THE 9 BEST CRITERION COLLECTION FILMS TO WATCH ON HALLOWEEN
obligatory, but clutch.
have a happy halloween! if you happen to see any criterion-y costumes, send a pic to criterioncorner@gmail.com and maybe i’ll post it on monday!
in a related story, come back on monday for 400 pictures of people dressed in curly wigs and red tracksuits!
CRITERION ANNOUNCES THEIR MARCH 2012 RELEASES!
2012 is shaping up to be a pretty good year for Criterion fans, as their line-up for the first three months is just sloppy drunk with great films and also Tiny Furniture. the March titles — announced this afternoon — keep that streak alive with a strong (if predictable) batch of releases, which include another doozy of a box set, a vital obscurity, and - of course - a couple of blu-ray upgrades that aren’t MISHIMA: A LIFE IN FOUR CHAPTERS, and thus make me sad.
NEW RELEASES:
#601 LETTER NEVER SENT (dir. Mikhail Kalatozov) 1959
i haven’t seen this in years, but i remember it knocking me flat. Kalatozov was one of those brilliant cinematic minds that, as a result of some killer extenuating circumstances (i.e. communism), never fully realized his potential. but his every shot is imbued with the type of fluid genius that teases out the awe from the ordinary. this harsh tale of survival is gripping stuff, visceral enough to thrive on its own… which is good, as Letter Never Sent is getting the Makioka Sisters treatment, in that it’s gonna be $16 and bare to the bones. but that cover… as natalie portman and her mom would say in eerie unison: “preetttyyyyy.”
#602 THE WAR ROOM (dir. D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus) 1993
oh, is 2012 an election year? finally! the Ragin’ Cajun’ himself, James Carville, is coming to the Criterion Collection, and his bald head is gonna take up 1/2 the cover! a seminal doc (a decent dvd of which has been available forever), fiercely entertaining and more relevant than ever, The War Room is a valuable addition to the Collection. disc looks pretty stuffed, too, complete with a reflective 2008 doc called Return of the War Room which takes a look back at how the Clinton campaign shaped our political present.
#603 DAVID LEAN DIRECTS NOEL COWARD (dir. um, David Lean) 1942-1945
ka-pow! we knew this was coming, but still it’s pretty satisfying to see it unveiled in all its glory… the inclusion of Brief Encounter just sweetens the deal, as that Criterion classic is perhaps the greatest infidelity drama ever made about zombies. you also get In Which We Serve, that all too rare film about film editors, the miserabilist portrait We Happy Breed, and — perhaps my favorite part of this set — Blithe Spirit. the set is stacked with extras (although only Brief Encounter includes a commentary, the same one that was included on Criterion’s initial DVD release of the film 12 years ago), and the art is beautiful from back to front (a fine testament as to the wild maturation of Criterion’s design).
RE-ISSUES
#7 A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (dir. Roy Ward Baker) 1958
i don’t really have a face for headwear, but if you’ll allow me to put on my cynical hat for a second, here… look, A Night to Remember is a compelling movie, but its hardly mandatory viewing, and its appeal has diminished considerably since james cameron made the definitive movie about the Titanic (i got your back, Titanic). and it’s probably not a coincidence that this disc is dropping the week before Titanic is theatrically re-released in 3D. just sayin.’ anyway, it’s gonna be gorgeous, and the new cover art is massive and fetching, so i’ll just stop here lest i stick my face any deeper down that gift horse’s throat.
#70 THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST (dir. Martin Scorsese) 1988
i’m kinda surprised that Criterion didn’t save this one for easter. anyway, another blu-grade about which it’s tough to complain… one of scorsese’s most undervalued masterpieces, and a film in dire need of continued attention. will be fun to watch everyone try and connect the dots between this and Hugo.
note: it appears as if Criterion is not re-releasing LAST TEMPTATION on DVD. just blu-ray.
THE 9 BEST CRITERION COVERS OF 2011
it was a very pretty year
read the list, parse through my selected commentary, and definitely feel free to voice your dissent / approval in our sparkling new comments section below! i’d also recommend checking out Robert Nishimura’s list over at Criterion Cast, a great read from someone who actually knows a thing or two about graphic design.
1.) THE MUSIC ROOM (designed by Marian Bantjes)
for the first Satyajit Ray film inducted into the Collection, Criterion commissioned “vector artist” (please don’t ask me what that means) Marian Bantjes to design something beautiful but broken, an abstract image that captured the spirit of a man who lived his life atop a fragmented mess of half-forgotten memories.
