When it rains, it pours.

It has been pouring water out of the sky on and off for the past week, I'd say, and I really wish the title of this post were actually referencing rain. Did you know that a cat's claw can puncture and potentially fatally injure another cat without so much as a blood splatter or any other visible marker letting one know that something were amiss? I did not know this, but I am learning the hard way that this is true. Nursing an ill kitty back to health is already challenging, but it's been made more so as my husband has had to travel out-of-state to tend to his recently deceased aunt's affairs. To be honest, I really don't wish to talk about anything too heavy, so I'll share with you, as if I were a 'someone' in the film industry, my Criterion Closet picks. 

First I should ask if you've seen the videos shared by Criterion of film industry folks literally standing in a closet-sized room looking at shelves of movies carefully before selecting their prized favorite flicks? If you like the person who has been selected to participate, then it can be a fun watch. Here's the Criterion link for those who wish to learn more--Criterion 

Here is my film list:

1) Laura, a film by Otto Preminger starring Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Vincent Price and Clifton Webb, has got to be my most favorite of the film noir genre, next to Double Indemnity. It's an engaging watch that I never tire of even though I know 'who done it'! Release date: 1944.

2) High Tide, a film by the remarkable Gillian Armstrong and starring the incomparable Judy Davis from 1987, still packs a punch as a tense, well-acted mother/daughter drama for the ages. Like Australian accents and Elvis tribute acts? You'll like this!

3) The Third Man, Carol Reed directing and starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton and Trevor Howard, is probably my favorite Orson Welles film. The film is set in post-war Vienna and shot mostly on-location. There's intrigue, affairs of the heart, illegal activity and more! What I really like were the bit players speaking untranslated dialect in the film. If you've an ear for Austrian dialects, then you'll find these bits of dialogue a real treat. 

4) The American Friend, an early-ish Wim Wenders film from 1977, starring Bruno Ganz and Dennis Hopper, is an adaptation of a Patricia Highsmith novel called Ripley's Game. The film has the swagger of American '70s cinema a la Robert Evans with a gritty continental flare. Speaking of flare, don't forget to check out Ganz's trouser game in the film. Har-har. 

5) Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean, directed by Robert Altman and starring Karen Black, Cher, Kathy Bates and Sandy Dennis is a film that feels a bit overlooked in Altman's oeuvre. Based on the play of the same name, it's about an all-female Jimmy Dean fan club who convene 20 years after Dean's death in 1955. It's a fun romp that retains the feel of a stage play. 

There are so many great films; this list could be longer! So, I'm curious to know--what would some of your Criterion picks be?