As 2021 mercifully winds down, the Criterion Channel have a (November) lineup that marks one of their most diverse selections in some time—films by the new masters Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Garrett Bradley, Dan Sallitt’s Fourteen (one of 2020’s best films) couched in a fantastic retrospective, and Criterion editions of old favorites.
Fourteen is featured in “Between Us Girls: Bonds Between Women,” which also includes Céline and Julie, The Virgin Suicides, and Yvonne Rainer’s Privilege. Of equal note are Criterion editions for Ghost World, Night of the Hunter, and (just in time for del Toro’s spin) Nightmare Alley—all stacked releases in their own right.
See the full list of October titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
300 Nassau, Marina Lameiro, 2015
5 Card Stud, Henry Hathaway, 1968
Alone, Garrett Bradley, 2017
Álvaro, Daniel Wilson, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandra Lazarowich, and Chloe Zimmerman, 2015
America, Garrett Bradley, 2019
Angel Face, Otto Preminger, 1953
Angels Wear White,...
Fourteen is featured in “Between Us Girls: Bonds Between Women,” which also includes Céline and Julie, The Virgin Suicides, and Yvonne Rainer’s Privilege. Of equal note are Criterion editions for Ghost World, Night of the Hunter, and (just in time for del Toro’s spin) Nightmare Alley—all stacked releases in their own right.
See the full list of October titles below and more on the Criterion Channel.
300 Nassau, Marina Lameiro, 2015
5 Card Stud, Henry Hathaway, 1968
Alone, Garrett Bradley, 2017
Álvaro, Daniel Wilson, Elizabeth Warren, Alexandra Lazarowich, and Chloe Zimmerman, 2015
America, Garrett Bradley, 2019
Angel Face, Otto Preminger, 1953
Angels Wear White,...
- 10/25/2021
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
William Wellman’s The Public Enemy (1931) turns 90 this weekend. When the film first came out, a theater in Times Square showed it nonstop, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The movie marks the true beginning of gangster movies as a genre. Mervyn LeRoy’s Little Caesar may have hit theaters first, but The Public Enemy set the pattern, and James Cagney nailed the patter. Not just the street talk either; he also understood its machine gun delivery. His Tommy Powers is just a hoodlum, never a boss. He is a button man at best, even if he insisted his suits have six buttons.
The Public Enemy character wasn’t even as high up the ladder as Paul Sorvino’s caporegime Paul Cicero in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. But Cagney secured the turf Edward G. Robinson’s Rico Bandello took a bullet to claim in Little Caesar, and for the...
The Public Enemy character wasn’t even as high up the ladder as Paul Sorvino’s caporegime Paul Cicero in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. But Cagney secured the turf Edward G. Robinson’s Rico Bandello took a bullet to claim in Little Caesar, and for the...
- 4/23/2021
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
The Film Noir Foundation has helped revive yet another difficult-to-see noir gem — the murder cover-up tale begins with a shooting in a mansion and races across San Francisco to a finale given classic lines by director Felix Feist. And the casting: Saggy Lee J. Cobb as a romantic leading man? Sunny Jane Wyatt as a duplicitous killer? Bring it on!
The Man Who Cheated Himself
Blu-ray + DVD
Flicker Alley
1950 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 81 min. / Street Date September 25, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, John Dall, Lisa Howard, Harlan Warde, Tito Vuolo, Charles Arnt, Marjorie Bennett.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: David Weisbart
Production Design: Van Nest Polglase
Original Music: Louis Forbes
Written by Philip MacDonald, Seton I. Miller from his story.
Produced by Jack M. Warner
Directed by Felix E. Feist
In the late ’40s film noir was the default vehicle for ambitious filmmaking — after producing two early Anthony Mann noirs,...
The Man Who Cheated Himself
Blu-ray + DVD
Flicker Alley
1950 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 81 min. / Street Date September 25, 2018 / 39.95
Starring: Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, John Dall, Lisa Howard, Harlan Warde, Tito Vuolo, Charles Arnt, Marjorie Bennett.
Cinematography: Russell Harlan
Film Editor: David Weisbart
Production Design: Van Nest Polglase
Original Music: Louis Forbes
Written by Philip MacDonald, Seton I. Miller from his story.
Produced by Jack M. Warner
Directed by Felix E. Feist
In the late ’40s film noir was the default vehicle for ambitious filmmaking — after producing two early Anthony Mann noirs,...
