The Leopard (1963)

One of the many trends I’ve noticed as we do Criterion Month each year is that not only have these months deepened my knowledge of film history, but it has also done the same for the history of some of the countries whose films we’ve covered. More specifically, there have been a number of period pieces I’ve had to review that have covered turbulent eras in their country of origin that I previously had little knowledge of. I’m thinking of the clashing between leftists and fascists of ’60s Greece in Z, the pre-economic boom, post-World War II years of Taiwan in A Brighter Summer Day, and the Algerian rebellion against the French government covered in The Battle of Algiers. Well, you can now add The Leopard to that list, a film that depicts a period in Italian history known as the Risorgimento, which saw the unification of different smaller states that would eventually make up what we now know as Italy. Continue reading →

Journey To Italy (1954)

As you explore the outer edges of the Criterion galaxy as we do each year, you often are reminded of what a momentous movement the French New Wave was to the cinema world. Not just because there are so many French New Wave films in the Criterion Collection (and by extension the classic and arthouse cinema cannon), but also because there are so many important films that were either influenced by or ended up influencing the French New Wave. Today’s film falls into the latter category, as it wasn’t a huge hit in Italy or internationally when it came out, but it was championed by the critics at Cahiers Du Cinema that would soon start directing movies of their own. It also must be a film that had at least somewhat of an impact on Italian cinema, since it’s hard not to think of Antonioni’s L’Avventura while watching the couple at the heart of this story aimlessly search for meaning against the backdrop of coastal Italy. Continue reading →

Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)

Like a lot of somewhat snobbish institutions, it seems that Criterion has made an effort to make representation a cornerstone of its business in the past few years. This is what has (thankfully) led to an overlooked director like Dorothy Arzner having some of her films recently enter The Collection, as Arzner was essentially the only female director working in Hollywood during the ’30s and ’40s. This could lead one to ask whether Arzner’s work is only worth revisiting just because she was the first to do it. However, that question becomes silly when you take into account that most barrier-breakers are able to do so because they’re so impeachably talented that the gatekeepers of their industries are forced to reckon with them. Continue reading →

Things To Come (1936)

I was not expecting a science fiction movie from the 30s to be at all relatable, but after living through the most apocalyptic year and a half I can remember, that wasn’t the case. While Things To Come deals mostly with the very 20th century threat of constant war, it also manages to pack in a section where humanity is burdened by “the wandering sickness”, which uh, may sound a little familiar. Maybe it’s not so brilliant that a science fiction film would include a deadly virus since they have plagued civilizations for centuries. But it does add another layer of thoughtfulness when the film already does a harrowing job of predicting that a widespread war could have devastating effects on the world just a few years prior to the outbreak of World War II. Continue reading →

The Docks of New York (1928)

Much like John, I always feel a little out of my element talking about silent film, but then again, who doesn’t? Not only is this the oldest, most archaic era of film history, it’s also the one that’s been most lost to history. Just looking at director Josef Von Sternberg’s filmography, this film is sandwiched in between two “lost films” (The Dragnet and The Case of Lena Smith), the latter of which was hailed as one of Von Sternberg’s best films. You’d think there would be some sort of apparatus in place for keeping great films from being lost, but alas, human beings make mistakes and even physical media can be just as fleeting as that on the internet. Still, you have to be thankful a film like The Docks of New York is able to survive and that a company like Criterion is willing to keep its availability alive. Continue reading →