Criterion 10th Anniversary DVD Voting Thread

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Morbii
Joined: Sat Nov 27, 2004 3:38 am

#26 Post by Morbii » Tue Jan 22, 2008 4:54 am

All Time favorite release:
1) The Last Wave
2) Red Beard
3) Kagemusha
4) A Film Trilogy By Ingmar Bergman
5) The Sword of Doom

Best Non-box set release
1) The Last Wave
2) Red Beard
3) Kagemusha
4) The Sword of Doom
5) Solaris
6) Andrei Rublev
7) Ivan's Childhood
8) Le Corbeau
9) Youth of the Beast
10) Wages of Fear

Best Box Sets
1) A Film Trilogy By Ingmar Bergman
2) Orphic Trilogy
3) Dreyer Box Set
4) The BRD Trilogy
5) The Adventures of Antoine Doinel

Most Disappointing Package
Probably some of the early releases... can't come up with 3 offhand.

Worst Film
1) By Brakhage bored me to tears
2) The Tin Drum did as well, which is strange because I really expected to like it

Best Commentary
dunno

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
1) Permanent Vacation
2) original Berlin Alexanderplatz
3) Tokyo-Ga

Best Package Design
1) Videodrome
2) Ugetsu
3) Seven Samurai re-release
4) Yojimbo/Sanjuro re-release

Best Cover Art
1) The Sword of Doom
2) Videodrome

Worst Cover Art
1) The Ruling Class (made me not want to see the film for a long time, but ended up loving it).
Last edited by Morbii on Tue Jan 22, 2008 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

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jt
Joined: Thu Nov 30, 2006 9:47 am
Location: zurich

#27 Post by jt » Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:44 am

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release (ranked 1-5)
1. The Passion of Joan of Arc
2. Dreyer Box Set
3. Tokyo Story
4. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
5. Harakiri

Best Non-box Set Release (ranked 1-10)
1. The Passion of Joan of Arc
2. Tokyo Story
3. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
4. Harakiri
5. Ikiru
6. Samurai Rebellion
7. That Obscure Object of Desire
8. Bicycle Thieves
9. M
10. Late Spring

Best Box Sets (ranked 1-5)
1. Dreyer Box Set
2. Six Moral Tales- Rohmer
3. Five Films by John Cassavetes
4. BRD Trilogy
5. Wajda War Trilogy

Worst Film (ranked 1-3)
1. Jigoku
2. Kicking and Screaming

Best Package Design (ranked 1-5)
1. Sansho
2. Ugetsu
3. Double Life of Veronique
4. Six Moral Tales
5. Videodrome

Best Cover Art (ranked 1-10)
1. 49th Parallel
2. 3 Penny Opera
3. Le Million
4. Green For Danger
5. Throne of Blood
6. Ran
7. Yi Yi
8. Amacord
9. In The Mood For Love
10. Ikiru

Worst Cover Art (ranked 1-5)
1. Pepe Le Moko
2. Cria Cuervos
3. High and Low
4. Milky Way
5. Yohimbo/ Sanjuro (originals)

EDIT: forgot package design
Last edited by jt on Tue Jan 29, 2008 6:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

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NABOB OF NOWHERE
Joined: Thu Sep 01, 2005 12:30 pm
Location: Brandywine River

#28 Post by NABOB OF NOWHERE » Tue Jan 22, 2008 6:14 pm

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release (ranked 1-5)
1. Passion of Joan of Arc
2. I Know Where I'm Going!
3. Au Hasard Balthazar
4. The Spirit of the Beehive
5. by Brakhage: an anthology

Best Non-box Set Release (ranked 1-10)
1. Passion of Joan of Arc
2. I Know Where I'm Going!
3. Au Hasard Balthazar
4. The Spirit of the Beehive
5. by Brakhage: an anthology
6. The Battle of Algiers
7. Closely watched trains
8. Shoot the Piano Player
9. Tin Drum
10.Ikiru

Best Box Sets (ranked 1-5)
1. Fanny and Alexander
2. The Adventures of Antoine Doinel
3. Six Moral Tales
4. Jean Renoir Stage and Spectacle
5. John Cassavetes: Five Films

Most Disappointing Package (transfer, extras, etc.) (ranked 1-3)

1. Good Morning
2. Alphaville
3. La Jettée…I wanted more more more!!!

Worst Film (ranked 1-3)
1. Armageddon
2. The Rock
3. Hopscotch

Best Package Design (ranked 1-5)
1. Breathless
2. The Adventures of Antoine Doinel
3. The Battle of Algiers
4. Seven Samurai
5. The BRD Trilogy

Best Cover Art (ranked 1-10)
1. The Spirit of the Beehive
2. The Battle of Algiers
3. Woman is a woman
4. Berlin Alexanderplatz
5. Contempt
6. Early Spring
7. Shoot the Piano Player
8. Amarcord
9. Rules of the Game
10 49th Parallel

