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The Parallax View Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Second Entry in Pakula’s Political Paranoia Trilogy

By Gordon S. Miller | Mar 9, 2021

Based on Loren Singer's 1970 novel of the same name, Alan J. Pakula's The Parallax View is the second entry ...

Smooth Talk Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Teen’s Roller Coaster Ride from Innocence to Harsh Reality

By Elizabeth Periale | Mar 7, 2021

1985's Smooth Talk, directed by Joyce Chopra (Murder in a Small Town, The Lemon Sisters, Blonde), follows restless teenager Connie ...

Chop Shop Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Miracle of Independent Cinema

By Davy | Feb 20, 2021

With his wonderful 2005 Man Push Cart, filmmaker Ramin Bahrani beautifully captured the grim circumstances of being an immigrant in ...

Man Push Cart Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Essential Cinema

By Davy | Feb 19, 2021

Foreigners in a foreign land express the often grim, depressing, but sometimes hopeful studies of immigrants desperate to survive a ...

Poster of the movie Mandabi by Ousmane Sembene

Mandabi Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Unexpected Money Leads to Lots of Problems

By David Wangberg | Feb 16, 2021

One of the things that Ousmane Sembène’s second feature film does that so few films do is, take lesser-known actors ...

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review

By Gordon S. Miller | Jan 23, 2021

Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue tour was in support of his album Desire, released January 5, 1976 between the two ...

The Ascent Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Larisa Shepitko’s Masterpiece

By Davy | Jan 22, 2021

The Ukranian-born Larisa Shepitko (one of the greatest female filmmakers of all-time) had only made a few features and short ...

Three Films by Luis Buñuel Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Don’s Swan Songs

By Steve Geise | Jan 6, 2021

As Luis Buñuel neared the end of his life, he swore each time he made a film that it would ...

Crash (1996) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Anti-Erotic Film

By Kent Conrad | Dec 30, 2020

"Prophecy is dirty and ragged", says Vaughan, while complaining about the cleanliness of the tattoo he gets on his chest. ...

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Two Takes Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review

By Davy | Dec 16, 2020

As a passionately dedicated lover of film, I really enjoy that not every film has to be a cliche, meaning ...

Mouchette Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: So Beautiful, So Sad

By Mat Brewster | Dec 13, 2020

The opening scene to Mouchette, Robert Bresson's 1967 drama, finds a young man tying little loops of wire to branches ...

The Irishman (2019) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Welcome Addition to Martin Scorsese’s Filmography

By Gordon S. Miller | Nov 26, 2020

Martin Scorsese's epic The Irishman makes a fitting bookend to his gangster films as one mobster tells his story while ...

The Hit Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Gem of Film by Stephen Frears

By Davy | Nov 4, 2020

The action film always comes with cliches, meaning that they usually contain car chases, explosions, and non-stop action. Sometimes these ...

Poster of the movie Parasite directed by Bong Joon Ho

Parasite (2019) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Rich Fam, Poor Fam

By David Wangberg | Oct 26, 2020

One of the hardest things for a filmmaker to do is blend multiple genres together and do it so seamlessly. ...

The Gunfighter Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Price of Fame

By Gordon S. Miller | Oct 23, 2020

Set in the Southwest Territory of the 1880s, a Texan named Jimmy Ringo (Gregory Peck) was known the fastest gun. ...

Claudine Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Ahead of Its Time

By Davy | Oct 13, 2020

In the 1970s, the blaxploitation genre of film exploded, and it was usually centered on stories of masculine black men, ...

Pierrot le Fou Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Still Feels Modern and Fresh

By Davy | Oct 10, 2020

The legendary and unclassifiable filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard is reaching his 90th birthday this year (in just two months from now), and ...

Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project No. 3 Criterion Collection Box Set Review

By Steve Geise | Sep 30, 2020

Legendary writer/director and noted film buff Martin Scorsese established The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project in 2007 to restore and ...

A poster of the movie Christ Stopped at Eboli

Christ Stopped at Eboli Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Emotionally Captivating

By David Wangberg | Sep 18, 2020

Listed as one of the 1,001 movies you need to see before you die, Christ Stopped at Eboli is a film of ...

