Last Watched

[Evelyn Library P.I.]

I agree. Although I think this is much more a problem with their “fanbase” than with the brand itself. They treat the Criterion name as some kind of mark of quality rather than just another boutique home distribution label—which is really all the company is.

Though, It is interesting that most of the other boutique labels, a lot of which focus on horror/exploitation (e.g. Scream Factory, Blue Underground, Synapse, etc.) don’t have a similar problem. Obviously, fans want their favorites to get released on blu-ray, but they don’t personally offended or weirdly upset when a movie that they don’t like gets released on the label (as I’ve noticed some people do with Criterion, like when they released the Valley of the Dolls movies and John Waters movies, for instance).

Oh yes, I definitely agree with both of these points. It's more a problem with the fanbase – I do think the brand promotes that kind of fandom in its name and numbered spines and such, but you'd really wish the fans would not take that too seriously and accept that the brand doesn't need to be itself a criterion of quality. I'm a budding fan, though, of the smaller and more niche physical home video labels. Obviously it's a privilege to have money to send their way, but I do like to when I can because, in this growing age of streaming, I want to support the existence of physical home video for movies most people don't care about.

[Searchlike]

Since we're talking Criterion, can we agree that all of those closet videos are trash? Oh, look at me, I'm surrounded by all these brand approved films, I wonder what kind of life-changing film discovery I'm going to make in here that is even remotely comparable to the wonder one would feel at a proper video store back when those were a thing. Oh look! Saló, I've heard so much about this one, I even own two copies already, but this a nice looking BluRay. Thank you, Criterion!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_77jFCorT8

[rischka]

shout out to eureka MoC which released a bluray of king hu's legend of the mountain

https://twitter.com/rbgscfz/status/1386 ... 32993?s=20

and it was magnificent (also it was only 5 years ago according to my previous review!)

now watching a fan restoration of cottafavi's una donna libera made by a brazilian guy from italian amazon stream and existing vhs rip

gotta love the internet

[sally]

ha! i had no idea what a criterion closet video was and the first few i googled were exactly the same as that video above lol! i guess they are all really like that huh (i have no skin in the criterion game, suffering the atrocious poverty of region 2 PAL and having never even seen a real actual criterion dvd in the wild, or even any mental attachment to what 'criterion' is other than some kind of american dvd publisher maybe so this whole conversation is totally beyond me ignore me)


MoC on the other hand. fuck them, they only release blu-ray now and since i don't have a tv how the hell am i meant to play them on my laptop. i would have bought loads of what they've released as well, their loss.

[rischka]

reverse criterion and MoC above for me if you want the cottafavi fanrip look in my lb (prior review) comments

[sally]

nooooooooooooooo i can't stop watching these excruciating closet videos!! is this what we'd all be like if we met??? aaargh pain!!!

(no ta i'm good with the cottafavi, i've already seen it, and i have *unwatched* cottafavis that i haven't even got to yet because i keep watching trash on youtube)

i don't think from what i can gather that MoC has quite the same critical heft as criterion, always just seen them as a company that releases stuff rather than caretakers of film culture that i get the vague impression mostly from this discussion that criterion has. (but then i've never been much in that film culture world anyway, my entire education, apart from a blink-quick flirtation with postal adverts in before times is you guys on the internet)

[Searchlike]

nooooooooooooooo i can't stop watching these excruciating closet videos!! is this what we'd all be like if we met??? aaargh pain!!!

Oh God, I'm so sorry!

[Joks Trois]

The biggest problem with Criterion isn't the hardcore fans. Who cares if they object to The Breakfast Club or Fast Times At Ridgemont High? Gates gotta gate. The real issue is the declining quality of their product, especially transfers.

MoC run the silent game, and Arrow and Shout/Scream have horror on lock along with Blue Underground. I just wish labels like Second Run and Grasshopper had the means to release discs more regulary, although the latter is releasing Sicilia! in June with the newly restored Costa documentary about the editing of it. Dream combination!

To the person who complained about blu-ray above: seriously? It is the best way to watch most films at home.

