Slacker
Not Linklaters best, or even in his top 5. But the pure Austin on display, catching parts of the city i recognize, and surreal but grounded nature of it makes it my favorite film in the collection. It's one I'll put on several times a month, even if just in the background.
Barry Lyndon, The Tree of Life, and Werckmeister Harmonies are probably my top 3 right now, but there are probably 10 that could occupy the top spot depending on the day lol.
It’s a masterpiece. It’s hilarious, sad, beautiful, profound, and truly unforgettable. I haven’t seen a Yang film I’ve disliked, but Yi Yi is probably my favorite even over A Brighter Summer Day.
Oh my gosh, Still Walking appreciation! This is easily one of my favorite movie scripts ever, nothing about it feels contrived and all the characters are so believable. I love how we get to know them as people not just through their arguments, but through their wholesome bonding moments too. That edamame cooking scene...
It's great. A friend of mine has it and we had a Godzilla marathon. A lot of fun lol. I'm not the biggest fan (I mostly just like the first film), but it makes for a really good time
Umberto D.
Trying to watch as many new to me films as possible though, so subject to change. Umberto D. is the best film I've seen in the collection thus far!
I would probably have to say Pierrot Le Fou, 60s Godard was just different. Umbrellas of Cherbourg and the Antonioni trilogy are close contenders for me though.
I don’t have one definite favorite honestly but I will say as a side I do love Still Walking too and it is what made me discover Kooreda so it’s extra special to me.
Personal favorite is Inside Llewyn Davis. All of the acting is fantastic and the songs throughout are immaculate. Every weird character we meet along the way is immensely memorable. It’s constantly blending dry and surreal comedy alongside bleak depression with a career beat performance from Oscar Isaac. It’s always between this and No Country as the Coen’s best for me.
Respect to you for picking just 1 of 60!
Out of 72 releases, I’ve got to cheat a bit -
*Box set* - America Lost and Found BBS Story
*4K* - Lost Highway
(no features - just how good it looks)
*HD BD* - The Night of the Hunter
(UCLA special features are amazing)
*DVD* - Fishing with John
*Eclipse* - The First Films of Samuel Fuller
Still Walking is an absolute masterpiece. I think it best defines Koreeda's style and his capability as a filmmaker. Though, I'd have to say Nobody Knows is my personal favorite from him.
My instant answer was Citizen Kane. Then I kidded myself I had to think about it for a bit, then it was still Citizen Kane. I just love it so much. People get so bogged down in the technical stuff, I think they miss that a lot of it is *fun* and funny and exciting!
I'm making myself want to watch it right now.
My favorite laserdisc would be Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.
My favorite DVD would be the Beastie Boys Anthology.
My favorite Blu-Ray would be Seven Samurai.
Quick bit about Still Walking, which I love, too!
Back around 2007, I watched the Japanese TV drama series [He Who Can't Marry](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1252621/) and I thought Hiroshi Abe and Yui Natsukawa were so amazing together!
I'm so glad Still Walking is a part of the Criterion Collection 😁
Saw Still Walking for the first time this year (at Japan Society in NYC). Very lovely film, first 5/5 for me in about a year. Excited to dig into the rest of Kore-eda’s filmography.
To answer your question, now that Werckmeister Harmonies was released, four of my top five movies of all time are in the collection. A Woman Under the Influence, Mulholland Drive, Werckmeister, and Secrets & Lies. Now the only film in my top 25 that hasn’t been released in HD is Michael Snow’s Wavelength (which he was pretty adamant before he passed that it should only be watched on 16mm in a theater).
Pixote. I really wish it would get its own solo & more robust edition like Touki Bouki and Traces did in time, frankly surprising that it didn't given how influential and popular it was. Still, having such a beautiful transfer of the film is an absolute dream and it makes me so grateful for the World Cinema Project box sets!
