Filmed 2025-11-24
Shinichiro Watanabe
The director
Criterion's own upload · on criterion.com
The director of Cowboy Bebop shares his love for The Killing of a Chinese Bookie and how John Cassavetes blurred the line between fictional drama and realism, talks about what makes Branded to Kill a mesmerizing masterpiece, and finds inspiration in Jacques Tati and Bruce Lee.
What they took
5 cases, in the order Criterion lists them. Two are box sets, which is why 5 choices reach 14 films.
Least-picked choice here: Branded to Kill, taken by 1 other visits.
Table view
| Chose | Director | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  The Killing of a Chinese Bookie | John Cassavetes | 1976 |
| 2 |  Branded to Kill | Seijun Suzuki | 1967 |
| 3 |  M | Fritz Lang | 1931 |
| 4 |  The Complete Jacques Tati box set, 6 films | · | · |
| 5 |  Bruce Lee: His Greatest Hits box set, 5 films | · | · |
Their three single films come from three different countries, with no one of them leading. The two box sets are what carry the reach to 14 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 three 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.