Anybody who's anybody in the world of film buffery knows that the Criterion Collection is the gold standard when it comes to DVD production. They've been putting out the artsiest movies ever made for a long time now and every time I pop in a film from the Criterion Collection, my standards are just a little bit higher. Therefore, I've decided to start slowly working my way through the crop of, at this point, over 800 titles - not to mention their Eclipse and Essential Art House series'.
It should be noted that I'm not necessarily watching the actual Criterion DVD version of each film. For example, I'll be watching The Lady Vanishes - Criterion Spine #3 - off of an old Hitchcock collection I bought for $5 some years ago. The goal is to merely watch every film that was special enough to receive a Criterion release. I'll be watching the film chronologically by their spine numbers and every so often, splicing in an Eclipse series, just to spruce things up.
This list will be presented using the same format as the "#1001Albums" and "TSZDT" pages. It should also be noted, that unless I deem it absolutely necessary, I won't be rewatching anything that I've seen too recently - including anything I've previously reviewed for the blog and the 1001 Movies... BOOK.
You can visit the Criterion website to find a list of their titles, as well as upcoming releases, by clicking here
Spine #6
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946 - Jean Cocteau) 4.5/10
Main Cast: Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parely, Nane Germon, Michel Auclair
Read my original review here
Spine #5
THE 400 BLOWS (1959 - Francois Truffaut) 7/10
Main Cast: Jean-Pierre Leaud, Albert Remy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble, Patrick Auffay
Read my original review here
Spine #4
AMARCORD (1973 - Federico Fellini) 7/10
Main Cast: Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio, Amando Brancia, Magali Noel, Ciccio Ingrassia
Read my original review here
Spine #3
THE LADY VANISHES (1938 - Alfred Hitchcock) 6.5/10
Main Cast: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Dame May Whitty, Paul Lukas, Cecil Parker
Read my original review here
Spine #2
SEVEN SAMURAI (1954 - Akira Kurosawa) 7/10
Main Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Daisuke Kato, Isao Kimura, Minoru Chiaki, Seiji Miyaguchi, Yoshio Inaba
Read my original review here
Spine #1
GRAND ILLUSION (1937 - Jean Renoir) 7/10
Main Cast: Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Marcel Dalio, Erich von Stroheim, Dita Parlo
Read my original review here
ECLIPSE SERIES
Eclipse Series 1
EARLY BERGMAN
Included Films: "Torment" (1944), "Crisis" (1946), "Port of Call" (1948), "Thirst" (1949), "To Joy" (1949)
Not a terrible set by any means and I'd recommended it, especially to fans of later Bergman. You can definitely see a different director here than the one we saw in, say "Cries and Whispers". These, especially the very early ones, are very light films - whereas later Bergman is usually deep and thoughtful. The best of the lot on this set is EASILY "Thirst", which I'd probably give a '7/10' to. The rest could be ranked as follows: "Torment", "Crisis" and "To Joy", with "Port of Call" being the worst of the bunch. Don't go in expecting blow away, great Bergman and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Fans of Bergman who have yet to see these, also shouldn't go in expecting the director whom they've grown to love based on his later works. Mild thumbs up, as there's nothing really GREAT, but nothing offensively bad either.
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