October 2022 Programming on the Criterion Channel Announced – CriterionCast.com

Each month, the programmers at the Criterion Channel produce incredible line-ups for their subscribers. For October, the Channel will feature films from Ishiro Honda, Tsai Ming-liang, Kathryn Bigelow, andmore!

Below youll find the programming schedule for the month, along with a complete list of titles that Criterion has in store for us. Dont forget to check the Criterion Channels main page regularly though, as they occasionally will drop surprises that arent included in the official pressrelease.

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The 1980s were defined by style and excess, and the eras horror movies were no exception. Innovations in practical effects made the nightmares more vivid than ever, and thanks to the rise of home video, the call was now coming from inside the house. While established talents such as John Carpenter (Prince of Darkness), Tobe Hooper (The Funhouse), David Cronenberg (Scanners), Michael Mann (The Keep), and Paul Schrader (Cat People) brought terrifying spectacles to the screen, often with the help of Hollywood studios, home video opened up a new market that allowed the independents to take the genre to unexpected andin the case of the UKs censorship of infamous Video Nastiescontroversial new heights. Curated by Clyde Folley, this ghastly tour through the decade of greed features ambitious art-pulp hybrids (White of the Eye), a Hitchcock-inspired trucker movie (Road Games), old-fashioned creature features (Q: The Winged Serpent), a vampiric Nicolas Cage (Vampires Kiss), and absolutely unclassifiable cult oddities (Society), bringing together some of the eighties most stylish, haunting, and outrageousvisions.

*Available November1

Scary yet seductive, the vampire has inspired more fascination than just about any other creature in horror history. Ever since Bela Lugosi set the standard for sinister sophistication with his iconic performance in Tod Brownings 1931 classic Dracula, filmmakers have been relentlessly reimagining and redefining the vampire myth as a delivery system for primal fear, edgy eroticism, and potent social commentary. Glam lesbian vamps (Daughters of Darkness), blaxploitation bloodsuckers (Blacula), pint-size Nordic Nosferatus (Let the Right One In), K-horror creeps (Thirst), and more are now all part of an ever-growing, multinational lore that will, truly, neverdie.

*Available November1

Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the Invisible Man: some of the most legendary movie monsters of all time originated at Universal Pictures in the 1930s, when the studio produced a string of gothic horror classics that would shape the development of the genre for decades to come. Featuring pioneering special effects and makeup, atmospheric mise-en-scne influenced by German expressionism, and unforgettable stars like Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, these classic chillers have left an enduring mark upon the collective culturalimagination.

Featuring an appreciation by filmmaker AlexCox

The man who gave the world Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and more, Ishiro Honda was the wizard behind the Japanese monster-movie (kaiju eiga) craze that thrilled legions of international fans in the 1950s and 60s. Turning the trauma of nuclear attack into larger-than-life pop spectacle, Honda created ferociously entertaining special-effects extravaganzas that doubled as resonant metaphors for the devastation of World War II. This tribute to Hondas ever-imaginative artistry features the creature features for which he is best remembered as well as lesser-known cult favorites like the psychedelic horror freakoutMatango.

With the indelibly disturbing nightmares Hereditary and Midsommar, Ari Aster has already established himself as one of twenty-first-century horror cinemas most audacious auteurs. In this edition of Adventures in Moviegoing, Aster sits down to discuss the unforgettable films that have shaped his life and work. Many of his choicesincluding Julien Duviviers moody noir Panique, the twisted psychological shocker Lady in a Cage, and Lucrecia Martels unnerving mystery The Headless Womanquiver with the same sense of dread that runs through Asters ownwork.

*Available November1

The sophomore feature from Tsai Ming-liang finds the acclaimed master of Taiwans Second New Wave demonstrating a confident new cinematic voice. Vive lamour follows three characters unknowingly sharing a supposedly empty Taipei apartment. The beautiful realtor May Lin (Yang Kuei-mei) brings her lover Ah-jung (Chen Chao-jung) to a vacant unit she has on the market, unaware that it is secretly being occupied by the suicidal Hsiao-kang (Lee Kang-sheng). The three cross paths in a series of precisely staged, tragicomic erotic encounters, but despite their physical proximity, they find themselves no closer to a personal connection. Featuring an intoxicating mix of longing and deadpan humor, Vive lamour catapulted Tsai to the top of the international filmmaking world and earned him the prestigious Golden Lion at the 1994 Venice International FilmFestival.