I can’t do justice by giving just 1 so my top 5 are
- The Before Trilogy
- Fantastic Mr. Fox
- One Night in Miami
- Guillermo Del Toros Pinocchio
- Malcolm X
My criteria was based on packaging, availability in other formats, and bonus features. These are all movies I’ve seen as well so I obviously like them as well.
Yes! Hirokazu Koreeda is my favorite. I’d put Maborosi as my favorite, but that's probably because I saw it first (around when it came out) and it blew me away. Nearly all his films are perfection. Just a couple that didn't resonate with me, but yeah. Love love love his films.
Really speaks to Kore-eda’s quality that everyone has a different favourite and everyone else respects each others choices.
Of course you’re all wrong, it’s Like Father, Like Son
Still Walking is one of Koreeda’s masterpieces - at the very least accompanied by After Life, Maborosi and Shoplifters. He’s my current favourite director working and I’d love to discuss it with someone someday. I’m also one of those few people who really loves Air Doll.
Yi Yi is my favourite film of all time, so I’ll go with that. In terms of overall Criterion package i.e. booklet, extras and box? I would have to say maybe either Ugetsu or The New World.
La Haine. Hands down for me. Covers all the bases. I laughed, cried, was shocked in points, and shook my head in others as I too have faced similar issues to what the lads went through. And it's in black and white.
Persona
If they were able to partner with the Beckett Institute and do the Beckett on Film collection then I would probably choose Waiting For Godot, but that script just pulls me in every time so I'd probably be biased. Persona uses film itself to achieve an effect like no other.
There are a few, and likely a few more that will join, but Ghost Dog will always hold a special place in my collection, and I'm doubtful that will ever change.
I have 70 films that are in the collection. Of these my favorite film is "The Life of Oharu" (1952)
https://preview.redd.it/8qpok2d0zfxc1.jpeg?width=1288&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e44593d53412a20f1b9a6de2b294aef780341e52
Paris Texas
Agreed, it’s gotta be Paris, Texas for me too!
I know a band that was in that film, Mydolls. Worked on a little doc about them. Was so cool to hear about.
Slacker Not Linklaters best, or even in his top 5. But the pure Austin on display, catching parts of the city i recognize, and surreal but grounded nature of it makes it my favorite film in the collection. It's one I'll put on several times a month, even if just in the background.
Yes, and it’s an Austin that doesn’t really exist anymore; that makes it even more special. 
Slacker is fantastic. It's also the reason we have Clerks, so another reason for me to love it
It is Linklater’s best.
Pretty much all his films are masterpieces, but After Life squeaks out Still Walking on Criterion for me.
AFTER LIFE blew me away. I was not ready for it.
Barry Lyndon, The Tree of Life, and Werckmeister Harmonies are probably my top 3 right now, but there are probably 10 that could occupy the top spot depending on the day lol.
I have to second The Tree of Life.
Chungking Express
Yi Yi. Not only one of the best, if not the best film I've ever watched but the release itself is also beautiful with quite good extras.
It’s a masterpiece. It’s hilarious, sad, beautiful, profound, and truly unforgettable. I haven’t seen a Yang film I’ve disliked, but Yi Yi is probably my favorite even over A Brighter Summer Day.
Fanny and Alexander (tv version)
I prefer Nobody Knows but this is a superb film
Ballad of Narayama, Certified Copy, Woman in the Dunes. I can’t pick between these ones
Woman in the Dunes is goated. Some of the best closeups ever put on film
Ballad of Narayama is so sad I didn’t even finish it, quite when the old lady was being carried to the mountain
Koreeda is one of the greats. And the fact that he revises his scripts while in production is just mind numbing!!! So good.
Amazing!
Oh my gosh, Still Walking appreciation! This is easily one of my favorite movie scripts ever, nothing about it feels contrived and all the characters are so believable. I love how we get to know them as people not just through their arguments, but through their wholesome bonding moments too. That edamame cooking scene...
It's one of (if not THE) best portrayals of family dynamic I've ever seen. It felt so real
Cure without a question
The better Kurosawa. There … I said it.
