The Criterion Collection
Essays
Apr 29, 2025 — In this exuberant and moving portrait of a Brooklyn sex worker, Sean Baker draws on themes he has explored throughout his career, depicting the workaday grind of twenty-first-century American existence with biting humor and clear-eyed humanity.
May 11, 2017 — Steve Gunn is regarded as one of the finest guitar players of our era. The Philadelphia native got off to an early start in high school punk bands before establishing himself as a player in different genres and touring internationally....
Jan 22, 2009 — Last fall the Criterion Collection and Janus Films joined forces to acquire a first-run film for theatrical distribution—a rare move for two companies best known for handling the classics of cinema history. Revanche, both an existential thriller and a quiet,...
After making his mark in the early thirties with two very different films, this French master closed out the decade with two humanistic studies of French society that routinely turn up on lists of the greatest films ever made.
Essays
May 15, 2000 — In René Clair’s ebullient early talkie, an unsentimental love of humanity permeates every frame.
Essays
Jun 13, 1988 — G. W. Pabst lends humanity and depth to his adaptation of a play by Bertolt Brecht—one of the last great works of German cinema's richest period.
Three indelible tales of Black urban life; a 1960s revenge thriller; a blockbuster biblical comedy; a glittering pre-Code jewel; the most sensual Hollywood noir; six woman-centered features from Japan; and a ravishing vision of a world where humans have forsaken...
The actor and director praises Black God, White Devil as one of the most important Brazilian films ever made, talks about the complex humanity of Il Posto, and reflects on why Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne are his favorite filmmakers.
The writer and director reflects on the influence that Melvin Van Peebles had on him when he was a film student, talks about how Ermanno Olmi and Ousmane Sembène made films that speak to humanity, and selects favorites such as...