"Chanel fostered friendships throughout the arts, one of the most intimate with Jean Cocteau. Painter, poet, novelist and film director Cocteau provided the dialogue for Robert Bresson’s second feature, a bitter romantic melodrama adapting a Diderot anecdote to the present day. Chanel was also one of the first to recognize Bresson’s talents. In 1932, a decade before he began making films, she commissioned the then-painter-and-photographer to shoot her "Bijoux de diamants" jewelry collection."

"Reality check. The last time I saw it was with my wife and several friends. We are all about the same age, have elderly parents, or have lost our parents in the last couple of years. After the movie, we talked about our parents and how we had treated them. Everyone felt guilty for days. I studied the disc of documentaries, and treasure the Ozu films in my collection. “Real life intrudes just when you’re making other plans.”"

"I came to Larisa Shepitko through reading about Elem Klimov after watching Come and See. When I saw that Criterion had put out two of her films through their Eclipse label, I snapped them up. These discs are probably my most prized in my collection. Watching The Ascent feels like being punched in the nose and rolled in the snow. I felt like I’d time traveled to the Second World War and was there as a silent witness."

"I came to Larisa Shepitko through reading about Elem Klimov after watching Come and See. When I saw that Criterion had put out two of her films through their Eclipse label, I snapped them up. These discs are probably my most prized in my collection. Watching The Ascent feels like being punched in the nose and rolled in the snow. I felt like I’d time traveled to the Second World War and was there as a silent witness."