Criterion Essentials (Barnes & Noble Sale Recommendations)

It's that time of year again for the Barnes & Noble 50% off the Criterion Collection sale! And this time around I thought to go back to the essentials. Here are some of my choices from the 1920s to 2010s. What would you recommend?
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[@20thand21stMovies]

Nathan, excellent recommendations! The Passion of Joan of Arc edition is so good with the options of 24 fps, 25 fps, and the score options. Amazing film and performance by Maria Falconetti. Paris Texas is great as well. Hope you’re doing well and enjoying the sale. Have a great week!

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks, James! I'm glad you brought up the different versions of Passion, because they truly are amazingly different. Always great seeing you, my friend. Enjoy your week!

[@joshg1845]

I’m really glad you did this video. Although I’m a more “seasoned” collector, when I first started collecting a couple years ago it was overwhelming trying to find where to even start and I think you made a lot of great choices here. Arthouse film fans can get very “one up-y” in trying to have the most obscure film taste, which is fine for experienced fans but can be intimidating to newer fans. As for my suggestions, I’m just gonna list some of my favorites that I deem essential: Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)- the greatest film ever made. The Seventh Seal (Bergman) -hard agree with you on this, literally the film that started Janus films/ the Criterion Collection Citizen Kane (Welles)-there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said a million times. Even if some find it overrated, it’s required viewing and the second most important film in American history Black Narcissus (Powell and Pressburger)-beautiful technicolor and an enchanting location and story. Pierrot Le Fou (Godard)- peak Godard. Beautiful visuals, plenty of absurdism, fun song and dance numbers, great philosophical discussion. It’s a legend’s (RIP) magnum opus Good Morning (Ozu)-just a fun and beautiful heartfelt, low stakes film. The most comfortable film in the collection and one of the least intimidating Solaris (Tarkovsky)- a master’s most accessible work. He may have better works but this is a fantastic starting place, and the film is outstanding by its own right. The Graduate (Nichols)- the most important American film ever made. One of the pioneers that shifted creative control from studios to creatives. This helped kick off the American new wave in the late 60’s and 70’s Blue Velvet (Lynch)- just a fantastic all around film by an all time auteur. It’s surreal, it’s intriguing, it’s anxiety inducing, it’s sexy and it’s enthralling. A Brighter Summer Day (Yang) - a 4 hour odyssey through the life of a displaced Taiwanese child. Saying any more is doing you a disservice. An all time great film Chungking Express / Fallen Angels (Wai) - I can’t separate these two, episodic tales of love, longing and heartbreak with beautiful visuals some of the best monologues in film history. These are fantastic. The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson) - peak Wes Anderson. I couldn’t be a basic criterion film bro without one Anderson film and this one is my favorite. Just a great family dramedy with fantastic performances from a ton of Anderson regulars. Parasite (Joon Ho) - a modern masterpiece. Another where I can’t add anything new, so just see it for yourself

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks so much, Josh! It really is overwhelming when you start off. And you're right about the "one up-ing," it gets rather stale quickly. So it's nice to step back some. I love those choices as well! Thanks so much for the thoughtful breakdowns and for watching!

[@CKprimeval07]

Great selections mate! My personal favorite films in the collection (so far): 30. The Elephant Man 29. Watership Down 28. Some Like It Hot 27. The Great Dictator 26. Stalker 25. Bicycle Thieves 24. Rosemary's Baby 23. Roma 22. The Kid with a Bike 21. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World 20. An Autumn Afternoon 19. The Passion of Joan of Arc 18. Woman in the Dunes 17. Barry Lyndon 16. The Human Condition Trilogy 15. Brazil 14. Amores Perros 13. Dr. Strangelove 12. The 400 Blows 11. Harakiri 10. Parasite 9. The Grand Budapest Hotel 8. Fantastic Planet 7. Paths of Glory 6. Seven Samurai 5. 12 Angry Men 4. WALL-E (Can't wait to get this one) 3. Come and See 2. Fantastic Mr. Fox 1. Pan's Labyrinth

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Hey CK! Really love this list too. Great amount of diversity and showcase of the collection!

[@marianneguevara8279]

Excellent recommendations Nathan! I really liked the format you chose to showcase them. You've included some of my favorites such as M and Pan's Labyrinth, along with The Seventh Seal. I recently got back from a trip to Barnes&Noble and came back with Kurosawa's Cure so I'm looking forward to that. Paris, Texas has been on my watchlist for so long so I ought to get to it.

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks, Marianne! I thought the format would be a fun way to introduce the collection for others, so I appreciate that. Great choice with getting Cure! I'll be getting that one too. Hope you can add Paris, Texas to your list too. Cheers!

