The Criterion Collection
Essays
Jun 22, 2010 — In the autumn of 1989, the Iranian magazine Sorush printed a story about an unusual crime: a poor man had been arrested for impersonating a celebrated film director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, to a middle-class family in northern Tehran. Although the accused,...
Dec 21, 2009 — Me and Orson Welles is the latest film from director Richard Linklater (Slacker, Dazed and Confused). Set in late-1930s New York, it’s both a nuanced, entertaining look at Orson Welles’s early career as founder of the Mercury Theater and a...
Jan 27, 2007 — Despite all the hype (or maybe because of it), it wasn’t that hard to get into the films I wanted to see. Standing on the last minute wait line worked for me every time, although that might say something for...
Oct 16, 2006 — Alfonso Cuarón’s first film—a sex farce that pokes fun at Mexican culture, including a public-service AIDS campaign—emerged from Mexico’s beleaguered state funding system for cinema, and was initially shelved by the government.
Oct 12, 2007 — From an interview with Ang Lee in the Northwest Asia Weekly: NWAW: Two years ago, you recorded an introduction for the Criterion Collection DVD of Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring, a film that had a tremendous impact on you as...
The actor shares her love for documentaries and the beauty of Grey Gardens, talks about being captivated by Sandra Hüller’s performance in Anatomy of a Fall, and praises the way Sentimental Value portrays the unique bond of sisterhood.
The writer and director talks about the innovative low-budget filmmaking of Detour, shares her love for The Battle of Algiers and its unrelenting “metronome of tension,” and praises Costa-Gavras as the inventor of the political thriller.
The actor talks about her favorite scenes in Beau travail and Punch-Drunk Love, admires Nicole Kidman’s performance in To Die For, and shares her desire to dance with Bob Fosse.
The director of All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave shares his love for Downhill Racer and its innovative sound design, talks about the emotional impact of Cold War, and selects a few of Roberto Rossellini’s films featuring Ingrid...
The award-winning actor talks about his childhood experience seeing Carnival of Souls and his love for low-budget horror treasures, shares how Blue Velvet ignited his desire to become an actor and why Rashomon always moves him to tears, and praises...