Over a century after its initial release, Charlie Chaplin’s debut feature, The Kid, is released in a new 4K digital restoration by Criterion. Initially released as part of his eight picture deal with First National Exhibitors, The Kid built off the prolific number of short comedies he’d been making since […]
criterion collection
Smooth Talk (1985): should now be considered an American classic (Review)
For a reissue of a quiet, low-key movie that isn’t all that well-known, Criterion’s new Blu-Ray of Joyce Chopra’s feature debut Smooth Talk has to do a lot. First off, it has to contribute to correcting the gender imbalance in Criterion’s library, although it isn’t shouldering that burden alone. Over […]
Repulsion (1965) Jeanne Dielman for the beat ‘60s with a supremely knotty director in tow (Review)
Before we begin, I feel as though my review must be prefaced with a trigger warning; Repulsion is not exactly light viewing. As you may know, Repulsion was directed by the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Roman Polanski, a man whose directorial back-catalogue contains some of the most celebrated examples of the […]
Mystery Train (1989) A Trip to Memphis, With or Without Rose Tinted Glasses (Review)
Mystery Train was director Jim Jarmusch’s 4th film and his first since his low-budget debut, Permanent Vacation, to be shot in colour. His previous two were strikingly shot in black and white, which suggests that Jarmusch wished to visually capture Memphis in the best way that he could. Despite being […]
Wanda (1970) A Glimpse of the Real New Hollywood? (Review)
April 17th sees the release to the Criterion Collection of Wanda, the first and only feature film from Barbara Loden, actor and wife of Elia Kazan. A landmark in US cinema’s independent movement, Wanda is set in the unglamorous sooty surroundings of eastern Pennsylvania’s industrial heartlands and features a central […]
Imitation of Life (1934) Thematically poignant pre-code romance succumbs to padding (Review)
America’s cinematic landscape drastically changed in 1934 with the introduction of the oppressive and controlling Hays Code, a set of strict censorship rules that dictated what studio films could show on-screen. The code enforced traditional catholic family values, reduced sexually explicit content and, amongst many other things, always ensured the […]
Vivre Sa vie (1962): Godard, the ultimate cinephile, makes his most emotional film (Blu-Ray Review)
Which film director best exemplifies cinephilia? For many people today, the answer would be Quentin Tarantino, who’s just published a book giving his personal take on film history, Cinema Speculation. For Godard – who was less than flattered by Tarantino naming his production company after Godard’s 1964 film Bande a […]