The Criterion Collection - E [work]
Under Franco’s censorship, Berlanga smuggled in a devastating critique of capital punishment and bureaucratic complicity. Criterion’s 2K restoration is sourced from a fine-grain positive held at the Filmoteca Española.
Released as a double feature, these films showcase the Japanese master’s ability to conjure dread out of mundanity. Eyes of the Spider deals with the yakuza and the banality of violence, but it does so with a detached, eerie calm
Dennis Hopper’s counterculture landmark is often filed under "E" for Easy . But Criterion’s edition treats it as art, not artifact. The Criterion Collection - E
While often overshadowed in public consciousness by Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin , Pudovkin’s film is a masterclass in the editing techniques that defined a century of cinema. Criterion’s treatment of the film—featuring a score composed and conducted by Timothy Brock—transforms a historical artifact into a living, breathing experience. It is a reminder that the "E" section is not just about entertainment; it is about education. To own this disc is to own a textbook on how to build a narrative through the collision of images.
Before diving into the newest 4K restoration, one must acknowledge the overlooked irony: Lynch’s The Elephant Man was Criterion’s very first laserdisc release in 1984. Today, the Blu-ray/4K edition stands as a masterclass in black-and-white cinematography. Eyes of the Spider deals with the yakuza
If you intended a specific film whose title starts with (e.g., The Emigrants , The Elephant Man , Eraserhead , Eyes Without a Face , The Executioner ), please provide the name, and I will give you an accurate, real Criterion content listing (or a detailed hypothetical based on existing releases).
Today, we turn our gaze to the letter .
Rossellini’s neorealism meets Bergman’s Hollywood glamour to create something jagged and holy. Criterion’s edition includes a video essay by scholar Tag Gallagher and a 1970 interview with Rossellini. The film’s title is often anglicized, but its Italian root — Europa ’51 — places it firmly in the Cold War rubble.
These films, starring Max von Sydow and Liv Ullmann, represent a different side of Bergman—less metaphysical, more visceral. They tell the story of a group of peasants fleeing poverty in Sweden for the promise of America. Criterion’s release is a stunner, restoring the films’ austere beauty and highlighting the crushing weight of the landscape. It is a testament to the Collection’s commitment to presenting complete filmographies; they do not just offer the "greatest hits," but the essential deeper cuts that define a director’s evolution. the silent and the deafening
In the index of The Criterion Collection, "E" is a letter of contradictions. It houses the terrifying and the tranquil, the silent and the deafening, the underground and the existential. From the nightmares of Swedish cinema to the neon-lit streets of Hong Kong, the "E" section of the Criterion shelf is a microcosm of film history itself.