Film curation and sharing has experienced a rapid increase in popularity in recent years. The popularity of the film-logging social media site, Letterboxd, has made film obsession a modern personality trait, and the ‘Four Favourites’ arrangement on Letterboxd profiles has become a new way to wear our pop-culture loves on our sleeves, like patches on an old punk’s denim jacket. As Letterboxd’s popularity has grown the site’s own social media team have quickly discovered that while cinephiles love showing off their favourite films to others, what they love even more is when their favourite directors, actors and other creatives share their favourites, so that we can extoll or criticise them for their tastes. For Letterboxd, this has resulted in the ‘Four Favourites’ segment: a rapid-fire, social media clip-friendly, red-carpet interview question where creatives are asked to name their four favourite films as they would appear on a Letterboxd profile. The clips are entertaining for quickly digestible content, but when it comes to investigating a creative’s taste in-depth and hearing the stories of their lives with film, the superior video series is undoubtedly Criterion’s Closet Picks series.
For those unfamiliar with their work, Criterion are a film preservation company who, in addition to having the best streaming service for lovers of pre-1980 cinema (www.criterionchannel.com, accessible only in the U.S. unless you’re nifty with VPNs), have become the biggest name in boutique 4K and Blu-Ray releases of films. Their DVDs and Blu-Rays, once niche items but now available to purchase on Amazon or at Tower Records, contain detailed essays about the films, extensive special features, and often-exquisite art covers, essentially a plethora of stuff that film nerds love.
It is a closet full of these DVD and Blu-Ray discs that visitors to Criterion’s HQ in New York are invited into, and here they can speak about some of the classic films that have inspired, challenged, awakened and thrilled them. Due to the specialised nature of Criterion’s releases, many of the films may only be recognisable to the most die-hard of cinephiles. However, the passion which the films invoke in the guests and the stories they tell in response to them have made the videos, generally released twice a week, appointment viewing for many cinema fans.
Criterion Closet Picks is a video series that the company has run since the mid-2010s. The earlier videos showcase not a closet, but a storeroom, and the videos are generally very short, poorly lit and unstructured in format. Guests frequently ask whether or not recording had begun and seek guidelines of what the videographers want them to talk about. The more recent wave of videos started in 2020, not long after the launch of The Criterion Channel, and features the closet that viewers will be more familiar with: a standard office cupboard lined with shelves featuring all of the films Criterion has released or reissued since its inception. The videos based in this room are slickly edited and uniform to each other, lasting somewhere between four and eight minutes, and ending with a list of the films selected by the guest.
Guests are filmmakers, actors, writers or film-adjacent personalities, but some film-fanatic musicians also appear, such as Yo La Tengo, St. Vincent, DEVO and Greg Gonzalez of Cigarettes After Sex. Many of the guests are highly recognisable pop culture figures, such as Channing Tatum and Zoe Kravitz, while others are smaller, indie figures, like (at time of writing) the Closet’s second-to-last featured guest, Indian director Payal Kapadia.
The press cycle of a film is often visibly draining on creatives, leading to rehearsed or disinterested answers in interviews. Visits to the Closet allow us to see these figures in a new light: as budding artists seeking inspiration, or as young and impressionable people seeking emotional catharsis from art.
Whether you’re looking for artistic inspiration from some of our greatest film creatives, new additions to your watchlist, a chance to smirk at young actors waxing lyrical about the French New-Wave, or simply, like me, a calming, ASMR-adjacent video series to help you relax before you go to sleep, the Closet Picks series is well worth your time, with the best videos often coming from the lesser known names who feature. Regardless of your reason for interest, below are some of the best Closet videos to start with for different experiences and moods.
Sweetest Moment: Willem Dafoe
It will shock no film-lover to discover that Willem Dafoe is a legend, and something of a cinephile himself. One of Hollywood’s most prolific actors for over forty years, Dafoe is probably most recognisable for his role as The Green Goblin in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man films, as well as his reprisal of the role in Spider-Man: No Way Home. In his video Willem Dafoe’s Closet Picks, Dafoe discusses the Japanese horror film Onibaba, and the work of French actress Isabelle Huppert.
