| Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films | 
 enlarge | Directors: Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Andrzej Wajda, Anthony Asquith, Benjamin Christensen
Actors: Toshiro Mifune, Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Peter Lorre, Max Von Sydow
Studio: Criterion
Category: DVD
List Price: $850.00
Buy New: $554.56
You Save: $295.44 (35%)
New (9) from $554.56
Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 54876
Format: Box Set, Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), Russian (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Number Of Items: 50
Running Time: 5347
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 13.8
Dimensions (in): 12.8 x 12.5 x 3.7
UPC: 715515021227
EAN: 0715515021227
ASIN: B000I5YUE4
Theatrical Release Date: February 16, 1955
Release Date: October 24, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new Item. CD, DVD, Book, VHS more than 400 000 titles to choose from. ALL days Low Price !
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Essential Art House - 50 Years of Janus Films is a 50-disc celebration of international films collected under the auspices of the groundbreaking theatrical distributor. Packaged in a heavy slipcase set (remember, lift with your legs, not your back), one volume contains the DVDs in sturdy cardboard pages; the other volume is a hardback book with introductory essays and essays about each of the films. Janus Films is the precursor to the Criterion Collection, and this set is far and away the most beautiful art object the company has ever created. The substantial and subdued packaging is meant to stand the test of time, as are the films immortalized within. From The Seventh Seal to Jules and Jim to M and Pygmalion and The 39 Steps, this exquisite set is the art house DVD release of 2006, if not the decade. The 200-page book provides context for the films and is worth reading in its own right. Martin Scorcese offers a brief and celebratory introduction, reminiscing about the thrill of seeing the antiquated Janus Films logo when attending a movie in one of New York City's art house theaters. Film historian Peter Cowie's essay about the history of art house cinema in America casts light on how films by directors like Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman first found American audiences. These days it's easy to take for granted our access to films from around the globe, but in the early 20th century it was only due to the efforts of a passionate few that these great films found theatrical life in the United States. Many of these films, particularly those from Europe, boasted more liberal attitudes about such things as sex and war, facing the threat of censorship and hostility from Hollywood-fed audiences who weren't accustomed to considering films as works of art. Janus Films evolved as a way to bridge these cultural gaps, introducing Americans to foreign sensibilities and big-screen stories that transcended language. What DVDs Are Included?
The DVDs presented represent the cream of the crop of the Janus Films catalog, and the best of the Criterion Collection's bar-setting technical sophistication. Six of the films are being debuted on DVD on the occasion of the set's release, though they may be released separately later. These include Fires on the Plain, The Fallen Idol, Pandora's Box, Le Jour Se Leve, Miss Julie, and Three Documentaries by Saul J. Turell. Fans of copious extra features should take note--the discs contain only the films themselves. Those wishing to dig into the two bonus discs of material offered with Criterion's latest release of Seven Samurai, say, won't find that opportunity here. As for the selection of films, cinephiles may get into arguments about what's included and what's not, but any film school student would be far ahead of the game by devouring these fifty films. The treasures are listed below. --Ryan Boudinot ALEXANDER NEVSKY (1938)
ASHES AND DIAMONDS (1958)
L'AVVENTURA (1960)
BALLAD OF A SOLDIER (1959)
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946)
BLACK ORPHEUS (1959)
BRIEF ENCOUNTER (1945)
THE FALLEN IDOL (1948)
FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959)
FISTS IN THE POCKET (1965)
FLOATING WEEDS (1959)
FORBIDDEN GAMES (1952)
THE 400 BLOWS (1959)
GRAND ILLUSION (1937)
HAeXAN (1922)
IKIRU (1952)
THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST (1952)
IVAN THE TERRIBLE, PART II (1958)
LE JOUR SE LEVE (1939)
JULES AND JIM (1962)
KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS (1949)
KNIFE IN THE WATER (1962)
THE LADY VANISHES (1938)
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943)
LOVES OF A BLONDE (1965)
M (1931)
M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY (1953)
MISS JULIE (1951)
PANDORA'S BOX (1929)
PEPE LE MOKO (1937)
IL POSTO (1961)
PYGMALION (1938)
RASHOMON (1950) RICHARD III (1955)
THE RULES OF THE GAME (1939)
SEVEN SAMURAI (1954)