A masterpiece of American avant-garde cinema, Christopher Harriss 2000 thesis film is a haunting record of the crumbling, eerily depopulated landscapes of St. Louiss north side, an area almost exclusively inhabited by working-class and working-poor African Americans. Shooting in evocatively ghostly black-and-white 16 mm, Harris crafts an at once sorrowful and searching study of urban decay that speaks pointedly to Americas history of racialinjustice.

Long thought lost, this elegiac concert documentary captures the extraordinary 1990 reunion of estranged Velvet Underground bandmates Lou Reed and John Cale. The occasion for this landmark event was a live performance of their album Songs for Drella, a wry and wrenching tribute to their recently deceased former manager Andy Warhol (the nickname, Drella, a portmanteau of Dracula and Cinderella, hints at the complex feelings the two men held for the artist, who exerted a Svengali-like influence over their early careers). Filmed with evocative austerity by renowned cinematographer Ed Lachman (The Virgin Suicides, Carol), Songs for Drella is both a mesmerizing musical experience and a haunting reflection on memory, loss, regret, and the search forsolace.

Garnering comparisons to the work of David Lynch, Brian De Palma, and Pedro Almodvaryet undeniably on its own uncanny wavelengththe debut feature from Erin Vassilopoulos is a stylishly retro thriller tinged with surreal menace. On the run, Marian (Alessandra Mesa) goes to the only place she knows is safe: her childhood home. There, she is greeted by her estranged sister, Vivian (Ani Mesa), a stay-at-home housewife struggling to conceive and on the verge of a failing marriage. Though the two are identical twins, they live opposite lives. Marians mysterious return disrupts Vivians small-town routine, and the sisters must learn to reconnect and reconcile. When Marians haunted past finally catches up to her, their separate worlds collide, catapulting both sisters into gravedanger.

Superior is presented with the short film of the same name that inspiredit.

Barbara Stanwyck saddles up with Samuel Fuller for this audacious pulp western that puts a boldly feminist spin on thegenre.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: The feature-length documentary A Fuller Life, interviews with Fuller and critic Imogen Sara Smith, andmore.

Film noir hits the mean streets of 1990s Los Angeles in this stylish and subversive underworld odyssey from veteran actor-director BillDuke.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: An interview with Duke; a conversation among Duke, actor Laurence Fishburne, and critic Elvis Mitchell; a conversation between film scholars Racquel J. Gates and Michael B. Gillespie; andmore.

River Phoenix and Keanu Reeves make an unforgettable screen pairing in Gus Van Sants haunting tale of life and love on themargins.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: An illustrated audio conversation between Van Sant and filmmaker Todd Haynes, a documentary on the making of the film, an interview with film scholar Paul Arthur, andmore.

Vra Chytilovs subversive take on the 1980s teen horror movie is both a gonzo genre joyride and a blistering allegory for the psychic violence wrought by authoritarianoppression.

Kathryn Bigelows seductive breakout feature mixes moody art-house style with pulp pleasures to breathe fresh life into the vampirefilm.

The dark side of childhood imagination is conjured with exquisite eeriness in this unsettling evocation of innocencelost.

More women filmmakers featured in this monthsprogramming:

In this installment of our Spotlight series, critic and author Grady Hendrix examines the potent blend of emotional anguish and body horror that David Cronenberg tapped into for one of his most terrifyingclassics.

The lauded French Canadian filmmaker behind the recent blockbuster sensation Dune, Denis Villeneuve started his career with a series of darkly funny, offbeat films laced with the intriguing science-fiction themes that would recur in much of his later work. Following a striking, technologically prescient contribution to the omnibus anthology Cosmos, Villeneuve made his feature directorial debut with August 32nd on Earth, an idiosyncratic existential drama that established him as one of Canadian cinemas most vital new voices. Its follow-up, the audacious psychological fairy tale Maelstrm, is narrated by a fish with its head on a chopping block in a classically Villeneuvean touch of surprisingsurrealism.

