The Criterion Channel -- Film and Content Discussion

[yoloswegmaster]

What a cool slate. I'm excited to finally see Kenji Misumi’s Sword Trilogy, Bleak Moments, L'amour Fou, and several of the Hitchcock and John Waters films that I haven't had the time to watch. That MTV collection is tempting me to get a VPN since they won't be able to show it in Canada.

[knives]

That Czech list is delicious.

[Matt]

Nice addition of 8 new Czechoslovak New Wave films coming December 1: The White Dove (1960), The Devil’s Trap (1962), The Hop-Pickers (1964), The Unfortunate Bridegroom (1967), The Valley of the Bees (1968), Adelheid (1970), Case for a Rookie Hangman (1970), Four Murders Are Enough, Darling (1971).

[Mr.DarjeelingLimited]

Hop-Pickers coming is wonderful! Also very hyped for The Sword Trilogy and Bleak Moments.

[criterionsnob]

These all have Criterion logos on the Channel:
Valley of the Bees
The White Dove
The Hop-Pickers
The Unfortunate Bridegroom
Kiru
Kenji Misumi's Sword Trilogy

And these both have Criterion Channel logos, so maybe a future Janus Contemporaries release:
Room 666
Room 999

[dwk]

January 2025

[clownmeat]

January 2025

Both THX 1138 and Eyes Wide Shut are presented here in their digitally altered versions.

[criterionsnob]

Sorrentino's One Man Up and The Consequences of Love both open with Criterion and Janus logos on the Channel.

[Matt]

January 2025

Both THX 1138 and Eyes Wide Shut are presented here in their digitally altered versions.

And Birth is in SD. I guess my dream of a good release of this movie is still a pipe dream. And oh god, they put the Nicole Kidman Stepford Wives on there? A new nadir for the Criterion Channel.

[clownmeat]

On my system, audio is phasing on The Boys From Brazil, making the film well nigh unlistenable. Why am I paying for this?

[Roger Ryan]

On my system, audio is phasing on The Boys From Brazil, making the film well nigh unlistenable. Why am I paying for this?

It might be how your system is set up. I watched The Boys From Brazil this morning and the audio was crisp and clear throughout.

[clownmeat]

On my system, audio is phasing on The Boys From Brazil, making the film well nigh unlistenable. Why am I paying for this?

It might be how your system is set up. I watched The Boys From Brazil this morning and the audio was crisp and clear throughout.

Never had an issue with 2.0 mono on my system, which seems to be the soundtrack used. Did go through all of my settings, and ran other 2.0 mono mixes through to test. No issues.

Could very well be that Criterion corrected something in the interim. My first thought was that someone erroneously summed the 2.0 mono mix to one channel somewhere along the way.

[Mr.DarjeelingLimited]

Payal Kapadia’s A Night of Knowing Nothing was added again today

[sabbath]

Both THX 1138 and Eyes Wide Shut are presented here in their digitally altered versions.

And Birth is in SD. I guess my dream of a good release of this movie is still a pipe dream. And oh god, they put the Nicole Kidman Stepford Wives on there? A new nadir for the Criterion Channel.

THX 1138 is still the director's cut, but Eyes Wide Shut is the unrated cut now. And Birth is in 1080p.

[dwk]

February 2025

[dwk]

March 2025 lineup

[ando]

Doing a Death Race watch of all Fassbinder films on the channel this month so the upcoming Sirk noir promo looks promising, though I’m fairly certain it was the technicolor melodramas that Fassbinder really admired.

[ando]

Just wanted to voice appreciation for the (seemingly) permanent streaming catalog. Dovetailed my viewing of Fassbinder’s ‘Chinese Roulette’ (which I found intriguingly morose fun) with another criticism of marriage and the hegemony of the patriarchy (among other things, particularly domestic), Renoir’s ‘Rules of the Game’. Of course, I had watched it in film class during one of my summer sessions at Rutgers, but it didn’t have nearly as much resonance to me then. Now it really does seem to justify its status as a kind of apotheosis of 30s comedy-drama. It hasn’t displaced Renoir’s ‘Grand Illusion’ on my personal list of superlative cinema but it’s darned close. And is it me or is Nora Gregor giving a Garbo ‘Camille’ imitation during most of Rules running time? Which is unfortunate as Garbo’s listless performance was presumably mean to convey a mortally ill woman. Gregor’s allure, for which much of Rules’ intrigue is inspired, remains a mystery to me.

[Tom Amolad]

Speaking of Renoir, I'm really happy to see The Crime of M. Lange showing up on the channel next month. It's only temporary, I think (part of the poetic realism series, which isn't quite how I'd describe it, but...). Fabulous little film that's been all too hard to get ahold of for years.

[Tom Amolad]

By Dubost, is it possible you mean Nora Gregor? Dubost plays the maid.

I like both their performances myself.

[ando]

By Dubost, is it possible you mean Nora Gregor?

Yes, thank you. I like her performance but it’s the least dynamic of the bunch. Dubost is delightful.

[fiendishthingy]

I don't know if this means anything for future disc releases, but it looks like all of the films in the French poetic realism collection open with the Criterion logo except for Duvivier's Mother Hummingbird and Ladies' Paradise, both of which have Flicker Alley logos instead. (Also, they've mistakenly included Kurosawa's version of The Lower Depths in the collection instead of Renoir's...)

EDIT: The issue with The Lower Depths has been corrected.

[ando]

Funny, CC’s promos are a nice jumping off point but I’m willing to wager that any regular poster here could drum up a far more imaginative monthly slate.

And Good God, 90 films are leaving the channel on March 31st. Don’t think I’ve ever seen more than 30 leave at one time. And there are several very good titles that I didn’t know were on the site…

[fdm]

Typically it's 60 or more that go away each month, though a lot of them can be short films. I seem to spend most of my time at the channel towards the end of each month, specifically chasing the ones I don't want to miss before it's too late, as many as I can manage anyway.

[ando]

Making a concerted effort to revisit and/or appreciate the staples on the channel (last month was my Fassbinder Feb, now it’s Mizoguchi March). I’ve admittedly taken them for granted.