Archive for the 'The Criterion Collection' Category
August 30th, 2016 by Bron Anderson
Newly released on Blu-Ray by The Criterion Collection comes The Immortal Story, the first color production directed by Orson Welles (Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil). As can be expected by the curators at Criterion, this release has been cleaned up, freshly transferred and given a ton of love by way of commentary, interviews, an included documentary about Welles, and an essay on the film. If, like myself, one is met with the thought “The Immortal Story? I have never heard of that,” then what a delightful opportunity to discover something worth treasuring we have been given. Continue reading ‘The Immortal Story – Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
August 25th, 2016 by Jerad Mullicane
The kitchen sink realistic play comes to the living room screen. “A Taste of Honey”, the 1961 British classic from Tony Richardson, finally makes it’s Blu-ray debut. Thanks to the folks at Criterion, “A Taste of Honey” has been digitally restored and remastered. Completely unapologetic in its’ depiction of life for the poor living in industrial Manchester, “A Taste of Honey” cuts to the bone in a way so few films capture. Where so many films and dramas aim to capture a story with a clear and resolute ending, A Taste of Honey does something different. There is no happy ending, only happy moments, tucked away among the clutter of reality. Continue reading ‘A Taste of Honey (Criterion Collection)’
July 17th, 2016 by Jerad Mullicane
Coming July 19th from The Criterion Collection, Muriel, or The Time of Return. Directed by Alain Resnais and written by Jean Cayrol, Muriel is a lost 1963 french classic incorporating themes of time, memory, war, and unrequited love. Starring Delphine Seyrig, Jean-Pierre Kérien, Nita Klein, and Jean-Baptiste Thiérrée, Muriel revolves around four souls as they attempt to navigate life shortly following the troubled resolution of the Algerian War. Continue reading ‘Muriel – The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
March 3rd, 2016 by Bron Anderson
Likely no surprise to anyone who has previously seen the work of Charlie Chaplin, The Kid, recently released on Criteron blu-ray, is an outstanding and groundbreaking cinematic achievement. One of the only ways to give a film this superb a worthy blu-ray release would be for Criterion to handle it. The combination of care, research, attention, and quality that is presented within the small plastic case is a testament to Criterion recreating the same values that Chaplin brought to his own films when he was making them. It should already be clear that this release is a must-have for anyone fond of silent film, comedy, Chaplin, The Criterion Collection, pathos, or film history, but in case more convincing is needed, let’s take a closer look at The Kid. Continue reading ‘The Kid (Criterion Collection Review)’
March 1st, 2016 by Jerad Mullicane
An American classic, The Graduate is restored in glorious 4k resolution thanks to the folks at Criterion. Chronicling the purgatorial existence of post-graduate Benjamin Braddock(Dustin Hoffman), The Graduate dives into the heady waters of adulthood, sexuality, love, and maturity with unrestrained breadth. Timeless in its’ portrayal of early adulthood and the minefield of social interactions, The Graduate strikes a chord that has resonated for nearly 50 years. Criterion proudly brings Mike Nichols‘ masterpiece to the digital world of high definition, and bolsters the presentation with a wonderful assortment of extras. Criterion, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you? Continue reading ‘The Graduate (Criterion Collection)’
February 29th, 2016 by Jerad Mullicane
So few directors can infuse the story of a struggling, down on his luck musician with so much unapologetic dark humor and persistent optimism. The Coen Brothers achieve just that with Inside Llewyn Davis. Oscar Isaac delivers an incredibly stirring performance, delivering deep soulful ballads that will leave the viewer entranced. Living a squanderous life of some notoriety and virtually no pay, Llewyn Davis wanders New York desperately seeking his big break. Unable to afford his own place, Llewyn couch surfs and depends on his various acquaintances to shelter him from a particularly troubling winter. Centered around the folk revival scene of the 1960’s, the film’s plot follows a pattern closely resembling folk songs and has fun with the cyclical nature of music. The end result is a finely crafted love letter to some of the unsung heroes of the pre-Bob Dylan folk scene in Greenwich Village. Continue reading ‘Inside Llewyn Davis (Criterion Collection)’
January 18th, 2016 by Jerad Mullicane
