The Killing Directed by: Stanley Kubrick Written by: Stanley Kubrick, Jim Thompson Starring: Sterling Hayden, Colleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen, Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor Cinematography by: Lucien Ballard Music by: Gerard Fried Release: May 20, 1956 When you think of Stanley Kubrick, which of his many films come to mind? The Shining? 2001: A Space Odyssey? A Clockwork Orange? Perhaps Dr. Strangelove? If there’s a single common throughline linking each of these pictures together- though many might argue that there are many- it’s influence, as in the influence that his work has had on cinema as a medium from the 60’s going forward. Note, for example, how much impact The Shining had…
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The Criterion Files: Kiss Me Deadly
Kiss Me Deadly Directed by: Robert Aldrich Written by: Mickey Spillane (story), A.I. Bezzerides (screenplay) Starring: Ralph Meeker, Maxine Cooper, Albert Dekker, Gaby Rodgers Cinematography by: Ernest Laszio Music by: Frank DeVol Release: May 18, 1955 “Va-va-voom! Pow pow!” Those words may encapsulate the masculine, grunting energy of Kiss Me Deadly, Robert Aldrich’s noir masterpiece, better than any of the film’s most striking images or its myriad other memorable lines of dialogue. After all, if you want to understand what makes Mike Hammer tick, you only need to look as far as the cars he drives; they’re the sleek, muscular sort of vehicles most men covet and can only dream of owning…
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The Criterion Files: Brazil
Brazil: Directed by: Terry Gilliam Written by: Terry Gilliam, Tom Stoppard, Charles McKeown Starring: Jonathan Pryce, Robert De Niro, Kim Greist, Ian Holm, Bob Hoskins, Michael Palin, Katherine Helmond Cinematography by: Roger Pratt Music by: Michael Kamen Released: December 18th, 1985 Terry Gilliam may possess a degree of prescience, not full-blown clairvoyance but respectable foreknowledge. Then again, studios might just be that predictable. When Gilliam made Brazil, his magnum opus, in 1985, he had in his hands a significant and excellent sociopolitical/cultural satire rife with relevance, a film that skewers the haughty foibles of upper crust society and shines a harsh light on the constricting, stymieing grip of bureaucratic foolishness.…
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The Criterion Files: Sisters
Sisters: Directed by: Brian De Palma Written by: Brian De Palma, Louise Rose Starring: Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, William Finley, Charles Durning Cinematography: Gregory Sandor Music by: Bernard Herrmann Released: March 27, 1973 How does a film about voyeurism stand out in the oeuvre of Brian De Palma? By existing as a work of pure, interconnected, voyeuristic thrills. De Palma has been fascinated with the subject for nearly the span of his entire career, and even a cursory glance at his body of work reveals countless pictures into which voyeurism figures as a theme or motif, from obvious entries such as Blow Out, Dressed to Kill, and Body Double and…
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The Criterion Files: Homicide
Homicide: Directed by: David Mamet Written by: David Mamet Starring: Joe Mantegna, William H. Macy, Ving Rhames Cinematography: Roger Deakins Music by: Alaric Jans Released: October 9, 1991 David Mamet might today have greater notoriety as a font of controversy and ideological invective than as a filmmaker (and perhaps even as a playwright). Maybe one could argue that that’s merely a symptom of being a conservative convert in an industry dominated by adherents of liberalism, but the more likely cause for his infamy is his own mouth; Mamet’s anti-left wing diatribes could turn even Ann Coulter a bright shade of red. But common wisdom dictates that we can separate the art…
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The Criterion Files: Days of Heaven
Days of Heaven: Directed by: Terrence Malick Written by: Terrence Malick Starring: Richard Gere, Abby Brooks, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz Cinematography by: Néstor Almendros, Haskell Wexler Music by: Ennio Morricone Released: September 13, 1973 Among the minute number of films Terrence Malick has directed over the course of his decade-spanning career, 1978’s Days of Heaven stands out as his most significant. Maybe it isn’t difficult to rise to the top of a five picture filmography (Malick’s sixth feature length release, To the Wonder, is allegedly due out later this year, and he has two more features tentatively planned to be shot back-to-back soon after), but the purpose of this exercise isn’t about competition;…