Orpheus Criterion Collection DVD Review: Jean Cocteau Constructed a Masterpiece
By Greg Barbrick |
”Look at yourself in a mirror all your life and you will see Death at work,” says Heurtebise (Francois Perier) ...
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Blow Out Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Hearing Is Believing
By Gordon S. Miller |
Brian De Palma’s Blow Out is an intriguing political thriller that plays with the ideas of perception and cinema. These ...
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Secret Sunshine Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Secret No More
By Steve Geise |
After an interminable four-year delay, Secret Sunshine has finally reached U.S. shores thanks to the fine folks at Criterion. The ...
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The Killing Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Meet Me at the Racetrack
By Steve Geise |
The Killing is a fine little film on its own, and yet I couldn’t help but compare it unfavorably to ...
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Cul-de-Sac Criterion Collection DVD Review: Not Your Garden Variety Thriller
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Lisa McKay The tragedies and controversy swirling around director Roman Polanski’s personal life have frequently overshadowed his reputation ...
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The Mikado Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Dated but Has its Charms
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Mikado is the ninth opera created by the tandem of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. It debuted in London ...
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The Battle of Algiers Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Political Powder-Keg
By Dusty Somers |
The Film The Battle of Algiers doesn’t simply tack on a cinema verité veneer to achieve a sense of realism; ...
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Leon Morin, Priest Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Sex and Religion on the Mind
By Dusty Somers |
The Film Léon Morin, Priest is a somewhat atypical film for director Jean-Pierre Melville and star Jean-Paul Belmondo, at least ...
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High and Low Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Kurosawa and Mifune: The Gold Standard
By Steve Geise |
Master director Akira Kurosawa and his acting muse Toshiro Mifune teamed up once again for this kidnapping drama set in ...
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Life During Wartime Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Alternative Happiness
By Steve Geise |
Writer/director Todd Solondz has forged a cottage industry out of exploring the foibles of odd suburban characters, popping in every ...
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The Darjeeling Limited Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Loving Tribute to Many of Wes Anderson’s Influences
By Shawn Bourdo |
I have my favorite directors - the usuals really - Hitchcock, Kubrick, Malick, etc. While they all have different styles ...
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The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou Movie Review: A Ripping Yarn for Adults
By Gordon S. Miller |
At an Italian film festival oceanographer/adventurer/documentary filmmaker Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) unveils footage from the latest expedition of the Belafonte, ...
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Naked Criterion Blu-ray Review: Anti-Hero’s Odyssey Through Thatcher’s London
By Shawn Bourdo |
In Mike Leigh’s 1993 UK film, Naked, I don’t think a main character has turned the audience against him quicker ...
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Au revoir les enfants Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Louis Malle’s Remembrance of Things Past
By Gordon S. Miller |
Writer-director Louis Malle’s childhood informs Au revoir les enfants, a story about two boys at a Catholic boarding school in ...
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The Music Room Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Solitary Man
By Steve Geise |
Right from the opening shot of this film, it’s evident that viewers are witnessing the work of a masterful director. ...
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Black Moon (1975) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Gloria Steinem Meets Lewis Carroll
By Shawn Bourdo |
I don’t know the exact definition of a “black moon” just as I’m not exactly clear on the definition of ...
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Insignificance Criterion Collection DVD Review: There is Significance in Everything
By Greg Barbrick |
In 1954, four of the most famous people in the world were Joe DiMaggio, Marilyn Monroe, Joe McCarthy, and Albert ...
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People on Sunday Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Lazy Sunday
By Steve Geise |
People on Sunday is a fascinating historical document of late 1920s Germany, offering a glimpse into the fashion, architecture, and ...
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Kiss Me Deadly Criterion Collection DVD Review: Endlessly Entertaining
By Greg Barbrick |
Appearing at the tail end of the classic era of film noir, Kiss Me Deadly (1955) was a stylishly brutal ...
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The Makioka Sisters Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: No Joy No Luck Club
By Steve Geise |
Director Kon Ichikawa’s late career work centers on the relationships between four adult sisters as they run their family kimono ...
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Criterion Collection Eclipse Series #27 DVD Review: Raffaello Matarazzo’s Runaway Melodramas
By Greg Barbrick |
Raffaello Matarazzo (1909 – 1966) was an Italian director who specialized in some of the most melodramatic pictures to ever ...
