27th:
31. #143-That Obscure Object of Desire__Luis Buñuel__1977
Haven't been as pleased with the last few Bunuel films I saw, but this was a nice rebound. Wasn't exactly sure what the ending meant, but at least Carole Bouquet's "Conchita" managed to be the most pleasing c0cktease I've ever seen in a film.
-
32. #356-Sweetie__Jane Campion__1989
+
"A Girl’s Own Story"
"Passionless Moments"

Didn't expect this to be humorous, but it was exactly what I needed after seeing so much serious stuff lately. Bob & Pop at the restaurant was undoubtedly my biggest LOL-moment of this entire marathon.
------------------------
28th:
33. #513-Summer Hours__Olivier Assayas__2008
With the themes of closure and "What shall we do now?", I found this film to be a fitting end to this marathon.

Last edited by Mondo Kane; 09-30-11 at 01:37 PM.
Old 08-23-11, 03:42 PM
  #20  
DVD Talk Hero
 
Quake1028's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Hurricanes Season Ticket Holder
Posts: 26,601
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

Reserved.
Old 08-23-11, 03:59 PM
  #21  
Moderator
 
Giles's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Washington DC
Posts: 33,630
Received 16 Likes on 12 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

I really need to focus on getting a job in September, but here be my measly list
Old 08-23-11, 04:31 PM
  #22  
Moderator
 
Giles's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Washington DC
Posts: 33,630
Received 16 Likes on 12 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

Originally Posted by Trevor
Why for? You don't have to own a single Criterion to participate.

oh ouch ...
Old 08-23-11, 09:49 PM
  #23  
DVD Talk Special Edition
 
mrcellophane's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Norman, OK
Posts: 1,716
Received 72 Likes on 42 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

2011 September Criterion Challenge List

*= first time viewing
blue= personal BluRay
black= personal DVD
green= other

September 1st
1. Spine #450: Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1996)*
Enjoyable heist comedy; loved James Caan's character
2. Spine #343: The Bakery Girl of Monceau (Eric Rohmer, 1963)
Very engaging critique of mankind's moral compasses
September 3rd
3. Spine #95: All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk, 1955)*
Stirring melodrama centered around expectations of self and others
September 4th
4. Eclipse Set #13: Sisters of Gion (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1936)*
Tragic portrait of geishas eking by as the world changes
September 5th
5. Eclipse Set #26: Flunky, Work Hard (Mikio Naruse, 1931)*
Great silent short about a man frustrated by work and family
6. Spine #321: The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman, 1960)*
Hauntingly tragic tale that plays out like a medieval poem
September 11th
7. Spine #489: Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001)*
Vibrant film (glad I got it on BR); watched while eating curry
8. Spine #566: Insignificance (Nicolas Roeg, 1985)*
Thanks to Marilyn, I now understand the Theory of Relativity
September 13th
9. Spine #554: Still Walking (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2008)*

September 28th
10. Spine #295: Crazed Fruit (Ko Nakahira, 1956)*

September 29th
11. Spine #229: Scenes from a Marriage (Ingmar Bergman, 1973)* - television miniseries

Spoiler:

Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 - (insert film title here)
--- 1940 - (insert film title here)
-X- 1950 - All That Heaven Allows (1955)
--- 1960 - (insert film title here)
--- 1970 - (insert film title here)
--- 1980 - (insert film title here)
-X- 1990 - Bottle Rocket (1996)
-X- 2000 - Monsoon Wedding (2001)
--- 2010 - (optional), (insert film title here)

Watch films in at least five languages.
-X- First language - Japanese, Crazed Fruit (1956)
--- Second language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Third language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fourth language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fifth language, (insert language), (insert title).

Watch films from five different directors in Criterion’s top 10
-X- First director - Ingmar Bergman, The Virgin Spring (1960)
--- Second director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Third director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Fourth director, (insert director),(insert title)
--- Fifth director, (insert director),(insert title)

Watch a film from five different “themes” on Criterion’s website
-X- First theme - "America, America", Insignificance (1985)
-X- Second theme - "Food on Film", Still Walking (2008)
--- Third theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Fourth theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)
--- Fifth theme name, (insert theme), (insert title)

Watch something from spine number range:
--- 001-050 -
--- 051-100 -
--- 101-150 -
--- 151-200 -
-X- 201-250 - #229: Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
--- 251-300 -
--- 301-350 -
--- 351-400 -
--- 401-450 -
--- 451-500 -
--- 500-550 –
--- 551-600 -
-X- an Eclipse title - Flunky, Work Hard (1931)
--- Watch a title not released on DVD by Criterion (laserdisc or hulu offering, any format acceptable) -

--- Watch a film which won an Academy Award -
--- Watch a film with commentary –
--- Read an essay -
-X- Watch a short - The Bakery Girl of Monceau (1963)

--- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it (photo stills, essays, commentary, booklets, etc). -
--- Watch an entire Criterion Collector's Set/Eclipse Box Set - Eclipse Set #13: Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women (1/4)

Last edited by mrcellophane; 09-29-11 at 10:32 PM.
Old 08-23-11, 11:29 PM
  #24  
Senior Member
 
ororama's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 613
Received 7 Likes on 7 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

1. Jason and the Argonauts (1963) * 103 min.
2. Geometria (1987) * 6 min./Cronos (1993) * 92 min.
3. The Tale of Zatoichi (1962) * 96 min.
4. The Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962) * 72 min.
5. Shadows In Paradise (1986) * 74 min.
6. Ariel (1988) * 72 min.
7. The Match Factory Girl (1990) * 69 min.
8. Patriotism (1966) * 28 min.
9. People on Sunday (1930) * 74 min./Into the Blue (1931) * 36 min.
10. Science Is Fiction (Jean Painleve): Bluebeard (1936) * 13 min./The Fourth Dimension (1936) * 10 min./The Struggle For Survival (1937) * 14 min./Voyage to the Sky (1937) * 11 min./Similarities Between Length and Speed (1937) * 10 min./Le Vampire (1945) 9 min./Freshwater Assassins (1947) * 24 min./Sea Urchins (1954) * 11 min./Sea Ballerinas (1956) * 13 min./How Some Jellyfish Are Born (1960) * 14 min./Shrimp Stories (1964) * 10 min./The Love Life of the Octopus (1967) * 14 min./Diatoms (1968) * 17 min./Acera, or the Witches' Dance (1972) * 13 min./Liquid Crystals (1978) * 6 min./Pigeons in the Square (1982) * 27 min.
11. Hearts and Minds (1974) * 112 min.
12. The Traveler (1974) * 73 min./Close-Up (1990) * 98 min./Close-Up Long Shot (1996) * 44 min.
13. Sling Blade (1996) *148 min.
14. Edward II (1991) * 90 min.
15. The Vanishing (1988) * 106 min.
16. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) * 118 min.
17. Ikebana (1956) * 32 min./Tokyo 1958 (1958) * 24 min./Pitfall (1962) * 97 min.
18. Five Corners (1987) * 94 min.
19. The Most Dangerous Game (1932) 63 min.

*First time viewing

Last edited by ororama; 10-01-11 at 10:04 AM.
Old 08-24-11, 10:11 AM
  #25  
Moderator
 
Giles's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: Washington DC
Posts: 33,630
Received 16 Likes on 12 Posts
Re: September Criterion Challenge 2011 - List Thread

okay, I'm guilty of this too, but y'all need to remove all the posts that ARE NOT a "list" mmm-kay

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.