Re: 2008 Criterion Forum Awards

[Forrest Taft]

Release of the year
1. Missing
2. Mishima
3. White Dog
4. An Autumn Afternoon
5. The Furies

Best Eclipse
Postwar Kurosawa

Best Reissue
High and Low

Best Commentary
David Bordwell, An Autumn Afternoon

Best Supplement
The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima

Best Cover
Blast of Silence

Best Package Design
Mishima

Best Discovery
The Naked Prey

Forum Member of the Year
DavidHare (not a mis-informed flamer...)

Richard Cranium
Recent spammers

Best Non-Criterion
The David Lean Centenary Collection
Touch of Evil 3-disc
The Fall
Bonnie and Clyde reissue
Redbelt

[ineedyoubad]

Release of the year
1. Mon oncle antoine
2. Vampyr
3. The thief of bagdad
4. Brand upon the brain
5. Le deuxieme souffle

Best eclipse
Postwar kurosawa

Best single supplement
Claude jutra; An unfinished story

Best cover
Vampyr

Best discovery
Larisa shepitko

[Saturnome]

Release of the year
1. Vampyr
2. Silent Ozu
3. Brand Upon the Brain!
4. An Autumn Afternoon
5. Mon Oncle Antoine
And then the two Melville...

Best Eclipse
Silent Ozu

Best Cover
Patriotism

Best Package Design
Vampyr

Best Discovery
Brand Upon the Brain!

Forum Member of the Year
I love you all. Merry Christmas.

Best Non-Criterion
1. Georges Mélies (Flicker Alley)
2. La Roue (Flicker Alley)
3. Looney Tunes Golden Collection volume 6
4. The Godfather
5. Sleeping Beauty
And that Napoleon bootleg from usernet...

[Musashi219]

Release of the Year (5 choices)
1. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
2. Pierrot le fou
3. The Last Emperor
4. Vampyr
5. Brand Upon the Brain!

Best Eclipse Release
Series 13: Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women

Best Reissue
Salo

Best Commentary (includes selected scene commentaries and visual essays)
Le Deuxieme Souffle - Ginette Vincendeau and Geoff Andrew

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
Trafic - In the Footsteps of Monsieur Hulot (1989)

Best Cover
Blast of Silence

Best Package Design (including DVD menus)
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Best (Re)Discovery (for a film you knew little or nothing about before the Criterion release)
TIE: Blast of Silence and Eclipse Series 9: The Delirious Fictions of William Klein

Most Disappointing Release (for releases that Criterion dropped the ball on: bad transfer, poor supplements, etc.)
TIE
Twenty-four Eyes (For releasing a DVD almost identical to the MoC edition which has been available for years)
Eclipse Series 7: Postwar Kurosawa (For releasing five films that are far more deserving of proper Criterion editions with supplements)

Forum Member of the Year
I pick no favorites only because I enjoy reading comments from so many of you

Richard Cranium Award
kevyip

Best Non-Criterion Release (5 Choices)
Touch of Evil 50th Anniversary Edition
Stanley Kubrick Collection
The Dark Knight
There Will Be Blood
Judex/Nuits Rouges (MoC)

[HelenLawson]

Release of the Year
The Naked Prey
Miss Julie
Missing
The Earrings of Madame de...
Mon Oncle Antoine

Best Reissue
Salo

Best Commentary
Stephen Prince for The Naked Prey

Best Single Supplement
Documentary on Strindberg and Miss Julie

Best Cover
Salo

Best Package Design
Salo

Best Discovery
Miss Julie

Most Disappointing Release
The Last Emperor

Best Non-Criterion Release
Mitzi Gaynor – The Razzle Dazzle Years

This and The Boys in the Band were the only non-Criterion DVDs I purchased this year, and the latter I have yet to watch. So Mitzi takes the cake.

