I have to add my second on Spartacus. In addition to being a very interesting movie, the first commentary track is the best commentary track I've ever heard (I'm a big Kubrick fan, and there's a lot on him). And the second commentary track - in which the writer is resurrected to throughly dissect the film - is amazing and audacious. I love Brazil and especially Criterion's version of it, but it is nowhere near the level, as a film, as Spartacus. I've seen a few of the others recommended, and in general you can't go wrong with any as far as I know. But some of the jewels in the Criterion Collection shine brighter than the rest, and Spartacus is definitely one of those.

Nanohoost'en' la.

i sure hope so.
i blind ordered it this morning based only on some steller reviews around here.

of the ones i've seen,
i was very impressed with Billy Liar- a movie i went into not really expecting to like (it was an impulse buy that i'd come to regret before i actually saw it).
very entertaining and moving character study.

My life as a Dog is also a good film, thats hard not to like.

The Killers ('46) is top shelf Film Noir and the two movies on that set make it a good bargin.

My favorite Criterion disc would probably be Carnival of Souls, but i wouldn't really recommend that one as its somewhat an aquired taste.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of those (although All That Heaven Allows is pretty light on extras)

I've got to go with Beastie Boys Anthology or Traffic.

My own personal favourite tbh is By Brakhage but i'm not sure that would particularly appeal to someone who wasn't too familiar with his work to start with.

You certainly can't go wrong with any of the suggestions so far but i would also like to add Le Cercle Rouge which i recently picked up and found to be of a very high standard indeed.

Of the ones I own, I have to say Hard Boiled is my favorite, but it is long OOP so you may not be able to find it. I also enjoy Silence of the Lambs. I have Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ordered from DDD as a blind buy but highly recommended by several of my friends.

I think my favorite is 8 1/2 which fits almost all your requirements (except "warm").

Spartacus would get my votes among these. It's my favorite as far as extra's on a Criterion.

Beatie Boys or Picnic at Hanging Rock

I can't pick a favorite (I haven't fully explored any of their titles yet), but I can say that their release of Brian DePalma's 1973 film "Sisters" is kind of a joke. There's nothing but a few text essays. Big deal. The movie plus those for $25. It's a great movie, but not at all worth the Criterion markup. What I want to know is if the "Monterey Pop" collection is worth the price tag. At a minimum I want the notorious Laura Nyro performances. But I'm wondering if the rest of it is worth the $55.

has anyone seen the film/dvd 'The Honeymoon killers', as i'm toying with getting it

Check out this link of a previous thread asking pretty much the same thing...

Click here

Your instinct was right. Go with In the Mood for Love. It's a great film that really highlights the subtlety that is lacking in American films about romance and relationships. It was the first film I thought of when I started to read your post.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas...seriously some of the most unique supplements and most insightful.

Knife in the Water and Straw Dogs...unbelievable releases

What originally got me started collecting Criterions was the Kurosawa films so I have to go with Seven Samurai as the best film in the collection.

Referring to the Fassbinder BRD Boxset:

I'm not a big boxset person, but this year has some terrific boxsets from Criterion and this one is tops.

Reach into the fountain and grab a coin.

Almost any Criterion will do (with some exceptions)...

I recently enjoyed Bergman's 'spider trilogy' especially 'Through a Glass Darkly' - Bergman is haunting - I also highly recommend Wild Strawberries and Seventh Seal from him.

Last Temptation of Christ is top notch and Children of Paradise is not to be missed!!!

Again, you can't go too wrong with Criterion...

Do the Right Thing.

Although I don't own it (criterions are generally too expensive for my tastes), you can't go wrong with that film.

There's an odd thing about the Criterion release of In the Mood for Love - it has a Shanghainese language track.

At first, I thought, it must be a misprint. Shouldn't it be Mandarin? Probably a lot more people speak Mandarin than Shanghainese. The former being the official language of China, Taiwan, Singapore, etc. It would have made the dvd much more accessible. Shanghainese seems to be a peculiar choice.

Then it dawned on me that the two protagonists in the story are Shanghai immigrants to Hong Kong (Director Wong Kar-Wai is Shanghai-born as well). Could this be the reason Criterion included the Shanghainese track? In the first place, was there a Shanghainese version of this film when it was shown in Shanghai? To the best of my knowledge, this track is not found in other dvd releases, even the Hong Kong version.

Perhaps Criterion actually recorded a totally new Shanghainese language track for this sublime work of art. If so, it did it purely for art's sake.

I'm gonna be the first to give The Harder they Come some love."Who can Draw?"

Another vote for In the Mood for Love -- it's an absolutely wonderful movie and a great Criterion set to boot (and one of the heaviest, thanks to the short story included in the booklet).

My Life As a Dog and Ratcatcher might be to your liking, as well. Ratcatcher is a fairly depressing film, but a brief shot at the end was so uplifting that it made me cry.

The charactors in the movie speak Cantonese and Shanhainese; therefore the single sountrack contain both Cantonese and Shanhainese. The dialogs in the film were perform by the actors themsleve, they are not dubbed. Criterion DVD only include the original Cantonese and Shanhainese soundtrack. Feel safe to buy this DVD.

8 1/2
Rififi
Rashomon
The Seventh Seal
Solaris
Le Trou
The Third Man
That Obscure Object of Desire
Eisenstein : The Sound Years
The Passion of Joan of Arc
The Wages of Fear

Was there a reason you are ruling out MY LIFE AS A DOG as one of your options? It fits almost every facet of the criteria you listed. It's by thedirector of Cier House Rules and many other better movies.

Some more choices, that usually aren't the first movies brought up during criterion discussions, but are good nonetheless:

SUMMERTIME - Katherine Hepburn as a repressed secretary on holiday in Venice, and opening herself up to the world, coming out of her shell

RED SHOES - i actually haven't watched this yet, but mos everyon oves it, and seems to fit your bill

GEORGE WASHINGTON - a smaller, less flashy movie on the crterion roll. Absolutely stunning image quality and picture, even though the locations are just simple backyards in southern USA. The whole film has a golden glow to it, and the cinematographer does a great job with an apparantly small budget.

I'm glad you brought this one up . . . anyon else have any insight on it? I was considering it as a blind buy during the DDD "coupon-a-thon" last week, but just didn't know enough about it to bite. Anybody have any thoughts that they'd like to share?

I picked up George Washington as a blind buy earlier this year and loved it. It made me a David G. Green fan for life now, if that helps with your decision.

Like Pasolini said, the disc looks amazing, and the mostly non-professional cast does an excellent job. It's not a fast-paced or strongly focused movie, but it is a beautiful, moving slice of real America. Green seems to be more capable of writing and directing truly natural films than almost anyone else out there right now...

The Clu Gulager short film that's included is also excellent, if more than a little unsettling.