Everyone ready for May 5th? Available on a 2-disc standard and blu-ray Criterion will be The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The 2-disc set (each with a SRP of $39.99) boasts over three hours of special features; but there is also a single-disc DVD presentation (SRP $29.99) that includes the feature film only, under the Paramount imprint.
BONUS FEATURES include:
(on both 2-Disc Criterion DVD & 2-Disc Criterion Blu-ray)
• Audio Commentary by director David Fincher
Over three hours of special features
— including the Four-part Documentary:
• Academy Award-nominated director David Fincher introduces the surprising beginnings of what would become an epic masterpiece including the casting of Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, the decision to change the location of the story to New Orleans and more
• Follow the production from day one including the challenges of aging Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, designing over five thousand costumes and creating the animatronic baby
• Explore the incredible visual effects techniques created specifically for the film that allowed Brad Pitt to play the title character at virtually every age (also includes a visit to the scoring stage with composer Alexandre Desplat)
• Walk the red carpet at the film’s premiere in New Orleans, with final thoughts from cast and crew
I love the fact that you posted only the graphic on the front page because that was my thought exactly when I saw the announcement. Granted I haven’t see the film yet but this seems a bit of overkill.
How is this overkill?
I’m missing it. Is it because it’s been selected to be Criterion?
Wait, what are we wtf-ing here?
I saw this earlier, and I was like, for serious? If Criterion wanted to put out a 2008 film, fine…but Benjamin Button? WHY? And just when I’d been praising their fine selection of Blu-ray titles.
I guess. Here’s the WTF of the millennium for after your fainting spell wears off.
lolz lolz lolz
I’m buying it, btw. Fuck you guys
yeah the low water mark of criterion films is Armageddeon, and I can see how Benjamin Button could be criterion material… here’s hoping Fincher will have more of his films added to the collection.
Chasing Amy is the low water mark. Both it and Armageddon has intolerable stories and dialogue, but at least Armageddon has space shots.
Good one Rusty. I prefer The Rock. If only it wasn’t out of print…
And Henrik I say overkill because the film wasn’t all that well liked. It was excessive enough to nominate it for all of those academy awards but this? Seems a bit much to me. But then what do I know, I haven’t even seen it.
Oh oh. I think I’m turning into Kurt talking shit about movies before seeing them
My bad.
It’s a DVD release for crying out loud. Did you not expect it to get one? Criterion is just a company, they release as much shit as they do good stuff, their glory days are long gone IMO.
Is there some new fangled consensus that Whatever Happened To Ben Button isn’t any good? Well I don’t agree. I thought it was quite good.
“It’s a DVD release for crying out loud. Did you not expect it to get one? Criterion is just a company, they release as much shit as they do good stuff, their glory days are long gone IMO.”
Really? This is your position? Isn’t Criterion one of the few things we can all generally be thankful for in this life? Early Kurosawa, all 3 cuts of Last Emperor, their classy move into Blu-Ray, etc. etc. etc.
Stop trolling.
“It’s a DVD release for crying out loud. Did you not expect it to get one? Criterion is just a company, they release as much shit as they do good stuff, their glory days are long gone IMO.”
May be true but there’s a sense for Cinefiles that Criterion = quality. Perhaps you *are* right and they’re past their heyday.
@Rusty – the general feeling I gathered from a lot of folks was that it’s mediocre at best. Again, haven’t seen it so I’ll shut up now as far as talking to the quality of the film.
And for the record, I agree with Rusty – Button is seriously great by any objective standard. It opens us up to unique emotional experience, it utilizes special effect to enable storytelling and Fincher continues to be the one guy that just can’t get it wrong.
I thought Benjamin Button was mediocre (and I saw it), and so far from Fincher’s finest that the fact that it’s a Criterion and Fight Club / Zodiac, etc., aren’t is a bit silly.
And Matt and Marina are right, when Criterion puts out something, it isn’t just a DVD release – Criterion’s claim to fame is giving the best of classic, foreign and independent film high-quality and feature-packed DVD releases. Not using a spine number on glossy, boring awards-bait. I mean, they’re obviously doing a great job with their releases (when I can only think of three or four films that I don’t think deserve the Criterion label out of the hundreds they’ve released, that’s damn good). This just sort of surprised me today.
Sure that was their claim to fame, but nowadays they have so much trouble securing rights for any worthwhile movies to release, you end up with whatever they can shiny up and make money off.
