criterionforum.org

FrauBlucher wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 12:46 am Lee Kline was asked about Greek cinema entering the Collection and he suggested yes. He wasn't specific about directors

This is what has been confirmed before:
Papatakis, Nikos - Les Abysses, The Shepherds of Disorder, Gloria Mundi, The Photograph, Walking A Tightrope

Les abysses is definitely a French film, though. Not that any country would want to claim it

FrauBlucher wrote:Per Lee Kline: A Thief of Bagdad upgrade is complicated because of film elements. But they are trying

Lee Kline was asked about Greek cinema entering the Collection and he suggested yes. He wasn't specific about directors

He did say “you can bet your papatakis ” that they’d be adding Greek cinema though, which seems specific.

I mean, them releasing a box set of his works despite his relative obscurity has been a given for a while. But let me reiterate, Les abysses is so bad, so grating, so without just cause to exert the harm it imparts that I wish I could press charges against it. Four months on after having seen it, my initial shock has sustained and I still believe it to be the worst film I've ever suffered through. I'd sooner watch the Norman Mailer Eclipse set every day for a month than sit through one additional screening of Les abysses. And I am sure someone who has different tastes than me is reading this and thinking, "Classic domino hyperbole" or "Well, I'll probably like it then." I have a moral obligation to advise you against it. Don't do it to yourself.

Les Abysses is the only Papatakis I've seen. Yep, it is raw and abrasive. Loved it.

movielocke wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 5:41 am

FrauBlucher wrote:Per Lee Kline: A Thief of Bagdad upgrade is complicated because of film elements. But they are trying

Lee Kline was asked about Greek cinema entering the Collection and he suggested yes. He wasn't specific about directors

He did say “you can bet your papatakis ” that they’d be adding Greek cinema though, which seems specific.

I indeed heard that. Just didn't connect it to a filmmaker. Kind of thought he was being cute with some Greek gibberish

I mean you do have Angelopoulos right there with no Blu rays and the guy has a Palme d'Or and a few other Cannes prizes but ok sure

I assume because these have already been restored and released on Blu-ray in France (in an English-friendly release where even the booklet contents had a translation), it was cheaper to pick the lot up than pursue other targets not ready to go

I don't really know Papatakis, and even "ignoring" your dislike of him, I'm for unknown filmmakers getting the Criterion treatment. But I consider Angelopoulos one of my all time favorites and it's disappointing to see his films thrown aside when they deserve such a high def treatment.

dda1996a wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:38 pm I don't really know Papatakis, and even "ignoring" your dislike of him, I'm for unknown filmmakers getting the Criterion treatment. But I consider Angelopoulos one of my all time favorites and it's disappointing to see his films thrown aside when they deserve such a high def treatment.

Angelopoulos is one of my favorites too but I'm under the impression he'd be a hard sell. I mean, I love him to pieces but his near obscurity in the US makes me wonder how well people would really react to him. For clarification I simply think a film like Alexander the Great which runs nearly four hours at 24fps surely isn't going to be getting mad sales right?

And then of course there's the mystery of missing footage like with The Hunters. But that's a whole other story.

Angelopoulos is not a household name upside of the art house circles (though he should be), but based solely on Les abysses, this set will be the textbook example of a hard to sell release, unless it’s presented as some kind of viral challenge for being able to sit through it

Every time you post about Les abysses my desire to watch it grows. Not out of disrespect of your opinion but out of a purely morbid desire.

That’s the danger of making such a fervent claim of a film’s awfulness, as some of us learned in the Mailer set thread!

domino harvey wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 7:59 pm That’s the danger of making such a fervent claim of a film’s awfulness, as some of us learned in the Mailer set thread!

If it makes you feel any better, you've successfully scared at least one member away from Les abysses. And I say that as someone who fervently wishes Andy Milligan had filmed his gonzo stage production of Genet's The Maids.

Glad to hear it! Maybe this will help others on the fence: imagine there were acting exercises filmed for Out 1 that were cut for being too unendurable thanks to the participants being instructed to behave like five year olds violently wailing in tantrums for 93 minutes. There, that’s this movie

Oof. I'm already more of a Le Pont du Nord and Paris Belongs to Us kind of guy, so that's quite an evocation.

Having seen a few of Papatakis' films I wouldn't call Les abysses an aberration either and definitely disappointed that he will be Criteiron's entry into Greek cinema. I would say he's a much a harder sell than Angelopoulos but I know there is already a French blu boxset.

It's kinda of weird that Angelopoulos wouldn't be an easy sell to the Criterion crowd. He's worked with recognizable stars like Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau, Harvey Keitel, Bruno Ganz, Willem Dafoe, Irene Jacob, etc. I know his films are a bit difficult and lengthy but there are plenty of films in the collection like that already.

Oh, that must have been my question answered there about Greek cinema!

I haven't seen any Papatakis films and I was hoping about Angelopoulos films entering the collection.
Or some older ones that were nominated for Oscar or Golden globe.

Travelling Players is my #1 most wanted Criterion at this point (though there are many close competitors).

Domino that's quite the scary thought!
And Angelopoulos will be a hard sell as much as Bela Tarr would be a hard sell. But I can see Criterion starting with his "easier" films like his Borders trilogy, or Eternity and a Day and Ulysses Gaze, as opposed to something way more esoteric like Traveling Players or Alexander the Great (which reminds of the three days I spent watching a third of Satantango in the morning, The Sacrifice on the big screen on the first day, Alexander the Great on the second, and then finished the final third of Satantango on the last day. Those days were wild)

domino harvey wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 8:26 pm Glad to hear it! Maybe this will help others on the fence: imagine there were acting exercises filmed for Out 1 that were cut for being too unendurable thanks to the participants being instructed to behave like five year olds violently wailing in tantrums for 93 minutes. There, that’s this movie

Sold.

domino harvey wrote: Wed Jul 17, 2019 8:26 pm Glad to hear it! Maybe this will help others on the fence: imagine there were acting exercises filmed for Out 1 that were cut for being too unendurable thanks to the participants being instructed to behave like five year olds violently wailing in tantrums for 93 minutes. There, that’s this movie

Well. I guess it's not called The Abyss for nothing!

I’ve been watching the Papatakis films on the Channel, and was pleasantly surprised to see Arnaud Desplechin listed as one of two cinematographers on The Photograph. Apparently his only feature cinematography credit.

I just want The Depths already