When We Were Kings Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Marvelous Time Capsule of Muhammad Ali in 1974
By Gordon S. Miller |
Leon Gast's When We Were Kings documents the "Rumble in the Jungle," the legendary boxing match between undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman ...
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Matewan Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Labor Pains
By Gordon S. Miller |
John Sayles' Matewan is a dramatization of the Matewan massacre (1920), a battle that took place in the town of Matewan, West ...
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Roberto Rossellini’s War Trilogy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Intro to Italian Neorealism 101
By Gordon S. Miller |
In reaction to what many were experiencing in Italy under Mussolini and after World War II, the Italian neorealism movement ...
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Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Trips Worth Taking
By Gordon S. Miller |
I've been a big fan of movies for most of my 50-odd years on this planet and have enjoyed a ...
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Antonio Gaudí Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Tone Poem of Gaudí, Barcelona, and Art
By Elizabeth Periale |
Antonio Gaudí, a film by Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara (1927-2001), is a tone poem of Gaudí, Barcelona, and art - ...
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Teorema Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Pasolini’s Most Accessible Work
By Davy |
The late director Pier Paolo Pasolini was a very controversial filmmaker to begin with. His often taboo-breaking subject matter didn't ...
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Tunes of Glory Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Acting Tour de Force
By Mat Brewster |
I have been on a bit of an Alec Guinness kick of late. He's an actor I knew and loved ...
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Old Joy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Quite Reflective and Moving
By Davy |
Director Kelly Reichardt has become one of my favorite directors. She is one of the very few maverick filmmakers of ...
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All About Eve Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: All the World’s a Stage
By Steve Geise |
Best Picture Oscar winners don't always age well, but as All About Eve approaches its 70th anniversary, it's every bit as entertaining ...
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Now, Voyager Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Superior Tearjerker
By Davy |
With her saucer eyes, unparalled intensity, and unbridled non-vanity, Bette Davis has been and still is regarded as one of ...
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The Circus Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Tramp Plays the Big Top
By Gordon S. Miller |
Made between his classic films The Gold Rush and City Lights, Charlie Chaplin's The Circus presents an entertaining outing for the Tramp who once again ...
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Polyester Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: John Waters’ First Big-Budget Film
By Jade Blackmore |
Polyester, John Waters' first big budget, mainstream film, was released by in 1981 by New Line Cinema. Its $300,000 budget ...
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Shampoo Criterion Collection Review: Long Hair Don’t Care
By Jack Cormack |
Few films capture the mood of late '60s Los Angeles quite like Shampoo does; and few films of the '70s—that hallowed, so-called ...
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The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Gentle Ozu Comedy
By Kent Conrad |
The first thing to get used to in an Ozu film is the camera perspective. He never (or at least ...
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The Koker Trilogy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Rise of Abbas Kiarostami
By Steve Geise |
This series of Iranian films is a trilogy in only the loosest sense, as they don't share overlapping casts or ...
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The BRD Trilogy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Fassbinder at His Best
By Mat Brewster |
When World War II ended, Germany was due a reckoning. As a nation, they had to come to terms not ...
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Hedwig and the Angry Inch Criterion Collection Review: Visually Stunning and Aesthetically Engaging
By Darcy Staniforth |
In 2001, writer, director, and star John Cameron-Mitchell and composer and lyricist Stephen Trask took their cutting-edge musical Hedwig and the ...
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Swing Time Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Fine Film
By Gordon S. Miller |
Swing Time is the sixth of ten films that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers appeared in together. It has great songs ...
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Let the Sunshine In Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Love Is…Brutally Human
By Davy |
For most people, love is a constant slope towards madness and eventual pain. We crave it, but sometimes, when it's ...
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Diamonds of the Night Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Story of Youth Under Fire with a Brilliantly Fractured Eye
By Davy |
There are many similarities between Luis Bunuel and underrated auteur/director Jan Nemec. They both use surrealism to dictate the often ...
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The Kid Brother Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Comedic Gem
By David Wangberg |
I'm not too familiar with the work of Harold Lloyd, and The Kid Brother is actually the first film of his that ...
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The Magnificent Ambersons Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Flawed Masterpiece, but Still a Worthwhile Film
By Kent Conrad |
Before getting into the history of the film: the mangling by the studio, the likely deliberately destroyed edited footage, and ...
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Shame (1968) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Harrowing, Nightmarish Bergman Masterpiece
By Davy |
War is Hell. They're have been many films that tackled the often difficult subject of war, and its effects on ...
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The Princess Bride Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: As Good As You Wish
By Gordon S. Miller |
Based on the novel by William Goldman, who also wrote the screenplay, Rob Reiner's The Princess Bride is a fantasy ...
