Everybody Goes to ‘Dragon Inn’, King Hu’s Martial Arts Milestone
A guy walks into a bar, or rather a swordsman walks into an inn, and an anti-authoritarian swordfight ensues.
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The Groundbreaking ‘Midnight Cowboy’ Remains Relevant in These Times
Criterion's Blu-ray release of Midnight Cowboy comes with a generous package of extras that fans and those new to the film will appreciate.
Dark Dreams of a Bright South: ‘El Sur’, a Spanish Masterpiece
With Víctor Erice's El Sur, we must console ourselves with a work whose haunting near-perfection becomes the source of its perfection.
The ‘Night of the Living Dead’ Zombies Will Still Get to You
George A. Romero's definitive zombie movie finally gets a definitive release on Criterion -- and it goes straight for your gut.
In ‘Certain Women’, Class-Based Identities Are Contended with Under Montana’s Vast Icy Skies
A minor masterpiece, Certain Women is a profound meditation on the ways people temporarily buoy themselves from life's banalities, injustices, and disappointments.
The Outer Beauty in Hitchcock’s ‘Rebecca’
British elegance and American money combined make Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca a visual delight.
Criterion’s ‘Lone Wolf and Cub’ Includes the Original Six Films in the Series
This series of films about a masterless samurai bent on revenge while protectively raising his son features moments of pastoral silent beauty juxtaposed with quick stylized violence.
‘Inside Llewyn Davis’ Is Subdued But Undeniably Affecting
The Coens' Inside Llewyn Davis isn’t overwhelming at first glance, but it has a perfect, natural rhythm and flow that you don’t even notice how it sticks in your head.
An Epochal Tragedy Transforms Into a World Cinema Masterwork in ‘Throne of Blood’
By combining Macbeth with elements of traditional Japanese drama, Akira Kurosawa produced a singular, transcultural film experience.
‘Five Easy Pieces’ Must Be Appreciated on Its Own Cantankerous Terms
As the hippie hangover from the ‘60s begins in earnest in ‘Five Easy Pieces’, Jack Nicholson’s Bobby Dupea has neither tuned in nor entirely dropped out.
B-Film as Theory: ‘The Shooting/Ride in the Whirlwind’
Two blasts of existentialist disquiet and hallucination from the stable of Roger Corman, these two Westerns launched the career of a major alternative filmmaker in Monte Hellman.
Kiarostami’s ‘Like Somone in Love’ Is Like Something Beautiful
Iranian master Abbas Kiarostami doubles-down on familiar themes in this film, with varying results.