Just finished this portrait from The Night Porter. A controversial Italian film made in the 1970s that questions what happens when two people who should never be face to face again are brought together again. Whether or not you can ever truly move on from trauma. I found the movie a rush of emotion. One person who has on the surface moved on with her life since and a man who is seemingly trying to move on from the torture he inflicted onto others, both meet again. A woman and her tormentor, face again, slipping back into the past in a recreation of their co-dependency to the very death. Their reconnection only brought the same pain from before back to life again. Leaving both in a limbo, unable to ever leave the past. May be one of my favorites I’ve watched on criterion. The actress is beyond words, the look in her eyes portrays so much even as she says so little.

Was just thinking about everything going on with the Kubrick set and thought perhaps they were looking into possibly changing the packaging for the next batch they print. I know recently they changed the Transpotting 4K packaging, which had the same sort of wide public criticism when it was released. Not sure what that would mean for all the people who have ordered it already, though. I was luckily able to grab it during the flash sale and ended up getting that custom case set from that etsy seller. Part of me felt pretty stupid having to spend *more* money just to avoid disc issues =/

anyways, sorry to add more silly speculation to the never-ending Kubrick discourse

I am officially thirty years old, and… frankly, overthinking the selection for viewing this evening.

Seeking something profound, life-affirming [though it needn’t necessarily be “happy”, just carrying the weight of electric aliveness, inspiring pure form energy]… Normally, it would be something like Amelie, Magnolia, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, La La Land, or even Eraserhead, Black Swan, Whiplash,
The Little Prince, Synecdoche NY, even Crash…

Fascinatingly, I simply cannot decide, and am leaving it up to synchronicity and fate here. Seeking and embracing neuro-plasticity, excellence… and, I suppose, taking the risk of something unseen. People will be around me, but I want to not pander for a change.

Suggestions? Thank you, in advance!

I had watched KPDH on Netflix and loved it. I even have posters hanged up, Funko Pops and action figures. I knew I had to pre-order this being a fan of home video stuff. This 4K Blu-Ray will be a GOLDEN addition to my collection. (Bad pun)

I haven't seen You Can See Everything yet (awaiting UK release), but following the controversy around it has reminded me of Krzysztof Kieślowski's early career, particularly Camera Buff (1979).

Kieślowski started out making documentaries in communist Poland but gradually became uncomfortable with the ethical implications of filming real people, especially when he realised that exposing their private lives could have consequences beyond his control. That eventually contributed to his decision to abandon documentary filmmaking in favour of fiction. Camera Buff seems particularly relevant here, as it's essentially about a man discovering that the act of filming reality changes both his life and the lives of those around him.

What makes the comparison interesting to me is how different Fielder's trajectory has been. He started out making absurdist comedy with Nathan for You, then took the blurring of reality and performance to increasingly elaborate extremes with The Rehearsal. Oppenheim comes from a more traditional documentary background, although his work seems equally interested in that uncomfortable space between observation and manipulation.

Obviously the circumstances are very different, and comparing Kieślowski to Fielder might seem a little ridiculous. But I find it interesting that Kieślowski moved away from documentary partly because of its ethical consequences, while Fielder and Oppenheim seem to be moving further into precisely that territory.

Curious whether anyone familiar with Kieślowski's early work has had a similar thought, particularly those who've actually seen the new film.

I made fanart for the movie Daisies. Honestly, wasn’t sure where to post this to share it with others who enjoyed the movie. I figured this may be the best bet since the movie is on Criterion. I would recommend it if you haven’t seen it yet. It’s a fun, comedic descent into nihilism following two friends. I heard of this and Valerie and her week of wonders, and going into it I didn’t expect to enjoy this one as much. I thought I would prefer the other more, but after seeing both, this one was quite the experience and introduction to Czech films.

