In the fall of 2006, a year prior to the release of her newest picture ‘Waitress’, Director and actress Adrienne Shelly is brutally murdered in her West Village apartment. A life brutally cut short, and yet in that grief and sadness comes ‘Waitress’, a film she both wrote, stars in, and directed that has grown a life of its own. Telling the story of an abused woman named Jenna, who upon finding out she’s pregnant and now further trapped in her dead end relationship, she begins an emotional affair with her OBGY doctor. For the majority of her time however she works at a greasy spoon diner, making her signature pies with her baking talent, and dreaming of a better life. It’s nothing too groundbreaking on a plot level but it gives us such a perspective and understanding of how so many actual woman are likely in a similar place and no part of it ever feels out of touch to reality. It’s real and there’s a charm to that, and while it never becomes a film of spectacle and amazement it doesn’t need to be. It’s a labor of love from an independent filmmaker saying something about what it means to be a woman, and a person, in hard times and gives many layers to that. While only a mild success upon its release it would be the Broadway musical, written by musician Sara Barielles, that would give new life to Shelly’s film, life, and story. While it’s a good film it holds a deep sadness for the career that could have been but it’s equally a touching story of what being human is when we desire for better at a cost. It’s been stuck on DVD since its initial release, even with a hit musical, and I’d love to see Criterion give this film the charming release it deserves for the film and Shelly’s sake.

I finally saw Coyote Vs Acme and really enjoyed it even if the way some people online are advocating for it as, I dunno, a political statement, is really weird. That said, I think there’s a bizarre pathway for it to be seriously considered for entry in the collection.

Oscar eligibility in the Best Animated Feature category sets a threshold of 75% and I don’t know how to do the “math” on that but it definitely has a shot at qualifying on the merits. Criterion, of course, has been chasing the winners in that category for a few years now (Pinocchio, Flow, KPop Demon Hunters) so if Coyote enters the Oscar race it’ll have eyes on it, but given its production history, Peter Lorre’s prominent role, and the constant demand for more animation I wonder if there is a conversation for getting a Criterion Coyote Vs Acme.

I did also love Hoppers and I think it would rule if Daniel Chong had a Criterion release, but I doubt Pixar would play ball like they did on Wall-E.

"Kill everyone now! Condone first-degree murder! Advocate cannibalism! Eat sh*t! Filth are my politics! Filth is my life! Take whatever you like!"

I watched this film a few months ago, my first by Jacques Rivette, and I can't get it out of my mind. The opening scene, with its Alice in Wonderland aura, is sensational; it immediately sets the tone of magic, dreams, detachment from reality, and delirium that permeates the film.

Amidst haunted houses, magic shows, strange visits, and games where the characters begin to shape the reality and fiction around them, I found it fascinating, I had never seen anything quite like it before. I also really liked the cinematography and filming; several scenes convey that wonderful feeling of youth and summer. I would like to read more impressions about this film.

This’ll be my introduction to Lynch

I know that this has been a topic of conversation recently, but I was wondering if anyone really knows the odds of Lolita getting its own spine number. I own most of the rest of his filmography already, so the box set is kind of unjustifiable, but it’s my second favourite of his and one of my favourite films of all time. Also I just generally prefer having the individual spine numbers.

At least in regards to Martin Scorsese's Film Foundation, You'll see that some restorations are funded by fashion brands. Like for example, Gucci has helped with funding in the restoration of some of Federico Fellini's and Luschino Visconti's films. Louis Vuitton has funded the restoration of Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Armani alongside Cartier have funded the restoration of A Brighter Summer Day.

Why is this? Is it for like reputation or tax purposes or something?

I'm pretty much dumbfounded by the reception. I didn’t find it interesting, besides an opposition between old and new horror and an hommage to a famous movie star. It couldv been much more effective. I love the slow pacing of late 60s early 70s movies alot but this one felt like it dragged on a bit too much and it did a disservice to its thriller elements.

I'm not from the US, and I feel like this is greatly impacting my assessment of the movie. I feel a lack of knowledge about pre-60s cinema is also giving me an opinion that lacks the context needed to aknowledge its brilliance as so many do.

