Criterion Film Club: Suggestions and General Discussion

[jindianajonz]

Is it assumed that voting for "all OOP titles should be allowed" implies that we are ok with the two following options, or should we be voting for all three choices?

[swo17]

Is it assumed that voting for "all OOP titles should be allowed" implies that we are ok with the two following options?

Yes. Either vote for the first option and not the other two, or don't vote for the first option and do vote for one or both of the second and third options.

[jindianajonz]

Yeah, I'm now seeing that as rule number 4. I somehow read it as something else when I looked through it the first time. Guess my brain is on friday mode.

[HerrSchreck]

tl;dr

[zedz]

I voted for the fifth option, since I don't think it's actually going to be all that easy to second-guess just what titles / films participants will or won't be able to get their hands on.

I also think it's sensible to exclude not-yet-released titles, since it's not as if there's a dearth of other films to discuss and I assume participants who are interested in watching the film would rather hold out for the Criterion release than have to expend time and money acquiring an alternative, presumably less desirable, version on the eve of its actual release. (Edit: also, new releases tend to attract much more comment anyway, so do they really need the Film Club leg-up in advance?)

The Merchant Ivory and Janus titles tend to be rats and mice, and I can't imagine any of them actually winning a poll that wasn't loaded in their favour, so they'd just be diluting the pool of films that people might actually want to discuss.

[matrixschmatrix]

I think yet-to-come films should be excluded if only because one of the major ideas here was to generate conversation about movies that haven't been much discussed- stuff that's just coming out has a decent shot of getting discussed without the added boost.

[swo17]

Also remember: If not yet released titles are declared ineligible, it's only temporary--they automatically become eligible in a matter of months. Whereas if OOP titles are ineligible, they can never be discussed EVER.

[zedz]

* unless they come back in print

[swo17]

I thought the punchline was "unless people decide to actually discuss an old Criterion release independent of film club." Which of course is just about as unlikely.

[Michael Kerpan]

I thought the punchline was "unless people decide to actually discuss an old Criterion release independent of film club." Which of course is just about as unlikely.

I just bought my own copy of Pornographers, so, in case an "unauthorized" discussion breaks out, I'll be ready.

[domino harvey]

You know you can storm the castle at your leisure, right?

[Mr Sausage]

Time again to vote for your next Film Club discussion. As always, the vote will close in three days, on Monday at this time, giving you, poor beleaguered voter, two weeks to find the movie (or simply the time).

Voters can change their votes, so vote with a bit of strategy, folks--it only makes sense.

Please familiarize yourself with the Rules and Procedures if you haven't already done so.

swo17 has again come up with the five random titles, I assume by sacrificing animals on an altar to Moloch or something.

[domino harvey]

I picked Sweet Smell of Success namely because I'm about to teach it in a couple weeks so I'll already have rewatched it for sure by the time discussion comes around (and could add in observations from my students as well)

[Mr Sausage]

My vote was for Pigs and Battleships because I just watched my first Imamura, The Insect Woman, on Wednesday and was so taken with it that I couldn't say no to another.

[Drucker]

I recently watched Pigs and Battleships and loved it. But I voted for This Happy Breed because I haven't engaged in any sort of discussion about Lean's films on this forum and I'd like to.

[Michael Kerpan]

My vote was for Pigs and Battleships because I just watched my first Imamura, The Insect Woman, on Wednesday and was so taken with it that I couldn't say no to another.

Welcome to the Imamura Club. I prefer Pigs and Battlesships to the also-excellent Insect Woman. Imamura later made a color (sort of) companion film to P&B -- Eejanaika -- set in the same port city, but 100 or so years earlier. Unfortunately, this has never gotten an adequate subbed release.

[YnEoS]

I'm continuing my trend of voting for films I haven't seen, so I went with Sweet Smell of Success.

But certainly wouldn't mind at all and excuse to re-visit and discuss Pigs and Battleships. Also part of me worries that if we pass up Imamura again, no more of them will come up, and we'll look back and think "remember when Imamura was up for a vote two times in a row and we passed him over both times". Then we'd have to go watch and discuss his films in their usual criterion topics like regular chumps.

[zedz]

Well, this is a bit of a conundrum. Pigs and Battleships is far from my favourite Imamura, and I don't really have much to say about it; Sweet Smell of Success already gets plenty of attention (though I'd love to hear how domino's students respond to it); This Happy Breed has a lovely transfer! (and that's about the limit of what I could usefully say about it); The Mikado was a complete chore to sit through once and there's no way I want to revisit that experience, even vicariously.

So it had to be Closely Watched Trains, a film I've been meaning to rewatch for some time.

[Mr Sausage]

To encourage more strategic voting: it's highly unlikely either The Mikado or This Happy Breed are going to get twelve or more votes in the next 22.5 hours. People who voted for them might consider placing their vote somewhere else. Six votes can turn the tide of the race. It's enough to put Closely Watched Trains into serious contention, which might spurr on other members, or solidify either Pigs and Battleships or front runner Sweet Smell of Success.

Come on, guys. Make these last hours interesting

[NABOB OF NOWHERE]

Closely watched trains was the first foreign film I saw. It was in 1979 on BBC2 on a friday night and I spent a miserable weekend realising that I was dying a slow death in my Germanic studies course at university and wanted now to do film. Encouraged by then girlfriend (now wife) I jumped ship and Heinrich der Arme was booted out in favour of Fassbinder, Herzog and La Nouvelle Vague.
So I am duty bound to cast my vote there. Mind you it was close call as I spent most of the mid 80's running a Latin Jazz big band called 'Match me Sidney'.

[jindianajonz]

One thing I liked the first time around that hasn't happened in the last two selections was the inclusion of discussion questions. They really helped me focus on parts of the film I probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise. I know its difficult to come up with something to ask, especially if you've never seen the film previously, but I would hope that people could start contributing these again.

[domino harvey]

If Sweet Smell of Success makes it next round I can easily provide some of the questions my students will be considering for the film

[Mr Sausage]

One thing I liked the first time around that hasn't happened in the last two selections was the inclusion of discussion questions. They really helped me focus on parts of the film I probably wouldn't have noticed otherwise. I know its difficult to come up with something to ask, especially if you've never seen the film previously, but I would hope that people could start contributing these again.

I was really hoping people would continue doing that. It's a big help for members watching the film for the first time and looking for things to post about.

If Sweet Smell of Success makes it next round I can easily provide some of the questions my students will be considering for the film

That would be lovely. If it wins, you can pm them to me any time before the thread opens.

[zedz]

Long live the Criterion Forum Film Club Dissidents! We're going to discuss Fire on the Plain and Double Suicide whether The Man likes it or not!

I'm thrilled that this extracurricular discussion of actual films seems to be coming to pass.

[YnEoS]

In the last voting discussion people argued so wonderfully in favor of Fires on the Plain, The Pornographers and Double Suicide (as When a Woman Ascends the Stairs silently crept into first place with much less vocal but more numerous supporters) that I found myself much more interested in watching all of them, than in re-visiting WaWAtS, which I've seen twice recently. I hope the same level of fervent arguments continues in these voting discussions. Last round led to 3 major discoveries for me that were previously way off my radar of things to watch soon.