Today is a day that we celebrate the very best in film from the past year, as we all scour the Oscars nominations and figure out which films deserved the praise and which deserved a bit more, perhaps. But today is also a day that we can discuss some previously-released, acclaimed works of cinema that don’t really need to be argued about, as Criterion unveils the June 2021 additions to the Criterion Collection.
As with each and every other month, June is expected to bring some really great works to the Collection. Leading the way is probably Dee Rees’ underseen, but excellent debut feature, “Pariah.” And considering this is a relatively recent release (debuted in 2011), the Criterion set will include a ton of brand-new special features, including a new Making Of program featuring Rees, cinematographer Bradford Young, production designer Inbal Weinberg, producer Nekisa Cooper, and editor Mako Kamitsuna. Of course, you can also expect a solid 2K transfer with incredible sound, which is a Criterion specialty.
Another interesting addition to the Collection is the double-feature release of “Streetwise” and “Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell.” These two films were released decades apart from director Martin Bell and document the real story of Erin Blackwell. “Streetwise,” released in 1984, is a documentary about an unforgettable group of at-risk children growing up on the streets in Seattle. That acclaimed film was followed up in 2016 by ‘Tiny,’ which caught up with one of the subjects of the previous doc, Erin Blackwell, who is now in her mid-40s with 10 kids. The films both sport brand-new transfers and new interviews with the filmmaker and others.
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Also joining the Criterion Collection in June is “The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs,” a seven-film collection of the director’s most acclaimed works. There’s also Masaki Kobayashi’s landmark wartime epic, “The Human Condition,” Samuel Fuller’s crackling noir classic, “Pickup on South Street,” and “Visions of Eight,” a poetic sports documentary featuring the work of eight filmmakers including Miloš Forman, Kon Ichikawa, Mai Zetterling, and more.