The Washington Brothers ‘Do Some Shopping’ in the Criterion Closet
Brothers and collaborators John David and Malcolm Washington didn’t come to play in the Criterion Closet. As writer/director and star of “The Piano Lesson” Malcolm put it at the start of their visit, “We’re here to do some shopping.” And shop they did, filling their tote bags with some of cinema’s greatest delights, starting with the hefty 10-film series from Polish auteur Krzysztof Kie?lowski, “Dekalog,” Andrei Tarkovsky’s “Mirror,” and the 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 the 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 it before.”
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He also praised the work of John Cassavetes, particularly “Faces” and “Opening Night,” calling the naturalism on display “very inspiring.” Calling it one of the “great film love stories,” Malcolm nabbed 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 dialog between artists, and not only between each other — [composer] Michel Legrand tying them together in so many ways — but if you look at ‘Umbrellas of Cherbourg’ and you look at ‘Do the Right Thing,’ you see artists in dialog.”
Hyping Spike Lee up even further, Malcolm called for Criterion to add more of his films to the collection and offered adulation for his work on “Malcolm X.” The film is headlined by their father, Denzel Washington, in a performance that earned his third Oscar nomination.
“‘Malcolm X’ is the greatest achievement in American filmmaking I’ve ever seen,” said Malcolm. “So many incredible artists putting incredible work up. Big Zel, of course, Angela Bassett, Ernest Dickerson, Terence Blanchard with one of the greatest scores — that brass — and Spike. Spike is forever in the pantheon.”
The brothers went on to discuss the opening of the film, which incorporates footage of the Rodney King beating, an event which took place while “Malcolm X” was being edited. Before rushing out, John David made one last quick grab with Jim Jarmusch’s “Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai.”
Watch Malcolm and John David’s full Criterion Closet visit below.
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