In Russian. 96 minute running time so the perfect length. This is a Soviet propaganda movie at its finest. I watched the whole thing and enjoyed it and recommend it. Rating: 4.
No one explicitly picked this as a Closet Pick in the Criterion Closet, but several people mentioned it in passing, usually in the same breath as The Cranes Are Flying (which was not as good as this).
“Sergei Stepanovich. You’re tired.” (then she shakes her head so slightly)
In French. 123 minute running time so 23 minutes too long, but I watched all of this and enjoyed it and recommend it. It is yet another Holocaust movie, but it’s actually watchable and dare I say it, entertaining. Horrifying too of course, but really well made. Joseph Losey knew what he was doing. The opening scene was stunning, it made my jaw drop just like the opening of Diamonds of the Night (yes, another Holocaust movie). Rating: 4.
Once again my method of finding hidden gems proves its value: only one person recommended this as his Closet Pick in the Criterion Closet, so that’s how I discovered it. Thank you, Ari Aster, for the recommendation, but shame on you for making Midsommar, which was unspeakably awful in every way.
We've been French and Catholic since Louis XIV!
105 minute running time so five minutes too long, but I watched all of this and enjoyed it and recommend it. Tough kids living a tough life in Brooklyn. The movie wouldn’t have worked at all without the star, Michelle Rodriguez, who knocked it out (of the park). Boxing. Friendship. Family. Competition. Love. Rating: 4.
Once again my method of finding hidden gems proves its value: only one person recommended this as his Closet Pick in the Criterion Closet, so that’s how I discovered it.
So what's it like in Gowanus?
In French. 117 minute running time so 17 minutes too long, but I enjoyed this and recommend it. Truffaut imitating Hitchcock. Sexiness of jet air travel and hotel rooms in foreign countries. Mirrors. Probably Truffaut’s best movie, and next to no one has seen it. Rating: 4.
Once again my method of finding hidden gems proves its value: only one person recommended this as his Closet Pick in the Criterion Closet, so that’s how I discovered it.
I’ve added the six movies that Lucy Liu picked in her Criterion Closet appearance:
Jackie Chan: Emergence of a Superstar
Roma (2018)
Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits
On the Waterfront
The Grifters
In the Mood for Love (rando pick)
Lucy Liu made no original picks. This is why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.
I have watched all the Criterion Closet videos and have a few favorites. Callum Turner is one of them. He reminds me of my childhood friend Burke — another big, handsome bastard who is effortlessly charming.
His comment on Five Easy Pieces is right on the mark: “It’s about a guy … he’s on a run from himself, and it’s two completely contrasting human beings when he goes home.” So Callum is smart and thoughtful, not just a big, charming goofball.
I’ve added the eight movies that Vince Staples picked in his Criterion Closet appearance:
Hollywood Shuffle
Videodrome
The Others
WALL-E
Eclipse Series 31: Three Popular Films by Jean-Pierre Gorin
Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling
Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films
Lynch/Oz
Vince Staples made one original pick:, Lynch/Oz. This is why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.
145 titles for the 1980s:
2. Lola 1981
3. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid 1982
5. Fitzcarraldo 1982
6. Body Heat 1981
7. Clean Slate 1981
8. Reds 1981
9. Das Boot 1981
10. Blow Out 1981
11. Chariots of Fire 1981
12. Time Bandits 1981
13. Prince of the City 1981
14. Wolfen 1981
15. Flashdance 1983
17. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982
18. Deadly Circuit 1983
19. Tootsie 1982
20. Scarface 1983
21. Querelle 1982
22. First Blood 1982
24. Blade Runner 1982
26. Gandhi 1982
27. The Draughtsman's Contract 1982
28. Monty Python's the Meaning of Life 1983
29. Sophie's Choice 1982
30. Never Say Never Again 1983
31. The Evil Dead 1981
32. Rumble Fish 1983
34. The Fourth Man 1983
35. The Big Chill 1983
36. Once Upon a Time in America 1984
38. Nostalgia 1983
39. The Right Stuff 1983
40. Desperately Seeking Susan 1985
41. Paris, Texas 1984
42. The Terminator 1984
44. Ghostbusters 1984
45. Blood Simple 1984
46. Brazil 1985
