Fist of Doom Jr

Tidbit: I watched The Third Man and The Man Who Fell to Earth on back-to-back days. In the latter, there's a scene with a TV showing a scene from The Third Man.

ororama

I've been meaning to thank you for your work in putting together the letterboxd list of the Criterion Channel movies. I don't have that channel, but have a lot of the movies available on DVD, Blu ray, etc. I was participating in a German challenge last month, and decided to postpone watching some Christian Petzold and Werner Herzog movies to this month in favor of other choices after going through your list.

I recall someone proposing a foreign film challenge, and I think this challenge largely functions as an art film/foreign film/classic film challenge, but with a limited scope. This month one of my primary focuses is a silent film challenge, and a lot of what I am watching is from Kino, and I will also be watching a some from Masters of Cinema, which overlaps a lot with Criterion, so this proposed expansion is appealing.

The limitation to Criterion always seemed arbitrary and somewhat random. I have appreciated the fact that they have exposed me to so much, but I also resent them as the company that could release everything existing by Mikio Naruse and Kenji Mizoguchi, but are choosing not to do so (for financial reasons I assume, I understand that everyone does not share my obsessions). To take the example of Christian Petzold, only Phoenix was released by Criterion, but one of his three movies that I watched last month and two more for this month are on the letterboxd list. It doesn't make sense that only Phoenix should be eligible for this challenge.

Ideally, I would like to see this challenge expanded into art film/foreign film/classic film challenge, and maybe your proposal is the best way to move in that direction. Unfortunately, the real problem that this challenge has is the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles that Bong Joon Ho referenced. Arrow has many English language movies, and adding Arrow to the lineup could be promoted as a Horror Challenge warm up.

Travis McClain

I'm glad the Letterboxd list has been helpful! It didn't occur to me until I was about 65% finished with it that a spreadsheet would be more easily navigated and searched. Maybe during some insomniac episode between now and next year, I'll make one of those.

I didn't participate the first year of this challenge, so you'd have to ask Trevor but my guess is that in 2008, it made sense to dedicate a viewing challenge to the most prestigious curated disc series in print. But I think that the evolution of streaming has changed the context for our viewing challenges, and even Criterion has embraced that by casting a wider net with the Channel than they have on disc. It seems reasonable to me that our little challenge ought to evolve along with these things. I cross-posted this proposal in the Challenge Compendium thread, and maybe it's better hashed out there. I appreciate you taking the time to chime in, ororama!

davidh777

I like the idea of expanding the parameters to other international and art house fare.

I probably say this every year, but one of the limitations for me is that the bulk of my watching is while I’m working, and that rules out subtitles or overly complex material. I own a ton of Criterion discs but can’t watch a lot of them for this reason. It’s always a revelation to learn about some of the laserdisc and other titles that are eligible. Just this month I started a custom Vudu list of eligible titles to help me keep track, but of course a lot of them aren’t available on that service.

The other new thing for me this year is the fact that HBO Max streams a lot of Criterion, even if they can’t use the branding. (Some come up in search, however.) I’m hoping that convenience might allow me some opportunities to watch titles different from the ones I tend to repeat for the challenge.

LorenzoL

As long as we don't lose the ability to include films from the Criterion Channel, I'm all for adding the other Boutique Labels.

I watched "Mad Hot Ballroom" as it leaving the Channel at the end of the month and it was one of the most adorable things that I seen in a while. Even my wife (who hates the Criterion Channel) watched it with me.

Travis McClain

Oh, this would only be a matter of adding, not subtracting! What I'd do with the checklist is make the Criterion-specific portions, like spine ranges, optional. Maybe add a section of watch movies from x distributors, and provide a list of whichever ones we agree are appropriate for the challenge. If you wanted to focus exclusively on Criterion as before, the challenge wouldn't change. If you wanted to get in on the challenge and deliberately avoid Criterion altogether, you could do that. The upshot would still be that for September, we'd have a challenge for gorging on and discussing the kind of indie/art house/international/classic films that are in the spirit of Criterion.

Duly noted. I could use something adorable!

LorenzoL

I'm into Salsa, Merengue and Rumba so I'm slightly biased about it Travis.

pacaway

I'm a purist but mostly because I still have a butt load of Criterion discs I haven't watched. I don't have the channel either, but it doesn't matter much since I just want to use this to get through my unwatched Criterion pile. If we did start adding distributors I guess I'd be fine with it since I still have some of their discs that are unwatched too. I love this challenge but of course it would be nice to have more participants. My goal in this challenge is not "how many can I watch?" but "how much of the content can I take in?" so I don't need a huge list from which to choose.

