Re: are criterions for douche-bags
 

I haven't seen that in a long time, but it's in my pile for review. Czech out Karel Kachyna's The Ear (Ucho), if you haven't seen it. It's a top-10 fav of mine.

Re: are criterions for douche-bags
 

:lol:

Well played Sir Norm-A-Lot.

Ucho is indeed incredible. :thumbsup:

Re: are criterions for douche-bags
 

I was wondering what you were laughing at, then noticed my little pun. Good to see another Ucho fan.:) Diamonds of the Night, by Jan Nemec, is another excellent Czech film.

Re: are criterions for douche-bags
 

lol

Re: are criterions for douche-bags
 

I'm late to the party, obviously, but here's my take.

Anyone who thinks of Criterion as exclusively snobbish should take a look at their LaserDisc releases. There were Criterion LDs of movies like The Wizard of Oz, the first three James Bond movies, Blade Runner, Ghostbusters, Monty Python and the Holy Grail and plenty of other movies that only someone with an entirely contrarian perspective would argue were unheard of by more than one percent of all humanity. It's true those movies aren't part of the DVD/Blu-ray Disc era but that's because DVD was mainstream in a way LaserDisc never was, which made it less appealing to the major studios to license those kinds of movies to Criterion (or anyone else).

I admit, I was initially put off by Criterion, but it wasn't the collection itself. It was the way that fans talked about Criterion that alienated me. It felt like some kind of exclusive club I was too late to join and would be regarded as some kind of nouveau riche party-crasher if I started to explore and try to discuss the films in the collection. I pictured stuffy old white dudes in monocles and smoking jackets regarding me warily and rolling their eyes at how much a rube I was for making some kind of rookie-level observation about an Ingmar Bergman film.

Then, in 2010, I took the chance to participate in the Criterion Challenge here on DVD Talk. I was expecting a lot of snobbishness and to feel completely frozen out of the discussion. Instead, what I found was that it was only my prejudice, formed from ignorance, that had ever been an issue. It turned out that I loved Ingmar Bergman movies. I had never known that, but I do. I've gone on to see something like nearly 20 of his films over the last few years. I recently bought a novel he wrote, and I'm eager to read that. I knew the Grim Reaper in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey referenced Bergman's The Seventh Seal, but I had no idea that I would actually love The Seventh Seal itself. I always thought I was just a Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey guy. Who knew?

The answer is, I could have known but I let my sense of inferiority get the better of me. I let it tell me that I wasn't welcome in the Criterion-talking circles and I didn't really wanna be there anyway so nyah! Ridiculously childish of me, and if I only got one thing from my years of being a forum member on this site, just getting past that mental block and discovering how much I enjoy a lot of the titles in The Criterion Collection is a hell of a win.

No, I haven't loved everything I've seen. I found Dazed and Confused atmospheric and it appealed to my sense of nostalgia, but ultimately I just couldn't connect to it. I didn't care about any of its characters. Same with The Naked City. But The Horse's Mouth, starring Alec Guinness? The funniest movie I watched in all of 2012. The Vanishing? Easily trumps the vast majority of movies I've watched for any of the Horror Challenges. Sullivan's Travels not only gave me more insight into O Brother, Where Art Thou? (a movie I loved so much I saw it twice during its theatrical run and am going to see again in two weeks), but it also helped me process being in a mental health facility in 2011 to treat my chronic/suicidal depression.

I would invite everyone in this thread to take the chance on this year's Criterion Challenge. CardiffGiant is a nice host, the conversation is always interesting - and civil - and you might find that discovering movies you like is far more rewarding than scoffing at imagined snobbery. I'd personally be happy to make specific movie suggestions.

Re: are criterions for douche-bags
 

I just watched "Naked Lunch" on Blu-ray. What a ride and what a stellar presentation.

"It's a Kafka high. You feel like a bug...try some."

Re: are criterions for douche-bags
 

I'm a dbag and I like Criterions.

Re: are criterions for douche-bags
 

Thanks MinLShaw for your insight's. I can certainly relate and have found some new found appreciation for several Criterion films (Tokyo Drifter, Wages of Fear come to mind.) I will certainly be doing the challenge this year.

Re: are criterions for douche-bags
 

Yay! Glad to hear you're gonna join us in September. I think Criterion has actually become my favorite challenge. A big reason for that is the discussion thread, where because of the relatively small pool of eligible content, there's a high likelihood at least one other participant has seen whatever you have to discuss.

After thinking it over some more, I actually did compile a list of 20 movies I would recommend as basic starting points for exploring The Criterion Collection. I call it Criterion For Noobs. It's also on Letterboxd as The Criterion Collection for People Who Are Afraid of Snobbery, in case any of you are also Letterboxd users.