Archive for the 'The Criterion Collection' Category
July 15th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in October from The Criterion Collection: I Walked with a Zombie / The Seventh Victim, a pair of moody horror milestones from visionary producer Val Lewton; Demon Pond, a folk-horror fantasia from Japanese New Wave renegade Masahiro Shinoda; and Gummo, a transgressive portrait of angelic and devilish souls in America’s rural underbelly from Harmony Korine. Plus: Pandora’s Box, a sensationally modern melodrama from master of early German cinema G. W. Pabst—now on Blu-ray.
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Continue reading ‘Harmony Korine, Val Lewton, Pabst & More Coming to The Criterion Collection October 2024’
July 13th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
It was an absolute pleasure to review The Criterion Collection’s Blu-ray release of this film back in 2017, and now here we are again with the 4K UHD release. Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï is one of a couple of films from this timeframe that brought a modern sense of cool to practically all the movies about contract killers, hitmen, and assassins that proceeded it (I would also look to Point Blank and Tokyo Drifter). Thanks to a blend of elegance, straightforward storytelling, well-handled tension, and pitch-perfect lead performance, Le Samouraï is a true masterpiece that skillfully blends 40s gangster/noir sensibilities and the evolving nature of 60s new wave cinema. Now on a 4K Blu-ray and presented in HDR, the film can be experienced and enjoyed on an even grander level.
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Continue reading ‘Le Samouraï – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
June 17th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in September to the Criterion Collection: Gregg Araki’s Teen Apocalypse Trilogy, a trio of films from the New Queer Cinema renegade; All of Us Strangers, Andrew Haigh’s metaphysical exploration of queer love and loneliness; and Happiness, Todd Solondz’s disturbingly funny portrait of middle-class suburbia. Plus: The Long Good Friday, John Mackenzie’s landmark of British crime cinema, and Repo Man, Alex Cox’s quintessential 1980s cult comedy—now on 4K UHD.
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Continue reading ‘Araki, Cox, Solondz 4Ks & More Coming to The Criterion Collection September 2024’
May 15th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in August: Brief Encounters / The Long Farewell: Two Films by Kira Muratova, two long-suppressed features by the fearless Ukrainian iconoclast; Not a Pretty Picture, a metacinematic experiment in recreating trauma from Martha Coolidge; Real Life, a satirical mockumentary about attempting to document the life of an ordinary American family, from Albert Brooks; and Mother, a comic portrait of a struggling novelist who decides to move back in with his mother, also from Brooks. Plus: The Last Emperor, Bernardo Bertolucci’s powerful Academy Award–winning epic set in Qing-dynasty China—now on 4K UHD.
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Continue reading ‘Bertolucci, Brooks, Coolidge & More Coming to The Criterion Collection August 2024’
April 30th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Originally released in America as its translated title, “Hate,” director Mathieu Kassovitz’s brilliant 1995 social thriller, La Haine, has endured for a few reasons. It’s not because of the alarming tone the title implies but because the film is a well-produced commentary on urban riots in France, as well as an engaging character piece, expertly studying the cultural volatility of the times while finding some ways to derive entertainment value, in addition to the stylish filmmaking on display. The film has received multiple releases from the Criterion Collection. Now, it has found its way to a 4K UHD Blu-ray release, allowing the film to look and sound better than ever. Of course, not much else has changed, but that includes the effectiveness of this film.
– Continue reading ‘La Haine – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
April 15th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming to The Criterion Collection in July: Black God, White Devil, Glauber Rocha’s blistering existential western from Brazil; Perfect Days, a serene ode to everyday life in Tokyo directed by Wim Wenders; Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Sam Peckinpah’s blood- and dust-caked elegy for the American West; Farewell My Concubine, a breathtakingly intimate saga in twentieth-century China, directed by Chen Kaige; and Risky Business, Paul Brickman’s sly satire about a suburban Chicago prepster. Plus: Le samouraï, Jean-Pierre Melville’s masterpiece of cool about a contract killer with samurai instincts, now on 4K UHD.