The genius of Bantjes’ design is the extent to which it feels incomplete, like a scavenger map to a tracing the various touchstones of a particularly tormented human life. The twinkling flecks of white she contrasts with the gray backdrop obviously form a chandelier (a pivotal image in the film), but each time you look at them they require you to piece them back together, to determine their ultimate shape and take note of where the gaps are. I know that each time I look at it, it’s something of a three step process:
Step 1: Is that an octopus?
Step 2: No, that is not an octopus.
Step 3: Oh, right, it’s that chandelier from the movie that inspired this image, and it magnificiently captures the cracked persona of an Indian aristocrat who is forced to reconcile his life’s greatest regrets while eulogizing the traditional world to which he once belonged.
2.) THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE (designed by Eric Skillman)
3.) SECRET SUNSHINE (designed by Steve Chow)
the stressed and simple picture of Jeon Do-yeon captures the film’s raw intensity (and that of its blistering central performance) in a way that a more abstract image probably never could.
4.) INSIGNIFICANCE (designed by Fred Davis)
Designer Fred Davis’ cover design — a splintered image of “Marilyn Monroe” that blossoms into “Einstein’s” nuclear notes — is striking, particularly against the oblivion of its white background.
5.) SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (painted by Sean Phillips, designed by Eric Skillman)
Stunning. A garish rendering of the film’s opening scene — Falco haunting the mid-town streets under the ever-watchful eyes of J.J. Hunsecker — this is one of Criterion’s most beautiful releases. The epic booklet contained within is a black & white wonder, dense with enriching essays in the guise of an old-time gossip rag.
6.) THE KILLING (designed by Connor Willumson)
7.) FOUR FEATHERS (illustration by Gregory Manchess)
8.) ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (designed by Aesthetic Apparatus)
9.) KURONEKO (designed by Sam Smith)
Sam Smith and Eric Skillman have collaborated to deliver a truly unique Criterion cover, the first lenticular or whatever you call it in the company’s history. It’s a gorgeously ethereal design in the first place (based off Smith’s one-sheet design and flecked with the thick, jangly font he created by hand), but as you tilt the box and the figure on the front disappears from the grove… it’s perfection, and it totally nails the film’s unique tone.
honorable mentions: THE MIKADO (designed by F. Ron Miller), and BRANDED TO KILL (by Eric Skillman) — we need more pink!
JANUARY 2012 CRITERION RELEASES ANNOUNCED!
this is gonna be super brief as i’m running around like a madman today (but unfortunately, not like a Mad Man, as that would require much more dapperness than my current sleep schedule allows). tidy month for Criterion, as January 2012 will see them adding only three titles to the Collection, but all big ones. also arriving is the forever-rumored Jean-Pierre Gorin Eclipse Series. huzzah!
#593 BELLE DE JOUR (dir. Luis Bunuel) 1967
perhaps the greatest Bunuel film that had yet to be inducted into the Collection, this release is gonna be a doozy. loaded to the gills with features and topped off with some of the most fetching artwork to have ever graced a dvd / blu-ray / thing.
#594 GODZILLA (dir. Ishiro Honda) 1954
MAN-IN-SUIT.MAN-IN-SUIT.MAN-IN-SUIT.MAN-IN-SUIT.MAN-IN-SUIT.MAN-IN-SUIT.
the fact that this exists is kinda shocking and sublime. the fact that it looks like it does is just… they should have sent a poet. a mecha-poet.
#595 THE MOMENT OF TRUTH (dir. Francesco Rosi) 1964
haven’t seen this one (though it’s already up on Criterion’s Hulu page), but i love me some Rosi and men getting horribly gored by bulls, so despite the simmering disappointment that Almodovar’s TALK TO HER is *not* in fact heading imminently joining the Collection, i’m still mighty excited. that being said, not sure i’m wild about the cover, which captures the pivotal event in question in a blur of drama.
BLU-RAY UPGRADE:
#151 TRAFFIC (dir. Steven Soderbergh) 2000
just what my blu-ray collection needs: more topher grace.
Criterions in Context: The Top 10
so the folks over at Criterion have selected the 10 finalists for their Criterions in Context contest, and all in all methinks these are pretty solid choices. the purist in me favors the IVAN’S CHILDHOOD design, but the attention to detail evident in the F FOR FAKE mock-up and the clever layers of the VIDEODROME riff are hard to deny. or does EVERLASTING MOMENTS pull it out for sheer elegance?
head on over to Criterion’s Facebook page to vote for your favorite (if you can pick one, that is), and whichever has the most “likes” by this time tomorrow (3:30 PM EST) will be the winner. huzzah!
