Criterion Channel Diary: January
By Austin Johnson
January was a huge month for Filmgazm. We added a whole new show called The Sneak Preview, which releases new content every Monday. A lot of my mental space went to that show and working with Connor on the first few episodes. We are in a good groove already, but it means more on our plate. I like having more on my plate when it comes to watching films, but it is important to find a balance that works. The Criterion Channel Diary continues into 2021 even though I only watched 9 feature films and 1 documentary.
A Woman Under the Influence (1974) - 10
Amarcord (1973) - 9
The Inland Sea (1991)
Mala Noche (1986) - 7
Autumn Sonata (1978) - 8
The Chase (1966) - 8
Barefoot in the Park (1967) - 7
Klute (1971) - 8
The China Syndrome (1979) - 9
The Morning After (1986) - 8
I started January off by watching two films for episode 32 of our Oscar Sunday podcast which was based around Chinatown from 1974. A Woman Under the Influence is a John Cassavetes written and directed film starring Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk. It’s a simple film about a family in which Rowlands plays the mother who has a mental illness. She gives one of the better performances I’ve seen from the 70’s. I used it as some extra perspective on the 47th Academy Awards for our show. Rowlands was nominated for Best Actress along with Faye Dunaway in Chinatown and Cassavetes was up for Best Director. The other film, Amarcord, is a Federico Fellini written and directed film that I also used for extra perspective as it won Best Foreign Language Film at the 47th Academy Awards. I highly recommend both of them and anything else from that particular Oscars, because it’s filled with gems.
I followed those early 70’s films with a documentary from 1991 that was directed by Lucille Carra called The Inland Sea and Gus Van Sant’s directorial debut, Mala Noche. Both of them are in the “Criterion Editions” section but I don’t see either of them as must see stuff. There’s some beautiful footage in The Inland Sea and some interesting decision-making in Mala Noche, but I’ve seen much better stuff like Amarcord and A Woman Under the Influence (haha) in the “Criterion Editions” section.
Episode 33 of Oscar Sunday was based around Gaslight from 1944, which got Ingrid Bergman her first Oscar win of three and her second nomination out of seven. She’s a certified hall of famer when it comes to acting and I adore her in Gaslight, but I might actually like her performance as Charlotte Andergast in Autumn Sonata more, which is the last role she was ever nominated for in 1978. The thing about Oscar Sunday is that it opens these amazing doors over and over. Autumn Sonata contains an awesome Ingrid performance but it’s also written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and it stars his wife at the time, Liv Ullman. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the film altogether. It can be found in the “Ingrid Bergman in Europe” section, which is a section worth signing up for the whole damn streaming service. They are consistently putting together collections that mean so much to the history of cinema.
The last five films I watched through Criterion in January all came from the same collection called “Starring Jane Fonda”. She’s a fucking awesome performer that deserves all the acclaim and reevaluation an actor could get. She’s worth studying to see how today’s stars were inspired by her work. There’s 13 films in the “Starring Jane Fonda” collection altogether, so I just kind of went all over the place to get some variety. California Suite from 1978 is in the collection and I watched that back in the summer or some shit. Super entertaining film. This time, I chose a couple of 60’s films, a couple of 70’s films, and an 80’s film. For fun, I’m going to make a Top 5 list of those real quick…
5. Barefoot in the Park
4. The Morning After
3. The Chase
2. Klute
1. The China Syndrome
Jane Fonda is someone I’m just flat out a fan of now and that’s something I have to thank the Criterion Channel for. To wrap this noise up, I’m going to pick a couple of personal favorites and a couple recommendations from the stuff I watched in January. See ya next month.
Personals
2. The China Syndrome
1. A Woman Under the Influence
Recommendations
2. Autumn Sonata
1. Amarcord
A Woman Under the Influence (1974) - 10
Amarcord (1973) - 9
The Inland Sea (1991)
Mala Noche (1986) - 7
Autumn Sonata (1978) - 8
The Chase (1966) - 8
Barefoot in the Park (1967) - 7
Klute (1971) - 8
The China Syndrome (1979) - 9
The Morning After (1986) - 8
I started January off by watching two films for episode 32 of our Oscar Sunday podcast which was based around Chinatown from 1974. A Woman Under the Influence is a John Cassavetes written and directed film starring Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk. It’s a simple film about a family in which Rowlands plays the mother who has a mental illness. She gives one of the better performances I’ve seen from the 70’s. I used it as some extra perspective on the 47th Academy Awards for our show. Rowlands was nominated for Best Actress along with Faye Dunaway in Chinatown and Cassavetes was up for Best Director. The other film, Amarcord, is a Federico Fellini written and directed film that I also used for extra perspective as it won Best Foreign Language Film at the 47th Academy Awards. I highly recommend both of them and anything else from that particular Oscars, because it’s filled with gems.
I followed those early 70’s films with a documentary from 1991 that was directed by Lucille Carra called The Inland Sea and Gus Van Sant’s directorial debut, Mala Noche. Both of them are in the “Criterion Editions” section but I don’t see either of them as must see stuff. There’s some beautiful footage in The Inland Sea and some interesting decision-making in Mala Noche, but I’ve seen much better stuff like Amarcord and A Woman Under the Influence (haha) in the “Criterion Editions” section.
Episode 33 of Oscar Sunday was based around Gaslight from 1944, which got Ingrid Bergman her first Oscar win of three and her second nomination out of seven. She’s a certified hall of famer when it comes to acting and I adore her in Gaslight, but I might actually like her performance as Charlotte Andergast in Autumn Sonata more, which is the last role she was ever nominated for in 1978. The thing about Oscar Sunday is that it opens these amazing doors over and over. Autumn Sonata contains an awesome Ingrid performance but it’s also written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and it stars his wife at the time, Liv Ullman. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the film altogether. It can be found in the “Ingrid Bergman in Europe” section, which is a section worth signing up for the whole damn streaming service. They are consistently putting together collections that mean so much to the history of cinema.
The last five films I watched through Criterion in January all came from the same collection called “Starring Jane Fonda”. She’s a fucking awesome performer that deserves all the acclaim and reevaluation an actor could get. She’s worth studying to see how today’s stars were inspired by her work. There’s 13 films in the “Starring Jane Fonda” collection altogether, so I just kind of went all over the place to get some variety. California Suite from 1978 is in the collection and I watched that back in the summer or some shit. Super entertaining film. This time, I chose a couple of 60’s films, a couple of 70’s films, and an 80’s film. For fun, I’m going to make a Top 5 list of those real quick…
5. Barefoot in the Park
4. The Morning After
3. The Chase
2. Klute
1. The China Syndrome
Jane Fonda is someone I’m just flat out a fan of now and that’s something I have to thank the Criterion Channel for. To wrap this noise up, I’m going to pick a couple of personal favorites and a couple recommendations from the stuff I watched in January. See ya next month.
Personals
2. The China Syndrome
1. A Woman Under the Influence
Recommendations
2. Autumn Sonata
1. Amarcord