Filmstruck / Criterion Channel

The arzners are prob more historically interesting than actually interesting imo. If you havent seen all the lubitsch’s def start w those

I watched the delightful Big Brown Eyes (1936)

I just watched this, what a crazy screwball gangster comedy drama. Featuring a dead baby!

Anyone have any non-Lubitsch recommendations from this month's "Pre-Code Paramount" program?

― niall horanburger (cryptosicko), Saturday, March 4, 2023 11:53 AM (two weeks ago) bookmarkflaglink

If anyone here has not seen Shanghai Express, If I Had a Million, or Night After Night, do so ASAP. Also watch Wild Girl (part of the Joan Bennett package and expiring at the end of March)--it's not perfect but I'm intrigued that Disney is allowing Criterion to screen at least some of the old Fox films.

Criterion is not obliged to report viewership stats. But I am curious how many views the silent and precode programming gets, as compared to the contemporary world film programming.

Y’all should post more on Morb’s thread: Raoul Walsh, "craftsmanlike picturemaker": S/D

Morbs’s

Joan Bennett’s wearing some very contemporary looking jorts in Wild Girl. Or at least 1990s-looking.

a manic pixie mountain girl

Heh

That’s pre-code, isn’t it?

The Girls (1968) by Mai Zetterling was so much better than I’d been led to believe. The MCM decor alone would recommend it, but it also makes some good points. Zetterling’s Night Games is an absolute next-level must-see.

xp yes, Joan’s kind of discreetly topless in a couple of shots

Plus there are several children skinnydipping around her. No closeups, but....

Also, Salomy Jane is supposed to be a perfectly natural beauty, yet somehow she has master-class finger waves and perfectly applied lipstick.

Also I was wondering… Almost everyone in Mai Zetterling’s The Girls was also a regular in Ingmar Bergman films. Were there not that many actors in Sweden at that time, or were Bergman and Zetterling especially close?

Feel like this kind of thing is typical of a lot of foreign cinemas back then tbh.

Like you might watch some random German movie and see a bunch of Fassbinder regulars. But this a hazy anecdotal memory.

Or at some point two out of three German films seemed to have Moritz Bleibtreu, at least of the ones that were available for me to see.

Could very well be. But, in The Girls (sorry to bang on about this) the three main “girls” were all actresses who starred in Bergman films. And the main male actor had also starred in Bergman films.

Way late, been out of pocket, but here's April 2023. None of the usual sources posted a flat list of titles that I could find.

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8101-the-criterion-channels-april-2023-lineup

amazing lineup!

Jafar Panahi's NO BEARS to be added this coming Tuesday.

Saw that. And saw that one in a theater. Really good, believe the hype.

Watched Crimes of Passion a few nights ago, holy shit that was a riot. I hadn't seen it before or even read much about it. Definitely recommended.

Anything else I should, um, dive into in the Erotic Thrillers selection? I watched Dream Lover, but it was pretty terrible.

Body Heat may be the sweatiest movie ever made.

Jade ... the dumbest?

we've been watching a ton of the erotic thriller series selections that we hadn't already seen. color of night was my favorite so far, it's so lurid and ridiculous and the supporting cast is stacked. call me was pretty good too, workmanlike plot but lots of great grimy '80s new york scenery and baby buscemi and strathairn. sister, sister and dream lover were not great but still fairly entertaining. we watched half of the comfort of strangers last night and that one is just bizarre, i'm curious to see where it goes.

Watched Crimes of Passion a few nights ago, holy shit that was a riot. I hadn't seen it before or even read much about it. Definitely recommended.

enjoyed turner and perkins, but felt like i was constantly rolling my eyes at john laughlin as bobby. then i read that jeff bridges, patrick swayze, and alec baldwin were all in contention for the role.

May 2023 additions: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8121-the-criterion-channels-may-2023-lineup

no flat list of titles yet but an exciting batch

Weird how some of this stuff is only available for three months like the rare Sirks and the key Siodmak noirs.

If the rightsholders want to license these films for only X number of months, CC has to like it or lump it. Although they do make a point of these titles being available for only a limited time.

I haven't kept close notes but I think three months is the most common license.

Could well be. I had been hoping it was six months.

May 2023 additions: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8121-the-criterion-channels-may-2023-lineup

no flat list of titles yet but an exciting batch

― The Terroir of Tiny Town (WmC), Thursday, April 20, 2023 1:19 PM (four days ago) bookmarkflaglink

"Returning by Popular Demand" and "Premiering": https://thefilmstage.com/the-criterion-channel-reveals-may-lineup-jennifer-jason-leigh-seijun-suzuki-demonlover-infernal-affairs-more/

Cool. Anyway came back to say that the Siodmak Four Key Noirs are all well worth your time, I may even rewatch a few, but I still need to watch the vary rare Sirk with Claudette Colbert as a nun first.

I've seen all the shorter Suzukis. Is the Taisho trilogy worth a dip?

From the erotic thriller selection, "Call Me" has a incredible phone sex scene about squeezing an orange into places you wouldn't normally want to squeeze a citrus. The movie either side of that scene is quite pedestrian, although there are lots of fun shots of mid-80s NYC looking unkempt, Steve Buscemi plays a heavy with a switchblade called "Switch", and it's only 90 mins. Patricia Charbonneau from Desert Hearts is the lead, she should've had a bigger career. Unusual (and fun) to see a noir where the female lead is the everyperson.

Louis Garrel's The Innocent to be added this coming Tuesday.

Louis Garrel is my least favorite Garrel.

His first feature as director really bugged me.

June 2023 additions:
https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8149-the-criterion-channels-june-2023-lineup

Sing and Like It (1934) is screwball? You coulda fooled me.

I guess a midmonth addition is a regular thing now -- GODLAND (Pálmason 2022) to be added Tuesday 20 June.

July 2023 additions: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8181-the-criterion-channels-july-2023-lineup

Finally going to see Showgirls!

looking forward to Godland, the images from it are beautiful

Haven’t watched Rossellini’s Journey to Italy or Stromboli yet, but Rome, Open City, The Flowers of St. Francis, and Germany, Year Zero were great.

Pedro Rodrigues’ Will-o’-the-Wisp also sounds interesting, as do the films of Stanley Kwan

Journey to Italy and Stromboli are both amazing.

British noir series looks interesting, I think I've only seen one of those. Showgirls is, uh, well it's a movie.

Back by Popular Demand
Don’t miss these viewer favorites, returning to the Channel in July!

FEATURING: The Last Picture Show (1971), California Split (1974), Cutter’s Way (1981), Thief (1981), Something Wild (1986), Ghost World (2001)

Green for Danger isn't that great -- half noir and half golden age mystery, and doesn't have enough of either. Night and the City is all time, 10/10.

July midmonth addition: Tori and Lokita (Dardenne Bros. 2022) coming this Tuesday.

August 2023 additions: https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8194-the-criterion-channels-august-2023-lineup

Belly on Criterion, you love to see it