shadokitty

Another addition for Criterion for those afraid of elitism might be Robocop or Godzilla. While it is true that Gojira was made as an anti Nuclear movie, the American version, Godzilla, King of the Monsters, is very much a typical 50s atomic monster movie.

CardiffGiant

An interesting infographic. Well over a year old on the information, but the sentiment remains the same.

Any image that incorporates The Seventh Seal wins in my book.

Travis McClain

I didn't include Gojira because I haven't seen it. I very nearly included RoboCop, but I wanted to keep the list to a manageable number and arbitrarily went with 20. It would have made the cut if I'd gone to 25. I felt that The Rock would appeal to roughly the same demographic of action fans, and I much prefer it.

CardiffGiant

A few that I've thought of that might help inspire depth and further analysis are as follows. Thoughts? Additions? Subtractions? I clicked through a number of films on the Criterion site to see "common" supplemental content. I think this might leave it vague enough to allow people to complete the tasks without too much work.

Watch a Criterion supplemental interview with the director
Watch a Criterion supplemental interview with a lead actor/actress
Watch a Criterion supplemental interview with someone else
Watch a Criterion supplemental documentary
Watch a Criterion supplemental theatrical trailer
Read at least 5 (10?) Film Essays listed on Criterion's site or included in DVD/BD Booklet

There is also room to make this more vague by stating something like:

Watch 5 Criterion supplemental interviews. Ultimately, that might be easier.

There are almost 1,000 Film Essays on Criterion's site and more in the booklets, so I think making that 10 wouldn't be a stretch either, but we have so many at 5 that it might make sense to keep that consistent.

mrcellophane

I will strongly recommend any of the films on the list (obviously). I'm not well-versed in Kurosawa's films as I would like, but Throne of Blood is one of my absolute favorites. It is excellent! I plan to check out my unwatched copy of The Hidden Fortress which is on Travis's list. Of course, I think you could dedicate the whole month to Kurosawa's films.

Thanks for the inspiration! I had fun compiling it. The Royal Tenenbaums is one of my favorite films. I love dysfunctional family flicks, and it was also my introduction to Wes Anderson so there is definitely a sense of love attached to the film that introduced me to his unique style.

BTW, I love the title "The Criterion Collection for People Who Are Afraid of Film Snobbery"! But I confess that the elitism is one of the things that first drew me to the collection. I suppose I'm that kind of person!

Travis McClain

I'm down with this, but I would also suggest if we go to this that maybe we could subtract the "Watch every part of it" checkmark.

I could be wrong, but I think all the essays in the booklets are included in all the ones online. They date back to the LaserDisc era, I believe. I do like the idea of encouraging reading more essays, given that like spine numbers, they're an integral element of The Criterion Collection.

Travis McClain

Meant to come back to this earlier and didn't have time.

I can only speak for myself, of course, but I've found in previous years that the spine number range check marks have driven me to make selections I probably wouldn't have made otherwise. Case in point: In 2010, I still needed something from #500-550 on the last day of the challenge. I could only find a few things that were eligible. I chose Hunger. I'd have much more likely just kept gorging on Ingmar Bergman films if not for the checklist.

I don't see a whole lot of difference between consolidating the two and leaving the 10s as optional...except that it might be a check I don't wind up getting and even if it's optional, it'll irk me! :P

Point.

Oh, right. I do remember that discussion now.

Yeah, it sucks that so many of these list compilers have no regard for availability. It took me a couple hours the other night before I was finally able to piece together, through Hulu, Vudu, Amazon and my local library, all ten films in one list.

That'd be a hell of a way to knock off the box set list!

My first Anderson film was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which remains my favorite of his. In fact, it's really the only one I've seen that I thoroughly enjoyed. Second would be the short film, Hotel Chevalier, though there's something about the sound mix that bothered me.

I'm of two minds about it. On the one hand, the side of me that has always been drawn to academia was attracted to the idea of exploring this curated collection of films respected but overlooked by mainstream audiences. On the other hand, I've made no secret that I was put off by the way that so many talked about Criterion that I felt too intimidated to even start trying to explore it. My list was really something that I intended for people like I was, who wanted to know more about Criterion but didn't really know where to start.

Though this could also be a fun bonus activity: Create a Top 10 list of your own!

I'm not saying that I'm eager for this challenge to start. I'm just saying I spent an hour creating the header image for this year's list post.

Oh, and one other thing. I know I'm not the only Kentuckian on the forum, though I have no idea how many others participate in this challenge. Anyway, the Kentucky Theater in Lexington is going to screen Black Orpheus on the 18th.

EDIT TO ADD

Select Cinemark Theatres will screen Some Like It Hot on the 8th (2:00 and the 11th (2:00 & 7:00). It was released as LaserDisc #074.

Ash Ketchum

You need to see GOJIRA, dude. And then, whether you've seen it already or not, follow it up with the 1956 American reedit, GODZILLA. It's very instructive to watch the two back-to-back.

Travis McClain

Eh; I've never really had much interest, to be honest. One day, I'll get around to it.

Incidentally, Amazon is offering a free 30-day trial of Amazon Prime. You have to be eligible for it (i.e., not have had a Prime membership in x months) and you have to initiate the trial period by Sunday. I mention this specifically because, as I noted previously, there are several titles in The Criterion Collection available for streaming from Amazon that aren't on HuluPlus.

