2014 Criterion Forum Awards

[Lemmy Caution]

BEST RELEASE
the Freshman
Il sorpasso
Judex
Les Blank: Always for Pleasure
2 Westerns by Monte Hellman

BEST BOX SET
Jacques Demy
I'm glad the Jacques Demy set will provide his films greater exposure, and the extras were quite good. But I already had all the films in the set.
Overall it's quite a good set.
So is the Les Blank, but I was more ambivalent about some of the films there.

[Jakamarak]

Why would you vote your most disappointing release as the best release of a modern film? For that matter, why vote it most disappointing release when it's nothing more or less than what it promised to be--a rental-only version? And why not wait for Blue Is the Warmest Color's proper release in the next year or two before voting for it as the best modern release?

Swo, I'm genuinely flattered to have my criterion forum awards selections questioned by you! Perhaps I am being more literal than others in defining the categories. The category was listed as "Best Modern Film," not "Best Modern Release". I interpreted "Best Modern Film" to be an evaluation of the film itself (of the contenders released by Criterion), not the release. I chose the film that moved me the most.

I do concede that perhaps my selection of Blue is the Warmest Color as "Most Disappointing Release" is harsh or unfair as Criterion was clear that this was a bare bones release. However, because it is a film I love, the bare bones release is a huge disappointment.

I couldn't think of another disappointment to rival this one. Like others, I'm not a fan of The Big Chill, but I don't begrudge any film's inclusion in the collection. (I love Frances Ha!) The Essential Jacques Demy, my favorite release of the year, also came with two major disappointments: the problematic Lola transfer and the exclusion of Model Shop. But it delivered in so many ways, I feel greedy wanting perfection across the board.

[zedz]

Why would you vote your most disappointing release as the best release of a modern film? For that matter, why vote it most disappointing release when it's nothing more or less than what it promised to be--a rental-only version? And why not wait for Blue Is the Warmest Color's proper release in the next year or two before voting for it as the best modern release?

I do concede that perhaps my selection of Blue is the Warmest Color as "Most Disappointing Release" is harsh or unfair as Criterion was clear that this was a bare bones release. However, because it is a film I love, the bare bones release is a huge disappointment.

I think that's fair enough, especially since, until the 'special edition' actually emerges, that release is about as real as the Criterion editions of Diabolo Menthe and Cousin, cousine. Does the promised 'director's cut' of the film even exist? I can only see the standard 179 minute version available on amazon.fr (even in the just-released "Edition Prestige").

[jwd5275]

BEST RELEASE
Les Blank – Have looked forward to these ever since they started teasing them on Hulu and they did not disappoint (especially since I figured it would all be dumped into an Eclipse set)
Il Sorpasso
Persona
Jacques Tati
Judex

BEST ECLIPSE
Late Ray

BEST BOXED SET
Les Blank

BEST MODERN FILM
The Great Beauty

BEST "BONUS" FILM
Le Grand Melies

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
The interviews on the Les Blank set

BEST R1 RESCUE
La Dolce Vita

BEST REISSUE
Mon Oncle (for including the English version that my 3 & 4 year olds can understand)

BEST UPGRADE
L’eclisse

BEST DISCOVERY
Il Sorpasso

BEST COVER
Judex

WORST COVER
MacBeth

BEST PACKAGING
Scanners

BEST THREAD
Art films should look bad, just like poor people

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
Sloper

RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD
rrenault

[danieltiger]

BEST RELEASE
The Essential Jacques Demy
The Complete Jacques Tati
Fantastic Mr. Fox
Les Blank: Always for Pleasure
Il Sorpasso
The Big Chill

BEST BOXED SET
The Essential Jacques Demy

BEST R1 RESCUE
A Brief History of Time

BEST REISSUE
F for Fake

BEST UPGRADE
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

BEST DISCOVERY
Il Sorpasso

BEST COVER
Persona

WORST COVER
Y tu mamá también

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
Tootsie

BEST PACKAGING
The Essential Jacques Demy

BEST THREAD
Art films should look bad, just like poor people

[Drucker]

BEST RELEASE
1. Judex
2. My Darling Clementine
3. It Happened One Night
4. The Complete Jacques Tati
5. Master of The House

BEST BOXED SET
The Complete Jacques Tati Box. Though it has its shortcomings, with a lack of true high-def original films for the first two features, the supplemental materials are fantastic. I've been binge-watching the extras the last week or so for all the releases I bought this year, which I often ignore, and the extras on this set are fantastic and informative. On top of that, the primary feature for each film DOES look superb.

