The Criterion Collection Complete

CHABROL, Claude (France) La Cérémonie [1995] Spine #1199 Blu-ray Claude Chabrol’s forty-ninth feature stands as the crowning achievement of his prolific career—a coolly riveting study of class dynamics, the psychology of crime, and the sordid secrets lurking beneath the veneer of everyday life. A fascinatingly enigmatic, César Award–winning Isabelle Huppert is the chaotic yin to Sandrine Bonnaire’s tightly coiled yang. They are, respectively, a small-town postal worker and a maid to a wealthy family, a pair of outsiders who form a mysterious alliance that gradually, almost imperceptibly, goes haywire. With a master’s control of sound, editing, and suspense, Chabrol constructs a tour de force of sustained tension that delivers each brilliant shock with ice-pick precision. 112 minutes 2.0 Surround Color in French 1:66:1 Criterion Release 2023 Director/Writer Claude Chabrol  was 65 when he directed Cérémonie . Other Chabrol films in the Collection: #580: Le Beau Serge (1958) #5...

SCORSESE, Martin (United States) Mean Streets [1973] Spine #1198 Blu-ray Martin Scorsese emerged as a generation-defining filmmaker with this gritty portrait of 1970s New York City, one of the most influential works of American independent cinema. Set in the insular Little Italy neighborhood of Scorsese’s youth,  Mean Streets  follows guilt-ridden small-time ringleader Charlie (Harvey Keitel) as he deals with the debts owed by his dangerously volatile best pal, Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro), and pressure from his headstrong girlfriend, Teresa (Amy Robinson). As their intertwined lives spiral out of control, Scorsese showcases his precocious mastery of film style—evident in everything from his propulsive editing rhythms to the lovingly curated soundtrack—to create an electrifying vision of sin and redemption. 112 minutes Monaural Color 1:85:1 Criterion Release 2023 Director/Writer Martin Scorsese  was 31 when he directed Mean Streets . Other Scorsese films in the Coll...

HUNG, Sammo Kam-Bo (Hong Kong) My Lucky Stars [1985] Spine #1197f Blu-ray Longtime friends Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao—who had worked together since childhood as part of a Beijing opera troupe—join forces for this rollicking blend of action thrills and lunatic humor, which sees Chan’s undercover agent recruiting his band of outlaw buddies to travel to Japan in order to help him catch a rogue cop who has stolen millions in jewels. Though not the main star, Chan lights up the screen in the film’s most exhilarating set pieces: a kinetic amusement-park-set opening and a surreal haunted-house finale, both stylishly and creatively staged by director-star Hung. 96 minutes Monaural Color In Cantonese 1:78:1 Criterion Release 2023 Director/Writer Sammo Kam-Bo Hung  was 33 when he directed My Lucky Stars . Other Hung films in the Collection: #1244: Eastern Condors (1987) The Film a Film Rating (0-60): 60 The Extras The Booklet Commentary Video tribute Documentary 1 Document...

CHAN, Jackie (Hong Kong) The Young Master [1980] Spine #1197e Blu-ray Jackie Chan’s second directorial effort was also a film of important firsts: his first for upstart studio Golden Harvest and his first with cowriter Edward Tang, who would become a key collaborator. The star-filmmaker shows his increasing confidence with this endlessly inventive tale of a martial-arts student (Chan) who goes in search of his exiled brother, only to become entangled in a case of mistaken identity—with much amusement provided by Chan’s interplay with his real-life former schoolmate Yuen Biao. The epic finale, in which Chan goes from human punching bag to raging bull, is a bruising highlight of his career. 105 minutes Monaural Color In Cantonese 2:39:1 Criterion Release 2023 Director/Writer Jackie Chan was 26 when he directed The Young Master . Other Chan films in the Collection: #1197c: The Fearless Hyena (1979) #971: Police Story (1985) #972: Police Story 2 (1988) The Film a Film Rating (0-60):...

CHEN, Chuan (Hong Kong) The Fearless Hyena II [1983] Spine #1197d Blu-ray By the early 1980s, Jackie Chan’s popularity made him box-office gold. Thus when, midway through filming the sequel to his hit  The Fearless Hyena,  Chan walked off the production to defect to rival studio Golden Harvest, producer Lo Wei opted to complete the film with the help of stunt doubles and recycled footage. The result—the tale of two lazy cousins (Chan and Austin Wai Tin-chi) who join forces to avenge the deaths of their fathers—may not be pure Chan, but there are plenty of loony pleasures (including our hero fighting an adversary with his feet!) to be had. 91 minutes Monaural Color In Cantonese 2:39:1 Criterion Release 2023 Director/Writer Chuan Chen  directed The Fearless Hyena II . The Film a Film Rating (0-60): 60 The Extras The Booklet Commentary Video tribute Documentary 1 Documentary 2 Documentary 3 Controversial altered ending Theatrical trailer Extras Rating (0-40): 39 60 + ...

