Criterion Channel Diary: October
By Austin Johnson
October is the month for horror fans and Criterion knows this. They added an incredible amount of genre films at the very beginning of the month including a ridiculously badass section titled, “70’s Horror”, which is the definition of my wheelhouse. I’ve always adored classics like The Exorcist, Carrie, Halloween, etc. but to gain favorites you have to watch some newbies every now and again. I was able to find new films for my October rotation through Criterion while still holding onto the ones I have loved for years. I also ventured out like I always do because Criterion never stops adding gold.
Season of the Witch (1972) - 7
Deathdream (1974) - 8
Sisters (1972) - 9
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) - 9
Wanda (1970) - 8
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes (2016)
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) - 8
Shivers (1975) - 8
Rabid (1977) - 8
8 ½ (1963) - 8
Brazil (1985) - 8
The Official Story (1985) - 9
The Best Man (1964) - 8
Lenny Cooke (2013)
The Killers (1964) - 8
I jumped right into the “70’s Horror” section and watched Season of the Witch directed by George A. Romero, Deathdream directed by Bob Clark, and Sisters directed by Brian De Palma. Goodness, they are all super weird and super 70’s. My favorite of those three is definitely Sisters from 1972. De Palma had already won my horror heart over with Carrie from 1976, so this just cemented it. What I love most about Carrie and Sisters is how well De Palma directs female performers to crush their performances out of the fucking park. This will not be the last time I mention the “70’s Horror” section.
Connor and I both watched Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance for episode 105 on our Filmgazm podcast through Criterion Channel, and I got to say, it’s one of the more disturbing films we have ever discussed. We’ve been introduced to the mind of Chan-wook Park and witnessed a stellar performance from Kang-ho Song. It was a fucking trip that I won’t forget and will take again some day.
I’ve been intrigued by the films advertised at the top of the home page before and it happened again with Wanda, from 1970 which was dope because we covered Five Easy Pieces from 1970 around the same time for Oscar Sunday. I like getting extra perspective for that show by watching something random that didn’t get nominated for any Oscars. That’s totally what I got with the verite style Wanda which is in the “Criterion Edition” and a must see for fans of that kind of filmmaking.
I was enticed by the top of the home page again right after Wanda, but by a documentary titled The Prison in Twelve Landscapes, which kind of blew me away. The idea is in the title, but it’s all about how well everything is paced and built to be random but connected at the same time. It’s one of the better documentaries I’ve seen from the past decade.
I went back to the “70’s Horror” section after that doc. The second trip consisted of Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, Shivers, and Rabid. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is a brilliant mind fuck of a film written and directed by John D. Hancock and definitely got loads of potential to be a great Filmgazm episode. Shivers and Rabid are both David Cronenberg films so those are mind fuckers as well. I raved about Cronenberg’s The Brood from 1979 back in May because I watched it through Criterion for the podcast.
After that strange stretch, I took my ass to the “Directed by Federico Fellini” section and finally watched 8½ from 1963. It was written and directed by Mr. Fellini, and is about a director sort of losing his mind while making a film. I’d say it’s a must see for fans of films about films or filmmaking.
After that, I jumped to 1985 to check out a couple of films for our Oscar Sunday episode on Back to the Future, which was nominated for a total of four Oscars, including a Best Screenplay nod which inspired us to watch all 5 films from that category. Back to the Future was the main focus with Witness, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Brazil, and The Official Story as the bonus material. I watched Witness through Starz, rented Purple Rose on Amazon, watched Connor’s Blu-ray copy of Back to the Future, and then checked out Brazil and The Official Story through Criterion Channel. Brazil is a dystopian sci-fi drama written and directed by Terry Gilliam and The Official Story is a historical drama written and directed by the critically acclaimed Luis Puenzo from Argentina. Both are extremely sad in their own ways, but I think they’re both deserving of awards and recognition.
I used Criterion for Oscar Sunday again by checking out The Best Man from 1964, which features a solid performance by Henry Fonda who was the focus of Episode 21 along with 12 Angry Men. My favorite aspect of The Best Man is Cliff Robertson’s performance because I think about Uncle Ben every time I see him. For so long, I didn’t know he was a kick ass actor back in the day.
I watched an exhausting documentary directed by the Safdie brothers after The Best Man called Lenny Cooke. Leonard Cooke is a 38 year old man from Atlantic City, New Jersey who was at one point the highest rated high school basketball player in the country. Cooke graduated a year before LeBron James and was supposed to be the next big thing along with him and Carmelo Anthony. It’s a very interesting look at a specific time in basketball and then an extremely sad American story about a young man with the wrong people in his corner. The Safdies can fucking do it all.
The last film I watched in October on Criterion was the Don Siegel directed The Killers from 1964 because it was in the “Leaving October 31” section and it just looked like my kind of film. I was right! It’s based on the work of Ernest Hemingway and features awesome performances by Lee Marvin and John Cassavetes and a bizarre role for the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan.
I was able to watch 13 films and 2 documentaries through Criterion Channel during October and I have 4 personal favorites and 4 recommendations/must sees for any film buff.