BEST BOOKLET
A Hard Day's Night

BEST R1 RESCUE For a film already released in R1 by a label other than Criterion
A Hard Day's Night

BEST REISSUE
All That Haven Allows. Finally helped me fall in love with Sirk. What an unbelievably gorgeous and perfect transfer.

BEST UPGRADE
Jules et Jim.

BEST DISCOVERY
Il Sorpasso

BEST COVER
Thief

WORST COVER
It Happened One Night.

BEST PACKAGING
All That Heaven Allows. Dual-format RIP.

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
This doesn't count, but where else can I put it? I'm bummed about the loss of lower-price point releases, which seemed like a great way to put out harder to sell items. With the lack of Eclipse and lower price point titles, most of what we get is mainstream/bigger/obvious and less challenging or obscure releases, which is disappointing. There doesn't seem to be an outlet for anything else at this point (I know this is nothing new, but I enjoyed that lower price point concept.)

BEST THREAD The discussion or topic which generated the most interesting discussion this year. Film Club won last year. This year, who knows? Maybe this thread! (Don't vote for this thread)
Films should look bad like poor people.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
Changing my vote at the last second to Warren Oates. I do love that he always helps keep discussion lively, and frequently brings up unpopular opinions. His insights are detailed, even if he disagrees with a large segment of the posters, and deserves some credit for it!

Richard Cranium Award
HJackson

Worth mentioning:

Masters of Cinema. What in reality is less than half a dozen releases with either less than perfect transfers or releases that were less than exciting almost seemed like an identity crisis for a while. This year was not perfect (Wake In Fright, the weird look of Boomerang). Nonetheless, they clearly reaffirmed that they are the most dedicated label to superb silent film treatment. We get the definitive editions of films like Caligari which were released around the world. Films like Faust and Madame DuBerry get amazing blu-ray releases. Blu-ray upgrades of all of Lang's films and Pabst, too! I'm back to buying nearly everything they release. The heights they were reaching a few years ago were unbelievable, with Passion of Joan I still believe to be one of the best releases of anything anywhere. But while Arrow obviously has done amazing work the last two years, MOC are still the tops to me.

[MichaelB]

The heights they were reaching a few years ago were unbelievable, with Passion of Joan I still believe to be one of the best releases of anything anywhere. But while Arrow obviously has done amazing work the last two years, MOC are still the tops to me.

It's perhaps worth mentioning that one of the reasons why Arrow has done amazing work in the last two years is that they hired the man who did the Passion of Joan of Arc restoration as their full-time technical producer!

[Drucker]

Of course! Fully aware of the talent Arrow has brought on. But MOC seems like it went from batting a thousand to knocked down a few notches. But lately I've been buying everything they put out. And my comments about Joan represent the whole package. Book, packaging, film presentations. Perfect in every way.

[James43]

BEST RELEASE
1 Les Blank: Always for Pleasure
2 Persona
3 Love Streams
4 All that Jazz
5 The Essential Jacques Demy

BEST ECLIPSE Kinoshita and WW II

BEST BOXED SET Les Blank: Always for Pleasure

BEST MODERN FILM Like someone in love

BEST COMMENTARY Stephen Prince on The hidden fortress

BEST "BONUS" FILM The Underneath

BEST BOOKLET A hard day’s night

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA I’m Almost Not Crazy…— J. Cassavetes: The Man and His Work.

