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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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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Sid & Nancy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: They Did It Their Way
By Gordon S. Miller |
Director/co-writer Alex Cox's Sid & Nancy tells the story of the short, tragic love affair between Sex Pistols' bassist Sid ...
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The Manchurian Candidate (1962) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Assassination, She Wrote
By Gordon S. Miller |
Based on Richard Condon's novel of the same name, John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate is a captivating Cold War political ...
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Hopscotch Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Matthau Supremacy
By Steve Geise |
Hopscotch is a conundrum. It's a comedic but still realistic spy movie filmed in the waning days of the terrifying ...
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The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Stealth Double Feature
By Gordon S. Miller |
The Criterion Collection's release of Alfred Hitchcock's third feature, The Lodger (1927), is actually a stealth double feature of Hitchcock ...
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Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Masterpiece of Control
By Dusty Somers |
Who's in the mood for meatloaf with a side of existential dread? OK, I'm only so glib because writing about ...
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Roma Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Rome, I Love You
By David Wangberg |
In the opening text prior to the start of Roma, we get a detailed explanation of how the original version ...
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Good Morning (1959) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Japanese Master’s Flatulent Comedy
By Kent Conrad |
Comedy doesn't tend to get the respect of drama in movie writing. Like horror, its effectiveness depends on whether or ...
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Buena Vista Social Club Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Cuban Musicians Get the Recognition They Deserve
By Davy |
When it comes to music, there are many styles and cultures: Mexican, Spanish, Portugese, etc. However, Cuban music seems to ...
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Tampopo Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Endearing, Sensual, and Tasty Experience
By Davy |
Some of the best films about food not only include food itself, but the reasons why it is essential, especially ...
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Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Vote for Pedro
By Luigi Bastardo |
There are few films which can combine failed romances, hysteria, spiked gazpacho, the fine art of voiceover acting, and get ...
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45 Years Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Art of Quiet Devastation
By Dusty Somers |
The camera never strays far from Charlotte Rampling in Andrew Haigh's 45 Years, and for good reason. In this elegant, ...
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Canoa: A Shameful Memory Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Harrowing but Important
By Davy |
In this day and age, politics have become a horror show, meaning that corruption and savagery usually comes first, and ...
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Cameraperson Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Beautiful, Sad, Wonderful
By Mat Brewster |
Sometimes when I can't sleep, I'll lie in bed at night and think about all the different houses and apartments ...
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Cameraperson Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: No Better Film Experience Last Year
By Davy |
When it comes to human honesty, there is no better genre of film stronger than the documentary. In a time ...
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Heart of a Dog Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Moving Meditation from a Singular Artist
By Dusty Somers |
Can a film permeated with thoughts on death be playful? Can it be uplifting? Can it be equally cerebral and ...
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Lone Wolf and Cub Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Manga Comes to Life
By Steve Geise |
As the shogun executioner, Ogami Itto has a comfortable gig until he falls from grace and endures the death of ...
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The Executioner Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Introduction to a Spanish Filmmaking Giant
By Dusty Somers |
Even among dedicated English-speaking cinephiles, the name Luis García Berlanga might not immediately spark a glimmer of recognition. The great ...
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Valley of the Dolls Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Laughter, Tears, and a Mountain of Dolls!
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Kristen Lopez America was a bit of a mess in the 1960s, not just on the national stage ...
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Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Dekalog Review: Completely Worth Your Time
By Shawn Bourdo |
Watching the episodes of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Dekalog reminds me of how few auteurs there are anymore. Part of it is ...
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The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Early Masterwork
By Mat Brewster |
Kiku (Shotaro Hanyagi) is the adopted son of Kabuki royalty in Tokyo. As the presumed heir to this theatrical throne, ...
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A Taste of Honey Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Taste of Adolescence
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Kristen Lopez A renaissance in British cinema erupted in the 1960s; known as the Free Cinema and instigated ...
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Woman in the Dunes Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Digging out a Life in Sand
By Kent Conrad |
Every night, the woman shovels sand from the bottom of a hole, which gets carted up by a rope pulley, ...
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