The Criterion Collection

Blu-ray Review: Glorious Criterion Box Set For ‘David Lean Directs Noel Coward’

Brief Encounter

CHICAGO – For fans less familiar with the four films in the new Criterion box set — “David Lean Directs Noel Coward” — one might be easily forgiven for assuming that the four films are very similar. Let’s be honest. “Tim Burton Directs Johnny Depp” and “Martin Scorsese Directs Robert De Niro” would have some definite thematic commonality. Perhaps that’s why it’s SO remarkable how different each of the four films in this set ended up.

Blu-ray Review: Return to ‘The War Room’ with Criterion Edition of Stellar Election Doc

The War Room

CHICAGO – With a wink and a smile, The Criterion Collection inducts Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker’s excellent “The War Room” into their arsenal eight months before the 2012 election. This riveting examination of the 1992 election from the winning side feels particularly relevant in today’s heated climate and the Blu-ray release also includes a stellar 2008 feature-length documentary called “Return to The War Room” in which the key players revisit the scene of the crime.

Blu-ray Review: Criterion HD Upgrade For Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’

The Last Temptation of Christ

CHICAGO – As audiences still catch up with the five-time Oscar-winning “Hugo” from master Martin Scorsese (released on Blu-ray last month), it might provoke a few young people to explore the filmmaker’s history. They will likely start with the widely-recognized classics like “Raging Bull,” “Taxi Driver,” and “GoodFellas,” but they will eventually get to “The Last Temptation of Christ,” recently released in an upgraded Criterion edition and re-released on DVD. The MASSIVE controversy that greeted this film on its release has somewhat clouded its prominence in movie history. This is a great film, a better one than you remember and one of Scorsese’s best.

Blu-ray Review: Criterion Edition of James Stewart’s ‘Anatomy of a Murder’

Anatomy of a Murder

CHICAGO – Otto Preminger’s “Anatomy of a Murder” is a film that certainly still entertains modern audiences but should best be considered in light of when it came out in theaters. In 1959, courtroom dramas weren’t nearly as prevalent as they are in the era of “Law & Order” and discussions of rape and murder were not yet common in film. It may be hard for young audiences to believe but this spectacular film truly pushed the envelope of what could be done in a film like it and creatively succeeded in every way.

Blu-ray Review: Hideo Gosha’s Viscerally Entertaining ‘Three Outlaw Samurai’

Three Outlaw Samurai Blu-ray

CHICAGO – Hideo Gosha’s spectacularly entertaining 1964 feature directorial debut, “Three Outlaw Samurai,” is a samurai film for moviegoers who aren’t necessarily fans of the samurai genre. At a running time of 93 minutes, the picture is briskly paced and packed with suspenseful set-pieces, while centering its narrative on a partnership between three men who could easily be dubbed, “Good,” “Bad” and “Ugly.”

Blu-ray Review: Francesco Rosi’s ‘The Moment of Truth’ Succumbs to Gruesomeness

The Moment of Truth Blu-ray

CHICAGO – The remarkable photography in Francesco Rosi’s 1965 bullfighting drama is, alas, its sole redeeming feature. Nearly everything that unfolds in front of Rosi’s lens is flat-out appalling and borderline unwatchable. Critics have hailed the picture for its artful depiction of the action, but all I see is vicious animal cruelty cloaked in crowd-pleasing machismo.

DVD Review: Criterion Brings Legendary ‘Godzilla’ Back From the Deep

Godzilla

CHICAGO – In his excellent commentary for “Godzilla, King of the Monsters,” the 1956 reworking of Ishiro Honda’s “Godzilla,” both of which are included in one DVD or Blu-ray set recently released from Criterion, film historian David Kalat claims that these films are looked at skeptically when it comes to critics assessing the art of the form. He’s half right.

Blu-ray Review: Criterion Release of Steven Soderbergh’s Incredible ‘Traffic’

Traffic

CHICAGO – As his excellent “Haywire” plays in theaters and his even-better “Contagion” was recently released on Blu-ray and DVD, one is reminded of the incredible talent of Steven Soderbergh, one of the best living directors. But “Contagion” and “Haywire,” while enjoyable, don’t hold a candle to this incredible filmmaker’s best films, which include “Sex, Lies, and Videotape,” “Out of Sight,” “Che,” and, recently released on Criterion Blu-ray and DVD, the Oscar-winning “Traffic.” This is one of Criterion’s best releases for one of the ‘00’s best films.

Blu-ray Review: Risque, Delightful Comedy ‘Design For Living’ From Criterion

Design For Living

CHICAGO – From the very first scene, a first-silent exchange in which a beautiful woman enters a train car to see two handsome men sleeping across from her and chooses to draw them on her sketch pad before falling asleep and waking up to flirt with both of them outright, “Design For Living” is a romantic comedy masterpiece. I’m stunned to admit that I had never seen the Ernst Lubitsch risque joy but now I consider it one of my favorite Criterion editions. The movie is laugh-out-loud funny with three stars at the peak of their skills — charming, engaging, enjoyable. I’ve been doing this long enough that it’s increasingly rare to see a classic film for the first time that floors me like “Design For Living.” It’s stellar.

Blu-ray Review: Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Lady Vanishes’ Gets Criterion Upgrade

The Lady Vanishes

CHICAGO – Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Lady Vanishes” isn’t one of his most heralded films. You don’t hear it mentioned on most lists of the best works of arguably the most influential director who ever lived. And yet it was the third film chosen for The Criterion Collection and has now been given the upgrade and joined the esteemed Blu-ray ranks of the most important collection in the history of home entertainment. If you’re unfamiliar with this witty, delightful gem of a thriller, there’s no other way to experience it for the first time. And if you’re a fan of Hitchcock’s more famous films, do yourself a favor by checking out one of his earliest.

Syndicate content

User Login

Free Giveaway Mailing

TV, DVD, BLU-RAY & THEATER REVIEWS

Advertisement



HollywoodChicago.com on Twitter

archive

HollywoodChicago.com Top Ten Discussions
tracker