2013 Criterion Forum Awards

[Michael Kerpan]

SECOND-MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
Gate of Hell - something, anything, for this film? it screams out for accompaniment.

Not a fan of Kinugasa -- but I would rate this as a mildly pleasant surprise. Yes, plot-wise this was as stupid as I feared it would be, but color-wise (and generally scenically), it was better than expected.

Oh -- and on the member of the year thing -- I still feel quite honored to have been deemed worthy to share this distinction. It was a real surprise. Thanks again. ;~}

[Tommaso]

I actually thought movielocke had the lack of extras in mind, not the film itself.

[colinr0380]

Best Release (1-5, in order of preference)
1. 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman
2. Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project #1
3. Things To Come
4. A Man Escaped
5. Charulata

Best Eclipse Set
38 Kobayashi Against The System

Best Non-Eclipse Box Set
3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman

Best Reissue
Autumn Sonata

Best Blu-ray Upgrade
Tokyo Story

Best R1 Rescue (for title already available in R1 and re-released by Criterion)
The Devil’s Backbone

Best (Re)Discovery
La Notte

Most Disappointing Release (for Criterion's treatment, not the film itself)
Judging by the strength of feeling here, and due to having no real issues with any Criterion release this year (apart from a general grumble about the lack of commentaries and extras across the board) I would have to go with the Earrings of Madame De… reissue!

Best Commentary
David Kalat on Things To Come, turning that release into an essential accompaniment to the UK disc

Best Bonus Film + Best Non-Bonus Film Supplement
1. Michael Almereyda on Babette’s Feast
2. Christopher Frayling on Things To Come
3. The three additional films on Shoah, along with the Lanzmann interview relating to them
4. The Essence of Forms on A Man Escaped
5. The Coward on The Big City
(& a number 6 : the offering of the different aspect ratios on On The Waterfront!)

Best Cover
1. Nashville

Runners up:
2. The Big City/Charulata
3. On The Waterfront
4. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion
5. The Devil’s Backbone

Best Packaging
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (of course, but the World Cinema Foundation packaging is so gorgeous that I ummed and ahhhed about it a little!)

Member of the Year
warren oates, for the lively debates!

Best Non-Criterion Releases:
1. Polish Cinema Classics Volume II (Second Run)
2. The Big Parade (Warner)
3. Lost and Found: Treasures From The New Zealand Film Archive (Image)
4. California Trilogy (German Filmmuseum)
5. Le Pont du Nord (MoC)
5. Intolerance (Cohen Film), & Cohen Film in general for its excellent choices of rarer films supplemented by thoughtful extras (The Damned (1947) and Two Men In Manhattan)
6. Ikarie XB-1 (Second Run)
7. The White Dove and Josef Kilián (Second Run)
8. Knightriders (Arrow) & The Fury (Arrow)
9. Underground (BFI)
10. Comment ca va? / Keep Your Right Up (Olive Films)
11. Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday The 13th (1428 Films)
12. Eyes of the Spider / The Serpent's Path (Third Window)
13. Steel: A Century of Steel Making on Film (BFI)
14. The Ealing Studios Rarities Collection Volumes 1-8 (Network) (ongoing series)
15. A Boy and His Dog / Lifeforce / Night of the Comet (Shout! Factory) - Three films that I loved during my early teens getting wonderful Blu upgrades. Great work from Shout! Factory (and Arrow for Lifeforce too!). The long interview between LQ Jones and Harlan Ellison has to be my favourite 'crotchety old guys chewing the fat' extra feature of the year!

I also want to throw a word of praise in for the Sokurov: Early Masterworks set from Cinema Guild, which came out in December last year.

A very interesting and eclectic year. Great to be able to put Warners back on the list for doing something non-archive related with their older films too!

