Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on May 10, 2015

May 10 Posted by aaronwest Odd Man Out was the first of a series of three films that essentially put Carol Reed into the conversation as a major auteur of the post-war period. The other two are The Fallen Idol and The Third Man, the latter of which is considered...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on May 9, 2015

May 9 Posted by aaronwest Both 1954 and 1955 were dominated by international films, so it caught me by surprise when compiling my 1956 list that there were so many English language films to choose from. The majority of the list is in English, including 5 out of the top...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on May 9, 2015

May 9 Posted by aaronwest Both 1954 and 1955 were dominated by international films, so it caught me by surprise when compiling my 1956 list that there were so many English language films to choose from. The majority of the list is in English, including 5 out of the top...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on May 9, 2015

May 9 Posted by aaronwest Both 1954 and 1955 were dominated by international films, so it caught me by surprise when compiling my 1956 list that there were so many English language films to choose from. The majority of the list is in English, including 5 out of the top...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on May 2, 2015

May 2 Posted by aaronwest An Autumn Afternoon ended up being Ozu’s last film. While it is a shame we don’t have a few more Ozu films in color, this was a solid ending to a legendary and masterful career. For those who have seen Ozu films, the style is...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on May 2, 2015

May 2 Posted by aaronwest An Autumn Afternoon ended up being Ozu’s last film. While it is a shame we don’t have a few more Ozu films in color, this was a solid ending to a legendary and masterful career. For those who have seen Ozu films, the style is...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on May 2, 2015

May 2 Posted by aaronwest An Autumn Afternoon ended up being Ozu’s last film. While it is a shame we don’t have a few more Ozu films in color, this was a solid ending to a legendary and masterful career. For those who have seen Ozu films, the style is...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 30, 2015

Apr 30 Posted by aaronwest When Beauty and the Beast was in production, the Second World War was in its final throes. The entire European landscape was ravaged and devastated by the war machine, and France had been under German occupation. Even though many filmmakers fled or were exiled, the...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 30, 2015

Apr 30 Posted by aaronwest When Beauty and the Beast was in production, the Second World War was in its final throes. The entire European landscape was ravaged and devastated by the war machine, and France had been under German occupation. Even though many filmmakers fled or were exiled, the...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 30, 2015

Apr 30 Posted by aaronwest When Beauty and the Beast was in production, the Second World War was in its final throes. The entire European landscape was ravaged and devastated by the war machine, and France had been under German occupation. Even though many filmmakers fled or were exiled, the...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 26, 2015

Apr 26 Posted by aaronwest “This film has no pretension of solving the problem of Franco-German relations, for they cannot be solved while the barbarous Nazi crimes, committed with the complicity of the German people, remain fresh in men’s minds.” – Le silence de la mer The above words are...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 26, 2015

Apr 26 Posted by aaronwest “This film has no pretension of solving the problem of Franco-German relations, for they cannot be solved while the barbarous Nazi crimes, committed with the complicity of the German people, remain fresh in men’s minds.” – Le silence de la mer The above words are...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 26, 2015

Apr 26 Posted by aaronwest “This film has no pretension of solving the problem of Franco-German relations, for they cannot be solved while the barbarous Nazi crimes, committed with the complicity of the German people, remain fresh in men’s minds.” – Le silence de la mer The above words are...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 25, 2015

Apr 25 Posted by aaronwest Western films are templates to tell a wide variety of stories, whether melodrama, action, or even an acid western like The Shooting. Many of them were adaptations of previously written material, some of which thinly veiled, and some not (like The Magnificent Seven adapted   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 25, 2015

Apr 25 Posted by aaronwest Western films are templates to tell a wide variety of stories, whether melodrama, action, or even an acid western like The Shooting. Many of them were adaptations of previously written material, some of which thinly veiled, and some not (like The Magnificent Seven adapted   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 25, 2015

Apr 25 Posted by aaronwest Western films are templates to tell a wide variety of stories, whether melodrama, action, or even an acid western like The Shooting. Many of them were adaptations of previously written material, some of which thinly veiled, and some not (like The Magnificent Seven adapted   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 21, 2015

Apr 21 Posted by aaronwest Before there was Paradise Lost, Serial or The Jinx, there was The Thin Blue Line. Even if it was not the first true crime in media (America’s Most Wanted’s debut was the same year of its release), it feels like it. A good argument could...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 21, 2015

Apr 21 Posted by aaronwest Before there was Paradise Lost, Serial or The Jinx, there was The Thin Blue Line. Even if it was not the first true crime in media (America’s Most Wanted’s debut was the same year of its release), it feels like it. A good argument could...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 21, 2015

Apr 21 Posted by aaronwest Before there was Paradise Lost, Serial or The Jinx, there was The Thin Blue Line. Even if it was not the first true crime in media (America’s Most Wanted’s debut was the same year of its release), it feels like it. A good argument could...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on April 19, 2015

Apr 19 Posted by aaronwest I’ve talked before about “regulated differences” before when discussing La Promesse (link) by the Dardennes. When looking at a film noir, the theory still holds weight, or if anything is more relevant. By 1947, noir was starting to be thought of as a genre (would...   read more