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The Great Dictator Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Most Courageous Act of His Remarkable Career
By Greg Barbrick |
Charles Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940) is undoubtedly his most controversial film. It is also one of his greatest. His ...
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The Great Dictator Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Charlie Chaplin Still Gives Hope Today
By Shawn Bourdo |
When we last saw Charlie Chaplin in 1936 at the end of Modern Times, The Tramp and his muse, “the ...
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The Times of Harvey Milk Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: History in the Making
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Times of Harvey Milk is an outstanding documentary that presents an important chapter in the United States civil rights ...
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Diabolique (1955) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Crime and Punishment
By Steve Geise |
There’s a clear point part way through this French classic where it drops its conventional nature and morphs into an ...
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Diabolique (1955) Criterion Collection DVD Review: Influential Horror that Stands the Test of Time
By Greg Barbrick |
Henri-Georges Clouzet’s Diabolique (1955) is a classic suspense/horror film. Although Clouzet was maligned as “old guard” by the up and ...
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Army of Shadows Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Different Kind of Spy Thriller
By Gordon S. Miller |
Writer/director Jean-Pierre Melville’s Army of Shadows (1969) opens with a powerful image: an extended take of a long line of ...
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Something Wild Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Jonathan Demme’s Film is a Wild Thing
By Shawn Bourdo |
The Criterion Collection is on a serious roll this Spring. I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing White Material (a superb ...
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Something Wild Criterion Collection DVD Review: Jonathan Demme’s Vision of a Yuppie Nightmare
By Greg Barbrick |
”It’s better to be a live dog, than a dead lion.” So says Charlie Driggs (Jeff Daniels) as he leaves ...
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Pale Flower Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Essential Japanese New Wave
By Steve Geise |
Although this is a Japanese film, the words that immediately come to mind to describe it are largely French: a ...
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8 1/2 Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A World-Cinema Landmark
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Criterion Collection has released Federico Fellini's 8 ½ on Blu-ray. The Academy Award-winning 1963 Italian film is a world-cinema ...
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Sweetie (1989) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Wonderful, Symbolic-Laden Story
By Shawn Bourdo |
I recently was able to sit down and review White Material (2009) – a film directed by a female director ...
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White Material Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Presages Current Events
By Shawn Bourdo |
Claire Denis makes movies that almost seem commissioned by The Criterion Collection. The French filmmaker shoots in long, beautiful, quiet ...
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The Complete Monterey Pop Festival Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Marvelous Time Capsule
By Gordon S. Miller |
During the Summer of Love, the weekend of June 16-18, 1967 to be specific, the Monterey International Pop Music Festival ...
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Seven Samurai Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Cinematic Masterpiece of Epic Proportions
By Gordon S. Miller |
The premise of Seven Samurai is a simple one: a group of farmers hire seven samurai to deal with bandits ...
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Le Cercle Rouge Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Short on Plot, Long on Mise en Scene
By Steve Geise |
At first glance, Le Cercle Rouge seems like a fairly conventional crime drama, a perception that is upheld by the ...
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Fish Tank Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Struggle to Escape Family Traditions
By Greg Barbrick |
After viewing the Criterion Collection edition of Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank (2009), I cannot imagine a better title for the ...
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Fish Tank Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Andrea Arnold Primer
By Steve Geise |
British writer/director Andrea Arnold won the 2009 Cannes Jury Prize and 2010 BAFTA (Outstanding British Film) for this gritty coming-of-age ...
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Amarcord Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Parade of Unforgettable Characters
By Steve Geise |
Federico Fellini’s films are widely perceived as an acquired taste, with their odd flights of fancy, peculiar characters and avoidance ...
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Still Walking Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Most Personal Film
By Steve Geise |
In the aftermath of his own mother’s death, director Hirokazu Kore-eda crafted his most personal film to date, a quiet ...
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M Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Thriller Steeped in Social Commentary
By Gordon S. Miller |
Directed by Fritz Lang, who co-wrote the screenplay with Thea von Harbou’s, M (1931) stars Peter Lorre as Hans Beckert, ...
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The Wages of Fear Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Suspenseful, Intriguing Thriller
By Gordon S. Miller |
Winner of the Palm D’Or at Cannes, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear is based on the novel by Georges ...
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Still Walking Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Masterpiece of Japanese Cinema
By Greg Barbrick |
Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Still Walking (2008) has just been issued as part of The Criterion Collection, and is a ...
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