The Tin Drum Criterion Collection DVD Review: Familial Insanity Mirrors Nazi Germany
By Greg Barbrick |
For a film that won both the Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, The Tin ...
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The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) Criterion Collection DVD Review: See the Master of Suspense Invent Himself
By Mat Brewster |
In 1934, Alfred Hitchcock was not considered the great director we know him as today. Nor was he the Master ...
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Purple Noon Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Treat for the Eyes and a Test for the Nerves
By Jade Blackmore |
Purple Noon (Plein Soleil), Rene Clement's 1960 film based on Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, is more brooding ...
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Purple Noon Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Talented Mr. Delon
By Steve Geise |
Remember The Talented Mr. Ripley? Director Anthony Minghella's 1999 adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's crime novel helped launch Jude Law to ...
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The Qatsi Trilogy: (Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, Naqoyqatsi) Criterion Collection DVD Review: Fans Should Be Very Pleased
By Greg Barbrick |
When Koyaanisqatsi (1983) came out, my girlfriend at the time talked me into seeing it with her. She was very ...
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Trilogy of Life Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Three Films, Countless Tales
By Critical curmudgeon |
Italian filmmaker, poet, philosopher, writer, and sometimes actor Pier Paolo Pasolini has certainly generated his fair share of controversy. He's ...
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La Jetee / Sans Soleil Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Stay for the Stills, Run from the Motion
By Steve Geise |
Director Chris Marker's two most well-known works have been compiled into one Criterion release, but only one of them is ...
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Weekend (1967) Criterion Collection DVD Review: For the True Cinephile
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Kristen Lopez I probably shouldn't have jumped at the first opportunity to review a film like Weekend (or ...
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Rashomon (1950) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Restoration Shows Improvements, Not Perfection
By Steve Geise |
If you're reading this review, chances are you're fully familiar with this classic film and just have two questions: how's ...
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Sunday Bloody Sunday Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: You Can’t Always Get What You Want
By Michelle Prather |
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 ...
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Rashomon Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Best of the Best
By Greg Barbrick |
Director Akira Kurosawa (1919-1998) was known as “The Emperor” of Japanese film for a few reasons. For those he worked ...
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Rosemary’s Baby Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Masterful Film
By Greg Barbrick |
There have been countless movies that were either so shocking, or just captured the zeitgeist of the culture so well ...
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The Game (1997) Criterion Collection DVD Review: Edgy and Uneven, But It Grows on You
By Luigi Bastardo |
There's nothing taking time out of your everyday boring routine to play a fun game with your friends. In the ...
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Les Visiteurs du Soir Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Medieval Tale of Love and Fate
By Luigi Bastardo |
In late 1942, when the surreal French fantasy Les Visiteurs du Soir was first released in good ol' gai Paris, ...
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In the Mood for Love Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Astonishing Meditation on Longing
By Critical curmudgeon |
Wong Kar-wai's wonderful, stunning In the Mood for Love sparkles on Blu-ray thanks to Criterion Collection. The 2000 film, nominated ...
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The War Room Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Peek Behind the Campaign Curtain
By Gordon S. Miller |
While the campaigns for United States President seem to grow increasingly relentless with every cycle, especially in so-called battleground states, ...
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The Forgiveness of Blood Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Nik Full of Angst
By Steve Geise |
Remember Maria Full of Grace? Writer/director Joshua Marston's 2004 film about a Colombian drug mule garnered international acclaim and recognition ...
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12 Angry Men Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Guilty of Being a Great Film
By Gordon S. Miller |
Set almost entirely in a single room, 12 Angry Men appears to be a small film yet the story reveals ...
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Eating Raoul Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Equal Parts High Camp and Urbane Comedy of Manners
By Dusty Somers |
The Film A delightful black comedy that's equal parts high camp and urbane comedy of manners, Paul Bartel's Eating Raoul ...
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Children of Paradise Criterion Collection DVD Review: The Film is Paradise
By Critical curmudgeon |
Widely hailed as one of the finest French films of all time, Marcel Carné's Children of Paradise is an astounding ...
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Eating Raoul Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Biting Social Satire
By Shawn Bourdo |
Independent cinema of 1982 did not resemble today's genre in any shape or form. Viewers had to work to find ...
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Weekend (2011) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Moving, Deceptively Complex Film
By Dusty Somers |
The Film When I first saw Andrew Haigh’s Weekend last year during a blitz of awards-season catch-up, I appreciated its ...
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Children of Paradise Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Cinematic Paradise
By Steve Geise |
At first glance, this film might seem like a poor candidate for greatness, or even relevance in our era. It’s ...
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Lonesome (1928) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Sometimes, Happiness is Just a Neighbor Away
By Luigi Bastardo |
There’s nothing like a little alone time to give you some perspective on your situation in life — especially when ...
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Criterion Collection Eclipse Series 35: Maidstone and Other Films by Norman Mailer DVD Review
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Lisa McKay The fine film lovers at the Criterion Collection recently released a two-disk set containing the first ...
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The Game (1997) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Fast-paced Thrill Ride
By Lorna Miller |
David Fincher is one of my all-time favorite directors. He instantly captured my attention with Se7en; I had never seen ...
Read More Quadrophenia Criterion Collection DVD Review: Dressed Right For a Beach Fight
By generaljabbo |
Though much of the music listened to by the so-called mods and rockers in mid-1960s England gets played on the ...
