The Criterion Collection

Ministry of Fear

Fritz Lang

David MacDonald: “Huge Fritz Lang fan here, and a fan of film noir in general.”

Pierre Etaix

Pierre Etaix

David MacDonald: “Very happy that they decided to release these films as a Blu-ray box set instead of an Eclipse; they're fantastic movies that deserve our adoration.”

Repo Man

Alex Cox

David MacDonald: “Repo man is always intense. Come on, let's go do some crimes!”

Le doulos

Jean-Pierre Melville

David MacDonald: “A hard-boiled gangster movie with Melville's signature cool and an amazing performance from Jean-Paul Belmondo. It also has a great ending.”

Fiend Without a Face

Arthur Crabtree

David MacDonald: “A classic, I love these old B horror movies.”

Monsters and Madmen

David MacDonald: “We need more things like this in the collection. I was struck by the respect and love with which everyone in the supplements spoke of Boris Karloff.”

Léon Morin, Priest

Jean-Pierre Melville

Paris, Texas

Wim Wenders

Secret Sunshine

Lee Chang-dong

David MacDonald: “The fact that this is the ONLY Korean film in the Collection needs to be rectified. Korean cinema is AMAZING, especially post-2000.”

Badlands

Terrence Malick

David MacDonald: “Terrence Malick's first masterpiece.”

Rashomon

Akira Kurosawa

David MacDonald: “A flawed movie, but classic. Japan's tendency to greatly exaggerate all emotions can be a bit off-putting at times, but it's worth it in the end.”

Science Is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé

Jean Painlevé

Slacker

Richard Linklater

David MacDonald: “An essential nineties classic.”

Beastie Boys Video Anthology

Various

David MacDonald: “Intergalactic, Planetary. Showed that video to my sister and it blew her mind.”

The Complete Mr. Arkadin

Orson Welles

Bigger Than Life

Nicholas Ray

Pina

Wim Wenders

David MacDonald: “I don't and never will know a thing about modern dance, but I do know that this movie is beautiful and entrancing.”

Eclipse Series 17: Nikkatsu Noir

David MacDonald: “So far I've only seen Take Aim at the Police Van, which amounted to really just a B gangster movie, but it was still fun to watch.”

Eclipse Series 12: Aki Kaurismäki’s Proletariat Trilogy

Aki Kaurismäki

On the Waterfront

Elia Kazan

David MacDonald: “Absolutely incredible. "Urban poetry" is right. The original Rocky, but in a good way.”

Ivan’s Childhood

Andrei Tarkovsky

David MacDonald: “Breathtaking visuals and a heartbreaking story.”

The Ballad of Narayama

Keisuke Kinoshita

David MacDonald: “The style takes some getting used to, but the visuals are beautiful, especially in the final scene.”

The Leopard

Luchino Visconti

David MacDonald: “The set and costume design is more lavish and beautiful than any I've ever seen, and the movie itself is fantastic.”

Two-Lane Blacktop

Monte Hellman

David MacDonald: “Possibly the coolest movie ever made.”

Following

Christopher Nolan

Eclipse Series 35: <i>Maidstone</i> and Other Films by Norman Mailer

Norman Mailer

Weekend

Jean-Luc Godard

David MacDonald: “This movie will make you question your sanity until it finally drives you insane, this making your questioning of said sanity reasonable.”

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Terry Gilliam

David MacDonald: “Finally upgraded to the blu-ray, it's a great transfer and my favorite film in the entire collection, sometimes in the entire world.”

Metropolitan

Whit Stillman

People on Sunday

Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer

The Last Emperor

Bernardo Bertolucci

David MacDonald: “A beautifully shot cinematic treasure. Every frame is a work of art, and the story itself is bittersweet and gratifying.”

Les visiteurs du soir

Marcel Carné

David MacDonald: “A beautiful escapist fantasy during the height of the French Occupation. This is my favorite style of French cinema.”