Worst Cover Art (ranked 1-5)
1. Chasing Amy
2. Long Good Friday
3. Silence of the Lambs
4. Hopscotch
5. The Milky Way

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Eurotrash
Joined: Thu Nov 04, 2004 9:46 am

#29 Post by Eurotrash » Wed Jan 23, 2008 8:22 pm

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release (ranked 1-5)
1. The Rules of the Game
2. Ugetsu
3. Tokyo Olympiad
4. The Complete Monterey Pop
5. M

Best Non-box Set Release (ranked 1-10)
1. The Rules of the Game
2. Ugetsu
3. Tokyo Olympiad
4. M
5. The Battle of Algiers
6. Seven Samurai
7. Trouble in Paradise
8. The Third Man
9. A Canterbury Tale
10. Young Mr. Lincoln

Best Box Sets (ranked 1-5)
1. The Complete Monterey Pop
2. Fanny & Alexander
3. Stage and Spectacle: Three Films by Jean Renoir
4. A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman
5. 5 Films by John Cassavetes

Most Disappointing Package (ranked 1-3)
1. Good Morning (Transfer, extra's)
2. The Tales of Hoffman (for the transfer)
3. Alphaville (Transfer, extra's)

Worst Film (ranked 1-3)
1. Border Radio
2. Kicking & Screaming
3. Jubilee

Best Commentary (ranked 1-5)
1. Peter Cowie - The Seventh Seal
2. Ian Christie - A Canterbury Tale
3. James Quandt - Pickpocket
4. Peter Cowie - Tokyo Olympiad
5. Alexander Sesonske - Rules of the Game

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary) (ranked 1-5)
1. Visual Glossary - Band of Outsiders
2. Interactive Map of 1930s Paris - Boudu Saved From Drowning
3. Listen to Brittain (Humphrey Jennings) - A Canterbury Tale
4. Orson Welles: One Man Band - F for Fake
5. Jean Renoir BBC Documentary – The Rules of the Game and Elena and her Men

Best Package Design (ranked 1-5)
1. The Rules of the Game
2. Berlin Alexanderplatz
3. In the Mood for Love
4. Days of Heaven
5. Ugetsu

Best Cover Art (ranked 1-10)
1. Boudu Saved From Drowning
2. Grand Illusion
3. The Virgin Spring
4. Ikiru
5. Spirit of the Beehive
6. 8 1/2
7. The Leopard
8. Viridiana
9. Ugetsu
10. The Lady Vanishes

Worst Cover Art (ranked 1-5)
1. The Seventh Seal
2. The Long Good Friday
3. The Bank Dick
4. Henry V
5. Shock Corridor

stalker_ozu
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2008 9:56 pm

#30 Post by stalker_ozu » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:13 pm

Categories:

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release (ranked 1-5)
Tokyo Story
Ugetsu
Pickpocket
Late Ozu
Dreyer Boxset

Best Non-box Set Release (ranked 1-10)
Tokyo Story
L'Avventura
Ugetsu
Breathless
Sansho the bailiff
Seven Samurai (reissue)
Pickpocket
Late Spring
Pandora's Box
The Rules of the Game

Best Box Sets (ranked 1-5)
Late Ozu
Dreyer Boxset
BRD Trilogy
Six Moral Tales
A film trilogy by Ingmar Bergman

Most Disappointing Package (transfer, extras, etc.) (ranked 1-3)
Yojimbo (first issue)
Good Morning
Andrei Rublev

Worst Film (ranked 1-3)
Jubilee
Armageddon
The Rock

Best Commentary (ranked 1-5)
Gene Youngblood - L'Avventura
Richard Peña - Late Spring
James Quandt - Pickpocket
Donald Richie - When a woman ascends the stairs
Roger Ebert - Floating Weeds

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary) (ranked 1-5)
Notes on the making of Berlin Alexanderplatz
Video essay about Woman in the Dunes by James Quandt
The Rules of the game interview with Jean Renoir
Bresson behind the cameras in the dvd of Mouchette
I lived but... in Tokyo Story dvd

Best Package Design (ranked 1-5)
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Rules of the Game
Breathless
Pandora's Box
Seven Samurai (reissue)

Best Cover Art (ranked 1-10)
A Story of Floating Weeds /Floating Weeds
Ugetsu
Pickpocket
Pandora's Box
Rashomon
Berlin Alexanderplatz
The Rules of the Game
Discreet Charm of Bourgueisie
When a woman ascends the stairs
L'Avventura

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cysiam
Joined: Tue Nov 09, 2004 8:43 pm
Location: Texas

#31 Post by cysiam » Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:26 pm

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release
1.Sullivan's Travels
2.F for Fake
3.Ikiru
4.I vitelloni
5.Battle of Algiers