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Weekend (2011) Criterion Collection DVD Review: An Intimate Portrait of New Love
By Michelle Prather |
Weekend is a quiet, but candid, glimpse of how a seemingly fleeting attraction between two people with distinct identities can ...
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Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: 116 Minutes of Vileness
By Gordon S. Miller |
Salò is the most repulsive film I have ever seen. So much so that I completely understand the censorship it ...
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Lonesome Criterion Collection DVD Review: Groundbreaking Cinema That Should Not Be Missed
By Greg Barbrick |
Paul Fejos (1897-1963) directed something of a “lost” classic with Lonesome (1928). The Criterion Collection have just released a digitally ...
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Quadrophenia Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: We Are the 5.1 Mods
By Steve Geise |
Even if you’ve seen this film before, you’ve never seen it like this. Boasting a complete restoration including a new ...
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For All Mankind Criterion Collection DVD Review: A Great Source of Inspiration
By Gordon S. Miller |
Using the 16mm footage recorded during the nine manned Moon flights between December 1968 and November 1972, director Alan Reinert ...
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La Promesse Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Stunning Breakout from the Dardenne Brothers
By Dusty Somers |
The Film The cinematic worlds of Belgian filmmakers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne are raw and unadorned, filled with broken people ...
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Shock Corridor and The Naked Kiss Criterion Collection DVDs Review: Two Signature Films from Samuel Fuller
By Gordon S. Miller |
As The Criterion Collection upgrades their titles to Blu-ray, DVD buyers benefit from the new, restored high-definition digital transfers that ...
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Down by Law Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Louisiana Prison Break that Transcends Genre
By Cinema Sentries |
Written by Ben Platko Jim Jarmusch. A name that should resonate with independent filmmakers and aficionados alike. Sadly, I had ...
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Le Havre Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Light-Hearted, Surreal Take on a Serious Subject
By Steve Geise |
The setup for this film is straightforward: a poor aging French shoe-shiner helps a young African illegal immigrant evade capture ...
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The Samurai Trilogy Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Journey Worth Embarking On
By Gordon S. Miller |
Based Eiji Yoshikawa’snovel, director Hiroshi Inagaki tells the story of Takezo Kensei and his transformation into Musashi Miyamoto, legendary Japanese ...
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Metropolitan Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Two Decades Later, I Still Don’t Get It
By Steve Geise |
Writer/director Whit Stillman’s debut film received massive critical accolades following its 1990 theatrical release, including a Best Screenplay Oscar nomination. ...
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The Last Days of Disco Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Witty Look at the End of an Era
By Dusty Somers |
The Film There’s not a hint of irony in Whit Stillman’s 1998 film The Last Days of Disco despite there ...
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The Samurai Trilogy Criterion Collection DVD Review: Mifune in His Physical Prime
By Steve Geise |
Japanese screen legend Toshiro Mifune is most closely associated with the directorial efforts of fellow legend Akira Kurosawa, and yet ...
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Carlos (2010) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: The Tale of the Jackal
By Gordon S. Miller |
Carlos is a fascinating docudrama about the Venezuelan terrorist Ilich Ramírez Sánchez, known as Carlos the Jackal, whose most notorious ...
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Gray’s Anatomy / And Everything is Going Fine Criterion Collection Blu-rays Review: A Spalding Gray & Steven Soderbergh Double Feature
By Dusty Somers |
The extraordinarily talented monologist Spalding Gray gets a pair of releases from the Criterion Collection this month. Both films are ...
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Shallow Grave (1994) Criterion Collection DVD Review: Boyle’s Debut Shows Promise and Little Else
By Critical curmudgeon |
Directed by Danny Boyle, written by John Hodge, and available now thanks to Criterion Collection, Shallow Grave is a bleakly ...
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The Gold Rush Criterion Collection DVD Review: One of Chaplin’s Most Acclaimed Films
By Greg Barbrick |
Although Charlie Chaplin’s “Little Tramp” character remains so iconic, people all over the world are still familiar with it, even ...
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Shallow Grave (1994) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: An Exceptional Film
By Lorna Miller |
Danny Boyle’s first film Shallow Grave is a disturbing and extreme examination of the consequences of one’s actions. I love ...
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Harold and Maude Criterion Collection DVD Review: Timeless Classic Has Never Been More Appropriate
By Greg Barbrick |
The oddest couple in cinematic history have got to be the 20-year old Harold (Bud Cort) and the 80-year old ...
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The Lady Vanishes (1938) Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: All Aboard for Entertainment
By Gordon S. Miller |
Though it was Alfred Hitchcock’s penultimate film made in Britain before producer David O. Selznick brought him to America, the ...
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Summer Interlude Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: A Formative Bergman Picture Gets the High-Def Treatment
By Cinema Sentries |
With Summer Interlude, Swedish master filmmaker Ingmar Bergman began to lay the foundation for some of his most memorable pictures. ...
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The Gold Rush Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review: Charlie Chaplin Strikes Gold
By Shawn Bourdo |
The Criterion Collection has a problem. It’s the best kind of problem to have though. They have the rights to ...
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Summer with Monika Criterion Collection Blu-Ray Review: Bergman in Love
By Steve Geise |
This early success from director Ingmar Bergman follows a completely straightforward and conventional path to its obvious conclusion, offering little ...
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