Criterion Challenge 2022

[Idioteque Stalker]

Welcome to the Criterion Challenge 2022 thread!

Original Letterboxd List (https://letterboxd.com/bslaby/list/the-criterion-challenge-2022/)

MC Criterion Challenge 2021 (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?8006-MC-s-Criterion-Challenge-2021-(by-way-of-Letterboxd))

There are 52 categories - one for each week. Watch any Criterion related film in connection to the categories between 1/1/22-12/31/22 that have been released on Laserdisc, VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, or has been featured on The Criterion Channel streaming service. The films can be watched daily, weekly, or monthly, and in any order! I would like for all picks to be first time watches but will leave that up to you.

Challenge:

1. Watch a movie from the year you were born.
2. 1920s
3. 1930s
4. 1940s
5. 1950s
6. 1960s
7. 1970s
8. 1980s
9. 1990s
10. 2000s
11. 2010s
12. Genre: War
13. Genre: Science Fiction
14. Genre: Musical/Music Themed
15. Watch a film by a director whose work you haven't seen before
16. Directed by Chantal Akerman
17. Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
18. Directed by Wong Kar-wai
19. Directed by Claire Denis
20. Isabel Sandoval's Top 10
21. Bill Hader's Top 10
22. Ana Lily Amirpour's Top 10
23. Richard Linklater's Top 10
24. Made in the United States
25. Made in Poland
26. Made in Iran
27. Made in Mexico
28. Made in Senegal
29. Watch a film that has an out of print physical release
30. Watch a film from the "America Lost and Found: The BBS Story" collection
31. Watch a film with a spine #1-100
32. Watch a film with a spine #500-600
33. Cannes Film Festival Winners
34. Midnight Madness: Watch a cult classic
35. Growing Pains: Watch a coming of age film
36. Stage to Screen: Watch a stage adaptation
37. Out at Criterion: Watch an LGBTQ film
38. Watch a film on the Summer Travels list
39. Watch a film on the Hollywood Classics list
40. Watch a film from the Animation Before the 2000s list
41. Starring Catherine Deneuve
42. Starring Anna Karina
43. Starring Jeanne Moreau
44. Paul Dano's Closet Picks
45. Ethan Hawke and Jonathan Marc Sherman's Closet Picks
46. Michael K. Williams’ Closet Picks
47. Sean Baker's Closet Picks
48. Amy Heckerling's Closet Picks
49. Agnes Varda's Closet Picks
50. Random number generator (Google random number generator, set values from 1 to whatever number Criterion has listed last here. This number will change as more releases are announced so please keep up to date by using the link I have provided as I will not be updating each time Criterion makes announcements. Watch whatever movie corresponds to the spine number you are given.)
51. Watch a film featured in any of the Essential Art House box sets
52. Any Criterion film on your watchlist

Good luck, one and all. Let the arthouse binging begin!

[Idioteque Stalker]

First week bonus = discover the age of MC posters! I'll be going with Sweetie.

[dreamdead]

1. Watch a movie from the year you were born.
I had an aborted attempt at Ann Hui's The Boat People back in late November, but this watch proved breathtaking. The first 20 minutes or so are setting up the stakes and leading us into a false narrative--what the North Vietnamese want the world to see of post-1975 Vietnam--before placing us into the daily horrors of poverty, labor camps for those who need re-educated, and the aftereffects (left behind mines) from the war. Characters recede and reappear, and some of the film's structure--embedding belief in escape without ever knowing if that person will escape--are indeed powerful. There's one or two operatic images that go hard into the melodrama, but by then Hui has earned the film's pathos, and the final 10 minutes are as nerve-wracking as I expect to see this year.

A great first film for this challenge.

[Dukefrukem]

Lets see if I can get past week 7 this year

https://letterboxd.com/dukefrukem/list/the-criterion-challenge-2022/

[Skitch]

Movies from when I was born would be easy. Epic year. 1979.

[Idioteque Stalker]

1. Watch a movie from the year you were born -- Sweetie. Challenging material and excellent shot composition make this an exciting debut from Campion (and predictive of her future successes), but it doesn't congeal quite right: if only the tree metaphor were more illuminating and/or unique. Three stars.

2. 1920s -- The Kid Brother. Sing a sad song for Harold Lloyd, the brilliant star outshined by Keaton and Chaplin. Delightful from beginning to end, but "lesser" in terms of gags, emotions, satire, and more. I loved the bit where Lloyd kept climbing the tree higher and higher in order to say one more thing to his crush. An easy film to recommend to silent-skeptics, but why would you when Sherlock Jr and City Lights exist? Three stars.


Up next:
30s: Only Angels Have Wings or The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum
40s: Le Corbeau, I Know Where I'm Going, or Leave Her to Heaven

[dreamdead]

2. 1920s - Eleven P.M. (Maurice, 1928). I haven't seen many African American silent films, and this one isn't perfect (it's more conceptual about doubles than it needs to be with actors playing mirror roles that obfuscate some of the larger meaing), but amidst the performance shenanigans there's some fascinating use of imagery, especially in the final 10 minutes. This is a sequence where Maurice finds mythic power in projected image, splicing a dog's body with the head of a man to terrorize the villain. It's a bit "much" yet it'll likely stay with me when other, financially better, films fade. It also has a little Cabinet with Dr. Caligari vibe that's both clever and too clever by half.

3. 1930s - A Story of Floating Weeds (Ozu, 1934). Another area where I get to correct a blind spot, as I've never before seen any silent Ozu films. This one felt so clean and contemporary, so although it's still early Ozu and lacking some of what I look for in his work (parental and daughter relationships), the film charts some real complexity of family dynamics and the main actor of a kabuki troupe in his navigating bad decisions from his past with present pregnant silences and avoidances. Some beautiful landscapes throughout and the film is powerful even if it makes the main male someone who is to be respected (seemingly to me, at least) even after he strikes multiple women multiple times. That said, a strong conclusion.

[dreamdead]

4. 1940s - Edward Dmytryk's Crossfire (1947), chronicling a detective's attempt to understand how a Jewish man was murdered. We know the culprit right away, and the script is working to build empathy with those the audience might view as different and Other from them. What makes the story work so that it's more than simple sermonizing is some nice slow tracking shots from Dmytryk's team, and a lovely moment about the detective's grandfather who came over from Ireland after the 1840s. For a film about resisting hate, it never has the courage to voice African Americans as a population most at risk in the U.S., but considering the film's release date as coming in the aftermath of WW2, it has some lovely moments.

