Movies Worth Owning

[mns3dhm]

Here are a few I've picked up used recently that are worth considering

• The Assassination of Jesse James
• The Big Short
• Ghost Protocol
• Gone Baby Gone
• The Host
• In Bruges
• The Iron Giant
• Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels
• Looper
• Seven Psychopaths
• Snatch
• The Town

 

[zentiques]

Well, that was fun. Thanksgiving dinner compared to all the cotton candy. Gonna need some time to ponder the Seahawks behind Neil Young. And Lance's finger licking good backstory.
Just ordered a ten disc collection, I've got some catching up to do. Saw maybe half back in the day in a small neighborhood art house theater.
Thanks gang.

So the 10 movie sampler pack will be on its way soon, gives us some time to rank a top 5.
I know Coffee & Cigarettes, just saw Dead Man. Saw Night on Earth and Mystery Train, albeit 30 years ago. Looking forward to those and Stranger, plus Ghost Dog that several noted here. Liked Forrest Whittaker in Rogue One and RepoMen.

 

[zentiques]

Well, that was fun. Thanksgiving dinner compared to all the cotton candy. Gonna need some time to ponder the Seahawks behind Neil Young. And Lance's finger licking good backstory.
Just ordered a ten disc collection, I've got some catching up to do. Saw maybe half back in the day in a small neighborhood art house theater.
Thanks gang.

More random notes on Dead Man.
Opening train scene was a cool technique advancing time and locations. Crispin Glover.
Young Johnny Depp fit right in.
Garry Farmer almost stole it.
"Sally" Pop !
Still gnawing on Lance gnawing on....
One of several scenes I had to rewind.
PNW tribe on location ? Can't say I've ever seen that before.
And Neil, like biting on an unpopped kernel, out of nowhere.
Overall a good time, little long, jury out on all the blackout cuts.

 

[zentiques]

Here are a few I've picked up used recently that are worth considering

• The Assassination of Jesse James
• The Big Short
• Ghost Protocol
• Gone Baby Gone
• The Host
• In Bruges
• The Iron Giant
• Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels
• Looper
• Seven Psychopaths
• Snatch
• The Town

 

[zentiques]

??.

Most of Jarmush's films including Dead Man were shot on film stock. Blu-rays have at least double the resolution of DVD and generally a better transfer and will look appreciably better on even a relatively small TV. I can understand why you might get a DVD of a movie if nothing else is available but there are good Blu-ray versions of all Jarmush's films that will look much closer to 'how they were meant to be seen' than DVD ...

So, yeah, alright, maybe you have a point. Didn't mind Dead Man, but Night on Earth, DVD quality was painful. Worse, considering the price of eggs these days.....

 

[bluefuzz]

DVD quality was painful

As previously noted, if there is a blu-ray release of a movie worth owning then I do find it usually worthwhile to spring for the upgrade. Especially if it is touted as being remastered or restored. There is a (seldom justified) tendency on this site to denigrate remastered music recordings but the difference between a fuzzy DVD and a restored blu-ray can be quite literally eye opening. Many of the early DVD releases were mastered from the nearest third generation print available and can be truly atrocious. The further 'upgrade' to 4K blu-ray is less worthwhile IMO unless you have a really big TV. Also very few of the movies I would consider worth owning have a 4K release anyway ...

Sites like DVDbeaver can point you in the right direction if you are in doubt whether a release (DVD or blu-ray) is worth the effort ...

 

[jsilvela]

Speaking of DVDbeaver, and of movies worth owning, Local Hero.

Local Hero Blu-ray - Burt Lancaster

I had the DVD for years, and it was so-so. The BR is a significant upgrade, even more noticeable in the night sky scenes.
The DVDbeaver review is for the Criterion collection, but there's also the 40th anniversary 2k remaster available without the region A coding for us outside the US (or without region-free players).

Also a brilliant soundtrack that stands as a great album.

 

[bluefuzz]

Local Hero

Good movie!

without region-free players

Regardless of which side of the pond one lives a region free player is pretty much necessary if you always want the best versions available. Or just any version of certain films ...

