The Criterion Channel

[Crowe Diddly]

Instead of just pm-ing krypt and tine, I figured I'd make a thread.

I'm a relative noob to classic movies, given the vast catalog available. I saw a lot of the shit everyone sees growing up my age, but I was always a music guy, I'd be way more apt to seek out an obscure band than any sort of old movie. Last few years, I've done the Kubrick films, some Kurasawa, the On The Waterfront/Rear Window classics, a lot of the Hitchcock movies (watching The Lady Vanishes atm), etc. Last 2 months or so, I watched a bunch of old Westerns and war movies, some b&w, some color, mostly from TCM and Sundance Channel and a few on HBO Max. Last couple things I watched were the Dirty Dozen, The Treasure on the Sierra Madre, and The Wild Bunch. Before that, it was the SciFi Dune series, not that those are movies, just mentioning it because I'll genre-jump at any time if the shit's worth watching.

I'm 100% fine with subtitles. I'm not into horror. I just subbed to the Criterion Channel, and it's kinda daunting, paralysis by analysis, which is why I'm starting with Hitchcock.

Recommend me some good-ass shit, pls. Also, if you can, give a small description of why it's awesome. Doesn't have to be specific, just a small reason to watch. Like, The Wild Bunch I just watched, and I did it 2 small descriptions, one that it had slo-mo in action scenes before most, and that there was a lot more coarse living in this movie than most would normally show.

What should I watch?

[Sloppy Joe]

I too made this move lately with Criterion and am a few months ahead of you in terms of your post- here's some I've liked:

Harlan County USA - 70's documentary about coal miners unionizing. Fantastic footage.

Salesmen - documentary following traveling bible salesmen.

Virgin Spring - Ingmar Bergman film about tragedy and faith.

Salvatore Giuliano - nonlinear film about the murder of a Sicilian gangster and the various players and entities involved.

Secret Sunshine - Korean film about a woman who finds faith post-tragedy and having it challenged.

Late Spring - Ozu film largely about family.

Fail Safe - basically the premise of Dr. Strangelove but serious.

[gimmick]

Most of Bogart's movies. I think they are the least aged. After the 40s film noir was rarely made.

Similarly Sergio Leone.

I'd skip French new wave. Godard, Truffaut etc. Same with Fellini, Bergman and say Welles. Basically anything that's important in the context of film history, but now is dated and too slow paced.

Polanski is likely still fine.

[sonatine]

ok i think i see the catch here.

they are pulling a mubi; 'we have every great movie ever made and this month we are showing 3 of them with another 200 pieces of dross available to pad shit out so yeah enjoy your 3 movies and then i hope youre really in the mood to watch the letterboxed version of gone with the wind and after that you can enjoy this 3 hour opus about a polish lesbian bakers coming of age in the 1950s story.'

[Walter Sobchak]

Most of Bogart's movies. I think they are the least aged. After the 40s film noir was rarely made.

Similarly Sergio Leone.

I'd skip French new wave. Godard, Truffaut etc. Same with Fellini, Bergman and say Welles. Basically anything that's important in the context of film history, but now is dated and too slow paced.

Polanski is likely still fine.

Polanski's stuff has hardly aged at all.

[Crowe Diddly]

ok i think i see the catch here.

they are pulling a mubi; 'we have every great movie ever made and this month we are showing 3 of them with another 200 pieces of dross available to pad shit out so yeah enjoy your 3 movies and then i hope youre really in the mood to watch the letterboxed version of gone with the wind and after that you can enjoy this 3 hour opus about a polish lesbian bakers coming of age in the 1950s story.'

I looked at mubi before I went with Criterion, and to me there's a pretty big difference between the 2 in a couple ways. First, the Criterion library is >2100 movies, mubi's is somewhere around 800 they claim, but there appears to be a LOT less Criterion movie rotation than there is on mubi.

I pulled up a bunch of Werner Herzog movies on mubi just fucking around, and they gave me dozens of results, I was pretty psyched, but not a single one was currently available to stream on the service. WTF. This is number one bullshit. I can check IMDB if I want to see his catalog, I just want to see what movies they have available to play. If I search for something on Criterion, the results contain shit I can actually watch, like God intended.

Also important, to me anyway, was that I've actually heard of a decent number of the movies on Criterion, while Mubi seems to be way more esoteric or niche or under the radar movies. Criterion is way more accessible to someone like me, mubi seems aimed for the super nerdiest of the movie nerds.

[Sloppy Joe]

ok i think i see the catch here.

they are pulling a mubi; 'we have every great movie ever made and this month we are showing 3 of them with another 200 pieces of dross available to pad shit out so yeah enjoy your 3 movies and then i hope youre really in the mood to watch the letterboxed version of gone with the wind and after that you can enjoy this 3 hour opus about a polish lesbian bakers coming of age in the 1950s story.'

They do rotate some and do monthly highlights (Columbia film noir, lots of black shit last month etc.) but have a vast, permanent library (all of Janus films, etc.) that are not rotated.

Lots of good nerdy interviews, director's cuts, shorts etc. One feature I like they'll pair a couple of similarly themed movies in a 'double feature' format.

