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The Tin Drum Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Schlöndorff’s German Fable

By Critical curmudgeon | Jan 23, 2013

A dazzlingly dark and often very funny fable, The Tin Drum is a terrific motion picture. The 1979 film by ...

The Tin Drum Criterion Collection DVD Review: Familial Insanity Mirrors Nazi Germany

By Greg Barbrick | Jan 13, 2013

For a film that won both the Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, The Tin ...

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) Criterion Collection DVD Review: See the Master of Suspense Invent Himself

By Mat Brewster | Jan 8, 2013

In 1934, Alfred Hitchcock was not considered the great director we know him as today. Nor was he the Master ...

Purple Noon Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Treat for the Eyes and a Test for the Nerves

By Jade Blackmore | Dec 22, 2012

Purple Noon (Plein Soleil), Rene Clement's 1960 film based on Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, is more brooding ...

Purple Noon Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Talented Mr. Delon

By Steve Geise | Dec 19, 2012

Remember The Talented Mr. Ripley? Director Anthony Minghella's 1999 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's crime novel helped launch Jude Law to ...

The Qatsi Trilogy: (Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, Naqoyqatsi) Criterion Collection DVD Review: Fans Should Be Very Pleased

By Greg Barbrick | Dec 12, 2012

When Koyaanisqatsi (1983) came out, my girlfriend at the time talked me into seeing it with her. She was very ...

Trilogy of Life Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Three Films, Countless Tales

By Critical curmudgeon | Dec 1, 2012

Italian filmmaker, poet, philosopher, writer, and sometimes actor Pier Paolo Pasolini has certainly generated his fair share of controversy. He's ...

La Jetee / Sans Soleil Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Stay for the Stills, Run from the Motion

By Steve Geise | Nov 29, 2012

Director Chris Marker's two most well-known works have been compiled into one Criterion release, but only one of them is ...

Weekend (1967) Criterion Collection DVD Review: For the True Cinephile

By Cinema Sentries | Nov 24, 2012

Written by Kristen Lopez I probably shouldn't have jumped at the first opportunity to review a film like Weekend (or ...

Rashomon (1950) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Restoration Shows Improvements, Not Perfection

By Steve Geise | Nov 9, 2012

If you're reading this review, chances are you're fully familiar with this classic film and just have two questions: how's ...

A poster of the movie Sunday Bloody Sunday

Sunday Bloody Sunday Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: You Can’t Always Get What You Want

By Michelle Prather | Nov 8, 2012

John Schlesinger's Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971), the highly anticipated follow-up to Midnight Cowboy (1969) is an honest, often somber, account of what lovers will ...

Rashomon Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Best of the Best

By Greg Barbrick | Nov 6, 2012

Director Akira Kurosawa (1919-1998) was known as “The Emperor” of Japanese film for a few reasons. For those he worked ...

Rosemary’s Baby Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Masterful Film

By Greg Barbrick | Nov 2, 2012

There have been countless movies that were either so shocking, or just captured the zeitgeist of the culture so well ...

The Game (1997) Criterion Collection DVD Review: Edgy and Uneven, But It Grows on You

By Luigi Bastardo | Oct 27, 2012

There's nothing taking time out of your everyday boring routine to play a fun game with your friends. In the ...

Les Visiteurs du Soir Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Medieval Tale of Love and Fate

By Luigi Bastardo | Oct 24, 2012

In late 1942, when the surreal French fantasy Les Visiteurs du Soir was first released in good ol' gai Paris, ...

The poster of the movie In the Mood for Love

In the Mood for Love Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Astonishing Meditation on Longing

By Critical curmudgeon | Oct 18, 2012

Wong Kar-wai's wonderful, stunning In the Mood for Love sparkles on Blu-ray thanks to Criterion Collection. The 2000 film, nominated ...

The War Room Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Peek Behind the Campaign Curtain

By Gordon S. Miller | Oct 16, 2012

While the campaigns for United States President seem to grow increasingly relentless with every cycle, especially in so-called battleground states, ...

The Forgiveness of Blood Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Nik Full of Angst

By Steve Geise | Oct 16, 2012

Remember Maria Full of Grace? Writer/director Joshua Marston's 2004 film about a Colombian drug mule garnered international acclaim and recognition ...

12 Angry Men Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Guilty of Being a Great Film

By Gordon S. Miller | Oct 15, 2012

Set almost entirely in a single room, 12 Angry Men appears to be a small film yet the story reveals ...

