Criterion Collection Recommendations (Part 2 of 2)

The Barnes & Noble 50% off sale on the Criterion Collection that began on the 12th is still running, lasting through the 1st of August. You can find read the list of my first five recommendations here. What follows is five more recommendations; the link attached to the film title will take you to its page on the Criterion Collection website, from which each synopsis has been taken, while the link attached to the prices will take you to their DVD listings at Barnes&Noble.com (if you opt for the Blu-ray format, they are the same price). Unless otherwise noted, these titles are likely to be found in most stores:



Pickup on South Street (Samuel Fuller, 1953) - Spine # 224 - "Petty crook Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) has his eyes fixed on the big score. When the cocky three-time convict picks the pocketbook of unsuspecting Candy (Jean Peters), he finds a haul bigger than he could have imagined: a strip of microfilm bearing confidential U.S. secrets. Tailed by manipulative Feds and the unwitting courier’s Communist puppeteers, Skip and Candy find themselves in a precarious gambit that pits greed against redemption, Right versus Red, and passion against self-preservation. With its dazzling cast and director Samuel Fuller’s signature raw energy and hardboiled repartee, Pickup on South Street is a true film noir classic by one of America’s most passionate cinematic craftsmen."

Supplements: Interview with the late Samuel Fuller from film critic Richard Schickel; Excerpts from the Cinéma Cinémas series featuring Fuller discussing the making of the film; illustrated biographical essay on Fuller by Jeb Brody; stills gallery; and a booklet featuring excerpts from Fuller's autobiography A Third Face (including Martin Scorsese's introduction and Fuller's discussion of Pickup on South Street) as well as an essay by cultural historian Luc Sante.

The sale price is $14.99. You may have difficulty locating this one in certain stores; best to check availability via the website first.



Man Bites Dog (Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel and Benoit Poelvoorde, 1992) - Spine # 165 - "Documentary filmmakers André and Rémy have found an ideal subject in Ben. He is witty, sophisticated, intelligent, well liked—and a serial killer. As André and Rémy document Ben’s routines, they become increasingly entwined in his vicious program, sacrificing their objectivity and their morality. Controversial winner of the International Critics’ Prize at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival, Man Bites Dog stunned audiences worldwide with its unflinching imagery and biting satire of media violence."

Supplements: 1993 video interview with the filmmakers; No C4 for Daniel-Daniel - a student short by the filmmakers; stills gallery; and a booklet featuring a brief essay by film critic Matt Zoller Seitz.

The sale price is $14.99.



Blast of Silence (Allen Baron, 1961) - Spine # 428 - "Swift, brutal, and black-hearted, Allen Baron’s New York City noir Blast of Silence is a sensational surprise. This low-budget, carefully crafted portrait of a hit man on assignment in Manhattan during Christmastime follows its stripped-down narrative with mechanical precision, yet also with an eye and ear for the oddball idiosyncrasies of urban living and the imposing beauty of the city. At once visually ragged and artfully composed, and featuring rough, poetic narration performed by Lionel Stander, Blast of Silence is a stylish triumph."

Supplements: Requiem for a Killer: The Making of "Blast of Silence"; rare on-set Polaroids; locations revisited in 2008; and a booklet featuring an essay by film critic Terrence Rafferty as well as a four-page graphic-novel adaptation by artist Sean Phillips.

The sale price is $14.99.



The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957) - Spine # 146 - "Veronica and Boris are blissfully in love, until the eruption of World War II tears them apart. Boris is sent to the front lines…and then communication stops. Meanwhile, Veronica tries to ward off spiritual numbness while Boris’s draft-dodging cousin makes increasingly forceful overtures. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, The Cranes Are Flying is a superbly crafted drama, bolstered by stunning cinematography and impassioned performances."

Supplements: A booklet featuring an essay by Chris Fujiwara.

The sale price is $14.99.



Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001) - Spine # 489 - "Cultures and families clash in Mira Nair’s exuberant Monsoon Wedding, a mix of comedy and chaotic melodrama concerning the preparations for the arranged marriage of a modern upper-middle-class Indian family’s only daughter, Aditi. Of course there are hitches—Aditi has been having an affair with a married TV host; she’s never met her husband to be, who lives in Houston; the wedding has worsened her father’s hidden financial troubles; even the wedding planner has become a nervous wreck—as well as buried family secrets. But Nair’s celebration is ultimately joyful and cathartic: a love song to her home city of Delhi and her own Punjabi family."

Supplements: Audio commentary featuring director Mira Nair; seven short films by Nair - three documentaries (So Far From India [1983], India Cabaret [1985], The Laughing Club of India [2001]) and four fiction films (The Day the Mercedes Became a Hat [1993], 11'09'11—September 11 [2002; segment: "India], Migration [2007], How Can It Be? [2008], all with video introductions by Nair; video interview with actor Naseeruddin, conducted by Nair; video interviews with director of photography Declan Quinn and production designer Stephanie Carroll; and a booklet featuring an essay by critic and travel writer Pico Iyer.

The sale price is $19.99.


And that concludes my list of Criterion Collection recommendations. Of course there are a plethora of other titles well worth your attention, but I can not possibly hope to cover them all. With that in mind, here are several honorable mentions you might also want to check out; the link in each film title will take you to the its page on the Criterion Collection website:

-The Great Dictator (Charles Chaplin, 1940) - Spine # 565.
-Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, 1980) - Spine # 267.
-Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985) - Spine # 316.
-Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa, 1949) - Spine # 233.
-Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983) - Spine # 248.
-The Sword of Doom (Kihachi Okamoto, 1966) - Spine # 280.
-Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989) - Spine # 356.
-Symbiopsychotaxiplasm (William Greaves, 1968) - Spine # 360.