We are still back and still a little behind. Our guest was Dave Eves. He and Jill share their favorite Criterions of 2022. We also talk about February and March 2023 announcements, as well as immediate reactions to the Sight & Sound 100 list. With the upcoming announcements, we took a deep dive into Romeo and Juliet and the impacts of the lawsuit f…

Now that we’re back, we had some catching up to do. This week Drew Morton joined to go back through all of the months that we missed during hiatus. We were surprised how many months that was. We did sort of a speed record for the 2022 releases, getting into a little more detail on a few. We then looked at the recent January 2023 announcements in a …

Filmmaker Sean Baker returns to the podcast, and his co-director for Take Out and frequent collaborator Shih-Ching Tsou joins for the first time. We talk about their origins of working together, the style they established with Take Out and how that impacted future films, the feeling of being in the Criterion Collection, the restoration process of t…

We took an unannounced hiatus for a lot of reasons. Jill and Aaron are now officially back and ready to resume the show. This one was just us “shooting the s**t” without an intro or anything. We just wanted to get back into the swing of podcasting, plus sharing what we’ve been up to, and what we’re looking forward to. As it happens we have two othe…

This is our special “one take” episode. Jill and Aaron get into June announcements, a lot of David Lynch news, and speculate about François Truffaut. Note that this was recorded prior to the announcement of Kino securing some Truffaut titles, but our speculation still stands for other titles. Episode Links Classic Film Collective David Lynch Remast…

Marcus Pinn joins as we discuss announcements for June and other news. Some of the discussion was not Criterion related as we discussed the Indicator Columbia Noir set featuring Humphrey Bogart. We also discuss Kinuyo Tunaka, the release cycle of Janus Films, the NYC arthouse theater scene, and much more. Episode Links Classic Film Collective Hokut…

Drew Morton joins again, and we have a lot to talk about. Come for the Criterions, stay for his Jimmy Stewart impressions. We discuss the May 2022 Announcements, and then dive into numerous big topics. We talk at length about the Criterion edition of Miller’s Crossing and how it differs from previous versions. We also talk about Pink Flamingos sinc…

Grady Hendrix and Chris Poggiali, authors of These Fists Break Bricks join to talk about all things martial arts, ranging from the early films of King Hu up to the present. We also discuss the titles on physical media. This includes Criterion where Grady has been a periodic contributor, and other labels such as Arrow, Eureka, and numerous others. W…

Celeste de la Cabra joins to discuss the April announcements, the error on the 4k edition of A Hard Day’s Night, plus other potential Criterion releases including Shaft and The Conversation. We also celebrate what is unquestionably the best Citizen Kane destruction video thanks to Caleb Porto. Episode Links Classic Film Collective Ellie’s Girl Scou…

Jill and Aaron spend New Year’s Eve reflecting on the year of 2021, including the big news of Jill joining the show. We talk about favorite 2021 episodes and also hint at what to expect in 2022. Good stuff coming. Finally we both attempted to put together a favorite films of all time list, which is no small feat. We talk through that. Aaron’s list …

Brad McDermott joins to talk with Jill and Aaron about a lot of Criterion news that we had missed with our last few episodes. We begin with the March 2022 Announcements, many of which were a total surprise. We also talk about some of the rumors, whether they are valid or otherwise, and cheer the acquisitions that Janus has made for films contending…

Jill and Aaron welcome Farran Smith Nehme to the show. Farran has an extensive by-line and has a wealth of knowledge about film. She also happens to appear on many supplements on Criterion discs and the Channel. We had an enjoyable conversation. We talked with her about the February slate of Criterion announcements. As it happens, she has a supplem…

Jill and Aaron welcome Craig Terlson to the show. He is a crime fiction writer who lives in Canada, and he happened to take the same film noir class as Aaron. He has an interesting perspective on Noir coming from his research and work as a writer. We get into the history of the #Noirvember hashtag that Marya Gates created and has become phenomenon …

Jill and Aaron dig into a lot in this episode. We begin with the January 2022 announcements, which we agree is a good start to next year. From there we cover a wide variety of topics. We talk about the announcement from Netflix regarding David Fincher’s Voir project, and what that means for the visual essay format. We also talk about Indicator sett…

Drew Morton joins Jill and Aaron to dive into horror titles in the collection. We could not cover them all, but we went through some highlights and talked over some classic horror films. We went into more detail for some based on personal experiences, for example with Eraserhead and Carnival of Souls. Episode Links Classic Film Collective Criterion…

Dennis Bartok and Craig Rogers from Deaf Crocodile join us for an insightful discussion about film restoration. Dennis also shares some interesting stories from living in Hollywood ranging from Tony Curtis, James Wong Howe, and the Manson family. They talk about their work on Assault on Precinct 13 and Chameleon street. They even reveal a secret ab…

Doug McCambridge from Good Times, Great Movies and Schitt’s and Giggles makes his grand return. We discuss the December 2021 Criterion release slate. We also pay tribute to some legends that we lost. Note that this was recorded prior to us hearing about Melvin Van Peeble’s passing. That will be covered on a later show. We talk about a lot of rumors…

