I am about to order one or two Criterion DVDs on DVDplanet. ON my wish list i have Armageddon, The Rock, Traffic, and Seven Samurai. I am trying to find good films and if you have any suggestions (including titles that i didn't list) please share them! What to GET!?!

MG26!

Naked Lunch

The Scarlet Empress

. . . . . .

As Faith would say, "Five by five":

Rules of the Game
Tokyo Story
The Third Man
In the Mood For Love
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeiosie

The Seventh Seal

and

The Lady Eve

and

My Man Godfrey

and

Grand Illusion

and

The 39 Steps

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Get the Kurosawa Samurai collection. It should only count as one!

only have enough for one or two films, not a collection sadly. and i only have one criterion so far, being Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

MG26

8 1/2

Rashomon

That Obscure Object of Desire

I only own 5 criterions ( well 6 if you count Chasing Amy but that doesn't really count ) and you're planning to order 4 of the 5 that I have.

My 5th is Spartacus so I'll recommend that to you.

Of course Chasing Amy counts...anyway, Schizopolis is pretty funny, and isn't one of the more expensive Criterions.

I just ordered Blood for Dracula, Flesh for Frankenstein, and Idi Amin Dada, and they all sound really good. Next up for me will be Last Temptation of Christ and By Brackage. I can't technically recommend stuff I haven't seen, but they all SOUND really cool.

M

. . . . . .

There's no reason to get Armageddon or the Rock. You can do better than that.

Seven Samurai is a great one to get. Not much as far as special features, but the film is so great it doesn't matter. Also, for other Kurosawas, the recent Ikiru 2 disc and Throne of Blood 1 disc sets are wonderful. Maybe if you're just starting out you should try to see if you can still find any of the three OOP Hitchcock DVDs. In the order I would recommend them (all are great, btw): Notorious, Rebecca, Spellbound.

"M" & "Naked Lunch" are two brilliant movies, but you seem to have more mainstream taste, going by your first order, I would suggest staying away from suggestions like "The Seventh Seal" (I love the movie, but work your way up to those).

If I were you, I think the next criterions you should go far are:

Rushmore - Will always be one of my favorite DVDs ever.

Royal Tenenbaums

Samurai Trilogy

Then if you like Seven Samurai, start getting all the Kurosawa samurai films (if you like just one, then the rest will never let you down. If you dig all those, go for his other criterions.

Then start branching out into the more bizarre criterions or classics.

That's the route I would go looking at your first purchases.

I agree wholeheartedly regarding the Michael Bay films. I would also agree that Seven Samurai is one to get, but I would say the commentary track alone warrants the $39.95 MSRP price point.

I'd recommend dropping the Bay pics and instead grabbing the Kurosawa boxset.




Edited to remove statement that the Rock isn't anamorphic.

There's nothing definite, but there have been some rumors that The Seven Samurai might be reissued soon with an improved transfer. It was a good transfer in 1998 when the disk first came out ... better film elements are probably available now, and the authoring technology has improved. DVDBeaver has a comparison of the Criterion and the superior looking Toho DVD. Of course, this might not happen soon if at all.

Having said that, I always recommend Black Narcissus as a Criterion purchase. It's a bit of an offbeat story, but it has excellent color photography (Acadamy Award for color cinematography, 1947), the DVD has great extras, and it is really a superior film and DVD in every way. Here's the DVDtalk review.

Peeping Tom

The Rock is and I really like it. Rushmore and Do the Right Thing are both great sets also if you are looking for more modern films (that is mostly all I have from Criterion, besides Hitchcock).

The sad thing is, I thought that might come back to bite me. Instead of double-checking on Criterionco.com I just tried to recollect whether the Rock DVD went into production before or after Insomnia and I guessed way wrong.

Looking at your collection, it would appear you tend to favor relatively contemporary American movies, particularly action/adventure films. The Rock and Armageddon are really the only Criterions that qualify, but some others you might like include:

Hopscotch: This is a witty, light-hearted spy movie -- sort of like a cross between Ocean's 11 and The Bourne Identity.

Speaking of The Bourne Identity, Carol Reed's The Third Man is a great tale of intrigue in Europe.

Hitchcock is, of course, the father of the thriller, so I'd recommend picking up one of his films. Criterion only has two currently in print -- The Lady Vanishes and The 39 Steps but both are good.

Another good thriller/action movie from Cirterion is Charade which stars Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn ... Audrey Hepburn .... oh, sorry -- where was I? Like Hopscotch, Charade is a fun thriller.

You've got Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back but none of Kevin Smith's other movies. Chasing Amy is probably his most serious, least juvenile work, but it's still a really fun film.

Seven Samurai, which you mentioned, is a great samurai film from Kurosawa. You really can't go wrong with any of Kurosawa's movies -- check out Yojimbo, Sanjuro, or The Hidden Fortress.

You own a few Kubrick films. Consider checking out the movie he really cut his teeth on: Spartacus.

If you enjoy Disney's Beauty and the Beast, check out the real thing: La Belle et La Bete. In spite of the fact that it doesn't have a singing teapot, it's better than the Disney version.

For a great crime/heist movie, check out Rififi.

Or, if you just feel like broadening your horizons and seeing a great movie, just pick a number between 1 and 232. I've never seen a Criterion movie that wasn't worth getting.

Try The Vanishing. I'm always surprised at how few people have seen this. I bought it blind, and I loved it.

Also, Man Bites Dog, and everything else others have mentioned.

I'd heartily recommend, for the best value for your money, since it sounds like you're on a budget (as am I):

Rushmore
8 1/2
Do the Right Thing
The Rules of the Game
The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoise
Le Cercle Rouge
Naked Lunch
Contempt

All of which are excellent films, with good presentation, and lots of extras (most of the above are two disc sets). When I'm short on cash I try to maximize my investment by getting a DVD with good replay value and lots of extra stuff to watch for hours and hours.

On the basis of your tastes, as I can divine them...

Rushmore
The Killers (excellent extras and 2 film adaptations)
The Vanishing
Do The Right Thing
Naked Lunch
Man Bites Dog
Throne of Blood ("MacBeth" is a nice, action-filled Shakespeare template, afterall...)

The Vanishing
Any Kurosawa
8 1/2
Knife in the Water
Royal Tenebaums
Traffic

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Naked Lunch
Rashomon
Man Bites Dog
Lord of the Flies