BEST (R1) RESCUE Safe

BEST REISSUE All that heaven allows

BEST UPGRADE Vengeance is mine

BEST DISCOVERY Il Sorpasso

BEST COVER Judex

WORST COVER Tootsie

BEST PACKAGING A hard day’s night

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE The Complete Jacques Tati

BEST THREAD The 80 list thread

MEMBER OF THE YEAR -
RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD -

[cdnchris]

BEST RELEASE
1. Les Blank: Always for Pleasure
2. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
3. Hard Day's Night
4. All That Jazz
5. King of the Hill

BEST ECLIPSE
Kinoshita and World War II

BEST BOXED SET Not including Eclipse
The Complete Jacques Tati

BEST MODERN FILM
Blue is the Warmest Color

BEST COMMENTARY
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (Extended version) -- way more fun than the film

BEST "BONUS" FILM
The Underneath

BEST BOOKLET
Y tu mama tambien

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
Soderbergh's interviews on "King of the Hill" were VERY honest

BEST R1 RESCUE
Eraserhead

BEST REISSUE
Picnic at Hanging Rock

BEST UPGRADE
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

BEST DISCOVERY
The Long Day Closes

BEST COVER
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (I'm a sucker for Jack Davis' work)

WORST COVER
The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind (Once it's in your hands... Jesus)

BEST PACKAGING
Fantastic Mr. Fox (The packaging for the DF releases weren't very sturdy but I ended up really liking the layout for this one)

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
The Big Chill (Not a huge fan of the film, but this was a really lazy release)

[Professor Wagstaff]

BEST RELEASE
1) The Essential Jaques Demy
2) King of the Hill
3) Il Sorpasso
4) Persona
5)Breaking the Waves

BEST BOXED SET
The Essential Jaques Demy

BEST MODERN FILM
Blue Is the Warmest Color

BEST "BONUS" FILM
The Underneath

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
King of the Hill's Soderbergh Interviews

BEST R1 RESCUE
Safe

BEST REISSUE
F for Fake

BEST UPGRADE
George Washington

BEST DISCOVERY
Il Sorpasso

BEST COVER
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World

WORST COVER
Y Tu Mama Tambien

BEST PACKAGING
Scanners

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
A Brief History of Time

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
colinr0380, hands down. Colinr0380 consistently delivers some of this forum's most thoughtful and articulate posts, particularly in the lists projects (the recent post on Deadly Eyes in the Horror thread was a delight to read). A class act all the way.

[Feiereisel]

BEST RELEASE
1. Thief
2. All that Jazz
3. Ace in the Hole
4. Fantastic Mr. Fox
5. Persona

Runners up (no order):Show

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Foreign Correspondent, Red River, The Great Beauty, A Hard Day's Night, Throne of Blood/The Hidden Fortress, All that Heaven Allows/Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Eraserhead

BEST ECLIPSE
N/A

BEST BOXED SET
The Hellman Westerns - a default vote despite it being a great set; I didn’t have the time or the money to get the Demy, Tati, and Blank sets.

BEST MODERN FILM
The Great Beauty

BEST COMMENTARY
Prince on Hidden Fortress

BEST "BONUS" FILM
The Underneath - decent enough as a film, but excellent when paired with the Soderbergh interview on the disc.

BEST BOOKLET
Thief - A great essay.

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
Soderbergh’s evisceration of The Underneath - Acerbic and insightful; mercilessness makes your subsequent work better--a brilliant lesson.

Runners up:Show

The special effects piece on Foreign Correspondent - The ingenuity of practical special effects fascinates me.

::kogonada’s video essays, especially the one included with La Dolce Vita.

The Michael Mann interview on Thief--perhaps a little slight, but enlightening in a roundabout way; Mann’s distance from the film leads to some interesting admissions on his part as to how he’s changed as a filmmaker since the making of the film.

BEST R1 RESCUE
The Shooting

BEST REISSUE
Rififi

BEST UPGRADE
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

BEST DISCOVERY
All that Jazz - I’m young(ish) and had not seen this movie until this release. And, uh, wow.