Umbrella sword in hand, the titular Lady Snowblood carves a bloody path to blu-ray at last. Masterfully reproduced in all it’s gloriously vibrant violence, Lady Snowblood and Lady Snowblood: Love Song of Vengeance serve as wonderfully entertaining, timeless, and influential stories of fate, lineage, strife, revenge, exploitation, and ultra-violent retribution. Heavily inspiring Tarantino’s Kill Bill saga, Lady Snowblood is a bountiful well of beautiful cinematography, masterful storytelling, and powerful music. Even the theme song, sung by Lady Snowblood herself (Meiko Kaji), is done with such succinct self-awareness and grandiosity that it’s difficult to understand why Lady Snowblood was never propelled into a full-fledged film series similar to Zatoichi. Continue reading ‘The Complete Lady Snowblood – Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
December 18th, 2014 by Aaron Neuwirth
This year I decided to go big with my list for the best Blu-rays. Kicking off my Top 10 year-end lists for 2014 is an article devoted to what I consider to be the best the Blu-ray format has had to offer for this year. These are films that I have been able to really dig into and see them as easy recommendations for anyone with the greatest home media format currently available. Much like the previous years, I stayed true to some rules; I have to have actually watched the movie on Blu-Ray, recognize it for the quality of their video and audio transfers, delved into the special features, and attempt to keep off any film on this list that may also be on my “Top 10 Films of the Year” list,” which basically means no LEGO Movie. I followed these rules for the sake of keeping my list interesting, along with creating some extra sections to provide even more highlights of the year, so here we go:
Continue reading ‘Super-Sized Top Ten: Aaron’s Astonishing Blu-ray Picks For 2014’
December 18th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
It’s my turn! No need for a preamble as to what goes into the generalities of crafting these Top 10 lists as the gents before me all did a fine job of explaining. 2012 provided what seemed like all the remaining “Must Have” box sets, leaving 2013 seeming kind of empty handed on the surface. Now there have been new sets, but many just prove to be repackagings of the older discs and calling them “new” (like the new Star Trek box set, The Exorcist 40th and the Hitchcock Essentials Collection). Universal would have had #1 on this list at “Hello” had they released a 2nd volume companion to last year’s Classic Monsters Collection (Yes, I’m still whining about that). 2013 was no slouch though, as there were still a set or two to release and plenty of titles that have never been on Blu-ray before finally making the jump. What I love about this period we are in now is that so much of the big name films from yesteryear seem to be out that others and many cult items are getting their turn at the plate and that makes things even more exciting as these are the ones people watch all the time and have been double dipping format to format on for years. Continue reading ‘Brandon’s Bodacious TOP 10 Blu-rays Of 2013!’
November 11th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
American director Joshua Marston broke out in 2004 with his jolting, Oscar-nominated Maria Full of Grace, about a young Colombian woman working as a drug mule. In his remarkable follow-up, The Forgiveness of Blood, he turns his camera on another corner of the world: contemporary northern Albania, a place still troubled by the ancient custom of interfamilial blood feuds. From this reality, Marston sculpts a fictional narrative about a teenage brother and sister physically and emotionally trapped in a cycle of violence, a result of their father’s entanglement with a rival clan over a piece of land. The Forgiveness of Blood is a tense and perceptive depiction of a place where tradition and progress have an uneasy coexistence, as well as a dynamic coming-of-age drama.
Continue reading ‘The Forgiveness of Blood: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
November 5th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Twelve-year-old Cyril (Thomas Doret), all coiled anger and furious motion, is living in a group home but refuses to believe he has been rejected by his single father (
Summer Hours’ Jérémie Renier). He spends his days frantically trying to reach the man, over the phone or on his beloved bicycle. It is only the patience and compassion of Samantha (
Hereafter’s Cécile de France), the stranger who agrees to care for him, that offers the boy the chance to move on. Spare and unsentimental but deeply imbued with a heart-rending tenderness,
The Kid with a Bike is an arresting work from the great Belgian directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne (
Rosetta), masters of the empathetic action film.
