The Last Emperor

Apr 14, 2025 — This month’s programming brings seaside thrills and white-knuckle tension, noir classics from a politically repressive era in American history, early gems from Kathryn Bigelow, and guest-curated picks from Spike Lee.

Jul 23, 2024 — Chen Kaige’s sweeping epic chronicles the history of twentieth-century China through the story of two childhood friends, contrasting the unchanging traditions of their Beijing-opera milieu with the nation’s swift and turbulent transformation.

Jun 21, 2024 — Join us on Sunday, June 30, for the premiere; afterwards, Opus will stream exclusively on the Criterion Channel.

Apr 26, 2024 — This week offers reflections on the work of Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Béla Tarr, Satyajit Ray, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Joan Chen.

Apr 24, 2023 — The freely accessible program notes feature essays by Adrian Martin, Peter von Bagh, and more.

Apr 5, 2023 — The composer, pop star, and occasional actor mastered a bafflingly wide range of styles and influences.

Jun 27, 2025 — We’re revisiting 1975, reassessing 2025, and reading about Serge Daney and Hong Sangsoo.

Apr 18, 2025 — Barry Jenkins interviews Charles Burnett, Céline Sciamma discusses Chantal Akerman—and more.

Jan 20, 2023 — This week: Jerzy Skolimowski, Alice Diop, Alexander Hammid, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Orson Welles.

Nov 22, 2022 — Spike Lee’s transcendent portrait of an American hero is an urgent call for the nation to live up to everything it claims to be.