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Thread: Aaron Watches Criterions

  1. #1
    I'll Have a Criterion. DSNT's Avatar
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    Aaron Watches Criterions



    It has been awhile since I've regularly frequented this board. A lot of that time was spent growing up, finishing school, and pursuing other interests. Meanwhile, I have remained a film buff. In fact, I will soon graduate with a film studies minor (was going to be a double major, but the department had staffing issues for a couple years). I've continued to watch plenty of films, new and old, and have amassed a large collection of DVDs.

    The Criterion Collection DVDs are the ones that I cherish the most. I began collecting them in the early 2000s. I remember there was one time where I sold a lot of old belongings on eBay. Rather than put the money in my bank account, I turned around and ordered a number of Criterions. As they have transitioned to Blu-Ray, I've collected them more regularly and aggressively. Lately I have bought a large amount of Blu-Rays and have put together a decent collection.

    You can see my entire collection here.

    I have seen many of these movies before, although I'll frequently blind buy a title if it looks interesting. If I hate it, I'll just resell it online, although that has only happened a couple of times.

    Out of the 156 titles currently listed in my collection (some of which are pre-orders), there are probably about 50 I haven't seen. Some of those titles are large box-sets with many films, for instance the Zatoichi Box has 26 films. So the actual number of unseen films is probably above 100.

    I own others I have seen before and treasure. For instance, the upcoming La Dolce Vita, which I have pre-ordered, is one that I saw about a decade ago. It is among my favorite Fellini's, but with the passage of time and having seen many other films in between, the details have faded from memory. Criterion gives me the opportunity to revisit a film like this, and since their Blu-Ray transfers are usually top notch, it is practically a new experience. In addition, the features give me a lot of context about the films. Although I've studied some of these movies in classes, in a lot of respects, a Criterion disc is a film class in a box.

    Match Cut seems to be the most appropriate place for me to post and blog about my Criterion experiences as they happen. I look forward to hearing feedback and comments on what I watch, even if they do not agree with me.

    In some ways this will be like a blog. I'll talk about the film, whether it is a new viewing or rewatch, will watch all or most of the features and talk about those, give a rating, and so on. Since I pre-order most of the Criterions as they are released, this will become a place for me to review a lot of releases. Meanwhile I also rent titles from the library, especially titles that haven't been upgraded, so I'll give those a look as well.

    I hope you enjoy, and I encourage you to share any thoughts and suggestions.
    I'm glad to be back, and looking forward to this project.

    Index of Titles:
    []

    Box Sets:
    []
    Last edited by DSNT; 03-03-2015 at 11:11 PM.

  2. #2
    Ain't that just the way EyesWideOpen's Avatar
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    Looking forward to it!
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  3. #3
    I'll Have a Criterion. DSNT's Avatar
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    Scanners, 1981

    SCANNERS, DAVID CRONENBERG, 1981



    I first saw Scanners as a teenager. I cannot remember precisely where, but it was a cable stable in the 1980s-1990s, and it infamous for that exploding head scene. It was Cronenberg's breakthrough film, which established what would be an interesting and diverse career for someone who cut his teeth making raw horror films. When I was younger, I embraced the novelty of the special effectives, especially that head that I have seen probably 1000 times via GIFs.

    Sometimes time and experience can change perception. My memory was that Scanners was a cutting edge, state of the art, ground breaking horror film. It is some of those things, lots of those things, but I remembered it being a little better than what I saw yesterday. The plot is scattershot, and some of it hasn't aged well (like having the protagonist scan into a monochrome computer system via a pay phone). Until the final scene, it lacks character conflict. We don't really understand the motivations for each of the two scanning leads, and the clunky corporate exposition doesn't help matters. Michael Ironside practically steals every scene he is in, and I found myself wanting more of him -- one of my favorite scenes being the archived videotape where he explains drilling into his own head. His adversary, played by Stephen Lack is barely interesting and could have used some acting lessons.

    The head explosion scene was absolutely fan-f'ing-tastic! I had forgotten when to expect it, and I love that it came 13 minutes in. It sets the tone for the violence and special effects to come. The Blu-Ray transfer didn't make too much of a difference, but it probably would have if I had watched frame by frame.

