The Criterion Collection

Wise Blood

John Huston

Sean G.: “John Huston may be a strange choice for a religious drama, but he makes this drama both sardonic and yet deeply felt.”

Walkabout

Nicolas Roeg

Sean G.: “The one time where it seems the film in Nicolas Roeg's head reached the screen was this captivating drama.”

The Thin Red Line

Terrence Malick

Sean G.: “Terrence Malick's visionary WWII war movie shows the cost of war to our very souls.”

Stray Dog

Akira Kurosawa

Sean G.: “Akira Kurosawa's first masterpiece was this police drama teaming up Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune as dedicated cops.”

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

Martin Ritt

Sean G.: “Martin Ritt's sober and searing Cold War drama, based on John le Carre's novel, still remains the best look at the gray area known as the spy game.”

Spartacus

Stanley Kubrick

Sean G.: “Stanley Kubrick's sword-and-sandals epic may not be among his very best, but it is among the very best of this genre.”

Shoot the Piano Player

François Truffaut

Sean G.: “The most enjoyable film Francois Truffaut ever made is this mash-up of gangster drama, comedy, and musical, and his best tribute film to Hollywood.”

The Seventh Seal

Ingmar Bergman

Sean G.: “What's surprising about Ingmar Bergman's ultimate drama about death and fate is how full of life it really is.”

Secret Honor

Robert Altman

Sean G.: “Robert Altman is best known for his ensemble films, but this one-man show about Nixon's final hours shows him just as comfortable with chamber drama.”

Rififi

Jules Dassin

Sean G.: “Along with The Asphalt Jungle, Jules Dassin's movie is still the gold standard by which all dramatic heist movies must be measured.”

Ride with the Devil

Ang Lee

Sean G.: “Ang Lee's Civil War drama goes beyond the usual stories to deliver an authentic and compelling look at how that period really affected us then.”

Pierrot le fou

Jean-Luc Godard

Sean G.: “Godard's farewell to his muse Anna Karina is, next to Weekend, his best combination of genre and politics.”

Monsoon Wedding

Mira Nair

Sean G.: “Mira Nair's best film deftly combines comedy, drama and music, and is the rare wedding film that doesn't seem self-congratulatory.”

Mona Lisa

Neil Jordan

Sean G.: “Neil Jordan delivers both a classic gangster tale and an achingly romantic drama in this modern-day twist on the Frog Prince tale.”

Made in U.S.A

Jean-Luc Godard

Sean G.: “Godard effectively skewers the detective film while paying homage to it, and for perhaps the last time, shows his love of old Hollywood.”

Léon Morin, Priest

Jean-Pierre Melville

Sean G.: “Melville's most unusual film on the face of it, but this tale of a priest and the woman he befriends is as engrossing as his gangster films.”

Le Samouraï

Jean-Pierre Melville

Sean G.: “Melville's most famous film has been imitated, or paid homage to, many times, but has never been equaled.”

Le deuxième souffle

Jean-Pierre Melville

Sean G.: “Melville's gangster films are usually about living by a code; this engrossing drama, on the other hand, is about a man who'll do anything to survive.”

Le cercle rouge

Jean-Pierre Melville

Sean G.: “Jean-Pierre Melville's penultimate film seems like a summing up of his career, and remains his greatest achievement amongst his gangster films.”

Insignificance

Nicolas Roeg

Sean G.: “Rarely has an intellectual puzzle been as much fun as Nicolas Roeg's film that imagines Einstein, Monroe, DiMaggio and McCarthy in one hotel.”

Hoop Dreams

Steve James

Sean G.: “Steve James' documentary stands as one of the great films, not just documentaries, for the care it shows its subjects.”

Homicide

David Mamet

Sean G.: “David Mamet has always been fond of playing tricks with his films; this film represents the one time he did so with deeper, and tragic, meaning.”

The Hit

Stephen Frears

Sean G.: “One of the great British gangster films ever made, Stephen Frears' existential drama also boasts Terrence Stamp's best performance.”

The Friends of Eddie Coyle

Peter Yates

Sean G.: “Peter Yates' film is about the criminal as worker bee, just struggling to survive, and few if any films showed that better.”

America Lost and Found: The BBS Story

Sean G.: “Five Easy Pieces, King of Marvin Gardens & The Last Picture Show are three of the reasons why American cinema was justly celebrated in the 70's.”

Fires on the Plain

Kon Ichikawa

Sean G.: “Kon Ichikawa's film stands as one of the great anti-war films of all time.”

Dodes’ka-den

Akira Kurosawa

Sean G.: “Akira Kurosawa's period films are justly acclaimed, but his contemporary films are also terrific, such as this searing yet humane ensemble drama.”

3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg

Josef von Sternberg

Sean G.: “Josef Von Sternberg may be best known for his Dietrich films, but these three classics show he was a master long before they got together.”

Do the Right Thing

Spike Lee

Sean G.: “Spike Lee's searing drama remains as timely and relevant today as it was when first released.”

Classe tous risques

Claude Sautet

Sean G.: “Claude Sautet is one of the most underrated French directors, and he expertly combines genre concerns with his usual care towards character.”

Chasing Amy

Kevin Smith

Sean G.: “Still Kevin Smith's best film, hysterically funny and yet surprisingly romantic and mature as well.”

Broadcast News

James L. Brooks

Sean G.: “James L. Brooks still-trenchant look at fading news standards is also the rare romantic comedy without a tidy conclusion to its love triangle.”

Band of Outsiders

Jean-Luc Godard

Sean G.: “Jean-Luc Godard at his most playful and fun.”

Bad Timing

Nicolas Roeg

Sean G.: “Nicolas Roeg's most controversial film, but also one of his most dazzling visually, and Theresa Russell has never been better.”