349 Kicking and Screaming

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#1 Post by **zedz** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:30 pm

Paralyzed by postgraduation ennui, a group of college friends remain on campus, patching together a community for themselves in order to deny the real-world futures awaiting them. Academy Awardâ€“nominated screenwriter Noah Baumbach's hilarious and touching directorial debut was one of the highlights of the American independent film scene of the nineties, speaking directly to a generation of adults-to-be unable to reconcile their hermetic educational experience with workaday responsibility, and posing the eternal question, where do we go from here? Stingingly funny and incisive, Baumbach's breakthrough features endlessly quotable dialogue, delivered by a stellar ensemble cast.

Special Features

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

â€¢ New, restored high-definition digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Noah Baumbach
â€¢ New Dolby Digital 5.1 audio remix
â€¢ New video interview with writer-director Baumbach
â€¢ New video conversations featuring Baumbach and cast members Chris Eigeman, Josh Hamilton, and Carlos Jacott
â€¢ Rare deleted scenes
â€¢ Conrad and Butler in â€œConrad and Butler Take a Vacation,â€

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backstreetsbackalright · #2 Post by **backstreetsbackalright** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:42 pm

zedz wrote:Kicking and Screaming - it's a US indie year for Criterion. Meanwhile, back at MoC and Second Run. . .

I've been perfectly happy with these so far. But Kicking and Screaming? It's a film I more or less enjoyed watching, but this might be the ricketiest of the CC indies hence far. It could be that I only first saw the film two years ago, but K&S strikes me as far more deliberate, and thus clumsier, with its very showy dialogue than, say, Metropolitan.

Course I suppose this isn't too far off from dismissing Dazed and Confused as Criterion unworthy.

fliggil · #3 Post by **fliggil** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:42 pm

zedz wrote:Kicking and Screaming - it's a US indie year for Criterion. Meanwhile, back at MoC and Second Run. . .

Wonder if there's any chance for CC to release The Squid and the Whale as well?

Ashirg · #4 Post by **Ashirg** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:46 pm

zero% chance. It's Sony.

fliggil · #5 Post by **fliggil** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:47 pm

bah i forgot, that's a shame

justeleblanc · #6 Post by **justeleblanc** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:55 pm

I feel like I should have guessed this title. What with the success of Squid and the fact that this title has never been on DVD and the fact that Baumbach has already been involved with Criterion in many ways... did anyone predict this.

This is very much the year for American indies at Criterion. Maybe we can see a Hal Hartley release or another Jim Jarmusch or Spike Lee, but I guess this should be saved for another thread.

souvenir · #7 Post by **souvenir** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 7:58 pm

They use an ampersand, instead of spelling out the word "and" - which means only one thing...the introduction of Will Ferrell to the Criterion Collection!

rwaits · #8 Post by **rwaits** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:02 pm

Yes!!! Kicking and Screaming! I've always thought this would be a nice addition to the collection, but never thought it would happen. Since the similar Dazed was just announced, I figured it might one day be a consideration, but this is way out of the blue.

Great news!!!

#9 Post by **domino harvey** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:05 pm

Kicking and Screaming is an amazing movie, I've been letting people borrow a VHS dub of it off of IFC for years now, this is some exciting news!

#10 Post by **domino harvey** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:06 pm

justeleblanc wrote:I feel like I should have guessed this title. What with the success of Squid and the fact that this title has never been on DVD and the fact that Baumbach has already been involved with Criterion in many ways... did anyone predict this.

yeah, maybe not on this forum, but someone told me a few months ago that there was a special screening of it and it had the Janus logo beforehand

justeleblanc · #11 Post by **justeleblanc** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 8:44 pm

domino harvey wrote:yeah, maybe not on this forum, but someone told me a few months ago that there was a special screening of it and it had the Janus logo beforehand

thanks for sharing that with us, domino "fart" harvey

dx23 · #12 Post by **dx23** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 9:36 pm

Finally, A Will Ferrell masterpiece in the collection!!!! I wonder if the much loved Bewitched is next.

Tribe · #13 Post by **Tribe** » Thu Mar 02, 2006 11:38 pm

Kicking and Screaming...well, since they don't have Home Vision Entertainment to plam stuff off on anymore...looks like they're stuck with it.

Tribe

Andre Jurieu · #14 Post by **Andre Jurieu** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 12:41 am

justeleblanc wrote: I feel like I should have guessed this title. What with the success of Squid and the fact that this title has never been on DVD and the fact that Baumbach has already been involved with Criterion in many ways... did anyone predict this.

Pretty sure someone on the forum mentioned this awhile back.

