The Criterion Collection Thread

**Derrick King** · 11-13-2020, 02:21 PM

Feb 9
The Parallax View

Feb 16
Mandabi

Feb 23
Man Push Cart

Chop Shop

Smooth Talk

**Andrew Monroe** · 11-13-2020, 02:37 PM

It's going to be tough holding off on THE PARALLAX VIEW until the B&N summer sale. Really looking forward to that one.

**Whit** · 11-14-2020, 08:52 PM

MANDABI is the exciting one for me--I admire the Bahrani films but don't feel particularly compelled to revisit them just now, I love PARALLAX, and SMOOTH TALK is definitely an unsung gem of the 80s, but African cinema overall is so woefully underrepresented among US distributors that getting Sembene into better circulation is a momentous occasion. I hope they do his entire body of work, and more Med Hondo too. Haile Gerima would be a blessing as well, though if I recall correctly he was pretty dismissive of Criterion when NYT covered their lamentable lack of Black filmmakers.

**Derrick King** · 11-14-2020, 09:39 PM

Criterion is rumored to have most, if not all, of Sembene's films.

**Whit** · 11-15-2020, 12:53 AM

Originally Posted by Derrick King

Criterion is rumored to have most, if not all, of Sembene's films.

I thought I'd remembered hearing that. It's been nearly four years since they put out BLACK GIRL though, I know these can't be enormously lucrative endeavors but I do hope they expedite things somewhat...

**Matt H.** · 11-15-2020, 03:54 PM

Originally Posted by Whit

SMOOTH TALK is definitely an unsung gem of the 80s.

It really is. It has such a unique tone - it's ambiguously creepy and understated. Lynch must've been inspired by Dern's performance in this to cast her in BLUE VELVET.