Kurneko
Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by Kaneto Shindo
Written by Kaneto Shindo
Starring Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kiwako Taichi
The Criterion Collection
Release Date: October 18, 2011

You can feel it in the air. The weather is changing, leaves are falling, and costumes are about to be brought out, as Halloween is just a day away. And while the majority of people will be going to the well for their cinematic slices of terror, Criterion, in their inescapable wisdom, has decided to not only follow up last year’s great release of the cult horror masterpiece Hausu with yet another cult horror offering, but hell, even cats are involved with this sucker.

Kuroneko is the name of this atmospheric gem, and it comes to us from the mind of Japanese auteur Kaneto Shindo. Best known for his fellow Criterion staple, the hauntingly devastating Onibaba, Kurnoeko (Black Cat) is equally as meditative and brooding, and is just as much of a masterful folk tale as that horror classic.

The Phantom Carriage
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Victor Sjostrom
Written by Victor Sjostrom
Starring Victor Sjostrom, Hilda Borgstrom, Tore Svennberg
The Criterion Collection
Release Date: September 27, 2011

THE FILM:

When it comes to the greatest of great in the world of film, it may not always be how well received a film is at its given release date.  For many classics, the spanning of time has done wonders, and will continue to do so, for their legacy and their cultural relevance.

Look at something like The Phantom Carriage from writer/director/star Victor Sjostrom.  A huge influence on the works of people like, primarily (as pointed out by this brand new stunner of a release from The Criterion Collection) Ingmar Bergman, Carriage has become an increasingly popular film within the world of cinephiles, and genre nuts alike.  And frankly, the love for this masterpiece hasn’t gone far enough.

Carlos
Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by Olivier Assayas
Written by Olivier Assayas and Dan Franck
Starring Edgar Ramirez, Alexander Scheer
The Criterion Collection
Release Date: September 27, 2011

THE FILM:

Some stories have to be told in a longer time period than most films are allotted.  And despite having a theatrical version out there (admittedly absent from this otherwise extensive release), the newest film from director Olivier Assayas entitled Carlos is exactly that story.

Clocking in at just around five-and-a-half hours in length, Carlos tells the story of the infamous terrorist Illich Ramirez Sanchez, aka Carlos The Jackal.  A leftist militant to the very definition of that two-word descriptor, the man was behind a cavalcade of kidnappings, hijackings, and even bombings for two decades.  Now released thanks to the Criterion Collection in its original, complete director’s cut, Carlos is a film that is as in your face and engaging as the central, charisma-oozing figure on which it focuses.