The Criterion Collection
Short Takes
May 6, 2013 — The films of Max Ophuls, whose birthday we celebrate today, are luxuriously cinematic. His camera glides and tracks and cranes; we viewers swoon. But, as Molly Haskell has written, “the roving camera and the visual glissandos are never virtuoso flourishes...
Sneak Peeks
Apr 26, 2013 — Among filmmaker Pierre Etaix’s many eclectic accomplishments is his appearance as one of the thieves in Robert Bresson’s Pickpocket. However, you probably won’t be able to spot him: all that’s left of his performance is one of his hands, surreptitiously filching a wallet. In...
Apr 26, 2013 — Did You See This?• Max von Sydow goes to L.A. • The Game, for “real” • The Blob, for real • Style icons from Cary Grant to David Bowie • Get your Tilda on • Making it big in New...
Sneak Peeks
Apr 25, 2013 — Repo Man comes on like a bat out of hell. The opening credits are driven by the instrumental version of Iggy Pop’s propulsive "Repo Man Theme,” a song that immediately establishes the film’s punk identity. It’s hard to imagine the...
Essays
Apr 23, 2013 — Who is Pierre Etaix and where has he been all your life? This is the story of a filmmaker who was vanished, banished, skipped over. It’s as if one of those invisible cubicles mimes are always getting themselves shut in...
Tech Corner
Apr 22, 2013 — Restoration SpotlightShot in VistaVision and Technicolor, Richard III is the most eye-catching of Laurence Olivier’s essential big-screen Shakespeare adaptations. For years, it couldn’t be seen in its original glory, due to lost footage, faded colors, chemical staining, and missing frames....
Apr 22, 2013 — A vivid portrait of a ruthless murderer, Laurence Olivier’s Technicolor Shakespeare adaptation is back in a killer restoration.
Apr 19, 2013 — Did You See This?• Mapping out the world of Wes Anderson • Cannes 2013—and away we go! • Kurosawa, Godard, Herzog, Milius—just your average hangout • John Lurie returns to the rod and the reel. • For the love of...
The dynamic, Tokyo-born star was convincing whether playing a mercenary lone wolf or a heartsick love interest, a hero or a villain, in a sleek suit or samurai robes, and just as comfortable blending in to an ensemble as commanding...
Apr 17, 2013 — Four of the great Japanese director’s lesser-known, early films show the coming into being of a political artist.