David and guests talk about the second installment in the SHAFT franchise and also discuss TOP OF THE HEAP, both currently featured in the Criterion Channel's "Beyond Blaxploitation" bundle.
Criterion Reflections
David Blakeslee
Criterion Reflections – Episode 118 – Bruce Lee’s The Way of the Dragon
David is joined by Michael Worth and Richard Doyle to talk about the last film Bruce Lee starred in during his lifetime, his only directorial effort, the climactic battle with Chuck Norris, and more!
Criterion Reflections – Episode 117 – Michael Campus’s Z.P.G. and George A. Romero’s Hungry Wives a.k.a. Season of the Witch
Two obscure genre flicks from May 1972 that were given brief limited runs on the Criterion Channel are the focus of this episode.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 116 – Jacques Demy’s The Pied Piper
Come listen and be entranced by our enchanted conversation about this overlooked folk horror fairy tale set in the tragic era of the Black Death.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 115 – Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy
David and guests discuss the delightful flavors and occasional bad taste of Hitchcock's penultimate film, a debate that ends in a tie.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 114 – Roberto Rossellini’s Blaise Pascal
Rossellini's distinctive approach to portraying history on film focuses on the French polymath, a innovative genius in mathematics, science and philosophy.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 113 – John Huston’s Fat City
Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges and Susan Tyrell star in this remarkable adaptation of Leonard Gardner's classic novel set in the riff-raff boxing milieu of Stockton, California.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 112 – Peter Medak’s The Ruling Class
In this barbed satire of aristocratic elites, Peter O'Toole's manic pivot from beatific flower child to merciless killer ranks as one of his greatest on-screen roles.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 111 – Maurice Pialat’s We Won’t Grow Old Together
Pialat's second feature film won a Best Actor award at Cannes in 1972 for its portrayal of the terminal phase of a doomed and codependent love affair.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 110 – Robert Altman’s Images
David is joined by Brad McDermott to talk about Robert Altman's overlooked excursion into psychological horror, featuring an award-winning lead performance by Susannah York.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 109 – Lone Wolf and Cub [Part 2]
This episode covers the last three films in this classic series: Baby Cart in Peril, Baby Cart in the Land of Demons and White Heaven in Hell.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 108 – Kenji Misumi’s Lone Wolf and Cub [Part 1]
David and guests embark on the demon path to hell as they discuss the first three films (and Shogun Assassin too!) in this classic saga of ronin & child in feudal Japan.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 107 – Jean-Luc Godard & Jean-Pierre Gorin’s Tout va bien / Letter to Jane
David wraps up his miniseries on Godard as he and his guests interrogate JLG's final collaborations with Jean-Pierre Gorin as part of the Dziga Vertov Group.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 106 – Godard 68/71
David is joined by Jon Laubinger to discuss Le gai savoir and the Arrow box "Godard + Gorin: Five Films 1968-1971", released during Godard's period of politically-charged cinema as a member of the Dziga Vertov Group.
Criterion Reflections – Episode 105 – Godard 66/67
David is joined by Jon Laubinger to discuss MADE IN U.S.A., 2 OR THREE THINGS I KNOW ABOUT HER, LA CHINOISE and WEEKEND, four films that marked the end of the nouvelle vague phase of Jean-Luc Godard's filmography.