I'm guessing October, as with Island of Lost Souls and Kuronoko last year, and Hausu in 2010.

I love Videodrome, the film and the Criterion release. But the last person who watched it because of my praise, he hated it. I like Videodrome, but I don't think I or anyone can make accurate recommendations without knowing what you like.

If I use your Criterion collection as indication of what you like, I think Kuroneko would fit in given your predilection for Japanese films & films with stunning black & white cinematography (think maybe Yojimbo by the way of Cocteau, with a dash of Edgar Allan Poe). It's a haunting & atmospheric supernatural ghost story with beautiful b&w cinematography. Videodrome's one of my all-time favorite films, but for your collection I'd recommend Kuroneko.

Do the recommendations have to be Blu-ray? Because I'd think Kwaidan should be in your collection, being one of the most influential Japanese horror films; also an influence on anthology horror films. Would you settle for an anamorphic widescreen DVD?

^
Do not buy the Criterion disc of Kwaidan! It is missing twenty minutes, and sports a weak transfer. The Masters of Cinema release is uncut, of superior quality, and includes a 76-page booklet. Here is a comparison.

I like to think Criterion will fix that when they release it on Blu-ray.

I'm sure they will, but in the meantime, the DVD should be avoided.

Yeah, that's mainly the reason why I'm concentrating on their blu-ray releases. Knowing that they will get around to upgrading most of their titles and that I'll surely want to upgrade as well, and with so many already available on blu-ray, I'd rather go for these right now.

I enjoyed all of the Cronenberg films I have seen, so I'm tempted to get Videodrome on the back of that.

As for my preferences, I do enjoy gorgeous black & white cinematography (or color), but I'm afraid the amount of Japanese titles in my collection has been skewed by my project of collecting IMDb's top 250. I am very interested in seeing Kuroneko however.

I should also probably say that I think I would be okay with 'hating' one of my Criterion purchases, given the 'collection' aspect of it all. That has yet to happen though.

I'm thinking I'm going to have to watch some of the trailers. I know trailers can somewhat be deceiving but it should provide me some sort of basis to help me decide.

Well, shit! That's the first I knew about the missing 20 minutes. I searched around to find what was cut. DVDcompare.net says:

Was the footage missing at the time Criterion released the DVD? This is also posted under IMDB's "alternate versions": Originally a four-episode anthology released in Japan at 183 minutes. Can you link to any articles that explain the cut histories? Or would you rather chide me than educate me.

Well, unlike Kwaidan, Criterion features Videodrome's UNCUT unrated version with the footage excised from Universal's R-rated release. It also has 2 great audio commentaries. Cronenberg's commentary is great as usual, but James Woods is the rare actor who delivers an equally insightful commentary; in fact he does a better job of explaining who Marshall McLuhan was. Also, a bonus feature I consider a real treat is an archival 1982 roundtable interview with Cronenberg, John Carpenter & John Landis (all making films at Universal at the time), hosted by a young Mick Garris! Carpenter's current production is The Thing, another one of my all time favorites, and I love seeing the dynamic between these directors.

But it's ever-shifting. Different films are constantly bumped in and out of the 240's depending on the user voting averages. I remember Shaun of the Dead was once up there but got bumped out. What are you going to do with your purchases that get bumped out of the 250? Are you going to continually buy every movie that briefly gets voted up into the top 250? I swear, there are fanboy mobs of certain popular directors (especially Chris Nolan & James Cameron) that ensure their latest film gets into the top 250 through mass voting. The Nolan mob's going to jam The Dark Knight Rises up there come hell or high water, regardless of Bane's intelligibility. I dunno, I just can't lend much credence to a list where Revenge of the Sith is one of the best films internationally of all time. I say exercise free will and make your own top 250. "There is no fate but what we rate for ourselves."

It has become a little problematic indeed. The new releases showing up in there don't bother me so much, because so far they're all movies I would've ended up buying anyways. But 240-250 has been shifting pretty frequently lately, and I haven't been jumping out and buying every single one of them instantly. I usually wait and see if it will stick around and rise or not. I've recently decided I will probably at least wait until they make it above the 240 mark.

I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but I used it as a way to broaden my horizons and be introduced to films I had never heard of. Some I've loved, some less, but I have been able to take something away from each of them I have watched so far. It's also turned me into a Criterion enthusiast (before that I think the only two I owned were Benjamin Button and Man Bites Dog), and that can't be a bad thing, right?

^Nice collection.

I would recommend the upcoming La Haine disc. The movie is awesome and the disc should be reference quality. The black & white looks amazing.

Thanks! I'm most definitely getting La Haine, I am pretty set on the May/June titles I'm planning on getting.

Harris Savides visits "the closet" - i'd say THE GAME is a sure thing now...

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I. cannot. wait.

Never heard of this film...I'm now interested in it. Love seeing Olmos when he was younger.

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and I never get tired of CC's 3 Reasons.

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For? what?

The more-than-likely release of The Game.

Malkovich Malkovich

Malkovich?

....sooooo what is involvement here? Kaufman? I'd love to see The Right Stuff from CC...anyway..discuss, motherfuckers.

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I'd like to see it be Unbearable Lightness, but rights seemed to have gone to Warner so I would guess either The White Dawn (Paramount) or Henry & June (Universal).
I thought Warner was supposed to release a Bd of the Right Stuff either this year (or maybe it was even last year). That seemed like a solid rumor so I would wonder if they are holding it for another year or two to release on an anniversary?

Digital Bits listed it as a 2012 release, but as next year will be the 30th anniversary, I can see WB waiting until then.

More Kaufman is always welcome with me. I'd love for this to be Henry and June, but I'll be interested in anything.

Too bad indeed that Criterion won't be getting Unbearable Lightness back. I have the CC DVD but would love that on BD.

As for Harold and Maude...did they nix some of the extras/booklet (the reason for the delay)? I can't remember where I read that, but I see some websites still list the original bonus materials (while Criterions does not).

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