Eclipse Series 37: When Horror Came to Shochiku

David MacDonald: “My favorite Eclipse set to date. These movies are beautifully ridiculous.”

Heaven’s Gate

Michael Cimino

David MacDonald: “The last Western masterpiece, an epic story told with unbounded skill and sincerity, and aided by a massive budget and an all-star cast.”

The Qatsi Trilogy

Godfrey Reggio

David MacDonald: “Koyanisqatsi: beautiful images with a very annoying soundtrack. Naqoyqatsi: a very interesting idea and a very unique movie.”

Rosemary’s Baby

Roman Polanski

David MacDonald: “One of the most deeply unsettling movies ever made. No horror movie before or since has mastered the disturbing imagery of being date-raped by Satan.”

In the Mood for Love

Wong Kar-wai

David MacDonald: “Indescribably beautiful, must be seen to understand. Somehow though, it's only my second-favorite Kar-Wai after Chungking Express.”

A Hollis Frampton Odyssey

Hollis Frampton

3 Women

Robert Altman

Eating Raoul

Paul Bartel

David MacDonald: “One of the most twisted, crazy and hilarious comedies ever made, this movie blends social satire with the darkest of dark humor.”

The Game

David Fincher

David MacDonald: “Many dislike this movie because they think a movie with a twist should rely solely on that twist, and this defies that idea by being genuinely fun.”

Harakiri

Masaki Kobayashi

Quadrophenia

Franc Roddam

David MacDonald: “A great "youth in revolt" movie; awesome soundtrack by The Who and an awesome appearance by Sting. Could use some more of this in the collection.”

For All Mankind

Al Reinert

David MacDonald: “I'm not usually one for documentaries, but every now and then one will really resonate with me, and this is one such film. Absolutely breathtaking.”

Lonesome

Paul Fejos

David MacDonald: “A short, simple and charming story of young love, told in a unique and visually engrossing way made more impressive by the fact that it's from 1928.”

Last Year at Marienbad

Alain Resnais

David MacDonald: “This movie reminded me of the joke movie that was playing in the background of Max Payne. Still, it was pretty excellent.”

Howards End

James Ivory

The Royal Tenenbaums

Wes Anderson

David MacDonald: “My personal favorite Wes Anderson movie; it has the same overwhelming charm of his other work, but with a much bleaker feeling overall.”

Le Havre

Aki Kaurismäki

David MacDonald: “An extremely heartwarming movie, but at the same time a bit cynical; it's amazing the good people will do when someone else does it first.”

Eclipse Series 2: The Documentaries of Louis Malle

Louis Malle

David MacDonald: “When I started Phantom India, I thought it was incredible. As I continued, I realized that Malle viewed the Indians in a racist and unrealistic way.”

Summer Interlude

Ingmar Bergman

David MacDonald: “This was released bare-bones along with a loaded release of Summer with Monika, but I far prefer this one. It's subtler and more heartbreaking.”

Down by Law

Jim Jarmusch

David MacDonald: “This was my intro to Jarmusch (I decided to watch it because I'm a huge Tom Waits fan), and I honestly think it's the best way to discover his work.”

Insignificance

Nicolas Roeg

The Last Metro

François Truffaut

Cul-de-sac

Roman Polanski

The Complete Monterey Pop Festival

David MacDonald: “The 2nd best concert movie of all time, after The Last Waltz. It does end on a low note for me though (Ravi Shankar twenty minute sitar solo, ugh).”

Chungking Express

Wong Kar-wai

David MacDonald: “With this movie Wong Kar-Wai has forever secured a place within my heart. One of the most charming films about contemporary romance I've seen.”

Repulsion

Roman Polanski

David MacDonald: “It goes without saying, but Roman Polanski is the master of creepiness; I was expecting camp from this movie, but it was successfully chilling.”

Black Narcissus

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

Army of Shadows

Jean-Pierre Melville

David MacDonald: “Melville is one of my favorite French directors, and this heart-breaking tale of the French Resistance during WWII is a great example why.”