Best Non-box Set Release
1.Mr. Arkadin
2.The Rules of the Game
3.Seven Samurai(re-issue)
4.Thieves' Highway
5.Divorce Italian Style
6.Trouble In Paradise
7.Slacker
8.Videodrome
9.Battle of Algiers
10.The Spirit of the Beehive

Best Box Sets
1.The Adventures of Antoine Doinel
2.The BRD Trilogy
3.Andrzej Wajda: Three War Films
4.John Cassavetes: Five Films
5.A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman

Most Disappointing Package (transfer, extras, etc.)
1.Good Morning
2.Kwaidan
3.High and Low

Worst Film
1.Armageddon
2.Koko

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
1.One Man Band - F for Fake

Best Package Design
1.Videodrome
2.The Adventures of Antoine Doinel
3.The BRD Trilogy

Best Cover Art
1.Le Corbeau
2.Throne of Blood
3.Battle of Algiers
4.The Threepenny Opera
5.Eyes Without a Face
6.Green for Danger
7.Berlin Alexanderplatz
8.Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
9.Hiroshima Mon Amour
10.F for Fake

Worst Cover Art
1.Summertime
2.Pepe le Moko
3.Henry V
4.The White Sheik
5.Walker

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headacheboy
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 8:57 pm

#32 Post by headacheboy » Tue Jan 29, 2008 12:00 am

All Time Favorite Criterion Release

1. Double Life of Veronique
2. Fanny and Alexander
3. Three Women
4. Bicycle Thieves
5. Throne of Blood

Best Non-Box Set Release

1. Battle of Algiers
2. Tokyo Story
3. Short Cuts
4. Double Life of Veronique
5. Haxan
6. Pandora's Box
7. Bicycle Thieves
8. The Complete Mr Arkadin
9. Solaris
10. Equinox

Best Box Sets

1. Fanny and Alexander
2. Dreyer Box Set
3. Andrzej Wajda: Three War Films
4. Six Moral Tales
5. A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman

Most Disappointing Package

1. Good Morning
2. Kwaidan
3. Sword of Doom

Worst Film

1. If....
2. Sans Soleil
3. M. Hulot's Holiday

Best Commentary

I listen to scene specific commentary and rarely hear an entire film's worth, so I've opted out of this category.


Best Single Supplement

1. Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe
2. The novel Mr Arkadin by (or not) Orson Welles in The Complete Mr Arkadin
3. Disc 2 of Knife In The Water (Roman Polanski's short films)
4. "Mining The Archives--The Imperial War Museum" in Overlord
5. "Banned In Oklahoma" by Gary Rhodes on Disc 2 of The Tin Drum

Best Package Design

1. The Adventures of Antoine Doinel
2. John Cassavetes: Five Films
3. Videodrome
4. Burden of Dreams
5. Sansho The Bailiff

Best Cover Art

1. Jules and Jim
2. Spirit of The Beehive
3. Miss Julie
4. Late Spring
5. Sansho The Bailiff
6. Yi Yi
7. Boudo Saved From Drowning
8. Days of Heaven
9. The Silence
10. Berlin Alexanderplatz

Worst Cover Art

1. A Nos Amours
2. Mamma Roma
3. Henry V
4. Summertime
5. Border Radio
(the original M may have been the worst)

Since I'm sure I'll be asked: I live in the middle of Illinois in the biggest culturally dead city imaginable. We lack a bookstore as well as a record store (Wal-Mart doesn't count) and our lone art-house theatre is held hostage by the big corporate cinema chains, forced to show certain movies long after the big boys have shown them for weeks. I first heard of "If...." when it was released in 1968 and I was 10. I remember reading reviews for it and I was stoked beyond belief to see it. Of course it never played in this city. The public library and the local video stores never bothered getting a copy of the movie. I never saw it on television. The first time I was able to see the movie was when it came out from Criterion. I bought it and set aside a day to submerge myself in the film and all the supplements. Image waiting 39 years to discover that there was not one single element of the film I liked. What a colossal disappointment, I was crushed!

Perhaps I should say that the three films which I've place in the category of "Worst Films" would be better suited for a category called "Biggest Disappointment".

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miless
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2006 9:45 pm

#33 Post by miless » Tue Jan 29, 2008 11:08 pm

headacheboy wrote:Since I'm sure I'll be asked: I live in the middle of Illinois in the biggest culturally dead city imaginable. We lack a bookstore as well as a record store (Wal-Mart doesn't count) and our lone art-house theatre is held hostage by the big corporate cinema chains, forced to show certain movies long after the big boys have shown them for weeks. I first heard of "If...." when it was released in 1968 and I was 10. I remember reading reviews for it and I was stoked beyond belief to see it. Of course it never played in this city. The public library and the local video stores never bothered getting a copy of the movie. I never saw it on television. The first time I was able to see the movie was when it came out from Criterion. I bought it and set aside a day to submerge myself in the film and all the supplements. Image waiting 39 years to discover that there was not one single element of the film I liked. What a colossal disappointment, I was crushed!
sucks to be you.