[Cinephrenic]

Release of the Year: Vampyr

Best Eclipse Release: Series 11: Larisa Shepitko

Best Reissue: Salo

Best Commentary: An Autumn Afternoon: David Bordwell

Best Single Supplement: visual essay on Dreyer’s Vampyr

Best Cover: Vampyr

Best Package Design: Vampyr

Best (Re)Discovery: Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Most Disappointing Release: Fanfan la Tulipe

[artfilmfan]

Release of the Year (5 choices) (Eclipse titles eligible)

1. An Autumn Afternoon (good transfer & subtitles, finally! IMHO, this and La Notte (MoC) are the two best films to be released on DVD (again!) this year).

2. Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women
3. Silent Ozu- Three Family Comedies
4. La Ronde
5. Miss Julie

Best Eclipse Release

Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women

Best Reissue

n/a

Best Commentary (inlcudes selected scene commentaries and visual essays)
An Autumn Afternoon: David Bordwell

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)

n/a

Best Cover

n/a

Best Package Design (including DVD menus)

n/a

Best (Re)Discovery (for a film you knew little or nothing about before the Criterion release)

n/a

Most Disappointing Release (for releases that Criterion dropped the ball on: bad transfer, poor supplements, etc.)

n/a (I didn't buy it)

Forum Member of the Year

zedz

Richard Cranium Award

n/a

Best Non-Criterion Release (5 Choices)

1. Hiroshi Shimizu boxsets (Shochiku)
2. La Notte (MoC)
3. Chikamatsu Monogatari/Uwasa no Onna (MoC)
4. Sansho Dayu/Gion Bayashi (MoC)
5. Red Desert (BFI)

[HerrSchreck]

4. Sansho Dayu/Gion Bayashi (MoC)

Not that I disagree with your assessment of the MoC, but I think Sansho was 07

Product details
Actors: Kinuyo Tanaka, Michiyo Kogure, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Ayako Wakao
Directors: Kenji Mizoguchi
Format: PAL
Language English
Region: Region 2 ( DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 2
Classification:
Studio: Eureka Entertainment Ltd
DVD Release Date: 19 Nov 2007
Run Time: 210 minutes

[artfilmfan]

Re: Sansho Dayu/Gion Bayashi (MoC)

Oops! Thanks for pointing that out. I wasted one vote. AE's Satyajit Ray Collection 1 would have been a good replacement vote were it not for the bad (ghosting) transfer.

[dx23]

Release of the Year
1- Missing
2- Bottle Rocket
3- The Last Emperor
4- White Dog
5- The Naked Prey

Best Eclipse Release
Postwar Kurosawa

Best Reissue
High and Low

Best Commentary
Scorcese's and Coppola's commentary on the Thief of Bagdad

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
Book that came with The Furies

Best Cover
Vampyr

Best Package Design (including DVD menus)
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Best (Re)Discovery
This Sporting Life

Most Disappointing Release
The Ice Storm - i loved the movie but I was expecting more form Criterion

Forum Member of the Year
This is really hard, since there are so many good contributors. Again, I thank all mods for their incredible work in this great forum and to the members who contribute to make this a wonderful community. I want to also nominate as Rookie of the Year to swo17, who has both contributed, been funny and passed the walk of fire from the veteran members here.

Richard Cranium Award
Mr. Eddie Feng

Best Non-Criterion Release (5 Choices)
The Dark Knight BD
The Iron Man BD (Target exclusive packaging)
Zodiac Director's Cut HD-DVD
Dark City DC BD
The Mist BD

Everyone have a great Christmas and Happy Holidays!

[cysiam]

Release of the Year
1.The Furies
2.Pierrot le Fou
3.Le Doulos
4.Vampyr
5.Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women

Best Eclipse Release
Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women

Best Reissue
Salo

Best Cover
Pierrot le Fou

Best Package Design
The Furies

Best (Re)Discovery
The Furies

[Noiretirc]

There really is only two categories that I can make an informed vote on here, given my very limited experience with all the other categories. (ie I explored very few 2008 releases. But I did explore this forum. Intensely. And I want to thank you all. This forum blows my mind! I've learned so much.)

Forum Member Of The Year: Domino.

Richard Cranium: Skuj. One should know their audience and surroundings before creating waves - by tripping head first into the deep end! Dipping a toe into the shallow end first might have prevented that thread.