“Fincher continues to be the one guy that just can’t get it wrong.”
You’re telling me to stop trolling?
Goon! Some guy named “matt price” took the gravitar icon I picked out for you. You blew it!
You should one up him by picking a gravatar from this location.
And Matt, you seem like a cool guy and I don’t want to give you a hard time. But it’s bad form to blow into a forum and start accusing the regulars of trolling (even if the site is hosting your podcast).
Just call him a cocksucker, like the rest of us.
It’s called smart business move. Criterion is catering to a very, very small niche market and need a mainstream sure seller to boost their income from time to time. That’s the only reason they released Armageddon and The Rock, two utter shit films but big sellers. Plus all Fincher films have been released as super duper special editions in the past so this is nothing new, a bit surprising that Criterion is doing it rather than Paramount but then Wes Anderson has always done that as well, having Criterion handle the SE while the studio does the plain Jane edition.
The only WTF is the rather generic looking cover art, I would expect something more creative from Criterion but my guess is that they are trying to make this as acceptable as they can.
From the Criterion web site:
“Since 1984, the Criterion Collection, a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films, has been dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements. … one thing has remained constant: our commitment to publishing the defining moments of cinema for a wider and wider audience. The foundation of the collection is the work of such masters of cinema as Renoir, Godard, Kurosawa, Cocteau, Fellini, Bergman, Tarkovsky, Hitchcock, Fuller, Lean, Kubrick, Lang, Sturges, Dreyer, Eisenstein, Ozu, Sirk, Buñuel, Powell and Pressburger. ”
= Benjamin Button? Please.
Point Taken – Troll comment retracted, with apologies.
At the same time, here’s a sampling of what Criterion put out just in the last year or so:
MISSING Costa-Gavras
FANFAN LA TULIPE Christian-Jaque
CHUNGKING EXPRESS Wong Kar-wai
EUROPA Lars von Trier
WHITE DOG Samuel Fuller
THE TAKING OF POWER BY LOUIS XIV Roberto Rossellini
MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION Douglas Sirk
EL NORTE Gregory Nava
THE EXTERMINATING ANGEL Luis Buñuel
SIMON OF THE DESERT Luis Buñuel
HOBSON’S CHOICE David Lean
DODES’KA-DEN Akira Kurosawa
IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES Nagisa Oshima
THE HIT Stephen Frears
LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD Alain Resnais
How is this list ” whatever they can shiny up and make money off”?
What titles should they be releasing, Henrik?
I enjoyed Benjamin Button – way more than I was expecting, and I’ll admit not everyone liked it but it’s far from being crap. It’s visually beautiful with good performances and an unique (albeit based on a short..) story. It’s not like it’s Postal or something.
I think it’s kinda funny that Armegeddon made it into Criteron, but it also spoke to a very particular time period (pre 2000) where people were scared about the end of the world. Brillant? No. Spoke to the time? Yes.
why is it funny?
“publishing the defining moments of cinema”
whether you like it or not, the mindless big budget studio-made critic-proof blockbuster is a defining moment in American cinema. it’d be silly to overlook it and Armageddon is a perfect representative of that kind of picture.
Ralph good point.
Criterions history would indicate that they favour blockbusters of the ultraviolent variety (Robocop, Hard Boiled, The Killer)
It does seem pretty silly to do Benjamin Button though when Paramount or whomever could just have easily put out an ‘uber-edition’.
Although I’ve got no complaints about a criterion release of this film, I just won’t be putting it on my shelf. If it earns CC a few more sheckles to put out, say Michelangelo Antonioni’s CHUNG KUO, then all is good.
I do like the occasional contemporary release though, as in the Wes Anderson, Lynne Ramsay and Richard Linklater flicks.
In terms of Criterion David Fincher releases, I’d like to see Zodiac which is a significantly more relevant film in Fincher’s filmography.
I do agree with Andrew that this is a bit of a WTF.
I think Swarez is right. You can’t expect a company like Criterion to survive only on their obscure releases. I think it’s a shame that anybody would attack them for an occasional crowd pleaser. “YOU BETTER STAY 100% OBSCURE/FOREIGN/INDIE AT THE RISK OF GOING UNDER…OR ELSE!!!” A bit of an elitist attitude.