THE SEVENTH SEAL (1957)
THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE (1973)
LA STRADA (1954)
SUMMERTIME (1955)
THE THIRD MAN (1949)
THE 39 STEPS (1935)
UGETSU (1953)
UMBERTO D. (1952)
THE VIRGIN SPRING (1960)
VIRIDIANA (1961)
THE WAGES OF FEAR (1953)
THE WHITE SHEIK (1952)
WILD STRAWBERRIES (1957)
THREE DOCUMENTARIES BY SAUL J. TURELL
Amazon.com
50 Years, 50 Films One Spectacular DVD Box Set Janus Films opened American viewers' eyes to the pleasures of Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, and Francois Truffaut at the height of their artistic powers. Celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of this world-renowned distribution company with Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films, an expansive collectors' box set featuring fifty classic films on DVD and a lavishly illustrated hardcover book that tells the story of Janus Films through an essay by film historian Peter Cowie, a tribute from Martin Scorsese, and notes on each of the fifty films. • Eight Academy Awards • Twenty-eight Academy Award nominations • Two Palme d'or awards
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Yes! January 2, 2009
Until Janus/Criterion come out with an equivalent, this one will stand as the gold standard for all movie collections.
One may quibble over what's included and not included, but I have a feeeling that this Collection is not the last for Janus. And even if it is, it stands on it's own as a survey of the film art. In format and presentation, I don't think they could improve. The box contains a heavy bound volume with the DVDs, each one distinctively labeled. There are no disk bonus features a la Criterion, but there is a beautiful second volume in the box, which lists the titles, each entry containing a handsome photo, the credits, and a short history of the film.
I've not seen them all, but so far the DVD quality has been top notch. I understand that if you get a bad disk, Janus will replace it.
I'm very excited about getting this set. Certainly, you can pick and choose and not pay as much, but that defeats the purpose. I want to see movies I would otherwise not have chosen. And indeed it's expensive, but this collection is so great, and the packaging so beautiful, that it's well worth the price. Heirlooms like this don't come cheap.
What sweet temptations September 17, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is one of the more tempting megasets available, as it offers a superlative selection of films in a handsomely bound book. Most if it not all of these films have been remastered, with lost footage restored. You get such a remarkable cross section of world cinema from classic Weimar films such as Pandora's Box to French new wave in Truffaut to Fellini's classic La Strada. You also get essential early Soviet films in Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible. Not to mention Cocteau, Hitchcock and Bergman. Three Documentaries by Saul J. Turell is only available through this boxed set. The hardback book is wonderfully illustrated and a beautiful addition to the films. Definitely an item to put on your Christmas wish list.
 Essential Art House Collection July 19, 2007
0 out of 30 found this review helpful
The collection came after it was five weeks late & I called to find out what happened. The seller then overnight shipped the collection which did make it before the holidays so I could give it as a present. My wife loves the collection.
 What A Collection! June 4, 2007
15 out of 18 found this review helpful
Well, I finally got through this monster of a box set four months after buying it. I was already familiar with a couple of the films but hadn't even heard of many of the others since most were made in the generation preceding mine. One can argue over what could have been included and what could have been omitted, but remember that this is a collection put together from its stable of films by the company that distributed them and is not intended to be someone's idea of the fifty "best ever". At any rate, the distributor tries hard for geographical dispersion so that no foreign countries that are important to film-making during the period covered are left out.
I like most of the movies in the set. Indeed, there is only one I really dislike and that is the corny Importance of Being Earnest. The rest at least had something to like about them even if they were not really to my taste. Pandora's Box, Summertime, and the White Sheik are in that category as are Brief Encounter and Fallen Idol. Then you have Alexander Nevsky which is great on costuming and spectacle but quite bombastic and often cartoonish in its Manichean worldview.
Before buying the set, I was already familiar with and enjoyed Ashes and Diamonds, Black Orpheus, The Seventh Seal and The Third Man. Knowing the quality of those made it easier to take the financial plunge purchase of the Essential Art House box set requires.
