As far as viral video #content goes, the Criterion Collection have got it nailed down with their Criterion Closet series. A sort of cinephile version of Supermarket Sweep, it’s seen all kinds of world-class filmmakers come to the headquarters of the great video label, and get to take with them whatever they can carry from their back catalog, while talking about some of their favorite filmmakers.
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The latest to get in there, following the likes of Barry Jenkins, Mike Leigh and Edgar Wright, is Ben Wheatley, who dropped by Criterion HQ on the press tour for his recent, highly enjoyable “Free Fire.” The “Kill List” helmer is, as most visiting filmmakers seem to be, visibly thrilled and like a kid in a candy store, and picks out a fine selection of movies, including “The Seven Samurai,” “Seconds,” “Zatoichi,” “Things To Come” and “Fishing With John.”
As ever, the highlight of these videos are always seeing directors get to talk about cinema, and Wheatley doesn’t disappoint, whether it’s discussing the influence of the camerawork in “Grey Gardens,” or recommending “Sweet Smell Of Success” director Alexander Mackendrick’s “On Filmmaking” (correctly) as the best book ever written about making movies. Watch Wheatley below, and dream of the day when you might get to be in that closet.