48. A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984
49. Amadeus 1984
50. The Company of Wolves 1984
51. Body Double 1984
53. The Falcon and the Snowman 1985
57. Men... 1985
58. To Live and Die in L.A. 1985
59. The Fly 1986
60. Witness 1985
61. 9½ Weeks 1986
62. Blue Velvet 1986
63. After Hours 1985
64. Prizzi's Honor 1985
65. Hannah and Her Sisters 1986
66. Kiss of the Spider Woman 1985
68. Out of Africa 1985
69. Ran 1985
70. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome 1985
71. Tea in the Harem 1985
72. Top Gun 1986
73. Betty Blue 1986
74. My Beautiful Laundrette 1985
76. The Untouchables 1987
78. Angel Heart 1987
79. Highlander 1986
80. Tampopo 1985
81. Platoon 1986
82. The Green Ray 1986
83. Aliens 1986
84. Down by Law 1986
86. Stand by Me 1986
87. Little Shop of Horrors 1986
89. Something Wild 1986
91. Bird 1988
92. Fatal Attraction 1987
93. Au Revoir les Enfants 1987
94. The Last Emperor 1987
95. Frantic 1988
96. Moonstruck 1987
98. A Chinese Ghost Story 1987
99. Near Dark 1987
100. RoboCop 1987
101. Babette's Feast 1987
102. Die Hard 1988
103. The Unbearable Lightness of Being 1988
104. Lethal Weapon 1987
105. House of Games 1987
106. Wall Street 1987
107. Big 1988
108. Rain Man 1988
109. Dead Ringers 1988
110. Working Girl 1988
111. The Big Blue 1988
112. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989
113. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! 1988
116. Batman 1989
117. Shoot to Kill 1988
118. Who Framed Roger Rabbit 1988
120. Sex, Lies, and Videotape 1989
122. Blue Steel 1990
124. Pretty Woman 1990
126. Crimes and Misdemeanors 1989
127. When Harry Met Sally... 1989
128. My Left Foot 1989
130. Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! 1989
131. La Femme Nikita 1990
132. Born on the Fourth of July 1989
133. Sweetie 1989
134. Home Alone 1990
135. Dick Tracy 1990
137. I Hired a Contract Killer 1990
138. Total Recall 1990
139. Wild at Heart 1990
142. Misery 1990
144. Jacob's Ladder 1990
145. Goodfellas 1990
I’ve added the eight movies that Tom Rothman picked in his Criterion Closet appearance:
Down By Law
To Be or Not to Be
Harlan County USA
Winchester '73
To Sleep with Anger
The Ice Storm
The Big Chill
The Philadelphia Story
Tom Rothman made no original picks, but his commentary for each pick was outstanding. This is why my Master List of Closet Picks in the Criterion Closet is so valuable.
74 titles this time, starting in 1896 and running into the early 1930s, but I get why they say 1920s.
1. The Arrival of a Train 1896
3. The Great Train Robbery 1903
4. Fantômas: In the Shadow of the Guillotine 1913
6. Cabiria 1914
8. Intolerance 1916
9. Passion 1919
10. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari 1920
11. Erotikon 1920
12. The Golem 1920
13. The Kid 1921
14. Foolish Wives 1922
15. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse 1921
17. Tol'able David 1921
18. Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror 1922
20. Häxan 1922
21. Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler 1922
22. Safety Last! 1923
23. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923
25. Waxworks 1924
27. Sherlock Jr. 1924
28. The Saga of Gösta Berling 1924
29. Die Nibelungen: Siegfried 1924
30. Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge 1924
31. The Last Laugh 1924
32. The Navigator 1924
33. Greed 1924
34. The Iron Horse 1924
35. The Gold Rush 1925
36. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ 1925
38. The Big Parade 1925
40. The Phantom of the Opera 1925
42. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog 1927
43. The General 1926
44. The Black Pirate 1926
45. Faust 1926
46. The Adventures of Prince Achmed 1926
47. Metropolis 1927
48. 7th Heaven 1927
49. Berlin: Symphony of Metropolis 1927
50. Napoleon 1927
51. The Student Prince in Old Heidelberg 1927
52. Sunrise 1927
53. The Jazz Singer 1927
54. The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928
55. Asphalt 1929
56. The Crowd 1928
57. Show People 1928
58. The Wind 1928
59. The Little Match Girl 1928
60. The Circus 1928
61. People on Sunday 1930
62. The White Hell of Pitz Palu 1929
63. Man with a Movie Camera 1929
64. Blackmail 1929
65. Pandora's Box 1929
66. Un chien andalou 1929
67. Little Caesar 1931
68. The Blue Angel 1930
69. All Quiet on the Western Front 1930
70. Under the Roofs of Paris 1930
71. Morocco 1930
72. Three from the Filling Station 1930
73. Westfront 1918 1930
74. L'Age d'Or 1930
