Criterion Month Day 9: The Importance of Being Earnest

The Importance of Being Earnest (1952)

Did you ever wish that Catfish was an episode of Frasier? That’s The Importance of Being Earnest, a dry, eminently quotable little play (or in this case, film). Before even seeing it, I joked that I would rate the movie “very droll” out of five and that’s about right. It’s a sort of frivolous type of entertainment, obviously out-dated compared to the bombast of comedies today (or even a generation ago) that I was fortunate enough to at least enjoy on a leisurely Sunday afternoon, instead of desperately cramming it in today before writing this review. Now I just wish that we had a post format that would allow me to only list Oscar Wilde quotes.

Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 8: Late Spring

Late Spring (1949)

My choosing of Late Spring as one of my picks derived mostly from laziness. Last year’s Criterion Month I watched Tokyo Story, the film often described as director Yasujirō Ozu’s masterpiece, and was thoroughly blown away by its ruminations on the human condition. But I never quite had the will to watch any of his other films, when there are always so many other newer, far less slow and contemplative movies out there to watch. Which makes me really glad I decided to take this opportunity to view one of his other films from the same period, but also a bit befuddled over what to write about it, since it’s fantastic in almost all of the same ways that Tokyo Story is fantastic. Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 7: Bicycle Thieves

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Aside from the highs and lows of tragedies and comedies, I think one of the most effective emotions for a story to tap into is frustration. At least for me, it’s consistently easy to empathize with characters who are put into helpless situations. It’s why villains like Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix‘s Dolores Umbridge and The Mist‘s Mrs. Carmody are so easy to hate. Couple that with some crushing disappointment and you’ve got a recipe for a deeply moving night. Just like the one I had in the wee hours of last night watching Bicycle Thieves!

Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 6: The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes (1948)

Watching The Red Shoes was like going to school. Like the kind of the film, I’d watch in a class, taking notes, looking for symbolism. This isn’t a film you watch with one hand thrust into a bucket of popcorn and the other a bag of pork rinds—George H.W. Bush’s favorite snack! This is a film you watch with focus, stroking your chin, noticing the small details within the big picture.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with an academic film going experience. Quite the contrary. The Red Shoes shows a remarkable progression in both art and storytelling. This is a British film from the ‘40s in full color with articulately choreographed dance sequences, powerful music, edited with the precision of yes… an archer. This is The Red Shoes.

Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 5: Black Narcissus

Black Narcissus (1947)

I’ve seen three movies by the Archers, with years-long gaps between them, and I don’t know why. Every time I’m impressed by the works of the British duo, real names Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, who were churning out breathtaking melodramas miraculously during and immediately after the Second World War. I don’t even think Black Narcissus lives up to The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp or The Red Shoes, but once again I feel massively compelled to go pursue more of their technicolor tragedies. But chances are the next time I check in with the Archers, it’ll be a year from now in Criterion Month 2019.

Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 4: Woman of the Year

Woman of the Year (1942)

Can a woman really have it all? This is a question that seems more than a little ridiculous in 2018, but probably felt downright revolutionary in 1942. Or at least, in the context of Woman of The Year, a film in which Katherine Hepburn tries to tackle the commitments of both marriage and motherhood. Then on top of that, she also aims to balance the demands of working as a foreign newspaper correspondent as the war in Europe hangs over everything. Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 3: The Thief of Bagdad

The Thief of Bagdad (1940)

The Thief of Bagdad is an odd movie to start my Criterion month off on, and just an odd movie to be in the Criterion Collection at all. But then again, I suppose one of Criterion’s aims is to make obscure oddities a little less obscure. I say this because The Thief of Bagdad seems to be lacking the high artistic pretensions of your typical Criterion release, in that it seems to be nothing but a pure popcorn spectacular; it just happens to be 80 years old. Which makes it a film whose ambitions are only skin-deep, though it is notable for the way it could be seen as a precursor to our modern fantasy blockbusters. Continue reading →