[swo17]

Release of the Year
1 Vampyr
2 The Earrings of Madame de...
3 Brand Upon the Brain!
4 Pierrot le fou
5 Bottle Rocket

Honorable mentions: Le deuxieme souffle, White Dog, Le plaisir, Missing, Mishima

Best Eclipse Release
The Delirious Fictions of William Klein

Best Reissue
High and Low

Best Single Supplement
multiple narration tracks on Brand Upon the Brain!

Best Cover
Le plaisir

Best Package Design
Vampyr

Best (Re)Discovery
Miss Julie

Forum Member of the Year
domino, schreck, zedz, and many others!

[Cronenfly]

Release of the Year
1. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
2. This Sporting Life
3. High and Low
4. Antonio Gaudi
5. The Fire Within

Best Eclipse Release
Aki Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy

Best Reissue
High and Low

Best Single Supplement
Is That All There Is? from This Sporting Life

Best Cover
Missing

Best Package Design
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Best (Re)Discovery
The Fire Within

Best Non-Criterion Release
1. La Femme Publique: Premium Collector's Edition (R0 Mondo Vision)
2. Police (R2 MoC)
3. L.627 (R2 Optimum)
4. Privilege (R0 Project X/New Yorker)
5. Touch of Evil 50th Anniversary Edition (R1 Universal)

[SheriffAmbrose]

Sort of a lean year for me personally but here goes:

Release of the Year (5 choices)
1. Delirious Fictions of William Klein
2. Last Emperor
3. Lubitsch Musicals
4. Trafic
5. This Sporting Life

Best Eclipse Release
Delirious Fictions of William Klein

Best Reissue
Salo (I suppose, I don't care much for the film but that old release was an embarrassment.)

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
Is That All There Is? (from This Sporting Life)

Best Cover
There were a few really good ones but I'll go with Trafic on this one.

Best Package Design (including DVD menus)
The Last Emperor

Best Discovery (for a film you knew little or nothing about before the Criterion release)
The Delirious Fictions of William Klein

Most Disappointing Release (for releases that Criterion dropped the ball on: bad transfer, poor supplements, etc.)
I know this might seem odd seeing as how it occupies my top spot on the my release of the year list, but the cropping on The Model Couple, which I may have liked the most on the Klein set, made it an eyesore that I will certainly never revisit. A shame about that one.

Forum Member of the Year
No clue. I like most of what you guys have to say.

[skuhn8]

Haven't been able to keep up with the releases this year--only bought five and one Eclipse set so there's the main reasoning for the list.

Release of the Year
1- 4 by Agnes Varda
2- Vampyr
3- The Naked Prey
4- The Thief of Bagdad
5- Death of a Cyclist

Best Eclipse Release
Larisa Shepitko

Best Reissue
Cleo from 5 to 7

Best Commentary
Stephen Prince on The Naked Prey

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
The Lion Has Wings on Thief of Bagdad

Best Cover
Vampyr

Best Package Design (including DVD menus)
Vampyr

Best (Re)Discovery
The Naked Prey

Forum Member of the Year
MichaelB. --Lots of good people here: HerrSchreck, zedz, David Hare (good to have you back) and many others. And nice to finally have met a fellow member in person (Scharphedin2)

Richard Cranium Award
With any social context there's going to be a spat here and there. No grudges on this end.

Best Non-Criterion Release (5 Choices)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Second Run)
The Land of Promise (BFI)--surprised this hasn't gotten much love in 'Best...' category
Taxidermia (HU edition)--great package even if the film is a bit tough on the sensibilities
Phantom Carriage/Image Makers (Tartan)
Die Freudlose Gasse /Joyless Street/--(Film Archiv Austria) mainly for the 220 page book

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a bounteous 2009 for the CC and DVD in general...ok, and blu-ray as well!

