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.
The Current
A magazine of film culture past and present, with new articles, interviews, and videos published every day
Ryuichi Sakamoto Finds a Melody for the Unnameable
In Nagisa Oshima’s POW drama Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, a palpable but forbidden attraction achieves its most potent expression through music.
Jason Moran Journeys to the Dawn of Jazz Cinema
The celebrated musician dives into the culture and history captured in a new series of jazz short films on the Criterion Channel, which features performances by Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, and other legendary artists.
The War of the Worlds: Sky on Fire
The first and most influential film adaptation of H. G. Wells’s sci-fi classic, this brilliantly imagined vision of apocalypse captured American anxieties at the height of the Cold War.
Desiree Akhavan’s Closet Picks
The writer-director-star of Appropriate Behavior shares what she’s learned about life and cinema from her favorite movies.
Alone in There: Marnie Ellen Hertzler on Dirt Daughter
The Baltimore-based filmmaker talks with us about her bold exploration of technology, sexuality, and loneliness, now playing on the Criterion Channel.
Form and Function: On the Object Lessons of Summer Hours
Separated from the domestic spaces they once inhabited, two glass vases and a mahogany desk settle into a caged museum life in Olivier Assayas’s deeply felt family portrait.
Come and See: Orphans of the Storm
With extraordinary immediacy, Elem Klimov’s magisterial final film brings to life the barbarity of war, a subject of which the director had firsthand knowledge.
Read and See: Ales Adamovich and Literature out of Fire
In postwar Belarus, where documents were either inaccessible or had been destroyed, the cowriter of Come and See pioneered a new form of literature sourced from the nightmarish testimonies of survivors.
The Criterion Channel’s July 2020 Lineup
Next month, the Criterion Channel celebrates unconventional artists who march to the beat of their own drum, with spotlights on Miranda July, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Sara Driver, Bill and Turner Ross, and Atom Egoyan.
Gian Galang Summons the Kinetic Energy of a Martial-Arts Icon
The artist behind the images in our upcoming Bruce Lee box set shows us how he captured the legend’s most iconic poses.
10 Things I Learned: Scorsese Shorts
The films showcased in our new collection of early works by Martin Scorsese are deeply influenced by the director’s life in New York City and the experiences of his family and friends.
Tokyo Olympiad: The Wind Passing Through the Flagpoles
Kon Ichikawa aimed to show “the sweat” and “the pathos” of athletic ambition in this monumental documentary, the most extravagant Olympic film to date.
