Eraserhead Year: 1977 Director: David Lynch Once again worlds collided. I'm in the home stretch of Halloween viewing for my spooky season project and one of the themes this past week was "Oddballs & Weirdos" which, by any definition, applies to Eraserhead. So I broke my structure, ever so briefly, to kill two birds with … Continue reading Criterion Project #14: ERASERHEAD (1977)
The Burmese Harp Year: 1956 Director: Kon Ichikawa I've been lucky these past two weeks. Both last week's film (The Night of the Hunter) and this film are among my very favorites of all-time and watching them on back-to-back weeks was a delight. This project was designed to spotlight titles I may have forgotten about … Continue reading Criterion Project #13: THE BURMESE HARP (1956)
The Night of The Hunter Year: 1955 Director: Charles Laughton Leeeeeeaning....leeeeeeaning....safe and secure from all alaaaaarms. The butter-voiced Robert Mitchum croons this soothing hymn like a wolf in shepherd's visage in Charles Laughton's storied solo directorial effort. A film that I considered amongst my very favorite after just one viewing. And even after many watches, … Continue reading Criterion Project #12: THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
Pickpocket Year: 1959 Director: Robert Bresson Well that was just lovely. I finished watching this film minutes ago and wanted to get some thoughts out right away because, honestly, I don't remember liking Pickpocket the first time through. Granted, it was several years ago when I first watched it, but I was underwhelmed. Or more … Continue reading Criterion Project #11: PICKPOCKET (1959)
The Battle of Algiers Year: 1966 Director: Gillo Pontecorvo When you read a title like The Battle of Algiers you're no doubt picturing a war film along the lines of Paths of Glory or The Thin Red Line. You might think of once-peaceful fields, beaches, and forests setting the stage for the theater of war … Continue reading Criterion Project #8: THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966)
*Not the actual cover from the AK100 box-set. This is the only cover I could find online I'm going to be honest - I have no clue how to start this write-up. What can I possibly say about one of the most celebrated directors in film history? My interest in arthouse and foreign films began … Continue reading Criterion Project #5: SANSHIRO SUGATA (1943)
Even before we enter this world we are marked by karmaLady Snowblood Lady Snowblood Year: 1973 Director: Toshia Fujita Bloody, violent, and beautiful. These terms can be interchangeably applied to both the film and the title character of Toshia Fujita's classic, Lady Snowblood. My first "first watch" of the project and not your typical Criterion … Continue reading Criterion Project #4: LADY SNOWBLOOD (1973)
The Criterion project rolls along with Steven Soderbergh's sobering, star-studded Academy Award winning drug saga, Traffic. Traffic Year: 2000 Director: Steven Soderbergh A brief synopsis from Google: A look at America's war on drugs through several interconnected stories: Ohio's Supreme Court judge is appointed as the nation's Drug Tsar, unaware that his own daughter is … Continue reading Criterion Project #3: TRAFFIC (2000)
Film: Charade Year: 1963 Director: Stanley Donen The second feature in this long voyage is a classic, crowd-pleasing, twisting, turning, hey-I-thought-Alfred-Hitchcock-directed-this, riotous romp with a so-creepy-even-the-film-knows-it romance between old man Cary Grant and pretty young thing Audrey Hepburn. It's always a pleasure to re-visit Charade. What other film features a scene with Walter Matthau battling … Continue reading Criterion Project #2: CHARADE (1963)
Film: Tokyo Drifter Year: 1966 Director: Seijun Suzuki Well this project is kicking off with a literal bang! The lucky winner of the grand randomization is the slick, Japanese New Wave gem, Tokyo Drifter. This was a pleasing experience to kick things off. I remember watching Seijun Suzuki's Tokyo Drifter back around the time I … Continue reading Criterion Project #1: TOKYO DRIFTER (1966)
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