2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

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Tribe
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2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#1 Post by Tribe » Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:38 am

Criterion
456 The Taking of Power by Louis XIV
457 Magnificent Obsession
458 El Norte
459 The Exterminating Angel
460 Simon of the Desert
461 Hobson's Choice
462 The Last Metro
463 Il Generale della Rovere
464 Danton
465 Dodes'ka-den
466 In the Realm of the Senses
467 Empire of Passion
468 Science is Fiction
469 The Hit
470 Wise Blood
471-474 Pigs, Pimps and Prostitutes
475 The Friends of Eddie Coyle
476 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
477 Bergman Island
478 Last Year at Marienbad
479 My Dinner with Andre
480 The Human Condition
481 Made In USA
482 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
483 Repulsion
484 Jeanne Dielmann
485 The Last Days of Disco
486 Homicide
487 That Hamilton Woman
488 Howard's End (Blu-ray)
489 Monsoon Wedding
490 Wings of Desire
491 Z
492 A Christmas Tale
493 Gomorrah
494 Downhill Racer
495 The Golden Age of Television

AK100: 25 Films by Akira Kurosawa

Reissues
11 The Seventh Seal
54 For All Mankind

Eclipse
14 Rossellini's History Films
15 Travels with Hiroshi Shmizu
16 Alexander Korda's Private Lives
17 Nikkatsu Noir
18 Dusan Makavejev, Free Radical

Essential Art House (new titles only)
Last Holiday
Le Jour se lève
Gervaise
Mayerling

Blu-ray Upgrades
005 The 400 Blows
036 The Wages of Fear
099 Gimme Shelter
112 Playtime
167 The Complete Monterey Pop Festival
168 Monterey Pop
169 Jimi Plays Monterey & Shake! Otis at Monterey
267 Kagemusha
421 Pierrot le fou
422 The Last Emperor

Not a bad year at all, if you ask me.
Last edited by Tribe on Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:18 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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aox
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Re: 2009 Wrapup

#2 Post by aox » Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:43 am

Solid Year!

Simon of the Desert
Last Year at Marienbad
My Dinner with Andre
The Human Condition
Made In USA
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
Repulsion
Jeanne Dielmann
Z
The Golden Age of Television
Dusan Makavejev, Free Radical

and the Seventh Seal reissue...

but really, The Human Condition trilogy is the crowning achievement for me. =D>

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GringoTex
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Re: 2009 Wrapup

#3 Post by GringoTex » Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:44 am

Saved by Eclipse as the main line was weak. But as I find myself caring less and less about extras, I'm not so inclined to make a distinction between the two.

rwaits
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Re: 2009 Wrapup

#4 Post by rwaits » Fri Oct 16, 2009 10:54 am

SOOO much bitching on the forum all year. But seeing all the titles together - this was a fine year for Criterion. Lots of titles we'd been waiting on forever, and some good surprises as well.

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reaky
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Re: 2009 Wrapup

#5 Post by reaky » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:14 am

I've never bought so few Criterions in a year (and not just because of the exchange rate) - just two and one Eclipse. MoC have outstripped the CC this year.

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Matt
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Re: 2009 Wrapup

#6 Post by Matt » Fri Oct 16, 2009 11:50 am

rwaits wrote:SOOO much bitching on the forum all year.
Yes, I would like to see a lot less bitching in 2010. I think it would not be unwarranted if we took a page from Time magazine's playbook circa 2006 and bestowed the coveted Richard Cranium Award for 2009 on "You."

Flike
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#7 Post by Flike » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:14 pm

Can't forget the BD releases of important films like 400 Blows and Playtime.

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Minkin
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#8 Post by Minkin » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:15 pm

Seems a bit early to be celebrating 2009. Who knows what October surprises lurk around the corner.

Maybe some under the radar schlock release on Halloween

Or maybe the few discs not yet released for 2009 should be seen/owned/reviewed/experienced first...

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Tribe
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#9 Post by Tribe » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:18 pm

Flike wrote:Can't forget the BD releases of important films like 400 Blows and Playtime.
That'll be Aox's post. :wink:

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Tribe
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#10 Post by Tribe » Fri Oct 16, 2009 12:24 pm

Tribe wrote: Essential Art House (new titles only)
Last Holiday
Le Jour se lève
Gervaise
Mayerling
Totally forgot about the EAH releases...Le Jour se lève is my discovery of the year!

