The Criterion Collection
In Theaters
Mar 13, 2014 — Repertory PicksThe lovely domestic drama Equinox Flower (1958) was the first color film by the great Japanese director Yasujiro Ozu. Though this master of cinematic composition was initially resistant to moving to the relatively new process (the first color film...
Dec 12, 2013 — A beloved filmmaker in India, the Bengali director Ritwik Ghatak digs into his region’s traumatic history in this epic melodrama.
Dec 9, 2013 — The critic and WCP executive director offers a personal take on art cinema and a primer on the project’s scope and mission.
Nov 18, 2013 — When Tokyo Story was released in late 1953, Western audiences were just being exposed to Japanese cinema. Akira Kurosawa had made his breakthrough with Rashomon three years earlier, and Kenji Mizoguchi was moving to the forefront of the international festival...
Aug 23, 2013 — Did You See This?• Saying good-bye to Elmore Leonard, reverently and irreverently • Satyajit Ray, behind the scenes • Talking to Mr. Sunglasses himself, Wong Kar-wai • John Bailey remembers meeting John Ford. • Alice Guy-Blaché’s day will come. •...
Aug 9, 2013 — Did You See This?• An early Orson Welles film unearthed and being restored • Remembering the divine Karen Black in words and moving pictures • Yasujiro Ozu as you’ve never seen him • Investigating the essay film • Admiring the...
Short Takes
Aug 7, 2013 — In 1958, in the midst of his most fecund cinematic period, Yasujiro Ozu made his first color film, the splendid Equinox Flower. Like so many of Ozu’s films, this poignant drama is about the subtly difficult emotional landscape navigated by...
Jul 23, 2013 — Asked by French journalists in a 2001 interview what recent films he most admired, Brian De Palma named Ang Lee’s 1997 The Ice Storm. It was surprising to hear one of the leaders of a filmmaking revolution that aimed at...
One of Japan’s most important filmmakers, Kenji Mizoguchi created a cinema rich in technical mastery and social commentary, specifically regarding the place of women in Japanese society.
Jul 8, 2013 — With its marvelous, distinctive camera work, Kenji Mizoguchi’s searing drama is as technically remarkable as it is humane.