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Mikey and Nicky Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Elaine May Should Be Unanimously Acclaimed
By Davy |
When it comes to underappreciated figures of film, none are more legendary and important than Elaine May. After a successful ...
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A Dry White Season Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Truly Gripping Cinema
By Davy |
Racism is one those things that just doesn't seem to go away. Every day you turn on the news to ...
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A Story from Chikamatsu Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Tale Worth Watching
By Steve Geise |
When an adulterous nobleman learns that his wife is rumored to be carrying on an affair with a member of ...
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Shampoo Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Head and Shoulders Above the Rest
By Steve Geise |
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of this film is Warren Beatty's glorious hair. Playing a Beverly Hills hairdresser/lothario named George, ...
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A Raisin in the Sun Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Wonderfully Acted Film
By Davy |
While some movies about the African-American experience are embarrassing and downright stereotypical, there are others that realistically transcend the bad ...
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My Man Godfrey Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: My Man Powell Strikes Gold
By Steve Geise |
At a glance, My Man Godfrey appears to be a typical formulaic production from Hollywood's golden age. Headlined by two ...
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Smithereens Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Indie Filmmaking at Its Most Raw and Unpolished
By Davy |
Films about women by women are pretty rare these days. These are stories about women taking control of their lives ...
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Dragon Inn Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Villains Check In but They Don’t Check Out
By Gordon S. Miller |
King Hu's second entry into the Criterion Collection is Dragon Inn (1967), his first film after leaving the Shaw Brothers ...
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Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Portrait of the Artist As a Fascinating Man
By Steve Geise |
Yukio Mishima carved out a career as an esteemed playwright and author before ending his life by taking over a ...
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Women in Love Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Naked Men, Wrestling
By Mat Brewster |
It's difficult not to compare the time in which Ken Russell adapted Women in Love (1969) to the time in ...
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Baal Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Unbearable, Unflinching, and Savage
By Davy |
When the legendary Rainer Werner Fassbinder died in 1982 at the age of 37, he really did leave behind an ...
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An Actor’s Revenge Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Kabuki Costumes in Modernist Cinema
By Kent Conrad |
Yukinojo, the kabuki female impersonator who gets the titular vengeance in Kon Ichikawa's An Actor's Revenge (1963), is a tough ...
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The Hero Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Long Train Ride into the Soul of an Artist
By Mat Brewster |
Arindam Mukherjee (Uttam Kumar), an enormously famous movie star, boards an overnight train from Calcutta to Delhi to receive a ...
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Elevator to the Gallows Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Ruthless People
By Steve Geise |
Louis Malle's directorial debut is notable for numerous reasons. He was only 24 years old at the time, fresh off ...
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The Complete Monterey Pop Festival (Remastered) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review
By Gordon S. Miller |
Previously released from Criterion in 2009, The Complete Monterey Pop Festival collects three D.A. Pennebaker film's: Monterey Pop, Jimi Plays ...
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Jabberwocky Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Frabjous Film! Callooh! Callay!
By Gordon S. Miller |
After co-directing Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Terry Gilliam returned to the Dark Ages for his first solo outing, ...
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Jabberwocky Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Frabjous Film! Callooh! Callay!
By Gordon S. Miller |
After co-directing Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Terry Gilliam returned to the Dark Ages for his first solo outing, ...
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Kameradschaft Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Cry for Cooperation
By Kent Conrad |
It's difficult to separate Kameradschaft from its historical context. Released in 1931, this story of cooperation between French and Germans ...
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Westfront 1918 Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Unglamorously Shows War the Way That It Is
By Davy |
When depicting war, no other medium can do it as mercilessly as film. War movies can be as dire and ...
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The Breakfast Club Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Don’t You Forget About These Bonus Features
By Steve Geise |
While The Breakfast Club is justifiably revered as a classic teen film, primarily due to the involvement of masterful writer/director ...
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General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review
By Darcy Staniforth |
General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait is the 1974 documentary film by Barbet Schroeder. Known for such films as Bar ...
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Desert Hearts Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Unsung Queer Classic
By Matthew St.Clair |
I never wanted Desert Hearts to end. I didn't want to leave behind the breathtaking scenery of the desert and ...
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Festival (1967) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Better Than Woodstock
By Mat Brewster |
In the early part of the 20th Century, various folklorists, including John Lomax, wandered about the country documenting the songs ...
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Vampyr Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Come for the Film, Stay for the Book
By Steve Geise |
Although Vampyr was released way back in 1932, it isn't the first vampire film, as it was released after the ...
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Certain Women Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Truly Amazing Film
By Davy |
When it comes to filmmaking, from the past to the present, it is always men at the forefront. However, and ...
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David Lynch: The Art Life Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: With Chemicals, He Points
By David Wangberg |
I remember my first encounter with a David Lynch film was in 2004 during my Introduction to Film class at ...
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