BEST COVER
Foreign Correspondent - Does Patrick Leger draw comics? If not, why not?

WORST COVER
Rififi - I get that it’s supposed to be the silhouettes from the musical number, but I think it’s pared down a little too much for its own good.

BEST PACKAGING
Scanners - A gimmick, but a great one.

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
Eraserhead - For its futzed release; that it’s an otherwise incredible edition only made it more of a letdown.

BEST THREAD
I lurk the random speculation thread like the camera in a De Palma long take, so that one, I guess.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
flyonthewall2983 - Right there with news in scads of threads. Well done. Many great folks to choose from, though.

RICHARD CRANIUM
N/A

----------

Miscellaneous:Show

-Judex and Riot in Cell Block 11 aren’t represented here, but they’re both great releases.

-I need to follow up with The Long Day Closes and The Freshman, both of which I’ve come close to buying but haven’t for various reasons.

-In terms of releases, I think this was a terrific year, especially when it came to the quality of the transfers and (despite some minor quibbles) extras. However, the lack of a Chaplin film, the demise of dual format releases, the unexpected playback issues on past releases, and the out-of-the-box errors on a few new discs were all pretty significant bummers. I don't think Criterion is in danger of folding or anything, but I still found these things a touch troubling.

[swo17]

Out of all the "futzed" releases this year, you pick the one that they promptly corrected as the year's worst?

[Feiereisel]

Out of all the "futzed" releases this year, you pick the one that they promptly corrected as the year's worst?

I do. Weighed against the expectation and anticipation of the release, and also for the fact that the defect was an issue with the film itself rather than a goofed special feature, like L'eclisse's botched DVD commentary.

Criterion's prompt replacement is praiseworthy--they do right by their customers--and now that the issue is corrected the package is rightfully incredible, but it's the release that disappointed me the most. It's not a reflection on the film at all, and maybe a bit pedantic, but...I don't know, it felt right, sadly.

[Shrew]

BEST RELEASE
1) Ride in the Whirlwind/The Shooting
2) Thief
3) King of the Hill
4) Persona
5) La vie de boheme

BEST ECLIPSE
Kinoshita

BEST BOXED SET
Jacques Demy

BEST MODERN FILM
Blue is the Warmest Color

BEST COMMENTARY
The Shooting

BEST "BONUS" FILM
Rock Hudson's Home Movies

BEST BOOKLET

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
Soderbergh's interview on King of the Hill

BEST R1 RESCUE
The Shooting

BEST REISSUE
All That Heaven Allows

BEST UPGRADE
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

BEST DISCOVERY
Thief

BEST COVER
Judex

WORST COVER
Y tu mama tambien

BEST PACKAGING
The Complete Jacques Tati (fiddly spines aside, it's still a beautiful collection of covers)

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
The Complete Jacques Tati

Best Thread
The Lists Project (or the 80s List if need be specific)

Member of the Year
sloper

Richard Cranium
rrenault

[Minkin]

BEST RELEASE
1 Complete Jacques Tati
2 The Freshman
3 Essential Jacques Demy
4 La Dolce Vita
5 It Happened One Night

BEST ECLIPSE
Kinoshita and World War II (still in protest of any and all Eclipse sets though).

BEST BOXED SET
Complete Jacques Tati

BEST MODERN FILM
the Great Beauty

BEST COMMENTARY
N/A

BEST "BONUS" FILM
An Eastern Westerner

BEST BOOKLET
The Criterion Designs book (if doesn't count, then Les Blank)

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
Tag Gallagher video essay on My Darling Clementine

BEST R1 RESCUE
Fantastic Mr Fox

BEST REISSUE
Time Bandits

BEST UPGRADE
the Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

BEST DISCOVERY
Les Blank (would probably make my top 5 if I had had more time to watch these before the vote! Only seen the Garlic one thus far)

BEST COVER
A Brief History of Time (runner up = Scanners)

WORST COVER
Jacques Demy - (runners up= Tootsie + Innocents)

BEST PACKAGING
Complete Jacques Tati

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
Like Someone in Love - for only adding a booklet + DVD over the UK release. Laziest job of the year here.
----
Freshman - I'm sad the Robert Israel score wasn't carried over. Like Caligari, I'm having to go back and track down a DVD copy of the film.
Lola - Criterion's (4th?) annual French fuck up.
Rififi - less supplements than the DVD from like 10+ years ago. Worst "upgrade."

