The Criterion Collection
Jan 28, 1991 — The following review, one of the most renowned in the history of film criticism, appeared in The New Yorker magazine on October 28, 1972. It is reprinted with the permission of the author, Pauline Kael. Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in...
Essays
Mar 12, 1990 — This Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers film is a classic example of how music and dance can be used to tell a story, express emotions, richly explore human relationships, subvert logic, and send us singing and skipping into the street.
The writer and director reminisces about seeing Black Girl in the cinema with his mom as a child, shares how True Stories and Election influenced his approach to filmmaking, and talks about the emotional truth behind the visual artifice of...
The writer, prducer, and performer talks about his revelatory experiences watching Happiness and Trainspotting for the first time, shares why he finds The Last Waltz to be such an emotional and unique documentary, and praises performances by Robert De Niro...
The legendary director shares his emotional first encounter with La strada, reminiscences about eating hamburgers at Bob’s Big Boy with David Lynch, and reveals the connection between his film The Fly and Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf.
The musician and author reminisces on her formative experiences watching Federico Fellini movies with friends, shares her love for the visual and emotional composition of Yi Yi, and talks about the haunting naturalism of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s work.
The drag performer, author, and comedian praises Andrei Tarkovsky’s tableaus, shares an emotional experience watching All of Us Strangers, and reflects on how Pina Bausch revolutionized dance theater.
The actor and author talks about growing up above a video store and renting The Virgin Suicides once a week, gets emotional remembering her first encounter with Pedro Almodóvar’s celebration of unconventional beauty, and shares how starring in Uncut Gems...
The director and producer reminisces about the emotional impact of his early moviegoing experiences, shares his passion for the films of Federico Fellini, and talks about the profound thrill of watching Steve McQueen’s Hunger and Wim Wenders’ Pina for the...
The writer and director of Vermiglio expresses her love for the poetry of Ermanno Olmi, praises how Michael Haneke’s films cut right to your heart and mind, and celebrates the emotional power of The Piano.