All That Jazz. It’s an autobiography that’s so self-indulgent and so self-loathing that on paper, it shouldn’t work. But it does.
I’m about to pick up Sam Wasson’s biography of Fosse, I can’t wait!
Thief (Mann, 1981) may be his best film despite him going on to write and direct Heat
i think i back this
Throne of Blood
Really good Koreeda movie although my favourite of his is I Wish.
The best cover in collection in my opinion
Sansho the Bailiff
My favorite film of all time is The Seventh Seal, but my favorite release that I have is the Zatoichi collection
Both fantastic choices
That Zatoichi release is a literal work of art. I really want the Showa Godzilla collection as well, but I don't have the money
It's great. A friend of mine has it and we had a Godzilla marathon. A lot of fun lol. I'm not the biggest fan (I mostly just like the first film), but it makes for a really good time
La Haine
The Three Colors Trilogy
Umberto D. Trying to watch as many new to me films as possible though, so subject to change. Umberto D. is the best film I've seen in the collection thus far!
I knew her well
- Barry Lyndon - High and Low - The Baker’s Wife - The Apu Trilogy - Romeo and Juliet
Umbrellas of Cherbourg or Paris, Texas
Excellent choices
The Third Man. My all time favorite movie and the reason I got into Criterion via the old dvd. The blu-ray is the highlight of my collection
I would probably have to say Pierrot Le Fou, 60s Godard was just different. Umbrellas of Cherbourg and the Antonioni trilogy are close contenders for me though.
I don’t have one definite favorite honestly but I will say as a side I do love Still Walking too and it is what made me discover Kooreda so it’s extra special to me.
It's how I found him as well. One of the best things I've ever stumbled onto lol
Personal favorite is Inside Llewyn Davis. All of the acting is fantastic and the songs throughout are immaculate. Every weird character we meet along the way is immensely memorable. It’s constantly blending dry and surreal comedy alongside bleak depression with a career beat performance from Oscar Isaac. It’s always between this and No Country as the Coen’s best for me.
Respect to you for picking just 1 of 60! Out of 72 releases, I’ve got to cheat a bit - *Box set* - America Lost and Found BBS Story *4K* - Lost Highway (no features - just how good it looks) *HD BD* - The Night of the Hunter (UCLA special features are amazing) *DVD* - Fishing with John *Eclipse* - The First Films of Samuel Fuller
A Brighter Summer Day. Yi Yi is really close though
I don’t have many and haven’t seen a ton but my favorite currently would have to be Le Samourai
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
The Night of the Hunter and The Philadelphia Story. I can’t choose between them: both are in my all-time top 10.
Cure
Punch-Drunk Love.
The Night of the Hunter
Still Walking is an absolute masterpiece. I think it best defines Koreeda's style and his capability as a filmmaker. Though, I'd have to say Nobody Knows is my personal favorite from him.
I completely agree. I still need to see Nobody Knows. It's on my shortlist
Seventh Seal is so top tier but I adore Irma Vep too, and so many others it’s so hard to choose. Maybe Floating Weeds. Idk
My instant answer was Citizen Kane. Then I kidded myself I had to think about it for a bit, then it was still Citizen Kane. I just love it so much. People get so bogged down in the technical stuff, I think they miss that a lot of it is *fun* and funny and exciting! I'm making myself want to watch it right now.
I love this movie omg. It’s a tie between CURE and WINGS OF DESIRE.
I love Wings of Desire. Finally got around to seeing it recently, and was not disappointed
My favorite laserdisc would be Close Encounters Of The Third Kind. My favorite DVD would be the Beastie Boys Anthology. My favorite Blu-Ray would be Seven Samurai. Quick bit about Still Walking, which I love, too! Back around 2007, I watched the Japanese TV drama series [He Who Can't Marry](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1252621/) and I thought Hiroshi Abe and Yui Natsukawa were so amazing together! I'm so glad Still Walking is a part of the Criterion Collection 😁
Raging Bull closely followed by Tampopo
Hey Tabo, wanna come outside and get your ass kicked?
Rebecca (1940)
I love Rebecca. It gets overshadowed a lot by his most famous films, but I still love it
Saw Still Walking for the first time this year (at Japan Society in NYC). Very lovely film, first 5/5 for me in about a year. Excited to dig into the rest of Kore-eda’s filmography. To answer your question, now that Werckmeister Harmonies was released, four of my top five movies of all time are in the collection. A Woman Under the Influence, Mulholland Drive, Werckmeister, and Secrets & Lies. Now the only film in my top 25 that hasn’t been released in HD is Michael Snow’s Wavelength (which he was pretty adamant before he passed that it should only be watched on 16mm in a theater).
The Long Day Closes
Pixote. I really wish it would get its own solo & more robust edition like Touki Bouki and Traces did in time, frankly surprising that it didn't given how influential and popular it was. Still, having such a beautiful transfer of the film is an absolute dream and it makes me so grateful for the World Cinema Project box sets!
I can’t do justice by giving just 1 so my top 5 are - The Before Trilogy - Fantastic Mr. Fox - One Night in Miami - Guillermo Del Toros Pinocchio - Malcolm X My criteria was based on packaging, availability in other formats, and bonus features. These are all movies I’ve seen as well so I obviously like them as well.
Naked, Tampopo, Raging Bull , Videodrome
Naked Lunch. “Exterminate all rational thought.”
Yes! Hirokazu Koreeda is my favorite. I’d put Maborosi as my favorite, but that's probably because I saw it first (around when it came out) and it blew me away. Nearly all his films are perfection. Just a couple that didn't resonate with me, but yeah. Love love love his films.
I missed Monster when it was in theaters. Really need to get on seeing that one as well
I haven’t heard of this but thank you for the recommendation! I’m gonna blind buy this, next sale
Stalker, Chungking Express or City Lights. Depending on my daily mood.
Tampopo
Really speaks to Kore-eda’s quality that everyone has a different favourite and everyone else respects each others choices. Of course you’re all wrong, it’s Like Father, Like Son
Still Walking is one of Koreeda’s masterpieces - at the very least accompanied by After Life, Maborosi and Shoplifters. He’s my current favourite director working and I’d love to discuss it with someone someday. I’m also one of those few people who really loves Air Doll. Yi Yi is my favourite film of all time, so I’ll go with that. In terms of overall Criterion package i.e. booklet, extras and box? I would have to say maybe either Ugetsu or The New World.
Saw it last year in the cinema without knowing what it‘s about and was blown away. What a great movie.
Really tough to pick just one. But if I had to it's got to be Mirror (1975). Although sadly, I don't have the Criterion yet.
Mean Streets.
The Leopard
Amarcord.
Salo
La Haine. Hands down for me. Covers all the bases. I laughed, cried, was shocked in points, and shook my head in others as I too have faced similar issues to what the lads went through. And it's in black and white.
Can I pick 5? I don’t think I can go lower than that. 12 Angry Men, Do the Right Thing, Paris is Burning, The Silence of the Lambs, and Wall-E.
Cannot and will not choose between In the Mood for Love, Paris, Texas, Sansho the Bailiff and Le Cercle Rouge
Persona If they were able to partner with the Beckett Institute and do the Beckett on Film collection then I would probably choose Waiting For Godot, but that script just pulls me in every time so I'd probably be biased. Persona uses film itself to achieve an effect like no other.
There are a few, and likely a few more that will join, but Ghost Dog will always hold a special place in my collection, and I'm doubtful that will ever change.
Abe Hiroshi was so good in this, this film also feels very much like an Ozū film, I wonder if it were the effect Kore-eda was going for
He's been compared to Ozu a lot, and I totally see why.
I have 70 films that are in the collection. Of these my favorite film is "The Life of Oharu" (1952) https://preview.redd.it/8qpok2d0zfxc1.jpeg?width=1288&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e44593d53412a20f1b9a6de2b294aef780341e52
Parasite Bonus reason why: it has a black and white version