BEST THREAD:
Dear MoC, we love you but...

MEMBER OF THE YEAR:
colinr0380 - All of his posts are hugely entertaining and well thought.

RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD:
The Film Detective - for having the worst product / putting in so much effort for being PD bandits putting out BD-Rs.

-------------------------------
Best non-Criterion releases
BFI Flipside / COI / Transport films / random short film collections
Epic of Everest (BFI)
MST3K volumes (Shout)
Professionals Series 1 (Network)
Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide 2 (Nucleus)


Best of Year
Getting everything I had hoped for 2013
Return of books! Hope they haven't disappeared again w/death of Dual Format.
I actually had a great BN sale this time! They kept pushing out coupons, all of them worked, and the mean people who used to work there must've been fired.
The return of some OOP titles - Time Bandits, Paul Robeson, etc. Hope this trend continues!

Worst of Year
Loss of Amazon Marketplace for DVDs.
Loss of Dual Formats - though I had to return Mr Fox twice due to scratched discs, I am forever grateful for not having to buy 2 Demy sets.
Limited Editions - now I don't even bother. If I see a LE, I just run the other direction. It seems nearly every company is doing these now though...
Eclipse series still hasn't died /been reconfigured yet.
Companies changing television blu-ray's aspect ratios. Thought this problem ended in the 90s, but here it is all over again.
MoC's new stupid website (although their forum is good for a laugh every now & then - since it was dead in the water)
More stuff I had hoped for ending up @ another label. I wish Kino/TT/Olive would start going with quality over quantity (a few good editions vs like 50 titles per month).
All of the replacement discs / Browning problems. Must've been an expensive insurance claim for Criterion this year.


Hopes for 2015:
Juzo Itami (Tampopo, The Funeral), the Jacques Cousteau films, Pre-60s German films, Flaherty, return of Studio Canal titles, and some Avant-Garde set

[Harmonov]

BEST RELEASE
1) Love Streams
2) The Essential Jacques Demy
3) King of the Hill
4) Il Sorpasso
5) Foreign Correspondent

BEST ECLIPSE
I abstain

BEST BOXED SET
Jacques Demy

BEST MODERN FILM
Blue is the Warmest Color

BEST COMMENTARY
Love Streams

BEST "BONUS" FILM
The Underneath (King of the Hill)

BEST BOOKLET
A Hard Day's Night

BEST R1 RESCUE
A Brief History of Time

BEST REISSUE
Picnic at Hanging Rock

BEST UPGRADE
Jules & Jim

BEST DISCOVERY
Il Sorpasso

BEST COVER
The Night Porter

WORST COVER
Big Chill/Tootsie/It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World

BEST PACKAGING
The Complete Jacques Tati

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
Blue Is the Warmest Color (still waiting for the grand deluxe edition)

[MichaelB]

Limited Editions - now I don't even bother. If I see a LE, I just run the other direction. It seems nearly every company is doing these now though...

That's because with fewer and fewer people paying full RRP thanks to cutthroat retail competition, labels that want to stay in business have to come up with more creative ways of generating income. Limited editions don't only sell, but they often sell quickly, which can make all the difference if you're dealing with a situation where there's been some hefty upfront investment on a particular title - for instance, on a brand new scan and restoration.

[ptatler]

Limited editions don't only sell, but they often sell quickly, which can make all the difference if you're dealing with a situation where there's been some hefty upfront investment on a particular title - for instance, on a brand new scan and restoration.

At this point, the only way to make it as a producer of physical media is to specialize your product as much as possible (see also: vinyl outselling CDs).

[jindianajonz]

BEST RELEASE
1 Persona
2 Essential Jacques Demy
3 Great Beauty
4 Judex
5 Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!

