Brothers and collaborators John David and Malcolm Washington didn’t come to play within the Criterion Closet. As author/director and star of “The Piano Lesson” Malcolm put it initially of their go to, “We’re right here to do some purchasing.” And store they did, filling their tote luggage with a few of cinema’s biggest delights, beginning with the hefty 10-film collection from Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieślowski, “Dekalog,” Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Mirror,” and the Hughes Brothers’ “Menace II Society.”
“Really, I discovered loads from Allen Hughes,” John David mentioned of the “Menace II Society” co-director. “The affect and the significance of sound and music and the way it can actually change the temper or the scene in a approach that I by no means stopped to consider it earlier than.”
He additionally praised the work of John Cassavetes, notably “Faces” and “Opening Evening,” calling the naturalism on show “very inspiring.” Calling it one of many “nice movie love tales,” Malcolm nabbed the collections of each Jacques Demy and Agnès Varda.
“These two unbelievable artists,” he mentioned of the married filmmakers. “One factor I like about movie is the dialog between artists, and never solely between one another — [composer] Michel Legrand tying them collectively in so some ways — however if you happen to have a look at ‘Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ and also you have a look at ‘Do the Proper Factor,’ you see artists in dialog.”
Hyping Spike Lee up even additional, Malcolm known as for Criterion so as to add extra of his movies to the gathering and supplied adulation for his work on “Malcolm X.” The movie is headlined by their father, Denzel Washington, in a efficiency that earned his third Oscar nomination.
“‘Malcolm X’ is the best achievement in American filmmaking I’ve ever seen,” mentioned Malcolm. “So many unbelievable artists placing unbelievable work up. Huge Zel, after all, Angela Bassett, Ernest Dickerson, Terence Blanchard with one of many biggest scores — that brass — and Spike. Spike is ceaselessly within the pantheon.”
The brothers went on to debate the opening of the movie, which includes footage of the Rodney King beating, an occasion which occurred whereas “Malcolm X” was being edited. Earlier than dashing out, John David made one final fast seize with Jim Jarmusch’s “Ghost Canine: The Approach of the Samurai.”
Watch Malcolm and John David’s full Criterion Closet go to beneath.