There's a bewildering morality to how it approaches the ease of catching the culprit: namely, the detective takes aim from an apartment window and shoots the culprit as he flees down a city street. Is that culprit armed? Nope. Could any of the cops on the ground apprehended him without killing him? Seems likely. But as an additional commentary on how to handle hate, it makes for an interesting aftereffect, though one that makes the happy ending walk-away scene a bit more bitter than I'd expected. Not quite revelatory, but better than average.

[Yxklyx]

Up next:
30s: Only Angels Have Wings or The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum
40s: Le Corbeau, I Know Where I'm Going, or Leave Her to Heaven

Were you looking for recs? Only Angels Have Wings for sure but for the 40s that's a tossup with a slight edge to Le Corbeau as a French film released during German occupation.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Were you looking for recs? Only Angels Have Wings for sure but for the 40s that's a tossup with a slight edge to Le Corbeau as a French film released during German occupation.

Always up for recs! Keep them coming. I've been sidetracked by anime. Ended up choosing I Know Where I'm Going! because my grandma recommended it and I'll get brownie points for discussing it with her.

3. 1930s -- Only Angels Have Wings. I'd rather not go too deep on this one as the burden of proof falls on me as to why this isn't a stone cold masterpiece, yet I have little to complain about. Some tense sequences, fine if not exactly mind-blowing performances, the use of the word "boner" in a key emotional scene (I know, I'm twelve years old), and a very nicely set up half-romantic ending. A totally solid and in certain ways unconventional Golden Era Hollywood movie. Maybe another viewing down the road will help me to understand its status as an all-timer. My struggle with 30s movies continues. Three stars.

4. 1940s -- I Know Where I'm Going! Guess what y'all: this woman is stubborn! How stubborn is she? She's so stubborn the movie opens with a montage of all the times she was really, quite stubborn! She's so stubborn she almost gets herself and two others killed for no reason! She's so stubborn there's an exclamation point in the movie's title! It's a good thing Roger Livesey's #1 turn-on is stubbornness, since there otherwise couldn't have been a feel-good ending to help gloss over the feeling you've spent an entire feature following a lead with one single character trait. The best part was when the boating climax made me seasick. Two stars.

Up next:
50s: Written on the Wind or The Cranes are Flying
60s: Double Suicide, Jigoku, The Face of Another, The Color of Pomegranates, The Cloud-Capped Star, or The Cremator

[Yxklyx]

I need to re-watch The Cranes are Flying and I've seen Written on the Wind like three times. I'd recommend the latter but you can't go wrong with either.
Have not seen The Color of Pomegranates or The Cloud-Capped Star - I'd recommend Double Suicide.

[baby doll]

The Cranes Are Flying is really good. Written on the Wind is a masterpiece. The Cloud-Capped Star and The Colour of Pomeanates (Sayat Nova) are both amazing (I haven't seen Double Suicide, though I'm a big fan of Shinoda's Dry Lake and Pale Flower). The Face of Another and The Cremator both suck.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Back on the horse, let's go!

5. 1950s -- Written on the Wind. So much trash has been made from similar ingredients, but Douglas Sirk crafts Michelin meals from days-old McDonalds. Just two movies in, he is rocketing up the list of my most respected directors. The colors, framing, writing, acting, music -- all exemplary melodrama. Character motivation was a tad hard to grasp during the first act, but it hardly mattered after the legendary opening credits. In our darkest moments, when we feel most lost, everyone needs a personal Rock Hudson to make everything okay again. Four stars.

6. 1960s -- The Color of Pomegranates. A visually stunning biography which dares to be as abstract as its subject's poetry. People who don't watch arthouse films probably think every arthouse movie is like this, though for the life of me I can't recall seeing something so vivid and surreal since maybe The Holy Mountain. Jaw was agape for the first half, but -- as is the case with most experimental cinema -- produces diminishing returns at feature length. Three stars.

Up next:
70s: Probably Manila in the Claws of Light (might watch today), but also considering Alice in the Cities, Mikey and Nicky, Pink Flamingos, or a rewatch of The Last Picture Show.

80s: Probably Where Is the Friend's House, but also considering rewatches of Sans Soleil or Sex, Lies, and Videotape.

90s: Probably Cold Water, but also considering The Ice Storm, The Last Days of Disco, Howard's End, Rosetta, or When We Were Kings. There's also the chance I fall hard for Where Is the Friend's House then move on to its "sequel," Life and Nothing More.

00s: Probably A Christmas Tale, but also considering Still Walking, Love and Basketball, or a rewatch of Mulholland Drive.

10s: Weekend or Minding the Gap.

[Idioteque Stalker]

7. 70s -- Manila in the Claws of Light. Nice restoration. Much respect to Lino Brocka and his crew for making a film during such harsh conditions that holds up almost fifty years later. Three stars.

8. 80s -- Where Is the Friend's House? Is Kiarostami one of the best to ever do it? Five movies in, I'm starting to wonder. Iranian cinema on the whole is underrated. Four stars.

9. 90s - Cold Water. Who knows, maybe down the line I'll feel it in my bones -- the beautiful tragedy of teenagers making poor decisions, risking everything to steal some rock 'n' roll LPs then deciding to run away to a magical place that obviously doesn't exist, all because they kissed near a bonfire -- but as of now I can't help but lament the sheer amount of arthouse prowess that gets sacrificed to the nostalgia gods. Assayas' camera is magical, however, and the lengthy, mostly wordless party centerpiece with song after song of licensing hell (Cold Water took nearly 25 years to be properly released in the U.S.) is a formalistic highlight. Three stars.

10. 00s -- Love and Basketball. Truth in advertising. The title is apt to the point of poetry. A great soundtrack overshadows the cornier moments. Three stars.

11. 10s -- Weekend. People keep talking about Before Sunrise (this too is a dialogue-heavy meet-cute), but I keep wondering why Andrew Haigh isn't considered part of the mumblecore scene. The naturalistic dialogue, unadorned style, and relatively unknown cast make it feel 100% real, like Bujalski's best moments. If you believe in love at first sight, soul mates, etc., then the central question -- "Will they or won't they get/stay together after 36 hours of true connection?" -- may carry more dramatic weight for you than it did for me. Three stars.

