[wellcharge]

Originally Posted by Better_Than_Deux

yeah my life to live is fucking wonderful.

breathless was my first though.. you never get over your first.

[i shouldn't talk shit about blake for not returning my movie. it happens when you date people. things get 'lost'. but still, i can't believe he hasn't returned it yet!]

you don't have to date people unfortunately, if i only got some action for every cd that hasn't been returned to me.....

[Better_Than_Deux]

Originally Posted by wellcharge

you don't have to date people unfortunately, if i only got some action for every cd that hasn't been returned to me.....

you could make people sign a legally binding slip of paper that stated "if you lose this cd, you are entitled to give me sexual favors on the date of my choosing"

[Dr. Eugene Felikson]

I agree with wellcharge.

Masculin Feminin > Breathless.

[Better_Than_Deux]

i'm only judging by breathless &my life to live.

i saw parts of a bande apart and some of vacation (??.. the one with the 8 minute traffic scene.)

but i am excited to explore my nouvelle cinema once i get netflix. heEey.

[atsonicpark]

Breathless is one of my least favorite Godards. And I've seen EVERYTHING.

The best currently on Criterion is Week End, Pierrot Le Fou, and My Life to Live.

His best stuff is Slow Motion, Notre Musique, Hail Mary, Passion, Oh Woe Is Me, and King Lear though.

[Count Mecha]

For a brief while I always think of Criterion as this thing that puts out these really um I guess important (or at least seemingly important) films that have a very high value and relevance to culture/history or whatever. And then I remember that there's stuff like Armageddon in the catalog.

[atsonicpark]

Criterion is just a brand that releases "important" films -- which doesn't always mean good -- usually that are extremely obvious -- and there are shitloads of awful movies on their label. On the other hand, there are constant surprises.. Dog Star Man, Revanche, Hausu, etc... My biggest thing with them is that all their dvd's are $40+. That's ridiculous. People can argue all day about that, $40+ (note the plus) for a 90 minute movie is completely absurd. People can say, "OH, BUT YOU GET SO MANY SUPPLEMENTS! THE PACKAGING IS KEWL! eTC!" To me, it makes movies turn into this fetishistic object, rather than you know.. just being a movie you enjoy. I have a non-Criterion Breathless that's just as good as the Breathless print, it just doesn't have some ridiculous special feature you're only going to watch once. The packaging usually is cool, but doesn't justify the price; the only thing I can see is the little booklets in most of their releases, but again, it's something you're going to read once, maybe, and that's if you love the movie. Really, the reason they charge so much is that they know they can get away with it.

On the other hand, FACETS does put out almost exclusively amazing movies, I've watched probably 60 Facets titles and 100% of them have been interesting, and most of them have been great. And you can get them for cheap, usually!

Again, I like Criterion, but they've released some absolute dog shit.

[evollove]

Dog shit? Sorry, but their version of Armaggedon was amazing. Bruce Willis never looked better.

Seriously though, the $40 helps go to the people who hunt down prints, transfer the film, clean it up, go through archives for bonus material, etc. A lot of effort goes into a release that might sell, like, 5000 copies worldwide. That said, something like Seven Samuri--which they know sells like crazy-- should go for ten bucks, just to even things out.

[atsonicpark]

You really think those releases only sell, like, 5000 copies worldwide? I'd have to politely disagree with that. Criterion is a respected brand, with hardcore fans, many of whom ONLY buy Criterion, and many collect everything Criterion does. I am sure if I troll their message boards (which I posted on for a few days until I got annoyed with their "moderators have to approve every single post before it gets posted") I can find exact sales numbers on stuff, since they enjoy bragging about that stuff. I am taking a wild guess though, with a pretty niche collection like By Brakhage getting a volume 2 and being one of the first Blu-Ray releases -- yeah, they're not hurting at all.

They do have the "Eclipse" series, which has cheaper titles, like Kaurismaki's amazing "Ariel". Those are only like $25, and have no extras. HaH!

How much was that one Bergman box set, with 3 films? $90? $110? I mean Christ.

[Derek]

How much are DVDs normally over there? I would never pay more than £5 for a movie unless it was a director I truly loved.

[viewtiful alan redux]

My main praise for them comes in putting out great movies I wouldn't have otherwise ever known of, like The Human Condition or Rififi, but yeah thier fan boys are basically just another category of nerd, and a lot of them seem to think that a movie isn't worthwie unless Criterion puts it out, I love what they do, but they are far from a be all end all of cinema. They, like many record labels (sub pop, southern lord, etc.) specialize in attracting those to whom collecting things appeal to, myself being one of them. Chronological spine numbers is always a guarantee for OCD nerd money.

[Rob Instigator]

I have never seen any Goddard. Where to start? I think I may actively hate them severely which is why I have avoided them,.

[viewtiful alan redux]

You probaby will... from the ones I've seen (I liked 2 of the 3) they are very self indulgent and pretntious. Godard is a very interesting artist, but his movies are art house movies of the highest order and most assuredly not for everybody.

[Rob Instigator]

I enjoy beautiful cinematography but I really do not enjoy watching movies where the entire film is just about two or three people's personal relationships and dillemas. I get bored.
I have yet to hear anyone talk about what Goddard's movies are ABOUT.

[viewtiful alan redux]

Avoid 2 or 3 things I know about her and contempt then.

[atsonicpark]

Contempt and Band of Outsiders are both his most popular films. Next to Breathless..

I started with Week End and Pierrot Le Fou and My Life to LIve and they were fine.

[Rob Instigator]

what are they about though?

[viewtiful alan redux]

Originally Posted by atsonicpark

Contempt and Band of Outsiders are both his most popular films. Next to Breathless..

I started with Week End and Pierrot Le Fou and My Life to LIve and they were fine.

I loved both contempt and breathless, but had a hard time really loving 2 or 3 things. The visuals and sounds were interesting, but the overall experience was bogged down in pretense that wasn't necessarily all that interesting.

[batreleaser]

They're pretty cool, but I never want to shell out the cash for those things, and some of the choices are fucking mind boggling, "Armageddon", really? C'mon.

The best one I've bought is "Throne of Blood".

[davenotdead]

contempt is about living with brigitte bardot. its awesome. and jack palance is in it