My Top Ten Criterions

John Lurie

John Lurie, whose band, the Lounge Lizards, was one of the most acclaimed jazz groups of the eighties and nineties, has recorded twenty-two albums and has acted in several films, including Stranger Than Paradise, Down by Law, and The Last Temptation of Christ. Lurie also wrote, directed, and starred in the television series Fishing with John, which was shown on IFC and Bravo. For the last four years, he has been concentrating primarily on his painting, which can be seen at strangeandbeautiful.com.

1. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie     John Cassavetes

2. The Last Temptation of Christ     Martin Scorsese

3. Naked     Mike Leigh

4. Burden of Dreams     Les Blank

5. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul     Rainer Werner Fassbinder

6. Fishing with John     John Lurie

7. The Naked Kiss     Samuel Fuller

8. Opening Night     John Cassavetes

9. The Pornographers     Shohei Imamura

10. The Wages of Fear       Ján Kadár & Henri-Georges Clouzot