I Knew Her Well: Criterion Collection
April 25, 2016
Antonio Pietrangeli’s I Knew Her Well (1965) was part of the exciting boom of Italian cinema in the 1960s that reflected a period of economic prosperity where poor farmers found themselves becoming wealthier and more urban. Whereas most of these films...
Inside Llewyn Davis: Criterion Collection
February 18, 2016
Every time I watch Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), I’m reminded of the Bob Dylan song, “It Ain’t Me, Babe” and how the lyrics pertain to the film’s titular character. Set in 1961, it is the Coen brothers’ bittersweet love letter to folk music....
Psycho Beach Party: Blu-Ray
August 20, 2015
Surf’s up all you hep cats and hep kitties! Psycho Beach Party (2001) is a crazy movie that parodies and celebrates those kitschy beach party movies of the 1960s and sci-fi films of the 1950s. The prelude sets the tone of the movie perfectly. Chicklet...
Sullivan’s Travels: Criterion Collection
April 21, 2015
Sullivan’s Travels (1942) came out of Preston Sturges’ desire to make fun comedies after finding that the genre had become too preachy. He wrote the film with Joel McCrea in mind even though the character he was going to play may have been inspired...
The Palm Beach Story: Criterion Collection
April 8, 2015
Fresh from his 1941 hit The Lady Eve, Preston Sturges drew partially from his own life for his next film, The Palm Beach Story (1942). His ex-wife was an heiress that traveled among European aristocracy and was even courted by Prince Jerome Rospigliosi-Gioeni....
Tootsie: Criterion Collection
February 24, 2015
When it was released, Tootsie (1982) was a commercial and critical hit that poked fun at the women’s liberation movement as an actor struggled to find roles and out of frustration he began dressing up as a woman in order to get a job. In retrospect,...
Time Bandits: Criterion Collection
January 22, 2015
The early 1980s was a fertile time for fantasy films with the likes of Excalibur (1981), Dragonslayer (1981) and Conan the Barbarian (1982) among others. Time Bandits (1981) came out of Terry Gilliam being unable to get his passion project Brazil (1985)...
La Dolce Vita: Criterion Collection
November 24, 2014
At the time of its release, Federico Fellini’s La dolce vita (1960) was considered a prescient masterpiece that anticipated our celebrity-obsessed tabloid culture. Looking back now, its subject matter seems rather tame, but after the likes of O.J. Simpson,...
Y Tu Mama Tambien: Criterion Collection
August 20, 2014
The commercial disappointment of A Little Princess (1995) and Great Expectations (1998), director Alfonso Cuaron left Hollywood and regrouped back in his native Mexico by going back to basics with Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001), an independently made road movie...
The Big Chill: Criterion Collection
July 30, 2014
It was during the 1980s that the Baby Boomer generation were at the height of their influence and The Big Chill (1983) is often regarded as one of their most identifiable pop cultural touchstones. Using the clout he had acquired for his screenwriting...