Foreign Correspondent Blu-Ray? (1 Viewer)

[David Weicker]

Young and Innocent would certainly get my vote for their next feasible Hitchcock release. (The Warner controlled ones would seem to be out of the question, and I can't believe Fox would gladly hand over Lifeboat.)

Young and Innocent would not only get my vote for most feasible, but It is my most wanted of the remaining Hitch's. (actually, its my remaining wanted, but thats just me).

David

 

[Moe Dickstein]

It's a shame they can't do Blackmail though. They did the Laserdisc and have a great commentary for it already.

 

[AnthonyClarke]

Yes, please, Young and Innocent (says he, twitching uncontrollably)

 

[Martin_Teller]

I prefer Best Picture Nominees and American Hollywood classics.

"Best Picture Nominees"? That doesn't make any sense. There is no connection cinematically, thematically, stylistically or emotionally between those movies. Just the selections of a committee... and one whose decisions have historically been dubious at best. Don't tell me that you just buy any movie that was nominated for Best Picture. That's madness. Do you like them ALL?

 

[Doug Otte]

Wasn't there a rumor earlier this year that Criterion is working on Secret Agent?

 

[battlebeast]

"Best Picture Nominees"? That doesn't make any sense. There is no connection cinematically, thematically, stylistically or emotionally between those movies. Just the selections of a committee... and one whose decisions have historically been dubious at best. Don't tell me that you just buy any movie that was nominated for Best Picture. That's madness. Do you like them ALL?

"Doesn't make any sense?"

WHY NOT? It's what I choose to collect. SO WHAT???

"...No connection?" The connection is... THEY WERE ALL NOMINATED.

I NEVER SAID THE ACADEMY GOT IT RIGHT ALL THE TIME... quite the opposite; I find they get it WRONG a great deal of the time. AND YES, I buy EACH AND EVERY MOVIE NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE. Again, SO WHAT??? You might think it's stupid, but I don't.

And no, I DON'T like them all. In fact, there are some Nominees that I HATE WITH A PASSION. IE) The Rose Tattoo. And there are some films I just plain dislike: The Best Years of Our Lives, An American in Paris, Marty, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Even though it's my favorite play), Nashville, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Apocalypse Now, District 9, Seven Brides for Seven Borhters... and more.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT??? by buying EVERY Best Picture nominee, I have been able to see AMAZING films I would NEVER have bothered to watch otherwise.

Films like Life is Beautiful, Mississippi Burning, Unforgiven, Five Star Final, The Lost Weekend, The Great Dictator, Trader Horn, High Noon, 12 Angry Men, Juno, StageCoach, Milk... among MANY MANY others.

AS WELL, I set a personal goal and watched ALL 494 BEST PICTURE NOMINEES in 365 DAYS.

Also, in watching all these films in one year, I got to go to UCLA and see The White Parade and East Lynne. That was an amazing trip!

Without my collection, I doubt I would have found the Home Theater Forum, and the many, many people whom I chat with almost DAILY about ALL KINDS of movies.

I have fun collecting Best Picture nominees just as others have fun collecting Disney animated films or the films of John Ford.

I don't begrudge ANYONE doing what ever makes them happy, but if you think what I collect is stupid, that's fine. You are entitled to your opinion. If you like Japanese cinema, great! GOOD FOR YOU! Buy the films and enjoy! But I won't insult or put you down for doing so.

What's "madness" is other people knocking others for doing what make them happy.

and THAT I don't like.

 

[atfree]

