Agreed, <b>FIEND WITHOUT A FACE</b> is beloved by many a genre fan. The stop-motion brain monsters fascinated many a kid back in the day and they still look cool today. More fun than any CGI efx, that's for sure.

I am surprised no one has mentioned <b>EQUINOX</b> yet. I still like it out of nostalgia as I watched it a lot on tv in the 70's when I was a kid. But I can't imagine it would impress the general Criterion fan.

Patrick is joking. He is a big fan of classic film.

Summertime was A+ for me. Beautiful film.

I love 50s sci fi and monster on the loose movies, but I just find the characters in FWAF that appealing. I think that is what might had made it a slog.
OTOH, I enjoyed The Blob quite a bit.

I was almost going to say Equinox. I can't say the film did a lot for me, but I loved the overall package. It was great to finally see the Dave Allen VW commercial, and there is a good interview with Forry Ackerman (why haven't more disc producers sought him out for supplemental input over the years? what a depressingly wasted opportunity)- so overall still a net plus for me.

Same here. While I despise Clerks 2 and other Smith material, Chasing Amy is a wonderful film, one of my top ten of all time.

For me the whole company is a letdown probably due to how embarassingly overhyped they are. I love the films they choose but the majority are available in better / equal releases elsewhere. I do give credit where credit is due though and their marketing is exceptional. No other company comes to mind when I see two words together:

DVD - Fanboy

Like I said, I love the films they put out but they often get far too much praise.

I concur. The scene, as in singular, with the monsters is well done, original, and quite gory for it's time. That being said, the other 68 minutes of the film in which the creatures are not onscreen is excruciating to get through. For the record, I love The Blob.

The majority? Try a handful.

:sad:

And "in other parts of the world, usually released years after the Criterion".

Looking back, I'm surprised at how many Criterion discs I initially was left cold by, but later warmed up to (to say the least). Brief Encounter, I Fidanzati (both bored me at first, and now I find them utterly beautiful and compelling), The Lady Vanishes (left me cold at first, and now its one of the three or four films which never fails to make me smile), the Stan Brakhage set (I considered it an essential curiosity at first, and now consider it the most rewarding and amazing release in the collection).

I'm surprised nobody listed the Brakhage set yet, actually. It seems to me to be the most divisive release in the collection; its even more abstract than Armageddon.

Chasing Amy--Smith is NOT Criterion worthy.

Jubilee gets a bad rap because Derek Jarman created it to reflect the economic chaos and cultural despair infecting the intellectual climate in the UK in the 1970s that spawned the punk aesthetic, combined with a Dadaesque hostility to the idea of art and narrative. I own the movie and am a big fan of Jarman's films in general, although I can certainly see that they would not be to most people's taste.

I don't think I've ever been disappointed by the content of a Criterion film, although their handling of films sometimes bewilders me. Some of their films are barebones, yet Criterion still charges exorbitant prices for them. Anchor Bay put out superior versions at a lower cost of two films that had previously been Criterion releases--Time Bandits and The Long Good Friday.

Kwaidan is a great film, but their DVD doesn't do it justice by a looooong shot.

Oh, I dunno; it's a damned sight worthier than Michael Bay. Kurosawa he's not, but Smith is unique enough, and Chasing Amy, is for the most part a good film, IMO.

Perhaps you ought to have resold it instead of throwing away 700 bucks ;).

*spews venom*

The first time I saw it, I said "HEY! He actually CAN write!"

After reading over this thread I don't know if everyone is talking about the quality of the film, or the presentation (image, sound, special features, booklets, etc) of the dvd release by Criterion?

What the?

Belle du Jour was a little more accessible, but Bunuel and I don't seem to get along very well- I like his work more in theory than in actual practice.

BTW- Amazon UK was running a sale on the 2 disc Optimum edition of Belle du Jour a few months back. It is a 'criterion worthy' package I think I paid a total of $17 (US) to import. Needless to say it utterly blows away the Miramax disc here.

When I read the thread title, the first film that I thought of was Jubilee and lo, the OP cites that very title. Holy synchronicity :) . I am a fan of pretty much all things punk but this film bored me to tears and it remains one of only two films that I can remember not finishing. I sold it on eBay, along with The Last Wave, which I found decent enough, just not so compelling as to deserve the Criterion "treatment."