Having said that, I agree with Henrik in that not all Criterion touches turns to gold. This is completely fine and expected. I would be very suspicious of anyone who absolutely loves every single Criterion release simply because it has nice artwork and a spine number.
“= Benjamin Button? Please.”
More relevant than Michael Bay that’s for damn sure.
i agree, Kurt. Zodiac seems more up Criterion’s alley, but to restate what has already been said, Button is the money maker.
Is Button really a money maker? The ‘big audience’ will buy the bare-bones disc, and the typical criterion audience will be split enough on it (it is not a ‘great’ film by any yardstick) that i can’t see it being a huge seller with their regular customers.
So how big will the disc be really?
Somewhere I heard that FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS is actually the highest selling criterion disc. How weird is that?
It’s certainly more of a money maker than the Anderson films. (99% of the other titles Criterion currently has available) It’s an Oscar film that I think will hit its stride on DVD because it will be the first chance many people will have to catch the film after the ceremony. Will they buy the Criterion version? I don’t know. However, I can safely say they’ll be more likely to buy Benjamin Button over My Dinner With Andre.
As for Fear and Loathing…I used to work at HMV and it was the only Criterion disc that sold regularly. It isn’t a surprise to me. It was high school and University students that bought it; usually with a ‘drunk zone’ or John Belushi ‘COLLEGE’ poster.
(Or 99% of the other titles Criterion currently has available)
I don’t have a problem with Criterion picking some crowd-pleasing stuff. I just want it to be GOOD crowd-pleasing stuff. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind if they wanted to release Slumdog Millionaire. Sure, there were people who didn’t like it, but I can see a good potential for interesting Criterion-esque extras (exploring the connections with Bollywood film, etc). All the extras on the Ben Button disc sound like standard, albeit extended, versions of the making-of stuff that every other special edition has. Nothing critical or cinema studies-ish at all.
It’d never happen, but I’d buy a Criterion edition of Wall-E. Criterion doesn’t have to stick exclusively to obscure/indie/foreign (though I’m glad they mostly do)…I just wish that when they did cross over into more mainstream films, they picked better/more interesting ones than Benjamin Button and Armageddon.
See, that’s it exactly Jandy. Was Button that much of a crowd pleaser? I’m inclined to agree with Kurt that I can’t imagine this being much of a money grab for them. They know their stats and demographic better than I do obviously, but I just don’t see too many people spending $40 on Benjamin Button.
Button fans are going to pick up the regular version at Best Buy. Criterion fans would much rather see The Class or Waltz with Bashir. If they want more populist stiff, I’d rather see Speed Racer or Cloverfield on Criterion than this. Ya know, something that actually IS groundbreaking, personal tastes for the film itself aside.
My point was not so much that Criterion sucks, just that people suck for thinking they are somehow a society of film enthusiasts dedicated to saving the epitomy of the artform. They release DVDs, and they profit from it. I don’t think Benjamin Button is anything outside of what I would expect.
Somewhere I heard that FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS is actually the highest selling criterion disc. How weird is that?
Jay already touched on it, but Fear and Loathing is pretty much the only Criterion disc available at Big Box retailers here in the states, and for a reasonable price to boot (I believe Target sells it for $20 now).
Button made $100 million, it will sell discs, and it is well known enough that it will be in Big Box stores, which should easily push it to the top or near the top of Criterion’s sales list. That’s hardly a bad thing.
“? The ‘big audience’ will buy the bare-bones disc”
“Was Button that much of a crowd pleaser?”
Sometimes the movie nerds think they are better tapped into the general populace than they are. Not that IMDB is an authority or anything, and when a movie is new its always higher on it, but Button is well within its top 250. A lot of people really love this movie, and we all know the effects features and documentaries have appeal to those consumers. Thinking nobody would buy this is very assumptuous and feels like over the top Button bashing.
The best Buy here in Mississauga has a small Criterion section that is pretty well stalked. Colour me surprised to see Makavejev’s Sweet Movie (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072235/) sitting on the shelf one day…
btw, the only movie from last year I really loved that SCREAMED criterion was Rachel Getting Married. Was it rot who said he could immediately picture the Criterion cover in his mind? Even the movie’s logo pretty much demanded it.