Up next:
12. War -- The Cranes are Flying
13. Science Fiction -- Time Bandits or maybe rewatches of Tarkovsky's Solaris/Stalker
14. Musical -- The Lure, The Young Girls of Rochefort, or a rewatch of All that Jazz

[Idioteque Stalker]

12. War -- The Cranes Are Flying. I'm sure this was very moving to audiences in 1958, when it won the Palme d'Or. At this point, however, this type of story has been told a thousand times, and neither the impressive tracking shots nor expressionistic lighting can overshadow the "been-there-done-that" of it all. I keep seeing Isao Takahata everywhere. I wonder if the scene where Tatiana Samoilova runs away from the hospital (the camera blurry and shaky, reflective of her inner state) could have inspired Takahata's choice to let the animation break down into violent brushstrokes when Princess Kaguya flees the palace. Three stars.

13. Science Fiction -- Time Bandits. Unfair. The characters get to jump around in time whenever they want, but I had to wait over an hour for the movie to get good. Loved Winston the Ogre. Laughed hysterically at the audacious ending. Gilliam just isn't for me. Two stars.

14. Musical -- The Lure. Spinal is/was a huge fan. The outrageousness carries it for the first third. The rest is overwhelmed by mediocre music and a lack of proper characterization. Read Peng's LB review. (https://letterboxd.com/peng/film/the-lure/) I couldn't agree more. Two stars.


Up next:
15. Watch a film by a director whose work you haven't seen before -- Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, Jigoku, Double Suicide, The Cloud-Capped Star, Two-Lane Blacktop, Leave Her to Heaven. Leaning Two-Lane Blacktop.

16. Directed by Chantal Akerman -- Je, Tu, Il, Elle

[Idioteque Stalker]

15. Watch a film by a director whose work you haven't seen before -- Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One. As tantalizing as a freshly-baked oatmeal raisin cookie, and just as crumbly. To achieve the desired texture, one must risk the entire thing falling apart. In the end there are a few delicious bites, and the rest ends up getting kicked under the cupboard. This film within a film within a film is Steve Buscemi's favorite movie. Three stars.

16. Directed by Chantal Akerman -- Je, Tu, Il, Elle. Akerman, wow. The stylistic and sexual audacity of this thing is off the charts. Blue Is the Warmest Color, eat your... heart out. Yeah, your heart. It was deeply unsettling to watch Akerman eat spoonful after spoonful of sugar from a paper bag. I almost want to give this four stars just to proclaim how much of a boss ass move this whole thing was. But, you know, it's kinda boring. Three stars. She is a legend.


Up next:
17. Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder -- Querelle
18. Directed by Wong Kar-wai -- As Tears Go By
19. Directed by Claire Denis -- 35 Shots of Rum, U.S. Go Home, or Friday Night.

(Anal-retentive note: Usually I only pick movies that are in the actual Criterion Collection/have a spine number. Querelle is not in the Criterion Collection, but it is on the Criterion Channel. I'm picking it because it happens to already be on my watchlist. If I were going 100% by the rules 100% of the time, I would've chosen Fox and His Friends. But in certain cases, such as "Directed by [x]," I will make small concessions. As Tears Go By doesn't have a spine number, but it was released in the WKW box set, and it's the only one I haven't seen. As far as Claire Denis goes, that's where I am breaking the rules most egregiously. Criterion has only released three of her films. Beau Travail, which I've seen, along with White Material and Let the Sunshine In, which are both among her least intriguing films. So I admit I'm going rogue on this one in order to watch the Denis movie I actually want to watch.)

[Idioteque Stalker]

I see you there Mr. McGibblets. Are you ahead of me as you were last year?

[Idioteque Stalker]

17. Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder -- Querelle. Gotta respect Fassbinder's ability to make something this ugly from such elaborate lighting, staging, and camerawork. Maybe if I found the lead as attractive as everyone else then I could overlook his stale performance. Half the dialogue amounts to "Hey you! Just cuz I [homosexual act] doesn't mean I'm a [homosexual slur]! Got it?" Probably my least favorite Fassbinder so far. Two stars.

18. Directed by Wong Kar-wai -- As Tears Go By. For completists only. Watch the budding auteur sneak his signature into the mainstream! Choose one: a true 80s triad movie or a true WKW movie -- and skip this awkward mix of the two. Not the worst movie I've seen from him or anything, but just plain ol' mediocre. World of WKW box set haters should know I thought the blu-ray looked great. Two stars.

19. Directed by Claire Denis -- 35 Shots of Rum. For a while I wondered where this was going, then suddenly realized I didn't care -- I was enjoying the simple ways these characters loved one another. A very tender, subdued movie. Not exactly arresting, but good, like in the ethical sense. Four movies in and Denis still hasn't blown me away. Three stars.


Up next:
20. Isabel Sandoval's Top 10 (https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/377-isabel-sandoval-s-top-10) -- Insiang is the only one I haven't seen. Just saw Lino Brocka's Manila in the Claws of Light and liked it, but not exactly hankering at the moment for another movie about extreme Filipino poverty. So that, or a rewatch of either Woman in the Dunes or In the Mood for Love. Leaning Woman in the Dunes.

21. Bill Hader's Top 10 (https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/139-bill-hader-s-top-10) -- The Earrings of Madame de..., Ace in the Hole, Mona Lisa, or The Steel Helmet. Leaning Earrings.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Back on the horse, let's goooo.

20. Isabel Sandoval's Top 10 -- Woman in the Dunes. I try to stay away from rewatches with this challenge, but it's been over a decade and I had great memories of this. It holds up like a mofo. A half-hour too long to be a personal favorite, but otherwise feels like one of the most impeccably-crafted, beguiling movies ever made. For a while you will believe that sand is the most powerful thing in the universe. Four stars.

21. Bill Hader's Top 10 -- The Earrings of Madame de... As opulent and finely-tuned as a royal wedding cake, I would imagine Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson are big fans. My first impression of Max Ophuls is that he was a major show-off, and I relished in the gliding camerawork and intricate staging. Maybe I prefer my deceit-laden relationship films to be less melodrama and more black comedy (where the irony can be utilized toward a more enjoyable end), but the acting was solid all around and it was a particular joy to see none other than Vittorio De Sica in a major role. Three stars.


Up next:
22. Ana Lily Amirpour's Top 10 (https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/247-ana-lily-amirpour-s-top-10) -- Fisher King or And God Created Woman... ugh, is that really what I have to choose from? I'll likely go with a long-overdue rewatch of Mulholland Drive.

