The Criterion Collection
Feb 5, 2009 — “Around the time that the KKK rode to victory in The Birth of a Nation (1915), Al Jolson applied burned cork to his face in The Jazz Singer (1927), and scores of African-American actors bowed, scraped, shucked, and jived in...
Mar 16, 2018 — Martin Scorsese talks with critic Kent Jones about some of the techniques that helped bring the film’s depiction of Gilded Age Manhattan to life.
Feb 28, 2023 — One of the towering figures of postwar French literature, Marguerite Duras was also an innovative filmmaker whose rarefied cinematic style dared audiences to see less and listen more.
Aug 18, 2020 — A sensuous exploration of amorous discontent and dreadful miscalculation, The Comfort of Strangers (1990) could be described as an erotic thriller, though it rarely is: its eroticism is too perverse, its pedigree too highbrow. Directed by Paul Schrader and based...
Oct 29, 2019 — The actor-turned-producer made Paramount a major player during the heyday of the New Hollywood.
Feb 19, 2018 — Jonathan Demme put an uncompromisingly feminist spin on the law-enforcement procedural with this wildly successful, Oscar-winning drama.
Essays
Sep 6, 1999 — The subject of loneliness and the observation of the isolated person has always interested me. Even as a child, I couldn’t help but notice those who didn’t fit in for one reason or another—myself included. In life, and for my...
The Daily
Jan 12, 2026 — Let’s catch up with some of the most notable best-of-2025 listing and polling.
The Daily
May 27, 2025 — The triumphant return of Jafar Panahi capped off what many consider to be a terrific year at Cannes.
The Daily
Jun 26, 2024 — A happily married lawyer strikes up an affair with her teenage stepson in Breillat’s first feature since Abuse of Weakness (2013).