Spotlight
Under the Influence
In this ongoing series of videos, contemporary filmmakers talk to us about the movies that have had a lasting impact on their work.
Current
An online magazine covering film culture past and present
The High-Wire Energy of Great Ensemble Acting
At their best, films that juggle the stories of many characters, embodied by a band of virtuosic performers, give you the feeling of a rich ecosystem being brought to life.
The Evolution of Synth Soundtracks
A collection on the Criterion Channel charts the evolution of the synthesizer—from its infancy in the 1950s to its maturity in the 1980s—and its transformative impact on film music.
The Underground Railroad: The Wound and the Remedy
Barry Jenkins’s extraordinarily ambitious limited series distinguishes itself in the tradition of the cinematic slavery epic through its understanding that Black joy and Black trauma cannot be cleaved from each other.
Rediscovering Yasuzo Masumura at Karlovy Vary
An underrated figure of Japanese cinema’s postwar era, the director tackled a wide range of subjects over his long career, including corporate double-dealing, government espionage, and various forms of fanaticism.
Miryam Charles’s Top 10
The director of Cette maison chooses a group of favorite films that defy her attempts to explain and describe them, including works by Claire Denis, Charles Burnett, and Frank Borzage.
Victims of Sin: Dancing in the Dark
A masterpiece from the golden age of Mexican cinema, Emilio Fernández’s film is a prime example of the cabaretera film, an offshoot of the popular “prostitute melodrama” genre.
Bound: Be Gay, Do Crime
In this stylish erotic noir, Lilly and Lana Wachowski delight in destabilizing our genre and gender expectations, laying the foundation for the trans sensibility that runs through all their work.
The Criterion Channel’s July 2024 Lineup
This summer, we’re bringing back one of our favorite seasonal themes with a hard-boiled Neonoir collection. Plus: Pop Shakespeare, Times Square, and Columbia Screwball.
Querelle: Erogenous Zones
A radically strange, postmodern adaptation of a novel by Jean Genet, Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s final film is grounded by a sweaty, seething, meaty eroticism—a confrontational sexuality that remains bracing.
The Perverse Magic of Long Ago: John Greyson on His Landmark Film Lilies
The Canadian filmmaker and artist reflects on his award-winning 1996 breakthrough, a work of voluptuous style and fierce political commitment that remains a landmark of New Queer Cinema.
Anatomy of a Fall: Seeing and Believing
This Oscar-winning courtroom drama revolves around one of director Justine Triet’s most complex creations—a high-achieving female protagonist whose motivations remain tenaciously mysterious.
Girlfight: Taking by Storm
In Karyn Kusama’s award-winning feature debut, Michelle Rodriguez delivers a smoldering performance as a young woman who finds in boxing a container for her grief, loss, and rage.