    I found much of the exposition to be plodding, and some of that makes sense now that I understand the production difficulties. And then comes the ending, which I will do my best not to spoil. Let me just say that these effects are most definitely dated, and I still cringed at what they did with the veins, which DID look a lot better in Blu-Ray.

    Rating: 6/10

    Special Features:

    The 25-minute or so featurette about the visual effects was more engaging than the movie itself. I had no idea how they pulled off the exploding head, and I won't say here, but it is worth watching just to see that. I will say that the way they did this would not happen in a studio production today. It also spoke to the issues with production, the daily re-writes, and what a mad, chaotic scramble the entire production was. Yet they managed to bring in some of the best in the business, which showed in the end product.

    There were interviews with Michael Ironside and Stephen Lack, which were somewhat interesting, but I find myself less interested in Criterion interviews, especially when they are nearly half an hour a piece. There are exceptions, like Sterling Hayden's interview for The Killing, but that's a topic for another day. Ironside's was somewhat more compelling because he's since gained a lot of credibility by working in countless features. Lack was, well, lacking, and I probably am biased because I didn't like him in the role.

    The Cronenberg appearance on Canadian television was short, to the point, and my 2nd favorite feature. It was mostly a retrospective, as they showed trailers for his handful of prior films (Shivers, The Brood, etc.) and had him say a few words about them. It was mostly interesting to see Cronenberg in 1981, in his element, looking like one of the early Microsoft programmers. He said that he wasn't really a horror fan, yet the genre found him. That speaks to his later work, where he would dabble in other areas, and has practically abandoned the horror film today.

    Despite this not being a Criterion-caliber film, its position in pop and specifically horror culture makes it worth a look.

    Criterion Rating: 7/10

  4. #4
    Kung Fu Hippie Watashi's Avatar
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    I tried this once.

    I failed.
    Sure why not?

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  5. #5
    I'll Have a Criterion. DSNT's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Watashi (view post)
    I tried this once.

    I failed.
    Did you try to go from spine #1 to present? That's way ambitious. I watch a ton of Criterions so I'll succeed at taking a chunk out of the collection, just not the entire thing.

  6. #6
    По́мните Катю... Izzy Black's Avatar
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    Awesome thread. I'll be following.

  7. #7
    Ain't that just the way EyesWideOpen's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Watashi (view post)
    I tried this once.

    I failed.
    You also tried Disney films. :lol:
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    Too much responsibility Kurosawa Fan's Avatar
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    Phenomenal to have you back, DSNT. Looking forward to this thread.

  9. #9
    i am the great went ledfloyd's Avatar
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    Aaron Watches Criterions or: How I Spent My Spouse's Jeopardy Winnings

  10. #10
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    :lol: Damn, nice one, Floyd.

  11. #11
    I'll Have a Criterion. DSNT's Avatar
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    LOL. Don't get me in trouble now.

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    Cul-de-sac, 1966

    CUL-DE-SAC, ROMAN POLANSKI, 1966



    Some might consider this a lesser Polanski, but it was produced during what I consider his peak. [i]Repulsion[i], which I consider to be the best Polanski (sorry Chinatown!) came out just the year before, and this pictures uses many of the same crew, including the DP, Gilbert Taylor. It has a similar look and feel to Repulsion. While this film is lighter in tone and has some comedic moments, it still had similar, dark themes as his surrounding films, which would culminate a couple years later in Rosemary’s Baby, another of his best films.

    Cul-de-Sac could have been a three-act play using mostly four lead actors, but the location of Lindisfarne / Holy Island was almost like another character. It was the dead end, or cul-de-sac in many ways for all of these characters, whether temporary or permanent. The castle was beautiful, but remote, isolated, and subject to the tidal whims of the sea. It was a change in tide that created the situation that put these characters together, as the car of two gangsters stalls on its way to the island.

    The ensemble case consisted of lesser known talent, but they really shined here. Most notable was Donald Pleasence in his effeminate portrayal of the cuckolded husband George. Françoise Dorléac played his restless French wife. I admired her work in Truffault’s The Soft Skin, and it is worth noting that she is the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve, who was absolutely fantastic in Repulsion. In many ways the two characters were similar, albeit Dorléac’s Teresa responds to her isolation with adultery rather than psychosis. Finally, Lionel Stander played Dickie, the gangster who occupies and bullies the quiet lives of this odd pairing. He was perfectly cast as the loudmouth ruffian, which results in terrific character conflict between Pleasence and Dorléac.

    I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing long take. There is a period where the threesome are on the beach, when Dorléac strips naked, runs into the water and leaves the men to argue. As they continue their bickering, a noise is heard from overhead which Dickie thinks is a helicopter coming to rescue him. Instead, to his disappointment, it is a low flying airplane. The actors play off it exceptionally well, and the plane enters the frame with perfect timing. Dorléac right on cue, returns from her swim towards the end of the shot. It was over 8-minutes, and it’s difficult for me to remember a better orchestrated take in Polanski’s long career.

    Movie Rating: 8/10

    Special Features:

    The disc has a short, making-of featurette. What I like about the Criterion documentary features compared with traditional releases is that they aren’t self-congratulatory. They are honest about the production, warts and all. First off, I was surprised that they practically bash Stander, who was extremely difficult to work with. You wonder whether they would have been so frank about his behavior if were still living. They also talked about the animosity on the set between Polanski and pretty much everyone else. Finally, they talk about how they put together and timed the praiseworthy long take. If it weren’t for production problems and delays, it may not have happened.

    They show a black and white TV interview with Polanski in 1967, just after he had filmed The Fearless Vampire Killers. Sometimes these features don’t work well, but this was a good interview, especially considering this was from when Polanski was young and at the height of his career. He touches on his rough childhood in Poland during the war (he was a Jewish refugee whose mother died), and focuses more on his career, and shows old shorts and previous works of his. It is a nice retrospective and Polanski is always a good interview subject, young or old.

    The disc is light on special features and that is okay. Other Polanski releases, including Repulsion have a lot of features. This is a good companion to all of them.

    Criterion Rating: 8/10

  13. #13
    I'll Have a Criterion. DSNT's Avatar
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    ZATOICHI: THE BLIND SWORDSMAN (DISCS 1-3)



    First off, the Zatoichi boxset from Criterion is a gem. You can tell just by holding it or flipping through the discs that it’s on a completely different level than all other box sets. It is the largest, most ambitious release, with 25-films total. That’s too much to tackle in a short period of time, much less to summarize in a single post. For that reason, I’m dividing these into a series of three posts.

    Zatoichi is genre filmmaking and it unquestionably follows a formula with few deviations, but it is still a treasure. A lot of this has to do with the time in which these films originated. They were produced during some of the best years of Japanese cinema. They followed in the footsteps of Mizoguchi’s samurai films and Hiroshi Inagaki’s Samurai trilogy, and were contemporary of some of Kurosawa’s best films. One of the films even included Yojimbo, one of Kurosawa’s most iconic characters. Meanwhile, the Japanese New Wave was in its prime, most notably Seijun Suzuki and his Yakuza films. The Zatoich was a serialized amalgamation of all of these narrative forms, and it even shared some of the same crew and cast as these classical Japanese artists. These essentially were template art films, with some thrills and adventures to keep audiences hooked.

    The quality varies on each film. None that I have so far seen come close to the highs of the contemporaries that I just discussed, but I didn’t expect to see Ozu, Kurosawa or Naruse. At best, they are excellent, stylized, escapist genre films. At worse, they are mediocre yet still engaging and watchable. In many respects they are like a high quality TV series today (and Zatoichi did become a series), with some amazing episodes and some that are just okay. None are poorly put together or not worth watching. Again, like a TV series today, they are easy to binge watch just to see what happens to the hero next.

    The premise is usually that Zatoichi wanders into a town inconspicuously where there is corruption present. There’s usually a woman in the picture, often (although not always) innocent and being taken advantage of. There are often warring factions, and when they realize who Zatoichi is, they try to lure him to their side with food, money, comfort, or whatever it takes. They are almost always unscrupulous, evil people. Zatoichi has his faults. He is greedy, likes to gamble, is susceptible to the charms of woman, but he is basically good and looks out for the common man. Regardless of what side he takes, he looks down on all who will make trouble for others.

    You have to suspend a lot of disbelief. Yes, Zatoichi is blind, yet he gets around very well for himself and hardly ever stumbles or runs into walls. He is always deadly with the sword, and most battles have him engaged with several people. He never strikes first, and will often kill 2-3 people with a single spin and sword stroke. And, spoiler alert, he doesn’t get killed – there are 25 movies, after all. He barely gets hurt. Sometimes the action can get monotonous because the outcome is clear; other times it is thrilling.

    Of the nine that I have seen so far, I appreciated the ones where they peeled away at the character. The first two, which happen to be the only black and white ones, establish the legend and develop the character. They are not short of action either, but they spend more time investigating this unique character. The films shift to color with the third film, and there’s a little more action, and they settle somewhat lazily on the formula. The high point for me was the seventh film, Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword because it makes the best use of color and is the most stylized, while deviating from the formula enough to show that Zatoichi has some weakness, can be harmed, and is capable of blood lust. The films blend together to a certain degree, but Flashing Sword’s imagery has stuck with me the most. The latter two films I felt suffered from monotony as they tried to unsuccessfully break away from the formula. One of them has Zatoichi interacting with a child and a flawed woman, which would normally be a nice change, but it came across stilted and less confident.

    1. The Tale of Zatoichi – 8/10
    2. The Tale of Zatoichi Continues – 7.5/10
    3. New Tale of Zatoichi – 7/10
    4. Zatoichi the Fugitive – 6.5/10
    5. Zatoichi on the Road – 7/10
    6. Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold – 6/10
    7. Zatoichi’s Flashing Sword – 8.5/10
    8. Fight, Zatoichi, Fight – 5.5/10
    9. Adventures of Zatoichi – 5/10


    Special Features: None yet until the end.

    Criterion Rating: 9/10

  14. #14
    Here till the end MadMan's Avatar
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    Cul-De-Sac is one of the handful of 60s Polanski films I still need to watch. I like Scanners but I don't love it. Maybe it needs a rewatch.
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  15. #15
    i am the great went ledfloyd's Avatar
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    I really like Cul-de-Sac. Haven't seen the others, but I'm interested in Scanners.

  16. #16
    I'll Have a Criterion. DSNT's Avatar
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    THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX, WES ANDERSON, 2009



    As I began re-watching Fantastic Mr. Fox for the second time, I tried to convince my wife to watch it with me. “I’m allergic to Wes Anderson,” she said. I tried to explain that this was different from the typical Anderson film because it is animated and based on a Roald Dahl work. As it reached the five-minute mark and she heard Bill Murray’s voice, she said “yes it is! It is just a Wes Anderson movie with animation!” and she was gone. I still think she might enjoy this, as it seems to be one that other Anderson haters embrace. That includes me, to a certain extent.

    Among some circles, this is blasphemy, but I am not a huge Wes Anderson fan. I respect him immensely as a filmmaker and acknowledge his creative vision, but his filmmaking mannerisms (or Andersonisms) are a little too organized, calculated, and a departure from reality. I like Bottle Rocket and Rushmore, and I liked The Grand Budapest Hotel. I loved The Royal Tenenbaums when it first came out, but it hasn’t aged well because he has gone back to the well too often.

    That said, I cussing adore The Fantastic Mr. Fox! It is a cussing brilliant film, and easily my favorite Anderson.

    Oddly enough, even though these are animals, they feel more real than any Tenenbaums, Zissou’s or other Andersonish characters. There’s a little of Mr. Fox in all of us, adventurous, impulsive, occasionally brilliant, and yes, egotistical. His faults can be frustrating and endearing, and that materializes with his marriage to Mrs. Fox, so eloquently voiced by Meryl Streep. Even his child and nephew and their little rivalry and is easily relatable. Most people can put themselves in either the Ash or Kristofferson category, and you can empathize with both. That they are so far apart makes their chemistry and eventual friendship that much more moving. They find that they both have different strengths and weaknesses, which is sort of the point of the entire film. On top of that, I love the wolf scene and how it embodies facing and embracing what we are most afraid of, which often is just as afraid and nervous about us.

    That’s not to say that there are not a lot of Andersonisms added to the project. The game of Wackbat and the Owen Wilson quickly narrated instructions while showing an overhead view of the field with complicated, graphical examples that populate and crowd the screen. And yes, he relies on a lot of his stable of actors, such as Murray, Schwartzman, Murray, Wilson, and his brother Eric. If you only listened to the film, it probably wouldn’t sound too different than other Anderson movies. Even though I’m not a fanboy, that’s not a bad thing. Anderson has a lot of talent and a distinctive style, which I found to be a better fit with animation than live action.

