Top Five Home Video Releases: June 2019
byFrom a legendary Russian epic to a pair of masterpieces from a French iconoclast, these are the five(ish) best home video releases from June 2019.
Blu-ray Reviews
Top Five Home Video Releases: May 2019
byFrom a French New Wave masterpiece to a pair of iconic silent classics, these are the five best home video releases of May 2019.
Scott Reviews Luigi Bazzoni’s The Fifth Cord [Arrow Blu-ray Review]
byAn extraordinary giallo film gets a stellar transfer and a so-so bundle of supplements
Trevor Reviews Abbas Kiarostami’s 24 Frames [Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review]
byWhile the premise underlying Kiarostami’s 24 Frames may look strange on paper — in this, his final film, he animates 24 still images and presents them one-by-one — the result is a surprisingly rich work that explores beauty and time and allows its audience amply space to meditate amidst its beauty.
Scott Reviews Henri-George Clouzot’s La verite [Criterion Blu-ray Review]
byA stellar film with a stupendous transfer and a decent set of supplements.
Scott Reviews Cristian Mungiu’s 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days [Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review]
byThis is not just one of the great modern films, but one of the great films, period. I’m thrilled it finally made its way to the collection.
Scott Reviews Luciano Ercoli’s The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion [Arrow Blu-ray Review]
byArrow assembles a characteristically stellar package for an early giallo that is a bit of a mixed bag.
David Reviews Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky [Criterion Collection Blu-Ray Review]
byDynamic performances by Peter Falk and John Cassavetes ignite Elaine May’s long-awaited entry into the Criterion Collection.
Trevor Reviews Ron Shelton’s Bull Durham [Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review]
byEarlier this year The Criterion Collection released Ron Shelton’s Bull Durham, giving us a great opportunity to revisit a maligned classic. The film, though, doesn’t deserve derision. It’s a delicate, and often funny, look at quietly desperate lives playing in rhythm with a baseball season.
Trevor Reviews Olivier Assayas’s Cold Water [Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review]
byAfter decades of obscurity, Olivier Assayas’s Cold Water is finally available in a lovely edition from The Criterion Collection. This is as it should be. The film is a masterpiece.
Joshua Reviews Daniel Petrie’s A Raisin In The Sun [Blu-ray Review]
byThis legendary screen adaptation of the groundbreaking Lorraine Hansberry play finally arrives on Criterion Collection DVD and Blu-ray, and is a solid, context-heavy dive into one of the most culturally significant films of its generation.
Trevor Reviews Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring [Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review]
byThe Criterion Collection’s new Blu-ray of Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring is a shimmering presentation that makes the film — a dark exploration of faith, murder, and revenge — new again.
Trevor Reviews John Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy [Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review]
byJohn Schlesinger’s Midnight Cowboy is always going to be remembered as the first and only X-rated film to win the Best Picture Academy Award. But beyond this bit of trivia, and despite some of its flaws, Midnight Cowboy is a powerful film that deserves to be revisited again and again. The Criterion Collection presents it with a stacked package in their recent home video release.
Trevor Reviews Sergei Parajanov’s The Color of Pomegranates [Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review]
bySergei Parajanov’s 1969 film The Color of Pomegranates is a one-of-a-kind masterpiece of poetic cinema. The new Criterion Collection edition has a beautiful presentation of the film alongside several supplements that really delve into the film’s riches.
Trevor Reviews Martin Scorsese’s The Age of Innocence [Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review]
byEdith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence is a tremendous story, and Martin Scorsese’s adaptation presents an immaculately constructed world by lovingly utilizing early-filmmaking techniques. Hopefully the new Criterion release, which sparkles, will help bring the film more attention it deserves.
Trevor Reviews Tony Richardson’s Tom Jones [Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review]
byCriterion’s two-disc release of Tony Richardson’s Tom Jones is a superb presentation of a film that deserves attention, in no small part because it succeeds in entertaining with an intoxicating combination of irreverence and purity of heart.