– Continue reading ‘Peckinpah, Wenders, Melville 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection July 2024’
April 7th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Originally known as The Devil and Daniel Webster, based on the original 1936 short story by Stephen Vincent Benét, All That Money Can Buy was previously released by the Criterion Collection in 2003 on DVD. This Blu-ray release, featuring a brand-new 4K restoration, looks to bring new life to the Oscar-winning 1941 supernatural feature. Its presentation of a Faustian-like bargain through the lens of 19th-century America has an interesting place in history, and I was pretty fascinated with how this whole thing played out. On top of that, this new home release has plenty of worthwhile extras to accompany the feature. It’s quite the deal (fortunately not with the Devil).
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Continue reading ‘All That Money Can Buy – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
March 15th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in June from The Criterion Collection: Bound, Lana and Lilly Wachowski’s hyperstylish, sapphic heist thriller; Querelle, a delirious depiction of gay desire from Rainer Werner Fassbinder; Victims of Sin, a vibrant Mexican musical-melodrama-noir from Emilio Fernández; and The Underground Railroad, Barry Jenkins’s monumental reimagining of American history through the eyes of an enslaved woman. Plus: Blue Velvet, David Lynch’s unforgettable vision of innocence lost, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Terry Gilliam’s feverish psychedelic odyssey—now on 4K UHD.
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Continue reading ‘Underground Railroad, Bound, Blue Velvet 4K, and More Coming to The Criterion Collection June 2024’
February 27th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
At a time in the 80s/90s, when Hong Kong cinema was making names out of Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Chow Yun Fat, Donnie Yen, and many others, it’s not as though women were left out of the conversation. Already stars in their own right, the combined talents of Maggie Cheung, Anita Mui, and Michelle Yeoh led to two very stylish, comic book and fantasy film-influenced films, The Heroic Trio and its sequel, Executioners. Both movies originally released in 1993; director Johnnie To has been honored by the Criterion Collection once again, with a 4K UHD released for both films in one killer set, complete with new transfers, extra features, and more.
– Continue reading ‘The Heroic Trio / Executioners – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
February 15th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming this May: Three Revolutionary Films by Ousmane Sembène, three powerful 1970s works by the trailblazing Senegalese auteur; Anatomy of a Fall, Justine Triet’s masterful examination of the line between truth and fiction; and Girlfight, Karyn Kusama’s singular tale of a young woman’s path to self-realization. Plus: a Blu-ray upgrade of A Story of Floating Weeds / Floating Weeds: Two Films by Yasujiro Ozu, a silent classic from one of cinema’s greatest directors alongside his color remake, and Peeping Tom, Michael Powell’s still-shocking masterpiece of British cinema, now on 4K UHD.
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Continue reading ‘Anatomy of a Fall, Girlfight, Peeping Tom 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection May 2024’
January 17th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
One of the best films of 90s British cinema, let alone the 90s in general, Danny Boyle’s sophomore effort, Trainspotting, is a well-respected cult classic for good reason. Along with helping break out Ewan McGregor (among others), this film has a terrific sense of style and kinetic energy that would define much of Boyle’s career while also capturing modern life for a particular generation. Seeing the Criterion Collection put out a 4K UHD release of the film brings me great joy, as it is a favorite of mine and can ideally inspire many to once again choose life, or at least choose 4K Blu.
– Continue reading ‘Trainspotting – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
January 16th, 2024 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming this April: Werckmeister Harmonies, a hypnotic parable of societal collapse from auteur Béla Tarr and codirector-editor Ágnes Hranitzky; I Am Cuba, Mikhail Kalatozov’s dazzling work of radical political cinema; and Dogfight, a bittersweet tale of love and war in the 1960s, directed by Nancy Savoca. Plus: La Haine, Mathieu Kassovitz’s gritty landmark of 1990s French cinema, and Picnic at Hanging Rock, Peter Weir’s disquieting work of poetic horror, now on 4K UHD.