"Doesn't make any sense?"WHY NOT? It's what I choose to collect. SO WHAT???"...No connection?" The connection is... THEY WERE ALL NOMINATED.I NEVER SAID THE ACADEMY GOT IT RIGHT ALL THE TIME... quite the opposite; I find they get it WRONG a great deal of the time. AND YES, I buy EACH AND EVERY MOVIE NOMINATED FOR BEST PICTURE. Again, SO WHAT??? You might think it's stupid, but I don't.And no, I DON'T like them all. In fact, there are some Nominees that I HATE WITH A PASSION. IE) The Rose Tattoo. And there are some films I just plain dislike: The Best Years of Our Lives, An American in Paris, Marty, A Midsummer Night's Dream (Even though it's my favorite play), Nashville, Kramer Vs. Kramer, Apocalypse Now, District 9, Seven Brides for Seven Borhters... and more.BUT YOU KNOW WHAT??? by buying EVERY Best Picture nominee, I have been able to see AMAZING films I would NEVER have bothered to watch otherwise.Films like Life is Beautiful, Mississippi Burning, Unforgiven, Five Star Final, The Lost Weekend, The Great Dictator, Trader Horn, High Noon, 12 Angry Men, Juno, StageCoach, Milk... among MANY MANY others.AS WELL, I set a personal goal and watched ALL 494 BEST PICTURE NOMINEES in 365 DAYS.Also, in watching all these films in one year, I got to go to UCLA and see The White Parade and East Lynne. That was an amazing trip!Without my collection, I doubt I would have found the Home Theater Forum, and the many, many people whom I chat with almost DAILY about ALL KINDS of movies.I have fun collecting Best Picture nominees just as others have fun collecting Disney animated films or the films of John Ford.I don't begrudge ANYONE doing what ever makes them happy, but if you think what I collect is stupid, that's fine. You are entitled to your opinion. If you like Japanese cinema, great! GOOD FOR YOU! Buy the films and enjoy! But I won't insult or put you down for doing so. What's "madness" is other people knocking others for doing what make them happy.and THAT I don't like.

Not much else to say....perfect response. I personally dislike 8 of every 10 movies that Criterion releases as I have NO interest in Japanese or most foreign cinema. I find them pretentious. But I'll never criticize the folks who love them. In my view, those 8 movies I PERSONALLY don't like make it possible for me to get the occasional "Foreign Correspondent" or "IAMMMMW".To each his own...

 

[mikeyhitchfan]

Whatever makes you happy, people! I don't knock what others like because it's a personal thing, like music or food (or religion). To each their own.

I, too have a limited taste for foreign films, so a lot of Criterion's releases aren't my cup of tea. Some people buy every Criterion release regardless of if they've seen or liked the film.

So, while others wait for their favorites I will do the same..Criterion-more Hitchcock, please. NOW!

 

[Mark VH]

Not much else to say....perfect response. I personally dislike 8 of every 10 movies that Criterion releases as I have NO interest in Japanese or most foreign cinema. I find them pretentious. But I'll never criticize the folks who love them. In my view, those 8 movies I PERSONALLY don't like make it possible for me to get the occasional "Foreign Correspondent" or "IAMMMMW". To each his own...

Curious to know what you find pretentious about Japanese cinema? Considering that many of these directors (Kurosawa especially, but also Ozu) were influenced by Western filmmakers, and these comprise the vast majority of the Japanese films Criterion releases, seems odd to me that you'd generalize to the point of discounting such a wide swath of great films. I'd argue that Ozu, in particular, is the very opposite of pretentious - the richness of his stories is in their simplicity, and they're utterly devoid of anything approaching pretension (one could argue that Hitchcock featured just as much "pretentious" symbolism). Seems to me that your horizons could use expanding.

 

[schan1269]

Like I've said numerous times...Criterion is not a niche distributor. Those who think they are barely scratch the surface of film.They distribute what they know will "bank".Lorber, Tartan, Strand..they are niche.

 

[atfree]

Curious to know what you find pretentious about Japanese cinema? Considering that many of these directors (Kurosawa especially, but also Ozu) were influenced by Western filmmakers, and these comprise the vast majority of the Japanese films Criterion releases, seems odd to me that you'd generalize to the point of discounting such a wide swath of great films. I'd argue that Ozu, in particular, is the very opposite of pretentious - the richness of his stories is in their simplicity, and they're utterly devoid of anything approaching pretension (one could argue that Hitchcock featured just as much "pretentious" symbolism). Seems to me that your horizons could use expanding.

Again, to each his own. As for "discounting such a wide swath of great films", I didn't discount them, I said they simply don't interest me. Just not my cup of tea, just as some people don't like war movies or rom-com's or sci-fi. My horizons are my horizons, just as yours are yours.

 

[Martin_Teller]

To me, buying a movie you don't like is madness, no matter how much money you have to spare, just because it fits an arbitrary criteria like Oscar nominee. To me, that's no different than buying all DVDs with blue covers.