Watched Something Wild (1961) and was shocked at how well it covered the effects of PTSD before it even had a name. Weird ending too, but even that was somewhat forward looking as to how people react to stressful situations. REALLY loved the special features here too! Everything of disc 2 (of the DVD set) was amazing, especially the insights into the Actors' Studio.

pacaway

Watched Ken Russell's Women In Love (1969). It was okay but, unlike Something Wild, the special features are BORING as hell! Gave up on them and decided to watch the special features from Dazed and Confused instead. I guess I'll have to watch the movie as well so I can count the features. What a hardship!

LJG765

I haven't started this challenge, but trying to recoop from the last two, but plan to get going soon. Just wanted to add my two cents into the discussion on adding different companies to the challenge. I am all for trying to expand the base of participants and if it means adding companies to the watch list, I'm all for it as long as the spirit of the challenge stays at what it is. pacaway mentioned he watches not for the numbers but for the content and as long as that stays true, I think it doesn't matter who we add. This challenge has introduced me to a lot of different movies I would have never bothered with before and it really takes a watcher out of their comfort zone.

Shack

Today I watched A Face in the Crowd and Safe, both of which seemed newly timely in this world. After the tennis matches tonight I may turn to some Preston Sturges.

As to the adding companies to the Challenge, my two cents is that I like that it's only Criterion. The restrictions lead me to dig deeper and hunt new things.

pacaway

I forgot about Safe! I have it on an old DVD (not Criterion). I'm definitely pulling that one out! I haven't seen it in over a decade and I love Julianne Moore

davidh777

Watched the new BD of Show Boat 1946, and it looks great. Back in the day I got the Warner Archive MOD because it hadn’t been released on normal DVD. This edition adds a feature on how Show Boat presents race (by a UCLA prof who wrote an autobiography of Paul Robeson, numbers from the earlier movie that were basically filmed Broadway performances, and other stuff.

Also watched the 1957 Witness for the Prosecution after seeing a more recent TV production. I thought it was a lot older, probably because it was in black and white, but it was also widescreen, and the combo was making my brain hurt. Also it had Tyrone Power and Marlene Dietrich, Both oh whom I associate with earlier firms.

Gobear

Looks like I'll be watching Cronenberg's Crash tonight, since it is now in the Collection.

pacaway

It's showing in our art house theatre starting tomorrow. Definitely going to that!

Shack

Likewise! Thanks for the catch.

Gobear

Crash continues David Cronenberg's kinky obsession with blending eroticism with body horror that runs through his films, this time by taking the modern world's love for the automobile to a disturbingly literal level. Nobody in this film behaves like a normal human--your husband has just flown through the windscreen of your car during a head-on collision, and your first reaction is to flash your boob at the other driver? OK, the driver was James Spader back when he was still hot, but c'mon!

Instead of being worried or saddened over maiming and death from car crashes, these characters are sexually aroused by them. Cronenberg has made pornography for robots. Crash is one of the best films of the 90s, and also one of the most perverse.

Travis McClain

How are everyone's challenges going? I've surprisingly averaged one movie daily, though that's relied heavily on double feature nights with some shorter run times. Mostly, I've been watching baseball. It's strange to be this close to the end of the regular season and have something exciting to watch as a Reds fan! This isn't usually a conflict for me with this challenge. I finished the Western Noir collection on the Channel last week. I liked it on the whole, largely because they weren't especially demanding of me to follow and didn't ask me to think about anything when they were over. It can be hard to find that kind of content in this challenge! I mostly liked them, though there were several that were rather perfunctory episodes. I preferred every other one, until I got to the tenth. But I really dug the eleventh (The Violent Men), so there's that.

I also sat down with my Blu-ray of The Killing. I dig heist flicks. For me, the movie works because of Elisha Cook, Jr. as the desperate cuckold, George. We don't really see much of the others outside the planning scenes or the heist itself, so it's hard to really care about them. That's even true of Sterling Hayden's Johnny, the lead character. George's sole function during the heist is to open one door, so he only really matters for his humanity.

That disc also includes Kubrick's previous film, Killer's Kiss. It's a pretty straightforward affair about a washed-up boxer getting mixed up with a woman with a dangerous, possessive sugar daddy. The climax is terrific, though. Kubrick created some genuine desperation and made me feel a bit anxious while I watched one pursue the other across rooftops in what appears to be an abandoned section of New York. There are two terrifically choreographed and filmed fights, too; the one at the end, and an early boxing match. Kubrick apparently alienated his director of photography by micromanaging, but it's hard to argue with the results of the handheld footage.

As for Crash, I had a coworker in 1999 who adamantly recommend that I see it. I still haven't, but it's been on my watchlist ever since. If it makes its way to the Channel, I'll definitely finally get around to it. He was also responsible for selling me on OAR widescreen. Dude appreciated film.

pacaway

Sadly slower than I'd hoped. I don't know why, despite Covid, I seem to have less time than I thought. I do have my Crash ticket for 3:00pm tomorrow though! I've seen it a few times but never thought the opportunity to see it on the big screen would happen!

Shack

It's always great when Elisha Cook Jr. shows up in a movie and he's invariably worth watching. Roger Ebert had the Stanton-Walsh rule, that no film featuring Harry Dean Stanton or M. Emmet Walsh could be altogether bad. I think Cook was the one of the forerunners of that.

Travis McClain

I've definitely fallen behind. I had been averaging one movie daily (largely by relying on double features of shorter movies), but haven't managed to watch anything other than baseball for the last several days. There's still time, but I'm feeling the crunch, no doubt. Anyway, it occurred to me that it may be helpful to see what you could stream on some services other than the Criterion Channel right now. Note that there are more than 100 eligible titles on Tubi and more than 250 on HBO Max. I understandably was not going to type all of those.

CC = Criterion Channel; LD = LaserDisc; # = spine number in the Collection proper

CBS ALL ACCESS


DISNEY+

HULU

NETFLIX

PEACOCK

THE ROKU CHANNEL

VUDU FREE WITH ADS

popcorn

I haven't watched a movie in a week. Life got in the way. Today is the 25th anniversary of Se7en. It qualifies for the Criterion Laserdisc category (#298) if you own it and would like to watch it today.

Dr. Mantle

I've only watched stuff on the Criterion Channel so far. Pulled a stack of titles from the closet, but I haven't watched one yet.

The Tune: First feature I've seen of Bill Plympton. Watched a bunch of the shorts, too. I admire how that he basically animates them himself. But the animation isn't enough to carry a whole feature. The later stuff probably gets better.
Chungking Express: This one never gets old. I've seen it for several of the last few challenges. Would have been nice if the Wong Kar-Wai was already out (or even announced).
The Baron of Arizona, I Shot Jesse James, The Steel Helmet: I Saw Shock Corridor years ago and thought it was fine, but now I'm seeing why Sam Fuller was such a big deal to some. He really found unique stories to tell. And Steel Helmet had a very nuanced view of the Korean War (and it came out while the war was still on going).
The Phantom Tollbooth: Original, but also very dated.
Newsfront: I like Australian films and I've liked most of Philip Noyce's work. This one was just boring. Never connected with any of the characters, and the story meandered all over.
The Daytrippers: Definitely the right kind of 90s indy movie to forget the nuisance of Newsfront.
Life of Brian: Not sure why I keep giving this a chance. It's just not funny. And I love Holy Grail.
Jo Jo Dancer, This is Your Life: Probably works better as a curiosity than a biography.
Blood Feast: I bet John Waters is a fan of Herschell Gordon Lewis.

Gobear

I've been going through my recent Criterion sale purchases and watched Come and See for the first time.


Holy. Shit.


Come and See is an amazing film, there aren't enough superlatives to describe its visceral impact. Director Elem Klimov shows the horrors of war and the depraved depths of human cruelty as the people of rural Belarus are systematically murdered en masse, village by village, by the Nazis. The end credit says that the Nazis destroyed 628 villages in Belarus along with their inhabitants.

The film itself has been so lovingly restored that it looks as if it has been released recently and not 35 years ago. The cinematography is epic, using extreme close-ups to bring the audience into the minds of its characters and widescreen to depict a brightly colored pageant of death.

pacaway

Oddly, I don't seem to own a copy of Seven in any form at all. That shocks me, as I'm pretty familiar with most of my collection and assumed I had it. I guess I'll have to track it down now.

I finally got around to watching Ghost World. Why did I wait so long??? I've certainly known about its rave reviews over the years. That's why I eventually bought it 3 years ago on iTunes (for CA$6.99, at the time), but still did not watch it until now. I hate knowing too much about a movie before I watch it, and for this one I didn't even know until last night that ScarJo was in it! Or Steve Buscemi, for that matter! Anyway, as pretty much every review has said, it was amazing! I love coming-of-age stories, and this ranks right up there. It reminds me of last year's Booksmart and no doubt it was inspired by GW. Now, of course, I want the Criterion release to explore its deeper themes.