My one to watch which I think have not been much discussed on the forum is Network's wonderful ongoing series "Ealing Studios Rarities". I have the first eight volumes and it is a treasure trove of obscure and uncharacteristic works from the studio. Each set comprises four films (in a variety of appropriate ratios - even 1.19:1 for the very early 30s films!) on 2 DVDs in a thin-pack case for under £10, which is cheap enough to take a risk on. Most excitingly Network seem to have branched out with a new release called "British Musicals of the 30s" using the same kind of publishing strategy. Hopefully there will be more volumes of both series!

Finally, I haven’t got them yet, but I want to add my appreciation to Third Window Films for taking the time to release Tokyo Fist and Bullet Ballet on Blu! Amazing, seminal films which I'm looking forward to upgrading - Tokyo Fist is an essential work and I think Bullet Ballet is one of the best films of the 90s!

And just for the hell of it:

Best Video Game:
A tie between The Stanley Parable and Gone Home. If you want more in-depth discussions of these games I would highly recommend the Errant Signal videos on both Gone Home (which makes a great case for Gone Home being a video game equivalent of Young Adult fiction - domino you should try and play this!) and The Stanley Parable.

[Michael Kerpan]

I actually thought movielocke had the lack of extras in mind, not the film itself.

Almost nothing available off the shelf relating to Kinugasa -- and not many scholars working (in English) on his work, so far as I know. I suppose Aaron Gerow (from Yale) could have provided some background, but I think he has mainly worked on the earlier Kinugasa films.

[artfilmfan]

post deleted

[jwd5275]

BEST RELEASE
Marketa Lazarova
Etaix
To Be or Not to Be
WCF vol 1
Life of Oharu

BEST ECLIPSE Kobayashi

BEST BOXED SET Rossellini

BEST MODERN FILM Kid with the Bike

BEST COMMENTARY to Be or Not to Be

BEST "BONUS" FILM The Coward

BEST R1 RESCUE Shoah

BEST REISSUE The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

BEST UPGRADE Eye Without a Face

BEST DISCOVERY Ballad of Narayama

BEST COVER Ballad of Narayama

BEST PACKAGING Zatoichi

BEST THREAD InterFilmArt

MEMBER OF THE YEAR cdnchris

RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD Dang (runner up Anthony and everyone else whining about getting a free DVD with their Bluray)

[FrauBlucher]

BEST RELEASE- (damn, there are so many)
1-3 Films by Roberto Rossellini
2- On The Waterfront
3- Medium Cool
4- A Man Escaped
5- Safety Last
BEST ECLIPSE
Early Fassbinder
BEST BOX-SET
3 Films by Rossellini
BEST MODERN RELEASE
Pina
BEST COMMENTARY
Medium Cool (both)
BEST ESSAY
Elia Kazan's defense of his HUAC testimony
BEST BONUS FILM
His Royal Slyness (Safety Last)
BEST R1 RESCUE
Badlands
BEST RE-ISSUE
Autumn Sonata
BEST UPGRADE
Cassevette's Five Film Box
BEST DISCOVERY
Pierre Etaix
BEST COVER
The Man Who Knew Too Much
BEST PACKAGING
Shoah
SECOND MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
La Notte- Only because the supplements were weak. Should have been packed.
BEST THREAD
It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World- For the comedy, which is more than I can say for the movie.
MEMBER OF THE YEAR
David M for his technical awesomeness

[Harmonov]

BEST RELEASE
1 A Man Escaped
2 Marketa Lazarova
3 Shoah
4 Frances Ha
5 Nashville

BEST ECLIPSE Early Fassbinder

BEST BOXED SET 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini starrring Ingrid Bergman

BEST MODERN FILM Frances Ha

BEST COMMENTARY Medium Cool – Paul Cronin

BEST BONUS FILM The Birth of the Goalie of the 2001 F.A. Cup Final - Mike Leigh

BEST NON-THE REST OF IT SUPPLEMENT - n/a

BEST R1 RESCUE A Man Escaped

BEST REISSUE Tokyo Story

BEST UPGRADE Cassavetes Box Set

BEST DISCOVERY Marketa Lazarova

BEST COVER Repo Man

BEST PACKAGING Zatoichi

SECOND-MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE Jubal, I guess.

