The Criterion Collection Newsletter

This month we asked director Rian Johnson, whose "high school noir" Brick was one of the most acclaimed films of 2006, what his favorite Criterion releases were. Johnson wrote to us: "I'm a huge Criterion fan, like most filmmakers you work with, I'm sure. My first exposure to many of my favorite films came from Criterion laserdiscs back in college, and today I seriously follow your new releases the way most people follow bands."

1. 8 1/2
2. Brazil
3. F for Fake
4. Amarcord
5. Fanny and Alexander
6. M. Hulot's Holiday
7. Scenes from a Marriage
8. The Third Man
9. The Bad Sleep Well
10. Down by Law

On July 30, film culture received a shock when news broke that both Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni, whose films changed the course of world cinema in the fifties and sixties, had died. Despite their differences in style, Bergman and Antonioni were their era's twin poets of spiritual alienation—whether through religious skepticism or social ennui. Though their deaths were a great loss to film culture, we are left with their rich, uncompromising legacies. What better way to honor their memories than to revisit some of their greatest works, from Bergman's Wild Strawberries and "Silence of God" trilogy to Antonioni's L'avventura and L'eclisse.

Stranger Than Paradise
Night on Earth
Robinson Crusoe on Mars
The Threepenny Opera
Martha Graham: Dance on Film


This August, Barnes & Noble is offering a special dog-days-of-summer deal for Criterion lovers as a way to stave off blockbuster fatigue: 30% off all Criterion Collection releases. The sale runs through the end of the month, both in DVD-carrying Barnes & Noble stores and online, where you can find the broadest selection. It's the perfect opportunity to get acquainted with our newest releases: this month we're introducing two great filmmakers into the collection (Carlos Saura, with his masterful family drama *Cría cuervos, and David Mamet, with his twisty debut, House of Games) and presenting another classic from an old favorite: Luis Buñuel's hilarious social satire The Milky Way*, for the first time on DVD in the U.S. As always, happy viewing!		This month we asked director Rian Johnson, whose "high school noir" Brick was one of the most acclaimed films of 2006, what his favorite Criterion releases were. Johnson wrote to us: "I'm a huge Criterion fan, like most filmmakers you work with, I'm sure. My first exposure to many of my favorite films came from Criterion laserdiscs back in college, and today I seriously follow your new releases the way most people follow bands." 1. 8 1/2 2. Brazil 3. F for Fake 4. Amarcord 5. Fanny and Alexander 6. M. Hulot's Holiday 7. Scenes from a Marriage 8. The Third Man 9. The Bad Sleep Well 10. Down by Law On July 30, film culture received a shock when news broke that both Ingmar Bergman and Michelangelo Antonioni, whose films changed the course of world cinema in the fifties and sixties, had died. Despite their differences in style, Bergman and Antonioni were their era's twin poets of spiritual alienation—whether through religious skepticism or social ennui. Though their deaths were a great loss to film culture, we are left with their rich, uncompromising legacies. What better way to honor their memories than to revisit some of their greatest works, from Bergman's Wild Strawberries and "Silence of God" trilogy to Antonioni's L'avventura and L'eclisse. Stranger Than Paradise Night on Earth Robinson Crusoe on Mars The Threepenny Opera Martha Graham: Dance on Film

STREET DATE: 8/14	For Spanish auteur Carlos Saura and his longtime companion and muse Geraldine Chaplin, making the ghostly family drama *Cría cuervos* was quite comfortable—since they were shooting across the street from where they lived. In an interview for Criterion, Chaplin also explains that this familiar Madrid location was a key inspiration for Cría, which takes place mostly inside the walls of a family's large house: "The idea of the film came because Carlos was sitting in his room, and across the street was this amazing property with this empty swimming pool. It was never sold, and it was becoming more and more dilapidated. And every morning he'd look at it and think, 'I must write something for that house.'"
STREET DATE: 8/21	Back in 1984, Joe Mantegna won a Tony for originating the role of Ricky Roma in David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize—winning Glengarry Glen Ross. Hollywood came calling to adapt the film, yet they insisted that Al Pacino be the actor to bring Roma to the big screen. In an interview on our new special edition DVD of Mamet's crime thriller House of Games, Mantegna says that almost immediately after he heard this disheartening news, Mamet walked into his dressing room with two film scripts, one called Things Change and the other House of Games, and promised that he wouldn't make either of them without him. Mamet kept his word, and Mantegna has been a big-screen mainstay ever since.
STREET DATE: 8/21	Luis Buñuel's *The Milky Way* was filmed in 1968, the same year that students and workers in Paris took to the streets, temporarily shutting down the city. This tumultuous period greatly influenced Buñuel's film, and according to Ian Christie in a new interview on the DVD, he was visibly stirred by the new revolt. Buñuel was especially heartened that the slogans that inspired the surrealists in the twenties—"Be realistic. Demand the impossible" and "It is forbidden to forbid" —were being recycled for this new youth movement. This atmosphere of rebelliousness imbued Buñuel with the spirit for his hilarious romp through religious heresy.

For further information on Criterion and our products, please visit our website at www.criterion.com. The Criterion Collection Newsletter is e-mailed every month. If you are not already on our e-mailing list and would like to be added, please consult our Newsletter sign-up page. © 2007 The Criterion Collection