Criterion Does It Again

[Chris L]

The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus announced on blu-ray for July, which means I now have no choice but to upgrade by then. 

[jbissell]

The Red Shoes and Black Narcissus announced on blu-ray for July, which means I now have no choice but to upgrade by then. 

God, those are going to look amazing on blu.

[icepants]

Somedays I wonder if I'll ever watch that copy of Berlin Alexanderplatz.

Just think of it and watch it as a tv series (which it is, after all).  It's frustrating at times but very much worth it.  Don't skip the epilogue either. 

Speaking of Fassbinder, there's a 205-minute "sci-fi" epic he made for German tv playing at MoMA this week.  Glenn Kenney raves about it here.  If you have an all-region dvd player it's coming out in the UK next month

okay you sold me.  Berlin Alexanderplatz episode one here I come. 

[Gilly]

http://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1443-three-go-3-d

[Pat K]

Just watched The Friends of Eddie Coyle last night.  Un - bull - ievable.  I never saw Night of the Hunter, but now I finally get why people love Robert Mitchum.  And what a great ensemble cast - Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, all those guys.  It makes me wanna have a bleak 70s crime movie marathon.

[Bryan]

Just watched The Friends of Eddie Coyle last night.  Un - bull - ievable.  I never saw Night of the Hunter, but now I finally get why people love Robert Mitchum.  And what a great ensemble cast - Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, all those guys.  It makes me wanna have a bleak 70s crime movie marathon.

Dude, you've got to see Night of the Hunter. It's weird and great. He's also terrifying in Cape Fear.

I just saw Equinox last night, mostly on the basis of the Criterion stamp of approval. It's just OK. Some pretty impressive cheap-o effects, but I can't really recommend it. The high point was realizing, about 20 minutes in that it starred a young Frank Bonner, who would go on to play Herb Tarleck on WKRP. In his youth he looked quite a bit like PFT - same cute little gap in his teeth and everything. (I hope I don't have to do a radio date with Larry da Perv for saying that.)

[Chris L]

Just watched The Friends of Eddie Coyle last night.  Un - bull - ievable.  I never saw Night of the Hunter, but now I finally get why people love Robert Mitchum.  And what a great ensemble cast - Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, all those guys.  It makes me wanna have a bleak 70s crime movie marathon.

Great movie, but now I wish I'd read the book first.  95% of the dialogue is straight from it. 

In addition to Night of the Hunter, Out of the Past is a must-see for anybody. 

[Christina]

Dude, you've got to see Night of the Hunter. It's weird and great. He's also terrifying in Cape Fear.

Holy cow, this is seconded on both movies. Night of the Hunter in particular is amazing. One of the best movies ever. Lillian Gish is totally great in it-only movie Charles Laughton directed.

Pretty much most of his performances are just terrific - he did a shit load of movies in the 40s that are either film noir or war pictures. I was so bummed when he passed on.

[Bryan]

I also really liked Pursued, though it's not one of the top-tier Mitchum movies. It's a strange hybrid of western and noir. The photography is really unusual and stylish. I just can't get enough of that sense of inescapable doom that film noir has.

Anyone seen Blood on the Moon? It's apparently another western noir starring Mitchum.

[masterofsparks]

Out of the Past is absolutely essential if you haven't seen it.

[Christina]

Out of the Past is absolutely essential if you haven't seen it.

Yah, and Thunder Road, & Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison and and and and ...

It's also fun when he would pop up in stuff later on in his career - Scrooged, Dead Man, etc.

[Pat K]

Out of the Past is absolutely essential if you haven't seen it.

That's the one with Kirk Douglas, right? I remember watching that in a class in college - we spent a while hashing out all the flashbacks and flash-forwards.  I real1ly should revisit that.   Night of the Hunter will have to happen for me next week, too.  May might just have to be the Month of Mitchum. 

[masterofsparks]

Yes, Out of the Past is the flashback-y one with Kirk Douglas. Thunder Road, as has also been mentioned, is great. El Dorado is also a fun western (it's a Rio Bravo remake with Mitchum in the Dean Martin role and a young James Caan in the Rick Nelson role) if you can deal with John Wayne and one scene of absolutely jaw-dropping racism.

I know Mitchum played Phillip Marlowe a couple of times in the 70s but I haven't seen either.

[Bryan]

Yeah, he did Farewell, My Lovely, which is great, and The Big Sleep, which is pretty bad.

[Martin]

Guys, no love for BROTHERHOOD OF THE ROSE?