December 31... that one day of the year I've given myself permission to deviate from the standard single-title film essay format of this blog. Today marks the end of four full years of working my way through a long list of Criterion Collection films, arranged in order of their original release, a self-directed course of independent study that's generated some unexpected dividends. This blog has allowed me to make contacts with other cinema aficionados and led to new projects that give me a creative outlet to share my thoughts on these films in different ways. My Journey Through the Eclipse Series column on CriterionCast.com has been a fun weekend pastime as I collect screencaps and write an article about individual films from those sets and do my best to spark interest in that line of DVDs. The column led directly to the creation of a new podcast, The Eclipse Viewer, in which we discuss different Eclipse Series boxes as a whole. That program got off to what I consider a very successful start, but just this weekend, my cohost Robert Nishimura regretfully informed me that he's unable to continue in that role due to other commitments and priorities. So I'm in the process of reimagining what I can do with that program, since it's got some momentum that I don't want to lose.
At the same time, those other projects have seriously slowed my pace here, as the steady decline of entries on this site noted in the Blog Archive section of the sidebar so clearly indicates. I've had an informal goal of reviewing 100 movies per year, and if you count all the various places I'm contributing, I hit that mark again over the past 12 months. But my attention has been shifting away from Criterion Reflections. From 103 articles in 2009, when this project began on January 1 of that year, down to 68, then 47, and now 31 (counting this piece) in 2012... That's a bad trend line! And with Criterion making steady progress toward spine #700 in the months ahead, the prospect of me ever catching up to the newer films or even keeping pace with their monthly release schedule seems incredibly daunting, even discouraging.
So I'm at a point where it seems like some new kind of approach is necessary, one that would allow me to move through the films more quickly, and without the burden (self-imposed, I admit) of having to write reviews that are as detailed or comprehensive as those that preceded it on this blog. One solution would be to just drop a couple paragraphs here immediately after watching each film, kind of a quick take/first impression approach that frees me up from doing as much research and pondering as I typically do before I sit down to write a new entry. I may resort to such shortcuts in some instances, but I'm also interested in exploring new formats, now that I've had more experience with podcasting over the past several months. Up until now, I've been dependent on others to handle the technical side of recording and editing - my input has been limited to just talking into my headset mic on Skype. But with Robert's resignation from co-hosting The Eclipse Viewer, the responsibility falls on me to learn how to work the sound board as well. On top of that, I got a nice new smartphone a couple weeks ago (Samsung Galaxy S III) that offers a lot of potential for making short video recordings.
So that's the new thing I'm going to experiment with, here on this site and probably elsewhere too. I have a Criterion Reflections Facebook page that's been poorly utilized - basically, I've just been posting links to articles I've written or podcast episodes where I can be heard. I could do more with that... and I'm also curious to see what kind of possibilities Google + may offer, if I find the time to explore and utilize some of the social media tools that site has developed.
The fact is, if I have any serious intention (and I do) of working my way through the Criterion Collection chronologically to the point where I'm eventually taking in the newer releases as part of this long-term project (as opposed to just watching them for random viewing pleasure), I have to speed things up. Seeing these films in close proximity to other titles released contemporaneously often yields benefits of insight that I would have missed if I just popped the discs in haphazardly. But the tortoise-like progress of two or three films per month that I've settled into this year just stretches things out too long, and loses that cumulative effect.
Not only that, I have some enormously significant and substantial films coming up in my queue: Winter Light... 8 1/2... The Leopard... High and Low... Contempt... just to name a few of the heavyweights, plus many other less renowned but equally fascinating new discoveries in between. I'm really eager to engage with all of these films, and to leave some artifact of what I find in them here on this blog, while still maintaining my involvement at CriterionCast since I so greatly enjoy being part of that effort. Too bad I haven't found a way to make this a full-time paying gig! But anyway, this is what's on my mind in regard to Criterion Reflections as I wrap up 2012. Thanks for tagging along with me on this voyage through cinematic greatness.
9 comments:
Thank you for the always interesting posts. I have to admit, I like hearing your longer thoughts on each film (though I think you could eliminate some of the plot recap that I usually skim even in professional reviews).