I’m not saying that NOBODY will buy this, I’m saying that those customers you mentioned, GOON, are more inclined to buy the regular studio release and not the Criterion version. –Especially in these recessionary times.
the majority of people i know loved Benjamin Button. i was definitly a crowd pleaser. yeah, there are plenty of film snobs out there who differ in their opinion, but that doesn’t take any credit for it.
“If they want more populist stiff, I’d rather see Speed Racer or Cloverfield on Criterion than this.”
oh goodness, that would take much, much more credibility from Criterion, i believe. at least in Criterion-lover’s minds.
@Goon, I totally remember Rot’s mark about visualizing the RGM criterion cover. good recall. It was certainly his most cinema-geeky remark of 2008.
Zhang Yimou’s Raise the Red Lantern screams out for a Criterion Release along the lines of THE LAST EMPEROR. Hopefully someone spends those Button Dollars wisely
“I don’t have a problem with Criterion picking some crowd-pleasing stuff. I just want it to be GOOD crowd-pleasing stuff.”
You’re going to fault the company for not picking a movie you like? I wasn’t a huge fan of Benjamin Button either, but I’m not going hold that against a DVD distribution company. In that case, every single DVD distribution company in existence is currently at fault for not releasing only the films I personally like. I would like Criterion to give genre films and documentaries more attention, but whatever. There are other companies (Blue Underground, Synapse, Docurama) that are doing quite well. Criterion is not the end-all and be-all of DVD releasing. Which brings me to:
“In terms of Criterion David Fincher releases, I’d like to see Zodiac which is a significantly more relevant film in Fincher’s filmography.”
There has already been great special edition HD DVD and Blu Ray releases of Zodiac that boast an awesome number of special features and multiple commentaries. Even the packaging is nice. I would say the same thing for Panic Room and Fight Club. Not sure that any of these need the Criterion treatment seeing as they’re already well represented.
“I’m not saying that NOBODY will buy this, I’m saying that those customers you mentioned, GOON, are more inclined to buy the regular studio release and not the Criterion version. –Especially in these recessionary times.”
Do we know the price points on these things? Does this mean NOBODY will by the blu ray disc? Because of the recession? I think this is a different situation in that it seems as though Criterion will be exclusively dealing with the blu ray version, and that alone will bring in a good number of sales.
I also agree with Goon that I think we’re underestimating the numbers an Oscar nominated Brad Pitt picture that many people didn’t get a chance to see in theatres can do.
Look, they can release whatever they want. Obviously. I’m just saying that I think that of all the films from last year they could release, Benjamin Button is an odd fit for Criterion, for the reasons I’ve stated.
Possibly it’s a good business move. We’ll see. And certainly following the news of the demise of New Yorker films, I can understand why Criterion might want to diversify a bit. And maybe this was the most appropriate film they could get the rights to (i.e., they couldn’t get Slumdog or Rachel Getting Married, the latter of which would be a great Criterion release, rot’s right, but may not fit the mainstream thing as well, if that’s what they’re going after).
And regarding Speed Racer and Cloverfield, at least those are interesting, risky choices that I can totally see as cult classics someday. But Benjamin Button seems too mainstream, too mediocre, and too safe to fit the same demographic as Criterion’s audience.
Well I think this is the equivalent of Traffic getting the Criterion treatment. Nothing new, nothing surprising to me. Certainly nothing to be put off by.
i don’t understand the Benjamin Button hate here. it’s not even mild dislike. people are talking like it is a well known FACT that it sucks, when both critics and the masses obviously disagree.
1: critically acclaimed
2: made a lot of money
3: the general population loved it (as viewed by idmb)
4: it stars Brad Pitt
5: it is directed by David Fincher
i don’t see why everyone is getting their panties all up in a bunch. i just don’t.
the Criterion of Bottle Rocket wasnt much more expensive than a regular special edition dvd. i dont see the assumption it would be 40 bucks. the 2 disc Royal Tenenbaums was 21.99 on its release.
Blu-ray Malick Criterion Collection would be the ultimate for me.
“Benjamin Button is an odd fit for Criterion, for the reasons I’ve stated.”
I seriously doubt that the minds behind Criterion sought the film out but more likely the other way around, Fincher probably approached them to do it because they are good at what they do. The same happened with Wes Anderson.
And usually the more mainstream releases from Criterion, like the Beastie Boys disc, are much less expensive than their regular releases.
The only Criterion I have is The Royal Tenenbaums.
