The Criterion Collection
Short Takes
Feb 17, 2016 — Charlie Chaplin’s 1921 masterpiece of silent cinema, The Kid, is now available on Blu-ray and DVD. In this film, his feature-length directorial debut, Chaplin stars as his already iconic Tramp character alongside a young Jackie Coogan, who plays the orphan...
Jan 19, 2016 — Inside Llewyn Davis takes its protagonist on a Hero’s Journey of characteristically Coen-esque proportions—a voyage at turns serious and comic, and framed by an exquisitely curated selection of folk melodies.
Sneak Peeks
Dec 9, 2015 — Speedy, directed in 1928 by comedy writer and filmmaker Ted Wilde, is a mile-a-minute ride through New York that was the final silent film to star Hollywood comic icon Harold Lloyd. Shot on location in New York and on sound...
Aug 18, 2014 — The filmmaker and critic discuss the pleasures and provocations of the Spanish auteur’s work.
Essays
Jul 21, 2014 — Anouk Aimée’s beguiling chanteuse, the title character of Jacques Demy’s romantic debut feature, is the figure from whom the director’s entire cinematic world springs.
Jun 27, 2014 — The American war in Vietnam was officially divided into two halves: the military war and “the other war: the war to win the hearts and minds of the people,” which gives Peter Davis’s 1974 documentary its title. Whereas the aim...
Essays
May 27, 2014 — Howard Hawks was both a skillful Hollywood craftsman and a deeply personal artist, and this western of uncommon wit and grandeur is among his greatest and quirkiest films.
Aug 9, 2013 — Did You See This?• An early Orson Welles film unearthed and being restored • Remembering the divine Karen Black in words and moving pictures • Yasujiro Ozu as you’ve never seen him • Investigating the essay film • Admiring the...
May 3, 2013 — Did You See This?• Watch (above) or read Steven Soderbergh’s already famous state-of-the-art address. • Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig hit the streets. • Talk about micro-cinema! • Charting the course of neorealism across continents • Talking to Olivier Assayas,...
Apr 16, 2013 — With its idiosyncratic humor, killer soundtrack, and middle finger to Reagan-era politics, Alex Cox’s film was the perfect cult hit for the golden age of the video store.