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
Mutation as Metaphor: Body Horror’s Visceral Transformations
Classics of the genre—including Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession and David Cronenberg’s The Fly—explore the gory extremes of corporeal experience.
The Banality of Apartheid: A Conversation with Milisuthando Bongela
In her intensely personal debut feature, the filmmaker and poet investigates the myths that have shaped South African history through a mix of archival footage, poetic remembrances, and conversations with friends and family.
Deep Crimson: Blood Will Have Blood
The first of Arturo Ripstein’s films to receive wider international acclaim, this blood-soaked, surrealist vision of amour fou harks back to the director’s roots as an admirer and protégé of Luis Buñuel.
Nightmare Alley: Born for It
An adaptation of a classic pulp novel by William Lindsay Gresham, Guillermo del Toro’s first foray into film noir is an intensely evocative exploration of how human impulses can give rise to monsters.
The Politically Trenchant Fables of Animation Pioneer Moustapha Alassane
The self-trained filmmaker examined postindependence Nigerien society in morality tales that showcased his visual ingenuity and sly sense of humor.
Harris Dickinson’s Top 10
The actor and director shares a list of films that taught him about the possibilities of cinema, including masterpieces by Stanley Kubrick, Lino Brocka, and Andrei Tarkovsky.
Altered States: Visions and Divisions
It is hard to conceive of a film more dazzlingly, dizzyingly divided against itself—or one more appropriately so—than this delirious creation of screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky and director Ken Russell.
Jean Rollin, Poet of the Fantastique
This French art-horror master shocked audiences with a string of sexy vampire movies often centered on complex female friendships and women-ruled fantasy worlds.
A History of Violence: Dead in the Eye
Set in a postcard-perfect American town, David Cronenberg’s provocative take on the old-fashioned crime thriller examines the pleasure we derive from cinematic violence and the construction of patriarchal impunity.
The Criterion Channel’s November 2025 Lineup
This month, join us for a Thanksgiving feast of some of the movies’ most memorable family reunions, or delve into the dark alleyways of noir mysteries built around protagonists tormented by amnesia, memory holes, and drunken blackouts.
Sparks’ Top 10
The brothers of this legendary pop duo each choose five of their favorite films, with an emphasis on daring auteurs like Guy Maddin and Jacques Tati.
The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun: On Deadline
In Wes Anderson’s romantic ode to journalism, the director grapples with the danger and horror inherent in any field of endeavor worth pursuing.