As for seeing movies you wouldn't have seen otherwise, there's options like Netflix and the public library.

"Japanese cinema" is not a genre like war movies or romcoms or sci-fi. Japan has made films in all genres (including some we don't have in the US, like pinku and Sun Tribe). Dismissing the entire cinematic output of a country as "pretentious" is... hell, the nicest way I can put it is it's silly.

Different strokes, agree to disagree, and all that. But I've never understood the "collector" mentality that goes so far as to purchase things you don't enjoy. That's just outside my comprehension.

 

[atfree]

To me, buying a movie you don't like is madness, no matter how much money you have to spare, just because it fits an arbitrary criteria like Oscar nominee. To me, that's no different than buying all DVDs with blue covers.

As for seeing movies you wouldn't have seen otherwise, there's options like Netflix and the public library.

"Japanese cinema" is not a genre like war movies or romcoms or sci-fi. Japan has made films in all genres (including some we don't have in the US, like pinku and Sun Tribe). Dismissing the entire cinematic output of a country as "pretentious" is... hell, the nicest way I can put it is it's silly.

Different strokes, agree to disagree, and all that. But I've never understood the "collector" mentality that goes so far as to purchase things you don't enjoy. That's just outside my comprehension.

To restate, I am not dismissing Japanese cinema based on some objective criteria....it's simply not MY cup of tea. As for it being a "genre", point taken. Just not a foreign film guy......I grew up with pre-1980 Hollywood classics and that is my focus. I don't watch a ton of indie films either and have almost none, if any, in my 330+ blu-ray collection. Nothing against them, just not my focus. But, at risk of repeating myself, if Criterion releasing 1000 of them will get me one "Foreign Correspondent, have at it.

 

[ahollis]

To me, buying a movie you don't like is madness, no matter how much money you have to spare, just because it fits an arbitrary criteria like Oscar nominee. To me, that's no different than buying all DVDs with blue covers.As for seeing movies you wouldn't have seen otherwise, there's options like Netflix and the public library."Japanese cinema" is not a genre like war movies or romcoms or sci-fi. Japan has made films in all genres (including some we don't have in the US, like pinku and Sun Tribe). Dismissing the entire cinematic output of a country as "pretentious" is... hell, the nicest way I can put it is it's silly.Different strokes, agree to disagree, and all that. But I've never understood the "collector" mentality that goes so far as to purchase things you don't enjoy. That's just outside my comprehension.

And that's why I don't purchase a lot of Japanese Cinema. Those films I just don't enjoy. Not to say that I don't have the classics, as SEVEN SAMURI, and I enjoy them but there are a lot I don't wish to see. But if they are profitable for Criterion I would never complain for the profits allow for the releases of STAGECOACH, IAMMMMW, TO BE OR NOT TO BE and NASHVILLE.

 

[Mark VH]

Again, to each his own. As for "discounting such a wide swath of great films", I didn't discount them, I said they simply don't interest me. Just not my cup of tea, just as some people don't like war movies or rom-com's or sci-fi. My horizons are my horizons, just as yours are yours.

"Japanese cinema" is not a genre like war movies or romcoms or sci-fi. Japan has made films in all genres (including some we don't have in the US, like pinku and Sun Tribe). Dismissing the entire cinematic output of a country as "pretentious" is... hell, the nicest way I can put it is it's silly.

Yeah, I mean, to me it's akin to saying you don't like "old movies" or black and white films. It seems closed-minded at best.

 

[Moe Dickstein]

Martin: As someone who's collected every Criterion, interested or not, let me try to throw a light on my own reasons - MOST of the films I bought I want to watch or look at at some point, but with the rest, it is a matter of completeness of a collection or goal - I am not buying movies in those cases but packaging to put on my shelf so there' not a gap in the little numbers they have on the spine. Just as someone might collect all the state quarters or ceramic dishes or whatever you might enjoy collecting. It's a mixture of movies and dishes.

 

[atfree]

Yeah, I mean, to me it's akin to saying you don't like "old movies" or black and white films. It seems closed-minded at best.

