Another year, another 100 movie reviews posted by me, either here or over on CriterionCast.com. That's my short take on what my third year of dedicated work in studying the films of the Criterion Collection (and their spin-off lines) has produced, though it would be a mistake to just boil the experience down to numbers. I've learned a lot, interacted with quite a few people who share my interests in these great cinematic achievements and carved out a little niche for myself in what turned out to be a much bigger and more complex world of movie-blogging than I ever suspected. Writing for this blog has taken me through a short but pivotal stretch in film history, 1958-1960. TV came of age in that era, pushing studios to challenge old taboos and censorship practices in order to give paying customers something they couldn't see in their living rooms. With The 400 Blows and Breathless, the Nouvelle Vague began to break open new territory for not only what cinema could address but also how stories were told. The increasing use of widescreen compositions in films like Spartacus, The Hidden Fortress and L'avventura broadened perspectives, literally and perceptively. At the same time, B-movies like The Blob, Fiend Without a Face and First Man into Space brought garish thrills and campy humor, as well as a love of the craft expressed through shoestring budgets, into the conversation. Ingmar Bergman parted ways with Gunnar Fischer and began his celebrated partnership with Sven Nykvist, neither perhaps suspecting the fruits that working collaboration would bear over the next two decades.
As for myself, reading over my thoughts from a year ago, at the end of 2010, much of what I expressed there carries over without any needed alterations. I'm still working regularly for Criterion Cast, cranking out my weekly Journey Through the Eclipse Series, though not quite as punctually over the past few months as that Monday afternoon deadline I tried to maintain ate into my weekend time, producing tensions that are best avoided when one has the option. As things stand, I count around 43 Eclipse films (including the upcoming Jean-Pierre Gorin set) that I have yet to review, which, combined with some new releases, should give me at least one more full year of weekly Eclipse columns to publish there. After that, I imagine I'll stay connected with the site in some way; we'll see what happens a year from now!
Ryan Gallagher, editor of CriterionCast.com, has been very accommodating and I really appreciate his work there, along with the invitation to become a regular contributor to both the site and, less frequently, their fantastic podcast where I've enjoyed a few guest appearances, discussing films like Paths of Glory, The Burmese Harp and in a trio of year-ending episodes, quite a few other titles as we listed our favorite Criterion releases of 2011, a summary of this year's Eclipse Series offerings, and our wish lists for blu-ray upgrades for existing titles in the year ahead. I figure on spending a few more Friday evenings skyping with the guys as the program continues following various arcs, themed months that link otherwise disparate films into a thought-provoking conversational context. Let me also mention another online program, The AuteurCast, hosted by Rudie Obias and West Anthony. They requested my input to discuss Rainer Werner Fassbinders The Marriage of Maria Braun, and I had a great time conversing with them. Here's hoping we can do it again in 2012!
As I peek at what's ahead for me here, I'm excited to keep moving forward into the amazing decade's worth of films from the Sixties. 1961 beckons, the year I was born, as it turns out, so now I'm finally getting into films that were released within my lifetime. Yojimbo/Sanjuro, Last Year at Marienbad, Viridiana are right around the corner. I'll soon be wrapping up The Human Condition trilogy and, sadly, only two more Ozu films remain for me to review. After that, lots of Godard, further New Wave explorations from France, Japan, eastern Europe, Bergman's "Silence of God" trilogy, and so many more classics I'm eager to revisit or discover. In this timeline, cinema is just on the verge of leaping into ever more radical and innovative forms of expression! And of course, Stan Brakhage will be there quietly doing his silent, visual thing to wrap it up as I reach the conclusion of each calendar year.
Just yesterday I finished up the films of 1960, including Brakhage's The Dead, plus a few titles that I normally wouldn't have covered here from the Essential Art House and Hulu Plus subsidiaries that Criterion utilizes in different ways. Going forward, I intend to make the Criterion films on their Hulu Plus channel part of my viewing discipline, though I'm not going to promise a review of each film here. I just don't see myself having enough time to dedicate to all those installments of the Zatoichi series as they come up in my timeline!
Speaking of my timeline, I'm willing to share it as a Google Doc (read only) if anyone is interested in checking out the spreadsheet I've made to keep track of all the Criterion-related films. Come on, share my obsession, I know you're curious. Just get a message to me if you want to take me up on the offer.
Finally, let me wrap up with a simple word of thanks to those who've interacted with me here via comments, over on Facebook, Twitter, GetGlue, MUBI or (most recently) Letterboxd, through the CriterionCast.com website or private email messages. Your opinions, observations and recommendations mean a lot to me, as does just knowing that we share this connection of appreciating some of the greatest works of art created over the past hundred years or so. Even when I'm just sitting here in my basement watching a DVD or blu-ray by myself, through the online cinephile community we're all a part of, I know I'm not truly alone!