The last full summer month and a new program month on the criterion channel. There are collections honoring the composer Henry Mancini (Victor/Victoria) and Hollywood icon Myrna Loy, along with the usual releases of Criterion editions with exclusive extra features. Here are seven of the best options coming to the service in August 2022.
Available: August 1st
Directed by: Alexander Mackendrick
Written by: Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, Alexander Mackendrick
Pour: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis
Possibly the most famous film on the list, and not just because it’s had more time to garner compliments for being the oldest. Sweet scent of successThe director of eventually became the founding dean of the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and counts logan Director James Mangold among his mentees. Before this film he was best known as a director of British comedies. In this sense, sweet smell is clearly a departure – a New York set movie in the key with an energetic noir taste.
movie in the key just means it’s a story based on real people whose real names can be swapped out for the fictional ones to pretty much tell a true story. This semi-biopic is about a powerful, sleazy newspaper columnist who enjoys ruining his reputation and collecting enemies. It’s packed with hard-hitting, memorable dialogue, fiercely coherent direction, a jazzy score, and an arsenal of plot developments. It didn’t make much money in its day, but it’s influential, if only because its director’s philosophies would influence generations in the classroom.
Available: August 1st
Directed by: Martin Brest
Written by: George Gallo
Pour: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina
A buddy film about two men who aren’t buddy midnight run is one of many films from the 1980s that present themselves as an action film and function as a comedy at the same time. its director, Martin Brestcame a hit that practically perfected the form –Beverly Hills Cop-and midnight is guided with the confidence of someone who thinks they know what they are doing. Beverly Hills Cophad however Eddie Murphya firecracker who was constantly improvising, ensuring that no scene featuring his character was free of jokes. midnight run‘s action is fun and serious, meaning the pressure is on the comedic tension of the leads.
Robert DeNiro acts largely as the straight male, which means Karl Grodin has to do Eddie Murphy’s job to ensure the jokes get through to the script. He pulls it off, but it works mainly because the plot – a bounty hunter named Jack (De Niro) handcuffs himself to his embezzling bounty Jonathan (Grodin), who unbeknownst to Jack is being targeted by the mafia – too crazy is failure.
Donbass (2018)
Available: August 1st
Directed by: Sergei Losnitsa
Written by: Sergei Losnitsa
Pour: Boris Kamorzin, Sergey Russkin, Georgiy Deliev
The military conflict in Ukraine’s Donbass region began in 2014 when Russian-backed separatists acted on whispers of violence. From then on, the region was home to fighting and casualties as dozens of Russian troops poured in over the years. Standoffs and truces were declared and abandoned. In retrospect, the conflict did not really end until February 2022, when it allegedly evolved into the Russo-Ukrainian War. director Sergei Losnitsa, but did not work with hindsight. In 2018 there was real hope that the war would subside, a hope even in the midst of war with mounting evidence to the contrary. It is in this climate that he has made it his own anti-war opus Donbass.
Told episode by episode, this drama is harrowing in its candid portrayal of the community-shattering realities of modern war. The film depicts destabilized societies, propaganda designed to confuse and isolate the most vulnerable, shootings, bombings and scammers at every level. It’s shot in long takes and shot beautifully. It’s not a horror film, but it’s dark with its drama. It’s also darkly funny, adept in many cinematic languages, and feels like it’s a wake-up call from a Ukrainian director urging the world not to look away from the series of truth-inspired stories he portrays.
Available: August 1st
Directed by: John Hillcoat
Written by: Nick Cave
Pour: Guy Pearce, Ray Winstone, Danny Huston, John Hurt, Richard Wilson
It seems like a secret that needs to be revealed anew that Oceania produces something beautiful great postmodern westerns. The suggestion comes from Australia. It’s a murderous ballad of contemporary outback thriller, beginning with a burst of violence and then punctuated by equally savage outbursts. The plot point of the same name – our hero (Guy Pearce‘s Charlie Burns) must find and kill his older brother (Danny Houston) or his meek younger brother (Richard Wilson) gets the gallows.
