Sony takes dozens of titles OOP

[Polybius]

I liked it whan I saw it on screen in '86. I haven't seen it since, but my memories of it are good.

Has one of the funniest old man lines in cinema history.

[Godot]

Anybody got a take on Betty Blue?

It's good, but it can be difficult to watch, depending on your tastes. It features a female lead that is often infuriating, and a passive male lead that makes you shake your head, but there are reasons for this. Basically, it's a gender-study, with a "feminized" male (passive, weak, emotionally nurturing, gets pushed around, creative writer type but he isn't motivated enough to actually get published) who meets a "masculine" female (volatile, violent, highly sexually open, on-the-move). She tries to mold him into more of a man, he tries to make them work as a couple, it ends badly. The pace of the film lurches at times (I most enjoyed the surprise opening, a slow track in on expressive, sweaty fully-nude intercourse, and the first 30 minutes or so immensely, as the characters' traits are established), and seems episodic (though wonderfully photographed) in the middle, then drives to an emotional upheaval at the end. But along the way is some wonderful (though obvious) play on these gender roles, and the difficult middle ground in which we sometimes find ourselves (they paint beach cottages, he uses pink, she uses blue; her failures to be feminine (pregnancy) lead to Greek-style self-punishment; the male lead finally becomes "masculine" in a violent act dressed as a woman). Plus, it does show some fantastic nudity (both sexes, full body; Beatrice Dalle is stunning) as well as simulated copulation in various orifices. (I've got the R2 version).

[Polybius]

It's probaby the leading example of an interesting subgenre of films with a mope who has a wild girlfriend who gets him into serious trouble. I know that was played for laughs innumerable times with Tom Ewell and Tommy Noonan, but I mean in something more dramatic and sexually charged.

B. Monkey and Normal Life are a couple of other good reference points. The overrated Something Wild kind of splits the difference.

[souvenir]

California Split was gone from the DeepDiscountDVD site when their 20% off sale began, but it returned today and can be had for $4.78. I'm not convinced I'll receive it since it was gone from the site and presumably out of print, but I placed an order anyway.

[Monsieur Verdoux]

I'm guessing these are R1 titles as Nil by Mouth is on a 20th Century Fox label over in the UK ..

[Matt]

The Lawrence of Arabia Superbit (i.e. the one with the good transfer) has just gone out of print.

[Cinesimilitude]

I had 3, and just traded my 2 sealed ones...

[FilmFanSea]

The Lawrence of Arabia Superbit (i.e. the one with the good transfer) has just gone out of print.

I smell an upcoming triple-dip (maybe one of those Superbit Deluxe releases with the extras from the original 2-disc set united with the superior re-mastered Superbit transfer).

[unclehulot]

The Lawrence of Arabia Superbit (i.e. the one with the good transfer) has just gone out of print.

I smell an upcoming triple-dip (maybe one of those Superbit Deluxe releases with the extras from the original 2-disc set united with the superior re-mastered Superbit transfer).

Triple? Can you say quadruple (or quintuple)? Don't you think it's inevitable on HD-DVD and/or Blue Ray?

[miless]

I'm glad I got my copy of Cronenberg's Spider a while ago... I would have hated not being able to watch it again (I wonder if they sold off the rights to many of these... I bet Criterion would release this one)

[Narshty]

The Lawrence of Arabia Superbit (i.e. the one with the good transfer) has just gone out of print.

Lo and behold, next year is the 45th anniversary. We know how Sony love their mildly upgraded re-releases.