There are plenty of people who don't like things in very general terms. I don't like chicken, regardless of how it's prepared. Personal taste is personal taste,

And, unfortunately, there are apparently LOTS of people who don't like "old movies" or "black and white" films. Why do you think it takes so long for classic, pre-1970's movies to be released on blu-ray when things like "The Car" and "The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag" get released willy-nilly. Simply because the market for these older films isn't what it is for newer films. I work in an office where 80% of the workforce is under 35 (I'm 50). When I talk about old movies, 99% of them have either never heard of them (and I'm talking "Ben-Hur", "The Maltese Falcon", etc), never seen them, or both. We all have our tastes and wants. Because of my own personal bias, I find it amazing that some foreign films get blu-ray releases and yet Errol Flynn, arguably the biggest star of the 1930's and 40's, has TWO films released on blu-ray. But that's based SOLELY on my personal bias in that I love "Captain Blood", "The Sea Hawk", etc. Fans of (insert genre/nationality/etc here) are probably just as amazed that "Ministry of Fear" got a Criterion treatment before one of their favorites films did (just head over to the Criterion.org forums and you'll see what I mean).

 

[ahollis]

Martin: As someone who's collected every Criterion, interested or not, let me try to throw a light on my own reasons - MOST of the films I bought I want to watch or look at at some point, but with the rest, it is a matter of completeness of a collection or goal - I am not buying movies in those cases but packaging to put on my shelf so there' not a gap in the little numbers they have on the spine. Just as someone might collect all the state quarters or ceramic dishes or whatever you might enjoy collecting. It's a mixture of movies and dishes.

Just as battlebeast collects all the Academy Award nominate best films and at a time collected all the Something Weird grind house titles. They weren't really that good but I wanted to see them (purely in their historical place in film). I can understand why people collect different things and you keep your collection going.

 

[Mark VH]

There are plenty of people who don't like things in very general terms. I don't like chicken, regardless of how it's prepared. Personal taste is personal taste,

And, unfortunately, there are apparently LOTS of people who don't like "old movies" or "black and white" films. Why do you think it takes so long for classic, pre-1970's movies to be released on blu-ray when things like "The Car" and "The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag" get released willy-nilly. Simply because the market for these older films isn't what it is for newer films. I work in an office where 80% of the workforce is under 35 (I'm 50). When I talk about old movies, 99% of them have either never heard of them (and I'm talking "Ben-Hur", "The Maltese Falcon", etc), never seen them, or both. We all have our tastes and wants. Because of my own personal bias, I find it amazing that some foreign films get blu-ray releases and yet Errol Flynn, arguably the biggest star of the 1930's and 40's, has TWO films released on blu-ray. But that's based SOLELY on my personal bias in that I love "Captain Blood", "The Sea Hawk", etc. Fans of (insert genre/nationality/etc here) are probably just as amazed that "Ministry of Fear" got a Criterion treatment before one of their favorites films did (just head over to the Criterion.org forums and you'll see what I mean).

Oh trust me, I'm well-versed in the aversion of the young folk to older films (I'm 33, and have struggled to get my friends and peers to care about classic cinema on countless occasions, always to great disappointment). And it's certainly understandable that you want YOUR favorites released before other films, as I'd personally love a Criterion blu-ray of Double Indemnity or The Sea Hawk to be released post-haste.

On the other hand, you're sort of making my point, which is that Criterion is doing a major service to those of us to happen to love Japanese cinema (or European cinema or, in many cases, classic American cinema) and wouldn't have the opportunity to see these films otherwise. Personally, I celebrate the fact that the collection includes such an incredibly diverse range of films to suit all tastes and preferences. Hell, as a cinema lover, any month that sees the Blu-ray release of both City Lights and Tokyo Story (or The Uninvited and La Notte) is a GREAT one as far as I'm concerned, and should be celebrated even if you don't happen to love either film (though frankly, I don't know that I want to know someone who doesn't).

 

[schan1269]

What I find more shortsighted are those people who won't buy or watch if it isn't on BD(HD streaming here counts).

Ice Pirates(you can't even stream that HD. And Netflix doesn't have it)
Antares(Criterion gives us Revanche...which isn't nearly as good)
Onibaba(seriously? How is it possible we don't have this yet?)
A Tale of Two Sisters(Want to get scared? Watch this instead of The Uninvited. Along with I Saw The Devil)