Criterion Newsletter (Part 2)

[cskok]

How about La Chienne? Doesn't that mean "The Bitch," as in "dog"? Does Simon get drunk in it (never seen it, and can't recall if Robinson does in Scarlet Street)?

[jwd5275]

God, I hope I'm wrong and it is La Chienne....

[Brian C]

There's a scene in Me and You and Everyone We Know where the kids' dog is drinking a Dos Equis.

[Gregory]

A triple-X on a bottle is an age-old cartoon singnifier for liquor. It's also been used to mean poison, but in cartoons and comic-style drawings I associate it with liquor. Of course only two Xs are visible because it's a small illustration and only two are visible (they could have made it a bigger jug, of course, so maybe it is supposed to be Dos Equis).

[Tom Hagen]

Stay thirsty, my friends.

[knives]

A first-ever double clue of two upgrades seems like a stretch...

But then again, I've been desperate for Rashomon, so you guys are probably right.

We had a double clue before in the form of a samurai in red shoes.

[Jeff]

We had a double clue before in the form of a samurai in red shoes.

That was from the original New Year's drawing, which also featured Lola Montes wearing a Che t-shirt and brandishing a polka-dotted gun, among other delights. It was actually the first duoviguple clue, but I don't think it counts.

I've always been a non-believer in the legendary "double clue," but I don't see any way that a drunken dog points to anything other than a pairing of Drunken Angel/Stray Dog as Blu upgrades.

[jwd5275]

We had monkeys on a motorcycle.
Even though it was for the same box set, it was two different movies, which I would argue are less closely related as Drunken Angel and Stray Dog (which have the same director, actors, crime stories...)

[justeleblanc]

Turner and Hootch?

[matrixschmatrix]

Maybe they'll put Stray Dog and Drunken Angel in a box together, the way they did with Yojimbo and Sanjuro?

[Drucker]

Maybe they'll put Stray Dog and Drunken Angel in a box together, the way they did with Yojimbo and Sanjuro?

But weren't Yojimbo and Sanjuro released together initially? They weren't boxed together, but their spines are next to each other.

I'm just pissed I just got Stray Dog and Throne of Blood, the former primarily because it seemed from old discussions that it might be a title whose source material is so weak that an upgrade was unlikely.

[swo17]

The only reason I'm willing to concede that this might be a double clue is the two 'X's on the bottle.

[Jeff]

I don't think they'll box them, just release them on Blu at the same time for marketing purposes. The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus weren't sequential spines either, but they were paired together for Blu-ray release.

[aox]

I really thought Rashomon or Ikiru would have been far ahead in line over these two.

[Jeff]

I think that Criterion is largely at the mercy of Toho in regards to what gets upgraded when.

[dwk]

filename: wackydrunkdog.jpg

Odd, but the "wacky" in the filename is actually "wackky," so maybe this is the fabled double clue. You'll be able to tell your grandchildren about the time Criterion's wacky animal was clue for two movies. Truly, we live in wondrous times.

[Minkin]

Now that we're firmly entrenched in the double clue idea...

Did anybody else notice the dog has a WC Fields nose? (plus the drinking would correlate as well).

[justeleblanc]

A dog drinking spirits? = Ghost Dog.

[jwd5275]

A dog drinking spirits? = Ghost Dog.

Unfortunately StudioCanal..

[captveg]

Now that we're firmly entrenched in the double clue idea...

Did anybody else notice the dog has a WC Fields nose? (plus the drinking would correlate as well).

I did. But I've been trying to figure out how him being a dog would work. Doesn't help that I've seen so few of his films.

[HistoryProf]

I have to say that was also one of the more interesting top 10s to read

agreed. one of the best they've done in my opinion. I don't understand the ones that have little or no commentary. what's the point if you aren't going to tell us about why you love them?

[matrixschmatrix]

It also succeeded at enticing me to buy things, as his description of Head pushed me into getting the BBS set, which I've been on the fence about since it came out. If you ever listen to his commentaries, Wright seems consistently to come off as an immensely likable, talkative guy- he's like Tarantino if Tarantino weren't really off-putting.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I have to say that was also one of the more interesting top 10s to read

I loved it. I'm always inspired by directors who are also enthusiastic critics. That they're all good choices makes me like Wright even more.

[matrixschmatrix]

I loved it. I'm always inspired by directors who are also enthusiastic critics. That they're all good choices makes me like Wright even more.

The love he and Baumbauch (and a number of other filmmakers) have for De Palma in general and Blow Out in particular makes me wonder if they were Pauline Kael devotees back in the day- I love the idea of a school of filmmaking inspired by a critic, rather than the other way around.

[knives]

You can like De Palma without liking or knowing Kael, just saying. I'm actually most fascinated by his number 11 as that sort of humility and thoughtfulness is very rare. It really does make him a more endearing person.