The Criterion Collection - B May 2026

Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece of bureaucratic dystopia. It’s the only film in the collection that feels like a Kafka novel rewritten by Monty Python. The Criterion laserdisc (and subsequent DVD/Blu) set the gold standard for supplemental features—including the infamous "Love Conquers All" studio cut, which you should watch only to feel genuine rage. The Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Spine #724: The Big Chill (1983) The ultimate "baby boomer navel-gaze" film, and I mean that as a compliment. Lawrence Kasdan assembles a murderers’ row of actors (Hurt, Close, Goldblum, Kline) to ask a simple question: What happened to the revolution? The soundtrack (You can’t always get what you want) does half the emotional labor, but the look on Kevin Kline’s face at the end does the rest.

Vittorio De Sica’s neorealist gut-punch. The plot is so simple (man needs bike to work; bike gets stolen; man looks for bike) that its emotional devastation feels almost accidental. You will watch Antonio and his son Bruno walk through Rome, and you will feel the weight of every broken promise of the post-war era. Essential. The Criterion Collection - B

What’s your favorite "B" spine? Leave a comment below—just don’t mention the ending of Brazil without a spoiler tag. Next week: We tackle the letter C. Spoiler: It involves Chaplin, Cassevetes, and a very large shark. Terry Gilliam’s masterpiece of bureaucratic dystopia