 

[zentiques]

Even with the distracting DVD quality, I did manage to get through Night on Earth. Interesting how it felt like a long format of Coffee and Cigarettes. Favorite was NYC. Young Gus Fring and somehow Armand is never young, their comedic chemistry was a lot of fun. LA and Rome, close runners up. His portrayal of a warm summer evening in LA was powerful, and shifting gears into NYC, on the money. Had a hard time with young Winona, felt like she was trying too hard, or maybe jaded by later performances. Dunno.
Rome was an hysterical one man show. Paris, off balance. Helsinki belonged on the cutting room floor.

Sad, I don't dare waste another screening until the BD collection arrives, in like a week or 2 from the UK !

 

[GaryH]

 

[GaryH]

2025 Oscar Winner:

 

[ZööZ]

A Nightmare on Elmstreet
The 4k capture of the movie is absolutely gorgeous and the Atmos track is great also... Wow

 

[ZööZ]

Fuck me and my ancestors... I just wrote a novel of a reply to this about how I just watched A Hidden Life on bluray.. And then my phone ran out of battery.
But to shortly recap
It was the most stunningly high fidelity bluray I have ever seen and could have fooled me as being a 4k HDR feature... With all the perfect contrast and bright overall presentation with dark details... And very good movie otherwise apart from the weird choice of spoken English and occasional German.
So exceptional I had to google the Cinematographer... And V for Vendetta was one of the films ¿He? Apparently Was involved with.
I was absolutely blown away...

Until we changed the disc for 4k UHD
A Nightmare On Elmstreet... It was almost as mindblowing... In someways even more so as it is much older film but it was the cellar scenes especially with the flames that really sold the difference with plain BluRay and UHD 4K BLURAY... the flames were gloriously bright and detailed yet they took nothing away from the darkest parts of the scene and overall contrast.

And the Atmos mix was great also... Elmstreet better than ever... Better than I could have ever hoped.

Don't get me wrong I loved them both but it was strange that the very next 4k bluray was able to top it ans demonstrate the very real difference between the formats as I was thinking that have I been fooled all these years by my other 4k movies.

 

[GaryH]

 

[tomchris]

...off the top of my head (in no particular order):

• Alatriste
• Duellists
• Blade Runner (International version / Fincal Cut)
• Inception
• Apocalypse Now (Redux / Final Cut)
• Sergio Leone: Once Upon a Time in America
• Sergio Leone: Once Upon a Time the The West
• Sergio Leone: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
• Sergio Leone: Duck, You Sucker!
• Where Eagles Dare
• Stalingrad
• Tora Tora Tora
• Indiana Jones - Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Greyhound
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being

 

[zentiques]

So much for waiting on the blurays.
Already watched Dead Man, earlier story.
Took a chance with Night on Earth, see the poor DVD quality review.

Needed a fix, so threw in Coffee & Cigarettes, my loaned copy still out, and this is familiar territory so the quality didn't matter. Seeing Roberto in the opener after his Rome cabbie was another level. Guess I need to track down Life is Beautiful. Any others ?
Skipped through a couple, always stopping for Bill Murray and WuTang. Fun catch, since joining the JJ fan club here, was RZAs Ghost Dog hat ! The finale, Champagne, I've slowly come around to ranking it as one of the best.

Placing bets, whether UK BDs arrive before I go through them all. After seeing RZA with the hat, I went with Ghost Dog last night. Plenty of notes, but I promise not to bog you down. Funny to see where the Fisbourne character with the homing pigeons in John Wick came from. Triple mafia interview.

Tonight's menu ?
Down by Law, Mystery Train, or Stranger ?

 

[zentiques]

And the winner is.....
Down by Law. Ellen Barkin made the choice easy. Short but sweet in her patented style. Young Tom Waits. And instant karma, Roberto.....

 

[zentiques]

Looks like the Bluray collection may arrive tomorrow, yet the DVD filmfest continues. And it's all "your" fault for leading me down this path.
Mystery Train felt like the most polished I've seen, so far. Nice touch with Tom Waits finding his place as a DJ coming off Down by Law.

 

[zentiques]

and the saga continues.....
Great looking package, cool cards, unfortunately the book is in German : (

 

[Honken]

As long as the movies aren't dubbed it's fine. Have you watched any other of his movies yet?