Criterion Month Day 17: Killer of Sheep

Killer of Sheep (1978)

There’s nothing quite like a potent debut film that seemingly comes out of nowhere, filled with possibilities and creativity and passion, but lacking in polish and movie stars. Then there’s a whole other level where it’s a student film – the work of someone literally figuring things out on screen but having the clear talent to express themselves with precision. 1978’s Killer of Sheep is one of those films, as director Charles Burnett started shooting the film in 1972 and eventually submitted it at UCLA film school as his thesis film in 1977, not really getting a proper theatrical release until 2007, and didn’t get its deserved Criterion treatment until a couple of months ago. Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 16: In the Realm of the Senses

In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

In 2023, UCLA conducted a study surveying 1,500 members of Gen Z about sex in the media. Forty-eight percent said that “sex and sexual content is not needed for the plot of most TV shows and movies,” with 51.5 percent wanting to see more content focused on friendships and platonic relationships. Man, what’s happened to sex in cinema?

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Criterion Month Day 15: Céline and Julie Go Boating

Céline and Julie Go Boating (1974)

Though I did not pick a distinct theme for my Criterion films this year, I feel like I inadvertently picked a number of films that pair nicely with each other. I had the lonely women going on vacation movies (Now, Voyager and Summertime), the bunch of dudes have to work together to pull off a job movies (Big Deal on Madonna Street and The Flight of the Phoenix), and now I have my young women getting into shenanigans movies (Daisies and today’s pick). I would say Daisies and Céline and Julie Go Boating might be good double features, but they also might not, since they have kind of the opposite approach to filmmaking. Where Daisies is kinetic and abrasive, Céline and Julie is about as loose and carefree as it gets, to the point where I sometimes had a hard time grasping what I was watching, but maybe that was the point. Continue reading →

Criterion Month Day 14: The Night Porter

The Night Porter (1974)

Ugh, Nazis. I hate those guys. It’s fucking insane that even today those guys have defenders. Why are some people drawn to those fascist dorks? My best guess is that most people hate ambiguity. They want order, with clear rules, a “strong” leader barking commands at them. The problem is they’re willing to overlook the stripping of human rights and murder of others to achieve that “order.”

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Criterion Month Day 13: Destroy All Monsters

Destroy All Monsters (1968)

Fourteen years after the original Godzilla, director Ishiro Honda, special-effects supervisor Eiji Tsuburaya, and composer Akira Ifukube reunited to potentially end the series. Sort of like the first Avengers, the idea here was pretty simple and very much scraping the bottom of the barrel: what if the characters from all those other movies teamed up to fight a bunch of forgettable aliens? That’s right, Destroy All Monsters is an 11-kaiju extravaganza, featuring everyone from Anguirus to ‘Zilla himself. But is it any good?

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Criterion Month Day 12: Belle de Jour

Belle de Jour (1967)

I’ve seen three Luis Buñuel films now; today’s film, which is about a rich lady who becomes a prostitute, the one with the rich people trapped in a mansion they can’t escape, and the one with the slicing of the eyeball (it is unclear whether or not the eyeball is rich). But considering Buñuel went on to write and direct a film called, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” it’s safe to assume the guy had some thoughts about rich people.

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Criterion Month Day 11: Weekend (1967)

Weekend (1967)

1967’s Weekend (or perhaps “Week End”) is Jean-Luc Godard throwing up his hands in frustration. The cacophony of cars honking horns outside his window have made it clear: all is lost, and things are going to have to get a lot worse before they can get better. I knew that was going to be the vibe going in, but I was hoping there’d be something more here – some insight into how things got so bad or a vision for how we all get through it – since these days I’m kind of feeling the same way. But actually what I came away from it with was a sense that I’m still pretty far from being a Marxist French misanthrope.

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