[Der Müde Tod]

Release of the Year
1. Vampyr
2. 4 by Agnès Varda
3. The Ice Storm
4. Le deuxieme souffle
5. Classe tous risques

Best Eclipse Release
Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women

Best Reissue
High and Low

Best Discovery
An Autumn Afternoon

Most Disappointing Release
The Delirious Fictions of William Klein

Best Non-Criterion Release
Satyajit Ray Collections vol 1+2 (Artificial Eye)

[Ashirg]

Release of the Year
1. Before the Rain
2. Furies
3. 4 by Agnès Varda
4. Vampyr
5. Trafic

Best Eclipse Release
Series 11: Larisa Shepitko

Best Reissue
Cleo from 5 to 7

Best Commentary
A Pierrot Primer by Jean-Pierre Gorin on Pierrot le fou

Best Single Supplement
The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima on Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Best Cover
Vampyr

Best Package Design
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Best Discovery
Death of a Cyclist

Most Disappointing Release
Twenty-Four Eyes

Best Non-Criterion Release
1. Films of Budd Boetticher
2. Georges Méliès: First Wizard of Cinema
3. Two Films by Georges Franju
4. David Lynch: The Lime Green Set
5. Touch of Evil - 50th Anniversary Edition

[Gigi M.]

Release of the Year
- Miss Julie
- This Sporting Life
- The Earrings of Madame de...
- Vampyr
- Antonio Gaudí

Best Eclipse Release
- Silent Ozu—Three Family Comedies

Best Reissue
- Salo

Best Commentary
- Prince on both The Naked Prey and High and Low

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
- Is That All There Is? from This Sporting Life

Best Cover
- Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Best Package Design (including DVD menus)
- Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters

Best (Re)Discovery (for a film you knew little or nothing about before the Criterion release)
- Larisa Shepitko Eclipse set

Most Disappointing Release (for releases that Criterion dropped the ball on: bad transfer, poor supplements, etc.)
- The Last Emperor – For being too expensive, cropped and having the Blu Ray release months after the DVD

Forum Member of the Year
- zedz

Richard Cranium Award
- Eddie Feng for trolling under a different name

Best Non-Criterion Release (5 Choices)
- Ford at Fox
- Budd Boetticher Box
- Mizoguchi’s MoC
- Rocco and his Brothers MoC
- There will be blood Blu Ray

[brendanjc]

Release of the Year (5 choices)
1. Missing
2. Vampyr
3. White Dog
4. Bottle Rocket (Blu-ray)
5. Chungking Express (Blu-ray)

Best Eclipse Release
n/a

Best Reissue
High And Low

Best Commentary
The visual essay by Casper Tybjerg on Vampyr

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
The visual effects featurette on Thief of Bagdad

Best Cover
Brand Upon The Brain!

Best Package Design
Vampyr

Best (Re)Discovery
Thief of Bagdad

Most Disappointing Release
The Last Emperor Blu-ray, for cropping and lack of the supplements from the full DVD version. I hope this doesn't become a trend for Blu-ray releases.

Forum Member of the Year
domino

Richard Cranium Award
I have some candidates but no clear winner so n/a

Best Non-Criterion Release (5 Choices)
1. The Godfather: The Coppola Restoration (Blu-ray)
2. Spaced: The Complete Series
3. Touch Of Evil: 50th Anniversary Edition
4. Bonnie And Clyde (Blu-ray)
5. Baraka (Blu-ray)

Honorable mentions:
- Ray Harryhausen Collection (Blu-ray) - not the 4 best, but a great package nonetheless.
- The Hitchcock Premiere Collection - despite the terrible packaging, the discs and on-disc supplements are fantastic and the price I paid ($45 from DeepDiscount) was great.
- Mystery Science Theater 3000: 20th Anniversary - again, 2 of the best episodes packaged with 2 subpar ones but a nice set overall
- The Mist (Blu-ray) - great to have both the b&w and color versions in hi-def
- Wall-E (Blu-ray) - an obvious choice
- Sleeping Beauty (Blu-ray) - beautiful, and nice to have a real SD-DVD instead of a digital copy in the set
- Young Frankenstein (Blu-ray) - tons of hi-def exclusive content and a pristine transfer
- LA Confidential (Blu-ray) - a worthy package

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Release of the Year
1. Pierrot le Fou
2. Le Deuxieme Souffle
3. 4 by Agnès Varda
4. Vampyr
5. Trafic

