Filmed 2025-04-18
Charles Burnett
The writer and director
Criterion's own upload · on criterion.com
The writer and director reflects on the influence that Melvin Van Peebles had on him when he was a film student, talks about how Ermanno Olmi and Ousmane Sembène made films that speak to humanity, and selects favorites such as Dodes’ka-den and Double Indemnity.
What they took
9 cases, in the order Criterion lists them. Three are box sets, which is why 9 choices reach 53 films.
Least-picked choice here: Dodes’ka-den, taken by 1 other visits.
Table view
| Chose | Director | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Melvin Van Peebles: Essential Films box set, 4 films | · | · |
| 2 |  Killer of Sheep | Charles Burnett | 1977 |
| 3 |  Dodes’ka-den | Akira Kurosawa | 1970 |
| 4 |  A Day in the Country | Jean Renoir | 1936 |
| 5 |  Il posto | Ermanno Olmi | 1961 |
| 6 |  I fidanzati | Ermanno Olmi | 1962 |
| 7 |  Three Revolutionary Films by Ousmane Sembène box set, 3 films | · | · |
| 8 |  Double Indemnity | Billy Wilder | 1944 |
| 9 |  Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema box set, 40 films | · | · |
Their six single films come from four different countries, with no one of them leading. The three box sets are what carry the reach to 53 films.
Closest taste
Jaccard overlap against every other visit, counted on what came off the shelf rather than on films, so a shared box set counts once rather than as the films inside it.
403 visits compared · 31 filmed-together pairs excluded
Their decades
Their six single films with a release year on record, against where every guest's single-film picks land. Box sets are left out of both sides, so the two bars measure the same thing.