[pabs]

The Gang's All Here (1943)

What a waste of everything.

[greennui]

It feels like every other new Criterion release these days is either American independent films or new foreign Oscars fare (Parasite, Roma, Portrait of a woman on fire).

[grabmymask]

It feels like every other new Criterion release these days is either American independent films or new foreign Oscars fare (Parasite, Roma, Portrait of a woman on fire).

This is true to a degree, but they still release a lot of “arthouse” “classics”—their March releases included Touki Bouki, Mandabi, and Celine and Julie Go Boating for instance. And I’ll admit I’m personally pretty excited for the upcoming Marlon Riggs collection.

[Curtis, baby]

https://www.instagram.com/p/COR8r6RJQWE ... xtj1epqi6q

[Roscoe]

I'm pleased to announce my return to cinema-going, this coming Monday May 3, when I see Roy Andersson's ABOUT ENDLESSNESS at Film Forum.

[sally]

on hold (poikien puhelin) - laura rantanen

available to watch here:
https://dafilms.com/film/12902-on-hold

the doom of tragic masculinity

LOL NO COMMENT! LEFT SIDE!

[St. Gloede]

À tout prendre / Take It All (1963, Claude Jutra)



"End of documentary, back to real cinema!"

Dedicated to Norman McLaren and Jean Roach feels closer to love child between Hiroshima mon amour, Breathless and the early, rough Moral Tales of Eric Rohmer - granted at a much faster tempo, hyper-aware and infused with a free-flowing narrative and style of Roach and the cinema verite movement. It really feels as if Jutra had been stuck in a dark room watching the latest French exports and thought: "I can do that!" - and he was absolutely right. (Note: Jutra was likely not able to see Rohmer's two first Moral Tales, both released the same year).

What we get is a combination of short takes, intimate touches, kisses, fantasy, glances, walks, shootouts, more kisses, more embraces. Is it an empty self-indulgent film, or a film bout empty self-indulging people - who cheat, play and feel superior? It may be a little of both, but it captures a certain kind of artistic milieu and the self-obsessed protagonist - Claude - played by Jutra himself - and almost every actor in the film plays a character who shares their name. What is real, what is not? There's an existential element as Jutra's carries forth Rohmer's self-dissecting, full of himself and all-consuming "hero".




This is such a raw, but clever and stunning low budget film. Almost no dialogue (if any) is shot naturally. Words are often spoken off-screen and much of it is Claude's own internal monologue and life-views - as vacant, frail and self-indulgent as they may be - but the atmosphere and low of creation shine through - and what's more, it uses its limitations as an advantage. The shots are stunning, intimate, and often getting straight up in people's faces - or focusing on objects rather than people. We also get the jump-cut style of Breathless, where empty moments disappear in favour of a semi-jarring but effective style - that sometimes make undertones and hostility extremely clear. This floating, rhythmic narrative - that occasionally chosen to break itself - either with random play or fool-hardy fantasy is an utter delight and showcases immense talent, creativity and resourcefulness. 8.5/10

[sally]

tancred ibsen's 1950 two suspicious people that didn't get released until 2007 because one of the people in the 'based on true events' story didn't want it out there

there is some vague (hardly moralising) plot but almost irrelevant to the extended man-hunt through the glorious norwegian countryside, and i could have watched the final chase through the (slightly terrifying semi-vertical given the terrain) snow forever

[Roscoe]

MURDER MY SWEET -- Edward Dmytryk's fast and entertaining take on Chandler's FAREWELL MY LOVELY, and good fun mainly, but it's too much fun. The wisecracks are tasty as hell, and expertly delivered, but what's missing is Chandler's real vision of the world going to hell. 6/10

THE UNIVITED -- some lovely black and white studio cinematography, and that score, and pretty much everything about it is first rate. It just feels rather limp at film's end, when the male protagonist just has to guide the ladies out of the room so that he and he alone can face down the Big Bad Ghost at the Top Of The Stairs. And the bargain basement Mrs. Danversish subplot is frankly unpleasant. All in all, there's good stuff, but I wish it were better. Not what it's been cracked up to be. 6/10

[sally]

the social life of small urban spaces - william h whyte (1980)

sweet & droll look at a study of urban space/planning

i love this kind of film pls recommend more!