Damon Runyons classic short story gets a sparkling screen update courtesy of an all-star cast let by Walter Matthau, Julie Andrews, and TonyCurtis.

Discover the unexpected story behind one of the most beloved books everwritten.

The most acclaimed of the many film adaptations of Anthony Hopes classic adventure novel is a superbly mounted tale of political intrigue, mistaken identities, and swashbucklingheroics.

This inspiring documentary traces a young powerlifters coming-of-age journey as she fights to hold on to her title while navigating the perils ofadolescence.

The magic of Disney becomes a young autistic mans lifeline in this powerfully honest and moving account of one familysjourney.

Fear comes in all forms in this selection of dread-inducing shorts. Featuring unsettling early works by masters of menace like David Lynch (The Alphabet) and Guillermo del Toro (Geometria) as well as innovative contemporary films that use horror to confront issues such as racism (Hair Wolf) and cultural genocide (The Black Case), these macabre miniatures may only last minutes, but they will haunt your psyche for muchlonger.

Sierra and The GreatRace

Get revved up for a pair of epic car races in a neon-surreal animated odyssey and an exuberant slapstickdelight.

Queer alienation gives way to an ecstatic experience of liberation in Dania Bdeirs dazzlingly conceived short, a Sundanceprizewinner.

Hot Mother and AutumnSonata

The often frayed bonds between parents and children are put under the microscope in these intense, claustrophobic portraits of extremely troubled mother-daughterrelationships.

The Criminals and TheEar

Two politically charged thrillers bristling with unseen menace evoke the ever-present sense of dread that underpins life in an authoritarian surveillancestate.

Specializing in portraits of powerful and often controversial figures, Marina Zenovich (Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired) began her career with these three idiosyncratic documentaries, which range from a candid look at the struggles of American independent filmmakers in the 1990s (Independents Day) to a self-reflexive exploration of her own fascination with a French politician turned convicted criminal turned actor (Who Is Bernard Tapie?) to an offbeat portrait of Tallinn, Estonia, as it prepares to host the Eurovision Song Contest (Estonia Dreams ofEurovision!).

Chinese filmmaker Nanfu Wang explores the limits of Americas rugged individualism in this troubling portrait of a young drifter who has turned his back onsociety.

With this exquisite fashion documentary, legendary designer Dries Van Noten offers an intimate look into his intricate creative process and rich homelife.

Benjamin Christensens legendary treatise on the history of witchcraft is a satanic brew of the scary, the gross, and the darklyhumorous.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: Audio commentary by film scholar Casper Tybjerg; Witchcraft Through the Ages (1968), a seventy-six-minute version of Hxan narrated by author William S. Burroughs; andmore.

More documentaries featured in this monthsprogramming:

Panic in the Streets andCaught

In her centennial month, the feisty, perpetually underrated Barbara Bel Geddes shines in a pair of tense, atmospheric noir classics from Elia Kazan and MaxOphls.

Dracula andBlacula

The ultimate vampire classic is paired with a subversive blaxploitation update in this twice-bitten doublefeature.

The Blob (1958) and The Blob(1988)

The gelatinous terror strikes and strikes again in the 1950s drive-in classic and its impressively gory Reagan-eraremake.

Frankenstein and Bride ofFrankenstein

Mary Shelleys fabled monster unleashes mayhem in a Universal horror classic and its wickedly wittysequel.

Bette Davis goes gloriously over-the-top batty in her and director Robert Aldrichs follow-up to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, a gothic melodrama overloaded with creepy swamp-water atmosphere, severed limbs, and high-camphistrionics.

Director Ti West tips his hat to the slasher classics of the 1970s and 80s with this intense, stylishly retro satanicshocker.

Charles Laughton and Bela Lugosi star in this twisted H. G. Wells tale of science run amok from Hollywoods pre-Code horrorheyday.

SUPPLEMENTAL FEATURES: Audio commentary by film historian Gregory Mank; a conversation among filmmaker John Landis, makeup artist Rick Baker, and genre expert Bob Burns; andmore.

*Available in the U.S.only

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October 2022 Programming on the Criterion Channel Announced - CriterionCast.com

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero