Did Criterion ever release a real stinker?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by DrewHarris, Nov 24, 2015.

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  1. DrewHarris

    DrewHarris Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Good ol' Alaska
    We all know Criterion specializes in re-issuing old films that they deem "important" to world cinema but I've been wondering if they ever released something that made everyone scratch their heads.
     
  2. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    They put out the ultra low-budget 70s horror flick "Equinox"- while I like it and am a fan of schlocky movies there were better ones the could have picked if they were going the genre route...


    https://www.criterion.com/films/780-equinox
     
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  3. EricF

    EricF Well-Known Member

    Location:
    nowhere
    Armageddon?
     
  4. Michael

    Michael I LOVE WIDE S-T-E-R-E-O!

    I like it, but what stinks is the DVD is not Anamorphic...
     
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  5. Armageddon.
     
  6. JamieC

    JamieC Senior Member

    Location:
    Detroit Mi USA
    Not exactly a stinker, however it IS a headscratcher. Why? Makes no sense.
     
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  7. Al Kuenster

    Al Kuenster Senior Member

    Location:
    Las Vegas, NV - US
    The Rock
     
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  8. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    Armageddon and The Rock are going to be the most common answers. I can probably agree with that, but I believe Criterion's reasoning at the time was that these films represented "popcorn movies" and that's how they justified their inclusion. I'd argue that they could have picked better popcorn movies, though.
     
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  9. George Blair

    George Blair Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Two Lane Blacktop ?
     
  10. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

  11. minerwerks

    minerwerks Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    But Criterion is limited by the studios they have relationships with, and Disney was probably the biggest one they were in business with at the time. Along with a healthy selection of Miramax titles in the late 90s, Michael Bay movies came via the Hollywood and Touchstone brands. Those movies don't seem so odd next to Criterion releases of "Silence of the Lambs," "Robocop," "Hard Boiled" or "Seven."
     
  12. Dr. Psych

    Dr. Psych Member

    Location:
    USA
    They've released a lot of "stinkers" under the guise of it being an "art film". There are a lot of really good ones they released but others are just bad.
     
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  13. Texastoyz

    Texastoyz Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas, USA
    I like Eating Raoul but who would've thought it would've ever have been in the Criterion Collection. Same thing with Tootsie. Love it but never thought it would be on this imprint.
     
  14. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    OP, do you mean bad movies they've released or cases where their editions of movies are inferior to others?
     
  15. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I think he means the movies are "stinkers", not the LDs/DVDs/BDs.

    I initially figured the thread would be about bad products, but my reading of the first post tells me it's about bad movies - or at least movies that didn't seem to fit the Criterion brand...
     
  16. Richard--W

    Richard--W Forum Resident

    Well, they mistimed Howard Hawks' Red River (1948). The transfer is a couple of clicks too bright, on both the director's cut and the theatrical release versions. So far as I know no one has paid any attention to it. Everybody praises the clarity and sharpness, no one mentions how unnaturally bright it is. You heard it here first.

    Also, Walkabout (1971) developed some kinda laser rot in the blu-ray disc. There was a replacement program.
     
  17. 93curr

    93curr Senior Member

    The ones that made me scratch my head:

    Oliver Twist
    The Big Chill
    Carrie
    RoboCop
    Dead Presidents
    The Princess Bride
    Shine
    The English Patient
    Armageddon
    The Rock
    Sisters
    Beastie Boys Video Anthology
    Sweet Movie
    The Game
    Benjamin Button


    And while I, personally, like (and even bought on BluRay) 'Tiny Furniture', I wouldn't argue that it's not an odd choice for the collection.
     
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  18. Trapper J

    Trapper J Senior Member

    Location:
    Great White North
    Princess Bride?! I need the cc version of this on BluRay! And Benjamin Button is a fantastic movie. But I agree with you on big chill... Meryl Streep letting her husband sleep with their friend at the end... Can't say I'll be rewatching that one
     
  19. guidedbyvoices

    guidedbyvoices Old Dan's Records

    Location:
    Alpine, TX
    The only one I've heard almost universal hate for is Tiny Furniture, sorry 93Curr! I haven't seen it myself.
    I don't judge them too much for things released 5-10 years ago. I think things like Big Chill or Tootsie - these may be bigger name films to help keep funds coming in. Benjamin Button is by Fincher, so it may help keep their foot in the door with a director they'd like to work with more.
     
  20. Indeed. I understand that their mandate isn't limited to serious or "arthouse" films, and I'll grant them The Rock, which I thought was quite good, but Armageddon? Weak beer even by Hollywood action pic standards IMHO. On that front, I'm still waiting for their edition of Crimson Tide.
     
  21. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    Try Glenn Close, Streep wasn't in it.
     
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  22. Daniel Plainview

    Daniel Plainview God's Lonely Man

    This is one of my favorites! I can't wait for the day they give it the blu-ray upgrade!
     
  23. Bryan

    Bryan Starman Jr.

    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    What's peoples' beef with Tiny Furniture? Granted, it was kind of a pretentious hipster film. Was it that it went straight to Criterion for home video release? That always kind of rankles me. Deciding that a film is "important" enough to be a Criterion title immediately upon home video release seems a little short-sighted. Seems like there should be a minimum number of years to wait, to make sure a film holds up well.
     
  24. Luckless Pedestrian

    Luckless Pedestrian Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire, USA
    Premiers Désires. Even the prospect of seeing Emmanuelle Béart naked couldn't get me through more than 30 minutes of this.
     
  25. ashlee5

    ashlee5 Senior Member

    Chasing Amy is my choice, and I liked the film when it first came out. It just has not dated well for me.

    :wave:
     
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