The Criterion Collection
Essays
Feb 1, 1988 — Charles Laughton’s classic has the feel and the force of an American folk fable; yet, it also mixes rural humor with gothic humor, biblical quotation and Freudian symbolism, and everyday realities with a near-mythic confrontation between the forces of good...
Oct 15, 2050 — Voice-over narration has existed since the beginnings of cinema and has been an integral part of some of the great masterworks of narrative film, from The Magnificent Ambersons to Double Indemnity to Jules and Jim to Taxi Driver. It spans...
Aug 16, 2016 — Stig Björkman’s candid documentary gathers a wealth of material from Ingrid Bergman’s personal archive, revealing the star as a fastidious collector of her own memories.
Dec 9, 2025 — In her Cannes-award-winning narrative feature debut, Mira Nair sees the lives of Indian street children with an unconditionally generous gaze, taking in their world in all its contradictions and complexity.
The Daily
Jul 18, 2023 — In her music, her films, and her often stormy romances, Birkin captivated us for more than half a century.
Features
Dec 12, 2022 — The great but underrated Hollywood star Irene Dunne made her transition to screwball comedy by playing the scandal-courting author at the heart of Theodora Goes Wild.
The Daily
Jun 19, 2019 — To mark the anniversary, editors are highlighting some of her best work while critics and acolytes measure her impact.
The Daily
Jan 16, 2019 — Unquiet is the first of Linn Ullmann’s books to directly address her parents. Plus, the criticism of Rivette and Bazin, a radio campaign led by Welles, and more.
Essays
Jul 16, 2018 — In this essay originally published in the New Yorker, Roger Angell hails Ron Shelton’s comic ode to baseball as one of the few movies to capture the essence of the sport.
Short Takes
Oct 15, 2015 — Coming off the success of John, her latest acclaimed stage production, Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Annie Baker is more in demand than ever.