BEST ECLIPSE - Kinoshita
BEST BOXED SET - Jacques Demy
BEST MODERN FILM - The Great Beauty
BEST "BONUS" FILM - The Underneath
BEST R1 RESCUE - Persona
BEST REISSUE - Picnic at Hanging Rock
BEST UPGRADE - Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
BEST DISCOVERY - Judex - I never would have sought this out if Criterion hadn't released it
BEST COVER - Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!
WORST COVER Y Tu Mama Tambien - 3 years and that's what you came up with?
BEST PACKAGING - Scanners
MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE Jacque Tati - they really dropped the ball on something that was so highly anticipated.
BEST THREAD - Hou Hsiao-Hisen for introducing me to this awesome film maker.
MEMBER OF THE YEAR Drucker
He and Sloper may have singlehandedly (doublehandedly?) kept film club alive with their excellent contributions.
RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD Every idiot that complained about dual format. Now we don't even get booklets anymore, assholes!

[lacritfan]

BEST RELEASE
Love Streams
Eraserhead
La Dolce Vita
Il Sorpasso
The Great Beauty

BEST ECLIPSE - Kinoshita
BEST BOXED SET - Jacques Demy
BEST MODERN FILM - The Great Beauty
BEST COMMENTARY - Love Streams
BEST "BONUS" - The Underneath (unless I'm Almost Not Crazy from Love Streams counts)
BEST BOOKLET - Eraserhead
BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA - I'm Almost Not Crazy
BEST R1 RESCUE - Persona
BEST REISSUE - L'Avventura
BEST UPGRADE - L'Eclisse
BEST DISCOVERY - Il Sorpasso
BEST COVER - The Vanishing
WORST COVER - Yu Tu Mama
BEST PACKAGING - Tati
MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE - The Big Chill
BEST THREAD -
MEMBER OF THE YEAR -
RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD -
BEST NON-CRITERION RELEASE - L.A. Plays Itself and Herzog: The Collection

[Black Hat]

BEST RELEASE
1) Jacques Demy
2) Persona
3) La Dolce Vita
4) Foreign Correspondent
5) Judex

BEST ECLIPSE
Late Ray

BEST BOXED SET
Jacques Demy

BEST MODERN FILM
Blue is the Warmest Color

BEST COMMENTARY
My Darling Clementine

BEST "BONUS" FILM
Liv & Ingmar

BEST BOOKLET
A Hard Day's Night

BEST R1 RESCUE
Foreign Correspondent

BEST REISSUE
Picnic at Hanging Rock

BEST UPGRADE
Jules & Jim

BEST DISCOVERY
Judex

BEST COVER
Judex

WORST COVER
It Happened One Night

BEST PACKAGING
Demy

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
It Happened One Night

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
Sloper

CRANIUM
rrenault

[J M Powell]

BEST RELEASE
1) Les Blank
2) Master of the House
3) The Freshman
4) Red River
5) Love Streams

BEST ECLIPSE
dunno -- don't buy DVDs anymore

BEST BOXED SET
Les Blank

BEST MODERN FILM
Like Someone in Love

BEST COMMENTARY
Love Streams

BEST BONUS FILM
The Running Jumping and Standing Still Film

BEST BOOKLET
Red River (for the novel)

BEST R1 RESCUE
Red River

BEST REISSUE
Picnic at Hanging Rock

BEST UPGRADE
L'Eclisse

BEST DISCOVERY
Master of the House

BEST COVER
Foreign Correspondent

WORST COVER
Safe

BEST PACKAGING
Red River

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
Complete Jacques Tati (for the transfers on the "alternate" versions)

BEST THREAD
"David Lynch" (because that's how I happened to hear the news I've been waiting 20 years for)

[Drucker]

BEST RELEASE
1) Jacques Demy
2) Persona
3) La Dolce Vita
4) Foreign Correspondent
5) Judex