Then, after a few minutes of browsing, Dafoe exclaims and yells, “Ladies and gentlemen!” before pulling out a copy of the Criterion edition of Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ (featuring a young Dafoe on the cover) and excitedly asking, “Do you know this man?!” It’s a moment of absolute purity; a legend of his craft, one of the most respected living actors becoming as giddy as a child at Christmas at discovering that his own work features in a collection with others whom he admires greatly. It’s likely a favourite at the Criterion offices given how much credence it bestows on their work, and how actors of Dafoe’s calibre view their work and its importance to cinema as a medium.
And it’s also just really friggin’ cute.
A Slice of Home: Kerry Condon
It’s a toss-up between Kerry Condon and Ayo Edibiri for the most iconic Irish representation in the Criterion Closet, but I’m going to shout out our Kerry for producing so many distinctly Irish moments in the hallowed home of great cinema. She starts off by debating whether or not to choose a film because it will necessitate climbing up on a stool in “these feckin’ heels”. She goes on to call Michael Fassbender’s character in Andrea Arnold’s film Fish Tank “a right bollocks”, before referencing The Tin Drum as among a group of films she saw in her early twenties and doesn’t remember because “like, I was kinda stoned”.
Tipperary’s finest then goes on to give an extended reason as to why she WON’T take the film McCabe and Mrs. Miller, like someone who’s insisting they won’t take tea because they’re on a flying visit. The extended reason just so happens to be that she had the very relatable experience of “an ex-boyfriend showed it to me.”
Condon’s visit is full of recognisable moments of Irish humour, and it’s worth the watch just to see that not only is she a fantastic actress, but she’s also immense craic.
Playing Against Type: Paul Giamatti
Whether he’s playing a chronically single wine snob in Sideways, a hotshot U.S. States Attorney in HBO’s Billions, a nefarious hip hop producer in Straight Outta Compton, or Nick ‘Santa’ Claus in Fred Claus, Paul Giamatti is best-known as a yeller. The man plays loud, abrasive characters who shout their grievances, and even when they aren’t yelling, Giamatti has perfected a low, pitchy snarl that is almost like ‘quiet yelling’. If you were looking for an actor that has a cool, relaxing screen presence, Giamatti would not likely be anyone’s first choice.
Maybe he is overwhelmed by the awesome power of cinema in his video, or just had a bit of a cold, but Giamatti’s video is so surprisingly soothing. He speaks very softly throughout and tells beautiful stories of the movies that have served as milestones in his life. He talks about Herk Harvey’s legendary B-horror Carnival of Souls, which he watched with a babysitter when he was much too young for it. He discusses Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon, “the only movie that has ever made me cry”, seeing the John Frankenheimer film Seconds while “chemically altered”, and how David Lynch’s film Blue Velvet “for better or worse…made me want to be an actor.”
Closet videos can be surprising in many different ways, and one which always interests me is seeing the difference between actors who can speak intelligently and passionately about film versus those who just speak about films they like. For anyone who is interested by what it is that inspires people to go from ‘movie watcher’ to ‘movie maker’, Giamatti’s video is a clear example of what it is that inspires people to devote their lives to this craft.
Most Excited to Be There: Charles Melton
Criterion’s guests in the first iteration of the Closet Picks series were typically older, seasoned actors and directors. More recently, they have wisely expanded their invite pool to younger actors who are coming off of high-profile performances. This, in turn, brings a younger and more diverse audience to videos.
Charles Melton’s visit to the Closet last year came on the back of a revelatory turn in Todd Haynes’ May December, and despite the lack of awards recognition for his performance, he achieved what was seemingly an even bigger dream for him: visiting the Criterion Closet. Though he had appeared in interviews to be a classically handsome and charming young actor, the second he starts choosing films, like Willem Dafoe, he becomes increasingly excited and hyper.
“This is not good, I’m going too fast,” the Riverdale actor says, as he rushes to choose another film.
The funniest moment is undoubtedly when he asks the videographer behind the camera, “Do you guys have Drive My Car?” We assume the person off-screen nods and points to where he will find it and Melton’s eyes widen as he quickly turns to look for it. The shot then cuts to him holding a copy of Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s 2021 masterpiece up to the camera and exclaiming, “LOVE. THIS. MOVIE.”
The young actor’s respect for film and genuine excitement at getting to be there is very winning, and he really sells you on the spiritual experience of being there.
