CLOSET PICKS: Kameradschaft by G. W. Pabst - Come and see - Tokyo Olympiad - Fires on the Plain - The Burmese Harp - Sid and Nancy - Le Cercle Rouge (English: "The Red Circle") by Jean-Pierre Melville - Le Silence de la Mer (English: The Silence of the Sea) - The Seventh Seal - L'Avventura (English: "The Adventure") - Mirror - Solaris - In Cold Blood

I got to meet Roger and James in March for the opening of an exhibit of his still photography. They were both incredibly kind and humble, and I got to speak with Roger 1-on-1 for probably 5 minutes despite being in a crowd of people and then for a few more minutes in a group. If you have the opportunity to go out to one of his book signings I would highly recommend it, I will never forget getting to speak with this legend. He also told me to watch In Cold Blood, which I still need to do.

I know some would disagree but I think he's the greatest cinematographer that has ever lived and it's so wonderful that he's still with us. What a gift.

Criterion have been on a role with these Closet Picks and at this point, it doesn't even surprise me anymore who comes along this journey. Keep it up because it makes us fans know what these wonderful people choose and love to watch!

I grew up in the south before the internet took over. They ridiculed anything...anybody... different. Berating you constantly for your music, movies, books, clothes. I spent many a night staying up late watching TCM alone. I would go through the video store looking for any world cinema I could. I would spend hours at the library talking to the librarians about film. It is so validating 2 decades later to see so many of my favs Loving the same kind of movies I do. I had no idea back then. I was just a country boy staying up till 3 am watching Bergman and Tarkovsky, falling asleep in school the next day. Fargo is one of my all time favs.

Finding out Deakins is a Tarkovsky fan has made my day. And him picking out a Conrad Hall shot film makes complete sense since I consider them to be two of a kind DPs

There is one shot in Prisoners (the 'race to the hospital' scene) where a car is careering through heavy traffic in heavy rain and I swear it's one of the most beautiful shots I've ever seen in a movie.

When I was little kid in USSR I have watched Come and See and I was shocked and could not see it for a very long time because I was so scared and did not get used to such movies watching classical Soviet heroic movies about WW2. Now I understand why Roger loves both Tarkovsky and Come and See there are a lot of common in these pieces of art.

In Cold Blood is a film school unto itself. All facets of its creation are first rate. A masterwork!

Roger Deakins has created some of the most beautiful imagery ever put on film .

It's amazing how intelligent and important James is to the Deakins duo. Wish she got more credit for her amazing work.

"It's really interesting that Solaris was made just a little bit later than Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Tarkovsky said he could never do '2001' but he wanted to do a film with really something that was more emotionally engaged with you. He felt Kubrick's film was rather cold and a piece of wonderful technology but had little to engage you with emotionally. And personally I think he was absolutely right. I think Solaris is the best science fiction film probably ever made, and the most profound."

I wanted this to last forever, I could listen to the Deakins talk films for hours...

FANTASTIC! Lovely to see a husband and wife in such harmony and equality of knowledge.

Tarkovsky’s description of 2001 could literally describe any Christopher Nolan picture

I’ve never clicked faster

"We have missed out the all time great film director... "Which is..." "Andrei Tarkovsky, what do you mean"... *laughs* I wanted to hug this man. Legend!👏

Roger and James Deakins love each other as they love cinema.

Much love for Roger… great cinematographer

Perhaps the best cinematographer alive.

When he gives his opinion on “L’avventura”, I feel him.

Love these two! Their podcast is a gift.

One of the most outstanding cinematographers!

Great picks! Sid and Nancy, The Seventh Seal, Come and See, Le Cercle Rouge, and Solaris are all great Criterion choices. Rouge is one of the best French films ever.

Sir Roger is amazing. He has so many great movies to his credit: The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, A Beautiful Mind, Skyfall, Blade Runner 2049, and 1917

Easily one of the best cinematographers out there. Thanks for all great movies mr Deakins.

This is one of my favorite closet videos. He is so interesting. And she is very charming. He was very flattering of other cinematographers, I thought. Like Conrad Hall. Raved about him. I think that's a nice quality to have.

His little recoil at Sid & Nancy is so good

Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift was an interesting selection.

The GOAT Deakins talking about the GOAT Tarkovsky. It make sense.

Sid and Nancy is excellent. I bought Walker today by Alex Cox.

Deakin's peekin' at some movies

The fact that Roger Deakins is 74 and seems healthy at least for his age , hope he has a few more years left, He worked on some amazing films, will be sad to lose him :(

What strikes me with every closet video is how huge film erudites all of the guests are and what great taste they share.

