Criterion Collection (Firm)
Series
Criterion collection volume 680
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The most cherished film by Charlie Chaplin is also his ultimate Little Tramp chronicle. The writer-director-star achieved new levels of grace, in both physical comedy and dramatic poignancy, with this silent tale of a lovable vagrant falling for a young blind woman who sells flowers on the street and mistakes him for a millionaire. Though this Depression-era smash was made after the advent of sound, Chaplin remained steadfast in his love for the expressive...
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Chronicling the trial of Joan of Arc in the days leading up to her execution, Danish master Carl Theodor Dreyer depicts her torment with startling immediacy, employing an array of techniques, including expressionistic lighting, interconnected sets, and painfully intimate close-ups, to immerse viewers in her subjective experience.
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This haunting silent thriller tells the tale of a mysterious young man who takes up residence at a London boardinghouse, just as a killer who preys on blonde women, known as the Avenger, descends upon the city. The film is animated by the palpable energy of a young stylist at play, decisively establishing the director's formal and thematic obsessions.
4) The kid
Series
Criterion collection volume 799
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None
Description
The Tramp and his rescued orphan sidekick triumph over life's hard knocks in the landmark film that changed the notion of what a screen comedy could be.
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The great Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu is best known for the stately, meditative domestic dramas he made after World War II. But during his first decade at Shochiku studios, he dabbled in many genres--including the crime film, which resulted in this trio of magnificently shot and edited silents. Heavily influenced in narrative and visual style by the American movies that Ozu adored but already envincing the compassion and confident precision of...
Series
Criterion collection volume 33
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None
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Presents a documentary on the life of an Eskimo family pitting their strength against a vast and inhospitable Arctic. Juxtaposes their struggle for survival against the elements with the warmth of the little family as they go about their daily affairs. Contains both documentary footage and staged scenes.
7) Safety last!
Series
Criterion collection volume 662
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None
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The comic genius of silent star Harold Lloyd is eternal. He plays a small-town bumpkin trying to make it in the big city, who finds employment as a lowly department-store clerk. He comes up with a wild publicity stunt to draw attention to the store, resulting in an incredible feat of derring-do on his part that gets him started on the climb to success.
8) The circus
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In the last film he made during the silent era, Charlie Chaplin shines as director, composer, and star. A gag-packed comedy full of audacious set pieces, it showcases silent cinema's most popular entertainer and ranks among Chaplin's finest.
Series
Criterion collection volume 134
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Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath: Benjamin Christensen₂s legendary silent film anticipates gothic horror, documentary re-creation, and the essay film, making for an experience unlike anything else in cinema.
10) The cameraman
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The final work over which he maintained creative control, this clever farce is the culmination of an extraordinary, decade-long run that produced some of the most innovative and enduring comedies of all time. Keaton plays a hapless newsreel cameraman desperate to impress both his new employer and his winsome office crush as he zigzags up and down Manhattan hustling for a scoop.
Series
Criterion collection volume 579
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None
Description
The last person to die on New Year's Eve before the clock strikes twelve is doomed to take the reins of Death's chariot and work tirelessly collecting fresh souls for the next year. So says the legend that drives the Phantom Carriage, about an alcoholic, abusive ne'er-do-well who is shown the error of his ways and the pure-of-heart Salvation Army sister who believes in his redemption.
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Description
This haunting silent thriller tells the tale of a mysterious young man who takes up residence at a London boardinghouse, just as a killer who preys on blonde women, known as the Avenger, descends upon the city. The film is animated by the palpable energy of a young stylist at play, decisively establishing the director's formal and thematic obsessions.
13) The kid brother
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When a traveling medicine show rolls into town, it brings with it excitement, the possibility of love, and a chance for Harold to prove his mettle. Deftly balancing Lloyd's brilliant sight gags and thrilling set pieces, which include an epic, knock-down, drag-out fight aboard an abandoned ship, the film is a hilarious and heartwarming high-water mark of early screen comedy.
Series
Criterion collection volume 706
Language
None
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Description
A heartfelt story of a housewife who, with the help of a wily nanny, turns the tables on her tyrannical husband.
Series
Criterion collection volume 531
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None
Description
Roughnecker stoker Bill Roberts gets into all sorts of trouble during a brief shore leave when he falls hard for Mae, a wise and weary dance-hall girl, in Josef von Sternberg's evocative portrait of working-class waterfront folk.
Series
Criterion collection volume 706
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None
Description
A housewife, with the help of a wily nanny, turns the tables on her tyrannical husband.
Series
Eclipse volume ser. 10
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None
Description
Kihachi is a day-laborer who is an endearing single dad. His relationship with his wiseacre young son is both humorous and heartfelt. The two live in a Tokyo tenement. Complications ensue when Dad finds himself part of tenous love triangle.
18) City lights
Series
Criterion collection volume 680
Language
None
Appears on list
Description
The most cherished film by Charlie Chaplin is also his ultimate Little Tramp chronicle. The writer-director-star achieved new levels of grace, in both physical comedy and dramatic poignancy, with this silent tale of a lovable vagrant falling for a young blind woman who sells flowers on the street and mistakes him for a millionaire. Though this Depression-era smash was made after the advent of sound, Chaplin remained steadfast in his love for the expressive...
Series
Eclipse volume ser. 10
Language
None
Description
For two brothers, the daily grind of bullies and mean teachers is nothing compared to the mortification they feel when they come to understand their good-natured father's low-rung social status. A blithe portrait of the financial and psychological toils of one family, from the standpoint of a couple of stubborn little boys.
20) The cameraman
Series
Criterion collection volume 1033
Language
None
Appears on list
Description
"Buster Keaton is at the peak of his slapstick powers in the first film that the silent-screen legend made after signing with MGM, and his last great masterpiece. The final work over which he maintained creative control, this clever farce is the culmination of an extraordinary, decade-long run that produced some of the most innovative and enduring comedies of all time. Keaton plays a hapless newsreel cameraman desperate to impress both his new employer...