the criterion collection has a fantastic new(ish) feature that lets you build your own digital collection and create lists of your choosing. I've been a supporter of their stellar dvd releases for about ten or twelve years now and have accumulated more than two hundred spine-numbers. and since this blog represents the intersection point of metal and cinema, I figured I'd create a list of the ten most metal criterion films. these are films that every metalhead should at least be able to appreciate, if not outright enjoy.
my original list can be viewed on the criterion website here.
- antichrist by lars von trier - this one made waves when it premiered at cannes. it's filled with genital mutilation, murderous lovers, a cabin in a mysterious forest and surreal imagery. which would also describe many death and black metal albums.
- häxan by benjamin christensen - demon worship, satanic rituals, what more can I say?
- diabolique by henri-georges clouzot - a murder plot, a missing body, tons of suspense. very metal.
- videodrome by david cronenberg - I'm pretty sure this one's been sampled by dozens of brutal death metal bands, so that alone might warrant it's inclusion. but the subject matter only gets more prevalent with each passing day.
- salò by pier paulo pasolini - definitely the hardest film in the criterion collection to sit through, this is films makes a spectacle out of the torture of children.
- the seventh seal by ingmar bergman - death personified, the middle ages, the plague...sure, it's not the most violent or visceral, but it's an amazing piece of cinema that juxtaposes light and dark.
- the vanishing by george sluizer - talk about a metal ending: a man gets tormented by his girlfriend's kidnapper only to end up sealed in a coffin and buried alive.
- man bites dog by rémy belvaux, et al. - reminiscent of modern goregrind in that it mixes comedy with extremely graphic violence. but that initial shock soon wears off to reveal a film that dealt with the concept of reality television well before its' time.
- schizopolis by steven soderbergh - sure, soderbergh has gone on to make a lot of crap, but this one is an early gem that acts almost as a filmic representation of chaotic hardcore in the way it jumps between scenes, places, characters, and ideas the same way that genre jumps between time signatures.
- shallow grave by danny boyle - with clever dialogue, great pacing and impeccable tension, danny boyle's debut demonstrates how fear and paranoia only build on each other, higher and higher, until there's no way out.
there's my list. feel free to chime in below with your own thoughts and picks. check out the title links to view trailers and ordering info. every single one of criterion's releases is worth your time and money.
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