Here are the fifteen I think are the best of the ones I hadn't seen before:
1)Ballad of a Soldier: A beautifully told story of a WWII Russian soldier as he struggles to get home to see his mother and then back to his unit before his pass expires. Finds romantic interest on the way and there is always something conspiring to delay him and keep him from his goal. An excellent, well-acted Soviet-era film devoid of clumsy propaganda.
2)Beauty and the Beast-Funny I never saw this as a kid, but its a great fairy tale that shows Jean Cocteau at his best and most accessible.
3)Fires On the Plain-A great WWII story through the eyes of the Japanese.
4)Fists In the Pocket-Nihilistic worldview may have shocked audiences at the time, but today its old hat. Still, a powerfully told and acted tale of evil and greed.
5)The Grand Illusion-Damned by the Nazis, probably because of a German woman's dalliance with an escaped French POW, and because of its anti-militaristic overtones, this film thankfully survived the war and remains one of the finest war movies I've seen.
6)Haxan-An excellent early film about witches, witchcraft, and what happened to those accused of practicing witchcraft through the ages. Quite hilarious at times, but also thought-provoking.
7)Kind Hearts and Coronets-The title itself would never have attracted me but the movie turned out to be one of the best. An excellent tale of a greedy and scheming minor nobleman who eliminates those ahead of him in the line of succession one by one so that he can claim not only his fief, but the fortune he thinks is the birthright he has been wrongly denied. Complete with love triangles and packed with humor. The unexpected ending is most delicious.
8)Knife in the Water-A taut story of machismo and infidelty. Here one sees the budding genius of Roman Polanski.
9)Le Jour Se Leve-Jean Gabin's acting makes this murder/suicide drama a must see.
10)M Hulot's Holiday-French comedy at its best. The clumsy protagonist always leaves some kind of mess in his wake, but the film never degenerates into mere slapstick.
11)Miss Julie-An impetuous Swedish noblewoman doesn't seem to know her place and thus earns the disdain of those who work the estate on which she lives. An excellent storyline, a tragedy really, and first-rate costuming.
12)Pepe Le Moko-Here's Jean Gabin again, as a wanted petty criminal who is beloved in the rabbit warren of the Algiers casbah in which he hides. Quite the womanizer, only a woman could induce him to leave it and when he finally does, it proves to be his undoing. Gabin always acts with much passion and is a perfect fit in the role of the protagonist.
13)Rules of the Game-A sharp, but indirect attack on the debauchery and hypocrisy of the French upper class. Word has it that they did not like the film, but you will.
14)The Wages of Fear-One of the most intense films I have seen. The gnawing fear of immolation felt by the drivers who took on the dangerous job of transporting a cargo of volatile nitroglycerine over primitive Venezuelan backroads affects the viewer as well. Lots of nail-biting moments and the end, though tragic, is almost fitting. Plenty of subtle social commentary about corporate morality and duplicity interspersed with the taut action.
15)The Virgin Spring-A great Bergman film that is more than just a medieval tale. In it are many questions about religion, superstition, the woman's role in society, and the frictions that arise as a society transforms itself from a pagan one to a Christian one. Great period costumes and the acting of Max von Sydow and Co. make this a must-see.
I was nearly tempted to give this a five star rating, but there are a couple of detracting factors which should be mentioned. One is the subtitling on the non-English films. On some it is adequate, on others it is practically non-existent. Often what one character says might be partially translated while what the other says is ignored completely. Its a common problem, and not just with this set. You just have to watch closely and take things in context. Another is the lack of extras. Even some films I buy for ten dollars have extras, so price comparison with Criterion sets is a red herring. Lastly, while the accompanying book is quite elegant, there is a lot of useful information about most movies left out which is annoying mostly because Janus cut short the usual trail of credits from many of the films.
Overall, however, I would say that my money was well-spent. If you like serious cinema, particularly foreign cinema, then you can't go wrong with this! The price has risen and fallen here many times. Watch for a bargain, then go for it.
brilliant May 6, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
wonderful collection - presently on sale, directly from janus/criterion, for $650. Why not match that, Amazon? :)
|
|
|
