criterionforum.org

I only bought three of this year's Criterion releases (and one MoC release), all of which are Blu-ray upgrades of films I previously own on DVDs. The most satisfying of the bunch gets my vote for:

Best Blu-ray Upgrade & Release of the Year: In the Mood for Love

Best Release (1-5, ranked in order of preference)

1. Weekend (Godard's)
2. World on a Wire
3. Godzilla
4. The Gold Rush
5. Lonesome


Best Reissue
Samurai Trilogy

Most Disappointing Release (for Criterion's treatment, not the film itself)
Can't really say. Wish they would do more commentaries with Godard's films. Also I shied away from the Heaven's Gate release because of price + lack of supplements.

Best Commentary
Lonesome

Best Cover
Honestly any of my top 5 could win this. Slight nod to Lonesome.

Best Release
1. Lonesome
2. Rosemary’s Baby
3. David Lean Directs Noël Coward
4. Eating Raoul
5. Harold & Maude

Best Eclipse Set
Pearls of the Czech New Wave

Best Non-Eclipse Box Set
David Lean Directs Noël Coward

Best Blu-ray Upgrade
La Jetée/Sans Soleil

Best R1 Rescue
Rosemary’s Baby

Best (Re)Discovery
Lonesome

Best Commentary
Richard Koszarski, Lonesome

Best Cover
Shallow Grave

Best Packaging
Trilogy Of Life

Member of the Year
MichaelB

Best Release
1) Trilogy of Life
2) Weekend (1967)
3) World on a Wire
4) Summer Interlude
5) Eating Raoul

Best Eclipse
Gorin

Best Box
Trilogy of Life

Best Reissue
Samurai Trilogy

Best Blu Upgrade
In the Mood for Love

Best Discovery
Daisies

Biggest Dissapointment
Daisies really merits hidef treatment, and should not have been released only on DVD. I love Eclipse, but if such visually stunning films continue to end up in Eclipse sets then I really hope they start releasing the sets on blu AND dvd. Please let the months-long gap in the Eclipse schedule be a sign that they're retooling the line for blu!

Best Commentary
Godzilla (for presenting, finally, a clear and complete explanation of why the "gojira" people are being obnoxious, and for taking "Godzila: King of the Monsters" seriously)

Best Bonus Film
Secret Cinema

Best Supplement
Kent Jones on Weekend, which was so smart it made up for the lack of commentary. I think I actually regrew some of the brain cells that died when I listened to the David Sterrit commentary on the old New Yorker DVD.

Best Cover
Trilogy of Life

Best Packaging
Godzilla

Best Non-CC Release
Titanic blu ray (with no apologies; Titanic rules)

Best Release (1-5, ranked in order of preference)
David Lean Directs Noel Coward
Pearls of the Czech New Wave
Week End
Trilogy of Life
Belle de Jour

Best Eclipse Set
Pearls of the Czech New Wave

Best Non-Eclipse Box Set
David Lean Directs Noel Coward

Best Reissue
Rashomon

Best Blu-ray Upgrade
La Jetee/Sans Soleil

Best R1 Rescue (for title already available in R1 and re-released by Criterion)
Belle de Jour

Best Discovery
Return of the Prodigal Son/Daisies (Pearls of the Czech New Wave)

Most Disappointing Release (for Criterion's treatment, not the film itself)
Heaven's Gate

Best Commentary
Michael Wood (Belle de Jour)

Best Bonus Film
The Report (Certified Copy)

Best Non-Bonus Film Supplement
Barry Day (David Lean)

Best Cover
Belle de Jour

Best Packaging
Trilogy of Life

Member of the Year
MichaelB

Best Release
1. Lonesome
2. Rosetta
3. World on a Wire
4. Jean Gremillon During the Occupation
5. Letter Never Sent

Best Eclipse Set
Jean Gremillon During the Occupation

Best Non-Eclipse Box Set
Trilogy of Life

Best Reissue
Rashomon

Best Blu-ray Upgrade
In the Mood for Love

Best R1 Rescue (for title already available in R1 and re-released by Criterion)
La Promesse

Best (Re)Discovery
Letter Never Sent

Most Disappointing Release (for Criterion's treatment, not the film itself)
Children of Paradise

