Thief: Criterion Collection
January 30, 2014
The best thieves in the United States operated independent crews working high-line jobs from the 1940s to the 1970s. Most of them came out of Chicago, in particular, a neighborhood known as the Patch. Meeting these people would prove vital to the creation...
Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion: Criterion Collection
January 23, 2014
Filmmaker Elio Petri cut his teeth on Italian arthouse cinema, but with Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970) he did the unthinkable by making a radical political film within the mainstream Italian film industry. It was an audacious move that...
Seconds: Criterion Collection
August 14, 2013
Seconds (1966) was the conclusion of John Frankenheimer’s informal paranoia trilogy – three films he made during the 1960s that reflected the darker side of America, which can be traced back to the loss of innocence with the assassination of President...
When a Stranger Calls / Happy Birthday to Me
June 5, 2013
For better or worse, Halloween (1978) has a lot to answer for, having inspired a whole wave of slasher horror movies – some good, most bad. Among the better ones was a creepy little movie known as When A Stranger Calls (1979) about young babysitter...
3:10 to Yuma: Criterion Collection
May 22, 2013
With its own unstoppable momentum, 3:10 to Yuma (1957) is a suspenseful, ticking-clock western expertly directed by Delmer Daves, one of the most under-appreciated journeyman filmmakers working in Hollywood during its classical period. Adapted from Elmore...
A Man Escaped: Criterion Collection
April 4, 2013
Inspired by the experiences of Andre Devigny, a French lieutenant in World War II who managed to escape from Fort Montluc prison in German-occupied Lyon in 1943, Robert Bresson’s A Man Escaped (1956) is regarded as one of the best prison-break films...
Ministry of Fear: Criterion Collection
March 19, 2013
Fritz Lang was a German filmmaker in exile thanks to World War II. He saw making an adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel The Ministry of Fear as a way to contribute to the war effort and demonstrate his democratic credentials. However, the studio made...
The Fall of the Essex Boys
February 8, 2013
The Fall of the Essex Boys is the latest collaboration between producers Jonathan Sothcott and Simon Phillips, and easily represents their best work so far. Hot on the heels of The Rise & Fall of a White Collar Hooligan (2012) Essex Boys is headed...
The Man Who Knew Too Much: Criterion Collection
January 17, 2013
When Alfred Hitchcock made The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), he had come off of two consecutive failures, Rich and Strange (1931) and Waltzes from Vienna (1934), and was eager to return to the thriller genre. With screenwriters Charles Bennett and D.B....
Following: Criterion Collection
January 2, 2013
Shot on a bare-bones budget of approximately $5,000, Following (1999) is the auspicious feature film debut of writer/director Christopher Nolan. Shot sporadically over a year on black and white 16 mm film stock, it would introduce many of the themes that...