His work on the Assassination of Jesse James and No Country (both released in the same year) will forever cement him as one of the greats. Deakins doesn’t just compose pretty shots, but shots with soul that convey meaning. That’s the mark of greatness.

Excellent. However, I don't think that Tarkovsky calling 2001 "cold" is an insult, even if he meant it that way.

Thanks for listing the folks at the end.

I could hear Roger talking about Tarkovsky all day.

“In cold blood in cold blood in cold blood and Tarkovsky” -Roger Deakins

Can't go wrong with Melville and Tarkovsky, two of the great masters.

YEEEESSSSS! It's such a joy to watch people who know what it's talking about, talking about what they love. Inspiring.

This is the gold right here. A master Cinematographer discussing what his favorite films are..Sir Roger Deakins is a legend imo👏👏👏

Legendary cinematographer. If you are a fan of movies you are a fan of this guy.

not many dares to watch those kon ichikawa films and you sir picked 2 of the hardest dramas japan has ever filmed.

I own 7 of these on 16mm film. Before the Criterion Collection there was Janus Films, which Criterion has the rights to. And before VHS people who watched movies at home or on college campuses watched 16mm films rented from libraries. Janus Films had the rights to all of the important world cinema. Those prints are now spread out in collectors hands around the world. Long live Film! I'm a subscriber to Criterion and support them. One of their employees was stationed at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville that I helped reopen in 1999 and she got a tour of my archive. Good folks there.

Find someone that looks at you the James looks at Roger. 🎬

SOLARIS Rules! It puts you in a Mood. A story of Love and longing for The Past vs. Present, wrapped-up in a Science Fiction/Philosophy Film. And I cry every time when Dr. Snaut has Kris Kelvin read the passage from Miguel Cervantes and Sancho Panza's take on sleep and to Dream and that its a great Equalizer but "resembles Death". PS: plus you get the score by Artemyev of SIBERIADE fame. Here is the Quotation that is read on Snaut's Birthday Gathering in the Cultural Library on Solaris: “All I know is that while I’m asleep, I’m never afraid, and I have no hopes, no struggles, no glories - and bless the man who invented sleep, a cloak over all human thought, food that drives away hunger, water that banishes thirst, fire that heats up cold, chill that moderates passion, and, finally, universal currency with which all things can be bought, weight and balance that brings the shepherd and the king, the fool and the wise, to the same level. There’s only one bad thing about sleep, as far as I’ve ever heard, and that is that it resembles death, since there’s very little difference between a sleeping man and a corpse.” ― Miguel de Cervantes

His overhead crane shot of the parking lot in Fargo still melts me... 🤟🎥🔥❤️🤟

"He shoots the desert landscape like you've never seen it before..." Unbelievable that I'm hearing Sir Deakins say that, when I've said the exact thing about him in regards to No Country For Old Men, and later on Sicario. This video and their podcast are so special.

I’m sad James feels the need to apologize for her picks - she has excellent taste!!

Ahh the Deakins. In love with film and in love with each other. ❤

Love this so much. Roger had a close friendship with Conrad Hall so it’s always wonderful to hear him discuss his work and the influence it had on him.

I remember getting SO happy when Roger deservedly won that Oscar for Blade Runner 2049. Has made so many films with the best cinematography out there.

These videos would benefit from a CU cutaway of the DVD/Blu-ray covers - it’s not always clear which movie is being talked about.

"Come and See" is one of the best babbysitting, or under 9 movies for All children.

Saw Roger Deakins was the person doing the picks and immediately clicked on the video.

The most striking single moment I’ll always remember about Roger’s work is the opening title sequence of my favorite Coen Bros movie, Miller’s Crossing. The combo of the camera pointed straight up at the trees in the forest and Elmer Bernstein’s incredible score are just haunting. Then the hat falls in the clearing and it’s whisked away by the wind. I’ve always wondered how many takes it took to get that hat to land just right. Plus, the neo-noir look he gave the film is incredible too. First time I watched the movie, I was struck by it’s cinematographic style, hadn’t seen anything like it.

Come And See. Greatest antiwar film ever made! Brilliant pick. And another phenomenal Criterion Blu Ray.

TEAM DEAKINS! blessings!

