Archive for the 'The Criterion Collection' Category
May 15th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in August: Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, a bittersweet family portrait by Wayne Wang set in San Francisco’s Chinese American community; Drylongso, a rediscovered 1990s treasure of dynamic DIY filmmaking by Cauleen Smith; and Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema, a quartet of poetic, political films by the pivotal Swedish auteur. Plus: Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams, a visually sumptuous journey through the imagination of the beloved director, now on 4K UHD.
–
–
Continue reading ‘Kurosawa, Wang, Widerberg & More Coming to The Criterion Collection August 2023’
April 14th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in July: a selection of American classics including After Hours, a Kafkaesque NYC nightmare by Martin Scorsese; One False Move, a razor-sharp neonoir by Carl Franklin; The Watermelon Woman, a trailblazing Black lesbian meta-comedy by Cheryl Dunye; and The Ranown Westerns: Five Films Directed by Budd Boetticher, a collection of five taut, unexpectedly profound westerns starring Randolph Scott. Plus: the dazzling debut that helped launch the French New Wave, Breathless, by Jean-Luc Godard—now on 4K UHD.
– Continue reading ‘4Ks for After Hours, Breathless, One False Move & More Coming to The Criterion Collection July 2023’
April 7th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
It was an absolute delight to learn director Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series would be coming to Blu-ray via the Criterion Collection. Aired as a 5-week event on the BBC in the U.K. and having debuted on Amazon Prime Video in the U.S., this was rightfully deemed event viewing in the realm of empowering stories addressing race relations during a particular time period in London’s West Indian community. Taken as a whole, Small Axe would emerge as my number one pick for the best 2020 had to offer, with at least two of the entries earning their regard as the best the decade will have to offer. This Blu-ray set features all five films, along with a lengthy documentary, proving to be one of the most exciting releases I was happy to get my hands on.
– Continue reading ‘Small Axe – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
March 15th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in June: Medicine for Melancholy, the sublime San Francisco–set feature debut of love and connection by Barry Jenkins, rubs shoulders with The Servant, Joseph Losey’s savagely witty British class-war classic, while two favorites—The Rules of the Game, Jean Renoir’s merciless critique of French society, and Time Bandits, Terry Gilliam’s fantastic odyssey to the limits of the imagination—arrive on 4K UHD. Plus, our recently announced nine-film box set Pasolini 101!
–
– Continue reading ‘Renoir, Jenkins, Gilliam & More Coming to The Criterion Collection June 2023’
February 18th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Fed up with his experiences as a black actor in Hollywood, comedian and performer Robert Townsend delivered his feature directorial debut built around those challenges. The result was 1987’s Hollywood Shuffle, a satirical and semi-autobiographical comedy reflecting what it meant to be a black actor that wasn’t Eddie Murphy or Denzel Washington at that time. The Criterion Collection has given this film proper treatment, complete with a new 4K digital transfer and a collection of extras to further expand Townsend’s vision, ideally opening it up to new audiences and reflecting how little things have changed. At the same time, a funny comedy is contained within, featuring many memorable moments and characters.
– Continue reading ‘Hollywood Shuffle – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
February 15th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in May: Thelma & Louise, the feminist landmark that rewrote the rules of the road movie, directed by Ridley Scott; Peter Bogdanovich’s Targets, a chillingly prescient exploration of American violence; and Petite Maman, a time-bending fable evoking the wonder of childhood, directed by Céline Sciamma. Plus: Wings of Desire, Wim Wenders’ stunning valentine to the city of Berlin, and Branded to Kill, Seijun Suzuki’s brutal, hilarious story of a yakuza assassin—now on 4K UHD.
–
–
Continue reading ‘Scott, Sciamma, Suzuki 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection May 2023’
January 17th, 2023 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in April: Small Axe, Steve McQueen’s monumental, five-film counterhistory of London’s West Indian community, and Triangle of Sadness, a rowdy, Palme d’Or-winning satire of wealth, beauty, and privilege from Ruben Östlund. Plus: existential adventures abound in Terry Gilliam’s Manhattan-set fairy tale, The Fisher King, and Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, a stunning allegory of our search for meaning—now on 4K UHD.