Best Bonus Film
The Report

Best Cover
La Promesse

Best Packaging
Trilogy of Life

Best Release (1-5, ranked in order of preference)
1. Rosemary's Baby
2. The Gold Rush
3. Anatomy of a Murder
4. Godzilla
5. Harold and Maude

Best Eclipse Set
N/A

Best Non-Eclipse Box Set
David Lean Directs Noel Coward

Best Reissue
Rashomon

Best Blu-ray Upgrade
The Royal Tenenbaums

Best R1 Rescue (for title already available in R1 and re-released by Criterion)
Rosemary's Baby

Best (Re)Discovery
World on a Wire

Most Disappointing Release (for Criterion's treatment, not the film itself)
TIE: Being John Malkovich (for the awful cover art and lack of a Jonze/Kaufman interview, or at least commentary)
Daisies (for being part of an eclipse set, and not on Blu)

Best Commentary
Jeffrey Vance - The Gold Rush '25

Best Bonus Film
The Gold Rush '25

Best Non-Bonus Film Supplement
Remembering Rosemary's Baby

Best Cover
Rashomon

Best Packaging
Godzilla

Best Release
1. Rosemary's Baby
2. Le Havre
3. Letter Never Sent
4. Anatomy of a Murder
5. Summer with Monika

Best Eclipse Set
Jean Grémillon During the Occupation

Best Non-Eclipse Box Set
David Lean directs Noel Coward

Best Reissue
Rashomon

Best Blu-ray Upgrade - when you take out the reissues, this category is incredibly blah
Brazil

Best R1 Rescue
Rosemary's Baby

Best (Re)Discovery
Letter Never Sent

Most Disappointing Release
Heaven's Gate - so much potential for historical and cinematic context wasted

Best Commentary
Godzilla – David Kalat

Best Bonus Film
The Last Performance and Broadway on Lonesome

Best Non-Bonus Film Supplement
New retrospective doc on Rosemary's Baby w/ Polanski, Mia Farrow, et al.

Best Cover
Rashomon

Best Packaging
David Lean Directs Noel Coward

Member of the Year
Swo

Richard Cranium Award
SpiderBaby

Best Release
1. David Lean Directs Noel Coward
2. The Game
3. Lonesome
4. Anatomy of a Murder
5. Summer Interlude

Best Eclipse Set
Jean Grémillon During the Occupation

Best Non-Eclipse Box Set
David Lean directs Noel Coward

Best Reissue
A Night to Remember

Best Blu-ray Upgrade
Brazil

Best R1 Rescue
War Room

Best (Re)Discovery
Summer Interlude

Most Disappointing Release
Children of Paradise (scrubbed grain)

Best Commentary
The Game

Best Bonus Film
Return of the War Room

Best Non-Bonus Film Supplement
Barry Day on the David Lean Directs Noel Coward set

Best Cover
Samurai Trilogy

Best Packaging
Children of Paradise, love the artwork on every aspect of this.




(I Haven't had a chance to get all the supplements from my 2012 purchases watched but I have managed to reduce my kevyip pile of criterion BDs to zero, finally, 49 Films over the entire year plus the entire By Brakhage set. I wonder if I can get my 17 dvd kevyip films and the Golden Age of Television set watched before July)

Today's the last day to vote. You have 'til approximately 5PM EST today to vote or edit your votes

VOTING CATEGORIES
Best Release (1-5, ranked in order of preference)
1. Weekend (1967)
2. World on a Wire
3. Hollis Frampton Odyssey
4. Rosemary's Baby
5. Letter Never Sent

Best Eclipse Set: Pearls of the Czech New Wave
Best Non-Eclipse Box Set: Trilogy of Life

Best Reissue: Rashomon
Best Blu-ray Upgrade: La Jetee/Sans Soleil

Best R1 Rescue (for title already available in R1 and re-released by Criterion): Rosemary's Baby

Best Cover: Blithe Spirit (if we can't include this individual disk, then weekend 2011)
Best Packaging -- Godzilla

Voting closed, results soon

2012 Criterion Awards for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence

BEST RELEASE
01 Lonesome
02 Rosemary's Baby
03 Godzilla
04 Week End (1967)
05 the Gold Rush
06 A Hollis Frampton Odyssey
07 Letter Never Sent
08 Trilogy of Life
09 Harold and Maude
09 World on a Wire