[ole dole doff]

sweet & droll look at a study of urban space/planning
i love this kind of film pls recommend more!

1/

Inner Courtyard
https://dafilms.com/film/9378-inner-courtyard
We have moved into an apartment in Dejvice quarter with a balcony overlooking the inner courtyard. I look at it every day and it makes me feel anxious. It is desolate, parcelled out, dead. “If you live next to something dead, there’s something dead inside you as well,” one of my neighbours said.

The film follows my attempt to tear down the fences and connect the area into a single space. Besides material barriers, inner blocks are revealed as well; the hidden mechanisms of fear of my neighbours (including myself) that play a crucial role in today’s isolationism. Besides a record of a particular action, the film is also a reflection on what is normal in today’s neighbourly relations as well as in close relations among people in general.

i watched it. can recommend.

2/

24 heures sur place
https://letterboxd.com/film/24-heures-sur-place/
Paris, Place de la République, 40 years after Louis Malle’s documentary and only one year after the huge renewal project by architects TVK which transformed this well known buzzy crossroads into a new urban oasis for the Parisian city dweller.

watched it. my least fav by Ila Bêka & Louise Lemoine (otherwise i love their films — seen several).
tho it is proly closest to the theme "small urban space" (besides the above) — tho it is more observational than theoretical.

3/
https://letterboxd.com/film/ville-nouve ... ge-urbain/
https://letterboxd.com/film/ville-nouve ... -la-ville/
1975! Rohmer series.
but i didn't watch it yet — no Eng subs, i don't speak French (you do, i guess — so you can try and tell me if it is worth watching.)

4/

Urbanized
https://letterboxd.com/film/urbanized/
A documentary about the design of cities, which looks at the issues and strategies behind urban design and features some of the world’s foremost architects, planners, policymakers, builders, and thinkers.

i watched it. can recommend.
tho not about "small urban space" but urban development as a whole — but many theoreticians give opinions so a good intro flick about urbanism.

5/

The Human Scale
https://letterboxd.com/film/the-human-scale/
50 % of the world’s population lives in urban areas. By 2050 this will increase to 80%. Life in a mega city is both enchanting and problematic. Today we face peak oil, climate change, loneliness and severe health issues due to our way of life. But why? The Danish architect and professor Jan Gehl has studied human behavior in cities through 40 years. He has documented how modern cities repel human interaction, and argues that we can build cities in a way, which takes human needs for inclusion and intimacy into account.

i didn't watch it yet (but i expect it is fine).
Jan Gehl appears in "Urbanized", recently he was lecturing in Prague (without me attending), etc., etc. = he is a significant contemporary voice to the matters of urban development... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Gehl

6/
https://letterboxd.com/film/cities-on-s ... ta-change/
https://letterboxd.com/film/cities-on-s ... connected/
https://letterboxd.com/film/cities-on-s ... o-garbage/
https://letterboxd.com/film/cities-on-s ... hai-space/
"cities on speed" series.
i didn't watch it yet.
again less "small urban space" and more a city as a whole (i expect).

7/

Learning From Buffalo
https://letterboxd.com/film/learning-from-buffalo/
An experimental documentary about the architecture of Buffalo, New York, using intertitles quoting famous books about architecture, interviews with Buffalo residents and many crisply shot images of the city taken from a camera which never moves.

i didn't watch it yet (i expect might be interesting).

[sally]

thanks jiri for all those recs. (no i don't speak french! otherwise i would be watching roberte (1979) asap (however i manage better than my father, who actually lived in france before brexit, unless it's about classic car parts in which case he's fluent) i can cope with silent intertitles if i must, but the spoken stuff is too much, although same applies with english for half the movies i watch)

rohmer made loads of cool little docs i'd like to see - the concrete one with paul virilio, the celluloid and marble one with pierre klossowski!♥!♥!♥! (see roberte, above) but i don't think they have subs either.

