Susie’s Criterion Collection Top 10

The movies that rocked my world in puberty

Like so many fans, I’m besotted with the Criterion Collection. I’ve been a special commentator in their collections — Bound and Belle de Jour. I remember begging them to bring all of Sean Baker’s early work into their archives. (They did, and are in process).

One of my favorite moments at CC, was participating in their interviews of famous artists, discussing their lifetime favorite films.

I was so overwhelmed at the question, that I decided to narrow it down.

I wrote, “This is my Puberty Top 10 List: the ten Criterion films that shaped my destiny, ages twelve to nineteen.”

Those were truly the years I grew into my film critic “body.”

Here’s the original interview, and below, my full rant!

Susie Puberty Top Ten Films

1

SIDNEY LUMET

12 Angry Men

I’m grateful I saw this movie when I was twelve years old, without a scrap of cynicism. It was my first exposure to the anatomy of a sequestered jury. I remember I couldn’t wait to get my turn to serve, to be like Henry Fonda and repudiate bigotry o…