House: Criterion Collection
November 5, 2010
Nobuhiko Obayashi’s House was originally released in 1977 on the bottom half of a double bill with the tantalizing tagline, “How Seven Beauties Were Eaten!” Inspired by several story ideas from his eleven-year-old daughter, Obayashi directed a gonzo...
The Darjeeling Limited: Criterion Collection
October 11, 2010
Coming off the ambitiously mounted and complicated production that was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), Wes Anderson wanted his next film to be much smaller in size and more intimate in scope. Initially inspired by living in Paris with actor...
Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence: Criterion Collection
September 28, 2010
Nagisa Oshima’s film Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence (1983) was based on Laurens van der Post’s mostly autobiographical 1963 novel The Seed and the Sower about a British military officer and a poorly treated prisoner-of-war set in the lush Javanese tropics...
Red Desert: Criterion Collection
June 10, 2010
The term auteur was invented to describe a filmmaker like Michelangelo Antonioni who pretty much defined existential angst with the films he made in the 1960s, most notably the ones starring his then cinematic muse, Monica Vitti. With Red Desert (1964),...
Mystery Train: Criterion Collection
June 8, 2010
Jim Jarmusch is a filmmaker who has always been interested in outsiders, people who live on the fringes of mainstream society. His first three films took a look at America through the eyes of a foreigner. With Stranger than Paradise (1984), a young Hungarian...
Walkabout: Criterion Collection
May 11, 2010
Based on James Vance Marshall’s 1959 novel The Children, Walkabout (1971) marked cinematographer Nicolas Roeg’s feature film debut as a director. Originally, producer Si Litvinoff wanted Roeg to direct an adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ novel A Clockwork...
Paris, Texas: Criterion Collection
February 1, 2010
Films made about the United States by foreign filmmakers are interesting because quite often they provide a unique perspective – someone from the outside looking in. German filmmaker Wim Wenders did just this with his film Paris, Texas (1984). It was...
Wings of Desire: Criterion Collection
November 5, 2009
If Paris, Texas (1984) firmly established German filmmaker Wim Wenders on the international art house cinema scene, then Wings of Desire (1987) reinforced his status as one of the world’s premier visual storytellers. Not only is the film an impressive,...
Made in U.S.A.: Criterion Collection
July 20, 2009
Made in U.S.A. (1966) was made during Jean-Luc Godard’s most celebrated and highly-regarded period of filmmaking – 1960-67 – that spanned Breathless (1960) to Weekend (1967). As Godard progressed through this time period, his films became more self-reflexive...
Last Year in Marienbad: Criterion Collection
July 14, 2009
When Last Year in Marienbad came out in 1961, it divided critics and audiences alike with its refusal to adhere to traditional linear storytelling. Prior to this film, director Alain Resnais had dazzled audiences with his feature debut Hiroshima mon amour...
