Ryan’s Criterion Link Collection: Tuesday, December 2nd 2014

Rounding up the Criterion-related links for the day.

NEWS

Elizabeth Karlsen talks about securing funding for Todd Haynes upcoming film, Carol

An adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s 1952, New York-set novel The Price of Salt, the film stars Cate Blanchett as a wealthy woman in a loveless marriage who falls for a young shop girl, played by Rooney Mara.

REVIEWS

For the Dissolve, Noel Murray reviews Liv Ullmann’s Miss Julie

Too much of Ullmann’s film feels like a social commentary being delivered more than a century too late. But when Chastain’s Julie dares Farrell’s Jean to damn propriety and follow her upstairs, and he refuses, her long, lonely walk up the steps is as poignant in 2014 as it would’ve been in 1914.

But James van Maanen, over at TrustMovies, enjoyed it quite a bit more

Every production I’ve ever seen — maybe a half dozen over my lifetime — of MISS JULIE, the oft-produced play by August Stringberg, has now been obliterated. The new movie of the play, directed with a screenplay based upon Strindberg’s original, by Liv Ullman, while seemingly true to the words and intentions of the playwright, gives such clarity, dignity and fullness to the three characters on view that it simply wipes the floor with every other version I’ve so far seen

Over at the Home Theater Forum, Ken McAlinden has a great review of the latest Kubrick Blu-ray box set re-release (triple dip?), and addresses who should buy this:

Fans who have diligently been collecting all of the previous Blu-ray releases of these eight Kubrick films may have a hard time justifying the cost of this set just to acquire the new bonus content. For deep pocketed completists, the feature length Kubrick Remembered documentary, the Once Upon a Time … A Clockwork Orange French television documentary, and the book of reproductions of production materials and behind the scenes photographs are of very high quality and worth seeking out. That being said, the set provides an excellent value for first time purchasers of all or most of these titles. It includes outstanding high definition presentations of the films and copious extras of high quality.

INTERESTING

Writing on David Cairn’s Shadowplay blog, Matthew Wilder has written a beautiful piece on Bergman.

Like many other film artists who hit a wall at the end of the seventies, Bergman gave the people what they wanted in the eighties. And he had a long string of no-really-this-is-it finales. But as a last gasp of the monster he was, FROM THE LIFE OF THE MARIONETTES is Ingmar Bergman’s real testament movie.

Over at Dangerous Minds, Richard Metzger wonders if Putney Swope is the “most under-rated cult film of the 60s”

The first three times I saw Putney Swope I thought it was an incredible masterpiece. I was stunned by it. I laughed out loud. I sobbed. It was amazing. It was profound and symbolic of everything! Then again, the first three times I saw the film I was ridiculously high on LSD and I watched it over and over again, by myself, three times in the same night!

Check out this Japanese poster of Ingmar Bergman’s Winter Light, over on Movie Poster Of The Day

NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM

On Netflix: