Lost in Criterion
946 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★ - 42 ratingsThe Adam Glass and John Patrick Owatari-Dorgan, attempt the sisyphean task of watching every movie in the ever-growing Criterion Collection and talk about them. Want to support us? We’ll love you for it: www.Patreon.com/LostInCriterion
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Episodes
Spone 183: Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne
May 13, 2016 21:32 - 58 minutesRobert Bresson is French, and therefore I apologize for pronouncing the T in Robert throughout this episode. Jean-Luc Godard once wrote that "Robert Bresson is French cinema, as Dostoyevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is German music." Though as it turns out Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945) may have come before Bresson really became Bresson. His amazing propensity for when and how to use music is there, yeah, but this is also his last film to use professional actors, and it's only hi...
Spine 182: Straw Dogs
May 06, 2016 21:08 - 1 hourDustin Hoffman's character in Straw Dogs (1971) is not a pacifist. If director Sam Peckinpah was trying to set up a conflict between David's values and the violent world in which he found himself, he does a terrible job of establishing David's values as any thing more than "conflict-avoidant" which is not the same thing as pacifistic. Since Pat and I really are pacifists, this distinction plays a central role in our response to the famously violent film. It doesn't help that the violent wor...
Spine 179: I am Curious...
April 30, 2016 00:51 - 1 hourVilgot Sjöman made one of the most controversial films ever with I am Curious (Yellow) and a not very controversial at all film with I am Curious (Blue). Originally meant to be released as one film in 1967, the two are really companion pieces, telling versions of the same story Rashomon style. Or maybe not? It's all a bit confusing, not helped by the meta-narrative in which the film is being made (Sjöman plays himself, or perhaps "himself", but then that's true of star Lena Nyman as well.) ...
My Life as a Dog
April 22, 2016 21:14 - 59 minutes - 38.4 MBSignificant less child death than the other coming-of-age films we've seen recently.
Spine 178: My Life as a Dog
April 22, 2016 21:14 - 55 minutesLasse Hallström had quite a career, getting his start directing a plethora of ABBA music videos and going on to direct The Cider House Rules, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Chocolat, and a few other awards-season darlings, though Hallström himself has never won an Oscar. Somewhere in there lies My Life as a Dog, his 1985 coming-of-age tale about life in a Swedish small town.
The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum
April 15, 2016 21:19 - 1 hour - 48.5 MBSchlondorff and von Trotta's brilliant film should be required viewing for everyone in the West.
Spine 177: The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum
April 15, 2016 21:19 - 1 hourVolker Schlöndorff and Margarethe von Trotta's The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum (1975) is a tale of a woman criminalized for normal behavior to the nth degree. But Blum is more than that, as it also tackles the corrupting relationship between law enforcement and the media, and how both forces spread fear through the masses, decimating civil rights under the guise of "anti-terrorism". It's brilliant, hard to watch, and teaches lessons that we continually need reminded of.
The Killers
April 08, 2016 21:05 - 1 hour - 44.1 MB3 adaptations of 1 great short story that could not be more different in their brilliance.
Spine 176: The Killers
April 08, 2016 21:05 - 1 hourA great story, perhaps especially a great short story, leaves the reader to answer some of the questions. A bad one does, too, mind you, but a good one does it well? I digress. Ernest Hemingway's The Killers is a great short story that leaves a lot of questions for its readers, and for some reason people making film adaptations seek to answer them all. We're watching two such adaptations this week, and a third that leaves well enough alone. Andrei Tarkovsky's short student film version from ...
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
April 01, 2016 21:04 - 1 hour - 49.3 MB"Only a goddamn lunatic would write a thing like this and then claim it was true."
Spine 175: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
April 01, 2016 21:04 - 1 hour"Only a goddamn lunatic would write a thing like this and then claim it was true."
Band of Outsiders
March 25, 2016 23:00 - 1 hour - 41.6 MBGodard's Band of Outsiders is an immensely influential film about a woman who has zero agency in her own life.
Spine 174: Band of Outsiders
March 25, 2016 23:00 - 1 hourGodard's Band of Outsiders is an immensely influential film about a woman who has zero agency in her own life.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
March 18, 2016 23:56 - 1 hour - 45.7 MBThe moral of The Archers' The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp leaves us wanting. The rest of the film is quite alright.
Spine 173: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
March 18, 2016 23:56 - 1 hourWe return once again to films of The Archers, the illustrious British duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, with The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. Made during the blitz and released in 1943, Blimp is certainly a pro-war propaganda film, but specifically propagandizing what sort of war the British should be fighting. Spoiler: I find the moral of this film absolutely reprehensible. Pat doesn't find it much better
Pepe le moko
March 11, 2016 23:28 - 55 minutes - 34.4 MBJulien Duvivier's early noir is a film so nice America remade it twice in under a decade.
Spine 172: Pepe le moko
March 11, 2016 23:28 - 50 minutesJulien Duvivier's early noir is a film so nice America remade it twice in under a decade.
Contempt
March 04, 2016 22:16 - 1 hour - 43.5 MBWe give Jean-Luc Godard another shot and it really pans out for the best, considering Contempt (1963) is one of the greatest movies I've ever seen.
Spine 171: Contempt
March 04, 2016 22:16 - 1 hourWe give Jean-Luc Godard another shot and it really pans out for the best, considering Contempt (1963) is one of the greatest movies I've ever seen.
Trouble in Paradise
February 26, 2016 22:14 - 54 minutes - 37.5 MBWe explore the Lubitsch touch with Trouble in Paradise (1932).
Spine 170: Trouble in Paradise
February 26, 2016 22:14 - 54 minutesWe have our first encounter with the legendary Ernst Lubitsch this week, with his 1932 film Trouble in Paradise. Released before the code was in effect, Trouble in Paradise has all the moral-rotting adult themes, innuendos, and victorious criminals the Motion Picture Production Code sought to protect us from. It also has, quite probably, my favorite opening establishing shot of Venice in any film ever.
The Complete Monterey Pop Festival
February 19, 2016 23:22 - 1 hour - 49.8 MBThe concert that introduced Shankar and the Who to the US, reintroduced Hendrix to the US, introduced Otis Redding to white America, and introduced Janis Joplin to the world.
Spine 167: The Complete Monterey Pop Festival
February 19, 2016 23:22 - 1 hourAt the height of the Summer of Love powerhouses in pop music came together to hold the first Monterey Pop Music Festival, possibly the first pop music festival ever. D.A. Pennebaker was on hand to record the proceedings to be released as a film, though his footage was eventually released as three. We're talking all of them on this week's Lost in Criterion, including supplemental materials, as we explore the Complete Monterey Pop Festival box set containing Monterey Pop (1967), Jimi Plays Mon...
Down by Law
February 12, 2016 22:26 - 52 minutes - 35.9 MBIt's just so much fun watching Roberto Benigni do anything.
Spine 166: Down by Law
February 12, 2016 22:26 - 52 minutesIt's just so much fun watching Roberto Benigni do anything.
Man Bites Dog
February 06, 2016 18:23 - 48 minutes - 33.4 MBMan Bites Dog bites direct cinema in the butt.
Spine 165: Man Bites Dog
February 06, 2016 18:23 - 48 minutesMan Bites Dog bites direct cinema in the butt.
Spine 164: Solaris
January 29, 2016 23:56 - 1 hourStanislaw Lem, the author of the novel Solaris, hated Andrei Tarkovsky's 1972 film adaptation so very very much, though as Pat points out in our extended conversation on what to do with the "death of an author" is the author just refuses to die, this is probably just because it was different from his vision. There's a lot to talk about here, and Pat and I do a lot of talking, though this episode could have easily been 5 hours long. It's not! Don't worry!
Hopscotch
January 22, 2016 21:41 - 39 MBPat is not wrong in describing Ronald Neames' Hopscotch, in which Walter Matthau burns down the CIA for offending him.
Spine 163: Hopscotch
January 22, 2016 21:41 - 56 minutesRonald Neame directs Hopscotch from 1980, a film co-written by Brian Garfield from his own novel, which is only interesting to point out in that Garfield also wrote the novel Death Wish. This movie is not Death Wish related, but isn’t that neat?
Ratcatcher
January 15, 2016 11:47 - 1 hour - 44 MBWe're all trapped, so why not take a balloon to the moon?
