Top Ten Criterion Collection Films (personal collection)

All Criterion Collection, Eclipse, and Essential Art House series (brands of Criterion) titles are on sale at Barnes & Noble (50% off) until August 1st, both at stores and online. I just got Terrence Malick's Days of Heaven (1978) on bluray and it looks fabulous. Image from DVDBeaver.com. 

What are the Top 5 or 10 discs from your collection? Mine are as follows (all regular ray/dvd):

1. The Double Life of Véronique  (Kieślowski, 1991) - Slavoj ŽiŽek's essay from included booklet
2. In the Mood for Love  (Wong, 2000)
3. Children of Paradise  (Carné, 1945)
4. Red Beard  (Kurosawa, 1965) - roger ebert's the great movies
5. Contempt  (Godard, 1963)
6. The Royal Tenenbaums  (W. Anderson, 2001)
7. The Rules of the Game  (Renoir, 1939)
8. Trouble in Paradise  (Lubitsch, 1932) - 'lost treasure' from sense of cinema
9. Jules and Jim  (Truffaut, 1962)
10. A Woman is a Woman  (Godard, 1961)

Honorable Mentions (bluray): Chungking Express, Days of Heaven, and Seven Samurai

Revised 7/20/11: Real Honorable Mention (dvd) is A Woman is a Woman (Godard, 1961).
Revised 8/4/11: replaced M with A Woman is a Woman (i have the older version of M).

Name That Film: Y

See the Rules.

Y  (answers to Name That Film: Z are in these comments)
 

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Barbara Stanwyck

It was Ms. Stanwyck's birthday a couple days ago, July 16 (1907). Last night, I watched Ball of Fire (1941) on the Netflix and had to write down a line they say of her character: "That is the kind of woman that makes whole civilizations topple" (echoing Helen of Troy). On the Barbara Stanwyck's Wikipedia page, they mentioned the same line.

I've been a big fan of her films but didn't know that she made 85 of them during her 38 years in Hollywood. My favorites (having only seen a hand full) are The Lady Eve (Sturges), Double Indemnity (Wilder), Ball of Fire (Hawkes), and Clash by Night (Lang). In 1941, she made two of those films; she made a total of four that year including Meet John Doe and You Belong to Me.

Below is a tribute from Jennifer Jason Leigh* for Turner Classic Movies (TCM):

Here's an article from The New Yorker called "Lady Be Good" (2007), celebrating her centennial. And a review of Ball of Fire from Cockeyed Caravan (underrated movies section).

On a side note, Ball of Fire is on Netflix streaming and I just put Baby Face (1933) in my DVD queue.

* Frank Capra's Meet John Doe is the original Hudsucker Proxy (Coen Brothers), which stars Ms. Leigh.

Name That Film: Z (Quiz Start Page)

Cinematic Alphabet Quiz: Z  (Good Luck)

RULES

1. Three screen captures categorized into easy (mainstream), medium (classic), and hard (obscure) and each will be worth 1, 2, and 3 points. 26 posts, 6 points per post, plus 10 points of bonus questions--totaling 166 points. 
2. This is by the honor system; no Internet searches or research please, but you can use the person directly to your left for help (only one person, but no one in the other directions).
3. Keep track of your scores; there will be point ranges (at the end) that rank your film geekness. The answers will be placed in the comment box of each subsequent post.

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"oh my god[ard]!!!"

I'm quoting one of the comments left on a trailer (YouTube) for Jean-Luc Godard's Film Socialisme (2011). Apparently, the 4-minute trailer, known as trailer 2, looks like the entire movie but in fast forward. He's 80 years old now, he can get away with such things; actually: he's JLG, he could always get away with such things.  

Here's some recent articles on JLG, from gaurdian.co.uk and indieWIRE. The various trailers for Film Socialisme can be seen here. Trailer 3, which runs 2 minutes and 10 seconds and has music, is embedded for your viewing pleasure/displeasure.