23. Richard Linklater's Top 10 (https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/42-richard-linklater-s-top-10) -- Pickpocket or Unfaithfully Yours. Leaning Pickpocket.

[Grouchy]

22. Ana Lily Amirpour's Top 10 (https://www.criterion.com/current/top-10-lists/247-ana-lily-amirpour-s-top-10) -- Fisher King or And God Created Woman... ugh, is that really what I have to choose from?
... Two excellent movies?

[Idioteque Stalker]

... Two excellent movies?

Maybe I'm a little rough on The Fisher King right now since I just trudged through Time Bandits. But there's nothing but two star ratings in by LB feed for And God Created Woman, so you're the only supporter I know.

I haven't seen Mulholland Drive since ~2005. It's time.

[Idioteque Stalker]

22. Ana Lily Amirpour's Top 10 -- Mulholland Drive. Naomi Watts. Four stars.

23. Richard Linklater's Top 10 -- Pickpocket. I've yet to experience any sort of Transcendental Bressonian Ecstasy, but gotta respect the dude's iconoclasm. Handsome faces, mournful baroque music, S-tier editing (particularly during the pickpocket scenes), and that ending -- all in 75 minutes? I'll take that any day, even if it doesn't transport me to a higher plane of existence. Three stars.


Up next:
24. Made in the United States -- Tons to choose from, obviously. Gates of Heaven, Leave Her to Heaven, Mikey and Nicky, Two Lane Blacktop, or Vanya on 42nd Street. Not leaning in any particular direction, will see where the mood takes me (and recs are welcome as always).

25. Made in Poland -- Blind Chance

26. Made in Iran -- Life, and Nothing More (Chess of the Wind is intriguing but unavailable as far as I can tell).

[Yxklyx]

Argh - https://www.criterionchannel.com/ is down and so is streaming!

[Idioteque Stalker]

24. Made in the United States -- Leave Her to Heaven. How I felt watching this: https://s3.memeshappen.com/memes/OH-YES-SHE-DID-IT-meme-14268.jpg It's the kind of movie you want to hoot and holler at with some friends. "Yoooooo, she did NOT just do that." "Oh yes she did!" Fun and very dark, with beautiful technicolor. I bet John Waters has seen it a hundred times. Four stars.

25. Made in Poland -- Blind Chance. Let me get this straight: If I choose Charmander then I become a neo-nazi, and if I choose Squirtle then I become an anarchist. Fine, I'm going off the grid! Bulbasaur, I choose you! /stays neutral, dies in horrible Lapras accident.

All due respect to Kieslowski, but this was a total slog that didn't even have the good manners to coalesce into a salient point. Run Lola Run has more value -- as entertainment and otherwise -- in a single strand of neon pink hair. Two stars.

26. Made in Iran -- Life, and Nothing More. If you like Where Is the Friend's House, you will like this. I think I was hoping for more meta-textual juicy bits. Best part was the child dropping wisdom bombs to a stranger at a well. And the opening credits. And the final shot. Kiarostami can do no wrong. Three stars.


Up next:
27. Made in Mexico -- Two Monks, The Exterminating Angel, or Japon. Leaning Two Monks.

28. Made in Senegal -- Touki Bouki

[Idioteque Stalker]

27. Made in Mexico -- Two Monks. Visually it's leagues ahead of most early sound films, with canted close-ups, a mobile camera, and set designs so delightfully askew they would make any Expressionist mess their lederhosen. At a time when many filmmakers were so infatuated with the new shiny toy called "sound" they forgot to make their movies look interesting, Oro packed Two Monks with flourishes and quirky detail -- a strength that has helped it to age well, particularly considering its recent restoration. Unfortunately the story is 100% standard, seen-it-a-thousand-times melodrama. If you have a high tolerance for that type of thing, the Rashomon-style framing device (or possibly the copious amount of religious symbolism, which ultimately fell flat for me despite a killer organ solo) may provide enough variation from the formula to lift Two Monks into a higher plane. Three stars.

28. Made in Senegal -- Touki Bouki. Reminiscent of Godard's Weekend, but with less humor and more animal violence. The many good moments are overshadowed by the disgusting ones. Two stars.


Up next:
29. Watch a film that has an out of print physical release (https://www.criterion.com/shop/browse?popular=out-of-print). So many great options. The Blood of a Poet, Claire's Knee, Hard Boiled, or Howard's End. Leaning... all of them?

30. Watch a film from the "America Lost and Found: The BBS Story" collection (https://www.criterion.com/boxsets/769-america-lost-and-found-the-bbs-story). Eh, nothing very exciting here. Easy Rider is the obvious choice. Head or King of Marvin Gardens are decent but unexciting options. I'd much rather re-watch The Last Picture Show or Five Easy Pieces. Leaning Last Picture Show.

[Idioteque Stalker]

29. Watch a film that has an out of print physical release -- Claire's Knee. I loved this but don't know how to talk about it. Four stars. I've been sleeping on Rohmer.

30. Watch a film from the "America Lost and Found: The BBS Story" collection -- The Last Picture Show. "Youth Is Wasted on the Young: The Movie." Maybe I'm at the exact wrong age to appreciate its point of view (neither old enough to romanticize my skinny-dipping days nor young enough to experience their awkwardness in real time), but I don't think I'll ever come around on the decision to have a total of two blameless characters in an ensemble just to kill them both off because... well, isn't that the saddest thing that could happen? Isn't life hard? Isn't it ironic that parents do everything they can to keep their kids from getting frisky in the back of a pickup, but secretly feel they were happy only when they themselves were young and horny? There are nuggets of wisdom in every scene and the performances are good, but jeeze-louise am I skeptical of this fetishization of sadness, as if it's oh-so-deep to say "let's never forget how cruel we are to each other." It's the opposite of nostalgia, like a Norman Rockwell illustration of a barber giving the highschool QB his first beard-trim while we know full and well they're both screwing the same lonely housewife. I may sound overly harsh, but the movie's reputation as an all-time classic deserves at least a little push back. Definitely moving down my list of favorite modern black and white movies (https://letterboxd.com/idiotequestalkr/list/favorite-modern-bw-movies/), if not falling off completely. Three stars.


Up next:
31. Watch a film with a spine #1-100 -- Hard Boiled or The Blood of a Poet

32. Watch a film with a spine #500-600 -- Still Walking, Kiss Me Deadly, or Vanya on 42nd Street. Will I ever be able to find/watch KMD? Feels unlikely.