BEST THREAD - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - I second Frau Blucher's echo for the comedy value.

RICHARD CRANIUM - Moe Dickstein for his unparalleled defense of IAMMMMW.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR - Moe Dickstein, also for his unparalleled defense of IAMMMMW.

[AfterTheRain]

In the time I've been here, I don't think any member has been awarded both Member of the Year and the Richard Cranium award simultaneously. Could this be a first for us?

[domino harvey]

It is unlikely he will win either category based on voting so far

[FrauBlucher]

Moe was going to get my vote, but than I've always been partial to Curly as stooges go.

[The Narrator Returns]

It is unlikely he will win either category based on voting so far

He was my choice before I was introduced to InterFilmArt, when I discovered that it wasn't even a close race.

[domino harvey]

Another thing to add to the list of stuff the Nazis have ruined

[Lowry_Sam]

2013 turned out to be the best year in a while in spite of the mishaps.

BEST RELEASE....decided to go with the best overall packages, rather than just favorite titles/best transfers:
1 On The Waterfront
2 Life Is Sweet
3 Pierre Etaix
4 Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion
5 To Be Or Not To Be

Runners Up (some of these were only bumped out of the top 5 because the package could have easily been more robust, esp. no stacked 2-disc versions for the 3-hour films)
6. Nashville
7. Marketa Lazarova
8. La Notte
9. Seconds
10. Safety Last

BEST ECLIPSE
Kobayashi

BEST BOXED SET
Pierre Etaix

The Rossellini/Bergman box is definitely the most stacked. Perhaps I shouldn't have started with "The Chicken," but I found Pierre Etaix more enjoyable overall & think I'll be revisiting it more often. I saw Shoah when it was first released, & while I found it to be very compelling viewing, I don't have a burning desire to revisit it, though I recommended my library pick it up.

BEST MODERN FILM
Rather underwhelming choice here, so I'll go with Pina ...for the 3D.

BEST COMMENTARY
To Be Or Not To Be/Kalat

BEST ESSAY
I still haven't viewed all my 2013 purchases yet, so I haven't even checked any of these out yet.

BEST "BONUS" FILM
The Coward

Worst Bonus Film
The Chicken

BEST (NON-COMMENTARY, NON-ESSAY, NON-BONUS FILM) SUPPLEMENT
On The Waterfront (multiple AR)...too late for Koyaanisqatsi, but would love to see more of this in future releases (John Waters in original full frame in addition to the director-approved remasterings anyone?)

BEST R1 RESCUE
La Notte

BEST REISSUE
Autumn Sonata

BEST UPGRADE
Ivan's Childhood

BEST DISCOVERY
1. Investigation Of A Citizen Above Suspicion
2. Seconds

BEST COVER
1. Medium Cool
2. Seconds
3. The Uninvited

BEST PACKAGING (Is there any other choice?)
Zatoichi

SECOND-MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE

Disappointment is relative & I had high hopes for Marketa Lazarova (whereas I had none for Jubal & was not expecting to buy it anyway), since I had been asking for this for 10 years now & having already picked up the Czech release this was my biggest disappointment in terms of falling short of what could have been this & Nashville could have easily been stacked 2-disc sets. At the same time, they weren't bad releases & there were other disappointments to contend with (Fassbinder Eclipse -reissuing readily available discs, The Tin Drum- deleting material from previous edition & not including original theatrical release), therefore, rather than being another lone vote against a title that didn't have the supplements I wanted, I have to go with the title that falls shortest of Criterion's normal output (to the extent that I would not add to my collection even if it were free) & that goes to:

World Cinema Project.

I love world cinema & there is so much of it I would love to see on disc, but I tried watching most of the titles (on Hulu) and The Housemaid was the only one I could sit through without falling asleep. This really is a Scorsese vanity project & he's really off the mark here in terms of world film that needs restoring. His world cinema selections (to get them distributed to US theaters) in the 80s were much more on the mark (Boat People, Napoleon,...) & would be instant buys for me across the board (as individual releases). Lumping together these releases @ a high price point doesn't make them more attractive.