Imogen Sara Smith joins Aaron and Jill to talk about a number of things. For those who don’t know, Imogen is a fixture on Criterion releases. She has recorded video interviews for releases, written numerous essays, and has introduced Criterion Channel collections. She has also written two books and recorded commentaries for other labels. She’s a fa…

This was a first. Both of Aaron’s co-hosts ever, together on a podcast. And wow, so much to talk about! Thrilled to have Jill and Mark as we navigated a messy but exciting week. We focused mostly on the November releases including the unexpected multiple 4K releases, and what this means for libraries or academic institutions. We also get into the C…

This is Jill Blake’s first official episode as co-host and we drifted into a lot of new territory. First we reacted to the 4K announcement from Criterion this week, expecting that one of the titles will be announced for November. We’ll know soon whether we were wrong with that prediction. We also spend some time talking about Miramax titles and wha…

Brad McDermott joins to take a deep dive into the boxset of Marlon Riggs, how his personal circumstances informed the impact of his films, and the legacy that he left behind. We begin with overall impressions so that we do not spoil each film, and then we get into his filmography and close the episode with a discussion about the documentary. Episod…

Jill Blakes joins to talk about the October announcements, the likelihood of Citizen Kane, and addresses the UHD and 4K rumors. We also discuss recent and upcoming releases, talking a bit about Working Girls and how that can change perceptions of sex workers. We also discuss the Joanna Hogg Criterion closet video, appreciating her fondness for book…

Martin Kessler is back. Long time listeners may remember him planting the seed for Van Peebles’ Story of a Three Day Pass. Well it finally happened, and I was honored to have him back to talk about this incredible box set. We also discuss the remainder of the September announcements. We spend a good bit of time unpacking the Citizen Kane rumors. We…

https://criterioncast.com/wp-content/uploads/1624/07/Criterion-Now-Episode-125.mp3 Becky D’Anna returns to the show to talk about one of her favorite filmmakers, Albert Brooks. We dive a little deeper into one of her favorite films and recent Criterion release, Defending Your Life. We also get into his early stand-up work, his acting chops, his rel…

Aaron is joined by Matthew Asprey Gear, who is an author, film historian, and teacher. We recently completed an online class about American Cinema in the 1970s, so we discuss some of the takeaways from that class and how the era is represented in the Criterion Collection. We also take a detour and discuss two other topics that he teaches — Film Noi…

Andrew and Steven of the Chasing Labels podcast join to talk Criterions. Some might remember Steven for composing the Barnes & Noble Criterion song a few years ago. They have a new podcast where they talk about boutique labels and that makes them a great fit for this show. We discuss the August 2021 announcements, Isobel Sandoval and her Criterion …

Dave Eves returns and we did into the vast world of Kaiju cinema. For those who don’t know, that’s basically big monsters. We get into the origins with Godzilla, and continue with Gamera, Ultra Q, Ultraman, and the legacy of kaiju and how it has influenced other films.By CriterionCast

David Blakeslee makes his return. At first we talk about how we track discs we own, and some new functionality that Letterboxd implemented. We then dive deep into the July announcements, talk about the search for the Magnificent Ambersons print, the Janus acquisition of Story of a 3-Day Pass, and plenty more. Episode Links Funny Video on Reddit reg…

Jill Blake joins and we get into an abundance of enjoyable topics. First we discuss her contributions to the Indicator Columbia Noir set. We then discuss the June 2021 Criterion announcements, Fredric March and Dorothy Arzner, the 2021 Oscars, the Wong Kar Wai packaging, Paramount’s new blu-ray releases and streaming channel, and finally one of the…

Michael Hutchins joins for an emergency episode to talk about the big news, Paramount titles going out of print, but we were also able to discuss other topics. The Amazon release announcements were a big deal, plus we talked about the World of Wong Kar Wai packaging and other rumored titles coming to Criterion. Episode Links Amazon’s ‘Sound of Meta…

Josh Wilson joins the podcast for the first time. He is an avid Orson Welles enthusiast and this has been a long time coming even if we did not have much Welles to discuss. We got into the May 2021 Announcements, the flash sale (although this was recorded before it was announced, and we take about upcoming films such as Ikarie XB-1, Eric Rohmer’s F…

Gary West joins the podcast to talk in-depth about COVID-19 and what to expect going forward. This is an unusual episode for this podcast, and as it happens, Gary is Aaron’s father and is an expert in the field of public health. He’s teaching a class on COVID-19 currently at UNC Chapel Hill. We spend a lot of time talking about the current state of…

Believe it or not, Mark Hurne is back on the show for the first time in a year. And what a year it has been! We geek out on Criterion like we always have. Always love talking to Mark! This time we discuss the April 2021 announcements, the recent discussions, reviews and somewhat controversies involving the World of Wong Kar Wai. We talk about the M…

