On Compiling A Film Canon. June 2017 Update.

Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World is a movie that has somewhat fallen by the wayside in recent years. Thanks to the Criterion Collection it’s back in the limelight, and a natural candidate for Canon inclusion. I wrote more about Ghost World in a piece entitled ‘Rebel Without A Clue’ here.

Also reissued by Criterion in recent weeks was Nick Ray’s They Live By Night. Rarely has a work from an emerging artist arrived so fully formed in Hollywood. I can’t sing its praises highly enough, though I did try to do so here.

The contemporary is represented by Bruno Dumont’s Slack Bay, a dark comedy that is 2 parts The Rules Of The Game and one part The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Full thoughts on that can be found here.

Rounding out the month is Luis Bunuel’s Death In The Garden, which for me might just be the director’s masterpiece. A big statement, I know, but I can’t recommend it more enthusiastically. If you need further encouragement take a look here.

More information on the Hope Lies film canon can be found at our ongoing and regularly updated Letterboxd list.