Kenneth Turan’s DVD picks: European classics in black and white
Kenneth Turan’s DVD Pick of the Week: Foreign B&W movies, “Master of the House,” “Pickpocket” and “Judex.”
Black-and-white films don’t always get the respect they deserve these days, but a trio of top-of-the-line Criterion releases of European classics showcases what a glorious medium it can be.
Earliest of the group is 1925’s “Master of the House,” a rare satiric domestic comedy from Denmark’s Carl Theodor Dryer, best known for such spiritual films as “The Passion of Joan of Arc,” “Day of Wrath” and “Gertrud.”
Two French films look equally good in black and white. Robert Bresson’s 1959 “Pickpocket” is inevitably austere, but George Franju’s 1963 “Judex” is both an involving crime drama in its own right and also a tribute to Louis Feuillade’s gripping 1916 original.
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