Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on October 5, 2014

Oct 5 Posted by aaronwest OPENING NIGHT, JOHN CASSAVETES, 1977 At times while watching Opening Night, it felt like I was watching the ideological sequel to A Woman Under the Influence. Gena Rowlands again plays a woman going out of her mind, only this time it is not her immediate...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on October 5, 2014

Oct 5 Posted by aaronwest OPENING NIGHT, JOHN CASSAVETES, 1977 At times while watching Opening Night, it felt like I was watching the ideological sequel to A Woman Under the Influence. Gena Rowlands again plays a woman going out of her mind, only this time it is not her immediate...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on October 5, 2014

Oct 5 Posted by aaronwest OPENING NIGHT, JOHN CASSAVETES, 1977 At times while watching Opening Night, it felt like I was watching the ideological sequel to A Woman Under the Influence. Gena Rowlands again plays a woman going out of her mind, only this time it is not her immediate...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on October 4, 2014

Oct 4 Posted by aaronwest THE INNOCENTS, JACK CLAYTON, 1961 My first exposure to Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw was as a young teen. It scared the daylights out of me, and I never really forgot it. Jack Clayton also experienced the material as a youngster, and was...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on October 4, 2014

Oct 4 Posted by aaronwest THE INNOCENTS, JACK CLAYTON, 1961 My first exposure to Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw was as a young teen. It scared the daylights out of me, and I never really forgot it. Jack Clayton also experienced the material as a youngster, and was...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on October 4, 2014

Oct 4 Posted by aaronwest THE INNOCENTS, JACK CLAYTON, 1961 My first exposure to Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw was as a young teen. It scared the daylights out of me, and I never really forgot it. Jack Clayton also experienced the material as a youngster, and was...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 27, 2014

Sep 27 Posted by aaronwest The 1950s are a unique decade for film. The studio system was winding down following the Paramount decision, and it faced competition from TV. Meanwhile the Hays code was still in effect, but that did not restrict foreign releases. The quality of films from Japan...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 27, 2014

Sep 27 Posted by aaronwest The 1950s are a unique decade for film. The studio system was winding down following the Paramount decision, and it faced competition from TV. Meanwhile the Hays code was still in effect, but that did not restrict foreign releases. The quality of films from Japan...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 27, 2014

Sep 27 Posted by aaronwest The 1950s are a unique decade for film. The studio system was winding down following the Paramount decision, and it faced competition from TV. Meanwhile the Hays code was still in effect, but that did not restrict foreign releases. The quality of films from Japan...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 26, 2014

Sep 26 Posted by aaronwest ERASERHEAD, DAVID LYNCH, 1977 Some might call David Lynch a weird dude; others would call him a visionary artist. To me, he’s a little of both, and I can take him or leave him. Some of his work leaves me cold, like Lost Highway[, while...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 26, 2014

Sep 26 Posted by aaronwest ERASERHEAD, DAVID LYNCH, 1977 Some might call David Lynch a weird dude; others would call him a visionary artist. To me, he’s a little of both, and I can take him or leave him. Some of his work leaves me cold, like Lost Highway[, while...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 26, 2014

Sep 26 Posted by aaronwest ERASERHEAD, DAVID LYNCH, 1977 Some might call David Lynch a weird dude; others would call him a visionary artist. To me, he’s a little of both, and I can take him or leave him. Some of his work leaves me cold, like Lost Highway[, while...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 21, 2014

Sep 21 Posted by aaronwest 1975 was an unusual year in that I have all five Oscar nominees for Best Picture on my list. Since the Academy rarely gets it right (in my opinion), that’s an anomaly that’s unlikely to be repeated. They got it right this year with the...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 21, 2014

Sep 21 Posted by aaronwest 1975 was an unusual year in that I have all five Oscar nominees for Best Picture on my list. Since the Academy rarely gets it right (in my opinion), that’s an anomaly that’s unlikely to be repeated. They got it right this year with the...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 21, 2014

Sep 21 Posted by aaronwest 1975 was an unusual year in that I have all five Oscar nominees for Best Picture on my list. Since the Academy rarely gets it right (in my opinion), that’s an anomaly that’s unlikely to be repeated. They got it right this year with the...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 17, 2014

Sep 17 Posted by aaronwest ALL THAT JAZZ, BOB FOSSE, 1979 What separates All That Jazz from most musicals, is the level of honesty and authenticity. The musical numbers are all ways of expressing reality in an entertaining and artistic fashion, whether they are about the process and mechanics of...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 17, 2014

Sep 17 Posted by aaronwest ALL THAT JAZZ, BOB FOSSE, 1979 What separates All That Jazz from most musicals, is the level of honesty and authenticity. The musical numbers are all ways of expressing reality in an entertaining and artistic fashion, whether they are about the process and mechanics of...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 17, 2014

Sep 17 Posted by aaronwest ALL THAT JAZZ, BOB FOSSE, 1979 What separates All That Jazz from most musicals, is the level of honesty and authenticity. The musical numbers are all ways of expressing reality in an entertaining and artistic fashion, whether they are about the process and mechanics of...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 7, 2014

Sep 7 Posted by aaronwest UNE CHAMBRE EN VILLE, JACQUES DEMY, 1982 After an opening strikers versus police scene that seems yanked from the Les Miserablés play (it wasn’t), the camera cranes up to an overlooking room with a baroness looking down at the commotion. After the conflict dies down,...   read more

Criterion Blues Posted by Aaron West on September 7, 2014

Sep 7 Posted by aaronwest THE ESSENTIAL JACQUES DEMY, 2014 This is the first completed box set for this blog, although there should be another one following pretty closely behind. This was a good one to start with. Going in, I had limited exposure to Demy, and wasn’t a huge...   read more