Jon Laubinger returns to the show to talk about the March 2021 announcements and especially the World of Wong Kar Wai set. Longtime listeners will remember that Jon predicted the set years ago and it has finally come to fruition. We also get into some of the controversies around the release and whether that tempers our excitement. We talk at length…

Dave Eves joins Aaron during the Thanksgiving break to catch up on all things Criterion and some Arrow. We start by getting into the February 2021. Then we get a little bit more thankful for Fellini 100, as we had both received the set and put a couple discs in the player. We talk about what we expect will be called The World of Wong Kar Wai and wh…

David Blakeslee and Trevor Berrett from CriterionCast and Inside the Box join to talk about the latest Criterion News. We begin with the intriguing and somewhat divisive January 2021 Criterion announcements. It turned out we had the perfect guests for this release slate. We then talk about the flash sale, and this episode was recorded prior to the …

Brad McDermott and Josh Hornbeck join to recap a lot of interesting interesting events over the last month. We begin by discussing the December 2020 Criterion announcements, and we then talk about some titles that were not announced but are being released theatrically. After the NYTimes article about the lack of diversity in the collection, we each…

Michael Hutchins joins Aaron to catch up on the biggest Criterion news of the last month or so. We cover the November Criterion announcements in detail including the new Fellini Box Set. We also cover the October announcements in somewhat less detail but we dig into big releases like Parasite. We also react to the beautiful Agnes Varda set. Episode…

Atom Egoyan joins for a discussion about his new and old films. Today his new film, Guest of Honour, opens on Kino Marquee. He hits on numerous influences that have impacted the new film and his entire film style. He also talks a great deal about his earlier films, the July bundle on the Criterion Channel, how to approach his filmography, and just …

Brad McDermott and Will Remmers join Aaron to talk about the latest. We dive into the delicious September 2020 month, anchored by WCP3. We also talk about the Barnes and Noble sale and debate whether it can be depended on for summer and fall months. We get into the prospect of adding Bollywood to the collection, as teased by Lee Kline on Roger Deak…

Trevor Berrett from The Mookse and the Gripes and CriterionCast joins to talk about the latest bit of news from Criterion. What a big month it is! We have a solid August 2020 announcement slate which includes the complete works of Agnes Varda. We dive into those, and Trevor provides a lot of insights into Town Bloody Hall and others. We also talk a…

Doug McCambridge and Jordan Essoe join Aaron to talk Criterion during this new normal. We are pleasantly surprised that the Criterion July announcements were on time again, and in typical July fashion, it was a stellar month. In addition to the July slate, we talk about potential upcoming titles including Agnes Varda, Abbas Kiarostami, W.C. Fields,…

David Seeley makes his debut on the podcast to give us a British perspective. David is a fixture on the Criterion Now group and an avid collector of Masters of Cinema. He joins to discuss the June announcements and weighs which are worth importing. There is some disappointing news with the cancelation of Cannes and other virus impacts, but we discu…

The inaugural episode of Oscilloscope features two segments. The first is with Nick Camacho, Director of Marketing, and the second with good friend Michael Hutchins. Nick and I talk about the identity of Oscilloscope, their identity and the type of content they distribute. We also focus a great deal on the subscription model for digital downloads t…

Josh Hornbeck and Robert Taylor join ahead of the June announcements and take a moment to reflect on the life changing events that are going on. Coronavirus is impacting everyone and could transform the film industry. We talk about how it has impacted us, and what we can expect with the Criterion and cinephile world. More importantly, we concluded …

Criterion Now returns after a brief hiatus. David Blakeslee and Will Remmers join to discuss as much that happened since the last episode as possible, with a focus on recent developments. We discuss the May 2020 announcements and briefly run through all of the announcements that we missed. We also talk about Jason Polan’s passing, who we’ll miss de…

Matthew Modine and Adam Rackoff join Aaron. We talk about Matthew’s trip to the Criterion Closet, his experiences working with master directors, his cameo experience on Bamboozled, and how he photographed Full Metal Jacket. He was a really enjoyable guest with some great stories, and he shares a bit of a personal connection with Aaron. Episode Link…

Cole Roulain and Josh Hornbeck join for a brief, lightly edited episode to discuss how much we adore the February 2020 Announcements. We talk about the significance of people visiting the Criterion closet, what the deal with StudioCanal is, anticipation of Bette Davis, and more. Episode Links Deadline – Studiocanal 4K Re-Releases In 2020 To Include…

Mark Hurne and Trevor Berrett join Aaron again to continue where they left off at episode 100. Additionally we get into some news items including Martin Scorsese, John Sayles, and potentially An Unmarried Woman from the newsletter clue. From then on it is more wishlists and enjoyable convo. Keep in mind that this was recorded prior to the February …

Mark Hurne and Trevor Berrett join Aaron to celebrate our 100th episode. In this discussion, we first reminisce about the origins not just of Criterion Now, but of Mark and Aaron’s podcasting exploits including Criterion Close-Up and CriterionCast. We then transition to the big wish list episode, based on polling in the Criterion Now Facebook group…