Beau Travail Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Mysterious, Haunting, and Transformative

By Davy | Sep 14, 2020

The great and visionary director Claire Denis is one the greatest cinematic poets of our time. She's a provocative and ...

Toni Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Influential French Drama

By Mat Brewster | Aug 24, 2020

In 1934, acclaimed French director Jean Renoir left the studio in Paris and headed for the countryside in the south ...

Town Bloody Hall Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Verbal Battle of the Sexes

By Davy | Aug 23, 2020

Documentaries, more than any other category of film, successfully (or sometimes unsuccessfully) captures reality at its most uncomfortable means. Whatever ...

The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Angela Winkler Is Sensational

By Davy | Aug 21, 2020

In today's uncivilized world where humanity comes second (or dead last) to politics and where the police take the law ...

Taste of Cherry Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Not to Everyone’s Taste

By Steve Geise | Jul 18, 2020

Abbas Kiarostami's understated film won the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, leading to its initial ...

Marriage Story Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Emotionally Brutal and Full of Life

By Davy | Jul 17, 2020

I'm not an expert on marriage, but seeing many films about it, I guess I can at least say that ...

Portrait of a Lady on Fire Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Burning Bright

By Steve Geise | Jun 23, 2020

Writer/director Celine Sciamma's latest film is both exhilarating and depressing: spellbinding because of its absolute excellence and disheartening because it ...

The Cameraman Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Star Begins to Fade

By Gordon S. Miller | Jun 20, 2020

Although a talented filmmaker, Buster Keaton wasn't a great business man and his box-office struggles caused him to sign on ...

An Unmarried Woman Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Bold and Groundbreaking

By Davy | Jun 14, 2020

As I mentioned in my Pick of the Week recently, the 1970s were a very pivotal time for women. There was the ...

When We Were Kings Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Marvelous Time Capsule of Muhammad Ali in 1974

By Gordon S. Miller | May 30, 2020

Leon Gast's When We Were Kings documents the "Rumble in the Jungle," the legendary boxing match between undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman ...

Matewan Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Labor Pains

By Gordon S. Miller | May 22, 2020

John Sayles' Matewan is a dramatization of the Matewan massacre (1920), a battle that took place in the town of Matewan, West ...

Roberto Rossellini’s War Trilogy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Intro to Italian Neorealism 101

By Gordon S. Miller | May 9, 2020

In reaction to what many were experiencing in Italy under Mussolini and after World War II, the Italian neorealism movement ...

Three Fantastic Journeys by Karel Zeman Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Trips Worth Taking

By Gordon S. Miller | Apr 26, 2020

I've been a big fan of movies for most of my 50-odd years on this planet and have enjoyed a ...

Antonio Gaudí Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Tone Poem of Gaudí, Barcelona, and Art

By Elizabeth Periale | Mar 5, 2020

Antonio Gaudí, a film by Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara (1927-2001), is a tone poem of Gaudí, Barcelona, and art - ...

Charade Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Enjoyable Film

By Gordon S. Miller | Mar 1, 2020

While the bloated excess of Cleopatra (1963) bankrupted 20th Century Fox and helped bring an end to the Classic Hollywood ...

Teorema Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Pasolini’s Most Accessible Work

By Davy | Feb 18, 2020

The late director Pier Paolo Pasolini was a very controversial filmmaker to begin with. His often taboo-breaking subject matter didn't ...

Tunes of Glory Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Acting Tour de Force

By Mat Brewster | Dec 19, 2019

I have been on a bit of an Alec Guinness kick of late. He's an actor I knew and loved ...

Old Joy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Quite Reflective and Moving

By Davy | Dec 15, 2019

Director Kelly Reichardt has become one of my favorite directors. She is one of the very few maverick filmmakers of ...

All About Eve Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: All the World’s a Stage

By Steve Geise | Dec 3, 2019

Best Picture Oscar winners don't always age well, but as All About Eve approaches its 70th anniversary, it's every bit as entertaining ...

Now, Voyager Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Superior Tearjerker

By Davy | Dec 2, 2019

With her saucer eyes, unparalled intensity, and unbridled non-vanity, Bette Davis has been and still is regarded as one of ...

The Circus Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Tramp Plays the Big Top

By Gordon S. Miller | Nov 26, 2019

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 ...