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Le Samourai: Criterion Collection

March 6, 2018

 Le Samourai: Criterion Collection

Le Samourai (1967) begins with no dialogue for several minutes as director Jean-Pierre Melville expertly conveys everything we need to know visually. He shows professional hitman Jef Costello (Delon) getting ready for a job. It is the kind of introduction... 

Blood Simple: Criterion Collection

November 30, 2016

 Blood Simple: Criterion Collection

After the disastrous experience of making Crimewave (1986) with their friend and fellow filmmaker Sam Raimi, the Coen brothers – Joel and Ethan – parted company with him and decided to make a film on their own. They returned to their hometown and... 

The Player: Criterion Collection

May 31, 2016

 The Player: Criterion Collection

The 1980s was a tough decade for Robert Altman. After enjoying so much creative freedom in the 1970s it all came crashing down with Popeye (1980), a big budget adaptation of the comic strip of the same name. It was plagued with production problems and... 

The Manchurian Candidate: Criterion Collection

April 26, 2016

 The Manchurian Candidate: Criterion Collection

John Frankenheimer’s masterful political thriller The Manchurian Candidate (1962) was released at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis and reflects the mounting tensions between the United States and the Soviets during the Cold War. Based on Richard... 

The Hateful Eight

March 30, 2016

 The Hateful Eight

It’s safe to say that at this point in his career, you know what you’re going to get with a Quentin Tarantino film – lots of incredibly well-written dialogue spouted by a colorful cast of characters who only stop talking when sudden, bloody violence... 

Don’t Look Now: Criterion Collection

April 13, 2015

 Don’t Look Now: Criterion Collection

Adapted from the short story of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, Don’t Look Now (1973) took a familiar genre and depicted it in an unusual way, employing several flashbacks and flashforwards as director Nicolas Roeg examined the psychological effects... 

Insomnia: Criterion Collection

August 12, 2014

 Insomnia: Criterion Collection

In retrospect, films like Smilla’s Sense of Snow (1997) and Insomnia (1997) anticipated the recent fascination with Scandinavian thrillers. While the former dealt with a protagonist uncovering the nefarious machinations of a powerful corporation under... 

Scanners: Criterion Collection

July 28, 2014

 Scanners: Criterion Collection

For a good part of his career, David Cronenberg has been fascinated by secret societies, be it the New Age-y psychotherapist and his patients in The Brood (1979) or the people addicted to an immersive video game in eXistenZ (1999). With Scanners (1981),... 

Foreign Correspondent: Criterion Collection

March 4, 2014

 Foreign Correspondent: Criterion Collection

While Foreign Correspondent (1940) was Alfred Hitchcock’s second Hollywood film, the director considered it his first, true effort. He regarded Rebecca (1940) as not one of his films because it lacked humor thanks to the meddling of David O. Selznick.... 

Rififi: Criterion Collection

February 4, 2014

 Rififi: Criterion Collection

Blacklisted by Hollywood during the 1950s, American director Jules Dassin went to France and made Rififi (1955), considered by critics to be one of the greatest heist films ever made. It also became part of a thriving French film noir movement that included... 

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