BEST THREAD
IAMMMMW..... I'm having a difficult time coming up with a release that would generate as much impassioned speculation, pleas (for & against), and jokes before it's announced. The Devils? Contempt? Greed in its current extended format? The Good, The Bad & The Ugly? Song Of The South? Casablanca? nope.....maybe The Complete Andy Warhol Box Set could be a contendah.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
MichaelB

Favorite non-Criterion blu rays:

Rohmer box
Mizoguchi box (MoC)
Violent Saturday
Les Miserables (1939)
(& Gun Crazy would probably be here if I could afford it)

[MichaelB]

We've had this argument before, but I thought Criterion did a fine job on Marketa Lazarová, and I strongly take issue with the word "easily".

You make it sound as though there's loads of off-the-shelf stuff about it that they could have included I it wasn't for them being lazy - and I suspect you know perfectly well that there isn't.

[swo17]

You make it sound as though there's loads of off-the-shelf stuff about it that they could have included I it wasn't for them being lazy - and I suspect you know perfectly well that there isn't.

Evidenced by the fact that almost all of the plentiful extras were not pulled off-the-shelf but in fact made from scratch by Criterion.

[Moe Dickstein]

I was beginning to think nobody loved/hated me.

[domino harvey]

Slightly more/less than Nazis rofl jk lylas hags

[Harmonov]

I was beginning to think nobody loved/hated me.

Nothing but love/hate for you, Moe.

[FrauBlucher]

I was beginning to think nobody loved/hated me.

Moe, the love/hate will ratchet up when IAMMMMW gets it's release.

[Moe Dickstein]

the instant I can get my hands on a copy you'll all hear ALL about it...

[domino harvey]

The ol' "Trying For the 2014 Richard Cranium Award" technique

[Black Hat]

I chuckled.

[movielocke]

We've had this argument before, but I thought Criterion did a fine job on Marketa Lazarová, and I strongly take issue with the word "easily".

You make it sound as though there's loads of off-the-shelf stuff about it that they could have included I it wasn't for them being lazy - and I suspect you know perfectly well that there isn't.

I agree. I doubt those complaining about the extras on marketa lazarova watched them? They are stellar. Criterion did fantastic job. Initially, i wanted a commentary after seeing te film. Then i went through the extras and no longer felt the need. I hope they do more vlacil in 2014.

[Drucker]

BEST RELEASE
1. To Be Or Not To Be
2. The Big City
3. 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman
4. On The Waterfront
5. World Cinema Foundation Project Volume 1

BEST ECLIPSE
Kobayashi

BEST BOXED SET
Rosselini-Bergman

BEST COMMENTARY
David Kalat on To Be Or Not to Be. I'm already a Kalat convert, but this kept me so engaged and possibly helped elevate this film to be my favorite Lubitsch. Focusing around his central thesis of the film's reception, comparing it to his other films, and focusing on that one joke was wonderful.

BEST (NON-COMMENTARY, NON-ESSAY, NON-BONUS FILM) SUPPLEMENT
Living and Departed by Tag Gallagher.

BEST R1 RESCUE
Man Who Knew Too Much, for saving it from those PD reissues and doing a wonderful restoration.

BEST DISCOVERY
World Cinema Foundation

BEST COVER
Marketa Lazarova


BEST PACKAGING
Investigation of a Citizen Under Suspicion

SECOND-MOST DISAPPOINTING RELEASE
Jubal.

BEST THREAD The discussion or topic which generated the most interesting discussion this year
Film club! Which has been great, especially since I can't imagine ever having the time/energy to participate in a list project.

MEMBER OF THE YEAR
I see Sloper hasn't won, so I'll vote for him (for his contributions to film club! Notice a pattern?)

RICHARD CRANIUM AWARD
People that vote on film club but don't participate