But as someone who takes the quicker, first-take approach to posting, I can certainly tell you it's a lot easier to get through such a long list! With just a handful left, I hope to be focused on new releases exclusively in a month or two. After four years of an impressive output, it's hard to fault you wanting to see the same finish line - and just remember, we're both MUCH closer than Dessem at Criterion Contraption, who at this rate won't be in the 200s before we're all dead and buried. :)
That's good advice, to leave out the plot recaps... I think I'll take you up on that! It's easy enough to get that information from any number of other sources. Putting more energy into just conveying my own personal take on the film is what will make this (or any other) blog unique and worth revisiting, at least for those who find something to enjoy about my reviews... I don't think I have much problem going on at some length about most of these movies, once I get rolling. :) I think the biggest difference will come from me just choosing a main thesis to write about and focusing on that idea, effectively ignoring much of what might otherwise be said about what makes a given film so great.
Thanks for the feedback! How soon do you think you'll be through all the catalog titles? We ought to have a little online party in your honor when that happens!
And yeah, that is kind of a shame about Matt Dessem... he's an excellent writer but must just have a lot of other priorities. Can't say that I blame him much for slowing down though - going in spine # order is a rough row to hoe, especially given the subpar quality of some of the old DVDs in that range he's currently covering. I remain eager to read his thoughts on Rififi, whenever he gets around to it!
His essay on Playtime was particularly excellent. I think he's just puts a lot of pressure on himself to deliver every time, since so many of his reviews are so good.
Right now I have 15 to go (you can see them here), but that includes big hulking sets like The Golden Age of Television, Brakhage Vol 2, and Berlin Alexanderplatz. It also includes Salo, which I am most certainly not looking forward to. So I'm hoping to be done in the next month or two, though that depends on how much life interrupts. Plus, I'm not counting the stuff that I've seen before but didn't review for the blog, so my site won't be as complete as my viewing.
I vaguely thought about renting out the Brattle theater to celebrate, but I think it will just be a quiet evening at home with my wife dancing on the ceiling. :)
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http://www.criterion.com/lists/72521-every-criterion-i-haven-t-seen
Dave, first of all, I want to say I support you on anything you do, and I will check out your Eclipse podcast regularly.I'm a big Eclipse fan now since I finished Oshima Outlaw Sixties Eclipse set, it simply blew me away. I'm ready to explore more, and I will need your reference time to time.
I think you can ignore the plot synopsis part, I seldom wrote them in my reviews, because I know people can find it so easily on the web, all you need to do is giving them a link.
Wish you a great movie year in 2013!
bza/Matthew - wow, you sure have saved yourself some doozies to get through! Saved the heaviest lifting for last... :) Given all the other titles on that list, Le notti bianche really stands out as a relatively simple one. It was a nice discovery for me, very romantic and emotive, interesting to see Mastroianni so love-struck and sincere. Of course, this was still pretty early in his career, before he became the wizened, cynical George Clooney of his era!
David, thanks for that feedback and endorsement of my Eclipse project. I think I've created a pretty substantial body of work on the CriterionCast website for anyone looking to discover more about what's in those Eclipse boxes. I may have to cut back on the frequency of articles I write for them in this new year. That weekly column has eaten into a lot of my free time and is probably the biggest contributing factor to me slowing down on this site. I still want to write about the Eclipse films, but maybe just one or two reviews per month, or as often as the inspiration strikes rather than maintain a regular publication schedule. But definitely contact me anytime you have questions or comments on any of the Eclipse films, I love talking about them :)
Yeah, saving these for the end wasn't at all intentional - it's just what I've had available to me since I've watched most of the films on Netflix or Hulu. So what's left is the stuff that I have to physically rent or buy, which is more of a hassle with multi-disc stuff.
It's funny, I had accidentally forgotten about Le Notti Bianche until a few weeks ago when I was going through my list. I'll definitely be watching it soon. Right now I'm working my way through the von Sternberg boxset and it's a real surprise - I'm really loving it. Have you watched those yet? I imagine it's hard to circle back when you want to push forward, but I highly recommend checking them out.
I watched Underworld from the von Sternberg set back around the time that the box first came out. I was really impressed but as you surmised, it's difficult to go back without a specific reason. My wife is a bit resistant to silent films (she tends to get sleepy!) so that's another obstacle. But good nudge to get me thinking about them again. I really like The Scarlet Empress, made it my #3 pick for next year's blu-ray upgrade wish list in a recent Criterion Cast podcast...
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