Riot in Cell Block 11: Criterion Collection

As for the prison drama genre, there aren’t many decent examples with notable exceptions being films like Brute Force (1947) and Cool Hand Luke (1967). One of the early excellent examples is Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954), a pulpy drama with a story ripped... 

Persona: Criterion Collection

The 1960s was an exciting decade for world cinema with the likes of Akira Kurosawa (Japan), Sergio Leone (Italy), Lindsay Anderson (England) and Jean-Luc Godard (France) making names for themselves on the international stage. Among these cinematic giants... 

A Brief History of Time: Criterion Collection

Stephen Hawking’s book A Brief History of Time was published in 1988 and by 2007 had sold over 10 million copies. It was the brilliant physicist’s attempt to tackle such weighty ideas as the notion that the universe had a beginning and if so, what... 

I Am Divine

In 1988, notorious cult filmmaker John Waters finally achieved mainstream recognition with Hairspray. His star and muse Divine a.k.a. Harris Glenn Milstead helped the filmmaker get there and deservedly basked in the praise. Sadly, he died the same year... 

The Freshman: Criterion Collection

Many cineastes consider The Freshman (1925) to be silent comedian Harold Lloyd’s undisputed masterpiece. It was the pinnacle of his “Glasses Character,” a bespectacled protagonist that left home to succeed out in the world. In the case of this film,...