Personals
1. Sisters
2. Wanda
3. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
4. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
Recommendations
1. The Prison in Twelve Landscapes
2. The Official Story
3. 8½
4. Lenny Cooke
Season of the Witch (1972) - 7
Deathdream (1974) - 8
Sisters (1972) - 9
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002) - 9
Wanda (1970) - 8
The Prison in Twelve Landscapes (2016)
Let’s Scare Jessica to Death (1971) - 8
Shivers (1975) - 8
Rabid (1977) - 8
8 ½ (1963) - 8
Brazil (1985) - 8
The Official Story (1985) - 9
The Best Man (1964) - 8
Lenny Cooke (2013)
The Killers (1964) - 8
I jumped right into the “70’s Horror” section and watched Season of the Witch directed by George A. Romero, Deathdream directed by Bob Clark, and Sisters directed by Brian De Palma. Goodness, they are all super weird and super 70’s. My favorite of those three is definitely Sisters from 1972. De Palma had already won my horror heart over with Carrie from 1976, so this just cemented it. What I love most about Carrie and Sisters is how well De Palma directs female performers to crush their performances out of the fucking park. This will not be the last time I mention the “70’s Horror” section.
Connor and I both watched Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance for episode 105 on our Filmgazm podcast through Criterion Channel, and I got to say, it’s one of the more disturbing films we have ever discussed. We’ve been introduced to the mind of Chan-wook Park and witnessed a stellar performance from Kang-ho Song. It was a fucking trip that I won’t forget and will take again some day.
I’ve been intrigued by the films advertised at the top of the home page before and it happened again with Wanda, from 1970 which was dope because we covered Five Easy Pieces from 1970 around the same time for Oscar Sunday. I like getting extra perspective for that show by watching something random that didn’t get nominated for any Oscars. That’s totally what I got with the verite style Wanda which is in the “Criterion Edition” and a must see for fans of that kind of filmmaking.
I was enticed by the top of the home page again right after Wanda, but by a documentary titled The Prison in Twelve Landscapes, which kind of blew me away. The idea is in the title, but it’s all about how well everything is paced and built to be random but connected at the same time. It’s one of the better documentaries I’ve seen from the past decade.
I went back to the “70’s Horror” section after that doc. The second trip consisted of Let’s Scare Jessica to Death, Shivers, and Rabid. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death is a brilliant mind fuck of a film written and directed by John D. Hancock and definitely got loads of potential to be a great Filmgazm episode. Shivers and Rabid are both David Cronenberg films so those are mind fuckers as well. I raved about Cronenberg’s The Brood from 1979 back in May because I watched it through Criterion for the podcast.
After that strange stretch, I took my ass to the “Directed by Federico Fellini” section and finally watched 8½ from 1963. It was written and directed by Mr. Fellini, and is about a director sort of losing his mind while making a film. I’d say it’s a must see for fans of films about films or filmmaking.
After that, I jumped to 1985 to check out a couple of films for our Oscar Sunday episode on Back to the Future, which was nominated for a total of four Oscars, including a Best Screenplay nod which inspired us to watch all 5 films from that category. Back to the Future was the main focus with Witness, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Brazil, and The Official Story as the bonus material. I watched Witness through Starz, rented Purple Rose on Amazon, watched Connor’s Blu-ray copy of Back to the Future, and then checked out Brazil and The Official Story through Criterion Channel. Brazil is a dystopian sci-fi drama written and directed by Terry Gilliam and The Official Story is a historical drama written and directed by the critically acclaimed Luis Puenzo from Argentina. Both are extremely sad in their own ways, but I think they’re both deserving of awards and recognition.
I used Criterion for Oscar Sunday again by checking out The Best Man from 1964, which features a solid performance by Henry Fonda who was the focus of Episode 21 along with 12 Angry Men. My favorite aspect of The Best Man is Cliff Robertson’s performance because I think about Uncle Ben every time I see him. For so long, I didn’t know he was a kick ass actor back in the day.
I watched an exhausting documentary directed by the Safdie brothers after The Best Man called Lenny Cooke. Leonard Cooke is a 38 year old man from Atlantic City, New Jersey who was at one point the highest rated high school basketball player in the country. Cooke graduated a year before LeBron James and was supposed to be the next big thing along with him and Carmelo Anthony. It’s a very interesting look at a specific time in basketball and then an extremely sad American story about a young man with the wrong people in his corner. The Safdies can fucking do it all.
The last film I watched in October on Criterion was the Don Siegel directed The Killers from 1964 because it was in the “Leaving October 31” section and it just looked like my kind of film. I was right! It’s based on the work of Ernest Hemingway and features awesome performances by Lee Marvin and John Cassavetes and a bizarre role for the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan.
I was able to watch 13 films and 2 documentaries through Criterion Channel during October and I have 4 personal favorites and 4 recommendations/must sees for any film buff.
Personals
1. Sisters
2. Wanda
3. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
4. Let’s Scare Jessica to Death
Recommendations
1. The Prison in Twelve Landscapes
2. The Official Story
3. 8½
4. Lenny Cooke