Inside Criterion

While we were working on our new edition of Polyester, the Pope of Trash paid us a visit and shared stories about meeting Shirley Stoler and watching 8½ under the influence.

Critics Molly Haskell and Farran Smith Nehme talk about the highly idiosyncratic heroines who populate Ernst Lubitsch’s comedies, including the protagonist of his final film, Cluny Brown.

Acclaimed Indian filmmakers Saeed Akhtar Mirza and Kumar Shahani discuss how the Bengali master mixed expressionism and naturalism in his devastating domestic tragedy The Cloud-Capped Star.

The Criterion Channel’s series of prison-break classics showcases eight masterful takes on this most nerve-wracking of suspense subgenres.

A voracious cinephile with wide-ranging taste, the star of Midsommar shares a list of favorite films that shows his particular affinity for the provocative and the macabre.

Marco Bellocchio’s subversive debut feature, Fists in the Pocket, emerged out of a period of social unrest, taking aim at both bourgeois values and Catholic hypocrisy.

A gay man in an age when homosexuality was against the law in his native Britain, the Oscar-winning director eschewed political statements in favor of compassionate portrayals of the human condition.

In this excerpt from a 1994 documentary, the Iranian master talks from the driver’s seat about the central role that love and friendship play in his work.

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A new documentary by filmmaker Daniel Raim, featured on our release of The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice, explores one of Japanese cinema’s most fruitful writer-director partnerships.

On a recent visit, the award-winning Sex and the City star chatted with us about falling in love with movies as a child and the Hollywood and art-house classics that have been her personal touchstones.

In the latest episode of Observations on Film Art, now playing on the Criterion Channel, Professor Jeff Smith breaks down the audacious style of one of Samuel Fuller’s most provocative works.

Lucille Carra’s lyrical documentary got a sonic makeover when Criterion audio supervisor Ryan Hullings solved two major problems that have followed the film since its release.

The early roles of one of classic Hollywood’s most beloved stars epitomize the bawdiness of American cinema before the enforcement of the Production Code.

In collaboration with director Lucille Carra, the renowned writer brought his impressionistic travelogue The Inland Sea—an unusual choice for a film adaptation—to the big screen.

Critic Farran Smith Nehme introduces the underappreciated films of Frank Borzage, one of golden-age Hollywood’s underrated masters of melodrama.

In his short film Fatherland, the Georgian director pays a visit to Stalin’s birthplace to explore the townspeople’s nostalgia for their long-departed leader.

The director of Japón talks about his love for “filmmakers who struggle,” what he values in comedy, and movies that show us what it’s like to live with intensity.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Paul Schrader, and Gus Van Sant tackle tales of love for sale in a new series on the Criterion Channel.

Studio Visits

To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Do the Right Thing, the Brooklyn-based artist painted a mural that served as the basis for the cover of our edition.

The story behind the making of Spike Lee’s masterpiece reveals a lot about the political climate and racial tensions of the era.

Shortly before the critically acclaimed success of their off-Broadway show Get on Your Knees, the two comedians stopped by for a few good laughs in our closet.

Professor David Bordwell breaks down the interwoven narrative structures that make Agnès Varda’s film so unnervingly ambiguous.

Check out what’s in store next month on our streaming service!