Emerging as an annual cinephile tradition, The Criterion Collection has once again kicked off the New Year with an illustrated clue hinting at what fans of the boutique label can expect over the next 12 months. And if these hints pan out, it’s going to be another strong slate of releases in 2014.
Now a caveat: everything below is nothing more than educated guesses, but between the usually well-informed people at The Criterion Cast and Criterion Forum, they probably aren’t far off base. So what is Criterion teasing? Well, the clues seem to be pointing toward: Michael Cimino‘s “The Deer Hunter“; Frank Capra‘s “It’s a Wonderful Life” (previously issued by Criterion on laserdisc); Howard Hawks‘ classic “Red River“; the landmark documentary “Jazz On A Summer’s Day” (recently re-issued in a theatrical run); Lawrence Kasdan‘s “The Big Chill” and more.
Anyway, an annotated graphic and possible titles below (via Criterion Cast). What do you think? Share you thoughts with us in the comments section.
A. Bushes =
B. Reindeer behind a bush = Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter
C. Beetles = Richard Lester’s A Hard Day’s Night
D. Picnic scene = Picnic At Hanging Rock, Hideo Nakata’s Ringu (or Truffaut’s Wild Child?), Les Blank’s Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers, Sydney Pollack’s Tootsie, Roman Polanski’s MacBeth, Riot In Cell Block 11
E. Red Sun = Terence Young’s Red Sun 1971, Edward Yang’s A Brighter Summer Day
F. Red River = Howard Hawk’s Red River
G. Dancing people = Lawrence Kasdan’s The Big Chill
H. Exploding Head = David Cronenberg’s Scanners
I. California Raisin = Daniel Petrie’s A Raisin In The Sun (1961), The Big Chill
J. Head in the box = Jacques Tati box set
K. Angel leaving with a bell = Frank Capra’s It’s A Wonderful Life, Breaking The Waves
L. Band playing = Jazz On A Summer’s Day
M. Angels in the water = Jacques Demy’s Bay Of Angels, Charles Chaplin’s The Kid
N. Angel with a boa = Jacques Demy’s Lola
O. Angel with the hat = Jacques Demy’s Donkey Skin
P. Red Umbrella = Jacques Demy’s Umbrellas Of Cherbourg