33. Cannes Film Festival Winners (https://letterboxd.com/criterion/list/canness-big-winners-criterion-collection/) -- Viridiana

[StuSmallz]

30. Watch a film from the "America Lost and Found: The BBS Story" collection -- The Last Picture Show. "Youth Is Wasted on the Young: The Movie." Maybe I'm at the exact wrong age to appreciate its point of view (neither old enough to romanticize my skinny-dipping days nor young enough to experience their awkwardness in real time), but I don't think I'll ever come around on the decision to have a total of two blameless characters in an ensemble just to kill them both off because... well, isn't that the saddest thing that could happen? Isn't life hard? Isn't it ironic that parents do everything they can to keep their kids from getting frisky in the back of a pickup, but secretly feel they were happy only when they themselves were young and horny? There are nuggets of wisdom in every scene and the performances are good, but jeeze-louise am I skeptical of this fetishization of sadness, as if it's oh-so-deep to say "let's never forget how cruel we are to each other." It's the opposite of nostalgia, like a Norman Rockwell illustration of a barber giving the highschool QB his first beard-trim while we know full and well they're both screwing the same lonely housewife. I may sound overly harsh, but the movie's reputation as an all-time classic deserves at least a little push back. Definitely moving down my list of favorite modern black and white movies (https://letterboxd.com/idiotequestalkr/list/favorite-modern-bw-movies/), if not falling off completely. Three stars.Eh, I can't think so; while TLPS is a very sad movie on the whole, it still felt very genuine in such, as opposed to the actual pointless "misery porn" of something like It Comes At Night, especially with moments like these helping to keep the film well-balanced, IMO:


https://youtu.be/KWSvo0eMK7E

[Idioteque Stalker]

31. Watch a film with a spine #1-100 -- The Blood of a Poet. Imagine if Un Chien Andalou were twice as long and had a boring second half. First twenty minutes were dope though. Three stars.

32. Watch a film with a spine #500-600 -- Still Walking. A little disorienting at first, as Kore-eda takes his time revealing the particulars of the family tree. But once we understand the basics (who's there, who isn't), Still Walking is an ever-deepening well of miniature revelations. It's a movie that understands how a million tiny moments of joy, pain, awkwardness, boredom, and everything else can shape one's life -- or even an entire bloodline. Like its wonderful fingerstyle guitar score (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuUaeIQq2RI&list=RDJQabtB5Jv4A&index=4), the movie gains power from the the fact that it is wholly unadorned. We don't need fancy camera tricks to tell us it's beautiful for a child to admire flowers -- the beauty is inherent in the thing itself. In this way Still Walking feels like the work of a master (and a worthy successor to Ozu in particular): who needs a flashy epic when you can understand an entire family just by eavesdropping on their dinner? Four stars.

33. Cannes Film Festival Winners -- Viridiana. Imagine getting complete artistic freedom at 60 years old and deciding THIS is the story you want to tell. In addition to everything else, Bunuel is possibly cinema's greatest cynic. Three stars.


Up next:
34. Midnight Madness: Watch a cult classic (Midnight Madness (https://www.criterion.com/shop/collection/1-cult-movies)). Eve’s Bayou, Pink Flamingos, Two-Lane Blacktop, Brand Upon the Brain, or Jigoku. Leaning Two-Lane Blacktop.

35. Growing Pains: Watch a coming of age film (Growing Pains (https://www.criterion.com/shop/collection/106-growing-pains)). Minding the Gap, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, The Ice Storm, Rumble Fish, The Promise. Leaning Ice Storm.

36. Stage to Screen: Watch a stage adaptation (Stage to Screen (https://www.criterion.com/shop/collection/155-stage-to-screen)). Hamlet, The Heiress, Gertrud, Master of the House, or Vanya on 42nd St. Leaning Vanya.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Ha, you fools thought I'd fail the challenge. December is going to be Criterion heavy.

34. Midnight Madness -- Two-Lane Blacktop. If I were more of a car person, this would easily go in the love column. As a car movie, it is 100% pure. No hyper-macho bullcrap, just driving, hitchhiking, fueling, maintenance, etc. Automobile lifestyle as transcendentalism. I have a friend who only likes 70s stuff, and I could see this becoming his favorite movie. The girl providing a smidge of conflict near the end was a bit of a let-down, but the way the movie ends makes up for it. Three stars.

35. Growing Pains -- The Ice Storm. I am confounded by the sterling reputation of this feel-bad ensemble drama, in which each character gets their own special moment to engage with heavy-handed metaphor before acting on some irrational impulse that ruins their life. In some parallel universe (or something like Solondz's Happiness), these characters' inability to make even one good decision would be the building block for something darkly hilarious. Alas, this Very Serious Movie is not a black comedy, but rather a meandering lecture detailing the myriad ways we can be cruel to one another, as if needless and avoidable suffering is inherently profound. Here are a few of the things that made me roll my eyes:

-- Tobey Maguire's Fantastic Four bookends, or "Webster's Dictionary defines 'family' as..."

-- Wow, with all these marital issues bubbling up under the surface, I wonder how this will reach a breaking point? Oh, the get-together with all their friends turns out to be a swinger party, yet somehow they didn't know. Free crisis!

-- I don't care if there's a little vodka involved, it's literally impossible for a pubescent boy to get naked with his crush just to fall asleep five seconds later. Also, no young people would ever sleep through the night like that, if for no other reason than the fact their parents might find them.

-- Not one single thing about the Elijah Wood character works, with the ending in particular being one of the most preposterously manufactured moments of gravitas I can remember.

This winning Best Screenplay at Cannes is like Hulk winning the Palme d'Or. If this were the first-ever book adaptation I would say, "Whoa, let's never do that again!" One star. Didn't know Ang Lee had it in him. Christina Ricci innocent.

36. Stage to Screen -- Vanya on 42nd St. Here's an odd one. There's a lot to be said about what this movie is and how it came to be. I'll keep it brief and simply say Julianne Moore is next-level, and it gave me a warm fuzzy feeling to see Wallace Shawn and Andre Gregory together again. Three stars.


Up next:
37. Out at Criterion: Watch an LGBTQ film (Out at Criterion (https://letterboxd.com/criterion/list/out-at-criterion-criterion-collection/)). Mala Noche, Fox and His Friends, Naked Lunch, or something from Marlon Riggs. Probably Naked Lunch because I happen to have the DVD from Netflix at the moment.