BEST ECLIPSE SET
Eclipse Series 34: Jean Grémillon During the Occupation

BEST NON-ECLIPSE BOX SET
David Lean Does Dallas

BEST REISSUE



BEST BLU-RAY UPGRADE
In the Mood for Love

BEST R1 RESCUE
Rosemary's Baby

BEST (RE)DISCOVERY
Letter Never Sent

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
Heaven's Gate

BEST COMMENTARY
David Kalat, Godzilla

BEST BONUS FILM
the Report, Certified Copy

BEST NON-BONUS FILM SUPPLEMENT
Remembering Rosemary's Baby, Rosemary's Baby

BEST COVER



BEST PACKAGING



MEMBER OF THE YEAR
MichaelB

RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD
(tie) mfunk9786 & misterlime


Compiler's Note In my time as list-compiler, I have never seen a blow-out quite like Lonesome's performance this year. It outranked its closest competitor by twice the number of points. This is what a unanimous winner looks like, folks

Thanks domino! (and congratulations, Michael)

I didn't vote this time around, because I still haven't caught up with all of Criterion's releases for the year, but I can't really quibble with the results.

I would like to put in a good word for Gary Giddens' Duke appreciation on the Anatomy of the Murder disc - an infectious and knowledgable geekfest and my favourite non-film extra of the year.

I have to say in general they did great work this year on soundtrack appreciations. If I was going to vote for a regular extra I'd probably have gone with the Komeda doc for instance.

I want to thank misterlime for being really bummed out about what he perceived as criticisms of Olive Films. And also want to thank my good friend Mel Gibson for keeping me out of the public eye or something whatever she said

Honestly though, so sorry that I alienate[d] so many of you in 2012. It really is a great joy to post here and I promise that I'm a nice man without a mean bone in his body who just doesn't care for tiptoeing around when it comes to open discussions. It doesn't mean I dislike anyone and certainly doesn't mean that I'm anti-intellectual, which is probably the most hurtful accusation lobbed at me of late. Couldn't be further from the truth, but I hope y'all don't mind if I continue to bluntly post broad, sweeping generalizations about stuff on my cell phone when I'm in a hurry and start forum riots over torture porn. Maybe not the latter, it's pretty obvious that this is not the place. Scott Tobias and I will build a treehouse where we'll discuss it in private.

Anyway: So glad about Lonesome. It's one of the best Criterion releases and one of those 'sure thing' blind buys I'd recommend to anyone of any age/gender/tolerance for silent films. A real gem with a hell of a release around it.

Congrats to Lonesome, which, had I contributed, would've been number one with a bullet. What a superb film and release done with such care. Kind of surprised that Anatomy Of A Murder wasn't listed (though supplements were a bit light), but I want to also bring up Alambrista which sucked me in like no other new release this year. Anyone who hasn't sought it out yet: it is truly marvelous.

I also really enjoyed Weekend (2011) and just sat through the outstanding Purple Noon as well. A very great year indeed for film releases.

Not one to purchase a lot of Criterion releases every year. My wife seems to think that food, clothing and a mortgage take precedence (yes, yes, I know, but she's a lovely woman in spite of). So have a few in the top ten...

...but LONESOME is just so very very special. One of those movies that makes you glad to be a geek! \:D/

Very good to hear that "Lonesome" is such a success here. I hope this will be reflected in actual sales so that Criterion will be encouraged to release more such outstanding films from the silent era. A bit surprised that "Czech New Wave" didn't make it in the top 10, as this set is a real eye-opener about a perhaps not universally known era/country of filmmaking. And all the films in it are terribly entertaining in various ways. But of course Grémillon is indeed the best Eclipse set

It's absurd that mfunk should be ranked with misterlime. Shame on
those who voted for him. Matt should do some protecting.

Tommaso wrote:Very good to hear that "Lonesome" is such a success here. I hope this will be reflected in actual sales so that Criterion will be encouraged to release more such outstanding films from the silent era. A bit surprised that "Czech New Wave" didn't make it in the top 10, as this set is a real eye-opener about a perhaps not universally known era/country of filmmaking. And all the films in it are terribly entertaining in various ways. But of course Grémillon is indeed the best Eclipse set

Indeed a great set, but I suspect Second Run stole some of the thunder.

Congrats: Lonesome, and thanks to these results its going to be my next Criterion blind buy.