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zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

#34 Post by zedz » Fri Feb 01, 2008 8:59 pm

OK, Denti, I'll bite. I haven’t put much thought into this, or been particularly thorough or systematic, but these are what spring to mind:

All Time Favourite Criterion Release

I’ve pretty much gone with favourites rather than objective ‘bests’ in the lists below, so a quick shuffle delivers:
1. By Brakhage
2. Yi Yi
3. The BRD Trilogy
4. Early Summer
5. Tokyo Olympiad

Best Non-Box Set Release

1. By Brakhage – The discs I return to most often, and probably still the boldest release the company has come up with, and it’s beautifully curated. If you thought silent cinema was hard done by, don’t even think about their experimental track record.
2. Yi Yi – The only good DVD of Edward Yang’s work available anywhere and probably my favourite film of the century so far. Most of my selections are more about the film than the extras, anyway.
3. Early Summer – Same thing. Strip off the commentary and featurette and this would probably still make my top ten.
4. Tokyo Olympiad – This film and package completely took me by surprise, given my total lack of interest in the Olympics. A texturally thrilling film beautifully supported with well-positioned extras.
5. Berlin Alexanderplatz – Again, it’s all about the film. A few years ago I’d never have imagined this would make it onto home video.
6. 3 Women – Another relatively minimalist, but appropriate, package of a personal favourite.
7. Touchez pas au grisbi – Sublime film that I’d probably have overlooked were it not for Criterion. Le Trou may be an even greater film, but I thought I shouldn’t include any totally bare bones discs in this list.
8. I Know Where I’m Going! – No doubt this package could be improved (the rather uninspiring cover art, for a start), but the film is essential comfort food and it’s got probably the most extensive collection of extras for any of Criterion’s Powell / Pressburger releases.
9. Thieves’ Highway – One of my favourite noirs, drawn to my attention by Criterion.
10. Boudu Saved from Drowning – There’s an almost Platonic perfection to the balance of features on this disc, and it’s a lower-tier title to boot. The film’s not too shabby either.

Best Box Set

1. The BRD Trilogy – Great films, and impressively comprehensive supporting material.
2. Six Moral Tales – Ditto. This would probably win any box set contest on points: everything you need is here.
3. I Am Curious – I have a perverse affection for these films, and I figured I’d probably be the only person voting for Criterion’s most unassuming box set.
4. Paul Robeson – A magnificent example of the whole being (much) greater than the sum of its parts. Several of the films in here are among the worst Criterion has released, but it adds up to an impressive, compelling historical document.
5. Late Ozu – Film for film, I’m not sure that any other Criterion or Eclipse set comes close to this one in terms of quality, and the preceding Ozu releases had really done as much in terms of providing context as necessary, so this was an ideal Eclipse set.

I suspect the Varda set would top this list if we did this again next year.

Most Disappointing Package

All Japanese, I’m afraid:

1. Good Morning – Bad transfer, bare bones, yet this was their first – and for a long time only – Ozu.
2. High and Low – Not so much because it was overpriced when it was first released, but because it has remained stubbornly upper tier as its presentation gets steadily more unacceptable – the Lean Dickenses at least ended up in a ‘collectors’ set, but all three should have been reissue (or reprice) priorities.
3. Double Suicide – Just crying out for context and commentary, but ruthlessly bare bones. It's still one of my favourite Criterion discs, however. The Pornographers also belongs in this category.

Worst Film

1. Solo con tu pareja – Never before released in the US? You don’t say. Excruciating.
2. Chasing Amy
3. The Haunted Strangler – You don’t have to go near Michael Bay to fill in this category.

Best Commentary

1. Straw Dogs
2. Tokyo Olympiad
3. If. . .

I’ve got a terrible memory for commentaries, so I’ll randomly grab for:
4. Body and Soul
5. Videodrome

Best Single Supplement

1. Tsivian’s Visual Analysis – Ivan the Terrible
2. Burden of Dreams diary reprint – Burden of Dreams
3. Jean-Pierre Gorin on Boudu – Boudu (the interactive map is pretty neat too)
4. Daybreak Express – The Horse’s Mouth
5. Le Sang des betes – Eyes without a Face - Short films are generally the best extras, so it was hard to limit it to two – A Day with the Boys on George Washington could also have taken this spot.

