When diving into movies that are first time watches from the Criterion collection there is always an unknown factor, but it comes with a safety net of knowing the movie should at least be pretty darn good at bare minimum…. Read More ›
Criterion Collection
The Cine-Men, Episode 87: Physical Media Favorites
Especially as streaming services are starting to remove their films and television programs without warning, enjoying one’s favorites often comes down to whether or not you have a physical back-up. You know, something that can’t be deleted for a tax… Read More ›
Criterion resurrects “The Rules of the Game” in a beautiful 4K UHD presentation.
There is something to be noted about Criterion and Janus films; while some of their slate of films and releases can be defined as questionable, they certainly release undeniably important films and always have. Especially as someone who went to… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection’s new release of “Time Bandits” on 4K is former released materials with a new format.
In part of what writer/director Terry Gilliam calls his “Trilogy of Imagination,” Time Bandits represents the adolescent perspective: a period of wonder, amazement, magic, and disappointment. It’s an adventure tale in which a child journeys through holes in the universe… Read More ›
Take the plunge with The Criterion Collection’s “Thelma & Louise” Blu-ray and 4K home release.
It has been nearly 32 years since Ridley Scott introduced the world to Thelma and Louise, and having never visited this picture before, I had an idea of what I was getting myself into, but no idea the extent of… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection re-releases Seijun Suzuki’s “Branded to Kill” in a newly remastered 4K UHD edition.
Since November 2021, physical media boutique distributor The Criterion Collection has included at least one in 4K UHD in their monthly new releases. These might be first-time additions to their collection (Terry Gilliam’s The Adventure of Baron Munchausen) or remasters… Read More ›
Terry Gilliam’s fantastical dramedy “The Fisher King” joins The Criterion Collection in multiple formats, including 4K UHD.
Over the course of writer/director Terry Gilliam’s career, whether it’s been Monty Python-related or not, each of his films have shared a fairly standard commonality: he’s written or adapted them. In the beginning of his career, his intention was to… Read More ›
Writer/director Joan Micklin Silver joins the Criterion Collection with a 4K restoration of her dark rom-com satire “Chilly Scenes of Winter.”
Personal feelings have a way of clouding one’s more practical or pragmatic judgement. If we’re excited or enamored with something, we’re more likely to excuse or soften something’s harder edges. If we’re not interested or already turned off by something,… Read More ›
Robert Townsend’s satirical comedy and directorial debut “Hollywood Shuffle” is the first of his films to join the Criterion Collection.
Writer/director/actor Robert Townsend has played a solider, a superhero, an every man, and even himself. He’s made a point to create and tell stories that are not just specific to him and his worldview, but to the Black community, as… Read More ›
Director Terry Gilliam’s sixth Criterion Collection entry is the comedic fantasy “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.”
You can often tell a bit about a person based upon where they know an artist or creative from. Specifically, what period of their work. For instance, if someone were to mention the musician Sting, they could just as easily… Read More ›
Some 30 years after theatrical release, Spike Lee’s masterful “Malcolm X” joins the Criterion Collection.
First there was Do the Right Thing (1989), then there was Bamboozled (2000), and now, for the third entry into the Criterion Collection, writer/director/actor Spike Lee’s Oscar-nominated Malcom X (1992) joins the illustrious physical format boutique distributor nearly 30 years… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection adds a 4K UHD option for their restoration of George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead.”
Boutique physical media distributor The Criterion Collection began offering 4K UHD editions of their monthly releases starting in November 2021 with Citizen Kane (1941) and Mulholland Dr. (2001). Since then, each month, a new 4K UHD edition has been released,… Read More ›
Darius Marder’s award-winning “Sound of Metal” joins the Criterion Collection.
Of the many things that occurred as a result of COVID-19 in 2020, as it related to the film industry, was that movies were either pushed over and over, rescheduled to a later date entirely, or sold to streamers. Films… Read More ›
Writer/director Bong Joon Ho’s Netflix Original “Okja” receives a Criterion home release worthy of the Best Superpig.
Before writer/director Bong Joon Ho would go on to win Best International Feature, Best Director, and Best Picture for his film Parasite (2019) at the 92nd Academy Awards, Bong Joon Ho was awarded Best Motion Picture in the Foreign Language… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection offers a lovely restoration of director Jûzô Itami’s 1984 satirical comedy “The Funeral.”
It seems fair to say that we’ve all experienced a sense of loss in some form or another since March 2020. It may be literal in the form of a loved one passing or as an extended estrangement due to… Read More ›
Director Vittorio De Sica’s fantastical dramedy “Miracle in Milan (Miracolo a Milano)” is the latest release to join the Criterion Collection.
“You have to keep me in shoes.” Of all the stories my late grandmother Naomi Pearl Russin Royal told, the one involving my late grandfather’s proposal and her response always amused me. As she told it, she had larger feet… Read More ›
Writer/director’s Kaneto Shindo’s “Onibaba” joins the Criterion Collection in two different editions.
There are many proverbs or common phrases that have worked their way into the moral fabric of society. “It’s better to be safe than sorry.” “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” “Treat others the way you’d like to be… Read More ›
Beloved Hong Kong director Johnnie To joins The Criterion Collection with 2004 genre-hybrid “Throw Down.”
If you’re well-versed in Hong Kong cinema, then the name Johnnie To will carry a great deal of weight. Among those who know, his films like A Hero Never Dies (1998), PTU (2003), and Election (2005) exemplify the Kong Kong… Read More ›
Fistful of Features shines a spotlight on The Criterion Collection’s restoration of “Original Cast Album: ‘Company’.”
Welcome to Fistful of Features, a celebration of film preservation through physical media and the discussion of cinematic treasures to maintain their relevance in the cultural lexicon. Today we’ll be discussing a failed television documentary pilot that was recently revived… Read More ›
The Criterion Collection welcomes writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 1998 philosophical drama “After Life.”
The question of what happens after this life has plagued humanity for centuries. Nothing, Nothingness, Valhalla, Heaven, or Hell: these and others have all been theorized as the next step once we’ve shuffled off this mortal coil and moved into… Read More ›