38. Watch a film on the Summer Travels list (Summer Travels (https://www.criterion.com/shop/collection/342-summer-travels)). Alice in the Cities, Il Sorpasso, or Summer with Monika. Also past due for rewatches on Y Tu Mama Tambien and Mystery Train. Leaning Alice in the Cities.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Eh, I can't think so; while TLPS is a very sad movie on the whole, it still felt very genuine in such, as opposed to the actual pointless "misery porn" of something like It Comes At Night, especially with moments like these helping to keep the film well-balanced, IMO:]

I haven't seen It Comes at Night so I can't address that, but for me the moment you posted only makes the film MORE sad. No balance, just more tilt in one direction. Old people reminiscing about better days is bittersweet at best, horribly depressing at worst. And of course it doesn't help that they kill him off immediately after that moment. Like, "Oh shoot, some people might possibly be feeling something other than sadness. ALL REDEEMABLE CHARACTERS MUST BE PUNISHED!"

[Idioteque Stalker]

37. Out at Criterion: Watch an LGBTQ film -- Naked Lunch. Gotta remember to put this on the next time one of my friends gets too high. It approaches Holy Mountain levels of bizarre-ness. Somehow manages to be semi-coherent and even funny despite the... well, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. Suffice to say, impressive practical effects. Getting Ornette Coleman to score this junkyard noir was a stroke of genius. Much respect to Cronenberg for attempting/succeeding with this adaptation. Three stars.

38. Watch a film on the Summer Travels list -- Alice in the Cities. Yet another one of those "child and reluctant caretaker manage to form a meaningful bond" movies. While it's not my favorite story template, Wenders and the leads keep it low-key enough that it never becomes cloying. The real MVP, however, is Robby Muller. This has to be one of the best-looking 16mm films I've seen. He was truly one of the goats. The score was fine, but one expects more from Can. Three stars.


Up next:
39. Watch a film on the Hollywood Classics list (Hollywood Classics (https://letterboxd.com/criterion/list/hollywood-classics-criterion-channel/)). How Green Was My Valley, Body Heat, or The Long Goodbye. Leaning Body Heat.

40. Watch a film from the Animation Before the 2000s list (Animation Before the 2000s (https://letterboxd.com/criterion/list/animation-before-the-2000s-criterion-channel/by/longest/)). The Last Unicorn, Watership Down, or Son of the White Mare. Leaning Mare.

[DFA1979]

1. Movie from the Year I Was Born: Something Wild (1986, Jonathan Demme):


https://youtu.be/r_B6fLIdhgo

The first time I viewed Something Wild it was on cable, I believe, so they didn't edit anything out. Years later I got my hands on a Criterion DVD copy and watched the movie again, and I appreciated it a lot more. Is it a great movie? Nah, but it's a very good one, utterly delightful and just one if those nicely put together flicks from the 1980s. Jonathan Demme had this rare ability to make a picture in that he made it look easy, and his movies always had someone to root for, usually an everyman of sorts.

This everyman in this case is played by Jeff Daniels,, who for some reason never really became as big of a star as he should have been. Maybe he's fine with that, I mean he has awards and nominations so that evens it out. His likable straightman character Charles is kidnapped by Melanie Griffith, who by the 1980s had become a big star-a year later she was nominated for Working Girl. I love her free spirited character Lulu, who basically kidnaps Charlie and turns the movie into one of those road pictures I always enjoy.

The movie plays with conventions a bit, and is half comedy, half serious drama. Ray Liotta's fittingly named character, Ray, turns the movie into a darker melodrama and challenges Charlie to actually well, man up and take charge for once in his life. If this is a bit cliche it is, yet this element fits in well with Demme offering both a happy albeit fictional version of the American dream vs the bleaker, nastier side.

I mean how obvious can you get with a high school reunion dance scene with an American flag in the background? Something Wild has stuck in my brain the few times I've viewed it, and I may eagerly do so again. Demme over the years became one of my favorite American directors, and it's a shame he's no longer around to offer up more unique takes on Americana. Also that final scene is marvelous and leaves me with a nice grin on my face. "Remember, no matter what, it's better to be a live dog than a dead lion."

[DFA1979]

2. 1920s (gonna cheat and post a link to the blog here if you all don't mind, but I did watch this one back in October hehe):

Häxan (1922, Benjamin Christensen) (https://madman731.wordpress.com/2022/12/03/horrorfest-2022-presents-lets-get-criterion-haxan-1922-benjamin-christensen/)

[Idioteque Stalker]

DFA if you start and finish the challenge in December then I will give you rep.

[Idioteque Stalker]

For some reason I went against my gut for these two (was leaning Body Heat and Son of the White Mare). I really shouldn't do that.

39. Watch a film on the Hollywood Classics list -- The Long Goodbye. I figured this was an ace in the hole, but really it's just a less funny version of Inherent Vice, Under the Silver Lake, or The Big Lebowski. And of the nine Altman movies I've seen it is easily the ugliest. Elliott Gould as the mumbling, chainsmoking Philip Marlowe is the only real thing it has going for it. All the variations on the theme song, as if this is the only tune that exists no matter where you go, was an amusing concept. Love Altman but this one gets a shrug. Two stars.

40. Watch a film from the Animation Before the 2000s list -- Watership Down. Did Seth Rogen come up with the idea for Sausage Party after watching this? That idea being "What if we gave hot dogs/rabbits sentience and advanced language skills, then killed them off in all sorts of horrible ways?" I mean, these bunnies are seriously put through the wringer! The structure of the film is essentially a string of life-threatening perils, including but not limited to: dogs, cats, badgers, hawks, fascist bunnies, automobiles, trains, snares, shotguns, toxic gasses, and divine judgment. It's downright sadistic, and toward what purpose? At least Sausage Party made me laugh. This just has an annoying seagull. Two stars.


Up next (going with my gut edition):
41. Starring Catherine Deneuve -- Could do The Young Girls of Rochefort. Will do A Christmas Tale.

42. Starring Anna Karina -- A Woman Is a Woman. I get this one confused with Masculine/Feminine. Fairly certain I've seen the latter and not the former.

43. Starring Jeanne Moreau -- The Immortal Story or The Lover. I would rather see The Lover, but if I'm feeling something 65-minutes long then The Immortal Story may take over. I also haven't seen Jules and Jim in nearly two decades. (The Lover is not a Criterion movie, so technically it would be cheating. And Moreau doesn't seem to have a huge role. Whatever.)