    Movie Rating: 8.5/10

    Special Features: This disc is absolutely loaded with features. There’s an animatic version of the film, which is basically the same voices with storyboards. I’m sure there’s an audience of that, and I thought it was interesting for 10 minutes, but couldn’t re-watch the entire movie this way.

    The making-of scenes were vast and fantastic. They range from showing the actors out on a farm doing their voice acting, to seeing the laborious stop motion animation process, to seeing the musical composition. They number more than a dozen little vignettes that are all enjoyable.

    One of the coolest features is Dahl reading the original story, which I enjoyed for a short duration. There have been audio tracks like this on other discs. Red River for instance had the full radio play. All are interesting, but you have to keep the DVD in the player on that screen to listen to the audio. It is too bad Criterion doesn’t let you download the file to listen later on a mobile device.

    There’s also a terrific audio commentary by Wes Anderson. He talks a lot about the technique and process, but also talks about where he got his vision. I liked when he pointed out where he lifted objects from, whether they were from Dahl’s house or borrowed from other films, such as Truffault’s The Story of Adele H, which Anderson wonders out loud if he can be sued for mentioning. Probably not since it made the cut.

    If that’s not enough, there’s also an hour-long documentary about Roald Dahl. I watched the beginning and my interest was peaked, but I will save it for a day.

    Because of the extensive special features and the gorgeous digipak case, if you have any appreciation for this film, I’d recommend the Criterion. I consider it among the best that have been released this year.

    Criterion Rating: 10/10

  17. #17
    Kung Fu Hippie Watashi's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting DSNT (view post)
    THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX, 2009

    As I began re-watching Fantastic Mr. Fox for the second time, I tried to convince my wife to watch it with me. “I’m allergic to Wes Anderson,” she said.
    Divorce her.
    Sure why not?

    STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (Rian Johnson) - 9
    STRONGER (David Gordon Green) - 6
    THE DISASTER ARTIST (James Franco) - 7
    THE FLORIDA PROJECT (Sean Baker) - 9
    LADY BIRD (Greta Gerwig) - 8


    "Hitchcock is really bad at suspense."
    - Stay Puft

  18. #18
    I'll Have a Criterion. DSNT's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Watashi (view post)
    Divorce her.
    Now, now. Her windfall has purchased 3-4 Wes Anderson Criterions. Allergic or not, she's giving him money.

    I forgot to mention in my write-up my favorite feature. It was labeled "Discussion and Analysis." Sounded interesting, and when I clicked there were two young kids who debated the themes of the movie. Of course the topics were basic, like whether stealing is ethically right or wrong. One of the kids was sharp, the other not so much. I heard somewhere that they were kids people involved with the production. The smart kid looked a lot like Jason Schwartzman.

  19. #19
    Here till the end MadMan's Avatar
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    8.5 is my rating too. For now anyways. I'm glad I saw Fantastic Mr. Fox in theaters.
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  20. #20
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    PICKPOCKET, ROBERT BRESSON, 1959



    Pickpocket is one of those films that I'm surprised I haven't seen. It has been referenced numerous times in film class, and its influence on other films is well documented. It is arguably the most influential Bresson film, which is saying something. Even though I hadn't seen it, I felt like I had. I've seen the ending maybe a half-dozen times, and I've seen it copied, most notably by Paul Shrader who was obsessed with the film and contributed towards it being revisited and eventually enshrined as one of the greats.

    I have seen enough other major Bresson works that I'm familiar with his quiet, contemplative, and spiritual style – the Bressonian tone. Au Hazard Balthazar, Lancelot du Lac and others are beautiful, yet challenging films. A Man Escaped shares more in common with Pickpocket. They both have quiet, downtrodden characters, both with often expressionless performances. These explain why the film is often watched multiple times, because the subtleties in expression are easier picked up on subsequent viewings. Even the slightest reaction becomes more monumental, more telling, and makes you question what the film is trying to say.