I’ve got a few Criterions: Two Lane Blacktop, Chasing Amy, My Own Private Idaho & Traffic. Would love to pick up a few more. Hope to in the coming months.
Been meaning to get that Bottle Rocket disc on Criterion to replace my not even anamorphic original dvd. Nice to hear it is cheap.
I’m happy to belong in the ‘surly’ bunch of folks that think Benjamin Button was mediocre. It’s sloppy, both in narrative and tone, and doesn’t even do all that much with the ‘high-concept’. Best part of the film was the tiny non-action, non-sfx section with Tilda Swinton in the Russian Hotel, you know when the film felt somewhat HUMAN. The rest was pretty pretty pablum.
Jay: In terms of the Zodiac thing. I have that lovely special edition (Standard Def DVD), I should have prefaced ‘initial dvd release’ of any Fincher film. Yea, the man has been lucky (or actively campaigns for) his films getting such bonanza treatments on DVD, the Fight Club, Zodiac, and Alien3 releases are all near-perfect sets in terms of extras, image, etc. etc.
I had no idea the Criterion reserved the rights for the Blu-Ray. That’ll earn them a few $$$ a the premium BR pricing scheme.
Actually, going back thru the archives, most of the Row Three people liked it, if you go by simple ‘star ratings’ in our R3-view, I gave it the lowest with 2.5/5, most were above 3/5.
And even I didn’t hate it – I actually rated it a 3.5 (above average), because I thought it was well-done technically. Great art design/costumes/makeup/effects, and I enjoyed watching it about 3/4 of the time. But I agree with Kurt, the narrative was sloppy, the frame story was manipulative, and it didn’t go anywhere near as deep as I wanted it to on the philosophical implications of living backwards, or include as much whismy as I would’ve liked in what is basically a fantasy film. It’s always dangerous to judge a film for not being what you wanted it to be, but it just felt like a missed opportunity to do something really amazing. And honestly, if it hadn’t been Fincher at the helm raising my expectations for mindblowing shit, I might not react against it so much. I get much more upset with disappointment than with sheer badness. It wasn’t BAD. It was mediocre.
I’m sorry I’ve been sounding like such a hater. I don’t hate the film. I just think it’s a weird choice for a Criterion release.
I love Speed Racer. Exciting action scenes.
Henrik and I agree on something: Speed Racer is awesome.
People point it out whenever they agree with me as if it’s a fucking miracle.
Henrik: You are just coming to that observation now? A Miracle, I say!
@Jandy: “It’s always dangerous to judge a film for not being what you wanted it to be, but it just felt like a missed opportunity to do something really amazing. And honestly, if it hadn’t been Fincher at the helm raising my expectations for mindblowing shit, I might not react against it so much. I get much more upset with disappointment than with sheer badness. It wasn’t BAD. It was mediocre.”
Bingo!! There is the beast in a nutshell. Well Said.
to Kurt about saying that Benjamin Button lacks ‘humanity’
Well duh, if you want that sort of Ice Storm-ish barebones look at human beings, no shit. And don’t act as if this comment is new in regards to Fincher, this is something that was even leveled against Zodiac by a lot of people. The talking point has always been that Fincher has no heart.
But it always falls back into something I say a zillion times, its all about what fits into the world the director creates. With this in mind its why I’ve also said all along I think this is Finchers best directed movie even though its not at all his best film, that its about how he transcends the material, etc etc.
We’ve hashed out whether if Button’s rather ordinary life is a flaw or a feature, whether or not its an allegory or a fairy tale and if that means anything, but I’m going to skip all that and go straight here – Fincher makes cool stuff happen on screen, and makes distinct characters with certain traits – some subtle and some over the top – that you either get on board with or not. Button for me is no different, and in the end I liked Button as a character, liked most of the supporting players in his life, enjoyed how in this world around him Fincher can still have death linger everywhere over everything, and if I felt misty or a lump in my throat anywhere towards the end its not necessarily for some deep human connection but because I just watched the whole life of a character I found interesting and bought enough into the world Fincher created to believe that Benjamin Button died, not Brad Pitt. It’s completely contextual, and while I wouldn’t call Button a genre film per se, there’s enough bombast and over the top elements for me to get frustrated to have to defend things like this or Watchmen for ridiculous reasons that relate to some objective reality, human connection, deep truths.
