In the solitary extra of Criterion’s new Blu-ray of 1964’s Pale Flower, Masahiro Shinoda says that his writers wanted to make something fresh, something Shochiku studio wasn’t doing. In the 1960s, Yakuza cinema was full of rough boys driven by anger and anachronistic musical numbers. The leading men were manly […]
criterion collection
Boat People (1982): Ann Hui’s controversial snapshot of post-war Vietnam (Review)
Classic Film Kid – Down by Law (1986)
One Night in Miami (2021) A Conversation with History (Review)
Originally released on Amazon Prime Video and cinemas back in January 2021, Regina King’s feature-length debut One Night in Miami, an adaptation of Kemp Powers’ 2013 play of the same name, who also wrote the screenplay, closed out the year with a Criterion Collection DVD and Blu-ray release in December. […]
Written on the Wind (1956) Sirk’s most chaotically lush melodrama (Review)
Love Affair (1939) A scandalous Hollywood tale wrought by the Hays Code (Review)
Dick Johnson is Dead (2020) sad yet uplifting doc about preparing for death (Review)
It’s impressive just how ‘up for it’ the titular Dick Johnson is for the various whims of his daughter, award-winning documentary maker Kirsten Johnson. Wide-eyed and smiling, 88-year-old Dick is placed into various fictitious mortal, and bloody situations throughout the movie staged in loving detail by his daughter, including getting […]
John Waters – Multiple Maniacs & Hairspray (1988) Directors Uncut IV
In the Realm of the Senses (1976): legendary arthouse shocker returns, its power undimmed (Review)
2022’s home releases get off to a dynamite start with Criterion UK’s Blu-Ray of this legendary arthouse shocker by Nagisa Oshima, alternatively known as Ai no Corrida but not – despite the persistent mistake – known as In the Realm of the Senses. (The misunderstanding stems from the opening credits, […]