    I've heard people describe both Pickpocket and A Man Escaped films as slow, but compared to some of the spiritual films, they are quite fast paced. Pickpocket moves very fast for a Bresson movie, as pointed out in the commentary. If you break down the events that take place in the plot, it sounds like a bit of a thriller:

    [
    ]

    I could see another director taking the same plot points and making the film more exciting, less memorable, and a more fleeting and bland experience. This film is not just about what happens to the pickpocket. It is about exploring his soul, why he becomes what he becomes, how he lives with it, and why he comes back to it.

    Movie Rating: 9.5/10

    Special Features:

    The introduction from Paul Schrader is interesting and useful, but not essential. He explains what he sees in the film, how it has affected his career, and why it has lasted.

    There is a short French TV interview with Bresson in 1960. What I found interesting about this was that the interviewers were antagonistic, and somewhat attacked the film and it’s cool reception. For instance, they asked why Pickpocket was disliked when A Man Escaped was liked. Bresson handled himself well, and said that people identified more with the hero and escapist rather than the criminal.

    Film scholar James Quandt’s commentary was extremely well prepared and said a lot about the film. If anything, it was too academic and robotic, but that’s what I look for in academic commentaries. These are the types that really enhance the perception of the film. He points stuff out that you might eventually come to on your own after half a dozen views, or looks into various readings of the film. Because Pickpocket is such a quiet film, I appreciated his constant vocal presence and that he always had something to say.

    The best feature was a documentary from 2003 where the filmmaker tracked down three of the former stars. The interviews with Pierre Leymarie and Marika Green were captivating because they go through the Bressonian process, and how he breaks down the performance for the amateur actors (or Models, as he called them), so that they are not really acting. He takes take after take to get what he wants and never lets the actor know which it is, but tends to use the later takes when the actor is tired. That is certainly apparent in Pickpocket, where all the actors have a worn down look, and explains why the tone and character appearance is consistent throughout most of his films, because he just about always uses non-actors and molds their performance the way he wants.

    In the second half of the documentary, they find Martin LaSalle living a quiet life in Mexico City. He recalls his experience in fascinating detail, but focuses more on the emotional impact that the entire process left on him. He said it took him 10-15 years to recover from the experience. He went to study with Lee Strasburg and barely worked in the decade after Pickpocket, until eventually settling in and making a living. His personality was affable and gregarious. You could see moments of dourness, especially as he recalled the aftermath of the movie, but overall he was a pleasant person. I see that he has continued to act in Mexican films, and he is probably very happy with these occasional small roles that allow him time to tend to his gardening.

    Criterion Rating: 10/10

  21. #21
    Guttenbergian Pop Trash's Avatar
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    Wait...Julia Collins is your wife?!
    Ratings on a 1-10 scale for your pleasure:

    Top Gun: Maverick - 8
    Top Gun - 7
    McCabe & Mrs. Miller - 8
    Crimes of the Future - 8
    Videodrome - 9
    Valley Girl - 8
    Summer of '42 - 7
    In the Line of Fire - 8
    Passenger 57 - 7
    Everything Everywhere All at Once - 6



  22. #22
    I'll Have a Criterion. DSNT's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Pop Trash (view post)
    Wait...Julia Collins is your wife?!
    Nope. We missed her by a week. My wife won at the next taping, but nowhere close to as much.
    She posts here occasionally as Hugh Grant.

  23. #23
    I'll Have a Criterion. DSNT's Avatar
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    Today's haul:


  24. #24
    Zeeba Neighba Hugh_Grant's Avatar
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    Quote Quoting Pop Trash (view post)
    Wait...Julia Collins is your wife?!
    This made me laugh. No, I'm not Julia Collins. I'd hate to see what Aaron would buy if I were Julia.

  25. #25
    Very nice thread.

    I'm coveting your impressive collection. I really want that Rossellini/Bergman box set, among numerous others in your full list (Red River, Rosemary's Baby, On The Waterfront, Kiss Me Deadly, etc.). I also spied a number of Criterions that I'm fortunate enough to own, and which are definitely among my most treasured: Black Narcissus, Repulsion, Days of Heaven (not the Bluray, sadly), The Sweet Smell of Success. If I'm not mistaken, The Red Shoes isn't included in your list. You should definitely pick it up. It's magnificent.

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