DVD Review: Sunday Bloody Sunday (Criterion Collection)
After the critical and commercial success of Midnight Cowboy, the late director John Schlesinger had the freedom to pursue the project of his choice. Deciding not to play it safe, Schlesinger chose Sunday Bloody Sunday, a thoughtful film about homosexuality, marriage and commitment. While not directly taken from Schlesinger’s life, many of the events depicted […]
Blu-ray Review: The Forgiveness of Blood (Criterion Collection)
American Joshua Marston made his directorial debut with Maria Full of Grace, concerned the drug trade between South America and New York. In his second feature, Marston delves into a little understood culture in Albania that lives according to an ancient set of laws called the Kanun, from the Latin canon. Of all the laws […]
Blu-ray Review: Umberto D. (Criterion Collection)
The focus of Italian neorealism is the real-life problems of ordinary people. However, most of the real classics are stories of families or lovers set against the harsh realities of poverty or war. Actor-turned-director Vittorio De Sica was considered a central figure in the neorealist movement, having released some of the greatest films of the […]
Blu-ray Review: Quadrophenia (Criterion Collection)
Loosely based on the rock opera of the same name by The Who, Quadrophenia not only captures a time and a place—England in the mid 1960’s—but the feeling of alienation many people experience as they make the transition from teenager to young adult. Unlike The Who’s earlier film, Tommy, Quadrophenia is not a musical. While […]
Blu-ray Review: The Last Days of Disco (Criterion Collection)
Released in 1998, The Last Days of Disco was the last film in writer/director Wilt Stillman’s trilogy of occasionally dark social comedies about the so-called “Urban Haute Bourgeoisie” (UHB), a group of white, young, East coast, Ivy-league league elites. Set in the early 1980’s, the movie follows a rag-tag group of people all caught up […]
Blu-ray Review: Gray’s Anatomy (Criterion Collection)
From the start, it’s clear that this is not your typical Spalding Gray film. First, instead of the usual man behind-a-desk scenario, Gray’s Anatomy begins with eight minutes of person-on-the-street interviews, filmed in grainy black and white, talking about their experiences with eye injury. This surprisingly graphic introduction could have some people looking for the […]
DVD Review: Harold and Maude (Criterion Collection)
Released in 1971, director Hal Ashby’s Harold and Maude has a decidedly late ‘60s feel. This is a film about life, love, disillusionment and death, replete with a hopeful Cat Stevens soundtrack. If you were to look up “off beat cinema” in the dictionary, there might well be a picture of Harold and Maude. As […]