Tag: Criterion Collection

Kubrick in Progress | Killer’s Kiss (1955) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

Killer's Kiss (1955) - Jamie Smith

If technically Stanley Kubrick’s second feature film, the director almost entirely disowned his first (1952’s Fear and Desire) and considered Killer’s Kiss to be the start of his filmmaking career. Made when he was just 27-years-old, the noir thriller is clearly a formative work, unpolished and lacking either the intellectual or technical rigor Kubrick would… Read More Kubrick in Progress | Killer’s Kiss (1955) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

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Perception and Reality Are Two Different Things | Juliet of the Spirits (1965) Criterion Blu-ray

Juliet of the Spirits (1965) - Giulietta Masina

Federico Fellini’s 1963 masterpiece 8 ½ is remembered, rightly so, as a defining work of Surrealist cinema. Part of that film’s genius is the way its fantastical elements are rooted in an autobiographical confession for the director’s own personal flaws, self-absorption, and lousy treatment of the women in his life. Attempting at least somewhat of… Read More Perception and Reality Are Two Different Things | Juliet of the Spirits (1965) Criterion Blu-ray

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It’s Unscientific, Unexplainable, Unnatural, Unreasonable | House (1977) Criterion Blu-ray

House / Hausu (1977)

I’ve liked, loved, disliked, or hated countless movies over the years. I’ve felt indifferent to many others. Never before have I had an experience like watching House (or Hausu if you prefer), the 1977 Japanese cult film about a group of annoying teenage girls who get trapped in a haunted or demon-infested mansion. I’m left… Read More It’s Unscientific, Unexplainable, Unnatural, Unreasonable | House (1977) Criterion Blu-ray

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The Poetry of War | Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) Criterion Blu-ray

Ghost Dog (1999) - Forest Whitaker

Jim Jarmusch might not be the first name one would consider to direct a hitman thriller. In most of his early work, such as Stranger Than Paradise or Mystery Train, the indie auteur established a very laconic style of character drama mostly lacking much in the way of plot or… well… drama. Today, we’d probably… Read More The Poetry of War | Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999) Criterion Blu-ray

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I Like the Dark, It’s Friendly | Cat People (1942) Criterion Blu-ray

Cat People (1942) - Simone Simon

Ever since the phrase “auteur theory” was coined in the early 1960s, audiences and film connoisseurs who care to notice such things have typically considered a director to be the main artistic guiding force behind any movie. That thought often applies even in retrospect to older films, but wasn’t always the case, especially not during… Read More I Like the Dark, It’s Friendly | Cat People (1942) Criterion Blu-ray

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This Is Precisely the Sort of Thing That No One Ever Believes | The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) Criterion 4K Ultra HD

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)

Not even the troubled production and financial failure of his masterpiece Brazil could prevent director Terry Gilliam from embarking on an even bigger and more elaborate project next. His subject: the filmed biography of a man who was, at one time, the most famous and revered individual on the Earth and its moon. As recounted… Read More This Is Precisely the Sort of Thing That No One Ever Believes | The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) Criterion 4K Ultra HD

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No Honor Among Thieves | The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) - Robert Mitchum

By the early 1970s, filmmaker Peter Yates was likely best known for directing the Steve McQueen star vehicle (pun intended) Bullitt, which had been a huge box office hit in 1968. His subsequent few films, unfortunately, failed to capitalize much on that success. Returning to the crime genre, Yates made two heist thrillers back-to-back between… Read More No Honor Among Thieves | The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

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Don’t Trust Nobody | House of Games (1987) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

House of Games (1987) - Joe Mantegna and Lindsay Crouse

Con artists, and specifically con men, are a subject of much fascination for David Mamet, the acclaimed playwright behind Pulitzer-winning drama Glengarry Glen Ross. That 1983 play (and its subsequent 1992 movie adaptation) depicted conniving real estate agents trying to sucker unwitting clients into buying worthless property by any means necessary, not the least of… Read More Don’t Trust Nobody | House of Games (1987) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

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Pretentious French Movies About Pretentious French Movies Are Still Pretentious | Irma Vep (1996) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

Irma Vep (1996) - Maggie Cheung

Like countless fictional films about the making of other fictional films (Day for Night, The Player, etc.), French director Olivier Assayas’ 1996 comedy (?) Irma Vep attempts to blur some sort of line between fantasy and reality. However, this one begs a particularly frustrating question: Can a movie really be a satire of pretentious French… Read More Pretentious French Movies About Pretentious French Movies Are Still Pretentious | Irma Vep (1996) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

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You’ll Get Your Rags All Dirty | Jabberwocky (1977) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

Jabberwocky (1977)

During an early scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a Medieval peasant woman digging in a pool of mud calls up to her son (Michael Palin), “Dennis, there’s some lovely filth down here!” Wallowing in filth is the best either of them can hope for, and is likely better than their current circumstances.… Read More You’ll Get Your Rags All Dirty | Jabberwocky (1977) Criterion Collection Blu-ray

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