CHAN, Jackie (Hong Kong) The Fearless Hyena [1979] Spine #1197c Blu-ray An auteur emerges as Jackie Chan—working for the first time as director, in addition to serving as cowriter, lead actor, and martial-arts choreographer—takes full charge of his on-screen image. Perfecting the archetypal Chan character, he stars here as a rapscallion student of his martial-arts-master grandfather (Hong Kong cinema legend James Tien) who uses his kung-fu prowess to fight challengers for money—until a personal tragedy forces him to get serious. Experimenting with various lenses and camera setups, Chan maximizes the action’s visual impact, while unleashing some of his most innovative fight choreography in a stunning, whirlwind display of “emotional kung fu.” 97 minutes Monaural Color In Cantonese 2:39:1 Criterion Release 2023 Director/Writer Jackie Chan  was 25 when he directed The Fearless Hyena . Other Chan films in the Collection: #1197e: The Young Master (1980) #971: Police Story (1985) #972:...

LO, Wei (Hong Kong) Spiritual Kung Fu [1978] Spine #1197b Blu-ray Jackie Chan’s kung-fu clowning gets a supernatural twist in this off-the-wall action fantasy. He stars as a cheeky student at a Shaolin temple who must fight to protect his order, with help from some unexpected mentors: five pink-haired, silver-leotard-sporting extraterrestrial spirits who train him in arcane, animal-style martial arts with an otherworldly flair. The ghostly high jinks (realized with eye-poppingly outlandish special effects) give way to a last half hour that’s near-nonstop action, with Chan single-handedly taking on eighteen stick-wielding monks in a blistering battle royal. 98 minutes Monaural Color In Mandarin 2:39:1 Criterion Release 2023 Director/Writer Wei Lo  was 60 when he directed Spiritual Kung Fu . The Film a Film Rating (0-60): 60 The Extras The Booklet Commentary Video tribute Documentary 1 Documentary 2 Documentary 3 Controversial altered ending Theatrical trailer Extras Rating (0-40):...

CHAN, Chi-Hwa (Hong Kong) Half a Loaf of Kung Fu [1978] Spine #1197a Blu-ray Like a live-action comic book, this antic farce lets Jackie Chan, choreographing his own fight sequences, cut loose with a wild parody of the martial-arts genre. He plays a bumbling wannabe kung-fu master who, when he assumes the identity of a dead hero, finds himself embroiled in a series of absurd misadventures and the search for a pair of mystical artifacts. Cartoon sound effects and send-ups of everything from Popeye to  Jesus Christ Superstar  are part of the lighthearted fun—not to mention Chan fighting a bald adversary with his own wig! 96 minutes Monaural Color In Cantonese 2:35:1 Criterion Release 2023 Director/Writer Chi-Hwa Chan was 32 when he directed Half a Loaf of Kung Fu . The Film a Film Rating (0-60): 60 The Extras The Booklet Commentary Video tribute Documentary 1 Documentary 2 Documentary 3 Controversial altered ending Theatrical trailer Extras Rating (0-40): 39 60 + 39 = 99...

Spine #1197 Blu-ray Originally tapped as a potential successor to Bruce Lee, Hong Kong martial-arts phenom Jackie Chan soon established his own unique screen persona, blending goofball slapstick and bone-crunching kung fu into intricate feats of supercharged athleticism. Tracing his rise from breakout star to full-fledged auteur, these six unabashedly silly, unstoppably entertaining early-career highlights find Chan refining the lovably mischievous image that would make him a global icon, while also assuming greater creative control over his projects—first as his own martial-arts choreographer, and later as a writer-director who set a thrilling new standard for daredevil action comedy. Criterion Release 2023 #1197a: Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978) #1197b: Spiritual Kung Fu (1978) #1197c: The Fearless Hyena (1979) #1197d: The Fearless Hyena II (1983) #1197e: The Young Master (1980) #1197f: My Lucky Stars (1985) By Director By Spine #