Diabolique

While becoming a part of the Criterion Collection may not be the be-all end-all that film lovers (myself included) tend at times to make it seem, there is a certain cache that inclusion in the collection can lend to a movie. Also, it certainly can’t be denied that they generally do an incredible job of including supplements and features to the films they release that not only can lead one to a better understanding of a film, but can help to put it into context of the film world around it. Just as an example, last night I watched Diabolique for the first time, and on the disk there was an interview with Kim Newman that really helped to shape my understanding of just where this Hitchcock-influenced and highly influential film fit into the overall film world of the time and in later years. There’s also a commentary on the disk to accompany the film that I’m actually hoping to get through today. And yes, you will probably see a lot of that material reflected in my own comments when I eventually do my own write-up/reflection on the film.

Anyway, that brings us to an interesting list posted last week by the good folks over at popmatters.com in which they outline what they call “12 No-Brainer Additions to the Criterion Collection“. Now I’ll admit there are a number of films on this list that I don’t know at all or know only by reputation, so I con’t really comment on them myself, but the authors, Soheil Rezayazdi and Hubert Vigilla, do make good arguments for why these films would make good additions to the collection. And, if nothing else, the list offers some intriguing titles that look to be worth checking out, whether they eventually get official Criterion recognition or not.

So, go give the article a read, and then come back here and let me know, via the comments, what you think, either about their list, any other films you think should be included, or perhaps just your thoughts/feelings on Criterion in general. I’m interested to hear what you have to say about it.