–
Continue reading ‘Small Axe & Triangle of Sadness, plus Bergman & Gilliam 4Ks Coming to The Criterion Collection April 2023’
December 15th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in March: Inland Empire, a nightmarish odyssey into the deepest realms of the unconscious mind by David Lynch; Last Hurrah for Chivalry, a wuxia whirlwind from John Woo, a master of the heroic tragedy; and Chilly Scenes of Winter, a singular anti–romantic comedy from trailblazing director Joan Micklin Silver. Plus: Mildred Pierce, a bitter, noirish cocktail of maternal sacrifice and fierce ambition by Michael Curtiz—now on 4K UHD.
– Continue reading ‘David Lynch, John Woo & More Coming to The Criterion Collection March 2023’
December 15th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
The 70s remains a robust period for cinema. Black cinema during this time has received various forms of appreciation over the years, particularly regarding the explosion of Blaxploitation films. Cooley High is in a different class. Call it “Black American graffiti” if you’d like, and it’s not inaccurate. Whatever the case, this is a funny and endearing coming-of-age story revolving around Black teens in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing project. Seeing The Criterion Collection give Cooley High a proper Blu-ray release, complete with a fantastic new digital transfer, is a great thing to see. Sure, this is another step in delving into the diverse range of American cinema arriving during influential times in film history, but the film also stands out as a cinematic depiction of joy from the perspective of Black teens in an authentic environment. Having the film scored by Motown hits is merely a bonus.
Continue reading ‘Cooley High – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
November 20th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
Director Spike Lee has an impressive body of work, considering the number of excellent films delivered over the past five decades. With that in mind, the prolific director has at least two defining films that came pretty early in his career. There’s the landmark comedy-drama Do the Right Thing and Malcolm X, the epic biographical drama depicting the life of the famous Black activist. While having received two Oscar nominations (Best Actor for Denzel Washington and Best Costume Design for Ruth E. Carter), I look at Malcolm X as being one of the most important films to not be nominated for Best Picture. Of course, that hasn’t stopped its legacy from building over time. Now, for its 30th anniversary, the Criterion Collection has seen fit to release the film in a deluxe 4K UHD Blu-ray package, complete with new extras and a fantastic new transfer.
–
Continue reading ‘Malcolm X – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
November 15th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming to the Criterion Collection in February: Romeo and Juliet, the sublime adaptation of Shakespeare’s immortal romantic tragedy by Franco Zeffirelli; India Song and Baxter, Vera Baxter, two mesmerizing films by beloved French literary figure Marguerite Duras; and Hollywood Shuffle, the riotously funny satire of Black typecasting in 1980s Hollywood by Robert Townsend. Plus: Three Colors, the boldly cinematic trio of love and loss by Krzysztof Kieślowski, and Dazed and Confused, one of the best teen films ever made, by Richard Linklater—now on 4K UHD.
i
Continue reading ‘Romeo and Juliet, Hollywood Shuffle, Three Colors 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection February 2023’
October 17th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in January: Terry Gilliam’s adventure fantasy of epic proportions The Adventures of Baron Munchausen; Mia Hansen-Løve’s radiant summertime sojourn in which fiction and reality collide, Bergman Island; John M. Stahl’s devastating story of single mothers, racial identity, and the American dream, Imitation of Life; and from Lesotho, Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese’s startling meditation on roots and rebellion This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection. Plus: Danish provocateur Lars von Trier maps the soul of Europe in the Europe Trilogy.