- 9/15/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
After falling into the public domain, Phil Karlson’s 1952 film noir Kansas City Confidential became unfairly lumped into B-grade bracket, a disservice considering the title’s odd narrative and eventual influence on contemporary filmmakers. Karlson, who would eventually turn to mainstream efforts starring the likes of Dean Martin and Elvis Presley in the 1960s and 1970s, contributed several enjoyable minor noir efforts in the 1950s. These would include 1952’s Scandal Sheet with Donna Reed and Broderick Crawford, Kim Novak casino heist effort 5 Against the House, and that same year’s Tight Spot with a peculiar role for Ginger Rogers. But none have enjoyed the staying power of this particular heist drama, now restored with its most accomplished transfer yet.
Kansas City delivery man Joe Rolfe (John Payne) is at the wrong place at the wrong time when he’s nabbed by the cops as the driver of a heist involving...
Kansas City delivery man Joe Rolfe (John Payne) is at the wrong place at the wrong time when he’s nabbed by the cops as the driver of a heist involving...
- 2/2/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Germany's Explosive Media company has a serious itch for American westerns, and they have a trio of new releases. One is a minor Hollywood classic with major graces, from the late 1950s. A second sees an American producer based in England filming in Italy with a rising international star, and for the third an established American star goes European to stay in the game. The best thing for Yankee buyers? The discs are Region-free.
Gunman's Walk, Land Raiders, A Man Called Sledge Three Westerns from Explosive Media Blu-ray Separate Releases 1958-1970 / Color Starring Van Heflin, Tab Hunter; George Maharis, Telly Savalas; James Garner
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The majority of American studios now choose not to market their libraries for digital disc, and license them out instead. Collectors unwilling to settle for whatever's on Netflix or concerned about the permanence of Cloud Cinema, find themselves increasingly tempted by discs from Europe,...
Gunman's Walk, Land Raiders, A Man Called Sledge Three Westerns from Explosive Media Blu-ray Separate Releases 1958-1970 / Color Starring Van Heflin, Tab Hunter; George Maharis, Telly Savalas; James Garner
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
The majority of American studios now choose not to market their libraries for digital disc, and license them out instead. Collectors unwilling to settle for whatever's on Netflix or concerned about the permanence of Cloud Cinema, find themselves increasingly tempted by discs from Europe,...
- 12/30/2015
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Samuel Fuller didn't do anything halfway, either in his life, or with his movies. His filmography reads like punch after punch of hard-hitting films — "Park Row," "Underworld U.S.A.," "Shock Corridor," "The Naked Kiss," "The Big Red One" — and it was 1982's "White Dog" that got him in particular trouble. The controversial film about dog trained to attack black people unsurprisingly found him at odds with Paramount, so Fuller went into self-imposed exile in France, where among his many activities, he turned to novel writing. It's something he had always done throughout his career, and even you might know his "The Dark Page" though the film version, "Scandal Street" (that was not directed by Fuller). However, "Brainquake," written during his foray abroad, fell through the cracks. The book was released overseas, published only in French and Japanese, and rather remarkably, never saw an English...
- 8/26/2014
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Scandal Sheet: An Odd, Disjointed Look at Estonia’s Political Climate
Estonian director Toomas Hussar makes his screen debut with Mushrooming, a sort of political satire, sort of comedy, sort of faux thriller that may very well keep you wondering what it’s up to, but ultimately ends up anticlimactic. While it’s first half seems to have all the ingredients of a zany screwball genre mash up a la Severance or The Cottage, perhaps Hussar’s film is simply the victim of expectation, but though the end result isn’t particularly funny or interesting, its worst crime is combining these elements with a stilted (and rather unbelievable) finale.
Aadu Kagu (Raivo E. Tamm) is an esteemed member of Parliament in Estonia, and at the beckoning of esteemed new handler, Silvi (Hilje Murel), he has agreed to engage in some activities that will enhance his public image, such as appearing on a degrading,...
Estonian director Toomas Hussar makes his screen debut with Mushrooming, a sort of political satire, sort of comedy, sort of faux thriller that may very well keep you wondering what it’s up to, but ultimately ends up anticlimactic. While it’s first half seems to have all the ingredients of a zany screwball genre mash up a la Severance or The Cottage, perhaps Hussar’s film is simply the victim of expectation, but though the end result isn’t particularly funny or interesting, its worst crime is combining these elements with a stilted (and rather unbelievable) finale.
