10 Years of Rialto Pictures – Rialto Pictures Box Set

When you purchase 10 Years of Rialto Pictures from Amazon, you’ll quickly see why the prestigious Criterion Collection was inspired to release such a box set. Featuring ten masterpieces that have been criminally overlooked by the general public, a number of the films in this collection weren’t even released in the United States until recent years. A 10-disc collection running 1048 minutes, 10 Years of Rialto Pictures is the perfect gift for yourself or any cinephiles in your life.

And if you order from Amazon, you’ll save almost $20 off the list price. You’re not going to find this item at your local Wal-Mart, so stop wasting time and head on over to the Internet’s leading retailer of books, movies, and music.

Rialto Pictures

In case you’ve never heard of Rialto Pictures, allow me to provide a little background. Founded in 1997 by Bruce Goldstein, Rialto Pictures is a film distributor dedicated to bringing critically-acclaimed motion pictures to as large an audience as possible. Known as the “gold standard of reissue distributors,” Rialto has released everything from the original Japanese version of Godzilla to the first U.S. release of Jean-Luc Godard’s Made in U.S.A. These Rialto releases have enjoyed massive popularity with critics and consumers alike, and whole generations have either discovered or rediscovered a number of cinematic masterpieces.

Rialto Pictures celebrated their tenth anniversary in 2007, and the event was marked by a number of honors and tributes. Not to be outdone, The Criterion Collection decided to get in on the action by releasing 10 Years of Rialto Pictures, a look back at some of the best pictures distributed by the company over the previous decade. Which brings us to…

Rialto Pictures Box Set – The Movies

As promised, here’s the complete list of the 10 films included in the Rialto Pictures box set. Buy it, watch it, and find out why a representative from the Museum of Modern Art in New York was quoted as saying “Over the past ten years, Rialto Pictures has enriched American film culture by both reviving a significant number of classic films not seen in theaters since their original runs and premiering extraordinary films never before distributed in America.”

• Army of Shadows (1969) – This Jean-Pierre Melville classic wasn’t released in the United States until Rialto Pictures brought it there in 2006. Adapted from Joseph Kessel’s 1943 novel, the film follows members of the French Resistance during World War II as they conduct a grim struggle against Nazi occupation. Highly controversial upon its release, it was scorned and buried for almost 40 years. But when it finally debuted in America, it received great critical acclaim and ended up on a number of top 10 lists for the year. Starring Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, and Paul Meurisse.

• Au hasard Balthazar (1966) – Also known simply as Balthazar, this French film from director Robert Bresson tells the parallel stories of a donkey and a young woman. Both suffer abuse from multiple parties, weaving a powerful tale of heartache and spiritual abandonment. Jean-Luc Godard wrote that anyone viewing the film would see “the world in an hour and a half.” And who am I to argue with Jean-Luc Godard? It was also voted one of the ten best films of the 20th century by a poll in the Village Voice.
• Band of Outsiders (1964) – Jean-Luc Godard described his French New Wave film as “Alice in Wonderland meets Franz Kafka.” Anna Karina stars as a young woman who meets a pair of criminals (Sami Frey and Claude Brasseur) in an English language class and convinces them to help her rob her own home. But things don’t go so smoothly, as an old woman appears to suffocate, a greedy relative gets involved, and a few twists and turns are thrown in for good measure. A famous dance scene from the film serves as inspiration for director Quentin Tarantino in Pulp Fiction, and you’ll also love the madcap romp through the Louvre and the aborted minute of silence. Considered the most accessible of Godard’s films, it’s been praised by everyone from Empire magazine to critic Pauline Kael.
• Billy Liar (1963) – Directed by John Schlesinger and adapted from the hit stage production (which in turn was adapted from a novel by Keith Waterhouse), Billy Liar follows a comedy writer as a frequently retreats to a world inside his mind to escape the tedium of life. Julie Christie makes her film debut, and the cast also includes Tom Courtenay, Mona Washbourne, and Wilfred Pickles. An example of the British New Wave style of filmmaking, it’s been included on a number of best-of lists, especially those detailing films made in the UK.
• The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) – Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, this motion picture mixes dreamlike imagery with illogical events to create a surreal bit of satire. A group of well-to-do friends keep trying to get together for dinner, but they’re constantly thwarted by an increasingly bizarre series of occurrences. Directed by Luis Bunuel and starring Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier, and Jean-Pierre Cassel.

• Mafioso (1962) – Alberto Sordi stars as the manager of a car factory in Northern Italy who takes his wife on vacation to his ancestral home in Sicily. Once there, he’s asked by the local crime boss to commit a murder for the mafia. Filled with black comedy, it’s one of the most insightful films about Italian crime–and Italian life in general– that you’ll ever see.
• Murderous Maids (2000) – Director Jean-Pierre Denis details the events surrounding the notorious real-life 1933 case of two French sisters (Sylvie Testud and Julie-Marie Parmentier) who work as maids and eventually murder their employer and her young daughter. All the facts are examined in this riveting dramatization, not to mention the class issues which may have also played a part.
• Rififi (1955) – One of the greatest examples of French film noir, Rififi earned Jules Dassin (blacklisted in Hollywood at the time) a Best Director award at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival. The film follows four ex-cons as they plan to rob a Paris jewelry store, and the highlight comes during the tension-riddled half-hour heist sequence shot with minimal sound. The heist has been imitated by real-life criminals around the globe, and the effect on later crime films should not be underestimated (see Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs and Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing). Praised by everyone from Roger Ebert to Francois Truffaut, it’s a must-see by any true fan of crime cinema.

• The Third Man (1949) – This British classic captured an Oscar for Best Cinematography and immediately earned a special place in the annals of film noir history thanks to Carol Reed‘s atmospheric direction. Joseph Cotton stars as Holly Martins, a hack novelist who arrives in post-war Vienna to meet up with old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). But Lime is dead, and Harry soon begins to suspect that it wasn’t an accident. Investigating further, he soon falls for the actress girlfriend of his supposedly dead pal and is pursued by everyone from the cops to shadowy underworld figures. Roger Ebert has referred to The Third Man as the film that most completely embodies the romance of going to the movies.
• Touchez pas au grisbi (1954) – Also known as Don’t Touch the Loot, this French film revolves around an aging criminal (Jean Gabin) whose plans for retirement are thrown into disarray by his greedy partner and sultry girlfriend. Jacques Becker directs, and co-stars include Jeanne Moreau, Lino Ventura, and Dora Doll.

If you’re a fan of French films or otherwise lesser-known works of art, be sure to get your hands on 10 Years of Rialto Pictures. Amazon has the product in stock, which is something most local retailers can’t say. You’ll also save money off the standard list price, and the small commission we receive will help us to highlight more quality box sets in the future.

Speaking of box sets, you’ll also want to check out the following:

• Essential Art House: 50 Years of Janus Films
• Lone Wolf and Cub Box Set
• John Ford Box Set
• Akira Kurosawa Box Set
• Ultimate Comedy DVD Collection

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