DVD Talk Forum - DVDTalk's First Annual Criterion Challenge

DVD Talk Forum (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/)

- DVD Talk (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-talk-3/)

- - DVDTalk's First Annual Criterion Challenge - September 2009 (https://forum.dvdtalk.com/dvd-talk/560646-dvdtalks-first-annual-criterion-challenge-september-2009-a.html)

DVDTalk's First Annual Criterion Challenge - September 2009

<a href="http://www.imagehosting.com/"><img src="http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/4389/criterionlogo.jpg" border="0" alt="Image Hosting"></a>

30 Days of Criterion
September 1st - 30th 2009

The Planning Thread

The List Thread

<B>THE "RULES"</B>

This is not your father's Challenge. Think of this as an un-Challenge. The only goal is to watch Criterion content and share your experience with the rest of us. There is no specific number goal, no counting, no winners, no losers, no prizes.

This is not about bulk watching. Just watch however much you would normally watch in a month, but concentrate it on Criterion content as much as you can/want. In fact, bulk watching is discouraged, as that will limit your time for discussion and for immersing yourself in a film. Fully exploring a film is highly encouraged. Instead of racing through films and watching three or more in one day, why not fully experience each Criterion disc? Watch the film a second time with the audio commentary. Watch all of the special features on the disc. Read the insert booklet.

There will be a separate thread to include your lists as linked above. Be creative and personalize it however you wish - use one post for the whole month, daily posts, weekly posts, give reviews, provide IMDB links, add YouTube videos, add images, etc. It's recommended that you provide a link to your list(s) in your signature for easy access.

What qualifies? Any film, short, video or DVD supplemental feature that has been released by Criterion qualifies. The film does not have to watched on an actual Criterion disc. You may watch the film on any format imaginable, provided that it is the same film that Criterion has released. For example, the film Silence of the Lambs was released by Criterion on DVD. But you don't have to watch the movie on that particular DVD. You can watch it on VHS, on broadcast TV, on the internet, UMD, iTunes, or any of the various DVD releases SOTL has had. The only thing that won't count is the blu-ray version. Absolutely no blu-ray discs or even blu-ray players may be used in this Challenge.

Discussion and debate on how to change the Challenge is encouraged. We may not make changes in this current year, but there's always next year. The blu-ray comment was a joke.

<table border="1"><tr><td>A daily journal sort of entry is recommended for your list. Since counting is not required or "scored" in any way, you are free to be as creative as you wish in how you list items. Bolding of your item titles is encouraged, if only to make them stand out to allow others to quickly see if they have seen the same items and wish to comment. Give reviews. Even if it's just a mini-review, a simple :up: / :down:, or a one word description.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fist of Doom (Post 9618989)

How about this: Instead of a numbered list, we have a daily summary. Everyone has 30 entries (assuming it's done September) and reports what they watched that day. It could be the first disc of Berlin Alexanderplatz, the extras to Ran, the Man Who Fell to Earth novella, or the entire Cassavetes box set. There's no competition - it's just about exploring

Example:

September 1st - Watched Silence of the Lambs. :up:

September 2nd - Watched all of the special features on the SOTL disc. (Insert in depth opinions here)

September 3rd - Snuck into the local mental institution and interviewed patients as if they were Hannibal Lector.

September 4th - Called my parents to bail my out of the local jail.

</td></tr></table>

<B>Optional Checklist</B>

The checklist is completely optional. It is just a "fun" inclusion to give one a sense of accomplishment, or a guide on what to watch next.

Watch one film from every decade covered by Criterion.
--- 1920 - (insert film title here)
--- 1930 -
--- 1940 -
--- 1950 -
--- 1960 -
--- 1970 -
--- 1980 -
--- 1990 -
--- 2000 -

Watch films in at least five languages.
--- First language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Second language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Third language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fourth language, (insert language), (insert title).
--- Fifth language, (insert language), (insert title).

Watch something from spine number range:
--- 001-050 -
--- 051-100 -
--- 101-150 -
--- 151-200 -
--- 201-250 -
--- 251-300 -
--- 301-350 -
--- 351-400 -
--- 401-450 -
--- 451-500 -
--- an Eclipse title -
--- a laser disc only Criterion from this list -

Watch a film from the following genres:
--- Comedy
--- Drama
--- Horror
--- Science Fiction
--- Action / Adventure
--- Musical
--- Epic / Historical
--- Mystery / Thriller
--- War / Western
--- Documentary

--- Watch a film which won an Academy Award -
--- Watch a film with commentary -
--- Watch a short -
--- Watch a Criterion disc completely. Every part of it. -

(One film could fill multiple items. Example: Silence of the Lambs would qualify for a decade, language, spine number range, genre, Academy Award, and possibly more.)
(Change "---" to "-X-" or some similar mark when you have completed that line item.)

Wiki list of Criterion laser disc releases, all eligible regardless of format.

Criterion TV schedule here, courtesy of Mondo Kane.

For in depth discussion of a specific Criterion disc each week, see the Criterion Film Club thread. Sign up to select a film for the group to discuss here.

The challenge officially begins Tuesday, September 1, 2009 at midnight of whatever time zone you are in at the time, and ends on Wednesday September 30th, 2009 at 23:59:59 in whatever time zone you're in at that moment. Renting a fast plane could enable you to squeeze an extra 24 hours out of this thing.