[ole dole doff]

the whole Rohmer series has (seems like) 4 parts.

1/ https://letterboxd.com/film/ville-nouve ... une-ville/
2/ https://letterboxd.com/film/ville-nouve ... ge-urbain/
3/ https://letterboxd.com/film/ville-nouve ... -la-ville/
4/ https://letterboxd.com/film/ville-nouve ... a-demande/

i the past, i chipped subs pots of these episodes with a few GBs but i see those pots are still nearly empty (not to speak any subber claiming them).
considering the wide fanbase of Rohmer enthusiasts, this indifference (to these minor flicks) is rather surprising.
i will try to throw in the pots a few more tokens but i am rather skeptical these episodes will be subbed any soon.
so many intriguing questions Eric Rohmer asked (in 1975) and hardly anyone wants to see/hear what he figured out...

How is a planned city designed? What consequences does creating one has on the environment? What are the living conditions in such areas? Such are the questions asked by Eric Rohmer in this first part of a TV documentary series, through the particular case of Cergy-Pontoise, near Paris.

edit: i see 3rd episode actually has a subs pot that is above "nearly empty" — so let's have hope!

[Curtis, baby]

Re: Rohmer, what I rly want are Les Deux de Societe subs. I've donated to the English pot and even the French pot! With french subs I could at least grasp part of it. English subs will be hard for someone to make because the dialogue is filled with wordplay

[ole dole doff]

in the past, i contributed to this English pot too!
it is a giant pot — the "wordplay" thing however explains why such a giant pot is still ignored.
French pot has not many contributors (i see) so i was able to identify you!
but then i see i already bookmarked your profile as "friend" already in the past — and i can't recall if i (somehow) figured out it is you already before (and now rediscovered you) or if i did so without knowing it is you — i am probably becoming senile.

[ole dole doff]

and now, found (and chipped a bit) also a pot to "Le celluloïd et le marbre".
pot is not too big, but not near-empty either — so it is not futile!

[sally]

it certainly is odd, given how some other directors get the completists frothing, perhaps because there's so many little films rohmer made...

does subtitling enthusiasm go in phases? are we in a low? it's such a thank-less time-consuming job, i'm always amazed about how many subs exist

[ole dole doff]

"Le celluloïd et le marbre"... film "there" since 2012... pot started 2018... subs???
"La diversité du paysage urbain"... film "there" since 2010... pot started 2020... subs??? (2 other episodes with similar history.)
"La Forme de la ville"... film "there" since 2021... pot started 2021... subs???
"Les jeux de société"... film "there" since 2011... pot started 2012... subs???

strange, strange, strange!
french (english fluent) patriots where are you?

[nrh]

my theory is the french have a secret private internet where they all talk. they don't frequent movie twitter or letterboxd or kg.

[Roscoe]

ABOUT ENDLESSNESS -- revisited at Film Forum, in my glorious return to cinema-going. Little things I'd missed on TV announced themselves, still a couple questions to be asked and followed up on (the weeping man on the train, is he the priest who has lost his faith, or is he the man who thinks everything is fantastic, or both, or neither, I still can't work it out and I'll just have to look more closely next time and there will be a next time). I like the film a good deal more now, it just works better on the big screen, even a big screen as comparatively modest as the ones at my best beloved Film Forum. This one feels like Andersson's distillation of his typical themes and scenes, it feels almost like a farewell, and I hope it isn't but I get it if it is.

[sally]

my theory is the french have a secret private internet where they all talk. they don't frequent movie twitter or letterboxd or kg.

there's some here: https://www.dvdclassik.com/forum/ (too macho/sexist for me) but i think there's still a fairly healthy print culture in france as well, maybe they're all still sharing handmade zines thru the mail

[ole dole doff]

if the assumptions "they have their own internet & sharing handmade zines thru the mail" are right then maybe time is ripe to rewrite (include them in) the wiki entry "uncontacted peoples" on the mainstream internet... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncontacted_peoples