Best Package Design

1. The Adventures of Antoine Doinel – smart idea carried right through
2. Videodrome – ditto
3. A Woman Is a Woman – thrice ditto
4. Sansho the Bailiff – just gorgeous
5. Gate of Flesh – for its exquisite randomised menus

Best Cover Art

1. Yi Yi
2. Sansho the Bailiff
3. A Story of Floating Weeds / Floating Weeds
4. Tout Va Bien
5. Divorce Italian Style
6. Le Corbeau

(too scatterbrained to go through them all and come up with ten)

Worst Cover Art

1. The Lady Vanishes (original issue) – yikes! This one scared me off delving any further.

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magicmarker
Joined: Sat Oct 14, 2006 10:21 pm

#35 Post by magicmarker » Sat Feb 02, 2008 4:10 pm

Top Five Releases
1. La Jetée/Sans Soleil
2. Rules of the Game
3. Fanny and Alexander
4. by Brakhage
5. Contempt

Non Box Releases
1. La Jetée/Sans Soleil
2. Rules of the Game
3. by Brakhage
4. Contempt
5. Hiroshima, Mon Amour
6. Ran
7. Spirit of the Beehive
8. Seven Samurai
9. Late Spring
10. Solaris

Best Box Sets
1. Fanny and Alexander
2. Eric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales
3. BRD Trilogy
4. Three Films by Hiroshi Teshigahara
5. Andrej Wajda: Three War Films

Most Disappointing Package
1. Alphaville (transfer, extras)
2. Good Morning (transfer)

Worst Film
1. Armageddon
2. Border Radio
3. Schizopolis

Best Commentary
1. Robert Stam on Contempt
2. Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Naremore on Mr. Arkadin
3. Alexander Sesonske on Rules of the Game
4. Stephen Prince on Ran
5. Gene Youngblood on L’Avventura

Best Non-Commentary Supplement
1. A.K. on Ran
2. Video encounters on by Brakhage
3. Remembering History documentary on Battle of Algiers
4. Robert Stam and Dudley Andrew video conversation on Jules and Jim
5. Charles O’Brien’s German/French version comparison on 3 Penny Opera

Best Package Design
1. Seven Samurai (reissue)
2. BRD Trilogy
3. Berlin Alexanderplatz
4. Eric Rohmer’s Six Moral Tales
5. Breathless

Best Cover Art
1. Throne of Blood
2. A Story of Floating Weeds/Floating Weeds
3. Berlin Alexanderplatz
4. Green for Danger
5. Sansho the Bailiff
6. The Royal Tenenbaums
7. The River
8. Divorce Italian Style
9. The 3 Penny Opera
10. The First Man Into Space

Worst Cover Art
1. Hopscotch
2. The White Sheik
3. Fiend without a Face
4. Angel at My Table
5. High and Low

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GringoTex
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 5:57 am

#36 Post by GringoTex » Sun Feb 03, 2008 9:05 am

Today's the last day of voting...

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ogygia avenue
Joined: Mon Nov 28, 2005 4:51 pm

#37 Post by ogygia avenue » Sun Feb 03, 2008 10:34 am

Top Five Releases
1. Rules of the Game
2. Rushmore
3. Overlord
4. Carnival of Souls
5. The Life and Death of Col. Blimp

Non Box Releases
1. Rules of the Game
2. Royal Tenenbaums
3. Black Orpheus
4. Col. Blimp
5. Rebecca
6. The Lady Eve
7. Overlord
8. The Red Shoes
9. An Angel at my Table
10. Umberto D.

Best Box Sets
1. Fanny and Alexander
2. Cocteau's Orphic Trilogy
3. 4 By Agnes Varda
4. Monsters and Madmen
5. Teshigahara

Most Disappointing Package
1. The original release of Cleo from 5 to 7
2. The Red Shoes (transfer)

Worst Film
1. Sweet Movie
2. Chasing Amy
3. Dazed and Confused

Best Commentary
1. The group commentary on The Red Shoes
2. Alexander Sesonske on Rules of the Game
3. Stuart Cooper on Overlord
4. Agnes Varda and Sandrine Bonniare on Vagabond
5. Wes Anderson on The Royal Tenenbaums

Best Non-Commentary Supplement
1. Permanent Vacation on Stranger Than Paradise
2. The walking tour of the locations in Carnival of Souls
3. Painting with Light on Black Narcissus
4. Trade Secrets on Bad Timing (interview with Roeg)
5. Jean Renoir's introduction on The Rules of the Game

Best Package Design
1. Breathless
2. The Royal Tenenbaums
3. The Rules of the Game
4. Orphic Trilogy
5. 4 By Agnes Varda

Best Cover Art
1. Overlord
2. The River
3. Days of Heaven
4. The Royal Tenenbaums
5. The Fallen Idol
6. Sawdust and Tinsel
7. Pandora's Box
8. The Spirit of the Beehive
9. F For Fake
10. L'Eclisse

Worst Cover Art
1. Viridiana
2. Black Narcissus
3. The Lady Vanishes
4. Dazed and Confused
5. Chasing Amy

