And speaking of films that I own on DVD, but which are almost universally on the Criterion Channel, there's Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samourai. It stars Alain Delon at his best and most beautiful as a hitman (Jef Costello) whose hit both succeeds and fails, kicking in his own warrior ethic (hence the title). It's beautifully and starkly filmed, and is far more than simply another film noir. It also stars Francois Perier (as the policeman trying to catch him - the film almost qualified as a procedural), Nathalie Delon (as Jef's sort-of girlfriend Jane - in real life the two were married for a while), and Cathy Rosier (as the pianist who witnessed the original hit). The ending is classic, and brings an appropriately French existentialist feel to it all (which tended to mark French films noir). I bought the DVD because I was planning on showing it in my Japanese Film Noir class as a counterpoint, but I ended up showing Elevator to the Gallows instead. Highly recommended, and it's setting me off on a Jean-Pierre Melville quest.
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