Criterion Club

[MikeyP]

Love the idea and the pick. Wilder has such a massive filmography to pick from, and Ace in the Hole is one is his lesser known masterpieces (that and Lost Weekend are my personal favorites).

 

[LeSamourai]

I am LeSamourai and I just wanted to say that I would approve of this thread if I weren't so busy being a cool French hitman.

 

[chris_d_cole]

in addition to keeping track of the picks in this thread, I went ahead and made a list on Letterboxd where the picks will live forever.

https://letterboxd.com/chris_d_cole/list/needles-grooves-criterion-club/

 

[Dash]

I'll pick after you, Chris!

This is a super great idea, I'm very excited. Think we could keep track of our MotW picks on the first post?

Can do.

 

[Alexander]

I want to join in which means I'm going to have to subscribe to Criterion now, aren't I?

 

[ayayrawn]

I want to join in which means I'm going to have to subscribe to Criterion now, aren't I?

It'd be worth it, but your public library would be a great option as well!

 

[Enoch]

It'd be worth it, but your public library would be a great option as well!

I use them a lot for movie viewing

 

[BattleFlag]

Great choice! I actually own the BluRay of Ace In The Hole, and haven't watched it in a few years! Great excuse to revisit it. It's Billy Wilder at perhaps his most cynical, and it's an incredibly interesting film.

 

[whoisbeck]

Great first pick! I never know what to watch, so I'm just trying to watch everything in the "Leaving June 30th" section— Ace In The Hole is in there, so it's two birds, one stone!

I'd love to pick one one of these weeks

 

[Enoch]

Great first pick! I never know what to watch, so I'm just trying to watch everything in the "Leaving June 30th" section— Ace In The Hole is in there, so it's two birds, one stone!

I'd love to pick one one of these weeks

so films cycle in and out of the channel?

 

[whoisbeck]

so films cycle in and out of the channel?

Yes, some are there to stay, some come and go. Hedwig and The Angry Itch, for example, is only there for this month, while the Colombia Noir collection that's been there from day 1 is leaving now too. The good thing is they let you know a month before anything leaves, so it's not a surprise, and I think the dates are all listed online,

 

[Enoch]

Yes, some are there to stay, some come and go. Hedwig and The Angry Itch, for example, is only there for this month, while the Colombia Noir collection that's been there from day 1 is leaving now too. The good thing is they let you know a month before anything leaves, so it's not a surprise, and I think the dates are all listed online,

Interesting

 

[whoisbeck]

Interesting

It's like every streaming service. Look at Netflix for example, they are constantly adding and losing titles. Usually you're only allowed to have streaming rights for things for contractual periods of time.

 

[Enoch]

It's like every streaming service. Look at Netflix for example, they are constantly adding and losing titles. Usually you're only allowed to have streaming rights for things for contractual periods of time.

I get that but Netflix doesn't lose their own stuff, but I guess I never thought about the actual brokerage between Criterion and the studios who own the rights

 

[chris_d_cole]

So I just finished Ace in the Hole. what a cynical and surprising movie. For the longest time, I only knew Wilder from his comedies, so I was very caught off guard when I watched Sunset Blvd for the first time. (Some Like It Hot and The Apartment were the only two Wilder joints I had seen for a very long time) I think I’m still getting past that preconceived notion, because it took me a while to get into this one as well.

Douglas is downright despicable and loathsome. His performance is so good. The cinematography is gorgeous and the way perspective is used both to show the wide sweeping chaos of the crowds and the emptiness of the town once all the tourists clear out is pretty masterful. The shot from atop the mountain especially stands out.

Spoiler: Ending spoiler

That final shot of Douglas collapsing and dying with his head hitting the ground in perfect sight of the camera {chef’s kiss}

Overall, I really enjoyed this one.

If you are watching this on the Criterion Channel, make sure to check out some of the extras. The interview with Douglas is great because he just gushes about how much of a genius Wilder is for 15 minutes.

 

[Dash]

Great first pick! I never know what to watch, so I'm just trying to watch everything in the "Leaving June 30th" section— Ace In The Hole is in there, so it's two birds, one stone!

I'd love to pick one one of these weeks

Want to pick on June 23?

 

[whoisbeck]

Want to pick on June 23?

Yes, I'd love to!

 

[whoisbeck]

I'm planning on watching Ace In The Hole tonight, but has anyone gone through the Colombia Noir collection? So many great gems in there. I particularly loved The Big Heat and Drive A Crooked Road.

 

[Bull Shannon]

I was flipping around Criterion tonight, trying to pick what to watch. I’d hovered over Ace in the Hole, as I’d seen it like ten years ago, liked it, but don’t remember tons of it. I picked Picnic at Hanging Rock, which is very unique, but also (evidenced by my concurrent foruming) not 100% holding my interest.

I’ll try to catch AITH this week; I really like this idea of service-specific film club!

 

[ayayrawn]

I was flipping around Criterion tonight, trying to pick what to watch. I’d hovered over Ace in the Hole, as I’d seen it like ten years ago, liked it, but don’t remember tons of it. I picked Picnic at Hanging Rock, which is very unique, but also (evidenced by my concurrent foruming) not 100% holding my interest.

I’ll try to catch AITH this week; I really like this idea of service-specific film club!

Picnic at Hanging Rock fucking rules.