yeah...the ones you mentioned weren't well recieved at the times. and now you are mentioning the obscure and very little seen. i am not saying the ones he did weren't good or great, but he should have been much much more than he was and yes, it was his own fault.

so "The Killers" is that good? i am thinking of getting them. what non-criterions are they likened to?

I have to tell you this... get all of Luis Buñuel’s surrealist gems, he's my favorite director of all-time!!

See all Criterion's here

And Criterion will release some more Buñuel this year hopefully....

Monty Python's Life of Brian

Check out my Criterion list:

<a href=http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?cat=1⊂=Criterion&id=rockymtnbri>My DVD List at DVD Aficionado</a>

I have The Virgin Spring on order as well. I have to vehemently recommend Le Trou, Wages of Fear, Rififi, The Bad Sleep Well, High And Low, and The Third Man.

Here's a link to a very informative review-

http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/killers.php

Errr.... Looks like I missed that one.

You show very good taste in picking that one as one of your favorite DVDs. I'd rank it in my top 20 easily, and maybe in my top 10 DVDs.

(I wouldn't put the movie in my top 10 or 20, although I think both the '46 and '64 versions in the DVD set are VERY good, but the DVD set is outstanding - Criterion really did a great job on that set!)

I don't want to be excessively arguementive as I understand the point you are trying to make, but you are linking "not well received at the time" with a "wasted" career. For what it is worth The Stranger and Lady from Shanghai were "well received" and were money makers for the studios. Othello won the Palm D'or at Cannes. I'll concede that some of the films he made in Europe outside the studio system (The Trial, Mr Arkadin and Chimes) are "little seen" and aren't well known here. Kane and Ambersons were extremely influential to countless directors. He could have been much more. We all can be much more, but i don't see how you can say his career was wasted.

seven samurai

M

the third man

seventh seal

great expectations

beauty and the beast

rashomon

alexander nevsky--eisenstein the sound years

Solaris
Eyes Without a Face
Le Samourai
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Throne of Blood
The Vanishing
L'Avventura
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
Touchez Pas Au Grisbi
L'Eclisse
Mamma Roma
The Sword of Doom
Harakiri
Contempt
Kwaidan
Wild Strawberries

Watch F for Fake then. Its such complete proof that he was a directorial and editing genious.

Regarding Criterion recomendations I just picked up Slacker... Great film if you're into interesting characters and dialogue...

Kagemusha : The shadow warrior