BEST ECLIPSE
Late Ray

BEST BOXED SET
Jacques Demy

BEST MODERN FILM
Blue is the Warmest Color

BEST COMMENTARY
My Darling Clementine

BEST "BONUS" FILM
Liv & Ingmar

BEST BOOKLET
A Hard Day's Night

BEST R1 RESCUE
Foreign Correspondent

BEST REISSUE
Picnic at Hanging Rock

BEST UPGRADE
Jules & Jim

BEST DISCOVERY
Judex

BEST COVER
Judex

WORST COVER
It Happened One Night

BEST PACKAGING
Demy

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
It Happened One Night

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
Sloper

CRANIUM
rrenault

Curious: why is It Happened One Night disappointing to you?

[warren oates]

BEST RELEASE
1. 701 Persona
2. 734-535 The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind
3. 739 Safe
4. 691 Thief
5. 029 Picnic at Hanging Rock

BEST ECLIPSE
Late Ray

BEST BOXED SET
729 The Complete Jacques Tati

BEST MODERN FILM
Abstaining, since I detest the only one of the three I've seen.

BEST COMMENTARY
My Darling Clementine

BEST "BONUS" FILM
Liv & Ingmar (Persona)

BEST BOOKLET
396 Ace in the Hole (a fold-out that actually makes sense!)

BEST ON-DISC NON-COMMENTARY EXTRA
Jour de fête: In Search of the Lost Color

BEST R1 RESCUE
733 La Dolce vita

BEST REISSUE
029 Picnic at Hanging Rock

BEST UPGRADE
278 L'eclisse (for fixing that godawful flicker alone)

BEST DISCOVERY
737 Les Blank: Always For Pleasure

BEST COVER
Persona

WORST COVER
734-535 The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind

BEST PACKAGING
Tati, for the beauty of the design in spite of the over-tight fit of the spines

MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
The Tati set, for not including full HD copies of the alternate versions of the films.

BEST THREAD
The non-film threads in the Other Arts subforum, where I had some interesting discussions about books and philosophy and where I routinely check in with the Travel & Wanderlust thread to take in all of the good tips from expats, global citizens and other well-traveled members.

MEMBER(S) OF THE YEAR
If I have to pick just one, I'm voting for ianthemovie because his posts in the Nymphomaniac thread about Von Trier and de Sade remain the single most insightful things I've read about the film here or anywhere else (which is what I love about boards like this and the Internet as a whole) and because I enjoy reading what he has to say in general even if he doesn't post all that frequently -- so I hope this might encourage him to share more when he can.

I agree with all the praise for Sloper, and appreciate the density of thought that goes into his almost monograph-like posts to the film club, but I'd sacrifice a few of those if he'd make more regular, more conversational contributions in a greater number of threads. Likewise for Shrew. DarkImbecile is another member whose posts I'm always interested in reading. I like Drucker too, even if he did say he was gonna vote for me and then change his mind!

I definitely appreciate all of the work the mods do every day to keep this site running. It's also nice to see some new faces step into those roles. Though I do sometimes wish some of the moderation in hot threads would be a little more, I don't know, shall we say, "moderate." It does feel like every once in a while the instinct to shut something down preemptively or to wittily get the better of an inaptly worded or incompletely thought through post trumps the role of facilitating an interesting, ongoing conversation.

RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD
rrenault made himself an easy target, so how about a little more retrospective hate for the phenomenon of Blu-ray browning/bronzing instead

FAVORITES FROM OTHER LABELS
White of the Eye, The Long Goodbye and Sullivan's Travels from Arrow
The Werner Herzog Collection from Shout Factory
Los Angeles Plays Itself and Manakamana from Cinema Guild
For Ever Mozat, Hail Mary from Cohen
The Atom Egoyan Collection from Artificial Eye
Bill Morrison: Collected Works 1996 to 2013 from Icarus
Deseret/Four Corners/natural history/Ruhr from Edition Filmmuseum
Possession from Mondo Vision
Sokurov's Faust from Kino
Out of the Past from the Warner Archive
Twin Peaks: The Entire Mystery from Paramount