– Continue reading ‘Baron Munchausen, Bergman Island, Lars von Trier & More Coming to The Criterion Collection January 2023’
September 15th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming this December: A tender portrait of Black teens in 1960s Chicago, Cooley High, directed by Michael Schultz; a dazzling doc about one of the most iconic rock groups in history, The Velvet Underground, directed by Todd Haynes; and three films each from two provocative voices—long-overlooked Swedish pioneer of feminist cinema Mai Zetterling and Austrian auteur Michael Haneke, who probes the void of modern existence.
l Continue reading ‘Michael Haneke, Cooley High & More Coming to The Criterion Collection December 2022’
September 8th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
A Criterion first, coming this November! The Criterion Collection is proud to announce their first collaboration with Disney and Pixar: WALL•E (2008), directed by Andrew Stanton, entering the Criterion Collection on 4K UHD this November! A high-water mark of digital animation, Stanton’s prescient vision of a rapidly oncoming dystopian future, packaged within a dazzling pop-science-fiction love story, is an urgent fable for our troubled millennium. Criterion’s director-approved edition features two commentaries, a masterclass with Stanton, behind-the-scenes footage, more than a dozen documentaries, deleted scenes, a tour of the Pixar Living Archive, selections from Stanton’s sketchbook, and so much more!
Continue reading ‘Time To Get Curious – WALL•E Joins The Criterion Collection This November’
August 17th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
Coming in November: Věra Chytilová’s defiant Czechoslovak New Wave provocation Daisies; Jane Campion’s psychologically piercing revisionist western The Power of the Dog; Andrew Lau Wai-keung and Alan Mak’s gripping saga of two rival moles in Hong Kong’s criminal underworld, The Infernal Affairs Trilogy; and Spike Lee’s visionary monument to an iconic civil rights leader, Malcolm X. Plus: an upgrade for Wong Kar Wai’s ravishing evocation of romantic longing In the Mood for Love. Continue reading ‘Campion, Lee, and Wong 4Ks Coming to The Criterion Collection November 2022’
August 13th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
With the recent passing of acting legend (as well as director and diplomat) Sidney Poitier, it’s entirely fitting to see the Criterion Collection release Buck and the Preacher. Also directed by Poitier (his first directorial effort), here’s a film that plays as an entertaining buddy western and a societal commentary focused on black life in America. That it happens to be set in the old west adds a unique feeling, as it’s no secret to know just how whitewashed the Western concept had been. Now with a brand new 4K transfer and a collection of extras, here’s a chance to take in an early black western made for mainstream audiences.
Continue reading ‘Buck and the Preacher – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
July 18th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
This October: Kasi Lemmons’s Eve’s Bayou, a southern-gothic tale suffused with Creole folklore; Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure, a grisly murder mystery that redefined Japanese horror; and Jayro Bustamante’s La Llorona, a political ghost story rooted in Guatemala’s bloody past. David Lynch’s twisting neonoir Lost Highway unfolds in the Hollywood Hills, while Frank Capra’s screwball classic Arsenic and Old Lace mixes the madcap with the macabre. Plus: the movie that invented the zombie genre, George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, now on 4K UHD.
–
Continue reading ‘Eve’s Bayou, Lost Highway, Romero 4K & More Coming to The Criterion Collection October 2022′
July 9th, 2022 by Aaron Neuwirth
Seeing the announcement of Devil in a Blue Dress as an upcoming 4K release from the Criterion Collection was a great joy. An underperformer at the time of its release, only to find more appreciation as the years have gone why, this period thriller starring Denzel Washington brings together two major ideas – a neo-noir detective story starring a black lead and the social realism of what it meant to be black in 1948 America. Featuring several great performances and plenty of style, thanks to director Carl Franklin and his team, the film is terrific. Thanks to Criterion, the film now looks and sounds better than ever, with a couple of new extras to round out the package.
Continue reading ‘Devil In A Blue Dress – The Criterion Collection (4K UHD Blu-ray Review)’
Coming in August: Dim Sum: A Little Bit of Heart, a bittersweet family portrait by Wayne Wang set in San Francisco’s Chinese American community; Drylongso, a rediscovered 1990s treasure of dynamic DIY filmmaking by Cauleen Smith; and Bo Widerberg’s New Swedish Cinema, a quartet of poetic, political films by the pivotal Swedish auteur. Plus: Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams, a visually sumptuous journey through the imagination of the beloved director, now on 4K UHD.