Barebones emotion and connection is fine, but I like me the bombast when its done well. To me a symphony is more bombast than human sensitivity, but so fucking what? If it makes my spine tingle and gives me goosebumps, it’s damn real enough, even if its not a part of what film snobs want to call ‘reality’.
I mean seriously, so much credit is given to things simply by virtue of it attempting to say something. Speed Racer keeps getting brought up again lately, so let me go there. Speed Racer is ridiculous eye candy. But there is so much fucking spirit and effort put into that movie, that it trumps the fuck out of a dozen indie films that try to say something and fail for what feels ‘real’. For all this talk about ‘humanity’, its the spirit that goes into the production that often makes up for what it fails to reveal about the world. If all Speed Racer can reveal is a cartoony family dynamic, a colour rush and FUN, that’s nothing for me to sneeze at, and again, I’m sick of “genre films” taking a backseat for such lame reasons.
There’s more life, heart and spirit in a John Carpenter film than anything sad sack Fuckface Gallo has made.
I’ve been storing up bullshits like acorns for winter.
You hate Vince Gallo? C’mon Goon.
There’s some weird and unwarranted anti- World According To Benny Button agenda going on in this thread. Criterion releases multiple Kevin Smith / Mike Bay titles but suddenly their too good for the likes of Button? Really?
It’s a company that releases movies in a prestige format, they never claimed to be the gatekeepers of quality cinema. You guys are acting like it’s God’s DVD collection.
It’s a company that releases movies in a prestige format, they never claimed to be the gatekeepers of quality cinema.
Exactly. Criterion released a double disc set of Equinox for fuck’s sake. And while I love the movie, it is still a steaming pile.
This whole Button bashing seems more like you guys are pissed that Criterion let in a member that you don’t like, and so your club membership is tainted, thus making you less cool.
Stop living through your possessions losers.
“This whole Button bashing seems more like you guys are pissed that Criterion let in a member that you don’t like, and so your club membership is tainted, thus making you less cool.”
This is almost right. Except the bashing part. I’m not “bashing” button. I gave it an above average review as Kurt pointed out. But yes, the usually very high taste in film that Criterion has to offer has let the wrong one in this time. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with pointing that out. And bringing up Chasing Amy and Armageddon doesn’t make it alright or prove any points.
Vince Gallo is everything I hate about anything.
“You guys are acting like it’s God’s DVD collection.”
The criterion collection is by and large a great set of dvds, but the Criterion nerds out there who treat it like some holy thing that must not be tainted are fucking obnoxious.
“The criterion collection is by and large a great set of dvds, but the Criterion nerds out there who treat it like some holy thing that must not be tainted are fucking obnoxious.”
Kind of like Mac users or people who drive Cadillacs.
@ The criterion collection is by and large a great set of dvds, but the Criterion nerds out there who treat it like some holy thing that must not be tainted are fucking obnoxious.
It’s like Andrew just outgrew his phase of drawing up Oscar award fantasy nominations and this is his new thing.
And how ’bout a little follow through on your Vince Gallo thing. I’ll tell you why I hate Terry Zwigoff.
I don’t like wasting more time talking about Gallo than necessary. I dont like even acknowledging his existence, and at least he’s been helping me out with that by being generally irrelevant these days.
Most of my bowel movements are more entertaining. Scratch that, all of them are.
@ Most of my bowel movements are more entertaining. Scratch that, all of them are.
meh. Trendy.
@ Kind of like Mac users or people who drive Cadillacs.
Or people who want to show you their fucking tattoos! Those people are the worst.
“This is almost right. Except the bashing part. I’m not “bashing” button. I gave it an above average review as Kurt pointed out.”
In my mind I had remembered you hating it a lot more, because when that Cinecast came around, you just laid down and let Kurt steamroll you on that one. I was frustrated waiting for you to put up at least some argument. You fought harder for Indy 4.
Goon, I didn’t fight much for Button because I didn’t really have much of a sound argument as to why I liked it. I remember thinking the whole movie is pointless and a lot of it is boring. BUT, the look of it is gorgeous and I remember just having “a nice feeling” as I left the theater. It’s rare I have that kind of pondering, warm feeling after a movie (even a movie I like). So there is nothing tangible that I can put my finger on with Button. But the film has definitely gotten on my nerves over the past couple of months – all of the Oscar nods kind of bugged me.