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Arn777
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 6:10 am
Location: London

#38 Post by Arn777 » Sun Feb 03, 2008 8:24 pm

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release (ranked 1-5)
Cassavetes: 5 films
Contempt
Discreet charm of the bourgeoisie
L’Avventura
Gimme shelter

Best Non-box Set Release (ranked 1-10)
Contempt
Discreet charm of the bourgeoisie
L’Avventura
Gimme shelter
Ali fear eats the soul
The Grey Gardens
Hiroshima mon amour
Scenes from a marriage
3 women
Videodrome

Best Box Sets (ranked 1-5)
Cassavetes: 5 films
Rohmer
BRD Trilogy
Dreyer
Bergman Film Trilogy

Worst Film (ranked 1-3)
Chasing Amy
Schizopolis
Richard III

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Dylan
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 9:28 pm

#39 Post by Dylan » Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:17 pm

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release (ranked 1-5)

1. 8½
2. Le Notti Bianche
3. La Strada
4. Contempt
5. A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman

Best Non-box Set Release (ranked 1-10)

1. 8½
2. Le Notti Bianche
3. La Strada
4. Contempt
5. Nights of Cabiria
6. L'Eclisse
7. Amarcord
8. L'Avventura
9. Breathless
10. The 400 Blows

Best Box Sets (ranked 1-5)

1. A Film Triology by Ingmar Bergman
2. Six Moral Tales
3. John Cassavetes: Five Films
4. Agnes Varda
5. The Adventures of Antoine Doinel

Worst Film (ranked 1-3) [like many, this is more like least favorite]

1. Armageddon
2. The Rock (not horrible, and it's been years, but I'm sure I couldn't sit through it now)
3. Traffic (also not horrible, I just like the other CC films I've seen more than this)

Best Commentary

1. 8½

Best Cover Art/ Packaging

1. The Double Life of Veronique

Biggest surprise

1. Six Moral Tales

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Michael
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm

#40 Post by Michael » Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:35 pm

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release

8 1/2
Cleo From 5 to 7
Mala Noche
All That Heaven Allows
Grey Gardens


Best Non-Box Set Release

8 1/2
Mala Noche
All That Heaven Allows
Grey Gardens
L' eclisse
L' avventura
Tokyo Story
3 Women
Amarcord
Eyes Without a Face

Best Box Sets

BRD Trilogy
Dreyer Box Set

To this day, 4 by Agnes Varda is the BEST Criterion release. EVER. But that's 2008.
Last edited by Michael on Sun Feb 03, 2008 11:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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zedz
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2004 7:24 pm

#41 Post by zedz » Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:13 am

davidhare wrote:It's amusing to see how much Dylan's Italianophilia or my Francophilia color the things we vote for! (But who's apologizing.)
It would be sheer masochism to ignore genuine personal favourites for theoretically 'better' releases, so I think a lot of people blurred the impossible 'best' / 'favourite' distinction. I was very nearly with Michael on the old bare-bones Cleo, whatever its technical shortcomings.
Now for Schreck's silenceophilia.
He'll have his work cut out for him given Criterions's track record in that area!

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HerrSchreck
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:46 am

#42 Post by HerrSchreck » Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:00 pm

per Gringo's good graces:

(slapped together quickly)--

All Time Faves:
1) Passion of Joan of Arc
2) Eyes WIthout A Face
3) Port of Shadows (I'm a sucker for Weary Gloom)
4) La Regle de Jeu
5) Tokyo Story

Non Box Sets:
1) Passion of Joan of Arc
2) Eyes WIthout A Face
3) Port of Shadows
4) La Regle de Jeu
5) Tokyo Story
6) Pepe Le Moko (cover art or no, this film is heaven)
7) Fires on the Plain
8) Spirit of the Beehive
9) Battle of Algiers (CC idealism--some might say hubris-- at it's best)
10) L'Avventura

Box Sets:
1) Eisenstein, The SOund Years
2) Orphic Trilogy
3) Dreyer Box
4) Raymond Bernard
5) Hiroshi Teshigihara

Most Disappointing:(I tried to stay away from old release/disappointing transfer, because a bad transfer in 2008 was not necc bad in 1999 when the disc was released, thus stuff like Rublev escapes critique imo)
1) Double Suicide (great film, perhaps the one which most screams out for context)
2) Kwaidan (color controversy aside, w CC's penchant for "rare extended cuts" a la Le Cercle Rouge, this is just unacceptable)
3) Diary of a Country Priest (one of the best films in the collection, joined to the most irrelevant commentaries in the bunch... was actually the Beginning of the End of "me listening to commentaries".. which is why I'm avoiding the commentary vote; I just haven't listened to most)

Worst Film:
1) Armageddon
2) Heaven Can Wait (a huge disappointment)
3) If... (crushed by how much Nothing this film gave me)

Best Supplement:
1) Blood of the Beasts (Franju, Eyes Without a Face).