Exquisite Taste: Garrett Bradley
Director of Time, one of the best documentaries of the 2020s, Garrett Bradley’s eclectic film selections includes gritty horror-crime (Brian de Palma’s Dressed to Kill), romance (Moonstruck and Betty Blue), touchstones of Black life in film (Love & Basketball and The Signifyin’ Works of Marlon Riggs) and legendary thrillers (The Battle of Algiers and A Man Escaped).
As is common for directors who visit the closet, she also selects several Director Boxsets from filmmakers who have influenced her stylistically, including Wim Wenders and Melvin van Peebles.
If you want to watch one video to develop a ‘bangers only’ movie watchlist for yourself, Bradley’s is the one for you.
Time to Cry: Andrew Garfield
Who better than the Internet’s favourite Sensitive Boy to represent this category?
Many of the qualities that Garfield possesses are those that we would most closely associate with the ‘Theatre Kid’: a sentimental, effusive, excitable millennial actor who waxes lyrical about the beauty and ugliness of his craft in equal measure. The reason that Garfield stands above other theatre kids in estimation is because of his sincerity and rather beautiful, soulful interviews.
This video was filmed on the promotional cycle of his new movie, We Live in Time, and was released not long after a clip went viral of Garfield in conversation with Elmo about losing his mother and the importance of sadness, one of the more sincere and heartfelt dialogues a famous person has ever given on the topic of grief. Garfield’s Criterion video contains similar pulling of the heartstrings; his final film selection is Japanese director Juzo Itami’s legendary restaurant dramedy Tampopo, which he says is his father’s favourite film.
Garfield goes on to credit his father’s excellent taste and thank him for passing on his love of cinema to his son. It’s a poetic reminder of how the films most important to us throughout our lives are often associated with the person we saw it with or introduced it to us.
Also, as my fiancée’s late grandmother once remarked to her about Garfield, “he’s lovely looking.”
Your Granddad Loves Physical Media: Wim Wenders
As I referenced previously, some of the visitors to the Closet will be creatives who are more familiar to cinephiles than ordinary movie watchers. Readers may or may not be familiar with legendary German director Wim Wenders, whose credits include films like Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire and recent Best International Feature Oscar nominee, Perfect Days, but his impact on cinema as an art form has been keenly felt for nearly five decades. Criterion have issued or reissued the majority of Wenders’ films on DVD and Blu-Ray, and he is among the most respected filmmakers of his generation.
On top of being an incredible artist, Wenders is also an extremely chill dude who adores films, and physical media in particular. He begins his video by noting that he had visited the Closet in its first iteration, at which time the collection contained no Blu-Rays, and he was now forced to decide whether to choose new films or update his DVD collection with copies of the films on Blu-Ray (been there, brother).
This one is a go-to video for me when I need to relax before bed as Wenders has such a gentle, soothing presence. A must for anyone who loves or used to love their grandfather telling them stories.
Other Highlights:
Best Shoutout: Koji Yakusho
The legendary Japanese actor lists Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cure as a masterpiece. The twist? He’s the star of the film, which, as they say, is King Shit.
Best Story: Udo Kier
The German actor recounts the story of how he got his first acting role, making casual conversation with an assistant to Andy Warhol while on a flight from Rome to Munich.
Throwing Shade: Winona Ryder
The Gen-X icon and T-shirt enthusiast calls out the fact that ‘young actors’ whom she has worked with have expressed little-to-no interest in actually watching movies, which prompted the Internet to wonder which of her Stranger Things co-stars she was shading. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t one of the boys.
Can’t Talk, Shopping: Ryusuke Hamaguchi
The director of one of the standout films of this year, Evil Does Not Exist, Hamaguchi doesn’t tell many stories or discuss any of his picks at length. To put it simply, the man simply cannot stop picking films. Most guests choose somewhere between 5 and 10 films; Hamaguchi finishes up with a bag of 15 Blu-Rays. I’d be lying if I said I would have more self-control in his place.
Points for Trying: Callum Turner
The Masters of the Air actor and famous Dua Lipa boyfriend does his best attempt at a French accent when pronouncing the film title, Au Hasard Balthazar to amusing results. As a person who learned French in Donegal, his accent is better than I’m used to.
International Treasure: Nathan Lane
The stage and screen legend’s video opens with him referring to the Criterion Closet as “the most famous closet since we lost Liberace”. You can’t fake funny.