Brothers and collaborators John David and Malcolm Washington didn’t come to play in Criterion Wardrobe. As screenwriter/director and star of “The Piano Lesson” Malcolm put it at the start of his visit: “We’re here to shop.” And they shopped and filled their bags with some of the cinema’s greatest delights, starting with the hefty 10-film series from Polish writer Krzysztof Kieślowski, “Dekalog”, Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Mirror” and Hughes Brothers’ “Menace II Society”.
“Actually, I learned a lot from Allen Hughes,” John David said of the “Menace II Society” co-director. “The influence and importance of sound and music and how it can really change the mood or the scene in a way that I never stopped to think about before.”
He also praised the work of John Cassavete, particularly “Faces” and “Opening Night,” calling the naturalism on display “very inspiring.” Malcolm called it one of the “great cinematic love stories” and took the collections of both Jacques Demy and Agnès Varda.
“These two incredible artists,” he said of the married filmmakers. “One thing I love about film is the dialogue between artists, and not just between each other — (composer) Michel Legrand ties them together in so many ways — but if you watch ‘Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ and you watch ‘Do the Right Thing , you see artists in dialogue.”
Hyping Spike Lee up even further, Malcolm asked Criterion to add more of his films to the collection, offering fame for his work on “Malcolm X.” The film is titled by their father, Denzel Washingtonin a performance that earned him his third Academy Award nomination.
“‘Malcolm X’ is the greatest achievement in American filmmaking I’ve ever seen,” Malcolm said. “So many incredible artists putting in incredible work. Big Zel, of course, Angela Bassett, Ernest Dickerson, Terence Blanchard with one of the best scores — that brass — and Spike. Spike is forever in the pantheon.”
The brothers went on to discuss the opening of the film, which includes footage from the Rodney King beating, an event that took place while “Malcolm X” was being edited. Before rushing out, John David had one last quick take on Jim Jarmusch’s “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.”
Watch Malcolm and John David’s full Criterion Closet visit below.
