David Blakeslee
@peutetre.bsky.social
Criterion Reflections podcast, Grand Rapids Film Society, cinematic art, with occasional observations about culture, politics, theology, philosophy, and whatever else is going on in my life.
More familiar to Western viewers as "Ornamental Hairpin" - streaming on the Criterion Channel.
October 7, 2025 at 4:18 PM
More familiar to Western viewers as "Ornamental Hairpin" - streaming on the Criterion Channel.
The strenuous physicality of so many actors who threw themselves headlong into careening pratfalls throughout the two films is very impressive! The swordplay isn't particularly skillful or elegant, but I enjoyed the vigorous exchanges. It looked like they were having fun while getting bruised up!
September 19, 2025 at 8:30 PM
The strenuous physicality of so many actors who threw themselves headlong into careening pratfalls throughout the two films is very impressive! The swordplay isn't particularly skillful or elegant, but I enjoyed the vigorous exchanges. It looked like they were having fun while getting bruised up!
Klein and Kirk are partners in the same grifting syndicate.
September 11, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Klein and Kirk are partners in the same grifting syndicate.
We'll be working on Dolby Atmos remasters and audiophile vinyl mixes over the summer
August 6, 2025 at 8:38 PM
We'll be working on Dolby Atmos remasters and audiophile vinyl mixes over the summer
Yes indeed, I'm so excited to get our podcast out of hiatus and back into live production! Might have to freshen up some of the old episodes to get them back in circulation but eager to resume our conversation about this fantastic series!
August 6, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Yes indeed, I'm so excited to get our podcast out of hiatus and back into live production! Might have to freshen up some of the old episodes to get them back in circulation but eager to resume our conversation about this fantastic series!
That's a valid assessment of where Black Sabbath was at in 1979. I saw them at the Oakland Coliseum the previous year when Van Halen opened and blew them off the stage. My friends and I walked out halfway through their set because the energy was so flat compared to what we'd just seen.
July 23, 2025 at 7:19 PM
That's a valid assessment of where Black Sabbath was at in 1979. I saw them at the Oakland Coliseum the previous year when Van Halen opened and blew them off the stage. My friends and I walked out halfway through their set because the energy was so flat compared to what we'd just seen.
I do, it's intense, gorgeous, horrifying! I published this podcast episode in October 2023. criterioncast.com/podcast/crit...
Criterion Reflections - Episode 139 - Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers
David and guests discuss the strengths and liabilities of Bergman’s remarkable comeback to arthouse preeminence in this Oscar-winning symphony of suffering.
criterioncast.com
June 17, 2025 at 11:26 PM
I do, it's intense, gorgeous, horrifying! I published this podcast episode in October 2023. criterioncast.com/podcast/crit...
I'd support it, would be nice to see something ridiculously absurd happening in the headlines that isn't also simultaneously destructive and insulting to our intelligence. That seems to be the norm these days.
May 14, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I'd support it, would be nice to see something ridiculously absurd happening in the headlines that isn't also simultaneously destructive and insulting to our intelligence. That seems to be the norm these days.
That's a pretty nice price for a 4K set that just got its official release today!
April 22, 2025 at 10:55 PM
That's a pretty nice price for a 4K set that just got its official release today!
Yeah, on balance I'll side with Danton over Robespierre, at least from my particular perch in history and culture. But of course it's always more nuanced than the simple binary choice would have us believe!
April 4, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Yeah, on balance I'll side with Danton over Robespierre, at least from my particular perch in history and culture. But of course it's always more nuanced than the simple binary choice would have us believe!
Also: thanks for informing me about that podcast, I instantly subscribed and will dig into their back catalogue. I think I'd be a good guest for them to have on some time! But I will listen to them for a while before I invite myself over. :)
April 4, 2025 at 8:13 PM
Also: thanks for informing me about that podcast, I instantly subscribed and will dig into their back catalogue. I think I'd be a good guest for them to have on some time! But I will listen to them for a while before I invite myself over. :)
I'm eager to listen to this! I covered TLM a few years back on my own podcast for Episode 100. (Not by design, that just happened to be the next movie on my timeline, but I think it made a great choice for that landmark figure.) criterioncast.com/podcast/crit...
Criterion Reflections - Episode 100 - Dennis Hopper’s The Last Movie… and More!
For the 100th episode, David has a conversation with Alexander Cormier about Dennis Hopper’s ill-fated magnum opus, and also does a bit of reflecting on his experiences in podcasting and blogging…
criterioncast.com
April 4, 2025 at 8:12 PM
I'm eager to listen to this! I covered TLM a few years back on my own podcast for Episode 100. (Not by design, that just happened to be the next movie on my timeline, but I think it made a great choice for that landmark figure.) criterioncast.com/podcast/crit...
This was the first time I watched it, and I was impressed! Seems largely overlooked now. I pulled it off my shelf mainly for comparisons with Depardieu's performance in JEAN DE FLORETTE from around this same time.
April 4, 2025 at 4:56 PM
This was the first time I watched it, and I was impressed! Seems largely overlooked now. I pulled it off my shelf mainly for comparisons with Depardieu's performance in JEAN DE FLORETTE from around this same time.