Their DVD cover of Lady Eve, which uses the original poster, is SO MUCH better...

Agreed. The same was true of Sullivan's Travels.

Preston Sturges and Noah Baumbach for me. I prefer the original Lady Eve artwork as well, but I'm just happy for the upgrade.

Definitely will be picking up Marriage Story.

I can see why Criterion changed the cover for Lady Eve as they are using their own stylized cover versions for the Blu-rays similar to what they have done for other releases instead of the movie poster like in the DVD version. It doesn't mean that I think its better but I understand their strategy.

OMG! A Bunuel box-set of his Mexican films would be a dream come true!

How’s Army of Shadows
all around? Why would the same edition go out of print, then back years later?

It went out of print because they lost the rights. Then they got the rights back.

The movie is an all time great. One of, if not the best movie made about the French resistance in WWII.

I tracked down Army of Shadows a few years ago and was sorely disappointed with it. I had high expectations for it and they weren't met from what I remember.

I sold it on eBay and got my money back. Gonna have to watch it again to see if I would repurchase it.

Agreed. I've seen it about 2-3 times, once on the big screen, and it's a very disappointing film. Melville made better pictures and this is a slooow moving film. I liked it the more times I saw it, but I would never encourage anyone to pay a lot of money for it, let alone more than the cost of a movie ticket.

Well, I guess we know who the two are.

Make that three. It's a fairly good film, and stars one of my fave actors in Lino Ventura, but it's far from a masterpiece. I haven't seen it recently enough to be more specific.

What were your expectations for it?

It wasn't on my radar up until a few week ago, but when I heard it was a more realistic portrayal of what the conditions were like working in the French resistance it shot up to the top of my Criterion want list.
Based on that, I'm expecting more of a tamped down, psychological style thriller, than any kind of action movie. Betrayal, threat of exposure, psychological cat and mouse...that kind of stuff.

How off base am I?

That's pretty close to the mark. It's dark and fatalistic, but without the "cool gangster" sheen that some of Melville's other films have. The violence isn't necessarily any more graphic than his others, but it's more brutal and dehumanizing. It's also far more personal. I'm a huge Melville fan and I think it's his greatest accomplishment. It doesn't have the same genre appeal as something like Le Samourai or Le Cercle Rouge, but I think it's a richer experience.

The Bruce Lee set went down to about $91 and change for anyone who has to have it now.

just got it. Sooner much rather than later. Know I won’t, but hope I can pop this is when I’m in the mood. Got to be in the mood. Right now, I feeling Beverly Hills Cop.

But they can’t have it now. It will come out during (pending any changes due to current events) a 50% off B&N sale and will be $30 cheaper.

I love almost all Melville and will still argue that this is one of his best. But given his catalogue, that's a tall order...He just released so many great movies it's hard to pick out a favorite...But if you're any sort of history fan you'll love it...Really compelling, and authentic...

Let us know what you think after you watch Army of Shadows.

may take a bit, but i will try to put it near top of pile. also, got to see Paths of Glory again...

Agnès Varda box set coming in August. Includes 39 features, shorts, and documentaries. Seems to be her entire filmography.

Someone sell me on Varda, a filmmaker I have always heard about but never seen or even read up on.

I'm surprised Criterion hasn't done a Kurosawa Box set yet ala Bergman. I would buy that in a heart beat.

As for the Agnes box set, I'm not much help but it would be half off at B&N in November if the sales don't change.

I haven't seen any of her work, but I'm always happy to see Criterion do these box sets. I just wish they'd take size and shape into account a bit more
It looks like this one might be roughly the same size as the Bergman set (which I'm ~60% through, and am thoroughly enjoying, despite having only seen two of his films before diving into it).

They did the AK100 set, but it was DVD only. It desperately needs a Blu-ray version, and I'd gladly swap out my entire Kurosawa collection for a nice BD set. It's the only reason I haven't bought some of the titles I'm missing.