[DFA1979]

DFA if you start and finish the challenge in December then I will give you rep.

I will not lol I'm a notorious procrastinator it's a miracle l even commit to a Horrorfest every year.

[DFA1979]

The Long Goodbye rules so much. I forgot it was a Criterion though.

I just bought Watership Down. I'm a fan of the book, I'm assuming the movie is equally depressing at times haha.

[Idioteque Stalker]

41. Starring Catherine Deneuve -- A Christmas Tale. I was unable to find my footing with this. It's 2.5 hours, yet nothing happens for more than five seconds at a time. Visuals, music, characterization, editing, and more were wildly inconsistent. 2000s-era MTV had more continuity and patience than this. Who knows, maybe Desplechin's signature IS tonal inconsistency. Despite the fact he's been in competition at Cannes seven times, I won't be watching any of his other movies to test that theory. Oh, and all these characters are despicable. Selfish, rude, with zero compassion or filter. Characters don't have to be likable, but they do need to be believable. People don't speak to each other this way. There's no moral center. Two stars.

42. Starring Anna Karina -- A Woman Is a Woman. Not a movie I would watch over and over (the music start/stopping constantly is one of the more... disruptive... Brechtian techniques in Godard's toolbox), but still undeniable in terms of the playfulness, vibrancy, and Anna Karina-ness of it all. There's something heartwarming about Godard blowing up the art world with good instead of bad vibes. Coloring outside the lines is fun! Three stars.

43. Starring Jeanne Moreau -- The Immortal Story. Minor Orson Welles is still Orson Welles. Melancholy and frequently gorgeous, perfectly suited to the Erik Satie piano pieces (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c_RU2NcJ9c) that Welles liberally employs. It's the Citizen Kane of ugly old people watching pretty young people bone. Three stars.


Up next:
44. Paul Dano's Closet Picks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dWuslij1o8). The Young Girls of Rochefort. Not a lot to choose from. Dano taking the Demy box set was a bold move. Like someone offered you an item from their dinner plate and you chose the filet instead of the potatoes or greens.

45. Ethan Hawke and Jonathan Marc Sherman's Closet Picks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETrJUaoa1Zc). Either Rumble Fish or Ace in the Hole. Another One-Eyed Jacks pick? Is this a movie I should see? Hawke riffing on the Before Trilogy was cute. And Sherman pulls a Dano at the end and takes another Demy box set lol.

46. Michael K. Williams’ Closet Picks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJiL6ps8hZQ). Respect to Williams for not abusing his privilege, but damn only six movies to choose from! The two I haven't seen are Gommorah and The Fugitive Kind... Gonna cheat a little here and go for a much-needed rewatch of The Night of the Hunter.

[Idioteque Stalker]

44. Paul Dano's Closet Picks -- The Young Girls of Rochefort. Quite possibly the most musical musical to ever musical! A game of basketball is actually a dance. Three cops serenade a crowd with instructions to step away from a crime scene. The camera tracks alongside Gene Kelly to reveal an alleyway full of dancers, as if the entire town is in step even when the camera is elsewhere. The one scene that doesn't feature music (cutting the cake) is stopped short because everyone gets bored and leaves. Demy knows what we came for, so he creates a world in which people breathe music and suffocate otherwise. Legrand's melodies are intricate patterns, bouncing unexpectedly around a chord before shifting up or down to repeat again and again. It's a mesmerizing style that to my ears sounds distinctly French. Hats off to anyone who can sing these songs -- in addition to a nice voice, one must have years of training to do them justice.

... which leads me to the reason why -- despite the wonderful music, colors, camerawork, and every other magical aspect of this movie -- it will never be my favorite musical. Nobody's singing voice is actually their voice (well, except for Danielle Darrieux, who absolutely crushes her songs). And you can tell! I felt it long before the internet confirmed it. Sorry if this is nit-picky but if you must fake it, at least fake it well. The instrument-playing is particularly hard to accept. There's a number half-way through in which four people "play" about a dozen instruments by hopping around the room. It's a great moment but it could've been transcendent if the illusion of real-time music-making were stronger. For instance, there's a close-up of fingers traveling up the piano keys as the notes go down... like, we know she's not actually playing but come on! It would've been so easy to do another take in which the hands travel the same direction as the notes. And Catherine Deneuve's "trumpet solos" are hilarious. It should be noted that Gene Kelly is also faking, but he's much better at it. Four stars.

45. Ethan Hawke and Jonathan Marc Sherman's Closet Picks -- Ace in the Hole. Kirk Douglas' big speech to the writers' room is too much too early, but otherwise this is a feature-length crescendo of poor ethics and deeply cynical social commentary. By the time I saw train-fulls of people rushing toward a pop-up ferris wheel to the tune of "We're Coming, Leo," I was actually shaking with excitement. Every scene with Jan Sterling is pure gold. It's been a long, long time since I saw a Billy Wilder movie for the first time. Felt good to be reminded of his awesomeness. Four stars.

46. Michael K. Williams’ Closet Picks -- The Night of the Hunter. Pretty sure this has the highest average rating of any movie in my LB network. To properly justify a non-glowing rating would take a lot of evidence, but James Agee and I are from the same place so I'd rather not go into great detail about what turns me off about this movie. The visuals are amazing, and it was very bold for its time. The boat ride song was particularly awesome. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlSzWgyNsAI) Three stars.


Up next:
47. Sean Baker's Closet Picks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCv5MnpDqYc). Good selections here. Sean Baker is very likable. I Married a Witch, Love in the Afternoon, or The Meetings of Anna. Leaning Anna.

48. Amy Heckerling's Closet Picks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsmRYmwB_HU). I've already seen all these! Well, except for Shoah, but that's not gonna happen here in crunch time. I could do a re-watch of Tokyo Story. Or I may go off-script and watch Fast Times at Ridgemont High for the first time. It's not one of her picks, but it IS one of her movies. And it's also on Criterion.

49. Agnes Varda's Closet Picks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7Jx0Pjq_kQ&feature=youtu.be). Only options are Tiny Furniture or La Promesse. So yeah, La Promesse.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Here is the 2023 challenge. (https://letterboxd.com/benvsthemovies/list/the-criterion-challenge-2023/) Yep, I'm doing it again.

[Gizmo]

I'm not sure I'd be able to do this challenge if it was "any movie" much less Criterion! Had a hard time finding films I could stream last year, when I think I got 4 films completed?

[DFA1979]

I might do it this time, ha ha.

