Blu-ray Review: Criterion's Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) (1954) and The Magician (Ansiktet) (1958)

by Tony Dayoub

Today is the fifteenth, the point mid-month when the Criterion Collection typically reveals what new DVDs and Blu-rays they have in store for us three months from now. As we await with bated breath, let's take a brief look at two of their newest Blu-ray releases, the classic Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) and The Magician (Ansiktet).

DVD Review: Redbelt - Mamet's Mixed Martial Arts Movie is a Magnificent Mashup

by Tony Dayoub



Redbelt is writer-director David Mamet's exciting movie set in the burgeoning world of mixed martial arts. The movie's diverse cast is brought together from the worlds of sports, film, and Mamet's usual ensemble. This riveting film is a mashup of two classic genres, the samurai movie, and the fight movie. Using some of the traditional elements of these genres, and infusing the film with his own predilection for "now-you-see-it, now-you don't" trickery, Mamet (Homicide, State and Main) gives us a fresh take on what could have easily been a cliche-ridden story.