Ash Ketchum

How can you be as deeply interested in film as you are and not be interested in GOJIRA? It's an important film in so many ways. Besides, have I ever steered you wrong?

Giles

oh christ - I might have to sit this one out... I'm getting a tad burned out with all these challenges.

Gobear

I don't understand the complaints that Criterions are intimidating or that enjoying good movies is "elitist." You never hear that enjoying the novels of James Joyce or Vladimir Nabokov is elitist; or that going to a Kandinsky or Picasso exhibition at a museum is intimidating. There was a time when enjoying complex art aimed at intelligent adults was a mark of intellectual maturity; in our modern Honey Boo Boo world, possessing a healthy curiosity about high art produced by other cultures makes one seem suspect and unAmerican.

You'll have to pry my Carlos Saura Eclipse box from my cold, dead hands.

Giles

go watch 'The Blob' ...

Gobear

or the two, TWO, Michael Bay films, in the collection. How can anyone be intimidated by Armageddon?

mrcellophane

I feel the same way, but I think a majority of my friends, family, and acquaintances would be like "who?" While looking through my collection, I realized that I have quite a few OOP Criterions. People will apparently pay a pretty penny for that set. I'm glad that I got it during a B&N sale.

I was intimidated by the bad storytelling and really loud noises. Does that count? Also, this film is the reason my brother owned a Criterion DVD before I was aware of what that was.

Travis McClain

Outside of Star Trek, I've never had much interest in science-fiction, to be honest. Monsters do even less for me.

Word. I host TV on DVD* in January and I enjoy Oscars, then I tend to sit out until Historical Appreciation in June (which I also host). Then I'm in for all of them through Horror in October. I'm pretty casual about Holiday, rarely making much of an effort.

Try hanging out in my neck of the woods sometime. The only reason so many people here wouldn't admit that they find such things intimidating is because they're too self-conscious. Mention the fine arts, though, and you invite reflexive "You think you're better'n me, don't you?" reactions.

In spirit, I agree with you. But I also have to say that this hard line conviction is precisely why such things are perceived to be the domain of intimidating elitism. It's one thing to be knowledgeable and passionate; it's another to scorn those who aren't and that's where the divide originates.

As we say in the South, "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." Hence my "Criterion for Noobs" list, which I intended as honey for those who are put off by the vinegar.

Entirely unrelated
I just found The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2-disc Criterion edition Blu-ray at Walmart for $5.00. It's in a regular, slim blue case instead of the standard thicker, clear case from Criterion but for $5.00 I wasn't gonna sweat it.

xizor42

I can only speak for myself, of course, but I've found in previous years that the spine number range check marks have driven me to make selections I probably wouldn't have made otherwise. Case in point: In 2010, I still needed something from #500-550 on the last day of the challenge. I could only find a few things that were eligible. I chose Hunger. I'd have much more likely just kept gorging on Ingmar Bergman films if not for the checklist.


But isn't making selections you wouldn't have otherwise part of the fun?

Travis McClain

Quite. That was my point.

xizor42

Excellent. Not quite sure why I read that as a negative.

CardiffGiant

I've only seen Tango (not in the set)...but I've heard great things...too bad it's OOP.

I'm willing to keep them how they are/were. I was under the false recollection that no one completed the checklist again last year. Turns out, that wasn't the case at all.

I believe in the democratization of these challenges. It's not my challenge, it's the DVDTalk community challenge, I just happen to organize the thread. I think it's always good to look at ways to make the challenge and checklists work better, more interesting, and fun. I think some of the changes that we've been discussing should happen (removal of directors, addition of essays, etc.), but I'm fine with leaving the spine numbers this way if people think it's fine as is and provides a good challenge. After all, the checklist should require a bit of work. I just want to make sure that we don't put the checklist too far out of reach for the regular participant. And, I want to try and encourage discussion of the titles.

CardiffGiant

I believe that's the only one that exists. Criterion and Paramount worked together to release the film, so it's not a typical Criterion release.

For me, the criticisms levied at the film don't make sense and probably reek of that elitism others have mentioned. Some don't like seeing mainstream films in the collection, and I understand that feeling, but I like seeing good films in the best condition, with the most supplemental material that I can. This release does that and I think it's a solid film.

Not to mention it's a nearly 3-hour film adapted from an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story; it's interesting to see a story taken well beyond the original content.

shadokitty

Signed up for the Amazon Prime trial.

Travis McClain

This and Oscars are the only two challenges where I ever even come close to completing the checklist on a consistent basis.

And you do an excellent job!

I can appreciate how a film debuting in The Criterion Collection would seem suspect. It raised my eyebrows, too.

I still haven't actually seen it! I'll be sure to share my thoughts when I do, though!

Ash Ketchum

Reducing GOJIRA to simply a science fiction movie or a monster movie is like calling WEST SIDE STORY a teen musical, SEVEN SAMURAI a swashbuckler, or THE SEARCHERS a cowboy movie. It's not just a genre film. It's a portrait of a nation and its reaction to a trauma that no other nation on the globe experienced ever.

Hello? Are there any other GOJIRA fans in here to back me up?
Don't be shy, guys, help me out here.

Travis McClain

No need to make the case for it. I'm already aware of the thematic value and allegorical points, etc. That's really the only context that makes it interesting to me. I'll get around to it one day, but I'm in no rush. Way too many movies that I'm excited to finally see ahead of it!