Aaaawe I just adore Mr. Deakins. Not only is he an amazing cinematographer but he seems like such a lovely and knowledgeable man in a down-to-earth-kinda-way. Mrs. Deakins seems very nice too.. 😆

Roger Deakins is quite probably (fight me) the best living cinematographer and easily in my Top 3 of all time. Quite often, it seems to me, positions and roles like this have much to do with who you are working with (Thelma Schoonmaker, easily one of the best editors of all time, is an example, because she works with one of the very best, and you already know who that is). But Deakins kills it with movies outside of Coen Brother movies, such as Blade Runner 2049 and Skyfall, to name only a couple.

I swear as soon as I Saw Roger Deakins on here I knew he was gonna pick Come and See and then I saw the Thumbnail of him holding up the DVD and was immediately like yep, I fucking knew it

The Seventh Seal…masterpiece

Oh my god! It's Roger Deakins😤

I feel like such a fool for just now, as he says it, realizing the Tarkovsky influence on the work of Roger Deakins. And it just further shows why I love Deakins work so much.

Roger and James are the best. Just wonderful people

My favorite podcasters got invited to the closet.

Now this is a big episode!

May I say: the best black & white film I have seen in recent years is.... 1 9 8 4 lensed by... Roger Deakins! Wait a minute, it is in color, you might say now. Of course, but only until you dial the color saturation of your TV set to zero. I took the liberty to do it, because a) I read that director Michael Radford and his DP would have loved to film this dystopian world in B/W b) it absolutely fits the subject and atmosphere. c ) Scorsese once said in an interview, he was curious and had a B/W copy of NEW YORK, NEW YORK made and he liked it very much. (and gave me the idea :-). Closet picks in my DVD archive: My "Deakins section" counts 32 films by Roger now!

I learn so much about film, just by listening to the guests.

They were obviously at the Criterion offices to do the grade for the upcoming Jesse James 4K... let the hype begin!

Love the way he casually talks about being the cinematographer on Sid and Nancy when she mentions it.

“He felt that Kubrick’s movie was a little cold…” A little?? It totally IS and I’m a huge fan of it!

Most badass thumbnail ever!

I love these two humans! And I love that they picked films I've never heard of. Me shopping list just grew much longer!!

Finally someone I know gets to pick their movies 😅

This man is an artist and a genius - his films are so incredibly beautiful - bravo Roger bravo

PLEEEAAASSE!!! Work with The Deak at bringing the Venice Cut of Assassination Of Jesse James to the collection. This is my biggest wish in home media. Especially since you guys are doing 4K now. Warner Bros is never gonna give Jesse James its due and proper. Its some of Roger Deakins most hauntingly beautiful cinematography.

Come and See is Arguably the greatest War film ever made! So raw and mentally brutal! Watch it if you have not seen it.

So cool he picked Tokyo Olympiad!! What a stunning looking documentary.

Roger Deakins - the best thing to come out of Torquay - after Fawlty Towers!

Can anyone tell me if anyone in this series chose Brazil? Has a special place in my collection: 1st Crit title I ever bought and I’ve since gotten all the different editions of it.

I want to explore more now from Ichikawa, which I only know from a murder mystery movie for the moment. And thank you also for pointing out 'In cold blood', never heard of it. Thanks for sharing.

Cool couple. Didn't know about their podcast. Will give it a try.

love his work since Sicario

OMG, ROGER DEAKINS. So freaking amazing. I love that he mentioned Conrad Hall, who is another favorite of mine. All incredible choices! Deakins is a legend!

Man does anyone feel like Roger and James would just be really cool to hang out with and get a beer? 😂

Roger Deakins is a genius he is up there with Conrad Hall,Raoul Coulthard, Gordon Willis,,Vilmos Zgismond.LazloKovacs, and Sven Nynkwist

“Come and See, one of our favourites..” hahaha

Lil Deaky ❤

One of my absolute favorite story tellers and all round amazing human beings. For those who don't know, he knew Conrad hall personally

Some great picks. I own Come and See, Le Cercle Rogue and le silence de la mer

Well this serves as my reminder to finally get around to Solaris and In Cold Blood

I am also a fan of their podcast. Fundamental if you love movies.

I just screened Come and See. It struck me as sad that the Govt. of the country that it was filmed in, and about, would side with the aggressors against Ukraine.

CRITERION YOURE TOO GOOD TO US!!! WHAT A TREAT THIS IS!

“Come and See” oh yes on my favorites 😐

If Mr. Deakens talks highly of a film, it must be great. Curious to check out all these picks.

OF COURSE, he would pick COME AND SEE. My absolute favourite movie ever.

Excellent Cinematographer. 2001 is better than Solaris though, precisely because of how disconnected from “feelings” it is.