The Criterion Collection in October

From "Parasite" (Bong Joon-ho, 2019)

All hits, no filler. That's my capsule review of October's Criterion releases. You get last year's Best Picture Academy Award winner, a Gregory Peck oater from the 50s, one of the finest rom-coms from the 70s, and reissues of Godard and Frears. I'm jumping in.

October 6

I'm woefully uninterested by Jean-Luc Godard, a fact Mrs. Ape gleefully points out whenever we're talking about the French New Wave. There's just something about his work that's never clicked with me; his worldview interests me, his actors over six decades thrill me, he ticks all the boxes in theory. But while I'll dive into a Truffaut or Varda or Melville, I've just never gotten stoked on digging into what makes Godard so great.

So I guess this re-release of "Pierrot le fou" is as good an excuse as any to give him another go. Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina go on a roadtrip full of romance, seeking to escape the material West in the French countryside. That sounds like a swell time. Mrs. Ape says, "Buy this because it's the last fun Godard movie, before he got all experimental and serious". There's a new 2K digital restoration of the print from 2008, which was supervised by cinematographer Raoul Coutard. All the extras from Criterion's 2008 release are still here, along with a brand new cover.

October 13

1974's "Claudine" is a lovely, gentle film that sometimes gets lost amongst the blaxsploitation scene of that period. I had a conversation with someone in college, asking why Diahann Carroll was a star, and they recommended I check this out. Its story of two working-class people finding love and meaning in a declining Abe Beame-era New York City really resonates with me, especially as I've gone through periods of poverty myself. Carroll and James Earl Jones are amazing in the lead roles. Director John Berry had worked with John Houseman and Orson Welles at the Mercury Theatre, but had been blacklisted after being named as a communist in from of HUAC. This was his return from exile in Europe, and it's fantastic. AND funny!

The film has received a 4K restoration from Criterion for this release, as well as new artwork and a conversation between director Robert Townsend ("Hollywood Shuffle") and Ashley Clark on the film. The disc also has the commentary track from the 2003 20th Century Fox DVD release; it's a cracking piece of conversation featuring Carroll and Jones. This is one of those releases I'd love to see Criterion do a one-sheet for; the Alphaville design and illustration is top notch.

October 20

I don't know why I'm ever shocked that Criterion adds classic westerns to the Collection. Maybe it's because I was raised on revisionist Westerns, but it's taken a long time to gain an appreciation for John Ford and Delmar Daves. Likewise with the work of Henry King. I probably own a dozen movies by the longtime 20th Century Fox director, although most of them are either swashbucklers or Hemingway adaptations. I've never seen 1950's "The Gunfighter", but based on reviews, it seems like I'd like it. Gregory Peck plays Johnny Ringo, an infamous bulletman and the target of every red-assed young gunslinger in the Old West. Everything I've read tells me this is a direct precursor to the spaghetti westerns and Peckinpah shoot-'em-ups that remain my favorites.

"The Gunfighter" gets a 4K restoration for this initial release; it's never been available on Blu-ray here in the States, and the print used for the previous Fox releases has been pretty cruddy looking. Documentarian Gina Telaroli shows up for a feature on King's body of work, and K. Austin Collins (Vanity Fair, The Ringer) provides an essay. But for me, the best feature is the killer cover art by UK illustrator Jennifer Dionisio. I loved the cover she did for "Detour", so it's awesome to see her to another piece for Criterion.

Stephen Frears' 1984 "The Hit" is one of my favorite road movies. It has General Zod, Kane, and Mr. Pink in it, for fuck's sake, travelling through Spain towards Paris so Terence Stamp can face his fate. Along with "High Fidelity" and "The Grifters", it's high on my Frears favorite list. Watching Stamp slowly work up John Hurt and Tim Roth is a great reminder of how riveting an actor he can be. Criterion originally put this out in 2010; I have it on DVD, but apparently it's getting a reissue with an all-new 2K restoration on the Blu-ray. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend snagging this if you've never seen it; for super big-time fun, watch it back to back with William Friedkin's "Sorcerer", preferably with this as the second film in the double feature.

October 27

I don't think I need to twist anyone's arm to watch "Parasite" ("기생충") at this point. It's almost unanimously everyone's top film from 2019. It's the first non-English film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the first film in 64 years to take home both the Oscar and the Palme d'Or. It rightfully established Boon Jong-ho as one of the top directors of this century.

But I still haven't seen it. Let me explain.

I've been following Boon since I heard good things about "The Host" ("괴물") and bought it the day Magnolia released the 2-disc DVD in 2007. I waited patiently for "Mother" ("마더") to come out on DVD in the States, and ended up snagging a South Korean copy when I couldn't wait any longer. I followed every step of "Snowpiercer"s production cycle, sent The Weinstein Company angry e-mails when they discussed editing the film down by 20 minutes, signed a petition to get it released to theatres, and finally saw it on the big screen. I even stayed up late to stream "Okja" at midnight on June 28, 2017; that's how much I love his work.

But things took a turn for me professionally a few months after "Okja" came out, so going to the movies and, soon, even streaming was no longer in the cards. I was too busy applying for jobs and trying to make rent and selling off the less necessary possessions to stay afloat. I was thrilled to hear people respond to Boon's newest film the same way I had for more than a decade, and, obviously, I wanted to see it as soon as possible. So I've managed, despite all the media coverage for more than a year, to stay reasonably spoiler-free. I know the basic plot framing, and that's it. A buddy gave me his Hulu log-in a few weeks after Criterion announced this release, but now I'm committed to watching it with all the features, the same way I did the first time I watched "Jules et Jim" or "The Hidden Fortress". I wanted to see it for the first time with the full Criterion treatment.

So...what does your $30-$40 get you when you buy "Parasite"? You get a 4K digital scan, supervised and approved by Boon and his DP Hong Kyung-po. There's an alternate black and white version of the film, a la "Mad Max: Blood and Chrome". It got some theatrical play earlier this year. The sound is mixed for Dolby Atmos on the Blu-ray; those of you with the serious home theatre setups will get a kick out of that. Critic Darcy Paquet, whose work has helped raise awareness of New Korean Cinema to white audiences, joins with Boon for a discussion on the film. Longtime BFI critic Tony Rayns appears on the commentary track with Boon, and Inkoo Kang from the Hollywood Reporter supplies the essay. There's a storyboard comparison feature, featurettes from Cannes and Lyon 2019, and a program on New Korean Cinema featuring both Boon and director Park Chan-wook ("The Vengeance Trilogy"). No wonder it's a 2 x Blu-ray/3 x DVD release. This thing is packed; it'll be a joy unpacking it.

I mentioned last month that I felt all five of these are must-haves. Having now broken them down a bit, I'll revise that a bit. I preordered "Parasite" the day it was announced; there's no way I was fucking around any more. "Claudine" is next on my list, with the reissues and "The Gunfighter" not far behind. Like I said before, it's a pretty damned good slate this month. November looks to be just as lively with a Fellini best-of set, my favorite Jim Jarmusch movie, and the latest Scorsese all taking a bow. See you in 30.

From "Claudine" (John Berry, 1974)