Eating Raoul Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Equal Parts High Camp and Urbane Comedy of Manners

By Dusty Somers | Oct 13, 2012

The Film A delightful black comedy that's equal parts high camp and urbane comedy of manners, Paul Bartel's Eating Raoul ...

Children of Paradise Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Film is Paradise

By Critical curmudgeon | Oct 10, 2012

Widely hailed as one of the finest French films of all time, Marcel Carné's Children of Paradise is an astounding ...

Eating Raoul Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Biting Social Satire

By Shawn Bourdo | Oct 9, 2012

Independent cinema of 1982 did not resemble today's genre in any shape or form. Viewers had to work to find ...

Weekend (2011) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Moving, Deceptively Complex Film

By Dusty Somers | Sep 22, 2012

The Film When I first saw Andrew Haigh’s Weekend last year during a blitz of awards-season catch-up, I appreciated its ...

Children of Paradise Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Cinematic Paradise

By Steve Geise | Sep 20, 2012

At first glance, this film might seem like a poor candidate for greatness, or even relevance in our era. It’s ...

Lonesome (1928) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Sometimes, Happiness is Just a Neighbor Away

By Luigi Bastardo | Sep 19, 2012

There’s nothing like a little alone time to give you some perspective on your situation in life — especially when ...

Criterion Collection Eclipse Series 35: Maidstone and Other Films by Norman Mailer DVD Review

By Cinema Sentries | Sep 17, 2012

Written by Lisa McKay The fine film lovers at the Criterion Collection recently released a two-disk set containing the first ...

The Game (1997) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Fast-paced Thrill Ride

By Lorna Miller | Sep 15, 2012

David Fincher is one of my all-time favorite directors. He instantly captured my attention with Se7en; I had never seen ...

By generaljabbo | Aug 31, 2012

Though much of the music listened to by the so-called mods and rockers in mid-1960s England gets played on the ...

Weekend (2011) Criterion Collection DVD Review: An Intimate Portrait of New Love

By Michelle Prather | Aug 30, 2012

Weekend is a quiet, but candid, glimpse of how a seemingly fleeting attraction between two people with distinct identities can ...

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: 116 Minutes of Vileness

By Gordon S. Miller | Aug 29, 2012

Salò is the most repulsive film I have ever seen. So much so that I completely understand the censorship it ...

Lonesome Criterion Collection DVD Review: Groundbreaking Cinema That Should Not Be Missed

By Greg Barbrick | Aug 28, 2012

Paul Fejos (1897-1963) directed something of a “lost” classic with Lonesome (1928). The Criterion Collection have just released a digitally ...

Quadrophenia Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: We Are the 5.1 Mods

By Steve Geise | Aug 27, 2012

Even if you’ve seen this film before, you’ve never seen it like this. Boasting a complete restoration including a new ...

For All Mankind Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Great Source of Inspiration

By Gordon S. Miller | Aug 25, 2012

Using the 16mm footage recorded during the nine manned Moon flights between December 1968 and November 1972, director Alan Reinert ...

La Promesse Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Stunning Breakout from the Dardenne Brothers

By Dusty Somers | Aug 22, 2012

The Film The cinematic worlds of Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne are raw and unadorned, filled with broken people ...

Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss Criterion Collection DVDs Review: Two Signature Films from Samuel Fuller

By Gordon S. Miller | Aug 12, 2012

As The Criterion Collection upgrades their titles to Blu-ray, DVD buyers benefit from the new, restored high-definition digital transfers that ...

Down by Law Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Louisiana Prison Break that Transcends Genre

By Cinema Sentries | Aug 10, 2012

Written by Ben Platko Jim Jarmusch. A name that should resonate with independent filmmakers and aficionados alike. Sadly, I had ...

Le Havre Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Light-Hearted, Surreal Take on a Serious Subject

By Steve Geise | Aug 9, 2012

The setup for this film is straightforward: a poor aging French shoe-shiner helps a young African illegal immigrant evade capture ...

The Samurai Trilogy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Journey Worth Embarking On

By Gordon S. Miller | Aug 5, 2012

Based Eiji Yoshikawa’snovel, director Hiroshi Inagaki tells the story of Takezo Kensei and his transformation into Musashi Miyamoto, legendary Japanese ...

Metropolitan Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Two Decades Later, I Still Don’t Get It

By Steve Geise | Jul 30, 2012

Writer/director Whit Stillman’s debut film received massive critical accolades following its 1990 theatrical release, including a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination. ...