***Completed***
My attempt at the Third Annual Criterion Challenge!
This is definitely my favorite annual challenge and some of my favorite films have come from this challenge, so I'm excited for year three!
Helpful links:
The Complete Criterion Collection
Criterion Collection by Spine Number
Every Film Available on The Criterion Channel
Categories:
1. Random Number Generator (Google random number generator, set values from 1 to whatever number Criterion has listed last here. This number will change as more releases are announced so please keep up to date by using the link I have provided as I will not be updating each time Criterion makes announcements. Watch whatever movie corresponds to the spine number you are given.)
2. Made in Belgium…
***Completed***
My attempt at the Third Annual Criterion Challenge!
This is definitely my favorite annual challenge and some of my favorite films have come from this challenge, so I'm excited for year three!
Helpful links:
The Complete Criterion Collection
Criterion Collection by Spine Number
Every Film Available on The Criterion Channel
Categories:
1. Random Number Generator (Google random number generator, set values from 1 to whatever number Criterion has listed last here. This number will change as more releases are announced so please keep up to date by using the link I have provided as I will not be updating each time Criterion makes announcements. Watch whatever movie corresponds to the spine number you are given.)
2. Made in Belgium
3. Made in Taiwan
4. Made in Canada
5. Made in Portugal
6. Animals in the Collection
7. Films To Fall Asleep To
8. Black Music Films
9. Black Lives Collection
10. Heartbreak Heaven: Films to Watch When You’re Questioning Love (and Heartbreak Heaven: Films to Watch When You’re Questioning Love, Part II)
11. Criterion Double Features - Film #1
12. Criterion Double Features - Film #2
13. Danny Peary’s “Guide for the Film Fanatic”
14. Sundance Hits
15. Early Women Filmmakers
16. Independent American Cinema
17. Dysfunctional Families
18. Food on Film
19. Faith on Film
20. Tearjerkers
21. British Realism
22. Wilco’s Closet Picks
23. Gaspar Noé’s Closet Picks
24. Alicia Malone’s Closet Picks
25. Laurie Anderson’s Closet Picks
26. Bong Joon-ho’s Top 10
27. Sonic Youth’s Top 10
28. Jane Campion’s Top 10
29. Allison Anders’s Top 10
30. Directed by Carl Dreyer
31. Directed by Melvin Van Peebles
32. Directed by Marlon Riggs
33. Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita
34. Starring Tatsuya Nakadai
35. Genre: Fantasy
36. Genre: Action/Adventure
37. Genre: Crime
38. Watch a film with a spine #201-350
39. Watch a film with a spine #800-950
40. Watch a film with a rating 3.0 or lower
41. 1920s
42. 1930s
43. 1940s
44. 1950s
45. 1960s
46. 1970s
47. 1980s
48. 1990s
49. 2000s
50. 2010s
51. 2020s
52. Any Criterion film on your watchlist
Progress: 52/52
This challenge took from January 4, 2023 to December 10, 2023. The average score I gave for this challenge was a 3.5.
The biggest surprise was Rolling Thunder Revue. I'd never watched a Martin Scorsese documentary before this year so I truly had no idea what to expect and somehow this film still managed to surpass my expectations. It was such a masterpiece of a documentary that completely challenged everything I thought to expect of a documentary. The biggest disappointment was Jeanne Dielman. I kind of figured I wasn't going to like it given the length and premise, but it's hard not to get your hopes up for a film that gets voted the greatest film of all time. But it was just... so dull. So painfully dull.
Top Three:
1. Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese
2. The Squid & The Whale
3. Ikiru
Bottom Three:
1. Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song
.2 The Night Porter
3. Ossos
Other Superlatives:
Best Performances: Takashi Shimura in Ikiru/Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday
Worst Performances: Melvin Van Peebles in Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasssss Song/Barbara Hewitt in Equinox
Most Beautiful: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Most Thought-Provoking: My Dinner with Andre
Made Me Cry: Ikiru
Most Fun:His Girl Friday
