The Criterion Collection

For some time now my Brother-in-Law, Gavin, has been encouraging me to watch movies from the Criterion Collection. Criterion is a film distribution company that restores and sells important films. In fact, the Criterion mission statement says the company "has been dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality and award-winning, original supplements"(see http://www.criterion.com/about_us).  Many of you may be somewhat familiar with the Criterion Collection because of all the ads for it on hulu.com. Gavin made my a long list of films to watch and since I had just signed up for Hulu Plus I thought I'd give them a try. One of the first things I noticed from scanning through the popular picks section of the Criterion page on Hulu is that a lot of the films are about teenage sexuality. Most of those did not interest me and if they don't interest you either rest assured there are a lot of other films to choose from. Skip what everyone else on Hulu is watching and you will find something that interests you. For example, I like Samurai movies and there are a lot of those.

Not only did Gavin give me a list of films to watch he gave me a recommendation for a first film. My wife and I like spy movies so Gavin suggested we watch "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold." This is a 1965 film directed by Martin Ritt and stars Richard Burton and Claire Bloom. The only other film from Martin Ritt I've ever seen is "Murphy's Romance," which I enjoyed. As for Richard Burton, I've only seen him in "Cleopatra," and I saw Claire Bloom in "The King's Speech."  The film is about a British spy (Burton) during the cold war. He is conducting what he hopes will be his last assignment when he falls for a librarian (Bloom) who he is working with as part of his cover. The relationship ends up putting the complex espionage operation in jeopardy.

Let me just say I loved this film. I have to thank Gavin because it was the perfect introduction to the collection for me. It is a fantastic thriller that I most likely never would have found on my own. First and foremost, the thing I appreciated most was the steady camera shots. For a guy whose only spy thrillers have been Tom Clancy and Jason Bourne movies filled with their shaky cam and rapid fire screen cuts actually being able to see what's happening was a huge bonus. The slow steady shots in this film help set the entire pace and mood of the movie. This isn't a race to the end action thriller with car chases and explosions. This is a movie about smart people trying to out-smart each other. The two opposing sides in the film, the British and East Germans, are represented by thoughtful, intelligent agents who work hard to further their goals. Second, I actually loved the somewhat slow pace of the film. It helped me digest just how much was actually going on during cryptic conversations and shots of Burton's character seemingly wandering around acting like a drunk. One of my favorite parts of the movie is watching Richard Burton's character ride multiple forms of public transportation in order to ensure he isn't being followed. I also loved the long opening shot of the Berlin Wall, and I don't know if I've ever felt so tense watching a movie as I did watching Burton's character anxiously wait to see if one of his agent's will pass safely through the wall's checkpoint  Finally, the ending, which I won't spoil, is heartbreaking and beautiful.

I've made a long list of my own to go with Gavin's of movies from the collection I want to watch. As I watch them I'm going to try and write down a few thoughts about each of them. I'm not trying to write reviews of the films, but I do hope some others might decide to watch them after reading what I have to say. Mainly, I want to expand my tastes and appreciation of film. I love watching movies, but lately I've been let down by a lot of the new movies I see. I'd like to start seeing film as an art form and not just as a form of entertainment. I'm excited to see what these films have to show me.