Subverting propaganda:
Keisuke Kinoshita and World War II

Criterion’s latest Eclipse release opens a window on a previously little-seen world: the Japanese home front during World War 2 as depicted under oppressive regulations during the war. The great Keisuke Kinoshita managed to inject elements of subversive critique into supposedly uplifting calls for national unity and shared sacrifice. Keisuke Kinoshita and World War II is one of the most revelatory releases of the year.

Year End 2014

Despite perennial predictions of the demise of movies-on-disk, 2014 offered a rich and varied selection of new and old titles in often impressive editions from many different companies, though not necessarily from major distributors. The cream came from specialty labels like Criterion, the BFI, Arrow, Eureka/Masters of Cinema, Shout! Factory, Olive Films, Kino Lorber, Flicker Alley and Twilight Time.

Blasts from the past

Criterion Blu-ray review: Richard Brooks’ In Cold Blood (1967)

They don’t make ’em like that any more …

Twilight Time: Fantasies of romance

Disk discovery: Paul Fejos’ Lonesome (1928) from Criterion

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