Aadu Kagu (Raivo E. Tamm) is an esteemed member of Parliament in Estonia, and at the beckoning of esteemed new handler, Silvi (Hilje Murel), he has agreed to engage in some activities that will enhance his public image, such as appearing on a degrading,...
- 4/22/2013
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Samuel Fuller's Pickup on South Street (1953) is tough and punchy; Fuller used his newspaper reporting skills to really get to the heart of life on the street, including some terrific-sounding slang. But above all, it the most physical of 1950s films noir. The opening scene shows a skilled pickpocket (Richard Widmark) lifting a package from the purse of a sensual woman (Jean Peters) in a sultry, sweaty subway, and it's almost like slow, silent sex. 20th Century Fox released it, and the Criterion Collection deemed it worthy of a DVD release in 2004. (See Luc Sante's great liner notes essay here.)
Behind the Scenes
Director Sam Fuller (1912-1997) was one of the greatest of all writer/directors. By the time he was a teenager, he was working as a hard crime reporter for a New York newspaper. He enlisted in the U.S. army and served in the 1st Infantry Division during WWII.
Behind the Scenes
Director Sam Fuller (1912-1997) was one of the greatest of all writer/directors. By the time he was a teenager, he was working as a hard crime reporter for a New York newspaper. He enlisted in the U.S. army and served in the 1st Infantry Division during WWII.
- 7/18/2010
- by Jeffrey M. Anderson
- Cinematical
Samuel Fuller had one of the most fascinating of Hollywood careers -- a 50-plus-year self-mythologizing rampage that began with scriptsmith work in the mid 1930s at the age of 24, evolving into one of the most distinctive auteurs America has ever produced, writing/directing some 25 movies and having a hand in writing 25 more, helplessly manufacturing himself into a crusty man's-man Hollywood gadfly in the process, readily available for manic interviews and iconic appearances in young auteurs' self-conscious films.
There are always corners in his career that you, whomever you are, haven't yet explored (honestly, any single Fuller film remains half-experienced if you've only seen it once), and so the new Sony set of Fulleriania is a prize, beginning as it does with "It Happened in Hollywood" (1937), Fuller's first screenplay credit, and an utterly freakish, Charlie Kaufman-esque launch of meta-ness that centers on Hollywood's discomfiting transition from silents to talkies, barely...
There are always corners in his career that you, whomever you are, haven't yet explored (honestly, any single Fuller film remains half-experienced if you've only seen it once), and so the new Sony set of Fulleriania is a prize, beginning as it does with "It Happened in Hollywood" (1937), Fuller's first screenplay credit, and an utterly freakish, Charlie Kaufman-esque launch of meta-ness that centers on Hollywood's discomfiting transition from silents to talkies, barely...
- 11/3/2009
- by Michael Atkinson
- ifc.com
The weekend’s here. You’ve just been paid, and it’s burning a hole in your pocket. What’s a pop culture geek to do? In hopes of steering you in the right direction to blow some of that hard-earned cash, it’s time for the Quick Stop Weekend Shopping Guide - your spotlight on the things you didn’t even know you wanted…
(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
There’ve been many, many attempts over the years, but I think we’ve finally gotten a definitive, comprehensive documentary about those 5 loveable English lads (and one American) in Monty Python: Almost The Truth - The Lawyer’s Cut (Eagle Rock, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 Srp). With 6 hours of actual, bona fide documentary and scads of cut footage, I certainly walked away satisfied that I...
(Please support Quick Stop by using the links below to make any impulse purchases - it helps to keep us going…)
There’ve been many, many attempts over the years, but I think we’ve finally gotten a definitive, comprehensive documentary about those 5 loveable English lads (and one American) in Monty Python: Almost The Truth - The Lawyer’s Cut (Eagle Rock, Not Rated, DVD-$29.99 Srp). With 6 hours of actual, bona fide documentary and scads of cut footage, I certainly walked away satisfied that I...
- 11/1/2009
- by UncaScroogeMcD
Because writer-director Sam Fuller tried his best to skirt the Hollywood system, his filmography tends to be scattered, erratic, and difficult to collect. Sony’s 7-dvd box set The Samuel Fuller Collection features only two movies that Fuller directed (The Crimson Kimono and Underworld U.S.A.), along with two he merely co-scripted (It Happened In Hollywood and Shockproof), and three based on Fuller stories. The latter three range from the dry Foreign Legion plugger Adventure In Sahara to two punchy portraits of the tabloid media: Power Of The Press and Scandal Sheet. It’s an eclectic batch overall, covering ...
- 10/28/2009
- avclub.com
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