Inside the Box

Inside the Box – Episode 18 – The Complete Jean Vigo

Trevor Berrett and David Blakeslee are pleased to present Inside the Box, a podcast series that explores the riches in the various box sets released by The Criterion Collection. In this episode, they discuss The Complete Jean Vigo. This box set contains the films À propos de Nice (1930), Taris (1988), Zéro de conduite (1933), and L’Atalante (1934). Even among cinema’s legends, Jean Vigo stands apart. The son of a notorious anarchist, Vigo had a brief but brilliant career making poetic, lightly surrealist films before his life was cut tragically short by tuberculosis at age twenty-nine. Like the daring early works of his contemporaries Jean Cocteau and Luis Buñuel, Vigo’s films refused to play by the rules. This set includes all of Vigo’s titles: À propos de Nice, an absurdist, rhythmic slice of life from the bustling coastal city; Taris, an inventive short portrait of a swimming champion; Zéro de conduite, a radical, delightful tale of boarding-school rebellion that has influenced countless filmmakers; and L’Atalante, widely regarded as one of cinema’s finest achievements, about newlyweds beginning their life together on a canal barge. These are the witty, visually adventurous works of a pivotal film artist. Episode Links The Complete Jean Vigo À propos de Nice (1930) Zéro de conduite (1933) L’Atalante (1934) Jean Vigo Wikipedia Far Out Magazine: “The Life and Times of Jean Vigo: The Man Who Influenced the French New Wave,” by Swapnil Dhruv Bose The New York Times: “Jean Vigo: A Short and Ferocious Life,” by Joan Dupont Episode Credits Trevor Berrett (Twitter/Website) David Blakeslee (TikTok/Website) Complete Jean Vigo (Criterion Collection) (Blu-ray) $27.10 $39.95 in stock The Complete Jean Vigo [Criterion Collection] [2 Discs] [Blu-ray] $27.99 The Complete Jean Vigo (A propos de Nice / Taris / Zero de conduite / L'atalante) (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] $32.28 $39.95 in stock 10 new from $29.78, 3 used from $22.95 Complete Jean Vigo (Criterion Collection) $32.86 $39.95 in stock Amazon price updated: April 1, 2026 9:20 am

Inside the Box – Episode 17 – The Qatsi Trilogy

Trevor Berrett and David Blakeslee are pleased to present Inside the Box, a podcast series that explores the riches in the various box sets released by The Criterion Collection. In this episode, they discuss The Qatsi Trilogy. This box set contains the films Koyaanisqatsi (1983), Powaqqatsi (1988), and Naqoyqatsi (2002). A singular artist and activist, Godfrey Reggio is best known for the galvanizing films of The Qatsi Trilogy. Astonishingly photographed, and featuring unforgettable, cascading scores by Philip Glass, these are immersive sensory experiences that meditate on the havoc humankind’s obsession with technological advancement has wreaked on our world. From 1983’s Koyaanisqatsi to 1988’s Powaqqatsi to 2002’s Naqoyqatsi, Reggio takes us on a journey from the ancient to the contemporary, from nature to industry, exploring life out of balance, in transformation, and as war, all the while keeping our eyes wide with wonder. Episode Links The Qatsi Trilogy Koyaanisqatsi (1983) Powaqqatsi (1988) Naqoyqatsi (2002) Godfrey Reggio Koyaanisqatsi.org Pomegranate Arts Wikipedia Episode Credits Trevor Berrett (Twitter/Website) David Blakeslee (TikTok/Website)