Best Package Design:
1) Teshigihara
2) Spirit of the Beehive
3) Rules of the Game
4) Ugetsu Monogatari
5) Pickup on South Street

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Michael
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2004 12:09 pm

#43 Post by Michael » Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:33 pm

HerrSchreck wrote:3) If... (crushed by how much Nothing this film gave me)
Wow... very happy to know that I'm not the only one. Malcolm MacDowell and schoolboys plus some good comments from David (can't remember which one - Ehrenstein or Hare or both) - I was fully prepared to love the film. It was a complete blah.

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

#44 Post by colinr0380 » Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:40 pm

No Seven Samurai Herr Schreck?

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HerrSchreck
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:46 am

#45 Post by HerrSchreck » Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:12 pm

Michael wrote:
3) If... (crushed by how much Nothing this film gave me)
Wow... very happy to know that I'm not the only one. Malcolm MacDowell and schoolboys plus some good comments from David (can't remember which one - Ehrenstein or Hare or both) - I was fully prepared to love the film. It was a complete blah.
Not to mention Cobain's love for it. Ehrenstein divides his life up into "before If... and after If...". That's a pretty strong attribution and one of the reasons I bought the damned thing. The film just did next to nothing to or for me. I'm almost scared to blind buy This Sporting Life, which is a shame because of the supposedly raging performance of Burton in the lead.
No Seven Samurai Herr Schreck?

Yea, I know. These lists, they're a pain in the ass.

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

#46 Post by colinr0380 » Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:31 pm

You'll be disappointed if you are going to buy This Sporting Life for Richard Burton rather than Richard Harris! :wink:

Don't let it put you off though, This Sporting Life is a very great film (though I quite like If... as well so I don't know how much faith you can put in my opinion! #-o )

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HerrSchreck
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:46 am

#47 Post by HerrSchreck » Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:37 pm

Still not as bad as when I called member Donald Brown Gordon Brown.

I'm getting old.

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kinjitsu
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 1:39 pm
Location: Uffa!

We're all getting old, Schreck...

#48 Post by kinjitsu » Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:52 pm

I finally managed to place these in ranking order, but it wasn't easy.

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release (ranked 1-5)
Seven Samuari
Early Summer
The Leopard
L'avventura
The Complete Mr. Arkadin


Best Non-Box Set Releases(ranked 1-10)
Tokyo Story
Late Spring
Ugetsu
The Rules of the Game
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
The Battle of Algiers
M
Pandora's Box
Contempt
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie


Best Box Sets (ranked 1-5)
Fanny and Alexander
Late Ozu
Raymond Bernard
Three Films by Hiroshi Teshigahara
A Film Trilogy by Ingmar Bergman


Most Disappointing Package (ranked 1-5)
High and Low
Good Morning
Kwaidan
Andrei Rublev
Samurai I - II & III


Worst Films (ranked 1-10) (I could go on...)
Chasing Amy
Man Bites Dog
Beastie Boys Video Anthology
Blood for Dracula
Flesh for Frankenstein
I Am Curious (Blue)
I Am Curious (Yellow)
The Element of Crime
The Rock
Armageddon


Best Commentary (ranked 1-5)
Early Summer - Donald Richie
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp - Martin Scorsese and Michael Powell
Seven Samuari - David Desser, Joan Mellen, Stephen Prince, Tony Rayns, and Donald Richie
The Complete Mr. Arkadin - Jonathan Rosenbaum and James Naremore
Army of Shadows - Ginette Vincendeau

Best Single Supplement non-commentary (ranked 1-5)
Tokyo Story - I Lived, But . . .
Salvatore Guiliano - Il cineasta e il labirinto
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - A propósito de Buñuel
F For Fake - Orson Welles: One-Man Band
The River - Rumer Godden: An Indian Affair


Best Package Design (ranked 1-5)
Seven Samurai
Three Films by Hiroshi Teshigahara
Pandora's Box
Sansho the Bailiff
The Third Man


Best Cover Art (ranked 1-5)
A Story of Floating Weeds / Floating Weeds
Seven Samurai
The Battle of Algiers
Berlin Alexanderplatz
Throne of Blood


Worst Cover Art (ranked 1-6) (I could go on here too, but this should suffice)
Koko: A Talking Gorilla
Chasing Amy
The King of Kings
The Long Good Friday
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Salo

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Scharphedin2
Joined: Fri May 19, 2006 7:37 am
Location: Denmark/Sweden

#49 Post by Scharphedin2 » Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:10 pm

Sorry, for missing the deadline on this, Gringo. If it is still relevant, and writing from a hotel room without access to my DVD collection, these would be my votes:

All-Time Favorite Criterion Release
1. Seven Samurai
2. Orphic Trilogy
3. The Leopard
4. By Brakhage
5. In the Mood for Love