Let's go with an impromptu Top Five:

1. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her  (1967)
2. Vivre Sa Vie  (1962)
3. Breathless  (1960)
4. Contempt  (1963)
5. A Woman Is a Woman  (1961)

Honorable Mention: Bande à part (1964)
It has some of the best scenes and moments in all of his movies. Like this one:

Top Five Films of 2010

2010: a good year for movies

 

Except for Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours*, I finally saw all of the 83^rd Academy Award’s Best Picture (2011 Oscar) nominees** during the past month. I still prefer Nicole Holofcener’s Please Give, while my Oscar list favorites are The Kids Are All Right, The Social Network, and Inception. I thought of adding Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine to round out a Top Five list, but then remembered Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was also released this year***. The list is as follows:

1. Please Give  (Nicole Holofcener)
2. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World  (Edgar Wright)
3. The Kids Are All Right  (Lisa Cholodenko)
4. The Social Network  (David Fincher)
5. Inception  (Christopher Nolan)

Honorable Mentions: Blue Valentine, I Am Love, The Man From Nowhere, The Town, and Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (maybe I'm nuts or just getting younger with old age?)

Guilty Pleasure: She's Out of My League

* My apologies to Mr. Boyle, who I think is a wonderful filmmaker (see Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Sunshine).

** Other Best Picture Oscar Nominees included True Grit, The Fighter, Winter’s Bone, The King’s Speech, Black Swan, Toy Story 3, and 127 Hours.

*** I have yet to see Animal Kingdom, Another Year, Everyone Else, The Illusionist, and Rabbit Hole--all 2010 releases.

Ondine (2010)

Directed by Neil Jordan

Neil Jordan’s Ondine is a charming picture, where fairytales face off with reality. One believes there’s magic in Castletownbere (an Irish fishing village), with Alicja Bachleda’s character (is she a selkie?), and in store for Alison Berry’s character (Collin Farrell’s child who rides a wheelchair because her kidney is failing).

Here's the trailer. And it can be easily seen on Netflix streaming. 

The beautiful cinematography is by Christopher Doyle (of Wong Kar-wai fame and the outstanding Paranoid Park).

And like the little girl in The Man From Nowhere, young Alison Berry turns in a great performance.

Film reviews in fifty words (2011).

Top Ten Films That Need A Bluray Release

1. McCabe & Mrs. Miller  (1971)
   
2. The Magnificent Ambersons  (1942) *
3. In the Mood for Love  (2000)
4. Marie Antoinette  (2006)
5. Three Colors Trilogy  (1993-1994) **
6. The Age of Innocence  (1993)
7. The Royal Tenenbaums  (2001)
8. The End of the Affair  (1999)
9. Manhattan  (1979)
10. Mulholland Drive  (2001) ***

Honorable Mention:  Citizen Kane, Vertigo, Stardust Memories, The Purple Rose of Cairo, The Indiana Jones Trilogy, Jurassic Park, The Hudsucker Proxy, Pulp Fiction, Rushmore

* It's a crime that this isn't even on DVD (US release).
** I know I'm cheating here, but you can't have Red without White and Blue.
*** This has a UK release, but no US release. 

Revision, July 19, 2011 
Abbas Kiarostami's Through the Olive Trees (1994) at #10 (currently no US release in existence)  

The Man From Nowhere (2010)

Directed by Lee Jeong-beom  (original title: Ajeossi)

The Man From Nowhere, a top-notch action thriller, directed by Lee Jeong-beom has similarities to Luc Besson’s Leon: a dark horse next-door neighbor, a little girl (orphaned), and DEA cops. Lee’s film is darker (akin to its Korean pedigree) and serves up a spectacular dish of retribution, redemption, and revenge. 

It’s available on Netflix streaming, so go see it. Here's the US trailer (it's probably better if you don't watch it).

Here's the UK DVD trailer (which shows a lot of the action scenes) for those who have already seen the movie.

* Revision: this movie is more like Man On Fire than anything else (i'm not into that movie; that's why i dis-remembered).

Film reviews in fifty words (2011).

Lost in Translation (2003)

Directed by Sofia Coppola

Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation owes a lot to Wong Kar-Wai’s films—their sense of loneliness and images—as well as the premise of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise.  However, it’s Bill Murray that gives Coppola’s film its own magic.  His connection with Scarlett Johansson's character can’t be described, only felt.

I'm not even sure if the top poster is an official movie poster, but i like it.

I also like this image:

On a side note, Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love takes cues from a movie set in Japan, Hiroshima Mon Amor.
Film reviews in fifty words (2011).