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They were exclusive to the limited edition— it was part of the initial ad copy that they wouldn’t be available afterwards

Wow, I never realised that, but indeed : "exclusive to this collection only: Perceval, Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle and The Tree, the Mayor and the Mediatheque".
No mention of Marquise d'O being exclusive, but I guess it might have been easier to drop it in order to be back on the usual Comedies and Proverbs boxset.

Perceval and Reinette et Mirabelle were the two best films in the set in my probably not popular opinion (with the latter having my vote for Rohmer’s best film), if anyone is weighing tracking down a copy of the original who hasn’t done so already

I didn't realize you were such a fan of R&M--it's also one of my very favorite Rohmers

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:47 pm Perceval and Reinette et Mirabelle were the two best films in the set in my probably not popular opinion (with the latter having my vote for Rohmer’s best film), if anyone is weighing tracking down a copy of the original who hasn’t done so already

Haven't gotten to Reinette et Mirabelle yet (maybe I will today with that endorsement) but Perceval I've long considered Rohmer's best film and was the main reason I snatched up the original set so quickly.

Perceval would be up near the top for me too

I also like his version of The Marquise of O quite a bit, so I recommend people track down the original set as well. And given the way they are packaging the C&P titles it doesn't look like the new box will actually be any more of a space saver.

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:47 pm Perceval and Reinette et Mirabelle were the two best films in the set in my probably not popular opinion (with the latter having my vote for Rohmer’s best film), if anyone is weighing tracking down a copy of the original who hasn’t done so already

Have yet to see Perceval, but I concur with the praise for R&M, even though I'd say I love all the Rohmer films I've seen so far, especially those of the Comedies & Proverbs.

R & M was a delight -- but I still put Green Ray, Tale of Winter and Tale of Summer at the very top of my list. Never got the Arrow set, and hoping my more complete French set won't decompose....

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:47 pm Perceval and Reinette et Mirabelle were the two best films in the set in my probably not popular opinion (with the latter having my vote for Rohmer’s best film)

I thought it was my unpopular opinion to think so highly of Reinette et Mirabelle but I’m glad to see many supporters. I also don’t know what I’d put in front as his best so it may very well be my favorite too

I liked _all_ the hardly-ever-mentioned portmanteau films -- and was surprised that they had been so generally dismissed.

Glowingwabbit wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:54 pm

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:47 pm Perceval and Reinette et Mirabelle were the two best films in the set in my probably not popular opinion (with the latter having my vote for Rohmer’s best film), if anyone is weighing tracking down a copy of the original who hasn’t done so already

Haven't gotten to Reinette et Mirabelle yet (maybe I will today with that endorsement) but Perceval I've long considered Rohmer's best film and was the main reason I snatched up the original set so quickly.

Perceval is my all-time favourite Rohmer film. Only have the Potemkine version of it, though (having long since dispensed with the old region 1 disc), and would love the opportunity to see Arrow’s transfer.

They might have only bought the rights for the X copies the original set was limited to, yes.

therewillbeblus wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 11:19 pm

domino harvey wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 4:47 pm Perceval and Reinette et Mirabelle were the two best films in the set in my probably not popular opinion (with the latter having my vote for Rohmer’s best film)

I thought it was my unpopular opinion to think so highly of Reinette et Mirabelle but I’m glad to see many supporters. I also don’t know what I’d put in front as his best so it may very well be my favorite too

I love The Aviator's Wife and Pauline at the Beach the most, but it's easier for me to list the ones I didn't than the ones I did.
I also find Rendezvous in Paris and Boyfriends & Girlfriends to be up there with his best (and obviously the classics like Maud and Claire)

I also find Pauline at the Beach to be one of his best and always have, long before this set (which was the platform for my first viewing of R&M) so I’m with you there. I’ll also second Girlfriends and Boyfriends and Rendez-vous in Paris as my other favorites in the set. Maud and La Collectionneuse may round out a rough top five (er, six), but I’ll admit I never loved Claire’s Knee or understood why it’s often cited as his masterpiece.

therewillbeblus - I very much like Claire's _sister_ but find Claire herself quite uninteresting. On the other hand, while I very much like Pauline, I find her friends at the beach mostly pretty annoying.

Don’t we all often find a character or two annoying in a Rohmer film? I would say it’s part of the Rohmer (film watching) experience . My Top-2 favorites are A Summer’s Tale and Pauline at the Beach (the first Rohmer film I saw).

Michael Kerpan wrote: Sun Jan 19, 2020 12:21 am therewillbeblus - I very much like Claire's _sister_ but find Claire herself quite uninteresting. On the other hand, while I very much like Pauline, I find her friends at the beach mostly pretty annoying.

Yet you love the Rohmer with the most annoying protagonist, Hiver!

I don't mind characters who are "annoying", I only mind characters who annoy ME. And the adult characters in Pauline are boring blowhards and creeps.

The Green Ray is the one I'm always baffled at people's admiration for, or at least its high ranking, and R&M may be my least favorite... But GR used to be that and I came around a little bit on a recent rewatch—though I still rate it middling at best in his career—so perhaps I'll come around to R&M in the future.

Perceval I just have no idea what to make of, though I nevertheless found it enthralling. I need another go or three to decide, and feel largely the same about Marquise. But as I'm ever-so-slowly working my way through the Potemkine box in chronological order, I had intentions of finishing the box before I revisit anything... I think those two and Aviator's Wife will be the first three I revisit, when I do loop back around.

Pauline and La Collectionneuse are my incontestable favorites, though, and Boyfriends & Girlfriends has been the one I've loved most recently on my watch-through. Winter is up next, so after domino's comment I guess I'll be bracing myself...



I'm still hunting any English subs I can find for any and all of the shorts and other features on the Potemkine set, btw, if anyone comes across them...

How did you manage to let them get under your skin, Michael ?

Michael Kerpan wrote: Sun Jan 19, 2020 1:57 am I don't mind characters who are "annoying", I only mind characters who annoy ME. And the adult characters in Pauline are boring blowhards and creeps.

The first time I saw it I felt this way about Féodor Atkine and while he’s still not someone I’d ever want to hang out with, my last watch made me feel like he embodied the passive individualism that many bachelors have and I didn’t think he was manipulative or full of lies and empty promises like I did the first time. Moreso his ‘crime’ (if you can even call it that) was that he was selfish but unapologetically open about it, and I didn’t punish him as a viewer as much as the rest of the characters that projected their own world views onto him and resented him for not changing his identity to their values, a tall order and one that reflects poorly on the narcissism of the others. Greggory on the other hand was just obnoxious and yet all the other characters were vulnerable and served as mirrors that triggered each to make choices and engage in social confrontation to forcibly reveal their deepest defining personality/romantic/sexual preferences, scraping in the spaces of the mind few films dare to, which is where Rohmer’s best works succeed.

I have shamefully only seen one Rohmer (Claire’s Knee) despite liking it quite a bit and also owning the Arrow set for ages. Will rectify that this year (along with never having shamefully seen any Rivette).

I strongly recommend doing both and luckily the best Rivette have great releases, with two good blu rays out there for Paris Belongs to Us which is my favorite and probably his only film in my top 50

I’d say several of the best Rivettes don’t have good releases — my absolute favorite hasn’t been released with English subtitles since the VHS days.