I recently signed up for Letterboxd, after a cute person on Tinder mentioned she was using it to catalog the growing list of Criterion films she was watching through a lonely pandemic. I had recently bitten the bullet and signed up for a Criterion membership after enough weekend binges of Netflix Top 10 shows, so I was intrigued.
This week, someone posted a Criterion Challenge, which invited participants to watch a Criterion movie every week for one year based on specific categories laid out by the poster.
This got me excited. People usually create challenges around how many books they read in a year; or work projects they don’t fuck up on; or times they’re able to pull themselves out of bed long enough to stretch their bodies into shapes that make them live longer.
But not how many movies they watch.
I think there’s this weird negative association with watching stuff, as if it’s one of the least productive things you could do with yourself. But that’s only because we allow it to become some depressing deep dive into whatever bullshit is being algorithmically served to us based on other stuff we’ve watched that was also served to us, and not a more thoughtful exploration of a piece of art and how it affects us.
I started creating a watchlist for the criterion challenge, but the categories were pretty limiting and didn’t give me enough space to explore more films originating from places outside the US. So I made new rules.
My new challenge: Watch 50 Criterion films in 2021 (I realize there are actually 52 weeks in a year, but 50 sounded a lot more official, so I’m sticking with it).
Criteria
- Must be available for streaming on The Criterion Channel
- Represent different countries as much as possible
- Watch movies in order of release date, starting with oldest
- No films you've already seen
- No repeating directors
Using these guidelines, I came up with the ultimate watchlist for 2021, and would be stoked if you joined me in watching them. 😎
How it’ll work:
I’ll announce each week’s film here on Sundays, along with an opportunity to watch it and discuss (virtually, for now) with me sometime that week.
You can also watch whenever it’s convenient for you and participate in a discussion thread with other friends at the end of each week.
Join the 50 Film Challenge, make your own list on LetterBoxd, or just hop into screenings and discussions when it’s convenient for you. I set up this challenge as a fun opportunity to get myself to watch more classic cinema and I’d love to have you along for however much you’d like.
Note: I will never charge you to watch movies with me, but a Criterion membership does cost $11/month and can only be accessed in the US and Canada, so keep that in mind if you want to watch these on your own.
The 50 Films
(Also in spreadsheet form for my Type A frenz)
Jan 3 - 9
Safety Last! - Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
USA, 1923, Action ComedyJan 10 - 16
M - Fritz Lang
Germany, 1931, ThrillerJan 17 - 23
Trouble in Paradise - Ernst Lubitsch
USA, 1932, Comedy RomanceJan 24 - 30
Modern Times - Charlie Chaplin
USA, 1936, Comedy DramaJan 31 - Feb 6
Children of Paradise - Marcel Carné
France, 1945, Drama RomanceFeb 7 - 13
Ikiru - Akira Kurosawa
Japan, 1952, DramaFeb 14 - 20
Godzilla - Ishirō Honda
Japan, 1954, Sci-fi ThrillerFeb 21 - 27
Ordet - Carl Theodor Dreyer
Denmark, 1955, DramaFeb 28 - Mar 6
The Cranes Are Flying - Mikhail Kalatozov
USSR, 1957, War DramaMar 7 - 13
The Seventh Seal - Ingmar Bergman
Sweden, 1957, Drama FantasyMar 14 - 20
Nights of Cabiria - Federico Fellini
Italy, 1957, DramaMar 21 - 27
Paths of Glory - Stanley Kubrick
USA, 1957, DramaMar 28 - Apr 3
The 400 Blows - François Truffaut
France, 1959, DramaApr 4 - 10
Good Morning - Yasujirō Ozu
Japan, 1959, Family DramaApr 11 - 17
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs - Mikio Naruse
Japan, 1960, DramaApr 18 - 24
Vivre Sa Vie - Jean-Luc Godard
France, 1962, DramaApr 25 - May 1
Il Sorpasso - Dino Risi
Italy, 1962, Comedy DramaMay 2 - 8
The Fabulous Baron Munchausen - Karel Zeman
Czechoslovakia, 1962, Fantasy AdventureMay 9 - 15
The Big City - Satyajit Ray
India, 1963, DramaMay 16 - 22
Red Desert - Michelangelo Antonioni
Italy, 1964, DramaMay 23 - 29
Le Bonheur - Agnès Varda
France, 1965, Romance DramaMay 30 - Jun 5
Daisies - Věra Chytilová
Czechoslovakia, 1966, Comedy FantasyJun 6 - 12
PlayTime - Jacques Tati
France / Italy, 1967, ComedyJun 13 - 19
Night of the Living Dead - George A. Romero
USA, 1968, HorrorJun 20 - 26
Kuroneko - Kaneto Shindō
Japan, 1968, Horror FantasyJun 27 - Jun 3
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - Luis Buñuel
France / Italy / Spain, 1972, ComedyJul 4 - 10
Solaris - Andrei Tarkovsky
Russian Federation, 1972, Sci-FiJul 11 - Jul 17
F For Fake - Orson Welles
Germany / France / Iran, 1973, DocumentaryJul 18 - 24
The Spirit of the Beehive - Víctor Erice
Spain, 1973, Drama FantasyJul 25 - 31
Badlands - Terrence Malick
USA, 1973, CrimeAug 1 - 7
Céline and Julie Go Boating - Jacques Rivette
France, 1974, Comedy FantasyAug 8 - 14
A Woman Under the Influence - John Cassavetes
USA, 1974, DramaAug 15 - 21
Hearts and Minds - Peter Davis
USA, 1974, War DocumentaryAug 22 - 28
Manila in the Claws of Light - Lino Brocka
Philippines, 1975, Drama MysteryAug 29 - Sep 4
Fox and His Friends - Rainer Werner Fassbinder
West Germany 1975, Drama RomanceSep 5 - 11
Harlan County U.S.A. - Barbara Kopple
USA, 1976, DocumentarySep 12 - 18
The Ascent - Larisa Shepitko
USSR / 1977, War DramaSep 19 - 25
Pixote - Héctor Babenco
Brazil, 1981, Crime DramaSep 26 - Oct 2
L'Argent - Robert Bresson
France / Switzerland, 1983, Crime ThrillerOct 3 - 9
Born In Flames - Lizzie Borden
USA / 1983, Sci-Fi DramaOct 10 - 16
Streetwise - Martin Bell
USA, 1984, DocumentaryOct 17 - 23
Tampopo - Juzo Itami
Japan, 1985, ComedyOct 24 - 30
Close-Up - Abbas Kiarostami
Iran, 1990, Crime DocumentaryOct 31 - Nov 6
Fallen Angels - Wong Kar-wai
Hong Kong, 1995, Action RomanceNov 7 - 13
La Haine - Mathieu Kassovitz
France, 1995, DramaNov 14 - 20
Breaking the Waves - Lars von Trier
Denmark, 1996, Romance DramaNov 21 - 27
Secrets & Lies - Mike Leigh
UK / France, 1996, DramaNov 28 - Dec 4
The Piano Teacher - Michael Haneke
Germany / Austria / France, 2001, Drama RomanceDec 5 - Dec 11
Fish Tank - Andrea Arnold
UK / Netherlands, 2009, Drama