Worth the $99 annual for me.

[Krypt]

bruh Grizzly Man is an unreal Werner Herzog doc - MUST WATCH

ALSO MUST WATCH:

Irreversible (2002) by Gaspar Noe

I Stand Alone (1998) by Gaspar Noe

Climax (2018) by Gaspar Noe

[Sloppy Joe]

Few gambling related ones I've gone through the last few months as well:

Atlantic City - early 1980's look into pre-revamped AC following people trying to make their way in the casino world.
Bay of Angels - 60's French film about a roulette-addicted pair degening it up.
Pale Flower - 60's (I think) Japanese noir moody film, yazuka shit.

[MumblesBadly]

I’ve seen and liked these:

Ashes & Diamonds (subtitles) (added)

Confidential Report

Crazed Fruit (subtitles)

Europa Europa (subtitles)

F for Fake

Gate of Flesh (subtitles)

Paris, Texas

Pickpocket (subtitles)

Pleasures of the Flesh (subtitles)

Seven Samurai (subtitles)

The Stranger

Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! (subtitles)

Wings of Desire (subtitles)

The Woman Next Door (subtitles)

World on a Wire (Parts 1 & 2) (subtitles)

[gauchojake]

Depends on if you are trying to recreate a film school classroom or you just want to watch some good old movies.

If you want to understand film history and theory you should watch the French new wave stuff.

Just for shits watch La Jetee - I see its on the channel and it’s only 28 minutes. Just to say you sampled the French New Wave stuff. Film making today would not be the same without it.

Other than that the catalog looks like a fucking film school wet dream. If you haven’t seen The Sweet Hereafter check that out. Atom Egoyan makes some fucked up films. Just watch all those.

[Sloppy Joe]

Depends on if you are trying to recreate a film school classroom or you just want to watch some good old movies.

If you want to understand film history and theory you should watch the French new wave stuff.

Just for shits watch La Jetee - I see its on the channel and it’s only 28 minutes. Just to say you sampled the French New Wave stuff. Film making today would not be the same without it.

Other than that the catalog looks like a fucking film school wet dream. If you haven’t seen The Sweet Hereafter check that out. Atom Egoyan makes some fucked up films. Just watch all those.

HBO Max also added a bunch of well and lesser known good old movies that look to be a bit more mainstream - Citizen Kane, Treasure of Sierra Madre, some Hitchcock etc.

If you just want to hit those then that's your play.

[JimmyG_415]

Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
Steve Martin/Carl Reiner is a funny movie making fun of old crime films.

But from there is a list of old time gangster flicks.
So, if you liked "On the Waterfront" most of these are same genre.
Double Indemnity is top top. The epitome of suspense.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Men_Don't_Wear_Plaid

[gauchojake]

Depends on if you are trying to recreate a film school classroom or you just want to watch some good old movies.

If you want to understand film history and theory you should watch the French new wave stuff.

Just for shits watch La Jetee - I see its on the channel and it’s only 28 minutes. Just to say you sampled the French New Wave stuff. Film making today would not be the same without it.

Other than that the catalog looks like a fucking film school wet dream. If you haven’t seen The Sweet Hereafter check that out. Atom Egoyan makes some fucked up films. Just watch all those.

HBO Max also added a bunch of well and lesser known good old movies that look to be a bit more mainstream - Citizen Kane, Treasure of Sierra Madre, some Hitchcock etc.

If you just want to hit those then that's your play.

I agree. I just added the Max to my Firestick and have been working through the overall catalog to see what's good. I am stuck watching Doom Patrol and Perry Mason though.

[Crowe Diddly]

some great stuff so far itt. thank y'all for coming through. movies are fun.

[Crowe Diddly]

bruh Grizzly Man is an unreal Werner Herzog doc - MUST WATCH

I had seen that before, but just watched Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Had read about it a little, and Klaus Kinski before, but had no idea how much I'd enjoy the movie. Solid 90 minutes of what obv became Apocalypse Now in later years.

Also, love that Stop Making Sense is on there. On my 3rd rewatch/background listen now.

[Krypt]

I need to watch Aguirre

[Crowe Diddly]

I need to watch Aguirre

It's bare and beautiful right in the middle of the Amazon (Peru, but close enough), it's a window into insane, it's 100% human. Super compelling, looks and sounds awesome, and fatalistic.

I'd heard and read a bunch about Herzog and Kinski before this, and didn't necessarily understand it, and I still don't, other than both guys are generally on the border of artist and psychotic. Not that I think Herzog is psychotic, he's just a happy guy with a super bleak view of the world. Friendly insanity.

I'm 100% gonna watch more Herzog and Kinski. Will report back.

[gimmick]

Forgot to link this account...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYR...u7SA/playlists

...few thousand movies that are old enough that copyright isn't an issue anymore.

[MumblesBadly]

Forgot to link this account...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYR...u7SA/playlists

...few thousand movies that are old enough that copyright isn't an issue anymore.

Thanks!

BTW, third up on the first playlist in that playlist of playlists, the original “D.O.A. with Edmond O’Brien, is great!