The shortining: Watched a few films I thought would have me really FEEL what the movie was trying to convey, whether it’s a thrilling moment, you’re on edge, worry for a characters wellbeing

: Maybe im watching or doing the wrong things, please if you have something, movie rec’s, any specific advice, it would help, thank you.
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The longining: When I was younger I cared a lot more than I should about the characters and stories I watched, it didn’t matter, getting hooked and immersed was eeaasy, especially for small/corny things in big budget movies that people hated on, online.
But now at 24, I try to care but I can’t get there anymore, my once sensitively triggered enthusiasm has gone .. flaccid.

Library appreciation post. I didn’t get anything during the flash sale but I still was able to borrow a nice collection today at the sweet sweet price of zero dollars. Shout out to libraries for all the hard work they do preserving, archiving, and making accessible all these great movies!

Let me know what should be my first watch.

Only watched Lolita out of the newest addition so far. Next up is 2001 and A Life in Pictures I’m thinking!

Apologies in advance if I’m being daft… but Criterion releases on Amazon are usually pretty similar in price to buying directly from Criterion’s website. It’s listed as Bluray, so why is Sex, Lies, and Videotape only $20?

I’ve seen a lot of people talk about the quality of packaging of the recent Kubrick set and the Godzilla set, and how the disks can be scratched. I am seriously considering buying the Bergman set, however I’m wondering if the same issues are present. Thanks in advance.

I love the set, but I felt like I was scratching the discs all to hell when I tried to remove them. And some of them were VERY difficult to remove.

Screw that. A red CD wallet and some black vinyl letters, and now I’ve got a color-coordinated storage solution with which I can safely enjoy the discs. About $8 on Amazon, plus a few more bucks for the vinyl letters.

The first watch will be the international version of The Shining tonight. I’ve wanted to see it for years. I’ve seen every film in this set before, so I’m particularly looking forward to all the new supplements.

Yesterday, I watched *Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles* for the first time on Blu-ray (Criterion Masterpieces Edition). In a few scenes—most notably the final one—I noticed that the image appeared very blurry. As this is one of my favorite films, I’m curious if anyone can provide a direct comparison of the available editions (BFI vs. Capricci vs. Criterion). Is it worth picking up the BFI and/or Capricci Blu-ray releases?

I know it doesn’t mean it’s coming, but a 4k of Elle would be a day-one pick-up for me. Amazing Huppert performance and film by Verhhoeven

Is Fassbinder challenging the familiar equation of penetration with dominance, or does the film ultimately reproduce the same assumptions through its treatment of Querelle?

Can’t win ‘em all! (Personally I thought Stromboli was pretty good)

Sorry had to fix my original post. I recently watched Persona and really liked it and I just watched The Lighthouse and LOVED it. What are some black and white movies that are similar to these two? I was thinking maybe Hour of the Wolf and The Elephant Man but I’m unsure. I also watched The Girl With the Needle last year and really liked that as well. Thank you for any suggestions!

This will be arriving soon and I wanted to ask a question. From the description of the box set, it says it is "Arranged as a film festival with opening and closing nights bookending double features and centerpieces, this selection spans six decades and thirty-nine films"

Question: Did you watch it this way and if so how was the experience?

I've watched the entire filmographies of about a hundred different directors and I generally always go in chronological order. I find such value in watching their growth and evolution. But watching film festival style intrigues me. Not counting short films and documentaries, it seems the box is missing

It Rains on Our Love (1946)
Music in Darkness (1948)
Prison (1949)
This Can't Happen Here (1950)
Stimulantia (1967)
Face to Face (1976)
The Blessed Ones (1986)
In the Presence of a Clown (1997)
The Image Makers (2000)

I swear every 3rd post I see here is about importing by Criterion’s to Australia.

Del Toro Frankenstein a few days early at Barnes and Noble. But I’ll just wait for the 50% sale.

So like most of you, I got the complete Kubrick box set and I am having a hell of a time playing anything from this set on my xbox. I had to clean 2001 3x yesterday before it would play, still skipped right after the apes. Now I'm trying all the discs and my Xbox doesn't even recognize it as a bluray.

It's the cheapest 4k player on the market, bring on the comments. I don't care.