Best Eclipse Release
Series 11: Larisa Shepitko

Best Reissue
High and Low

Best Commentary
A Pierrot Primer by Jean-Pierre Gorin on Pierrot le fou

Best Cover
Trafic

Member
zedz


Best Non-Criterion Release
1. PWA EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATION
2. L'enfance nue MoC
3. GPO BFI
4. Land of Promise BFI
5. L'Argent MoC

[myrnaloyisdope]

Release of the Year
1. Vampyr
2. The Fire Within
3. Pierrot le fou
4. Chungking Express
5. Mishima

Best Eclipse Release
Series 8: Lubitsch Musicals

Best Reissue
High and Low

Best Cover
Mishima

Best Package Design
Vampyr

Member
HerrSchreck

Richard Cranium Award
the honorable kevyip1


Best Non-Criterion Release
1. Forbidden Hollywood Volume 2 WB
2. BFI 75 10 DVD Boxset (Amazon)
3. The Apartment MGM SE
4. The Long Day Closes BFI
5. Warner Bros. Gangster Collections 1-4

[foggy eyes]

Release of the Year

Mizoguchi (Eclipse)
4 by Varda
The Furies
Patriotism / Mishima

The last slot would probably go to Trafic, Le deuxieme souffle, Shepitko or Silent Ozu, but I haven't bought them yet.

Best Supplement: Meet the Pioneers on This Sporting Life - never would I have thought that footage of the quarry in Colwyn Bay (a Welsh coastal town where I went to school) would be immortalised on a Criterion release! Anderson's swan song Is That All There Is? is a wonderful film and valuable supplement as well.

Member of the Year: Zedz. Runner-up: MichaelB. Honourable mention to mainstays like davidhare, colinr0380, Scharphedin2, ellipsis7, Tommaso, tryavna, Michael, John Cope, yoshimori (etc.), whose posts are always worth reading and continue to make this place worthwhile.

[life_boy]

Release of the Year
1. The Furies
This release easily takes the cake. Full, thorough, including the source material. A great set to join a great film. There is enough here for me to peel back and explore for years to come. Now where's T-Men?
2. Eclipse 13: Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women
3. Eclipse 11: Silent Ozu - Three Family Comedies
4. This Sporting Life
Again, full and thorough with a great transfer. I certainly can't argue with any release that takes the opportunity to fill in three additional gaps in an auteur's filmography.
5. Trafic
I'm always up for more Tati.

Best Eclipse Release
Eclipse 13: Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women
It's almost arbitrary for me to rate this above the Ozu set but I'll do it because there's more Ozu in the collection at this time than Mizoguchi. But like zedz said, "who would want to be without either set?" A stellar year for Eclipse and the release announcement I was most looking forward to every two months. 7 sets, 24 films, the label found the balance between releasing the towering "back catalogue" of cinema's masters and wonderful obscurities possibly forgotten except by the fortunate few who were around at the time or in the know, bringing to my eyes more films I was truly excited about seeing than the mainline did all told this year. (I'm already highly anticipating the Shimizu set in March of '09.)

Best Reissue
High and Low

Best Commentary
n/a (didn’t listen to any)

Best Single Supplement (not a commentary)
Is That All There Is? (from This Sporting Life)

Best Cover
Vampyr

Best Package Design
The Furies

Best (Re)Discovery
Eclipse 11: Larisa Shepitko

Most Disappointing Release
The Model Couple

Forum Member of the Year
zedz
No one else has had more of impact on the films I seek out while simultaneously deepening my enjoyment of them than you, zedz. Pialat and Oshima were sought out on your recommendations in the 60's list (and beyond) and I look forward to diving into Ruiz, Wiszniewski, Skolimowski, Rocha and Yoshida in the future. All I can say is thanks.

Richard Cranium Award
Feng

Best Non-Criterion Release
1. Polish Experimental Animation (PWA)
2. L'Argent (MoC)
3. L'enfance-nue (MoC)
4. The Round-Up (Second Run)
5. Ford at Fox (Fox)

[HerrSchreck]

When is the crowning ceremony furchrissakes. I want these crown jewels outa here, and I want desperately to razz and haze zedz... my zingers are spoiling in the heat of my enthusiasm.