You can bring up Bay and Smith all you want, but the fact still remains that Button on Criterion is still a bit of a baffling choice. I put this post up kind of half-kiddingly and people seem to really have taken off with it. Good.
Mac users, Cadillac people, tattoo people, and more:
_______
Over the years I feel less and less that its about Mac and more that its about Apple itself. I use both PC and Mac, I much prefer using the Internet and doing regular stuff on a PC. I prefer doing web design work on the Mac – the shortcuts are better, I’m usually listening to headphones (at work) and so the keyboard tools and iTunes is good for me there, and when testing my won web design work, its good to have Safari around and that OS system is better for that work. I can have this discussion.
I hate the iPhone. I’ve never picked one up or even used it. I just hate cellphones in general, and as the ultimate cellphone it thus must die. I hate watching people text, I hate Twitter, I hate it when people can’t walk 20 minutes in Toronto without pulling out their stupid little gadget. They even have GPS on this crap so all their friends are tracking exactly where they are. Is it so bad for people to be “off the grid” for a couple hours a day? And the expense of something so planned to be obsolescent with the next upgrade is just as bad.
I don’t like the iPod. I dont like its UI and never did, I dont like the bullshit with the formatting. I go Creative Zen.
So yeah, other than the Mac and the Pixar relationship, Apple fanboys can just suck a fuck
______
I know a lot of car people, I have never known of this Cadillac thing.
_______
People who show tattoos to people are usually the ones who have the worst tattoos, or the most cliched ones. If you have a Celtic band, barbed wire, butterflies or a Japanese character, theres a decent chance you’re not only a douchebag, but that you show people you’re a douchebag whenever possible.
_______
But whats worse than all of these people are the ones who think everyone wants to see pictures of your babies. Even the people I know who actually like kids or have kids seem to agree. The only exception is if your child is a harlequin fetus, in which case you can show it to me so I will feel sorry for you and thus never bother you with anything again.
Strangely enough, there’s still no mention of Benjamin Button on Criterion’s website (http://www.criterion.com). They have their new releases listed out to the end of June, and I couldn’t find Benjamin Button anywhere. Now, I know this announcement just came within the past few days, so it’s more than likely Criterion had to keep quiet about it until the details were made public. Also, it is more a ‘partnership’ with Paramount than a full-fledged Criterion release (is it even going to receive a coveted Criterion ‘spine number’?). Even still, if their goal in taking part in this venture is to capitalize on the film’s popularity, why not promote it a little?
My friend has every Criterion released. Initially he wasn’t going to pick up Salo because he despises that film but the gap in the numbers drove him nuts and he recently picked up the re-release.
I fucking hate Apple and I hate their fanboys (and Pixar and their fanboys, maybe I just fucking hate Steve Jobs), but I have to say editing on Final Cut Pro is hard to beat, by far the best I’ve ever tried. Beats the shit out of an avid.
“You can bring up Bay and Smith all you want, but the fact still remains that Button on Criterion is still a bit of a baffling choice.”
How does this fact still remain? It’s only baffling if you want to cling on to a fantasy that you can better yourself by supporting Criterion because they guard the arts, when really all they do, is make money off of it.
I have only used Final Cut Pro for a few minutes, so I have no opinion. Have you had much experience with Adobe Premiere, Henrik? Considering I have no formal training in the art of movie making and editing programs, it was easy enough for me to get a slightly more than basic hang of and it is quite a powerful little program when combined with Adobe After Effects.
p.s. This Criterion argument = silliness.
I have never tried Adobe Premiere, although I have heard reasonably good things from dubious sources.
Most of my editing experience has come from programs used by the educational system, which is funded by the government, so it figures that I’d only get to a high-end program at university level. I was really impressed with Final Cut Pro though, it made editing a far less horrible experience for me.
Premier is good for very basic editing and is very easy to use. I’ve used it a few times. Here’s a trailer I cut on Premier for a project in school where we had to create a company around a font we had designed, I made a cult film theater.
Shit didn’t work.
Here’s the link.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v113/swarez/?action=view¤t=Bijousmall.flv
Bah! Fucking shit.
Does this work?
[URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v113/swarez/?action=view¤t=Bijousmall.flv][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/swarez/th_Bijousmall.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
Fucking Photobucket.
Hopefully this works.
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v113/swarez/Bijousmall.flv