Few film distribution companies have as many fans as Criterion Collection. According to their website, they aim to release “a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films on home video” and have been distributing films since the 1980s. As such, they transitioned from LaserDisc releases to VHS (very briefly) , to DVDs, Blu-rays and now 4K Ultra HD versions, and also have a streaming site called Criterion Channel (US and Canada only).
Given their preference for showcasing older and/or arthouse films, following the Criterion Channel or their physical releases is a great way to get a taste of world cinema and discover classics. underestimated. There are now over 1,000 films in the Criterion Collection, but moviegoers always want more. With plenty of talk about which titles should join the collection next, here are 10 notable movies not yet part of the Criterion Collection that moviegoers on Reddit would love to see included.
“The Lighthouse” (2019)
Thanks to its setting, the memorably old-fashioned dialogue, and its use of black-and-white visuals with an almost square aspect ratio, Lighthouse feels a lot older than most 2019 movies (in a good way). It’s a dark and surreal psychological horror film about two lighthouse keepers on a small island who go insane from isolation, featuring career-best performances from Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe.
Due to its unique tone and presentation, and the distinctly uneasy feeling it creates (while also being entertaining), it’s the kind of quirky yet (somewhat) approachable film that would fit in well into the Criterion collection. Given the film’s cult popularity, it would also be a good business decision for Criterion to secure the distribution rights…
“The Holy Mountain” (1973)
Alejandro Jodorowsky may not have made many films in his decades-long career, but he is a well-known filmmaker in arthouse cinema and around the world. The Holy Mountain is probably his most famous work, and rather than telling a specific story, it seems more concerned with exploring themes and ideas relating to spirituality, mysticism, life and death.
There are characters to follow, and the scenes have a logical progression, but summarizing the film as having “one” singular plot is difficult. Still, it’s an undeniably bold and hard-to-forget film, with its striking visuals and ambitious premise making it perfect for the Criterion Collection.
“The Conformist” (1970)
While the years 1987 the last emperor could be by Bernardo Bertolucci best-known film, thanks to its success at the Oscars, arguably its best is actually The conformist. It’s a dark and disturbing psychological drama/thriller about a man who has been corrupted by fascism and is sent on a mission to assassinate one of his former teachers, who is outwardly against fascist ideologies.
The visuals are gorgeous, and the story is particularly dark and hard to shake. It’s another example of a film that’s truly unlike anything else released before or since, and if Criterion tends to favor uncompromising and different films, it would be wise to add The conformist at collection.
“An Elephant Sitting Motionless” (2018)
While An elephant sitting motionless is perhaps one of the hardest movies to watch in recent memory, it’s also one of the most essential. It is around four hours long and spends time with four individual characters and their intense personal struggles over the course of a single day, with their paths sometimes crossing in interesting ways.
It’s a film that feels slow but never boring, with plenty of breathtaking long shots that draw you into the lives of the characters onscreen. It is unfortunately the only feature film that the director Hu Bo never realized, who committed suicide at just 29 years old, just after the end of the film. He left behind a masterful work of art that is well deserving of one day finding its way into the Criterion collection.
“The Angel’s Egg” (1985)
There are surprisingly few animated films in the Criterion Collection, but hopefully things won’t stay that way. There are so many amazing animated films throughout history that aren’t just well-known entries in the Disney canon, and many of those unique animated films deserve to find a wider audience through something like the Criterion collection.
An excellent candidate would be the Japanese film angel eggone of the best animated films of the 1980s. Its stark visuals and deceptively simple story about a young girl wandering through a strange, dark, and fantastical landscape make for a singular visual experience and an animated film that shows how unique animation as a whole can be.
“Underground” (1995)
Underground is a wild movie. It mixes war, comedy, history, romance and tragedy in an explosive 170-minute cocktail and tells the story of two friends, the woman they both love, and the various conflicts that have affected the (former) country of Yugoslavia since the middle. -point from the 1900s until the end of the century.
Underground won the Palme d’Or in 1995 and is arguably one of the best films of the 1990s. While its premise and long runtime might not make it an ideal movie for everyone, it would ideal for the Criterion collection, with such inclusion likely helping it become better known outside of Europe.
‘Pink Floyd: The Wall’ (1982)
Singlehandedly, the 1979 pink floyd album The wall is an interesting and engaging concept album. The music is great and you might be able to get a story out of it, but it’s much easier to appreciate the narrative behind the songs when you watch the 1982 film. Pink Floyd The Wallwho plays the entire album, accompanying it with memorable and striking images.
It plays much like a feature film music video and combines live action with animated segments to great effect. For being such a singular and innovative film, it feels like a prime candidate for Criterion Collection inclusion, thanks to the way it recontextualizes and enhances one of the best-known rock albums of the 1970s.
‘Perfect Blue’ (1997)
Even though perfect blue Now over a quarter century old, it still feels cutting edge and utterly relevant to today’s pop culture landscape. It’s a tense psychological thriller about a pop singer who believes she’s being stalked by one or more people, and how her grip on reality loosens as the stalking continues.
It’s one of the defining animated movies of the 1990s and a great example of how animated movies shouldn’t always be for kids. perfect blue is decidedly not a family movie at all, but delivers suspense, thrills, and horror just as well as any live-action movie with a similar premise. Surprisingly, it’s not yet in the Criterion Collection, but anime fans are hoping that one day it will be.
“The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover” (1989)
Everything on The cook, the thief, his wife and her lover is memorable, from the title to the intense storyline to its fantastic music. It largely takes place in a single restaurant over several nights, following the wife of a brutal mobster as she has an affair with one of the restaurant’s regulars under the nose of her terrible husband.
It combines crude, direct imagery and footage with sophisticated visual beauty and music, making for a shocking and intoxicating viewing experience. Peter Greenway has long been an underrated filmmaker loved by moviegoers but not really known, so including what is arguably his biggest film in the Criterion Collection would make said fans very happy.
‘Allegro Non Troppo’ (1976)
not too cheerful is known for being a parody of the Disney classic Fancy. Both films take iconic pieces of classical music and combine them with lively segments that sync with the music, although some of them Allegro Non Troppo’s the animated sequences are a little more comedic, unusual and sometimes racy.
There are also some original live-action scenes for good measure, but to label it as “just” a Fancy the parody does it a disservice, as its best moments are more serious (like the famous scene where evolving creatures parade through a strange landscape in time to by Ravel Bolero). It’s a great movie and a work of animation like no other, so if Criterion were looking to add a few more animated classics to the collection, not too cheerful would be an ideal option.
10 Movies Fans Are Dying To See In The Criterion Collection, According To Reddit – GameSpot