It’s a convincing setup from this director John Hillcoat wrestles for all the double crosses, gunfights and macho mayhem he can. Sadness runs through the blood of this film and that it was written by a rock icon Nick Cave should be the kind of surprise that makes perfect sense after watching. Australia is, as always, a photogenic backdrop for an epic tale, and seemingly provides a fitting backdrop for poetic drama with gunslinger blood in its veins.
We are the best! (2013)
Available: 6th of August
Directed by: Luke Moodysson
Written by: Luke Moodysson (screenplay); Coco Moodysson (Graphic Novel)
Pour: Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, and Liv LeMoyne
Part of the fun of a movie like 2003 School of Rock Watching children achieve something that society doesn’t necessarily push them to do. You are allowed to live a dream and that dream is treated as valid and vital. The Swedish coming-of-age drama We are the best! has a similar spirit, albeit a very different story. It’s about a trio of 13-year-old girls who yearn to rebel against their uniformed, blonde society and what they see as the perfection of their peers. So they decide to start a punk band.
It’s 1982, so they’re on time. But no matter how methodical they are, only two of them master their instruments. The story dramatizes mastering her craft and writing her teen angst anthem, but it’s really about how time flies differently for kids. Moments of sadness and happiness feel equally endless. No setback feels insignificant. It is of course a film full of music and full of energy. The children at the heart of the story barely feel like they’re acting (in a good way), and when they finally make their stage debut (in front of a suitably hostile crowd) it feels triumphant, giving audiences the taste they need in a dream fulfilled .
Available: August 10th
Directed by: Martha Coolidge
Written by: Wayne Crawford, Andrew Lane
Pour: Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Cameron Dye, Michelle Meyrink
Every era has its undeniable classics across multiple subgenres, films that transcend the era in which they were released. Conversely, every era has films that are not perfect, but very good. These tend to be examples of what was trending at the time, which also makes them very good snapshots of their moments. For the transcendence of early 1980s teen romantic comedies, one might turn to the John Hughes area of the digital video store. For a very good Snapshot of the early 80’s romantic teen comedy trend, Valley Girl is a worthy place to park. Directed by Martha Coolidgewho had mainly made documentaries before turning this feature film into a long and prolific career, Valley Girl creates the teenage dialogue thick. Every California cliche the title might suggest is there. But the whole has an increased quality.
The first thing it increases is Nicholas Cage (plays an archetypal “bad boy from outside”) and his chemistry with the film’s lead, Deborah Vormann (plays the archetypal “valley girl who’s more thoughtful than her shallow friends”). They commit to their part and their romance feels believable and becomes something worth investing in as the obstacles (their different backgrounds, an ex-boyfriend motivated to win her back) come to a sad end ensure threaten. The other thing that elevates it is the music, which it draws heavily on. Full of New Wave catchy tunes from Spark, Men at workand The Psychedelic Fursit’s further proof that unsung 1980s pop music is a great garnish for storytelling with a youthful spirit.
Available: August 31st
Directed by: Crystal Moselle
Pour: Makunda Angulo, Narayana Angulo, Bhagavan Angulo, Jagadisa Angulo, Krishna Angulo
A documentary that has been recommended or viewed with critical concern since its Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning debut, The Wolf Pack is alternately heartwarming, gripping and concerning. His subjects are largely the six male descendants of a Peruvian Hare Krishna devotee whose paranoia leads him to lock his wife and children in their Manhattan apartment. They only depart on dates deemed necessary or on precisely planned sightseeing tours. They are homeschooled by their mother, as are survivors of this deprivation experiment and the children, who would only learn after the documentary how unique their upbringing was.
The odd creases in the film are caused by how telegenic and engaging the themes are. Like camera ready. This is partly due to their insatiable appetite for Hollywood movies and their playful re-enactment of their favorites. On The Wolf Pack‘s poster that inspired the brothers’ looks Reservoir Dogs are highlighted, however The dark knight also proves to be influential. The Angulo brothers and their mother are now free of their documented captivity, and so it is a story with an extratextual happy ending that makes the current viewing of it free from many of the ethical caveats that were murmured when it was first published became. What remains is a visceral portion of humanity and a declaration of love for films.
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