The keystone of violin repertoire. Grumiaux truly is the poet of the violin, and listening to these works, while challenging, is ultimately a very rewarding study in the humanities.

A monumental symphony from the unapproached conducter of so many hearfelt recordings.

Here is a really special treat. I had heard so many Mozart concertos that I doubted getting this, but the name of Fricsay pulled me in. These are the finest concerto performances on disc. Haskil's playing is Mozart unlike anyone else, and she deserves to be much more widely known.

I had always foundered when trying to find my favorite Don Giovanni. With Mozart's other DaPonte operas I always managed to find ones that suited my tastes. Fricsay (again) has always been a favorite, so I thought I would investigate his version, deemed "a more original take" on the opera by one reviewer. Fantastic. The best Commendatore scene I've heard, with encore singing from the ladies.

Now, if you didn't know, Criterion Collection films are expensive. They are also the best - and sometimes only - way of getting great foreign films in the United States. Bergman's take on Mozart is interesting, and the singing, though in Swedish, is remarkably good. I'm thinking of using this to initiate family and friends into the world of opera.

Bergman's so-called trilogy on religious matters, these were some of the most memorable films I've yet seen. They represent my Bergman Renaissance. "Through a Glass Darkly" is probably my favorite.

Bergman's films tend to be depressing. It's a well-known fact, but that doesn't stop them from being extremely likable depending on your personality. "Shame" was a revelation, and it adds to the growing list of proof against making war films that are so all-inclusive. It is in what a director/actor implies that makes a good film.

...Carl Th. Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc". Both movies have shockingly well done court sequences. The trial of a killer and a saint offers a strange beauty of comparison. Falconetti is practically a reincarnation in the role of Joan, and the silence is numbing. The effect is whole. One of the most moving films I've ever seen - and the most captivating use of close-ups, too.

On the surface a rather charming comedy of manners, this is really a very emotionally detailed (and funny) satire on the French upper class shortly before Nazi occupation. The hunting holocaust at the center of the film, while difficult to watch, is a devastatingly good symbol for a society consumed by the murder/manipulation of others in a casual way.

A film justifiably famous for its cinematography, this is likely some of the best use of light and shadow in black and white film. A thrilling noir plot with zither music - who could pass this up?

One of Milos Forman's Czech films, this has many of the marks characteristic of this quirky director. I would highly recommend his "Firemen's Ball", which has similarities in this rural landscape.

Sir Charles Chaplin had been a favorite for years, but for some reason I'd never seen this, his masterpiece. It has the most satisfyingly worked out of structures in his features and is highly comical. Who can't applaud the poetic comedy of a boiled shoe or the dance of the rolls?

Everyone has to see this at least once, but in my opinion it is a little overrated. Welles was, as always, amazing in all of his roles, but several members of the supporting cast were disappointing - even downright annoying. Still, a riveting picture.