The Criterion Collection
Essays
Dec 11, 1989 — Previous rock-and-roll movies had been little more than showcases for the latest music, aimed at exploiting the youth market, cheaply made and melodramatic—then along came one of the most finely crafted films ever made about rock-and-roll.
Essays
Dec 11, 1989 — Michelangelo Antonioni’s classic divided film history into that which came before and that which was possible after its epochal appearance.
May 16, 1988 — Prior to the success of Scaramouche in 1952, many in Hollywood felt that the big-budget “swashbuckler” film was no longer a safe investment. While such motion pictures as MGM’s version of The Three Musketeers (directed by George Sidney, 1948) and...
Jan 4, 1988 — The Secret Agent (1936) came to life in the prime of Alfred Hitchcock’s British period. It arrived between the popular triumph of The 39 Steps and the box-office rejection of Sabotage, a more daringly downbeat work. Secret Agent partakes of...
The screenwriter and director talks about the timelessness of Brief Encounter, praises the performances of Richard Burton in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold and Marlon Brando in One-Eyed Jacks, and reminisces about discovering French cinema at an...
The actor and director talks about what makes Fantastic Mr. Fox a household favorite, shares how Gina Prince-Bythewood inspired her to step behind the camera, and praises Diahann Carroll and her performance in Claudine.
The actor, screenwriter, and producer talks about the monochromatic world of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, praises the way that the cinematography of Klute turns viewers into voyeurs, and shares why His Girl Friday represents Hollywood at...
The actor shares his close connection to Lindsay Anderson’s This Sporting Life, praises Richard Burton’s performance in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and talks about playing villains for “master of the macabre” Brian De Palma.
The director of She Came to Me and Personal Velocity talks about the most disturbing films she has ever seen, the sad humor of Miloš Forman, and the poetic-realist masterpiece that might be her favorite movie of all time.