Inside the Box – Episode 16 – The Infernal Affairs Trilogy

Trevor Berrett and David Blakeslee are pleased to present Inside the Box, a podcast series that explores the riches in the various box sets released by The Criterion Collection. In this episode, they discuss The Infernal Affairs Trilogy. This box set contains the films Infernal Affairs (2002), Infernal Affairs II (2003), and Infernal Affairs III (2003). The Hong Kong crime drama was jolted to new life with the release of the Infernal Affairs trilogy, a bracing, explosively stylish critical and commercial triumph that introduced a dazzling level of narrative and thematic complexity to the genre with its gripping saga of two rival moles—played by superstars Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau Tak-wah—who navigate slippery moral choices as they move between the intersecting territories of Hong Kong’s police force and its criminal underworld. Set during the uncertainty of the city-state’s handover from Britain to China and steeped in Buddhist philosophy, these ingeniously crafted tales of self-deception and betrayal mirror Hong Kong’s own fractured identity and the psychic schisms of life in a postcolonial purgatory. Episode Links The Infernal Affairs Trilogy Infernal Affairs (2002) Infernal Affairs II (2003) Infernal Affairs III (2003) Episode Credits Trevor Berrett (Twitter/Website) David Blakeslee (TikTok/Website) The Infernal Affairs Trilogy (The Criterion Collection) [Infernal Affairs/Infernal Affairs II/Infernal Affairs III] [Blu-ray] $64.99 $99.95 in stock 9 new from $64.99, 1 used from $72.76 Amazon price updated: April 1, 2026 9:20 am

Inside the Box – Episode 15 – 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman

Trevor Berrett and David Blakeslee are pleased to present Inside the Box, a podcast series that explores the riches in the various box sets released by The Criterion Collection. In this episode, they discuss 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman. This untraditional box set contains the films Stromboli (1950), Europe ’51 (1952), and Journey to Italy (1954). In the late 1940s, the incandescent Hollywood star Ingrid Bergman found herself so stirred by the revolutionary neorealist films of Roberto Rossellini that she sent the director a letter, introducing herself and offering her talents. The resulting collaboration produced a series of films that are works of both sociopolitical concern and metaphysical melodrama, each starring Bergman as a woman experiencing physical dislocation and psychic torment in postwar Italy. It also famously led to a scandalous affair and eventual marriage between filmmaker and star, and the focus on their personal lives in the press unfortunately overshadowed the extraordinary films they made together. Stromboli, Europe ’51, and Journey to Italy are intensely moving portraits that reveal the director at his most emotional and the glamorous actress at her most anguished, and that capture them and the world around them in transition. Episode Links 3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman Stromboli Europe ’51 Journey to Italy Roberto Rossellini — Wikipedia Ingrid Bergman — Wikipedia The New Yorker PopMatters Senses of Cinema Episode Credits Trevor Berrett (Twitter/Website) David Blakeslee (Twitter/Website)

Inside the Box – Episode 14 – A Whit Stillman Trilogy

Trevor Berrett and David Blakeslee are pleased to present Inside the Box, a podcast series that explores the riches in the various box sets released by The Criterion Collection. In this episode, they discuss A Whit Stillman Trilogy. This untraditional box set contains the films Metropolitan (1990), Barcelona (1994), and The Last Days of Disco (1998). Over the course of the 1990s, writer-director Whit Stillman made a trilogy of films about the acid tongues and broken hearts of some haplessly erudite young Americans in New York and abroad. Set in the eighties, these films trace the arc of that decade, led by Stillman’s Oscar-nominated debut, Metropolitan,which introduced moviegoers to a strange, endangered species of privileged New Yorker, the “urban haute bourgeoisie.” Chronologically, the tale continues with The Last Days of Disco, in which, with an earnest wink, Stillman mourns the close of New York’s nightclub era via the story of two young party-going women juggling day jobs in book publishing. Finally, Barcelona plunks down a pair of love-starved upper-class men in a foreign city rife with anti-American sentiment. At once effervescent and melancholy, these are comedies about the ends of cultural moments, social change as seen through the eyes of reluctant, unflaggingly sardonic romantics. Episode Links A Whit Stillman Trilogy Metropolitan Barcelona The Last Days of Disco Whit Stillman — Wikipedia Whit Stillman’s Top 10 Criterion Releases Episode Credits Trevor Berrett (Twitter/Website) David Blakeslee (Twitter/Website)