Silly Thinking

Hello again Silly Thinkers and welcome to "Home Theatre". The best place on the web for home video and DVD viewing tips.

And now your host for "Home Theatre"... Jim Farris!

JF: Thanks Jim and hello everyone. Today we are looking at a company whose quality presentations have enhanced home entertainment for over two decades.
The Criterion Collection.

Criterion started with the advent of Laser disc players in the early 80's. The high definition picture complimented thier goal to restore important films and give the home viewer the best possible experience.

The first time I saw a Criterion film was in 1979 at a video lab in L.A. I worked for MCA Universal at the time and the Laser disc was a system they had invested a lot of time and money into (in "Airport '79" James Stewart uses a laser disc player for the first time on film.) Universal thought it was the home player of the near future.
I saw a sequence from "Citizen Kane" and the picture clarity was amazing.
The laser system never became the home theatre choice of the masses but was popular among vidoefiles and Criterion put out many films in that format.

The DVD format is a perfect compliment to Criterion's goal of high quality picture performance.
The range of films has eclipsed what they have done in the past.

For example, my last two Criterion films were Roman Polanski's "Knife In The Water", a two disc set with the film looking better than ever and a collection of rarely seen short subjects Polanski did between 1955 and 1962. It's a history lesson of a fine filmmaker.

The other was "The Blob" that launched Steve McQueen's career in 1957. It's restored to all the orange yellow luster of Deluxe color right out of the lab. It's hard to imagine two more different kinds of films yet both are important ot the history of cinema.

Recent releases are an eclectic mix of films from all over the world that give you a chance to see these classic's with extras and features that will enrich anyone's knowledge of the film they watch.

Here's a sample list:

1. Jean-Luc Godard's "Alphaville".

2. Michael Bay's "Armageddon".

3. David and Albert Maysles rarely seen documentary classic "Salesman"

4.Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tennenbaums"

5. Eisenstien's " Ivan The Terrible I" and "Ivan The Terrible II".

6. Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca" (what a treat!)

7. Kubrick's "Spartacus" (I wish I owned this!)

8.The complete Monterey Pop Festival including the D.A. Pennebacker documentary and Jimi Hendrix complete performances plus a disc of outtakes.

9. Fritz Lang's "M".

10. The Fassbinder three disc trilogy: "The Marriage Of Maria Braun", "Lola", and "Veronika Voss".

11. Fellini's "Juliet Of The Spirits".

12. Peter Medak's "The Ruling Class"

13. Terry Gilliam's "Brazil".

14. Jaques Tati's comedy milestone "Mr. Hulot's Holiday"

15. Ronald Neame's "Hopscotch"

This is just a small sample of the diverse restored films made available by this company that put's quality above profits (most titles are around $30.00.)

Although why anyone would want a restored version of "Hopscotch" with George Segal and Glenda Jackson in an awful forgettable comedy from 1979 is beyond me.

Anyway that's it for this week. Back to you Jim.

JF: Thanks Jim. Sounds great. Join us every weekday for the best in Bloggy features and on the weekends for "A Few Moments With Dead Celebrities" right here at "S.T."!

Jim Farris presents "Silly Thinking with Douglas Lain" . Send us checks in the mail so we don't have to go out in the world and do work that breaks our spirits and hearts! Here!