Continue reading ‘The Kid with a Bike: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
November 2nd, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
The debut feature by the great Andrei Tarkovsky, Ivan’s Childhood is a poetic journey through the shards and shadows of one boy’s war-ravaged youth. Moving back and forth between the traumatic realities of World War II and serene moments of family life before the conflict began, Tarkovsky’s film remains one of the most jarring and unforgettable depictions of the impact of war on children. Continue reading ‘Ivan’s Childhood: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
July 15th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
The Belgian filmmaking team of brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne turned heads with Rosetta, an intense vérité drama that closely follows a poor young woman struggling to hold on to a job to support herself and her alcoholic mother. It’s a swift and simple tale made revelatory by the raw, empathetic way in which the directors render Rosetta’s desperation, keeping the camera nearly perched on her shoulder throughout. Many have copied the Dardennes’ style, but few have equaled it. This ferocious film won big at Cannes, earning the Palme d’Or for the filmmakers and the best actress prize for the indomitable Émilie Dequenne. Continue reading ‘Rosetta: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
May 21st, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Alain Delon (The Leopard) was at his most impossibly beautiful when Purple Noon (Plein soleil) was released and made him an instant star. This ripe, colorful adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s vicious novel The Talented Mr. Ripley, directed by the versatile René Clément (Forbidden Games), stars Delon as Tom Ripley, a duplicitous American charmer in Rome on a mission to bring his privileged, devil-may-care acquaintance Philippe Greenleaf (Elevator to the Gallows’ Maurice Ronet) back to the United States; what initially seems a carefree tale of friendship soon morphs into a thrilling saga of seduction, identity theft, and murder. Featuring gorgeous on-location photography in coastal Italy, Purple Noon is crafted with a light touch that allows it to be suspenseful and erotic at once, while giving Delon the role of a lifetime. Continue reading ‘Purple Noon: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
December 1st, 2012 by Gerard Iribe
A sleeper hit of the early 1980s, Eating Raoul is a bawdy, gleefully amoral tale of conspicuous consumption. Warhol superstar Mary Woronov and cult legend Paul Bartel (who also directed) portray a prudish married couple feeling put upon by the swingers who live in their apartment building; one night, by accident, they discover a way to simultaneously realize their dream of opening a little restaurant and rid themselves of the “perverts” down the hall. A mix of hilarious, anything-goes slapstick and biting satire of me-generation self-indulgence, Eating Raoul marks the end of the sexual revolution with a thwack. Continue reading ‘Eating Raoul: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
November 24th, 2012 by Gerard Iribe
In this warmhearted comic yarn from Aki Kaurismaki, fate throws the young African refugee Idrissa (Blondin Miguel) into the path of Marcel Marx (Andre Wilms), a kindly old bohemian who shines shoes for a living in the French harbor city Le Havre. With inborn optimism and the support of his tight-knit community, Marcel stands up to the officials doggedly pursuing the boy for deportation. A political fairy tale that exists somewhere between the reality of contemporary France and the classic French cinema of the past, Le Havre is a charming, deadpan delight and one of the Finnish director’s finest films. Continue reading ‘Le Havre: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
November 24th, 2012 by Gerard Iribe
The Last Days of Disco, from director Whit Stillman, is a cleverly comic look at the early 1980’s Manhattan party scene from the vantage point of the late nineties. At the center of the film’s roundelay of revelers are the icy Charlotte (Kate Bekinsale) and the demure Alice (Chloe Sevigny), by day toiling as publishing house assistants and by night looking for romance and entertainment at a Studio 54-like club. Brimming with Stillman’s trademark dry humor, The Last Days of Disco is an affectionate yet unsentimental look at the end of an era. Continue reading ‘The Last Days of Disco: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
August 29th, 2012 by Gerard Iribe
I told you we’d be back with some more Ingmar Bergman madness, didn’t I? Well, up next we’ve got Summer with Monika, Bergman’s film about the joys and innocence of romance. Wait, I did say this was a Bergman film, right? Okay, throw in some drama and despair, and you’ve got yourself a Bergman stew. If Summer with Monika sounds familiar that’s probably due to his recent film that was shot a couple of years prior to this one. That one was called Summer Interlude, and you can read our review HERE. How will Summer with Monika stack up to that previous film? Keep reading after the jump to find out. Here’s hoping that Criterion keeps the Ingmar Bergman train going. We need more Bergman on Blu-ray! Continue reading ‘Summer with Monika: Criterion Collection (Blu-ray Review)’