Best Non-box Set Release
1. Seven Samurai
2. By Brakhage
3. The Leopard
4. In the Mood for Love
5. Port of Shadows
6. Ugetsu
7. Early Summer
8. Mr. Arkadin
9. The Burmese Harp
10. Contempt

Best Box Sets
1. Orphic Trilogy
2. Late Ozu
3. BRD Trilogy
4. Dreyer Box
5. Eisenstein: The Sound Years

Most Disappointing Package
1. Kwaidan
2. High and Low
3. La Jetee/Sans Soleil

Worst Film
Generally, I do not think Criterion releases “bad” films. Some may not be as prestigious as others, and some may not spark my interest, but in and of themselves, I am sure that all the films in the collection have merit. I have purchased a lot of Criterion’s discs (most of them), and I would like to think that the “worst film(s)” are amongst those few that I do not have on my shelf. And, since I do not own these, I cannot comment.

Best Commentary
I have not had the opportunity to listen to enough to make a qualified list. I used to listen to them more back in the days of laserdisc. Generally I like the ones that I have listened to – Peter Cowie on the Bergman and Renoir films; Basinger on It’s a Wonderful Life. And, I remember thinking that I learned a lot from Jeck’s commentary on Seven Samurai, when I listened to it back in 1989.

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
1. Blood of the Beasts (Eyes Without a Face)
2. Shindo’s doc on Mizoguchi on Ugetsu
3. Neapolitan Diary on Rosi’s Hands Across the City
4. The multi-media intro to Wong Kar Wai’s films on In the Mood for Love
5. The short Sternberg doc on Scarlet Empress

Best Package Design
1. Rohmer Box
2. Ugetsu
3. Teshigahara Box
4. BRD Trilogy
5. Mr. Arkadin

Best Cover Art
1. In the Mood for Love
2. Yi Yi
3. Sansho the Bailiff
4. Floating Weeds
5. Army of Shadows
6. 8½
7. Le Corbeau
8. Seven Samurai (2nd edition)
9. Port of Shadows
10. The Leopard

Bonus List -- Favorite 5 Criterion Laserdiscs:
As I was typing up this list, I realised that it has been almost exactly 20 years, since I purchased my first Criterion disc (Blade Runner on laserdisc). To me, Criterion has been for all these years the closest thing to a personal art house/film school (in the last few years, several other DVD publishers have joined Criterion, of course), and Criterion’s project has been an on-going project that simply crossed into a new format along the way. These five were some of the discs that I viewed most (if memory serves correctly)

1. Seven Samurai (CAV)
2. Magnificent Ambersons (CAV)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (CAV)
4. The Films of Charles and Ray Eames Vol. 1 and 2
5. Jules and Jim

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HerrSchreck
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:46 am

#50 Post by HerrSchreck » Wed Feb 06, 2008 9:13 pm

Seoncded on the mini von Sternberg doc by Brownlow on Empress.

In answer to Michael (since I'm on the subject) regarding why Empress-- since its such a major favorite film of mine-- is not on my list, there's a few reasons. If I went simply in terms of favorite films, the list would look very slightly different. Certainly Rublev would have been on the list if I just went in those terms. As would Kwaidan. Brute Force without a doubt.

Certain CC's have a certain "magic" about them. The overall thing captures something about the film itself, even when its just sitting there on your shelf. The package & presentation, and improvement on previously available transfers is just so fantastic the dvd package is worth a million bucks. Eyes Without A Face is a package like that. You almost feel like you've started watching the film just by holding the keep case in your hands... when the art, the transfer-- and photochemical state of the elements prior to the transfer-- digital cleanup, folks contracted to provide articles, extras selected.. when these all come together in a very rare expression of (in my own personal terms) Rarified Good Taste (the Franju is another excellent example.. there are some cineastes who fail to appreciate the very special delicacy and pedigree that this film constitutes,) then you've got a candidate for my list.

I can't say that I neccessarily like Quai de Brumes better than Empress, (and the Brumes package is pretty bleak in terms of extras, even for the lower tier), but this was the my introduction to Brumes, and I love the presentation nonetheless; I start smelling the smoke they used as a stand-in for fog just by looking at the box. I look at the Brumes case and it conjures up a whole phaze of time in my life where I just popped that fucker in relentless. So it means more to me as a CC release-- the service Janus provided me in producing the disc-- than Empress, which I saw in the cinema prior to seeing it home home video. This is the reason why a total barebones release like the sublime Cranes, or Sword of Doom, is more "meaningful" to me as a dvd than say 3Penny Op, or 7Samurai, and other masterpieces which Id been very familiar with before CC got them out.

I dont know how much sense that all made, but it just boils down to a certain magic the overall release has for me. And its really retarded that Spirit of the Beehive is not on my list.

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