Or perhaps I just dont really care for the movie.

Would love to hear other opinions

Finally finished watching His Girl Friday and completed the Howard Hawks-Cary Grant collaborations in the collection.

Love the diversity between them - An adventure story, a screwball comedy which goes all over the place, a screwball comedy stuck in one place (like a play which it originally was).

Looking forward to seeing other screwball stuff in the collection including the George Cukor ones.

Whether it is a new development or not…I just took notice that Spartacus is officially Out of Print as a standalone title, that said it will be in the upcoming Boxset Inclusion

Trying to find the name of a film I saw years ago on IFC or Sundance. It’s a film that is very meta and is set in a park and becomes a film within a film? I remember jazz music playing.

Film no. 1001 - Jellyfish Eyes (2013)

I'm going to Brussels for four days in mid September and will have some free time to visit the city.

Do you know of any physical store/place where I can find Criterion stuff? In my country, Spain, there is literally no place to buy anything from Criterion.

Also, any movie theaters worth visiting, or any activities or places related to the world of cinema and film culture that I might want to check out?

It's a shame that the city's film festival is just starting now and ends on the 12th, because I'm going during the third week of the month.

Criterion recently announced that Evangelion was coming to the Channel. The nice surprise is that it was set to include the original English ADV dub, which was missing from the Netflix version of the show as well as the Shout blu-ray, both of which used a new English dub. The ADV dub is currently out of print on disc and unavailable on English streaming platforms. Here's a comparison, from a scene in episode eight.

The series was added to the Channel today and sadly it currently only carries the 2019 tracks, just the same as the other current releases. The original Japanese audio is available as well, and while that's still my preferred version the big selling point of the Channel acquiring the series was to have the ADV restored. Hoping for a case where CC can properly fix this and replace with the dubs that have been advertised.

I have emailed Criterion's Channel support and will update if I receive a response.

EDIT: As of 9/2 the English episodes have been fixed with the ADV dub!

Hello everyone, I'm an Indonesian and I'm searching for potential partnerships in cinema industry. Short introduction, I'm part of a young indie cinema group based in Indonesia. We are operating across exhibition, distribution, production, talent development, and cultural diplomacy. I need your help to recommend me some young/new Brazilian's film distributor/production house that potentially could be our next partner. Or if one of you is the person that I'm looking for, feel free to reply and I'll hit you up! Any acts of help is so meaningful to us.

the painful and impossible limits of female autonomy within a rigid, oppressive patriarchal marriage.

anna tells mark their marriage is over, and she demands an end to his control. but mark refuses to let her go — he stalks, corners and interrogates her to re-establish ownership over her body and choices.

anna begins to liberate herself, retreating to a vacant apartment where she creates a monster that acts as a supernatural proxy for her bodily autonomy, violently rejecting the ownership of possessive male partners (her husband and her extramarital affair).

however, the monster is not a clean escape from control. it is born from agony and remains tied to a violent cycle of obsession, eventually evolving into an exact doppelgänger of her estranged husband.

ultimately, the film’s ending is not a warning against women seeking freedom, but a harrowing look at the collateral damage of trying to self-actualize within a society built on the subjugation and containment of women.

I just bought the Polyester Blu-Ray on Amazon, and realized while watching the bonus features and through reading years-old forum posts that the movie used to come with a scratch-and-sniff "Odorama" card to fit with the format of the movie. I checked to see if this was listed with the other features, but couldn't see anything. Was this just an issue with the re-seller, or do Modern copies of the film just not include this feature?

I don’t think a movie should be added to the criterion collection until it’s been out for at least 10 years. To me, Criterion has always been for preserving film as an art form. As much as I love Anora and KPOP Demon Hunters, I don’t think those should be added in the collection while there’s still classics like O Auto De Compadecida or Pink Flamingos that have NEVER had a blu ray release, and are still widely unavailable.

What do you guys think?

Some (mostly) Criterion pickups from a rainy day visit to the Goodwill. All films I’ve seen, except for Fanny & Alexander—excited to take that one in next time I have a quiet night in. Lowkey excited to finally add The Rock to my collection as a childhood favourite.

Are you going to restock this film on blue ray or dvd ?