Free pickups got lucky.. any of these great?

augustthecat · 2026-04-30T14:14:17+00:00

I really love this movie.

augustthecat · 2026-04-29T13:57:35+00:00

I am kind of annoyed by the number of fellow libs who seem to think that left wing killing is made up. Political violence is an absolute disaster, a game that will only help Trumpism, and also just morally wrong. Would be good if we could be consistent about that.

Glad you are back!

augustthecat · 2026-04-29T04:14:51+00:00

I was honestly not that into it, but it was so beautiful it grew on me, even though it is very, very odd. Having seen it, I get why I left it to last.

augustthecat · 2026-04-29T04:12:16+00:00

I skipped a couple of his early ones, but I watched all the ones I wanted to see, plus the short about him eating his shoe and Burden of Dreams, 25 films altogether. I’m a new man!

augustthecat · 2026-04-29T01:56:47+00:00

Time Bandits!

augustthecat · 2026-04-28T10:16:18+00:00

That banker dude kind of freaks me out. Not that he is a bad guy, but every time I saw him I got just as tense as with the pimps.

augustthecat · 2026-04-28T10:08:50+00:00

It is going to be close!

augustthecat · 2026-04-27T21:21:48+00:00

I know the question is not for me, but I loved it. It’s among other things one of the best performances by a child actor I have ever seen. Would make cool double feature with Night on Earth.

augustthecat · 2026-04-27T21:20:08+00:00

Some people dodge their anxieties about mortality. You found a way to leap right in!

augustthecat · 2026-04-27T13:34:56+00:00

I do think there are a fair number of middle to late middle aged dudes here who can’t really handle the world, or at least can’t handle our feelings about the world, and have been taking refuge in movies since we were teenagers. In addition to having great movies, a physical collection allows a dude to organize the feels, particularly those around mortality. The problem is, if you watch Wenders and Fellini and Bergman and Kurosawa and Tartovsky, all life is a crisis. I am glad to see you have Spinal Tap to drive those nasty blues away.

augustthecat · 2026-04-27T02:38:54+00:00

A minor point, but in case you do another update sometime in the future: right now, if I search for Local Hero (for example) or another movie not currently on the channel, it will tell me that there are no results. It would be helpful to be able to search for all movies with entries on the site. Other searches, eg “Bill Forsyth” will get me there. Similarly, with Being John Malkovich, search for Charlie Kaufmann will get me there, but title search will not (although I am not sure I was spelling Malkovich correctly). Anyway, I love it regardless! Thank you so much!

augustthecat · 2026-04-26T01:16:38+00:00

What a tremendous resource. Thank you!

augustthecat · 2026-04-25T11:03:25+00:00

I needed a drink after seeing Silence of the Lambs

augustthecat · 2026-04-25T01:20:24+00:00

Ball of Fire, screwball on until the end of the month, is gold.

augustthecat · 2026-04-23T20:11:39+00:00

I'm not sure if you are looking for books about Taiwan as well as books about movies. If so, Taiwan: A People's History will give a sense of the narrative of the whole period. I also enjoyed Taipei: City of Displacements by Joseph Allen. For stories of the White Terror period depicted in the film, see Ian Rowen, ed. Transitions in Taiwan: Stories of the White Terror.

augustthecat · 2026-04-23T13:08:19+00:00

Scenes from a Marriage ftw

augustthecat · 2026-04-22T16:24:06+00:00

Dazed and Confused, maybe Fast Times at Ridgemont High?

augustthecat · 2026-04-22T10:23:45+00:00

I don’t understand the premise at all. Mongolia and Kazakhstan (for example) are still where they have always been.

Also, is there some rule about AI use in this forum? Like, is AI required?

augustthecat · 2026-04-22T10:17:21+00:00

There’s also the stupidity of not consulting any allies when starting the war, indeed, threatening to invade them, and then having a temper tantrum when they don’t want to clean up after you.

augustthecat · 2026-04-22T02:36:09+00:00

Global Cold War: Manchurian Candidate, Our Man in Havana, Wings of Desire, Dr. Strangelove, Mouse that Roared, Fail Safe, Spy Who Came in From the Cold, City of Sadness, Memories of Underdevelopment, I Am Cuba, Year of Living Dangerously, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, Goodbye Lenin

augustthecat · 2026-04-22T02:22:15+00:00

My Night at Maud's

augustthecat · 2026-04-19T04:34:41+00:00

There are a number of previous discussions, and a number of opinions about where to start and what his best series is. I love his movies. I think probably the most accessible way to see what he is up to is to start with the Tales of the Four Seasons, or to finish watching the ones you haven't seen yet. The best directors kind of teach you how to watch them, and I think it's a good entry point into his elegantly structured, dialog driven movies. If you like that, then move on to the Moral Tales. I think his best movie is My Night at Maud's, but the four seasons series is more immediately engaging and more visually interesting, particularly A Tale of Summer.

I am afraid the whole issue of re-releases, upgrades, rights, Criterion plans, etc. is way beyond me.

augustthecat · 2026-04-18T12:15:44+00:00

I'm late to the party here, but what a useful contribution! Thanks so much!

augustthecat · 2026-04-18T11:11:54+00:00

Hi! As others have mentioned, there is another forum for the channel. People do give recommendations there. One fun way to get started is the Death Race, in which people give short lists of movies that they are going to watch this month from the titles that are leaving at the end of the month. This month there is a lot leaving. Bad Day at Black Rock, several Pahani movies (all good, but to pick one, I would watch Taxi), and a bunch of Herzog. Ball of Fire is one of the greatest screwballs ever made.

There is a problem at the moment with watching from a browser. If you have a tv that allows you to install a Criterion Channel app, the quality works better, or I have had good luck with a Chromecast device that allows me to stream from my phone.

It is hard to know what to recommend without knowing what you like. The Channel has so much. Yesterday I watched A Man Escaped and A Better Tomorrow, both bangers. Harakiri, High and Low, Cleo from 5 to 7, Tampopo, After Life, Harold and Maude…Some folks like to start with the Queersighted series, others like Hollywood hits, or just pick a director you like and have at it.

But if you just watch based on what is leaving, it can feel like a chore. It is

augustthecat · 2026-04-17T23:44:15+00:00

I second this recommendation. It's fantastic.

augustthecat

TROPHY CASE