Abbas Kiarostami’s The Koker Trilogy (1987-94):
Criterion Blu-ray review

Ahmad (Babak Ahmadpour) must figure out how to correct his own mistake to help his friend in Abbas Kiarostami's Where is the Friend's House? (1987)

Abbas Kiarostami’s multi-layered triptych of films dubbed The Koker Trilogy begins with a neorealist depiction of childhood in a small Iranian village and continues with an increasingly complex blend of documentary and fiction in which the director interrogates the nature of cinema itself through the impact of a devastating earthquake on the lives of the people who appeared in the first film. Criterion’s Blu-ray set showcases this masterpiece with excellent transfers and a substantial array of supplements.

Alan Pakula’s Klute (1971): Criterion Blu-ray review

Darkness encroaches on Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda)'s existence in Alan Pakula's Klute (1971)

Criterion’s exemplary Blu-ray release of Alan Pakula’s second feature, Klute (1971), offers a superb 4K scan from the original negative and extensive extras which highlight the film’s importance in the evolution of American cinema at a particularly turbulent time in both politics and popular culture, with a particular emphasis on Jane Fonda’s development as both actor and activist.

Remember Paul Wendkos?

Reality and fantasy blend at a masked ball in Paul Wendkos' The Mephisto Waltz (1971)

Although a very prolific director (of mostly television) from the 1950s to the ’90s, Paul Wendkos isn’t a well-known name today, though at his best he had a real flair for unsettling visuals which suited the burgeoning paranoia of the ’70s. That style is well showcased in The Brotherhood of the Bell (1970) and The Mephisto Waltz (1971).

Blasts from the past

D.A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus’ Town Bloody Hall (1979):
Criterion Blu-ray review

Recent Arrow viewing, Part Two

Indicator’s Hammer vol. 3: Imperialism, War & Race

Recent viewing – theatrical

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