[Idioteque Stalker]

47. Sean Baker's Closet Picks -- Love in the Afternoon. Eric Rohmer is my biggest (re)discovery of 2022. The characters! The craft! Everything is so precise. I'm probably overrating this one a tad. Got the Six Moral Tales BR box set. I'm all in. Four stars.

48. Amy Heckerling's Closet Picks -- Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Shows its age, primarily through the editing. I presume audience laughter is meant to help smooth the transitions of otherwise abrupt scene breaks, but a fair amount of these jokes fall flat forty years/a million cinematic copycats later. Nevertheless, a cut above your run-of-the-mill horny teen movie due to a solid soundtrack and an ensemble approach with Jennifer Jason Leigh as its searching, beating heart. Three stars.

49. Agnes Varda's Closet Picks -- La Promesse. Did nothing for me. Two stars. Moving on.

[Idioteque Stalker]

Finished! I have nothing enlightening to say about any of these! Awards to come!

50. Random number generator -- First I got Swing Time, which I've seen a bunch, then I got Dressed to Kill. Incredible craft in service of a moronic plot. I had a great time and rolled my eyes a lot. The cops were the worst. My mom didn't fall asleep, which is saying something. Three stars.

51. Watch a film featured in any of the Essential Art House box sets -- Red Desert. Another expertly crafted Antonioni movie about alienation and modern malaise. Very abstract. Monica Vitti might be the most beautiful woman who ever lived. You don't see this type of super-industrial setting very often, and I'm not sure why. My mom slept through the whole thing. Three stars.

52. Any Criterion film on your watchlist -- Girlfriends. Is this the original mumblecore movie? So real, so warm. Susan is the coolest. Great cast. I loved it. My mom slept through some but not all of it. Four stars.


Full list:

1. Watch a movie from the year you were born -- Sweetie ***
2. 1920s -- The Kid Brother ***
3. 1930s -- Only Angels Have Wings ***
4. 1940s -- I Know Where I'm Going! **
5. 1950s -- Written on the Wind ****
6. 1960s -- The Color of Pomegranates ***
7. 1970s -- Manila in the Claws of Light ***
8. 1980s -- Where Is the Friend's House? ****
9. 1990s -- Cold Water ***
10. 2000s -- Love and Basketball ***
11. 2010s -- Weekend ***
12. Genre: War -- The Cranes Are Flying ***
13. Genre: Science Fiction -- Time Bandits **
14. Genre: Musical/Music Themed -- The Lure **
15. Watch a film by a director whose work you haven't seen before -- Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One ***
16. Directed by Chantal Akerman -- Je, Tu, Il, Elle ***
17. Directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder -- Querelle **
18. Directed by Wong Kar-wai -- As Tears Go By **
19. Directed by Claire Denis -- 35 Shots of Rum ***
20. Isabel Sandoval's Top 10 -- Woman in the Dunes ****
21. Bill Hader's Top 10 -- The Earrings of Madame de... ***
22. Ana Lily Amirpour's Top 10 -- Mulholland Drive ****
23. Richard Linklater's Top 10 -- Pickpocket ***
24. Made in the United States -- Leave Her to Heaven ****
25. Made in Poland -- Blind Chance **
26. Made in Iran -- Life, and Nothing More ***
27. Made in Mexico -- Two Monks ***
28. Made in Senegal -- Touki Bouki **
29. Watch a film that has an out of print physical release -- Claire's Knee ****
30. Watch a film from the "America Lost and Found: The BBS Story" collection -- The Last Picture Show ***
31. Watch a film with a spine #1-100 -- The Blood of a Poet ***
32. Watch a film with a spine #500-600 -- Still Walking ****
33. Cannes Film Festival Winners -- Viridiana ***
34. Midnight Madness: Watch a cult classic -- Two-Lane Blacktop ***
35. Growing Pains: Watch a coming of age film -- The Ice Storm *
36. Stage to Screen: Watch a stage adaptation -- Vanya on 42nd St. ***
37. Out at Criterion: Watch an LGBTQ film -- Naked Lunch ***
38. Watch a film on the Summer Travels list -- Alice in the Cities ***
39. Watch a film on the Hollywood Classics list -- The Long Goodbye **
40. Watch a film from the Animation Before the 2000s list -- Watership Down **
41. Starring Catherine Deneuve -- A Christmas Tale **
42. Starring Anna Karina -- A Woman Is a Woman ***
43. Starring Jeanne Moreau -- The Immortal Story ***
44. Paul Dano's Closet Picks -- The Young Girls of Rochefort ****
45. Ethan Hawke and Jonathan Marc Sherman's Closet Picks -- Ace in the Hole ****
46. Michael K. Williams’ Closet Picks -- The Night of the Hunter ***
47. Sean Baker's Closet Picks -- Love in the Afternoon ****
48. Amy Heckerling's Closet Picks -- Fast Times at Ridgemont High *** (I cheated)
49. Agnes Varda's Closet Picks -- La Promesse **
50. Random number generator -- Dressed to Kill ***
51. Watch a film featured in any of the Essential Art House box sets -- Red Desert ***
52. Any Criterion film on your watchlist -- Girlfriends ****

[Idioteque Stalker]

Stalker's Second Annual Criterion Challenge Awards!

Last year's awards. (http://matchcut.artboiled.com/showthread.php?8006-MC-s-Criterion-Challenge-2021-(by-way-of-Letterboxd)/page20&p=647422&viewfull=1#post647422)

Best movie: Still Walking. Runner-Up: Written on the Wind.
Worst movie: The Ice Storm.

Best performance: Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive. Runner-Up: Julianne Moore, Vanya on 42nd St.
Worst performance: Zero Mostel, Watership Down.

Best director: Hiroshi Teshigahara, Woman in the Dunes. Runner-Up: Abbas Kiarostami, Where is the Friend's House?
Worst director: Terry Gilliam, Time Bandits.

Best editing: Pickpocket.
Worst editing: A Christmas Tale.

Best writing: Claire's Knee/Love in the Afternoon. Runner-Up: Ace in the Hole.
Worst writing: The Ice Storm.

Best music: The Young Girls of Rochefort. Runner-Up: Naked Lunch.

Best visuals: Leave Her to Heaven. Runner-Up: Two Monks.

Best SFX: The Blood of a Poet. Runner-Up: Naked Lunch.

Favorite scene: "Pretty Fly" on the boat, The Night of the Hunter.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMF0Wc_hm4A