#criterion dvd

[public-digiturgy]

The Gabriels:

The film Babette’s Feast features a sumptuous and life-altering meal - and Richard Nelson found this interview with sociologist Priscilla Parkhurst Ferguson (excerpted here, from the Criterion DVD) quite inspiring and helpful in the creation of Hunger.

[mikecuenca]

My Top 10 Criterion's on Hulu

I'm not even gonna try to name my favorite Criterion movies.  My brain doesn't work that way.  But I will make some recommendations...

Posting this a little late but this weekend Hulu has a ton of Criterion films (including some not available on DVD) streaming for free.  Yeah, those annoying ads pop up every once in a while that ruin the entire flow of the films but if you sign up for their week trial the Criterion Collection is commercial free.  

Okay.  Not sure if they're on Hulu but I'm not naming any Fellini's 'cause every Fellini Criterion release (save for And the Ship Sails On) is on my top must-watch and re-watch list.  So let's get that out of the way.

But on to the show...

   The Antoine Doinel Series.

Start with the 400 Blows, then visit Antoine & Colette, through Stolen Kisses, Bed and Board, and Love on the Run.  What you get is one of the most rewarding viewing experiences imaginable.  Watch how a troubled social outcast becomes a woman-hopping indecisive.  And then watch them again.  Like Wes Anderson did.

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            The Red Balloon/White Mane

Magic on camera.

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      Ariel

The greatest of deadpan crime comedies.  For me, this is probably tied with another Kaurismäki (also on Hulu): Shadows in Paradise.  Shadows is not a crime comedy but a romantic picture stating that falling in love is pretty like committing a robbery, anyway.  Actually, this choice is more about Shadows in Paradise than Ariel.  But watch both.

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           Tokyo Drifter

If there was ever a film that captured what pop art and the four-color world does to your senses, this is it.  A comic book come to life!  I watched this when I was 16.  I never got over it.  Criterion calls it a "a free-jazz gangster film".  That doesn't even begin to cover it.  I could write 9 essays on how brilliant this film is.  Also, that intro...let sleeping dogs lie.  Not in this case.  Or there wouldn't have been a movie. 

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        Veronika Voss

The lighting is flawless.  I watched this around the first time I watched Tokyo Drifter.  I couldn't even pay attention to the story 'cause I was so in awe of the photography.  Another state of Sunset Blvd.

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          Viridiana

I have other favorite Buñuel’s, and this was a toss up between The Exterminating Angel, but I had to go with Viridiana.  Depicts themes I'm obsessed with (Catholic guilt, forbidden fruit).  This is essentially two pictures in one with a taboo ending.  The second half is like a cross between Freaks and...uh, a Buñuel movie.

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        Mystery Train

"Hey, man. My name is Dave."

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       Vivre Sa Vie

In my top three.  If you don't like this movie, we probably don't see things the same way.

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        Modern Times

Same goes for Modern Times. Charlie makes a silent during the sound era, utilizing both forms harmoniously.

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      Les Miserables

Basically three films.  I don't care for Lord of the Rings but this was the Lord of the Rings of its time.  When I first watched this I realized how close to perfection not only a movie could be, but an adaptation as well.  I have yet to catch that critically and audience-hailed new version of Les Miserables, but this movie makes me never want to go back and re-read the book or care for any other version made.

[celluloidwickerman]

Criterion edition of Breathless has arrived! Wish these were more easily available in the UK.

[mikecuenca]

Recommendation: The Hit

The Hit

Directed by Stephen Frears, known for adapting Jim Thompson's The Grifters and Nick Hornby's High Fidelity.  Successfully, I think.

A beautiful film.  John Hurt plays hitman cool. Young, punkish Tim Roth is his associate.  The characters promise things that they will not adhere to and betray themselves much like we all do. Watched it a week ago and can't stop thinking about it.  A great mediation between life and death.

"It's just a moment. We're here. Then we're not here. We're somewhere else... maybe. And it's as natural as breathing. Why should we be scared?"

I can't praise it enough.

Barnes and Nobles is having a 50% off Criterion DVD Sale until the end of the month which means you can pick up a copy for cheap. It's a must own since I'm sure it'll grow richer with repeated viewings.

The Hit on Criterion DVD