Gregory · #15 Post by **Gregory** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 12:54 am

I'm very happy about this announcement and am surprised by the mixed reaction. I wonder if, as usual, it has more to do with what Criterion is not releasing than with what they are. So far those who have voiced their displeasure have said little or nothing about what's wrong with it. I hope we won't have a repeat of the Dazed and Confused thread, where in five pages no one arguing against the release bothered to coherently express what was wrong with the film more than about one or two sentences. Most of the criticisms were of Linklater's body of work as a whole, leading me to wonder if people were simply prejudiced against it because of some of the director's other work they had seen. So if anyone wants to say more than just "Boo, crappy film," then maybe we can have an interesting discussion.

pzman84 · #16 Post by **pzman84** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 5:56 am

I just IMDBed Kicking and Screaming. It doesn't look all that great. Just a bunch of college grads talking about what they want to do and not doing anything with their lives. FranÃ§ois Truffaut once worked in a factory. He rightfully observed that "people who work in factories all day don't want to go see a movie about how bad it is to work in a factory."

I am a college student who is still trying to figure out what to do in life. This is the case with many of my friends. We often sit around, talk about what we want to do. We make witty remarks as well. This is the case with most college students. Tell me, why would I want to pay $30-$40 to get the same experience I could get for free? Or, could spend that $30-$40 on booze and get an even better experience than the movie could provide?

Is there some creative editing that rivals Eisenstein or Vertov? Some unique mise-en-Scene? Does the camera movements put von Sternberg and Mizoguchi to shame? Does it have stylized violence? Explict sex? What does this movie have that makes it worthy of my money, much less being called a "masterpiece" worthy of the top of the line DVD provider?

Napoleon · #17 Post by **Napoleon** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 6:29 am

Parker Posey?

Out of the tons and tons of US indie films from the last decade, this does seem a very random choice.

skuhn8 · #18 Post by **skuhn8** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 8:56 am

Never even heard of this movie but after checking on imdb I wondered if this wasn't an inadvertant crack intended for their April 1st newsletter, perhaps owing to the same guy who updates the website handling the newsletter?

rwaits · #19 Post by **rwaits** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 9:04 am

Just check it out. When I was in college--late 90s to early 00's--this was one of my, and my friends favorites. And I believe it is very substantial. Sure, its another indie, its low budget, and perhaps not what we've all been hoping for this year, but in my opinion its a great little film. And I have been waiting for this dvd for quite some time, and am thrilled that Criterion is releasing it. And Eric Stoltz's character is amazing.

Check this one out before putting it down.

arsonfilms · #20 Post by **arsonfilms** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:13 am

Yeah, I've been waiting for this one awhile too.

Just remember, if you ever start to get down about recent selections you can always go over to the Rialto website and see all the stuff coming our way in the coming months. There should be enough in there to make everyone happy. More Godard, Reed, Resnais, Melville... and GODZILLA!

Criterion needs more American Indies (and when I say "need," I mean that from a business perspective: they're easier on the crossover/new cineaste market) and I'm more than happy to pick 'em up. Sure it may be disapointing that Berlin Alexanderplatz or fill-in-your-own-restoration-wish isn't done yet, but you don't have to buy a Baumbach film if you don't want to.

I want to, though, for the record.

skuhn8 · #21 Post by **skuhn8** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:24 am

skuhn8 wrote:Never even heard of this movie but after checking on imdb I wondered if this wasn't an inadvertant crack intended for their April 1st newsletter, perhaps owing to the same guy who updates the website handling the newsletter?

To self: idiot.
I was looking at the wrong film on imdb. I came up with some thing from a director called Jesse Davis from 2005. Damn ampersand threw me off. This Noah Baumbach film looks pretty funny. But I always enjoyed Reality Bites and that kind of film. Ten years since I graduated from University (Humboldt if there's anyone else who went) and I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. So, I recant my doubly misinformed opinion...until the time comes. Just hope its lower tier.

Cinesimilitude · #22 Post by **Cinesimilitude** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:03 am

based on the participation of Baumbach on The Life Aquatic, I can only assume he would want to record a commentary on his own film, which would make it a 39.99 release automatically. I can also say with 85-90% certainty, the commentary will feature Wes Anderson as well, to pimp his name on a sticker on the front cover. and let's go with some deleted scenes, not too numerous, and most not too different from the scene that ended up in the film, some screen tests, and a short film or two, early baumbach stuff we've never heard of.

toiletduck! · #23 Post by **toiletduck!** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:06 am

pzman84 wrote:We often sit around, talk about what we want to do. We make witty remarks as well. This is the case with most college students. Tell me, why would I want to pay $30-$40 to get the same experience I could get for free?

Does it have ... Explict sex?

Apparently something you can't get for free? No judgment, just seemed an odd line of reasoning...

-Toilet Dcuk

dekadetia · #24 Post by **dekadetia** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:15 am

Here's a piece from Slate last year on this and Baumbach's other pre-Squid film, Mr. Jealousy. Whet my appetite at the time, but Kicking and Screaming has been hanging around in my DVR for months now -- I guess it's time to give it a look.

Also, this should now become a dedicated thread.

redbill · #25 Post by **redbill** » Fri Mar 03, 2006 11:28 am

dekadetia wrote:Here's a piece from Slate last year on this and Baumbach's other pre-Squid film, Mr. Jealousy. Whet my appetite at the time, but Kicking and Screaming has been hanging around in my DVR for months now -- I guess it's time to give it a look.

Don't get too excited, if it was DVR'd from IFC its a really annoying and obvious Pan & Scan...