The Criterion Collection

Yojimbo/Sanjuro Box Set

Akira Kurosawa

AMVP: “Yojimbo created and instantly classic character, and Sanjuro proved an equally classic sequel. One of the peaks of the Samurai genre. ”

Seven Samurai

Akira Kurosawa

AMVP: “Few works can stand solely as justification for their entire medium. Seven Samurai is one of cinema's defining legacies. ”

The Lady Vanishes

Alfred Hitchcock

Amarcord

Federico Fellini

AMVP: “Home to some of Fellini's most magical sequences, as well as one of the best fictional towns ever conceived. ”

M

Fritz Lang

AMVP: “As pure and perfect as film noir gets, even with the clumsy, on-the-nose final shot.”

Orpheus

Jean Cocteau

AMVP: “For a career that was very much dreamlike, Orpheus is a viewer's best portal into Cocteau's mind.”

Beastie Boys Video Anthology

Various

Sullivan’s Travels

Preston Sturges

AMVP: “Was shamefully slow to warm up to this one, though to be fair, many of its early madcap moments do require a specific mood. A classic on the whole.”

Closely Watched Trains

Jiří Menzel

AMVP: “The laziness of many modern sex comedies stands in stark relief to this film's dramatic heft and effortless charm. ”

The Vanishing

George Sluizer

AMVP: “This sparse release belies the haunting power of one of the best thrillers in decades. Any fan of Fincher or Nolan would do well to give it a look.”

Rashomon

Akira Kurosawa

Down by Law

Jim Jarmusch

AMVP: “Don't know why this has it as a 1 disc set. Mine has two, with all the special features of the blu-ray. Sprung for it while it was cheap.”

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Terry Gilliam

Umberto D.

Vittorio De Sica

The Rules of the Game

Jean Renoir

AMVP: “A classic farce of the highest order. A bit slow out of the gate, but really brings it all home in the end in a way few comedies can manage. ”

Ikiru

Akira Kurosawa

AMVP: “One of the great humanist classics. Stands as some of the best works of all the parties involved (and that's truly saying something).”

The Leopard

Luchino Visconti

AMVP: “Calling it "the Italian 'Gone with the Wind'" would sell this film short. By turns epic and intimate, The Leopard is cinematic royalty. ”

Slacker

Richard Linklater

AMVP: “Slacker is the cool breeze, the passing shade of a cloud, that makes for the most cozy of hot summer days. Indeed, it is summer distilled. ”

Andrzej Wajda: Three War Films

Andrzej Wajda

F for Fake

Orson Welles

AMVP: “It only stands to reason that, despite the intrigue that proceeds it, the film's ending is its greatest strength. Of course, it would be.”

Harakiri

Masaki Kobayashi

Monsters and Madmen

AMVP: “Karloff's performances are great, though not matched by their respective films. Here, the monsters come out ahead.”

La Jetée/Sans Soleil

Chris Marker

Three Films by Hiroshi Teshigahara

Hiroshi Teshigahara

AMVP: “This series of thrillers are trips for the eyes and the mind, and the accompanying short documentaries are hidden gems among hidden gems.”

4 by Agnès Varda

Agnès Varda

Pierrot le fou

Jean-Luc Godard

AMVP: “If Bonnie and Clyde had never been made, then maybe more people would have heard of this brilliant spark of colorful chaos. ”

The Last Emperor

Bernardo Bertolucci

AMVP: “Haven't yet finished it, but the cinematography alone convinced me I had to own it.”

Chungking Express

Wong Kar-wai

AMVP: “A classic of modern Chinese cinema. Come for the first half's thrills, stay for the second half's enchantment.”

The Exterminating Angel

Luis Buñuel

AMVP: “One of Bunuel's most high-concept works is also perhaps his most enduring. The thrills elevate, not compromise, the story's key themes. ”

Wings of Desire

Wim Wenders

AMVP: “A film of subtle shocks, mostly in how effortlessly it shifts from stoic philosophical ponderings to exuberant modern delights.”

House

Nobuhiko Obayashi

The Darjeeling Limited

Wes Anderson

AMVP: “Anderson's recurring theme of father/son relations reached the peak of its realization in this film.”

The Night of the Hunter

Charles Laughton

AMVP: “Proving Steven Colbert right, when he said, "If you make the first one good enough, you don't have to make another."”

Sweet Smell of Success

Alexander Mackendrick

Blow Out

Brian De Palma

Kiss Me Deadly

Robert Aldrich

AMVP: “I love a film that's not afraid to end on sheer WTF.”

Three Colors

Krzysztof Kieślowski

AMVP: “As rich and vibrant a series of films (and box sets, at that) as your ever likely to find.”

Godzilla

Ishiro Honda

AMVP: “Don't let its often unruly offspring fool you. This mother of all monster movies stands tall and proud over cinematic history. ”

Anatomy of a Murder

Otto Preminger

Certified Copy

Abbas Kiarostami

Rosemary’s Baby

Roman Polanski

Rebel Samurai: Sixties Swordplay Classics

AMVP: “Covering the full spectrum of Samurai flix, from chanbara (Kill!) to jidaigeki (Samurai Rebellion), this set is essential for fans of the genre.”

Ingmar Bergman: Four Masterworks

Ingmar Bergman

AMVP: “The title doesn't lie: these are all must owns for any cinema buff.”

Eclipse Series 32: Pearls of the Czech New Wave