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– Continue reading ‘La Haine 4K, Picnic At Hanging Rock 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection April 2024’
December 22nd, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
It’s a continual joy to know the Criterion Collection is happy to be in the Guillermo del Toro business, as the Oscar-winning filmmaker is so happy to delve into his films for the sake of having proper transfers, as well as deliver a bevy of extra content. Pinocchio, his latest Oscar-winning feature that was originally a Netflix streaming release (after a brief stint in theaters), is another example of how the fantasy-obsessed storyteller found a way to channel his imagination into material that seems so perfectly fitting for him. The results are a stunningly animated feature with a layer of darkness informed by history that allows for a unique approach to this classic tale. Now that it’s on 4K Blu-ray UHD, it’s only more apparent how beautifully crafted this film is.
– Continue reading ‘Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
December 15th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in March: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, a powerful documentary from Laura Poitras about art and activism; Saint Omer, Alice Diop’s morally and emotionally complex courtroom drama; The Runner, Amir Naderi’s lyrical portrayal of childhood in postrevolutionary Iran, and To Die For, a deliciously subversive media satire from Gus Van Sant. Plus: All That Money Can Buy (a.k.a. The Devil and Daniel Webster), William Dieterle’s stylish take on the Faust legend, now on Blu-ray.
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– Continue reading ‘To Die For, Saint Omer, The Runner & More Coming to The Criterion Collection March 2024’
November 15th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in February: Eric Rohmer’s Tales of the Four Seasons, a quartet of bittersweet tales about the follies of the human heart; The Heroic Trio / Executioners, two dazzling superhero sagas from martial-arts auteur Johnnie To; Nothing but a Man, Michael Roemer’s civil rights–era American classic; and The Roaring Twenties, one of the most influential crime films of all time, directed by Raoul Walsh. Plus: Robert Altman’s McCabe & Mrs. Miller, a brilliant deglamorization of the American Western, now on 4K UHD.
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– Continue reading ‘Heroic Trio, Nothing But a Man, Altman 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection February 2024’
October 16th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in January: Chantal Akerman Masterpieces, 1968–1978, the revolutionary first decade of a singular filmmaker; Mudbound, an American tragedy set in the Mississippi Delta of the 1940s, written and directed by Dee Rees; Trainspotting, the 1990s British indie phenomenon directed by Danny Boyle, and John Sayles’s Lone Star, a neo-western mystery set in a small Texas border town. Plus: Satyajit Ray’s milestone of world cinema, The Apu Trilogy, and Joel and Ethan Coen’s scorching neo-noir, Blood Simple—now on 4K UHD.
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Continue reading ‘Boyle, Akerman, Sayles, the Coens in 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection January 2024’
September 18th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming this December: The Red Balloon and Other Stories, a collection of wide-eyed fantasies for the whole family, directed by Albert Lamorisse; and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, the classic fable reinvented through boundary-pushing stop-motion animation. Plus: Blast of Silence, Allen Baron’s blackhearted noir set in Manhattan at Christmastime—now on Blu-ray.
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– Continue reading ‘Del Toro’s Pinocchio 4K, The Red Balloon & More Coming to The Criterion Collection December 2023′
August 15th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming this November: Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar, a six-film, early-career celebration of the Hong Kong martial-arts phenom; Mean Streets, Martin Scorsese’s electrifying vision of sin and redemption; and La cérémonie, Claude Chabrol’s riveting study of class dynamics and the psychology of crime. Plus: Days of Heaven, Terrence Malick’s dreamlike turn-of-the-century idyll, and The Last Picture Show, Peter Bogdanovich’s aching portrait of a dying American West—now on 4K UHD.
Continue reading ‘Jackie Chan, Socrsese 4K, Malick 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection November 2023’
Coming in October from The Criterion Collection: I Walked with a Zombie / The Seventh Victim, a pair of moody horror milestones from visionary producer Val Lewton; Demon Pond, a folk-horror fantasia from Japanese New Wave renegade Masahiro Shinoda; and Gummo, a transgressive portrait of angelic and devilish souls in America’s rural underbelly from Harmony Korine. Plus: Pandora’s Box, a sensationally modern melodrama from master of early German cinema G. W. Pabst—now on Blu-ray. 