Spine 162: Ratcatcher
January 15, 2016 11:47 - 1 hourWe here at Lost in Criterion have a thing for depressing coming-of-age stories. And there may be none more depressing than Lynne Ramsay's 1999 debut Ratcatcher. Set against the backdrop of the 1973 Glsagow garbage strike, Ratcatcher has all the child death of George Washington and the ambiguously (false?) positive ending of 400 Blows. Hurrah!
Under the Roofs of Paris
January 08, 2016 12:07 - 56 minutes - 37.5 MBPerhaps a better technical exercise than plotted film, certainly amore complicated one, but in any case Clair's first sound film is brilliant.
Spine 161: Under the Roofs of Paris
January 08, 2016 12:07 - 54 minutesUnder the Roofs of Paris, or Sous les toits de Paris, was Rene Clair's first sound film, released the year before our other two Clair's: Le Million and A nous la Liberte. Clair is full on just experimenting with sound and silence in this movie and it's brilliant. We've got scenes of action with no noise -- or a loud noise covering everything -- scenes of noise with no visible action, conversations that take place behind glass...as if Clair was forced to put sound into this film and his respo...
A Nous la Liberte
January 01, 2016 20:15 - 56 minutes - 38.7 MBWatching Rene Clair play with sound film is so delightful.
Spine 160: A Nous la Liberte
January 01, 2016 20:15 - 56 minutesWe're enjoying Rene Clair again, this time with his 1931 musical A Nous la Liberte. Like Le Million and, as we'll see next week, Under the Roofs of Paris, (and like Lang's M) Clair's early sound films are experimentation with the medium, playing with sound and silence, dialogue and ambient noise. It's a fascinating window into the mind of a creative person suddenly presented with new possibilities.
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
December 25, 2015 06:31 - 1 hour - 44.4 MBIt's time for our yearly non-Criterion Christmas movie! It's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang!
Holiday Special 4: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
December 25, 2015 06:31 - 1 hourEvery year we break out of the normal Criterion Collection journey for a special end of year episode watching a non-Criterion film that takes place at Christmas for no discernible reason. As always we're joined by dear friends -- that's important this time of year -- and this time around frequent guest Stephen Goldmeier and award-winning journalist Andrew Tobias join us in watching Christmas-fetishist Shane Black's 2005 directorial debut Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Spine 159: Red Beard
December 19, 2015 03:45 - 1 hourApparently Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune did not end their relationship on the best of terms, but if they had to part ways fighting, they still managed one heck of a film, but then could either ever make a bad film? Red Beard, from 1965, is not only the two greats' final collaboration, but also Kurosawa's finally black and white film. That probably makes it special, too, right?
The Importance of Being Earnest
December 11, 2015 11:09 - 37.5 MBIf everyone where just open and honest with one another there would be no film.
Spine 158: The Importance of Being Earnest
December 11, 2015 11:09 - 54 minutesIf everyone where just open and honest with one another there would be no film.
The Royal Tenenbaums
December 05, 2015 02:06 - 1 hour - 45.2 MBWhite people love Wes Anderson, so a few white people join us to talk about his films.
Spine 157: The Royal Tenenbaums
December 05, 2015 02:06 - 1 hourWhite people love Wes Anderson, so a few white people join us to talk about his films. Joined by Jonathan and Casey Hape.
Hearts and Minds
November 27, 2015 11:29 - 1 hour - 44.1 MBWould you like to be happy? Never think about history as it relates to current events. Makes life so much easier.
Spine 156: Hearts and Minds
November 27, 2015 11:29 - 1 hourI don’t often talk about our recording schedule, but this week’s episode is already terribly dated for terrible reasons. Pat and I watched Hearts and Minds, Peter Davis’s 1974 documentary on the Vietnam War, way back in September. I actually watched it on the 11th, because I don’t want to be happy. The world has changed a lot, even in the last eight weeks. On the one hand, we recorded this so long ago because Pat took paternity leave for the birth of his second child. On the other, the conce...
Tokyo Olympiad
November 21, 2015 14:03 - 1 hour - 42.4 MBKon Icihikawa' documentary of the 1964 Olympics is brilliant, hilarious, agonizing, and very human. No wonder the Japanese Olympic Committee hated it?