Round-up 20: Criterion Haul for 4th of July Weekend

Finally, a very productive week of film watching! Lots to dive into this week, thankfully due in part to a shortened work week, as well as the Criterion Collection being fifty percent off at Barnes and Noble. Did I spend way too much money? Yes. Was it worth it? Oh, yes, you betcha. Two separate visits to my favorite local B&N and a quick haul from the website online yielded the following

-       Uncut Gems (2019) 4K UHD Blu-Ray

-       Blue Velvet (1986) 4K UHD Blu-Ray

-       Thelma & Louise (1991) 4K UHD Blu-Ray

-       High and Low (1963) Blu-Ray

-       Do The Right Thing (1989) Blu-Ray

-       The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Blu-Ray

-       Thief (1981) Blu-Ray

-       Anora (2024) 4K UHD Blu-Ray

-       The Before Trilogy (1995 – 2013) Blu-Ray

-       No Country for Old Men (2007) Blu-Ray

I regret nothing. Taking advantage of the sale is sort of the whole point of things these days. I’m very happy with what I made off with. Very excited to go through and watch them all. One evening, I got to go out to the store close to closing with a friend, and that was the best experience of the three separate outings. Always good to get involved with conversation and dialogue.

I started the week off watching a film I’ve been hemming and hawing over watching for the last year and a half or so, a Roman tragedy of sorts by the name of Caligula (1979). This is a notorious, or rather infamous, film for a number of reasons I’m about to get into. But I’ll start with this: Paul Thomas Anderson accomplished what this film wanted to be with his late 90s hit Boogie Nights (1997). PTA skillfully, and more importantly, tastefully weaves pornographic story elements with clever cinematography. Caligula is not that. The film follows the young Caligula Caesar as he conspires to take over the throne of Rome and inevitably falls to the power bestowed upon him. The most disappointing aspect of this film is what it could have been. It features a stacked cast with names like Malcolm McDowell as the titular character, Helen Mirren, and Peter O’Toole. It falls apart with my aforementioned connection to pornography. This film includes graphic depictions of sex and torture in almost every single scene. You’d be hard pressed to find a singular sequence where there isn’t some aspect of nudity or graphic violence with nudity involved. Really disturbing stuff, to the highest extreme. Impossible to recommend, but I’m somewhat glad I sat through it, just to say that I did. There was so much wasted potential here.

My next watch continues along the graphic side, another X/NC-17 rated film from an early writer, Harmony Korine, and director Larry Clark: Kids (1995). This is a huge step up from the previous film, leaning heavier into the dramatic climaxes of youth tragedy as the story follows an ensemble of young teenagers as they explore sex for the first time, drink illegally, and score drugs on the side. A painfully honest portrayal of city life as a teen, complete with all of the seediest and morally corrupt moments that shape them. The acting in this, considering the young age of the actors, was quite seriously off the charts. Korine’s early influences show as the foundations for what he would go on to make in his own films. This feels like not just a good film, but something that many people should be required to watch. This is a prime example of graphic storytelling being positively impactful to society, showcasing a real set of issues that every generation faces to some degree or another. There is a scene towards the end of the film that involves a rape, which is very difficult to watch, but somehow directed in a manner that gets the message across without ever being distasteful, which is a tremendous feat in its own. As someone watching a lot of these kinds of films lately, this was one of the better ones. Of course, I can never speak to someone who’s had these experiences themselves, so please watch this film at your own discretion.

      I lightened things up a bit with the next viewing, a desperate attempt at rinsing my soul of the grunge of the previous films. Tampopo (1985) is a cute little film from Japan following a series of montage-like sequences, loosely held together by the titular character, a young widow down on her luck trying to get her ramen noodle shop to a better place. The story progresses through a rag-tag team of ramen masters, some truckers, some chefs, all coming together to push Tampopo into her prowess as a ramen cook. The other scenes that are interspersed throughout are humorous reflections on our relationship with food in a societal context. Seemingly random sketches that fit the thematic throughlines perfectly. This was such a comfortable watch, relaxing and as wholesome as a bowl of warm, homemade ramen soup. Strongly recommended to almost anybody! Especially on a rainy day.

A year or so ago, I was gifted a copy of Alfred Hitchcock’s early masterpiece Notorious (1946), and having never seen it until now, once again has me falling into the “being an asshole”. This is a tremendous feat of early cinema. The tracking shots, the fast pace, and the chemistry between Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant shine the loudest. Hitchcock is simply showing off here and firing on all cylinders. The famous shot of Bergman fumbling with the key behind the antagonist’s back during a particularly stressful sequence stands out as maybe one of my favorite moments in film history. The balance of the timing between shots as the key falls and their heads turn in each respective direction is perfect filmmaking. As mentioned, the acting between Grant and Bergman stands out as well as some of the finest acting I’ve ever seen, especially in dialogue and action. There’s an extended scene of the two kissing on and off, and talking to one another, and the way the camera follows them just feels so natural, it’s once again hard to fathom this was an early version of the man who would go on to produce Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960). Must-see cinema.

For the 4^th of July, and my final film of the week, I rewatched Spike Lee’s magnum opus, Do the Right Thing(1989). It was one of my purchases from the Criterion sale, and I really wanted to try out the new Blu-ray. A beautiful 4K transfer (though not the coveted 4K UHD upgrade we’re all still waiting for) with a bounty of special features, truthfully, my favorite set Criterion has done to date. At least that I own right now. Given the state of the union right now, and all of the ugliness from the present administration, all I really have to say is that it felt right to revisit a film about, well, love and hate, as the great Radio Raheem puts it. The film is so great and powerful a statement on race in this country that it deserves its own review. I’ll just leave it at this: watch it if you haven’t seen it already. Powerful stuff. What have you seen from this week’s list? How do you feel about controversial cinema? Salo might be next…