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swo17
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#11 Post by swo17 » Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:04 pm

Tribe, you might consider adding the following to the top post:

Blu-ray Upgrades of Catalogue Titles

005 The 400 Blows
036 The Wages of Fear
099 Gimme Shelter
112 Playtime
167 The Complete Monterey Pop Festival
168 Monterey Pop
169 Jimi Plays Monterey & Shake! Otis at Monterey
267 Kagemusha
421 Pierrot le fou
422 The Last Emperor

You should also add the AK100 set.

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Tribe
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#12 Post by Tribe » Fri Oct 16, 2009 1:17 pm

swo17 wrote:You should also add the AK100 set.
Done...but I wasn't sure whether AK100 was a Criterion or EAH or Janus release.

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movielocke
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#13 Post by movielocke » Sat Oct 17, 2009 5:38 am

out of curiousity, is there a thread where releases are broken down by year? I've long since forgotten what was released in what year, and considering all the bitching over 2009 I'd like to compare.

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Tribe
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#14 Post by Tribe » Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:36 am

movielocke wrote:out of curiousity, is there a thread where releases are broken down by year? I've long since forgotten what was released in what year, and considering all the bitching over 2009 I'd like to compare.
It's outdated...but you might find what you're looking for in this thread.

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Napier
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Re: 2009 Wrapup

#15 Post by Napier » Sat Oct 17, 2009 2:02 pm

Matt wrote:
rwaits wrote:SOOO much bitching on the forum all year.
Yes, I would like to see a lot less bitching in 2010."
Considering the giant tea bag Criterion gave everybody with January's announcement's, that should be mandatory. One lump or two sir!

Edit: No reference meant that there's a forthcoming Criterion release of Giant.

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MyNameCriterionForum
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#16 Post by MyNameCriterionForum » Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:38 pm

How about a category for "Best Fake Criterion Covers"? I think we know who'll snag that title.

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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#17 Post by mfunk9786 » Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:47 pm

I think we know who would win worst, too.

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Max von Mayerling
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Re: 2009 Wrapup

#18 Post by Max von Mayerling » Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:16 pm

Matt wrote:
rwaits wrote:SOOO much bitching on the forum all year.
Yes, I would like to see a lot less bitching in 2010. I think it would not be unwarranted if we took a page from Time magazine's playbook circa 2006 and bestowed the coveted Richard Cranium Award for 2009 on "You."

Seriously. You'd think we were all stockholders or talking about our elected officials. Except if we were stockholders we'd be bitching about how they're not releasing Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. And if we were voters running the company, it would probably go out of business by next November.

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Murdoch
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#19 Post by Murdoch » Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:25 pm

I guess I'll re-open the thread since I finally have a favorites list figured out

My top five of this year:

The Exterminating Angel - Loved this film and started me on a Bunuel kick, enjoyed the booklet essay/interview as well.
My Dinner With Andre - I'm just happy to see this finally given another release.
The Insect Woman - I'm not a Imamura fan, but this film was brilliant, and as always enjoyed the Tony Rayns supplement.
Repulsion - One of my favorite films, and it's nice to see it in OAR and cleaned up after that former R1 mess of a release.
The Seventh Seal - This re-issue gave me a chance to rediscover the film after an initial viewing a few years ago that left me somewhat indifferent to it, but this time I was floored by the whole thing. I enjoyed Woody Allen's brief Bergman love letter for TCM as well, but still need to make my way through more of the supplements.

Best Cover:
In the Realm of the Senses

Best (Re)Discovery:
Insect Woman

Best Eclipse:
Shimizu

Best Re-Issue:
Seventh Seal

Most Disappointing Release:
Le Jour se leve being stuck in EAH

Note: Edited because I completely forgot about the other categories.
Last edited by Murdoch on Wed Dec 16, 2009 4:41 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#20 Post by swo17 » Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:44 pm

With apologies to the status quo, I've altered some of last year's categories for my own selfish purposes:

Best Classic Films/Sets of Films to Enter the Collection
1. Jeanne Dielman
2. Last Year at Marienbad
3. The Exterminating Angel
4. Z
5. The Golden Age of Television

Best Contemporary Films to Enter the Collection
Gomorrah
El Norte

Best Overall Criterion Treatment (irrespective of the film's quality or lack thereof)
Monsoon Wedding

Best Eclipse Release
Nikkatsu Noir

Best Reissue
The Seventh Seal

Best Blu Upgrade
Pierrot le fou

Best Single Supplement
Yo La Tengo's The Sounds of Science on Science Is Fiction

Best Cover
Il Generale della Rovere

Best Package Design (including DVD menus)
The Golden Age of Television

Best Film by Akira Kurosawa (in honor of his centenary)
Ran, thus rendering the AK100 set slightly awkward for me

Best (Re)Discovery (for a film you knew little or nothing about before the Criterion release)
The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Most Disappointing Release (for releases that Criterion dropped the ball on: bad transfer, poor supplements, etc.)
Bergman Island - While the shortened version made for a nice extra on the Seventh Seal reissue, I didn't really see the point of releasing it as a standalone unless it had been the longer version.
Le Jour se lève not being on the main line

Forum Member of the Year
domino harvey

Richard Cranium Award
Joshua Goldberg must be stopped at all costs.

Best Non-Criterion Release (5 Choices)
Sunrise [MoC Blu]
The General [Kino Blu]
The Complete Fritz Lang Mabuse Box Set [MoC]
The State: The Complete Series [MTV]
Comrades [BFI Blu]
Last edited by swo17 on Thu Dec 17, 2009 3:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Finch
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#21 Post by Finch » Wed Dec 16, 2009 1:09 pm

I'm not sure I should be commenting on the mainline releases since I bought none of them this year but I'd have bought Hobson's Choice if I didn't already have the Optimum from the same source. That said, I'm tempted to get the Pigs, Pimps and Prostitutes set next year whenever there's a month with no appealing new releases. On the other hand, I was thrilled with Eclipse this year: the Shimizu and Nikkatsu Noir sets were wonderful surprises, with many titles I'll return to regularly. Since I'll be getting Wages and Playtime on Blu in 2010, these will get my reissue votes.

Mainline: none

Eclipse: Shimizu and Nikkatsu Noir (tie)

Best cover: Wise Blood

Reissues: Playtime and Wages of Fear on Blu

Best DVDs of 2009 (all companies and in no particular order):

Nikkatsu Noir + Hiroshi Shimizu (Eclipse)
Film Noir Classics Vol 1 (Sony)
Lone Wolf & Cub set (Eureka)
Sunrise reissue (Moc)
Borzage Vol 1 & 2 (BFI)
Forbidden Hollywood Vol 3 (Warner)
All About My Mother (Sony) (best anarmorphic transfer of the film)

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Tribe
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#22 Post by Tribe » Wed Dec 16, 2009 1:20 pm

I can't remember...what are the "official" voting categories?

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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#23 Post by tartarlamb » Wed Dec 16, 2009 1:21 pm

Release of the Year (5 choices) (Eclipse titles eligible)
Best Eclipse Release
Best Reissue
Best Commentary (inlcudes selected scene commentaries and visual essays)
Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
Best Cover
Best Package Design (including DVD menus)
Best (Re)Discovery (for a film you knew little or nothing about before the Criterion release)
Most Disappointing Release (for releases that Criterion dropped the ball on: bad transfer, poor supplements, etc.)
Forum Member of the Year
Richard Cranium Award
Best Non-Criterion Release (5 Choices)

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Tribe
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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#24 Post by Tribe » Wed Dec 16, 2009 1:23 pm

swo17 wrote: Richard Cranium Award
Joshua Goldberg must be stopped at all costs.
He doesn't post here, does he? No, he can't be...he would have been banned quite some time ago. But he is deserving of the award, no doubt about that.

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Re: 2009 Wrapup | Criterion Forum Awards

#25 Post by ZizouJuve » Wed Dec 16, 2009 1:31 pm

Tribe wrote:
swo17 wrote: Richard Cranium Award
Joshua Goldberg must be stopped at all costs.
He doesn't post here, does he? No, he can't be...he would have been banned quite some time ago. But he is deserving of the award, no doubt about that.
He used metropolis_forever2 on the adult swim boards when he posted about how he knew so much about classic films and reviewed one (link posted on facebook under his name). Sound familiar?
Last edited by ZizouJuve on Wed Dec 16, 2009 1:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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