[@michaelmaurer6923]

"Don't Look Now" and "Ghost Dog"

[@chrismohan]

Love how you approached this. Be of the best ‘how to get started with Criterion’ through the sale videos I’ve seen. Many of my own favourites made an appearance here, but another +1 for how incredible Paris Texas is. 👍

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks, pal! I truly appreciate that. I wanted to start off a little more fresh this year and thought it'd be nice to look at the classics. Including that there, Paris Texas 🤘

[@ricopableo5553]

My recommendations would probably be Tampopo, Rashomon, Night of the Living Dead and Being John Malkovich. Really, they are just my favorite films in the collection, but I also think they are probably pretty solid entry films in their respective genre. (Well- except Being John Malkovich, that one’s a bit of a mouth full but still amazing!)

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Excellent choices, my friend! I'd second each of em. Always great seeing you, pal!

[@RogerKirby13]

Great selections, Nathan. Recent Criterion releases I would recommend include Hotel du Nord, Le Corbeau, Virgin Suicides, Round Midnight and Mr. Klein. I was at B&N 9:05 Friday morning and picked up Eve’s Bayou and Videodrome. Plan on picking up Infernal Affairs, Malcolm X and Power of the Dog later in the month.

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks, Roger! I've been eyeing those titles myself and think I'll try to get them soon. Great choices for last Friday! I hope to get those November titles once they come out as well. Cheers!

[@sgtOOX]

Excellent picks, only one I haven't seen before is Matter of Life and Death, which I will now check out. Totally agree with all your picks

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Cheers pal and thanks for watching!

[@rlh1984]

Completely unrelated to the video, but I just have to say this. I really appreciate hearing this kind of film discourse, so thank you. Something is happening with KZbin’s algorithm, and my recommendations regarding film have been people complaining about movies being “woke” and the merits of a movie based on the amount of superhero cameos. Nice change of pace. I have Paris, Texas. Pretty great. I’ve been on the verge of getting The Seventh Seal for so long. I’ve oddly been hesitant to get something that would nudge Salo out of being the earliest spine number in my collection. For some reason. Glad I waited since they announced the 4K.

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks for the kind words and for being here, Reginald! I hope you're able to get The Seventh Seal soon, it's certainly a great choice to grab. I'd be curious to see that edition myself. Cheers!

[@eddiesfilmsnstuff]

Great recommendations man! I’m with you on Seventh Seal and Pans Labyrinth. Those are some great movies. Might have to pick up M based on your recommendation.

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks, Eddie! I'd highly recommend picking up M, it's incredible. Always great seeing you, my friend!

[@pm45678]

Great “best of each decade” list, Nathan! All very solid choices and all are classics. My favorite Criterions (currently) are: 1. The Lady Vanishes 2. Gilda 3. All About Eve 4. Notorious 5. The Philadelphia Story 6. The Naked City 7. My Man Godfrey 8. His Girl Friday 9. Ministry of Fear 10. Come and See

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks, Phil! Great list yourself and I'd second each of em. Always great to see you pal!

[@nachoamb1]

Great video bro. I own 9 out of 10 and love them all. Now I want to see a matter of… 👍🏻👍🏻

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks pal! Glad to hear you've got all but 1, which I think you'll like quite a bit.

[@juancmorenor]

Nathan , great recommendations! Alice in the cities is a gem and another Wenders’s film that I love together with Paris Texas. I haven’t seen The seventh seal yet but Persona is one of the best Bergman’s films together with Cries and Whispers. We need more Lang’s films in Criterion Collection, there are only three films! I have to pick up “M”.

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks, Juan! I truly want to see more of Wenders' films, so I appreciate the recommendation. I hope you can see some of those other releases soon! Cheers pal

[@blurayscollectionandmore6276]

Great video thanks for the recommendations. I would recommend True stories, it’s directed by David byrne and it’s one of John Goodmans first film. It’s really has no plot or anything it’s just David Byrne exploring a made up town in Texas called Virgil taxes. I would definitely recommend this because it’s just so fun to watch.

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Thanks so much! I've been meaning to get True Stories, so thanks for the nudge. Certainly going to try and grab it this month.

[@superninjapirate19]

I’m keeping it simple this round and just grabbing the three colors trilogy and Paris, Texas

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Most excellent choices! Hard to argue with those classics.

[@stonesfan285]

"Memories Of Murder" is my #1 recommendation.

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Great film!

[@prideferret-sb7hi]

My personal favorite is, and always will be Godzilla,

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

Go go Godzilla!

[@prideferret-sb7hi]

@@blu-rayswithnathanjones i just cringed

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

@@prideferret-sb7hi well, i gotta admit it was low hanging fruit. I hope to amend that by inserting the original theme 🙏

[@triplr3777]

Man I love a matter of life and death. I think it's Powell and pressbergers best movie.

[@blu-rayswithnathanjones]

I think I quite agree, haha!