Fiend Without a Face was a mildly entertaining Netflix rental, but certainly not worthy of a purchase, even for genre fans. I hated A Woman is a Woman - what a flimsy, cutesy excuse for a film. Felt more like a half-assed series of in jokes than anything else, and this is coming from a fan of 60's Godard.

I don't know if I'd necessarily say that. I'm a big 50's sci-fi fan and I loved Fiend Without A Face. It reminded me of other classic cheese-fests like The Brain from Planet Arous.

The Last Wave didn't work for me either.

I ebayed it as soon as I finsihed watching it, and haven't thought about it since.

mdnitoil,
Summertime appears to be out of print. You could probably make a decent profit unloading it.

I'm disappointed that so many people seem incapable of appreciating Chasing Amy. I watched it again yesterday and it still holds up ten years on.

I agree with you killercannabis. I also loved The Blob for the same reason.

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.