Great thread idea, by the way....

In the Mood For Love and Yi Yi are two of the finest.
Yi Yi is intimidating in its length but without a doubt rewarding.
In the Mood For Love is in the top 3 of mine; and I understand again why it can be turned off, but it is 1 hour and 40 minutes- it is a great movie; things do not have to happen immediately.

I have been fortunate enough not to miss with my criterions. I also am lucky enough not to have to blind buy since they are all for free at our library, with the exception of some of the more recent ones not being available yet. Is the Agnes Varda set worth pre-ordering? I loved the Universe of Jaques Demy from what I have seen on the Lola and Umbrellas of Cherbourg DVDs.

I am Curious left more to be desired. anybody want to defend Wild Strawberries and get me to watch it?

Wow, how can someone hate so many great movies. 1 of those is even in my top 10 movies of all time (Seven Samurai)? And what is Crisis? Was this one of the Bergman films in the Eclipse set, the name sounds familiar, but I'm not placing it.

Watched it in my early twenties and thought it made for a great experience.
Watched it a few years ago in my late 30s and it left me cold. I ebayed it after one viewing.
It's a good movie, but the Scandinavian angst worked more magic when I was younger and more inclined that way myself. My reaction to WS this last time, was the reason I was so suprised how much I enjoyed Seventh Seal. I think that was due it being more playful, subversive, and blackly humourous compared to WS.
It still had the angst, but the gallows and liberal earthy humour, leavened it out a lot.

Mona Lisa

While I thoroughly enjoy the movie, I'd love for Criterion to revisit and re-master it, both seem so lackluster as if Criterion didn't put their usual stamp on it. It simply doesn't feel like a Criterion release (it's bare thin on extras as well).

Since they are revisiting some of their catalogue now, I'd place this on the candidate list.

Hoskins is phenomenal in this movie.

This is a great point. I believe most, if not all, Criterion films are worth multiple views. For the most part people go in thinking every film will be incredible, and that will lead to dissappointment, but when you get over that and watch it again, you may be more inclined to appreciate the film for what it is, and why it's an important film. You may not love it, but I hope you'll see something in it you didn't the first time.

I love to revist films years later, because I may find I don't like it as much as I used to, or I like it more.

Kagemusha dragged a bit for me, too. It's a good movie, but I much prefer RAN (and I highly recommend the Criterion release of that).

Fellini. Both Amacord and 8-1/2 had me checking my watch. I don't understand why he always used to be mentioned in the same breath as Bergman.

A Nous La Liberte was a fun little movie, but it wasn't the work of genius that I'd been led to expect.

I find that more than half of Criterion Eds I watch are very 'meh' to me.

Not b/c they are bad movies, but just b/c CC picks out those kinds of films that are so niche and specific to a time, place, political and/or art movement, etc... that if you don't already have some sort of perspective or appreciation for them, they can leave you fairly uninspired. I AM very glad they do this since if they didn't nobody else would care as much about these films. Even titles I despise should be restored and reproduced with care since I know that I want the same attention given to those little films I happen to love that not many others seem to.

Sometimes I read up on the director or the film first if it's something that's very obscure to me (Sweet Movie is a good example) and that can make it somewhat more interesting... but lots of the 'greatest films of all time' only strike me as average as best.

Just watched Grand Illusion and Rififi last week and while I recognize both as masterpieces in their own right, I wasn't blown away by them in any cinematic way. The best part of G.I. was the short intro by Renoir....

It's also just good for me (I do a lot of writing) to know these films more intimately even if I don't particularly enjoy watching, so that when someone references a scene to me I know what they are talking about without a lot of explanation.

I did like Picnic At Hanging Rock, Hopscotch and Lacombe Lucien more than I thought I would.

*edit* kind of agree on Fellini. BUT he has that way of finding the EXACT moment where I'm thinking... "C'mon dude. What the hell are you...." and then springing something wacky on me. David Lynch does the same thing, imo. But yeah, FF can head down some mystifying paths on occasion.

Alphaville. I just couldn't get into it. I hated that computer voice too.

Double Suicide and La Commare Secca are my least favorite.

Seven Samurai.

I first saw it in a very substandard transfer which definitely affected my enjoyment of the film a lot, but the 3-disc Criterion only made me appreciate so much more. I still prefer Yojimbo and Sanjuro.

Its a great movie....but definitely for more English tastes. I still find it hard that you couldn't make it through it.

For me the only two Criterions that i have had problems with are Salo (just an attrocious movie in every respect) and F for Fake which i found to be very slow and meandering even though the subject of the documentary is very interesting.

Watched this one last night and liked it quite a bit. Kinda creepy similarities to my life, I had many nightmares as a kid about the rain never stopping. I still sometimes have nightmares about huge tidal waves.

Anyway, someone mentioned Jigoku. I thought that one was a little weak as well.

wow five pages so far, entertaining read...

I don't understand this thread. The Criterion editions of certain films are disappointing, or the films themselves?

Hmmm. That's odd. Personally, I thought that Bergman wouldn't be the type to click with a "younger" audience (I'm 20, and a fan, but I thought that I was a bit of an exception, though I have a non-film-buff friend who loved The Seventh Seal too, so maybe I'm generalizing.). I just thought that many looked upon Bergman as the archetypal stereotype of "long, boring, black and white, and subtitled."
Very true. Maturity, experience, and simple changes in mood can really affect my opinion of a film.

I perceive it as being the latter.

Good Burger. I mean, come on, this is the same company releasing Seven Samurai, M, and Armageddon, and I completely expected this to blow all of those out of the water after all I heard about this. How could a movie with Kenan and Kel surfing on a giant wave of orange soda NOT be the best movie Criterion ever released!? Well, maybe I like it as much as Armageddon. :D

Well, here's what I think of the Criterions in my collection. The general consensus from me seems to be mixed... some great films, some not so great, but nothing awful. I'm just the kind of person who has a difficult time getting into slow-moving films if I can't get myself involved in the story, and many Criterion dvd's seem to focus on more thoughtful, generously paced films. On the other hand sometimes I can get involved in a slower-moving film if there's enough to grab me.

I'll divide them into a few categories:

Great dvd, great film:
Fat Girl
Short Cuts (one of the best dvd's ever, IMO)

Great dvd, mixed reactions with film:
An Angel at My Table
Man Bites Dog
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Naked

Great dvd, disappointing film:
A Nos Amours
My Own Priate Idaho

Great film, disappointing dvd:
Autumn Sonata
Hard Boiled

Disappointing all around:
The Night Porter


So as you can see, Criterion films aren't really my cup of tea on first viewing, and the high price of the editions doesn't encourage a blind buy. However, I would like to revisit most of these that I found to be "mixed reaction" or "disappointing" since I know what to expect now, as I find this way I can focus on the story much better and let myself get into the film.

The Vanishing, only because of the lack of a commentary or any other bonus features. It's still a great film and a beautiful transfer, though, so I'm really pushing it by saying that it's disappointing.

My pick is Rebecca (1940) the movie is Ok but nothing to special about I love Joan and Oliver.
But the flim is very odd and not very Hitchcock like (Think this has talked about before).

That's one of my faves, actually.

I love Criterion's Vengeance is Mine but the lack of audio commentary was a big letdown.

Rebecca, regardless of how anyone feels about the film, is (or rather was) an insanely great Criterion disc set. The screen test footage alone I consider near priceless.
That said, the movie is more David O Selznick than Hitchcock- and while there are some early films of AH I absolutely love (Notorious, Shadow Of A Doubt)- most of his stuff leaves me cold or indifferent. Rebecca as a film, is more the later for me.

I just ordered Two Lane Blacktop. I used to have the AB disc (and sold it for a nifty profit 2 yrs back) so I know what to expect- but I can easily see that title showing up in this thread in the future.
In fact, if I had bought it blind and paid a criterion-sized price for it, I would have likely been disappointed. I didn't miss it when I sold it- but its the kind of film that works its way under your skin, unnoticed, and stays with you. For seemingly no reason its come to my mind a lot in the last year or so.