Belladonna of Sadness (1973)

The Crit Club is a brave bunch, no stranger to tackling any movie, whatever its reputation. To prove our courage, this week we’re watching the notorious 1987 box office bomb Ishtar, written and directed by Elaine May. Its plot is a goofy buddy comedy starring Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman as aspiring songwriters who somehow find themselves a gig in Morocco. But the film’s legacy is one of reported mismanagement, studio interference, and deep-seated grudges, which led to a reputation as being one of the worst movies ever made. Did we buy into that hype, or was there an oasis to find in the desert of Ishtar? Listen and find out.  And join us next week for a Wizard Pick™, where we’ll watch the 1936 British science fiction film Things to Come. You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

It’s a real date night week here at Crit Club where we’re watching the often-banned, taboo-breaking In the Realm of the Senses from 1976. From Nagisa Ōshima, this fictionalized account of a Japanese true crime incident that happened in the 1930s follows two lovers as they fall down the well of each other’s hedonistic appetites. That “date night” thing mentioned earlier was sarcasm, and all sorts of trigger warnings should be applied to a viewing and discussion of this cinematic curiosity.  Next week should prove to be a bit more audience, though not box office, friendly. As Peter picks the Elaine May reputable disaster of a film that many believe destroyed her career. We’re watching Ishtar. You should watch it as well and listen along! You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

That train whistle blowing you hear is the Crit Club hustling their way to watch 3:10 to Yuma, Delmar Daves’ classic 1957 western based on an Elmore Leonard short story (which you can read here). This compact story puts a modest rancher in an unexpected position with an infamous gang leader, telling a timeless story of morality, humanity, connection, and dread. Did we find the ride comfortable or would we have rather been tied to the tracks? Listen and find out! And join us next week for a Coire pick, where he has challenged us to watch the oft-banned 1976 erotic art film In the Realm of the Senses by Nagisa Ōshima. You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

The Crit Club spent this week trying to ward away dread with the 1981 Hong Kong martial arts, action, comedy/horror movie Dreadnaught. This physical masterpiece tells the story of two warring schools, a sheepish launderer, and, why not, a murderous, face-painted psychopath. Directed by the legendary Yuen Woo-ping, Dreadnaught is a full on, nonstop, slapstick bonanza. Did we find it as watchable as the film certainly thinks it is? Listen to find out! And join us next week, where Angela is picking the original 1957 western 3:10 to Yuma. All aboard! You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

Bonjour mes amis! This week, the Crit Club is heading back to France, riding the first swells of that New Wave with François Truffaut’s 1959 The 400 Blows. Routinely lauded as one of the best films ever made, this small, active movie follows the adolescent discomfort of one young Antoine Doinel as he struggles to find a place in the trappings of school, his home, and society at large. Did we find it to be one of the best films? Did we long for a simpler time in the post-war Parisian school system? Were we shocked to find that gravitrons existed back then? Listen and find out! And join us next week for a Wizard Pick™, where we’ll watch the 1981 Hong Kong action/horror film Dreadnaught! You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

Crit Club here with our first documentary in a long while, with Hearts and Minds, a devastating depiction of the Vietnam War. Told in a relatively modern way, Hearts and Minds is a wide-ranging film that explores the war through D.C. insider interviews and crushing footage from the invaded country. Join us next week for a PP (peter pick), where we will watch François Truffaut's 1959 coming of age movie, The 400 Blows. You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

The Crit Club is traveling through time into the distant future of 2021 with the help of the 2003 film It’s All About Love by club-fave Thomas Vinterberg. This surreal, sci-fi-esque movie revolves around the disintegrating relationship between Claire Danes and Jaoquin Phoenix amid a world of people dying of broken hearts and gravitational distortions. All wrapped around Polish-ish accents and ice skating. Sound intriguing? Well give a listen and see if we were warmed up by this ice age tale.  Join us next week for a Coire pick, and our first doc in a while! We’ll watch the 1974 Vietnam War documentary Hearts and Minds.  You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

This week, the Crit Club is giving in to their inner Goth by watching Ken Russel’s 1986 Romantic-era, maximum freakout, psycho-sexual drama Gothic. This movie follows a super wholesome and fun-looking evening based ever so loosely on true events, where Lord Byron hosts Percy Shelley, Mary Shelley and a few others, encouraging them to dive into the sickly depths of their souls’ darkest fears. Just a chill night in. What did the Crit Club think? Well. you’ll have to listen, dear reader! And get ready for next week, when Angela will take us to explore another film by Thomas Vinterberg, with 2003’s It’s All About Love. You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

The Crit Club is riding this wave of late stage capitalism right back to 1989 so we can learn how to better ourselves with the help of Bruce Robinson’s black comedy How to Get Ahead in Advertising. This satirical bit of consumer culture backlash examines the lengths to which the pressure of a pitch can get to one specific ad man, and we watch him unravel in a pretty unique way. But what did we think? You’ll have to listen to find out.  We’re going to take a week off to celebrate Coire’s birthday (thanks for being born!), but after that, we’ll be back together for a Wizard Pick™ (cue ripping guitar riff). We’ll hang around in the UK’s 1980s and watch Ken Russell’s 1986 movie Gothic. Join us for that! You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.

Deep in the heart of a brittle northern winter, four friends (the Crit Club) decide to attend a Danish 60th birthday party as we watch 1998’s The Celebration. The first of the famous (infamous?) Dogma95 movies, The Celebration has us descend on a wealthy manor for a patriarch’s special day and leaves us stranded in stark reality to watch the family’s dirty laundry fill the whole space with an unforgettable stench. Come and listen to what we thought of this fascinating movie and its place in larger film history.  And next week, join us for a Peter PIck (no sound effect found). He’s picking the 1989 British black comedy How to Get Ahead in Advertising from Bruce Robinson.  You can follow the whole of our podcast, aided by ⁠this helpful spreadsheet⁠ which documents all the scores we gave to the movies we have watched. And drop us a line! You can email us at [email protected] or find us on Instagram or Threads with the handle @critclubpodcast. Crit Club's theme song and art were made by co-host ⁠Peter Allen Clark⁠.