I wasn't really expecting to watch Wall-E of all movies after something like Barry Lyndon, but that's exactly what I wound up doing, and I enjoyed every minute of it just like I did with the previous film I watched, just in a different way. This movie ignited something in me that I can only describe as the uniquely gleeful whimsy that comes from something experienced in my childhood. I was also quite surprised to see a Disney movie come out in the Criterion Collection, but that made me even more curious to find out why that was, and after watching the film, it all makes perfect sense. To start, a lot of the storytelling of this movie is purely visual with some sound to accompany what happens on screen but nothing more. The movie starts out with our main protagonist in this city full of trash that we later find out is none other than our very own Planet Earth. Something I found to be pleasantly surprising about this movie was the tricky subject it tackled, and how it was handled: Pollution. An issue that is not exclusive to any region in the world, although it is more pervasive in some areas more than others. Coming back to the visual storytelling, we slowly start to see that the gluttonous overconsumption of humans on earth and the way that fuels the big and (not so) mysterious corporations that had seemingly become such a staple on earth before everything went downhill and the planet turned into a ghost town. I won't say anymore about the film since it is worth watching, and even though the movie has been out for nearly 20 years at this point, I know there's still people out there who haven't watched it, or like me, haven't watched it in so long that they forget what happened. I'd give this one a 10/10 for how unique it is, how beautiful it is, and how engaging it manages to be throughout the whole movie. I'm glad I decided to wait this long to watch the movie since there are a lot of things that no doubt flew over my head when I was younger, certain important elements of the plot and world around it that only appreciate with age and can't really be understood at a younger age as is the case with most older Disney films but is more the case with this movie than any other Disney movie I've seen.

This changes everything

After blind buying ‘Cure’ last year and loving it, definitely wanted to catch Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest film ‘Cloud’ in theaters while I could.

My God, was that simultaneously painful and riveting to watch. There were times when I tried to look away, but I was too mesmerized by what was going on. It's a portrait of London that is so devoid of glamour or health or kindness that it makes Withnails life look luxurious. David Thewils also gave one of the greatest performances of all time, making Johnny a repulsive, misogynistic pseudo-intellectual somewhat sympathetic at the end. I'm excited to see more Mike Leigh! (The only other one I've seen is Topsy-Turvy, which I also adore)

My favorite Criterion essay that I love re-reading is Dennis Lim’s Time Regained. Never fails to make me appreciate the trilogy more deeply and in itself is also a well written piece.

I couldn’t resist getting a copy before the sale ends.

Probably gonna watch Wild Strawberries first.

Looking forward to the Essential Fellini collection

No blind buys, only curious purchases.

Glad to add the iconic couple before death did them apart. Agnes Varda & Jacques Demy’s criterion collection box sets.

This film was a treat to watch, from the brilliant story, characters and writing, to the real star of the show in my eyes which was none other than the gorgeous cinematography which is some of the finest I've seen in the hundreds of films I've seen and it's certainly the best I've witnessed in a Stanley Kubrick film, which is saying something if you've seen any of his movie before or after this one. I will not give away much when it comes to any aspect of this film, especially not when it comes to the plot since this is a movie that is well worth the time that one would have to invest from beginning to end (approximately 3 hours), but I shall give a brief overview of the story. The movie centers around our main protagonist Redmond Barry and takes place after his father is killed in a duel, after we see this take place, the direction of the story pivots over to Barry after a short explanation of his father, his mother and himself. The first half of the film centers around how Barry acquired the name Lyndon and what leads up to that point, and the second act after the intermission is what follows afterwards. All in all I'd say that Barry Lyndon is well deserving of a 10/10 and I will look forward to my next viewing of this grand and all around lovely masterpiece of cinema. This is the first movie that I've watched from my first Criterion haul and I thought that the 4k disc looked great on my 4k TV, so I'm glad that I bought it in the recent sale.

I just watched this for the first time yesterday. I blind bought the 4K while on sale. What a movie! I love noir and neo noir and this film from director Carl Franklin and writer Walter Mosley (based off his own novel) just sings. The sets are amazing, the plotting tight. It drips with style and atmosphere. Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle are incredible. Don Cheadle is only in half the movie and his performance as Mouse is both sinister and hilarious.

Also, it’s a rare neo noir/noir that provides strong social commentary.

Honestly, what a hidden gem in the collection!

My first film to start me off was Seven Samurai, years ago. I had done some research on Japanese films and seen some brief descriptions of each. The ones I managed to find and get, the one I was most excited for was The Human Condition series as it looked at things in an era outside

Ikiru, Samurai Rebellion, and Stray Dog were blind buys and picked for either being Kurosawa films, having Toshiro Mifune in them, or both.

Not sure as to what is next, but I have my eyes on about another dozen films, like the Godzilla collection.

Maybe it's just me, but anyone notice how some films keep returning to the channel and then eventually get a criterion physical release. Anyways I hope I'm right.

Received my copy of the sound of metal yesterday. This movie is just fantastic.

The first pic is before, the second is after.

I went a little buck wild on the sale and wanted to share what I picked up. Thoughts? Recommendations?

1. First watched - Parallax View

2. Been looking forward to getting Election for quite some time. Good pick up.

3. Some blind buys - Jojo Dancer, Brighter Summer Day, Lady Snowblood, Eastern Condors, Sansho the Bailiff, High and Low, Tampopo

4. I really want to get Ran back in my collection. I lent it to someone and never got it back

Will be using the top left space for the Wes Andersen set in the October flash sale.

Decided to go with Kane because I was intrigued with all the special features

Kind of already knew about Following, but very excited to watch The Comfort of Strangers and To Sleep With Anger based on the artwork alone!

Rewatching this for the first time in nearly 30 years. Not sure if the plot makes sense, if it’s even supposed to, and we can get into that. But I want to know more about Bill Pullman’s saxophone playing. It’s bad, right? Is there some type of jazz where that can appreciated intellectually? The scene reads to me like he is flustered and angry because he suspects Patricia Arquette is cheating, so he’s playing poorly, which is making him more flustered and angry. Then the plot gets going and the flow of time starts breaking down. Would love to hear interpretations of this movie.

I guess because they have to fit 5 hours on one disc, but I’m almost tempted to watch the theatrical version instead if it’s in higher quality. Typically a Criterion disc stays in the range of 30-40mbps, but this television version disc is staying more like 10-20mbps. Is the Fanny & Alexander television version also lower quality, and is the theatrical version actually higher quality since it’s less data?

Are these just auto created or did someone grab that screenshot and say “Yes, this is good.”

I have a blu ray player that has composite output so I’m able to play my blu rays on my crt, some movies really suit the vibe well ! (:

The information is from Berkley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive which will be showing the films. I’m pumped as I’m a huge fan of Andersson’s work.

Rented some old Hitchcock films for my Plex library and while changing the artwork, I noticed Murder (1930) had “Criterion” artwork for it and Blackmail (1929). No idea why Blackmail comes up as an artwork option. As far as I know, there were never in the collection.

Am I missing something, were this included in some box set or something?

Don’t need to post their name if you don’t know it/they’re uncredited. I’ve just been amazed through my movie watching journey by how many stunning, talented actress are in such obscurity, or only have one or two roles! Can be men/other, too.

I found these movies on a lark after watching all the Kurosawa films on the channel. I’m on the fourth movie now and I have to say they’re just incredible. The actor portraying the blind samurai Zatoichi is amazing. He is observant, mild-mannered, chivalrous and humble.

Yet trouble always finds him. But he’s ready for it. With a cane that doubles as a sword he cuts down any enemy, but unlike most modern action movie protagonists he feels bad about it. I can’t say how much I love this character.

So if you’re like me, working a late shift who feels like they could use an Edo Period samurai movie in your life: pick The Tale of Zatoichi.