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.

Sergei Bondarchuk’s War and Peace (1966-67):
Criterion Blu-ray review

Napoleon surveys the field of battle in Sergei Bondarchuk's War and Peace (1966-67)

Criterion’s two-disk Blu-ray release of Sergei Bondarchuk’s War and Peace showcases a restoration of what may well be the most expensive film ever made. Truly epic in scale, this adaptation of Tolstoy’s revered novel balances awe-inspiring spectacle with emotionally charged character drama. The 7+ hour feature is supplemented with three hours of informative new and archival extras.

Elia Kazan’s A Face in the Crowd (1957): Criterion Blu-ray review

Larry "Lonesome" Rhodes (Andy Griffith performs in a smalltown Arkansas jail in Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd (1957)

The Criterion Collection presents a new 4K restoration of Elia Kazan’s best film, A Face in the Crowd (1957). The excellent image showcases two of the finest performances of the 1950s: Andy Griffith in his screen debut as the countryboy-turned-demagogue Lonesome Rhodes and Patricia Neal as the smalltown radio reporter who discovers him and facilitates his rise to national stardom.

Blasts from the past

DVD Review: The Making of the President: The 1960s

Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man (1995): Criterion Blu-ray review

Recent disks from England, part two: Arrow

John Murray Anderson’s King of Jazz (1930): Criterion Blu-ray review

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