Category: Criterion Collection
Criterion Disk Reviews: ‘Great Expectations’
Mini-Review David Lean is a bona fide cinema legend; having hemed A Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, his scope of filmmaking is evoked whenever somebody tries to film the desert or capture emptiness on a grand … [Read the Rest]
Criterion Disk Reviews: ‘The Unbearable Lightness of Being’
Mini-Review Before the rest of the world knew him for his performance in There Will be Blood, Daniel Day-Lewis had a career outshining most method actors. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, a story about intellectual life in Czechoslovakia during the … [Read the Rest]
‘Night Train to Munich’ – run all the way to hell with a penny, and a broken cigarette
Night Train to Munich Directed by Carol Reed United Kingdom, 1940 The title of Carol Reed’s 1940 wartime comedic thriller hardly tells the whole story. Perhaps hoping to capitalize off of the success of the two-years prior The Lady Vanishes, … [Read the Rest]
The Most Controversial Picture of Our Time! – Criterion Disk Reviews: ‘Night Porter’
Mini-Review Night Porter is rather a strange film; at first glance it comes across as an exploitation film, but as you dive in deeper it’s actually a (very messed up) love story, and then when you dive in even deeper … [Read the Rest]
Every man fights his own war – Criterion Disk Reviews: ‘Thin Red Line’
Mini -Review “Look at this jungle. Look at those vines, the way they twine around, swallowing everything. Nature’s cruel.” This contour can help sum up the difference between two of the biggest World War 2 films from the previous decade. … [Read the Rest]
Every Man Has A Breaking Point – Criterion Disk Reviews: ‘Straw Dogs’
Mini-Review When you think of Dustin Hoffman today, you do not think of an individual who is spineless and without the balls to defend his woman (Susan George), who made an ever-lasting impression in this film with her perky nipples … [Read the Rest]
Josef von Sternberg’s pre-code gangster picture ‘Underworld’
Underworld Directed by Josef von Sternberg United States, 1927 Josef von Sternberg’s pre-code gangster picture – the one that started it all – plays akin to the director’s vision throughout his career: hazy deep focus shots, sensuality that anticipates his … [Read the Rest]
‘Masculin Feminin’ is a film on a precipice
Masculin Feminin Directed by Jean-Luc Godard France, Sweden, 1966 Godard’s Masculin Feminin is a film on a precipice. Behind the great director are the carefree films of the first part of the decade: Breathless, A Woman is a Woman, Band … [Read the Rest]
‘Mon Oncle Antoine’ – Quebec Gold
Mon Oncle Antoine Directed by Claude Jutra Canada, 1971 Mon Oncle Antoine could easily have been directed by Louis Malle. Its bittersweet tone, its curious, naïve protagonist, its meandering semi-narrative structure all find cousins in such films as Murmur of … [Read the Rest]
A look back at Louis Malle’s Masterpiece ‘Murmur of the Heart’
Murmur of the Heart (Le souffle au coeur) Directed by Louis Malle France, 1971 Louis Malle’s first narrative feature-film was 1958′s Elevator to the Gallows. A jazzy, contribution to the late-noir period it placed Malle conveniently between the too-cool gangster … [Read the Rest]
The Story of the Prince and the Beggar Maid: The Criterion Collection Presents ‘Black Narcissus’
Black Narcissus Directed by Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell UK – 100 minutes. Color Criterion Spine # 93 Black Narcissus is one of the seminal works in British film history. Transplanting Anglican nuns to a strange and corrupting land, their … [Read the Rest]
Elevator Music By Miles Davis: The Criterion Collection presents ‘Elevator to the Gallows’
It’s past midnight in the dark Le Poste Parisie recording studio. Miles Davis steps up to the microphone, his face illuminated by the flickering cinema screen in front of him. He sees Jeanne Moreau walking slowly along the Champ-Elysses on … [Read the Rest]
Why We Call Them Pigs: The Criterion Collection Presents ‘Sisters’
“Despite the film’s minor problems, Sisters is a film that remains worthwhile for any fan of Hitchcock or horror.” Sisters Directed by Brian De Palma USA – 93 min. Color Criterion Spine #89 One of Brian De Palma’s best known … [Read the Rest]
Love Under Unusual Circumstances: The Criterion Collection presents ‘Chungking Express’
“What really sets the film apart is its upbeat and hopeful tone. It is easily one of the most endearing films in the last few decades…” Chungking Express (1994) Directed by Kar Wai Wong Hong Kong – 102 min. Color … [Read the Rest]
Little Creature: The Criterion Collection presents ‘The Night Porter’
A difficult film to watch, not because it is pornographic, or even all that graphic, but because we watch the characters become increasingly desperate as they realize they are no longer suited to the world around them. The Night Porter … [Read the Rest]
